RLC plans 16 more malls in 5 years.
Byline: JAMES A. LOYOLA Robinsons Land Corporation aims to take advantage of the strong growth in consumer spending by undertaking to build 16 new malls nationwide over the next five years at a cost of about P12 billion. In an interview after the firm's annual...

GDP growth at 6% range in Q2.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN The second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to post a similar high growth in the 6 percent range, just a "little" lower than the first quarter GDP growth of 6.9 percent, an official from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) said....

US Q3 GDP rises less than expected 3.7 %.
WASHINGTON (XFNAsia)The US economy grew at a strong, but less-than-expected 3.7 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. The growth rate in real gross domestic product accelerated from the 3.3 percent recorded in the second quarter as consumer spending increased. The gain was less...

PCCI sees earlier-than-expected rebound.
Will depend on how gov't pushes pump priming An earlier-than-expected recovery of the Philippine economy is seen next year if no new major crisis upsets signs of faster rebound. However, it would depend on how the economy is revved up by President Arroyo's economic managers in 2002,...

Near-term outlook cautious. (Stock Index).
Broad equity indices and lodging stocks experienced gains during the four-week period ending April 7 amid progress with military action in Iraq. But the indices and lodging stock prices continued to remain more than 20 percent below previous-year levels. Economic news during the time period was unfavorable,...

Economic growth foreseen.
Lodging stocks outperformed the broad equity indices for the four-week period ending July 15, with 32 of the 40 stocks in the Pricewaterhouse-Coopers' lodging stock index experiencing gains. Increases in ISM's new orders and production component indices to above 50 (representing expansion) in May and June and...

BSP lowers key rates by 0.5% effective Monday.
The Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has approved another 50 basis points cut in its key overnight interest rates to 13 percent for borrowing and 15.25 percent for lending, effective Monday. However, BSP Governor Rafael B. Buenaventura said the tiering...

Oil fall lifts Asia shares; dollar hits new low.
Byline: ANDREW CALLUS SINGAPORE, Dec. 2 (Reuters) Asian shares touched multiyear highs on Thursday, in line with Wall Street, as a 7.4 percent crude oil price slump and strong US economic data swept aside export worries even as the dollar hit a new low against the euro....

NEWS IN BRIEF.
Peso closes at P55.59/$ The peso closed at P55.59 to the US dollar last Tuesday at the Philippine Dealing System of the Bankers Association of the Philippines. The weighted average rate stands at P55.546. Financial markets will open today afer the long Christmas holidays. BSP...

IMF upgrades full-year RP growth outlook to 2.9%.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised, albeit conservatively, upwards its gross domestic product (GDP) projection on the Philippines for the full year 2001 to 2.9 percent from an earlier expectation of 2.5 percent. The healthier domestic economic output of the country for this year was contained...