The Unlawyer

Philippine stock and currency marts are closed again today because of a holiday, but there’s plenty of Philippine business news out there, like this gem: Government debt burden eases to P3.78T. GMAnews, on the other hand, reduces this report into a factoid we can all understand:

“This means that each of the 88.7 million Filipinos owe P42,638 as of June from P43,055 as of May.”

Another interesting statistic: Domestic air travel up 24% in 1st half.

Congratulations to all those nurses who passed the 2006 nursing board exam retake! Consult the list of successful examinees here.

UBS the Swiss bank cites its reasons why it thinks the Philippine peso will depreciate to PHP 47 against the US dollar by yearend.

High Chinese officials all channel Sun Tzu in defending their country from its appalling consumer product safety record: see China defends quality of exports, blames US designs and Minister defends mainland’s safety record amid product recalls.

“”About 85 percent were directly designed by the American company and produced according to requirements of the American importer,” said Li Changjiang, director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

“”I personally have seen some of the toys. There are serious problems in their design, so they are highly dangerous for children. These types of toys would be recalled in any country,” Li told a news conference.”

It’s all well and good that both officials vowed to take stringent measures against careless Chinese manufacturers, but the flood of dangerous goods produced by Chinese factories continues unabated. Read OneFreeKorea for updates about the latest made-in-China product recalls.

So what do you do if you find any of these recalled toys and other merchandise in your house? Home Worked has some tips for you.

Another Chinese bank reveals its own exposure to the subprime mortgage debacle in the United States. I hate to sound pessimistic but I think its just a matter of time before the stock markets in China feel the effects of this lending crisis. We haven’t seen anything yet.

Frequent visitors to the Philippines are pleased at this report: Foreign tourists may stay in RP up to 24 months — BI. These newly-liberalized rules – which come at the expense of reduced revenues at one of the Justice department’s more lucrative agencies – are in stark contrast to the more stringent regulations implemented by our neighbors.

At any rate, easing up on immigrant requirements should go a long way in attracting more visitors to the Philippines, especially Europeans who find travelling to these Islands a bit of a stretch. How many times have I flown the now-defunct Lufthansa route from Frankfurt to Manila via Bangkok fully booked with passengers, but only to see three-fourths of them disembark at the Land of Smiles? Not everybody, however, is pleased at this development. As the Manila Times harrumphed in a recent editorial:

“This rule is fraught with danger. The government must authorize every extension of visa. An extension must be requested and applied for. Without this safeguard, it could lose count of foreigners who have extended their stay. A responsible government must keep accurate figures on arriving, overstaying and departing foreigners.”

It goes without saying: Poor roads bad for tourism.

Elsewhere, Asia Sentinel warns that the United States may be the victim of a contagion far, far worse than the wave of substandard merchandise lapping up on its shores: inflation.