Fear of Poe drags peso to all-time low; stocks fall (Philippines election)

[IndianaGreen]

President Arroyo is authoritarian and a Bush puppet. Having her candidacy being challenged by an actor must really stick in her craw, particularly since she deposed another actor, President Estrada, to take power in a bloodless coup.

Fear of Poe drags peso to all-time low; stocks fall
Posted: 11:34 PM (Manila Time) | Nov. 27, 2003
By Clarissa S. Batino
Inquirer News Service

'Risk factor'

THE PRESIDENTIAL bid of popular actor Fernando Poe Jr. spooked Philippine financial markets Thursday, pulling the peso down to an all-time low of 55.85 to the dollar and pulling share prices down by nearly two percent.

Poe's candidacy in the 2004 presidential election, coupled with a warning by New York-based Moody's Investor Service that the Philippines faced a possible credit ratings downgrade, heightened fears of investors despite news of a better-than-expected third-quarter economic growth of 4.4 percent.

Adding to the market worries was a finding of an independent polling group that Poe, a high school dropout with no record of public service, had a fair chance of succeeding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and dashing her hopes of winning a fresh six-year term.

Traders and analysts said there were widespread concerns that a Poe presidency would be similar to the scandal-tainted, mismanaged administration of Joseph Estrada, Poe's best friend and fellow movie actor.

http://www.inq7.net/nat/2003/nov/28/nat_1-1.htm