The recent surge in volatility has been bad news for developed markets. While the Philippine market has corrected because of the global macroeconomic headwinds enumerated below, there are also good news for the Philippines because of numerous factors.

The Bad News:
1) Standard and Poor’s historic downgrade of the US credit rating
2) Talks of a double-dip recession in the US has resurfaced
3) European debt crisis spreads to Italy and Spain
4) Possible downgrade of the credit rating of France in the wake of the US downgrade
5) Rumors of bank insolvencies in Europe and in the US
6) Huge technical damage in the stock market with China, Brazil and most of Europe already in bear territories
7) Market volatility hits fever pitch as the VIX registers highest level since May 2010 flash crash


The Good News:

1) The price of crude oil has already declined which is good for the Philippines because we import oil
2) Prices of agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, etc. have gone down substantially which is good for consumers.
3) The decline in oil and agricultural commodities should help keep Philippine inflation in check
4) Gold – one of the Philippines’ major mineral export – have broken to new all-time highs
5) The Philippines, along with other ASEAN countries, are now looked upon as more stable investment destinations
6) ROPs, other Philippine bonds, and the Philippine stock market have been relatively steady amidst the financial carnage in the Western developed world
7) The Philippine peso has stopped appreciating too swiftly which is good for exporters, OFWs and BPOs