P/$ rate stands at P46.53/$ 1.
The peso exchange rate closed at P46.53 to the US dollar last Friday at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., (PDEx). The weighted average rate stands at P46.526. Bank loans gain 6% in June The banking industry's total loan portfolio was 5.97 percent higher at...

Generali Philippines reports 46% income hike.
Byline: FIL C. SIONIL Generali Philippines Life Assurance Co. (Generali Pilipinas) reported a 46 percent uptick in its consolidated premium income, surpassing the P1 billion mark, largely due to its aggressive marketing of bancassurance through Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. According to Generali Pilipinas Executive...

Grepalife, RCBC boost bancassurance.
Grepalife (Great Pacific Life Assurance Corporation) has reinforced its partnership with Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) when it recently unveiled its new bancassurance channel, B-Secure. Through B-Secure, professional Grepalife Bancassurance Sales Officers (BSOs) will help clients discover an optimal mix of banking and insurance solutions to suit...

LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.
Byline: The Register-Guard Two bills aid health care reform Based on an editorial in the May 29 Register-Guard, our health care systems are embarrassingly inadequate and rapidly progressing toward total failure. We pay enormous costs in premiums, in the cost of goods and services, and...

President Bush's health care reform proposal: a social work perspective.
Since November 2006, health care reform has assumed center stage (Broder, 2007). Although Iraq was probably the central issue in the elections, health care played a significant role. Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have advocated solutions to the health care crisis. This article considers President Bush's...

P/$ rate closes at P46.08/$ 1.
The peso exchange rate closed higher at P46.08 to the US dollar yesterday at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx), from P46.17 the previous day. The weighted average rate depreciated to P46.167 from P46.118. Total volume amounted to $ 425 million. Gov't plans local borrowing ...

Weight-loss costs: a critical look at gastric surgery.
Obese people who opt for weight-loss surgery incur increased odds of subsequent hospitalization and, in some groups, a substantial risk of death, say researchers who have investigated this burgeoning treatment. Even so, some of the scientists say, those risks may be justified. Gastric-bypass surgery--which detours food around...

Medicaid benefit: car seats for kids a wise move; vehicle restraint system distribution was found to be more cost effective than most administered vaccines.
WASHINGTON -- Implementation of a Medicaid-funded program that would disburse child restraint systems to low-income children and educate families about their use would be more cost effective to Medicaid than are most currently administered vaccines, Jesse A. Goldstein reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics....

AIG adopts first policy on global climate change.
NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) -- American International Group Inc. this week became the first major US insurer to adopt a policy on climate change, saying it would develop projects to keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. The policy doesn't use the controversial term "global warming,"...

Insurance premiums continue rise.
Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums rose 7.7% in 2006, outpacing wages and inflation, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. The annual survey of employer health benefits found that on average, family health coverage costs $11,480 annually, with workers contributing an...