Arroyo: Philippine Economy has turned corner

This is from the AFP. With the slowdown in the U.S. and the higher peso value, exports will probably decline. Also, the value of overseas remittances will shrink in value at least those in U.S. dollars. The corner turned will probably be in terms of lower growth and inflationary problems caused by the increased price of oil.


Philippines economy has turned corner: Arroyo

MANILA (AFP) — Philippine President Gloria Arroyo told business leaders Monday that the country had made a permanent economic turnaround but conceded the ailing US economy was a concern.
"We are confident the turnaround is permanent," she told an international conference, citing economic growth of 7.3 percent in 2007, which was the highest rate in more than three decades.
She also cited growth over the past seven years, local currency strength, stock market resilience and the lower budget deficit, saying "the Philippines is on a path of permanent economic growth and stability."
But Arroyo conceded that the risk of a recession in the United States, the country's main trading partner, was a concern.
"The more connected we become ... the more we need to minimise the ups and downs of other nation's economic bubbles," she said.
She made no mention of the current political scandal surrounding her administration.
It has been alleged that her allies, including possibly her husband, tried to get millions of dollars in bribes out of a government broadband deal with a Chinese company.
Her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo has denied the claims.