Thailand

• Consumer confidence up in Oct – The consumer confidence index for October edged up from the previous month, attributed to the government’s planned Bt360bn economic stimulus measures to be implemented in the remaining months of the year. (The Nation, 7/11/14)
• Opinions divided on 2015 growth – Public policymakers, Pridiyathorn, remain upbeat that next year’s economic growth will be at least 4%, but an academic is skeptical about the forecast due to the fragile recovery. (Bangkok Post, 7/11/14)
• Excise tax under target – The excise department has reported that the excise tax collected in the first month of 2015 fiscal year was lower than forecasted as consumers has chosen to buy cheaper eco cars. (Thai Post, 7/11/14)

• As expected, MPC keeps rate at 2% – The Monetary Policy Committee yesterday surprised no one by voting overwhelmingly to leave the policy interest rate at 2 per cent in light of the “weaker than expected” economic recovery. (The Nation, 6/11/14)
• MPC will cut growth projection – The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will revise down its economic growth and export forecasts for this year and next due to a tepid domestic recovery, declining export growth and global economic uncertainty. (Bangkok Post, 6/11/14)
• Next General Election expected at the beginning of 2016 – Deputy Prime Minister Visanu Krue-ngam has denied suggestions that the new Constitution will be drafted in a way that keeps certain groups of people out of politics. Mr. Visanu stressed that the new joint working group will make sure that the new Constitution will be the very best possible, just as the NCPO intends, within the time frame of 120 days. He also suggested that the next general election will most likely take place at the beginning of 2016. (NNT, 5/11/14)
• Inflation rate at 12-month low in Oct – Ms Amparwon Pichalai, Director-General of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, reports the Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 107.32 in October 2014, rising 1.48% YoY and decreasing 0.1% compared to September. The figure indicated the lowest inflation in 12 months as oil prices in the global market slumped while higher agricultural output helped relieve the inflationary pressure. A 2.14% inflation rate is projected for the whole year of 2014, which is within the target range initially set by the Commerce Ministry. (NNT, 3/11/14)
• Deputy PM expects economic growth this year at 1.6-1.9% – M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula, Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs said that the Thai economy would grow by 1.6-1.9% this year due to the lack of new capital inflow and a delay in government investment projects as well as the slowdown in exports due to world’s economic problems. As part of his speech at “The AEC+3 Summit 2014: Moving Towards Prosperity with Regional Connectivity”, M.R. Pridiyathorn said he expected that the Thai economy next year to come back to normal and grow by 4%. (NNT, 3/11/14)
• Board of investment plans to bring SMEs from eastern and northeastern to Myanmar to study investment opportunities in four major cities – Mandalay, Pukam, Yangon, and Bago. (Thai Post, 4/11/14)
  Cabinet awaits tax bill – The draft bill for the inheritance and gift taxes will be offered for cabinet approval next Tuesday, while the land and buildings tax bill is expected to become law in the next five or six months, says Finance Minister Sommai Phasee. (Bangkok Post, 5/11/14)
• 10 new bridges – The cabinet has approved Bt50bn for the construction of 10 additional bridges across the Chao Phraya River which aims to relieve congestion on the existing bridges during rush hours and improve connectivity between inner Bangkok and the Thonburi side. (Thai Post, 5/11/14)
• Higher budget disbursement – Government spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalap said the budget disbursement in the first month of 2015 fiscal year is Bt367bn, Bt100,000 higher YoY. (Thai Post, 5/11/14)
• Tax benefit for energy-saving machines – The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency said SMEs who want to invest in new energy-saving machines will receive duty/tax exemption for import machine and also corporate tax exemption for 3 years. (Thai Post, 3/11/14)
• The Customs Department sets revenue target at Bt118bn for next year. The department will also focus on luxury car tax evasion in order to boost the revenue by Bt700-800mn. (Bangkok Biz, 3/11/14)

Globally

• OECD cuts global growth – In an assessment of the economic outlook ahead of a meeting of leaders from the Group of 20 in Australia later this month, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cuts its forecast for global growth in 2014 to 3.3% from 3.4% in May, and its 2015 forecast to 3.7% from 3.9%. (WSJ, 7/11/14)
• U.S. jobless benefits claims decline – In the week ending Nov. 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 278,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s revised level, while the four-week moving average of the claims, a smoother gauge, fell to the lowest level since April 2000, said the U.S. Labor Department. (Xinhua, 7/11/14)
• U.S. nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 2.0% annual rate during the third quarter, beating analysts’ estimate. (Xinhua, 7/11/14)
• ECB keeps its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.05% at its monthly meeting on Thursday. (Xinhua, 7/11/14)
• British industrial output increased by 1.5% between September 2013 and September 2014, said the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday. (Xinhua, 7/11/14)
• The Bank of England (BoE) votes to maintain Bank Rate, the benchmark interest rate, at 0.5%. The bank also voted to maintain the quantitative easing policy scheme, at £375bn (or US$600bn). (Xinhua, 7/11/14)
• PBOC confirms injecting RMB769.5bn base currency via MLF in Sept & Oct – The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, announced on Thursday that it established medium-term lending facilities (MLF) in September, and had pumped 769.5 billion yuan of base currency into the banking system in September and October. (Xinhua, 6/11/14)
• U.S. private sector job growth picks up in October – U.S. private companies added 230,000 jobs in October, up from 225,000 jobs in the previous month, said the National Employment Report released jointly by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Moody’s Analytics, based on a monthly survey. Private sector job gains have been above 200,000 in six of the past seven months, a healthy trend that is enough to reduce the unemployment rate. (Xinhua, 6/11/14)
• U.S. non-manufacturing sector continued to expand in October – The Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing index slipped to 57.1 in October from 58.6 in September, after touching a post-recession high of 59.6 in August. The fresh figure missed market forecast. (Xinhua, 6/11/14)
• The U.S. Services Business Activity Index down – Markit said its final reading of the U.S. Services Business Activity Index registered 57.1 in October, down from 58.9 of the previous month. (Xinhua, 6/11/14)
• Eurozone composite PMI in Oct. edges higher – The final Eurozone composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) edged higher to 52.1 in October, up from 52.0 in the prior month, Markit reported Wednesday. (Xinhua, 6/11/14)
  U.S. manufacturing sector activity grew at a slower pace in October, with the seasonally adjusted final Markit U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Mangers’ Index (PMI) slipping to 55.9 from 57.5 in September, the slowest overall improvement in business conditions for three months, according to financial data firm Markit. (Xinhua, 4/11/14)
• U.S. construction spending weaker than expected in September – Construction spending dropped 0.4% to an annual rate of US$950.9bn, the Commerce Department said on Monday. (Reuters, 3/11/14)
• U.S. manufacturing PMI registered 59 in October – The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said U.S. manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than three years in October. The ISM said the U.S. manufacturing PMI registered 59 in October, the strongest reading since March 2011. (Xinhua, 4/11/14)
• Eurozone manufacturing lackluster in October – Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was at 50.6 in October, up from September’s 14-month low of 50.3, reported Markit on Monday. The eurozone manufacturing sector remained in a state of near-stagnation in October, as weak demand continued to restrict growth of both output and employment across the board, Markit reported. (Xinhua, 4/11/14)
• German manufacturing sector rebounds in Oct – Markit’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector, which accounts for about a fifth of the economy, climbed to 51.4 from 49.9 in September, bouncing back above the 50 mark that denotes growth. The final figure was slightly below the flash reading of 51.8. (Reuters, 3/11/14)
• British manufacturing PMI climbs to 53.2 in October – British manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a gauge of the industry activities, climbed to 53.2 in October from September’s 17-month low of 51.5, said Markit Economics Limited on Monday. (Xinhua, 4/11/14)
• U.S. Deficit Decline to 2.8% of GDP – Robust economic growth has helped push the U.S. budget deficit down to the lowest level since 2008, marking the sharpest turnaround in the government’s fiscal position in at least 46 years. The shortfall of US$483.4bn in the 12 months ended Sept. 30 was 2.8% of the nation’s gross domestic product of US$17.2trn over the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg using Commerce Department figures. (Bloomberg, 4/11/14)
• U.S. new orders for manufactured goods in September decreased 0. 6%, worse than expected, the department said in a separate report Tuesday. (Xinhua, 5/11/14)
• U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services increased to US$43.0bn in September from the revised Bt40.0bn in August, said the Commerce Department Tuesday. (Xinhua, 5/11/14)
• Forecast shows EU to see slow growth amidst low inflation – The European Commission’s autumn forecast on Tuesday projected weak economic growth for the rest of this year in both the EU and the euro area. For the next two years, growth in the EU is forecast to rise to 1.5% in 2015 and then increase modestly to 2.0% in 2016, while in the eurozone, growth is forecast to rise to 1.1% and then 1.7% respectively, said the report. (Xinhua, 5/11/14)
• Japan’s automobile sales continue to fall in October, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Tuesday. Auto sales totaled 240,511 units in October, down 9.1% from the same period of last year. Sales were down 2.8% in September. At the same time, car sales declined 12.1% annually in October. (RTT News, 4/11/14)
• US personal consumption expenditure fell 0.2 percent, said the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday. (Xinhua, 1/10/14)
• The Chicago Business Barometer rose 5.7 points to a one-year high of 66.2 in October, fueled by gain in new orders, said the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago in a report. The figure topped market expectations. (Xinhua, 1/11/14)
• Eurozone annual inflation up to 0.4% in October – The eurozone’s estimated annual inflation rate rose to 0.4% in October from 0.3% in September, the European Union (EU) statistics office Eurostat said Friday. (Xinhua, 31/10/14)
• Eurozone jobless rate stable at 11.5% in September – The eurozone seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.5% in September, stable compared with August 2014, but down from 12.0% in September 2013, the European Union (EU) statistical office Eurostat said on Friday. (Xinhua, 31/10/14)
• British consumer confidence slips to minus 2 in Oct – The GfK/NOP composite index of consumer confidence edged down the second month in a row in October, as consumers felt more dismal on economic outlook than before, data showed market researcher GfK on Friday. (Xinhua, 31/10/14)
• German retail sales suffer biggest drop in seven years – Adjusted in calendar, seasonal and inflation fluctuations, retail sales in Europe’s biggest economy slumped by 3.2% month-onmonth in September, German Federal Statistical Office said. (Xinhua, 31/10/14)
• China Oct. manufacturing PMI retreats – The manufacturing purchasing manager’s index (PMI), a key measure of factory activity in China, posted at 50.8 in October, down 0.3 percentage points from September. (Xinhua, 1/11/14)
• Japan: Sept. housing starts fall 14.3% – Housing starts in Japan fell 14.3% in September from the year prior to 75,882 units, declining for the seventh straight month, according to government data released Friday. (Kyodo news, 31/10/14)