Philippines drops global crisis response measures

The Philippine central bank said Thursday it had kept interest rates unchanged but would phase out "crisis response" measures introduced during the global financial meltdown.
The key measures focused on liquidity for banking institutions, but the central bank said they were no longer needed as the Southeast Asian nation's economy was showing strong signs of improvement.
"The Monetary Board noted that a broad range of indicators point to increasing momentum in domestic economic activity," it said in a statement after the policy-setting body's monthly meeting.