OFFBEAT MAIL

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Bond yields in most emerging East Asian markets continued to track lower from 1 March to 15 May 2016 as investors factored in forecasts of continued slow growth for the global economy, Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) latest Asia Bond Monitor said. At the same time, the US Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to keep interest rates steady in its first three meetings in 2016 led to positive inflows in a number of emerging East Asian local currency government bond markets between January and April. Domestic equity markets and emerging East Asian currencies were mostly stronger over the review period, while credit default swap spreads fell, reflecting reduced perceptions of default risk in the region. “The outlook for emerging East Asian bonds remains mostly benign given still strong fundamentals and interest in the region, however, there are downside risks, including the possibility that quicker than expected US Federal Reserve interest rate hikes trigger a foreign...

It's unfortunate that the Secruties and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been transferred under the supervision of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Malacanang must have toying the idea of initiating this move until lately when SEC appeared to have absconded in its regulatlory powers to carefully check on the performance of pre-need companies where millions of policyholders had been duped. SEC used to be under the supervision of the Department of Finance (DoF) a line departmental agency that oversees the activities of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC), both tax collecting agencies of the government that are under close scrutiny by the people. The move initiated by the president was timely even to the extent of defeating the real objective of regulating the capital markets in the Philippines. However, many observers have doubts in their minds as to the real motive of the SEC going into the folds of the DTI. Besides, putting the regulatory po...