Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

  Just reading the news today from Inquirer Business about the recent panic selling. I'm not surprised given the financial and economic illiteracy in the Philippines. Here's an excerpt that gave me multiple reactions in regards to how they reacted to the bear market: Philippine stocks waded deeper into bear territory on Wednesday, with the benchmark index losing another 2 percent as fearful investors continued to dump their holdings over global recession worries and the falling peso. Stock brokers said the pace of selling had slowed from Tuesday’s bloodbath, which saw the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) plummet nearly 4 percent, amid early estimates on the damage to agriculture caused by Typhoon “Karding” (international name: Noru). Yesterday, the benchmark measure fell 2.33 percent, or 140.39 points, to 5,879.68 while the broader All Shares index lost 2.12 percent, or 68.59 points, to 3,165.64. One retail-focused broker described panic selling from many clients over the

It's very annoying how social media can get from hardheaded boomers to millennials who think they're right all the time. Luckily, there are some wise old men like Warren Edward Buffett. Social media can become a more destructive tool these days. However, I feel that the use of social media can be good. Right now, the news of the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) has been lower. The scores have been dropping and the recent PSEi score today closed with 5897.68 . I wouldn't be surprised if I open Facebook and I find people making all sorts of social media gossip again. But again, the question is would I listen to the wise old grandpa of investors, Buffett, or would I listen to social media gossipers (read here )? Would you listen to a senile old man who's obsessed with government handouts or would you listen to an investor who can help you get out of poverty? One thing Buffett mentioned is the need for a  good temperament . You need to avoid taking pleasure of going w

CoRRECT Movement It's the -ber months and it's only 90+ days before Christmas . I feel like every year, Christmas gets worse . Just Google "Christmas Day disasters" and let's stop thinking Christmas is some magical special time where the world is at peace with love. At this point, I feel like always complaining about last-minute Christmas shopping (read here ). It's been a leading cause of traffic. Some people even plan to do their shopping on December 24th. Some argue that some people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Some are still waiting for their Christmas bonuses. However. one must question why they don't have money left. Think every dumb way possible to drain that paycheck (read here ). One can take a look at  poor money habits such as putting your wants over needs. People living paycheck-to-paycheck should focus on their needs, maybe avoid payday blowouts as much as possible, and focus on trying to make ends meet first before anything. Yet, we know

Simple Sum Philippines As Christmas draws near, it's very easy to think about bad money habits, right? I remembered I used to overspend as a teenager and I had to deal with not having much money. Though, it was also a problem when generational stinginess strikes. Is it me or are the baby boomer (1946-1964) tend to be that stingy except for a few? What irritates me is when these kinds of habits strike: The opposite extremes of being either stingy or extravagant . Being thrifty is the middle road. When a family either doesn't value competence or overemphasizes being on top. I think a good topic that I wanted to write about for some time is passing down stingy habits. It gets irritating talking to typical boomers who feel like they've achieved a lot. What's worse is when they complain that their children aren't matching them. I wonder if baby boomers are also the reason why the Philippines got stuck with K+10 for a long time . All the while, the ASEAN neighbors have al

  It's September and the countdown to Christmas began on September 1. One thing worth noting is why I personally hate December is the abundance of last-minute Christmas shopping . There's a lot of traffic to deal with one way or another. It's going to be a year after Odette hit last December 2021. I guess many last-minute Christmas shoppers were crying that they don't get to experience the thrill. This reminds me of a lot of stuff that was presented in regard to poor timing. Yup, timing in the Philippines is notoriously bad and the term "Filipino time" is almost synonymous with being late .  Analyzing the logic behind last-minute Christmas shopping Here's an article called " The Neuroscience Behind Last-Minute Christmas Shopping " by  Jocelyn Solis-Moreira. This is an excerpt that may help explain the mentality of last-minute Christmas shopping: Gift-giving is stressful. Even if you’re excited to get someone a present, the pressure of finding som

IBON Foundation I'm getting amazed at how IBON Foundation still has their ever-destructive obsession with ayuda (read here ). Lately, they have written another article where they say that high inflation "confirms" the need for real ayuda which means cash handouts (read here ). That's totally one thing whenever IBON Foundation decries the need for foreign direct investment (FDI) but they keep saying that cash handouts are good for the economy. That statement is purely stupid because handouts equals expenses and there's really no long-term  Return on Investment (ROI) on that one!  However, for the Philippine government to be able to give more cash handouts without FDIs (and rely too much on local businesses)--it can mean doing the following: Start raising taxes for the rich in order to provide more money for cash handouts. If taxes from the rich aren't enough--why not print more money, right?  The demand for ayuda worth PHP 10,000.00 is utterly stupid. The two &

Is it me or is Christmas celebrated too early in the Philippines? It's only September and the Christmas countdown begins. It's already noted by CNBC that Christmas is celebrated longest in the Philippines (read here ). That's something I'm not proud of. It's common to have Jose Mari Chan (now 77 years old) as a meme. It's September 1 and I start to hear "Christmas in Our Hearts" on the radio. Personally, I feel I'm going to hate the Christmas season even more due to several factors. Heavy traffic, people asking for "pinaskohan" (Christmas giveaway), and I could also say a cheerless Christmas after Odette. No, Christmas isn't a magical day where nothing can go wrong. If you don't believe me--Google "Christmas day disasters" and you'll find some people have bad memories associated with Christmas. There was even an event in the Philippines called the Cheerless Christmas when the Empire of Japan took over during the Seco