The global economic outlook has significantly worsened amid rising trade tensions and persistent policy uncertainty, with global growth now forecast to slow to just 2.3 percent in 2025. According to the World Bank, this is the weakest pace outside of recessions since 2008. The slowdown, driven by escalating trade barriers and weak global cooperation, is expected to hit emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) particularly hard, including the Philippines.
The rate at which prices change across the Philippines, more known as inflation, accelerated to 2.5 percent in November, from only 2.3 percent in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Thursday.
Bank lending to the agricultural sector, historically low and problematic, showed promise in latest survey jointly conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), which works under the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Growth across the economy this year is forecast to remain below its five-year average of 6.6 percent, according to the sovereign credit watcher Standard and Poor's.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) launched a major regional development initiative on Thursday, with Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. personally overseeing the distribution of over P65 million in agricultural interventions to local farmers and fisherfolk in this town widely recognized as the “rice granary of Albay.”
The Department of Agriculture has imposed a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds—and their products—from Indiana following confirmed outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has received the 2026 “Reserve Manager” award from Central Banking, recognizing the Philippine central bank’s improvements in handling the country’s foreign currency reserves.
The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) will conduct an electronic public bidding for prime corporate and closed-bank properties on April 22–23, offering investors a diverse portfolio of real estate assets across the country through its online bidding platform.