Gov’t to borrow less in 2010

The government is set to borrow P640.279 billion in 2010, a drop of P12.7 billion from this year’s borrowing plan of P652.981 billion as the budget deficit is projected to slow down next year to P208.4 billion or 2.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). - Dennis Gadil... (more)

Investors prefer sovereign debts

BY DENNIS GADIL

Obviously for lack of safe projects to invest big sums in the market yesterday, investors gobbled up treasury bills resulting in an almost half a percentage point (44 basis point) decline in the bench mark 90-day tenor... (more)

Gov’t eyes 3rd exclusive printer

BY DENNIS GADIL

Malacañang is set to designate the APO Production Unit as the third "exclusive" printer of "highly sensitive" government forms and other public documents... (more)

Gov’t to implement nationwide fuel-marking scheme

BY DENNIS GADIL

The government will go full blast in enforcing a nationwide fuel marking scheme by January to combat oil smuggling after its successful pilot testing in Subic, Clark, Batangas, and Bataan this year... (more)

Stimulus package, Part 2, in 2010 budget

BY DENNIS GADIL

The budget department is planning an Economic Resiliency Package, Part 2, in the 2010 national budget to ensure continuation of President Arroyo’s pump priming program next year... (more)

NG debt rises by P30B in April

BY DENNIS GADIL

The national government’s debt stock rose by P30 billion in April to P4.259 trillion, an expansion of 0.7 percent from the P4.228.6 trillion registered in March... (more)

Gov’t seeks lower JBIC fee for Samurai bonds

BY DENNIS GADIL

The government is re-negotiating the "high" fee being asked by Japan Bank for International Cooperation< (JBIC) for guaranteeing its planned $1 billion Samurai bond float this year... (more)

H1 deficit lower than expected

BY DENNIS GADIL

The national government posted a deficit of P153.4 billion in the first half of the year, P1.7 billion "better" than the programmed ceiling of P155.1 billion... (more)

Gov’t eyes P1.5 trillion budget for 2010

BY DENNIS GADIL

The government is preparing a budget worth P1.5 trillion in 2010, a little over this year’s outlay of P1.415 trillion... (more)

DOF rejects excise tax at the local level

BY DENNIS GADIL

The Department of Finance (DOF) has thumbed down proposals to empower local government units (LGUs) to impose excise tax on "sin products", motor vehicles and minerals... (more)

Moment of truth nears for Big Pharma

BY REGINA BENGCO

PHARMACEUTICAL companies have until Saturday to submit a Letter of Undertaking listing the medicines whose prices they are willing to slash or else President Arroyo will issue an executive order implementing the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) list for 22 commonly used medicines as recommended by the Department of Health last month. - With Ashzel Hachero and Dennis Gadil... (more)

RP borrows $750M from global market

Widening deficit triggers 2nd foray in a year

BY DENNIS GADIL

The government returned to the international capital market the other night to plug a widening deficit, selling 10-year dollar-denominated global bonds worth $750 million... (more)

T-bills rates fall

BY DENNIS GADIL

Government secured cheap borrowings during yesterday’s auction with yields for treasury bills (T-bills) plunging across the board, which saw the benchmark 91-day debt notes shedding 20.2 basis points to 4.298 percent from the previous 4.5 percent... (more)

Gov’t pump not priming

Spending again slows down in Q2

BY DENNIS GADIL

Government agencies were not spending their budgets fast enough from April to June, the third successive quarter of slippage, and thus putting in jeopardy the economic stimulus package... (more)

Gov’t fudging jobless data: WB

BY DENNIS GADIL

The World Bank (WB) believes more jobs are being lost in the wake of the global financial crisis but are not fully reported by the government... (more)

Tax evasion, underground economy main contributors to low revenue take

BY DENNIS GADIL

About 35 percent of foregone revenues yearly are lost to tax evasion and could increase some more if uncollected taxes from underground economy are included, a senior finance official said... (more)

WB backs excise hike on oil products

BY DENNIS GADIL

The World Bank (WB) favors an increase in the excise tax on oil products as a way of shoring up revenues in the face of a ballooning budget deficit and of funding the economic stimulus package... (more)

Gov’t abandons sin tax hike

BY DENNIS GADIL

The government has finally abandoned plans to impose a single uniform tax rate on sin products starting this year as it looks to 2012 as the most ideal year to implement the proposed change... (more)

BIR to lift 1% withholding tax for small farmers

BY DENNIS GADIL

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will soon spare small farmers from paying the 1 percent withholding tax... (more)

Borrowings to bloat debt stock in 2010

By DENNIS GADIL

More borrowings threaten to further bloat next year’s projected debt stock to P4.698 trillion or 56.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from P4.489 trillion or 57.6 percent of GDP this year, posting an expansion of 5 percent... (more)