The Philippine peso: Strongest currency in Asia! GOOD NEWS

[tmselbor]

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the masang pilipino cannot feel the impact of it... lalo lang naghihirap mga pinoy ngayon. ala naman kwenta kahit lumakas ang piso kasi sobrang mahal parin ang mga bilihin...lugi nga tayo kung tutuusin....

korokoro lang po galing sa http://byterslair.i.ph

[r0mm3L]

the masang pilipino cannot feel the impact of it... lalo lang naghihirap mga pinoy ngayon. ala naman kwenta kahit lumakas ang piso kasi sobrang mahal parin ang mga bilihin...lugi nga tayo kung tutuusin....

korokoro lang po galing sa http://byterslair.i.ph

natural, bisag taas or mobo ang piso pobre gihapon ang naghihirap kong walay trabaho

[giddyboy]

the masang pilipino cannot literally feel the effects because there was no abrupt change in the prices coz of the strong peso. THAT IS THE IMPACT. if our peso was weak, prices of commodities would have soared.

strong peso = stable prices
strong economy = stable prices
stable prices = nothing felt by the masa = this is the good impact

of course, if we exempt outside forces such as weak US dollar, high world oil prices and the world rice crisis.

and there is always INFLATION. it drives the prices higher and higher every year...it's like death & taxes that we cannot avoid. the important thing is to out-pace it.

for example, our annual inflation rate is 5%. in roughly 10 years, the value of your peso would already been cut in half. like if u buy grocery worth P5,000 now, it would be worth P10,000 10 years after.

another example, you have phil. money time-deposited in the bank at 1% per annum. so still, this is not a good investment coz inflation is higher by 4% than your time-deposit interest rate. it is best to invest your money on higher yields like feasible businesses or anything that is higher than inflation. though risky but it's worth a shot.

last example, you are employed & earning minimum wage and is increasing at 10% per annum. so this more than covers the 5% inflation rate every year...whatever your purchasing power now will be more or less be getting a bit stronger for the following years ahead. this example still assumes no external forces affecting our prices of commodities.

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(UPDATE) Central bank says to brace for higher prices

Thomson Financial, Reuters
First Posted 15:34:00 03/31/2008

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said on Monday that higher oil and food prices likely pushed annual inflation in March to between 5.3 percent and 5.9 percent, and warned consumer prices could keep climbing into the second half, potentially threatening its target for the year.

The February reading was the highest in 16 months.

"With this, the hump we are projecting for 2008 may be extended depending on how these supply-side factors evolve," Tetangco told reporters

Tetangco said earlier that based on the central bank's assessment, "external supply shocks" may put the 2008 inflation target of 3.0-5.0 percent at risk. For 2009 the inflation outlook is still consistent with the 2.5-3.5 percent target for that year.

"We will continue to monitor these risks to inflation. Nonetheless, we still expect to be within target for 2009," he said Monday...

full article:

http://business.inquirer.net/money/t...-higher-prices

[Rance]

Economic growth: 7.3% GDP is real
http://business.inquirer.net/money/b...73-GDP-is-real

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo maintained on Monday that the 7.3 percent economic growth recorded in 2007 was the “best year” for the Philippine economy in over 30 years.

Arroyo’s statement came following a recent survey by Pulse Asia Inc. showing that 66 percent of Filipinos believe that the economy has “worsened” over the last three years.

“2007 was the best year for the Philippine economy in over 30 years,” Arroyo said in her speech during the 11th Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong.

“Economic growth was 7.3 percent, a million new jobs were created, and foreign investments have been steady and strong,” she said.

The President predicted that this growth would continue this year despite the global economic slowdown.

“2008 holds real promise for a different reason,”she said.

“Not only do we expect continued strong growth, but as a result of our total economic overhaul, we are well-positioned to weather a global economic slowdown which, unfortunately, will affect all of us,” she said.

Arroyo said the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals this year were stronger than ever citing the “tough choices” that her administration had taken to boost revenues, crack down on tax cheats, bring reform to revenue collection and modernize the banking and financial sector.

She said the tax revenues this year were not “stagnant” and even up by 17 percent last year.

Arroyo admitted, however, that the benefits were still working their way down “more slowly” to the masses.

But the President promised to spend the remaining two years of her term focused on further economic reforms while providing peace, order and stability.

“Most importantly, my last two years will be dedicated to one main objective: to invest, invest and invest some more in our nation.

Arroyo said her government was also taking corruption seriously.

“As an economist, I know that first and foremost, a strong economy is an economy that is transparent and free from corruption,” she said.

“We are freeing ourselves of the shackles of corruption evidenced by our growing economy – which is increasingly free of corruption and inefficiency,” she said.

Arroyo also reiterated that any allegations of wrongdoing would go straight to the Office Ombudsman.

“We will let the chips fall where they may as investigations are concluded and friend and foe alike are brought to account for their actions,” she added.

[Rance]

Strong Peso, Higher Prices
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/min...-Higher-Prices

By Ben Sanchez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:54:00 03/28/2008


“If the peso is strong, why is my supermarket bill excessively high?” a homemaker in Urdaneta Village asked on the phone. I replied: “A strong peso means that imported food products become less expensive to bring into the country. Come to think of it, the price of my favorite Hershey’s bar which is totally U.S.-made is going higher and higher. Why?’

“You are answering a question with a question,” my caller quipped. “You’re an economist you are supposed to know.”

“You’re right, but it will take some research before I unearth the answers to your question,” I replied. Having retired early, I analyze economic data only once in a while. But when I do and write about it, I seem to be spreading gloom. However, I don’t back down when asked to assess a particularly intriguing economic condition.

I dug up the facts and am prepared to share the truth about whether we are better off with a strong peso, as our leaders say. Our president claims that a strong peso is an outstanding achievement of her administration. With GMA’s credibility at a new low, many people are on the “Truth” bandwagon nowadays. I suppose people are now prepared to face the truth and react accordingly.

Here are the details:

We are not better off than we were three years ago. In 2004, exactly four years ago, a dollar exchanged for P56.36. The peso has strengthened since then. Today, the exchange rate is about P41 to the dollar. What this means is that for every $100 OFW dependents receive, they get P1500 less from our commercial banks. So, you see, the peso has strengthened (by 27%) but the spending money of OFW families has considerably declined, and so has their standard of living.

In a recent article, former SBMA Chairman Felicito Payumo roughly estimates that the number of OFW dependents is around 41 million. That is about 46% of our population.

An SWS survey shows that OFW dependents are worse off than before. In September 2007, the Social Weather Survey posed this question: “This year, the exchange rate of the American dollar to the Philippine peso is more or less P45. Previously, the exchange rate of a dollar was more than P50. Because of this, can you say that the well-being of your family is…?”

About 30% of Filipino families indicated that they were better off before, when the peso was weaker. To no one’s surprise, 37% of families with OFW’s replied that they were worse off now.

In an attempt to sugarcoat the peso’s strength, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo is quoted to have asserted: “In appreciating surveys, one should realize that what comes out is perception. We need to educate people. Some of them feel they’re not getting the positive impact of a firm peso.”

On the other hand, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer issue of May 28, 2007, then NEDA chief Romulo Neri lamented that “the peso was uncomfortably strong.” In July last year, Bloomberg News quoted Neri as saying, “Peso strength is affecting growth… The stronger currency has weakened export growth. Gains in the peso may have led some manufacturers to close factories, leading to about 100,000 employment positions lost in the capital Manila in April.” Remember that Romulo Neri was a member of BSP’s Monetary Board at that time.

So where is “the positive impact of a firm peso” BSP’s Gunigundo is talking about? Actually, there are “losers” and “winners in the upward movement of the peso… The big losers are OFW dependents, exporters and consumers, as we shall see.

And who are the “big winners”? Global Filipino Coalition provides us the answer: "The big winners are a small number of beneficiaries: the government (lower peso cost of debt servicing), the ruling elite, oil companies, utilities and importers (including smugglers). A strong peso also rewards jetsetters and those with insatiable taste for imported goods."

In twenty-one months to October 2007 Consumer Prices rose steeply by 43%, indicating that the strengthening of the peso had no moderating effect in stemming price increases.

The “losers” are indeed the consumers, as even the government’s own statistics demonstrate. Between March 2004 and October 2007, the consumer price level increased by a whooping 43.1%. So “reality” exceeds the “perception” of only 30% of Filipinos who told SWS that they were worse off than before. My guess is that the 70% of those who felt no change in their well being, or believed that they were better off, sub-consciously adjusted to the circumstances – a tribute to well-known Filipino resiliency. If you knew that prices of what you purchase rose by over 40%, wouldn’t you say that you would feel more comfortable only if your family income improved in the same proportion?

Fuel, light, water and services posted the steepest price increases (79%). The prices of food and beverage would probably interest the housewife mainly because these make up half the consumer basket. Despite the supposed lower peso cost of importing products, prices of food and beverages rose sharply by 37% in 21 months!

But I still have no answer to my question: Why hasn’t the price of my favorite U.S.-made Hershey’s chocolate bar gone down? So I probed deeper. Lo and behold! I discovered that there was food inflation, the likes of which the world has never known.

Meanwhile I’ve shifted my loyalty to our local enseymada, lengua de gato and barquillos and stopped buying Hershey’s chocolate bars. It’s no sacrifice. Local snack items are not only cheaper; they also taste better.

Conrado ‘Ben’ Sanchez, Jr. is a former governor of the Board of Investments. You can send your comments to altez91@gmail.com.

[lestat1116]

TSK TSK TSK. so ang govt n ruling elite ra di na lipay ani.

[K|D]

exactly... crony capitalism... oligarchy.... aristocracy.... paita... ang mga brayt nga walay connections/walay pangan, nanglarga nalang...

[Rance]

Arroyo earmarks P43.5B to boost aggie, fisheries sector
http://www.gmanews.tv/largevideo/rel...sheries-sector[br]Posted on: April 08, 2008, 07:44:40 AM_________________________________________________h ttp://www.gmanews.tv/largevideo/latest/20702/Bishops-oppose-contruction-of-casino-tourism-complex

[cebu1029]

hahhay! bisan katunga lang unta sa P43.5B makuha gyud sa mga farmer ug fishermen... ok na kaayo! wa gyud support atong agri and fishery sectors.

[DEMONOCIETY]

L*L*! peso strong currency? ga sigeng ubos ang dollar unya mga consumo pwerteng kamahal hinoon?