Alaminos National High School Classmates

The government’s budget deficit could swell to as much as P160 billion in 2009 or two percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said.

He stressed, however, that the government is still keeping its target to contain the deficit at P102 billion in 2009.

“What I’m saying is that the market will not punish us if the deficit is at two percent (of GDP),” Recto said.

Recto said the government would receive a positive reaction from the international financial if it is able to meet its commitment to contain the deficit at P102 billion for 2009.

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) chief earlier said the market already knows that the Philippines would not be able to balance the budget in 2010 given the need to spend more on infrastructure and social services.

However, Recto stressed that the government has not yet abandoned its balanced budget goal and would still try to erase the deficit in 2010, according to the revised schedule.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves admitted that the Philippines is finding it difficult to achieve a balanced budget by 2010, with the budget deficit expected to swell to P102 billion next year or P62 billion more than the original target of P40 billion.

However, Recto said having a deficit in 2009 and in 2010 would help cushion the economy from the negative impact of the global financial turmoil. He said the deficits would allow the government to spend more on infrastructure and social services.

The P102-billion programmed deficit for 2009 took into account higher expenditures of P1.467 trillion as the government plans to boost spending next year to help pump-prime the economy. This is above the original program of P1.433 trillion.

On the other hand, the government expects total revenues in 2009 to decline to P1.365 trillion from the original program of P1.393 trillion.

The latest budget deficit projection of P102 billion is above the revised deficit forecasts for 2009 of P75 to P80 billion.

For this year, the government is still hoping to contain the budget deficit within the program of P75 billion.

The government incurred a budget deficit of P4.3 billion in November, a marked turnaround from the P54.1-billion surplus recorded in the same period last year.

The November budget gap brought the country’s fiscal position for the January to November period to a deficit of P66.7 billion.

Source: http://philstar.com Business Archives

Thinking of investing in a business with low capital but with fast returns? You may want to take a look at what HDI Network Phils., (formerly High-Desert Phils. Inc.) is in store for you this year. Kim de Guzman-Subido, marketing and communications manager of HDI Network, in an interview with The Star, said on top of the company’s regular distributorship, they will be launching the HDI Network Business Club (BC) this year.

“This will be the most exciting business opportunity for 2008. It would only need a low capital of P23,220 for NCR (National Capital Region) and P23,700 (outside NCR). There will be no risk to prospective HDI BC partners,” Subido said.

By completing five perfect levels of downlines, a HDI BC partner can earn up to more than P5 million in only six months.

If a BC partner will register from April to June this year, he or she will qualify for a free all expenses paid 3-day trip to Hong Kong!

Although the HDI Business Club may require some sort of networking, Subido pointed out that this is definitely not a pyramiding scheme”.

“This is risk-free and will be a long-term venture. Our BC partners will be given the products valued at more than what they have signed-up. So this could not be called a pyramiding scheme. The value of the products that they can avail in exchange for their P23,220 is more than P33,000 plus a free trip to Hong Kong and a P5,000 cash incentive, when they sign-up their five partners” said Subido.

Specifically, the BC package will include: six sets of BC core products (HD Liquid Royale Jelly, HD Bee Propolis tabs, HD Pollenergy, a kilo HD Cover honey); a new distributor kit; and ID Card.

She said BC partners will start enjoying bonuses when they sign-up and get their partners plus cash incentives. “There is no need to sell the products. Our products sell itself because of its quality and effectiveness. All you have to do is get five partners and you will start getting big earnings.

“It’s a highly rewarding business opportunity. Interested BC partners can call us at 635-2431 or 33 or could visit the company’s website at www.hdinetwork.com.ph,” she said.

Subido also boasted that HDI Network is one of the pioneers in the multi-level marketing (MLM) industry in the country since 1989.

Aside from the Philippines, HDI has built its reputation on excellent products in other countries such as the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

In the Philippines, it has branches in key cities namely: Manila - Ortigas Center , Cebu, Davao, General Santos and Dagupan.

The HDI Group also has other business ventures in the country such as the HDI Holdings, a property/real estate development arm; HDI System Technologies, an IT development company; and HDI Resource, a subsidiary engaged in training and human resource.

Having been a trusted health supplement in the US, HDI products are being endorsed by three US presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr.

US senator Tom Harkin also endorsed the HDI products and was once quoted as saying “I was skeptical, but what the heck! I’ll try anything once. Little by little, I noticed how my allergies were starting to clear up with HD Aller Bee-Gone. I would say that in five days, my allergies that plagued me for 30 years were completely gone.”

It likewise inspired Harkin, chairman of the finance committee for Food and Drug Administration, to establish the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, to investigate and validate alternative therapies.

Year 2009 will be challenging. I know I will be hearing more of words like: “Recession, retrenchment, downsizing, rightsizing or even dumbsizing and this is why a lot of the talks I have given and will be giving will deal with handling difficult times.

Yes. Next year will be challenging but Jacob M. Braude says it very well: “Life is a grindstone; whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you’re made of.”

But we also have to look back and review. Maybe year 2008 has been a year of many mistakes. But yesterday is in the past. One wise person says: “Instead of crying over spilt milk, go milk another cow.” It’s never too late to have a brand new beginning.

Poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson says it beautifully: “FINISH EVERY DAY and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities crept in-forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old mistakes and nonsense.

And so here is a toast to the New Year. (This material is credited to anonymity)

May you have:

Enough success to keep you eager, Enough failure to keep you humble,

Enough joy to share with others, Enough trials to keep you strong,

Enough hope to keep you happy, Enough faith to banish depression,

Enough friends to give you comfort, Enough determination to make each day better than yesterday.

Let year 2009 be a bright and better brand new beginning for you and me!

“Asia is really the new frontier of business,” this is according to Dr. Angel Cabrera, a Spanish educator of America’s top-ranked Thunderbird School of Global Management. Cabrera continued. “That’s why so many more US and European corporations and business schools are coming here, that’s their obsession nowadays. The excitement with Asia is not just about lower labor costs, now it’s about Asia as the most promising market with unprecedented growth, with so many new consumers. The opportunities here in Asia are absolutely amazing. Our Thunderbird School has offices in Beijing and Singapore.”

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