Pala-isip

Today is May 16, 2007 and I'm in the Philippines right now for a vacation. I was looking around about the real estate market and the general economy and here are some of my observations. As you may or may not know, the real estate market is booming. A lot of new developments are coming up and it looks like 1986 again. I was talking to a banker friend of mine and she said that the economy is doing very well because of the E-VAT. The budget is at a surplus, lending by the government is down so the new bond issues are at a lower interest rate. Hence, the increasing bond prices which made the UITF go up in value a lot. Now that it has stabilized, the UITFs are not returning as much anymore. Prime lending rate is at around 8% so it is pretty low since I recall about 3 to 5 years ago that rates are above 12%. Since lending rates is so low, this will help spur lending to buy homes and cars. Interest rates for savings is at around 3% and since the stock market is doing better. More investo...

Just read this on the Inquirer today. UP studies shows that Manila is getting hotter. Here's the article . The article shows that the average temperatures of Manila has risen 2.96 degrees Celsius for the month of May. UP says that this is due to lack of vegetation, converting natural land to asphalt and concrete. Other man-made factors are use of motorized vehicles, airconditioners and other power generation equipments. Now you don't need a study by UP to know that Manila is getting hotter. You can definitely feel it if you've lived in Manila long enough. I used to remember where we can play outside during the summer under the sun and enjoy a cool breeze in the night. But not anymore. With so many hi-rise buildings, almost no spacing for homes, traffic, pollution and the city government turning everything into concrete. It's no surprise Manila is getting hotter. What's with the clean and green when your definition of green is to pave the sidewalk and paint the walls...