The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by its high level of annual remittances from overseas workers, no sustained runup in asset prices, and more moderate debt, prior to the crisis. From a 0.6% decline in 1998, GDP expanded by 2.4% in 1999, and 4.4% in 2000, but slowed to 3.2% in 2001 in the context of a global economic slowdown, an export slump, and political and security concerns. Average GDP growth accelerated to about 5% between 2002 and 2006 reflecting the continued resilience of the service sector, and improved exports and agricultural output. Nonetheless, it will take a higher, sustained growth path to make appreciable progress in the alleviation of poverty given the Philippines' high annual population growth rate and unequal distribution of income. The Philippines also faces higher oil prices, higher interest rates on its dollar borrowings, and higher inflation. Fiscal constraints limit Manila's ability to finance infrastructure and social spending. The Philippines' consistently large budget deficit has produced a high debt level, and this situation has forced Manila to spend a large portion of the national government budget on debt service. Large unprofitable public enterprises, especially in the energy sector, contribute to the government's debt because of slow progress on privatization. Credit rating agencies have at times expressed concern about the Philippines' ability to service the debt, though central bank reserves appear adequate and large remittance inflows appear stable. The implementation of the expanded Value Added Tax (VAT) in November 2005 boosted confidence in the government's fiscal capacity and helped to strengthen the peso, making it East Asia's best performing currency in 2005-06. Investors and credit rating institutions will continue to look for effective implementation of the new VAT and continued improvement in the government's overall fiscal capacity in the coming year. More finance information from Philippines:

General Economic Links:

Chase.com With many branches across the U.S., Chase provides many personal and business banking services DealBook The New York Times online daily digest of finance news and analysis is constantly updated during the market day. Federal Trade Commission – Credit The credit section of the FTC’s website has lots of great consumer information and articles Financial Times This venerable international business newspaper reports extensively on business and stock markets. Financial-portal.com Portal presents comprehensive financial resources, articles, news, stats, indexes, financial institutions etc: - articles on financial topics - financial news - latest currency charts - latest gold, silver, platinum and other precious metal prices - current financial indexes and dynamic graphs - universal currency converters (all major currencies) - stock, commodity and other major exchanges Finweb.com - the independent financial portal "Financial security. Everyone wants it; few have it. Many do not realize that true financial security requires strength in every area of one’s financial affairs. It requires a systematic approach, a strategic plan implemented over time, in order to obtain it. But it can be obtained. With the proper educational training and discipline, financial stability and security is within anyone’s grasp. That’s why we’re here: to provide you with a solid foundation of valuable financial knowledge from which to proceed..." Fitch Ratings Provides independent global credit rating information for the world’s credit markets Forbes.com Extensive coverage of business and financial news, Forbes is one of the premier sites covering the world of business. Google Finance Google Finance provides an unclutered interface to finance news, market summary with graphs, stock quotes, top movers and other indicators. Also search companies by stock code. Kiplinger Personal finance site that offers calculators, business news, quotes and much more personal finance information MarketWatch This Dow Jones operated site provides personal finance news, advice and stock market data and analysis MSN Money The MSN (Microsoft Network) provides a finance portal including latest finance news, market updates and resources. United States Department of the Treasury The federal agency concerned with the financial and economic growth of the United States. Yahoo Finance The Yahoo search engine provides a finance portal with breaking news, market summaries and editor articles.