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Nikkei Asian Review ,   "Election risks reigniting Philippines inflation: Failure to fix economic bottlenecks leaves country vulnerable to price pressure" What might Milton Friedman make of the Philippines today? The Nobel economist popularized the theory that inflation is "always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon." Since the 1960s, his argument that demand for money controlled all prices won converts from London to Tokyo. Look no further than the Bank of Japan's deflation battle and you see the American's outsized influence 12 years after his death. But events in Manila show that even the great man was not always right. Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte's team demanded that the Manila central bank explain why the nation suffers the highest inflation in Southeast Asia. Though price pressures cooled in late 2018, the 5.2% annualized rate far exceeded the 2.9% gain in 2017. The response from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was to say to Dutert...

Philippine Daily Inquirer ,   "Learn from last year " Many experts agree: After suffering one of the most challenging years in recent memory, the Philippine economy is poised for a comeback this year. And this early into 2019, there are already several encouraging signs that give credence to this belief. For one, the local currency, a key barometer of foreign and local investors’ confidence in the local economy, has appreciated significantly since it hit multiyear lows last year. The equity market has also been on an upward trajectory in recent weeks, with the Philippine Stock Exchange Index no longer flirting with bear market levels as loss-weary investors had grown accustomed to just a few months ago, but with bull market territory that indicates the return of confidence in the country’s economic prospects. Then there is that issue of inflation — the main killer of confidence last year, which forced many consumers and business conglomerates to tighten their purse stri...

Nikkei Asian Review ,   "Apple held hostage by its Chinese puzzle ": How iPhone maker's success manufactured the rise of Huawei TAIPEI/ HONG KONG -- Soon after Tim Cook was hired by Apple's founder Steve Jobs in 1998 to whip the company's U.S.-focused supply chain into shape, he made a bold decision. Within two years he began shutting Apple's U.S. factories and outsourcing production to China. His decision drove down costs and gave Apple the resources it needed to develop its next blockbuster products, the iPod and iPhone. It also created a competitive manufacturing base, capable of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of workers with just a phone call. But eight years after Cook became CEO, this strategy is being called into question. Not only has it left Apple dangerously exposed in the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing, but the highly complex supply chain that Apple built in China over 20 years has given rise to one of its fiercest compe...

Nikkei Asian Review ,   " Asia shares blame for its export slump " A moment of reckoning for Asia's exporters is a time for somber reflection and for bold action. Since Jan. 1, the region's advanced economies reported export drops thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. First came news that December overseas shipments by South Korea fell 1.2% from a year earlier. Then it was Taiwan down 3%, Singapore down 8.5%, and now the biggest collateral-damage victim -- Japan down 3.8%. To no surprise, China also had a rough December. Exports slid 4.4%, the steepest decline in more than two years. Asia's biggest economy is, of course, the main target of Trump's protectionist jihad. But as China's neighbors sustain blows, they must accept some of the blame for their difficulties -- and make urgent adjustments.   [link] Vatican Insider,  " Pope Francis’ 'Montini-inspired realism'" The "criterion" of Christian...

By Reason Alone by Bacz Jakez   The Puritan Smile by Robert Neville This Mortal Flesh by Brent Waters The ABC of Relativity by Bertrand Russell  Catholicism, Protestantism, and Capitalism by Amintore Fanfani Can Ethics Be Christian? by James Gustafson    The Girard Reader Anthropology as an Aid to Moral Science by Antonio Rosmini 

Prayer and Common Sense by Thomas Green When the Well Runs Dry by Thomas Green Lend Me Your Hands by Bernard Meyer   Centering Prayer by Basil Pennington Unconditional Love by John Powell  The Truth About Trouble by Michael Scanlan  Ethical Communities and the Faith Community by Stuart Speiser  I Love You/I Hate You by Carlos Valles  The Search for Human Values by Cornelius Van der Poel   The Need for Contemplation by Rene Voillaume  Converting 9 to 5 by John Haughey

The Freeman's  Lastimosa: " Kaguliyang sa numero" Naproblema ang pipila nako ka higala nga may magsige og panawag ug text sa ilang mobile phones nga maningil sa utang o mangaway nila. Dihang nireklamo sa mga  kompaniya sa telepono, gipasabot sila nga posibleng ang mga tawag para sa mga kanhi tag-iya sa ilang mga numero. Tungod tingali sa kabarato sa SIM cards, nga mahimo  kang mag-ilis-ilis kada semana, mahimong nahutdan na ang mga telco sa mga numero nga gidestino sa National Telecommunications Commission nila. Dako ang kahigayonan  nga ang karaang mga numero nga wa na gamita maoy ilang gipamaligya ngadto sa bag-ong subscribers.   [kinatibuk-ang lindog] The Inquirer  "The Millenials" In the entirety of their young lives, the millennials have known only of the dysfunctional brand of democracy that has allowed corruption to thrive in the government.  They feel frustration and hopelessness because of the unending voices of discord that expose co...

Disappearing Ink by Dana Gioia On Art and Literature by Marcel Proust   Fragments of Grace: Search for Meaning at South Asia by Pamela Constable Bhagavad-Gita   The Wandering Scholars by Helen Waddell Liberty: Rethinking an Imperiled Ideal by Glenn Tinder  Small Is Beautiful by E. F. Schumacher The Closing of the American Mind by Anthony Bloom Where Have You Gone, Michaelangelo? by Thomas Day 20th Century Music: An Introduction by Eric Salzman Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers 

Philippine Star   There’s some good news as the nation marks Forestry Week starting today and hosts a five-day international gathering to mark the event. Studies conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization show that the quality of forest management in the Asia-Pacific region has generally improved, resulting in growth in planted and protected forest areas along with an increase in forestry products to meet growing demand.  [full text] Manila Bulletin The US-ASEAN Summit may have drawn considerable attention in the light of the ongoing South China Sea maritime dispute with China. But the economic plans discussed at the Summit, particularly the US-ASEAN Connect, may have been the most important important part of the two-day Summit in California last week. Along with the ongoing ASEAN integration process, the new US economic initiative could help bring about the long-awaited inclusive growth that will touch the lives of the masses of our people.  [full text] ...