Thailand

• Budget disbursement down – Budget disbursement during the first three months of fiscal 2015 is expected to fall slightly short of the target. Deputy Finance Minister Wisut Srisuphan estimates Bt725bn or 28.2% of the annual budget expenditure of Bt2.575trn will be drawn down for the October-December period. (Bangkok Post, 19/12/14)
• 10% inheritance levy passes first hurdle amid opposition – An inheritance tax bill yesterday passed its first reading in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) as debate raged over whether it would help address social inequality, as intended, or trigger asset flight. (Bangkok Post, 19/12/14)
• MoUs with China to be inked today on deals for dual-track railways, rice and rubber – Thailand and China will today sign two memoranda of understanding in relation to the construction of dual-track railways in the Kingdom and China’s purchase of Thai rice and rubber. (The Nation, 19/12/14)

• MPC leaves interest rate unchanged – The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left its policy interest rate unchanged, as widely expected, at this year’s final meeting yesterday but again lowered its economic growth forecasts for this year and next due to conceivable downside risks. (Bangkok Post, 18/12/14)
• BoT’s rate-setting committee would revise down its economic growth forecast for this year and next due to foreseeable headwinds to growth momentum such as slower-than-expected budget disbursement, falling prices of agricultural produce, delays in public spending on infrastructure development projects and tepid private investment. Revised GDP forecasts are set to be announced on Dec 26. (Bangkok Post, 18/12/14)
• Thailand, Myanmar set to resume Joint Trade Commission – Thailand and Myanmar will next month resume the Joint Trade Commission for promoting closer economic cooperation and boosting bilateral trade, Deputy Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said yesterday. (The Nation, 18/12/14)
• Ministry studying cost structure of goods after reduction in diesel prices – With oil prices falling in the world market and the domestic price of diesel having been cut, the Commerce Ministry is reviewing the cost structure of goods. (The Nation, 18/12/14)
• November tax collection targets missed by B7bn – Tax revenue collection swung back to a shortfall of Bt7bn last month, emphasizing the fragile condition of the country’s economic recovery. (Bangkok Post, 15/12/14)
• Excise tax restructuring top of cabinet agenda – Legal amendments to change the excise tax base across the board to state-recommended retail prices from ex-factory prices will top the cabinet’s discussion tomorrow. (Bangkok Post, 15/12/14)
• State unveils new FDI strategy – Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has laid out his new strategy to promote foreign direct investment for seven years through 2021, to take effect this coming Jan 1. (Bangkok Post, 16/12/14)

Globally

• US leading economic indicator rises in November – The Conference Board leading economic index for the United States rose 0.6% in November, faster than market expectations of a 0.5% gain. (Xinhua, 19/12/14)
• U.S. initial jobless claims fall to six-week low – In the week ending on Dec. 13, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits declined by 6,000 to 289,000, the fewest since early November and below the key 300,000 mark for the 13th time in the past 14 weeks, U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. (Xinhua, 19/12/14)
• The seasonally-adjusted flash U.S. Services Purchasing Manager’ Index registered 53.6 in December, above the neutral 50 threshold but representing the weakest rate of growth since the weather-related slowdown in February, said financial data firm Markit. (Xinhua, 19/12/14)
• Philadelphia Fed Business Index Slows – The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday that its index of general business activity covering the regional factory sector fell to 24.5 in December after it had surged to 40.8 in November, the highest reading since December 1993. (Morningstar, 19/12/14)
• British retail sales see biggest gain in 10 years – Britain’s retail sales volume increased by 6.4% in November 2014 YoY, recording the highest year-on-year (YoY) growth since May 2004, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday. (Xinhua, 18/12/14)
• Ifo Business Climate Index in December rises for second consecutive month – The Ifo Business Climate Index for industry and trade in Germany rose for the second consecutive month from 104.7 points in November to 105.5 points in December, the Ifo institute reported here on Thursday. (Xinhua, 18/12/14)
• U.S. consumer prices fall in Nov. – Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.3% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared to unchanged index in October. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the so-called core CPI, increased 0.1% in November, compared to 0.2% increase in October. The core CPI was up 1.7% in the past 12 months. (Xinhua, 17/12/14)
• U.S. current account deficit widens in third quarter – The Commerce Department said on Wednesday the current account gap, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, rose 1.9% to US$100.3bn from a revised US$98.4bn deficit in the second quarter. (Reuters, 17/12/14)
• Eurozone inflation rate confirmed at just 0.3% – The eurozone’s inflation rate slowed to just 0.3% in November, the bloc’s statistics body has confirmed, keeping up pressure on the European Central Bank to act early next year. That is the joint-lowest inflation reading since late 2009, after prices fell 0.2% last month. The “core” inflation rate also stayed at 0.7% last month. (FT, 17/12/14)
• British unemployment rate remains at 6%. There were 1.96 million unemployed people in the period, registering a year-on-year decrease of 455,000. Compared with the figure of the previous quarter, the figure decreased by 63,000. (Xinhua, 17/12/14)
• U.S. consumer sentiment rises to eight-year high – The preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment in December, which records the figure for the first half of a month, edged up to 93.8 from 88.8, the highest reading since January 2007 and above the market forecast of 89.5. (Xinhua, 13/12/14)
• U.S. producer prices down in November – The U.S. producer prices decreased in November driven by falling energy costs, the Labor Department said Friday. The Producer Price Index (PPI), a gauge of inflation at the factory gate, fell 0.2% in November, following a 0.2% increase in October. (Xinhua, 15/12/14)
• Industrial output up by 0.1% in both eurozone, EU – Seasonally adjusted industrial output rose by 0.1% in both the eurozone and the 28-nation European Union (EU) in October, the EU statistical office Eurostat said Friday. On a year-on-year basis, industrial production increased by 0.7% in the eurozone and by 0.8% in the EU, said the Eurostat. (Xinhua, 12/12/14)
• China Jan-Nov. property investment up 11.9% YoY – China’s investment for property development totaled 8.6601 trillion yuan in the first eleven months this year, up 11.9% YoY, according to the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday. (Xinhua, 12/12/14)
• China growth could slow to 7.1%, PBOC researchers say – China’s economy could see growth slow to 7.1% next year from about 7.4% this year as a domestic-property slump weighs on the world’s second-largest economy, researchers from the nation’s central bank said. (WSJ, 14/12/14)
• U.S. industrial production advances 1.3% in November – U.S. industrial production advanced 1.3 percent in November, after edging up 0.1% in October, the Federal Reserve said on Monday. (Xinhua, 15/12/14)
• U.S. builder confidence falls slightly in December – The builder sentiment index fell to 57 this month, down from November’s reading of 58 and lower than the market expectation of 59, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Any reading over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. (Xinhua, 15/12/14)
• New York region manufacturing activity declines in December – According to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey, the headline general business conditions index dropped 14 points to -3.6, its first negative reading in nearly two years. (Xinhua, 15/12/14)