My sister asked me to find her something that can describe the impact of US President Obama to the Philippines, and this was what I found.
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Although totally unscientific, The ones who had lived or traveled extensively in the United States thought that Obama would be a disaster for the Philippines. The ones who had never been there felt Obama was an incredibly good choice.
The Obama presidency will have a much greater impact on the Philippines than had McCain been elected. It is likely that McCain would have ignored the Philippines and his administration’s polices would have been of benign neglect toward the country. President Obama, on the other hand, based on what he said campaigning, could materially affect this country.
On the foreign-policy side, the Philippines utilizes the United States for its support in government operations against the various insurgent groups operating in the country. Although this support is resented by some groups, if the situation were to escalate dramatically, that support could be very important.
Obama has made it clear he favors a noncombative approach to dealing with groups like the New People’s Army, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf. Two potential problems exist for the Philippines.
If groups such as these are removed from the list of those that would actively fight against the Philippine government, it might encourage and facilitate other radical groups to give more funding and support to their efforts. Further, with a conciliatory attitude from an Obama administration, these groups might become more emboldened in their efforts to change, through violence, the Philippine political system. This is not a situation to be taken lightly by the government or the people. Foreign investment in the Philippines absolutely depends on the perception that the government has things under control. There will now be a wait-and-see attitude for several, if not many, months as the picture develops and becomes clearer.
In contrast, Obama is an internationalist in the sense that his group believes that hearts and minds are best won through dollars and cents. In this regard, we could see a turn- around in the kind of foreign aid the Philippines might receive. If the administration wants to see some of this free money, they might as well prepare to stand in line asking for increased foreign assistance.
Outsourcing and trade are two areas where the Philippines may suffer greatly under an Obama administration. Obama has publicly slammed US companies that are outsourcing operations to countries like the Philippines. In this matter, he has clearly stated he will reward those companies that do not outsource. The worst-case scenario with his political party controlling the US Congress is to pass laws that would actually penalize US companies that outsource. This would be a disaster for our growing outsourcing business.
As a result, you will probably see perhaps all planned outsourcing projects, from the creation of new centers to expansion, put on hold for several months. This could be very, very troublesome for the Philippines. Outsourcing operations are basically very inexpensive to set up. Because of that fact, these businesses could be closed almost overnight as they withdraw back to the United States. Not good at all.
Trade is another difficult issue for the Philippines. Obama does not like free trade. There is no doubt about that. He has called for a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement which has benefited both Mexico and Canada. He has opposed a free-trade agreement with long-time US ally Colombia. It is very possible that there will be increased pressure on Philippine exports to the United States for two reasons.
First, ideologically, Obama is against countries like the Philippines having greater access to the US markets. Second, regardless of World Trade Organization rules, he and his Congress may attempt to raise tariffs on goods from places like the Philippines. And, in order to pay for all his massive social-spending programs, increased tariffs would increase US government revenues.
We may even see a large slowdown in working visas to the United States for our skilled employees like nurses and IT people. Obama has campaigned for American jobs being held only by Americans.
One local newspaper columnist said he would have voted for Obama because Obama is intelligent, articulate, composed and able to think on his feet. Did he ever looked at any of Obama’s policies that might affect the Philippines.
Investing is about your money and your needs, whether it’s P100,000 or several million. Why should you even invest in stocks? How long can you afford to tie up your funds, and how much return are you seeking? Are you psychologically comfortable with the daily fluctuations, and how large a potential loss is too much?
Once you buy the selected issues, when is it time to take a profit? Should you take all your profit, or let some of the position continue? Taking a loss is always hard because a stock price that is down does not necessarily justify cutting the position. How do we know?
Investors need near-daily information and strategies in this economic and financial climate in order to make money. It is that simple.
Source: Outside the Box: President Obama and the Philippines
Although totally unscientific, The ones who had lived or traveled extensively in the United States thought that Obama would be a disaster for the Philippines. The ones who had never been there felt Obama was an incredibly good choice.
The Obama presidency will have a much greater impact on the Philippines than had McCain been elected. It is likely that McCain would have ignored the Philippines and his administration’s polices would have been of benign neglect toward the country. President Obama, on the other hand, based on what he said campaigning, could materially affect this country.
On the foreign-policy side, the Philippines utilizes the United States for its support in government operations against the various insurgent groups operating in the country. Although this support is resented by some groups, if the situation were to escalate dramatically, that support could be very important.
Obama has made it clear he favors a noncombative approach to dealing with groups like the New People’s Army, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf. Two potential problems exist for the Philippines.
If groups such as these are removed from the list of those that would actively fight against the Philippine government, it might encourage and facilitate other radical groups to give more funding and support to their efforts. Further, with a conciliatory attitude from an Obama administration, these groups might become more emboldened in their efforts to change, through violence, the Philippine political system. This is not a situation to be taken lightly by the government or the people. Foreign investment in the Philippines absolutely depends on the perception that the government has things under control. There will now be a wait-and-see attitude for several, if not many, months as the picture develops and becomes clearer.
In contrast, Obama is an internationalist in the sense that his group believes that hearts and minds are best won through dollars and cents. In this regard, we could see a turn- around in the kind of foreign aid the Philippines might receive. If the administration wants to see some of this free money, they might as well prepare to stand in line asking for increased foreign assistance.
Outsourcing and trade are two areas where the Philippines may suffer greatly under an Obama administration. Obama has publicly slammed US companies that are outsourcing operations to countries like the Philippines. In this matter, he has clearly stated he will reward those companies that do not outsource. The worst-case scenario with his political party controlling the US Congress is to pass laws that would actually penalize US companies that outsource. This would be a disaster for our growing outsourcing business.
As a result, you will probably see perhaps all planned outsourcing projects, from the creation of new centers to expansion, put on hold for several months. This could be very, very troublesome for the Philippines. Outsourcing operations are basically very inexpensive to set up. Because of that fact, these businesses could be closed almost overnight as they withdraw back to the United States. Not good at all.
Trade is another difficult issue for the Philippines. Obama does not like free trade. There is no doubt about that. He has called for a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement which has benefited both Mexico and Canada. He has opposed a free-trade agreement with long-time US ally Colombia. It is very possible that there will be increased pressure on Philippine exports to the United States for two reasons.
First, ideologically, Obama is against countries like the Philippines having greater access to the US markets. Second, regardless of World Trade Organization rules, he and his Congress may attempt to raise tariffs on goods from places like the Philippines. And, in order to pay for all his massive social-spending programs, increased tariffs would increase US government revenues.
We may even see a large slowdown in working visas to the United States for our skilled employees like nurses and IT people. Obama has campaigned for American jobs being held only by Americans.
One local newspaper columnist said he would have voted for Obama because Obama is intelligent, articulate, composed and able to think on his feet. Did he ever looked at any of Obama’s policies that might affect the Philippines.
Investing is about your money and your needs, whether it’s P100,000 or several million. Why should you even invest in stocks? How long can you afford to tie up your funds, and how much return are you seeking? Are you psychologically comfortable with the daily fluctuations, and how large a potential loss is too much?
Once you buy the selected issues, when is it time to take a profit? Should you take all your profit, or let some of the position continue? Taking a loss is always hard because a stock price that is down does not necessarily justify cutting the position. How do we know?
Investors need near-daily information and strategies in this economic and financial climate in order to make money. It is that simple.
Source: Outside the Box: President Obama and the Philippines
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