Author: WWC NEWSDESK

Business

Philippine Stocks Rise as Inflation Eases to 6.1% — But the Peso’s Record Fall Tells a Different Story

MANILA — Philippine stocks finally received a piece of economic news investors could cheer. But underneath Friday’s modest rally was a far more uncomfortable message. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 21.18 points, or 0.35%, to close at 6,090.60 on September 4, extending its advance for a second straight session after government data showed inflation easing for a fourth consecutive month. The broader All Shares index increased 0.23% to 3,377.44. Mining and oil led sectoral gai

September 5, 2026

Business

Cebu Hog Farmers Get a Major Lifeline—But the Bigger Fight Is Just Beginning

CEBU — Cebu’s hog industry is getting another push toward recovery as the Central Visayas Pork Producers Cooperative (CeViPPco) and its industry partners step up efforts to help small-scale raisers rebuild their operations amid low hog prices, production challenges and continuing African Swine Fever (ASF) concerns. The latest intervention forms part of a broader effort to keep Cebu’s swine sector productive and protect the livelihood of backyard farmers who remain among the most vulnerable play

September 5, 2026

Business

DMCI Is Racing to Restore Its Exhausted Palawan Nickel Mine — But What Happens After the Last Tree Is Planted May Matter More

QUEZON, PALAWAN — Mining normally makes headlines when companies discover ore, open new pits or announce record production. DMCI Mining Corp. is now trying to attract attention for the opposite reason: what happens after the ore is gone. The Consunji-led miner says rehabilitation of its depleted Berong nickel mine in Quezon, Palawan, is running ahead of schedule, raising the possibility that major restoration work could be completed earlier than originally planned. But DMCI Mining President a

September 5, 2026

Business

Nearly 1,000 MW Vanished From the Visayas Grid and Brownouts Followed — But the Biggest Test Comes on September 11

MANILA — The Philippines’ power problem in the Visayas is no longer looking like a one-day shortage. A cascade of power-plant outages has repeatedly pushed the regional grid into red-alert territory, forced rotational brownouts and exposed just how little room the system has when major generating units suddenly fail. On Friday, September 4, both the Visayas and Mindanao grids were placed under red alert after multiple generating plants went offline or operated below normal capacity. The situat

September 5, 2026

Business

2GO Just Put Bus, Van and Ferry Trips Into One Booking — And It Could Change How Filipinos Travel Across the Islands

MANILA — For millions of Filipinos, getting from one island to another has often meant stitching together separate bus tickets, ferry bookings, van transfers and terminal schedules. 2GO Travel now wants to turn that fragmented journey into one itinerary. The shipping company has launched TraveLink, a multimodal travel service that combines 2GO sea fares with connecting bus and van transportation, allowing passengers to arrange multiple legs of a domestic trip under a single booking. Instead of

September 5, 2026

Politics

Russia Strikes Ukraine’s SBU Headquarters in Kyiv—Then Zelensky Signals What Comes Next

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia has struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s powerful Security Service (SBU) in the heart of Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the drone was aimed directly at the office of the agency’s acting chief. The daytime attack on Friday, September 4, marked a striking escalation in Russia’s aerial campaign against the Ukrainian capital. The SBU headquarters stands on Volodymyrska Street, directly opposite the historic St. Sophia Cathedral and near other major

September 5, 2026

Philippines

Davao Jails See Big Drop in Overcrowding—But One Facility Still Has a Shocking 529% Congestion Rate

DAVAO CITY — Jail overcrowding in the Davao Region has eased significantly this year, with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Region XI (BJMP-XI) reporting a 162 percent average congestion rate from January to August 2026, down sharply from 208 percent during the same period in 2025. The decline represents a 46-percentage-point reduction, or roughly a 22 percent decrease relative to last year’s rate. Despite the improvement, BJMP officials stressed that the region’s jails remain seri

September 5, 2026

Business

AMC Jumps, Lululemon Crashes and Rare-Earth Stocks Rally as Wall Street’s Premarket Turns Wild

NEW YORK — Before Wall Street even opened Friday, investors were already dealing with several very different market shocks. AMC Entertainment jumped. Lululemon collapsed. U.S. rare-earth stocks rallied. Samsara and Planet Labs surged. Adobe dropped after naming its next CEO. And a group of enterprise-software stocks learned an increasingly painful lesson: beating yesterday’s numbers may no longer be enough. CNBC’s September 4 premarket snapshot showed just how fragmented the U.S. market has be

September 5, 2026

Business

Samsung’s ₱50.7-Billion Philippine Expansion Is Bringing 30 Korean Suppliers to Scout Sites — But the Bigger Prize Is the Supply Chain

MANILA — Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ massive expansion in the Philippines may be about to trigger something potentially more important than one big investment: an entire ecosystem of suppliers following it into the country. Around 30 Tier 1 suppliers of Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd. are expected to visit the Philippines in October to conduct due diligence and evaluate possible investment sites, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. The companies are being courted as the gove

September 5, 2026

Japan

Takaichi Congratulates Meloni After Italy’s Historic Political Record—But Her Message Reveals Something Bigger

ROME/TOKYO — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has reached a political milestone few Italian leaders have managed in the postwar era, prompting congratulations from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as Tokyo and Rome look to deepen their strategic partnership. Meloni’s government became the longest continuously serving government in the history of Italy’s postwar republic on September 4, surpassing the previous record held by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The milestone came

September 5, 2026