Growth in the Philippine economy last year at 6.7 percent definitely makes for an exemplary performance in a global environment of political and economic uncertainty in the year that was. Yet, nitpickers among some quarters of society would always find reason to be unhappy no matter how well this newly resurgent economy performs, and profit-seekers among stock market day traders would always wish the numbers game would make them ever richer. Nothing should have surprised, much less disappointed, the market about the official full-year 2017 GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent. (Read more of the three banks’ comments on the economy in the banner story of today’s business section.) It pays for the government and investors to heed the warnings from the StanChart expert: “The biggest risk to global growth in 2018 is complacency; warning signs, if ignored, could turn ‘barks’ into ‘bites.’”

Source: Manila Times January 24, 2018 16:30 UTC