Thailand

• Ministry of Finance to propose 8% wage hike for civil servants in October. According to the original proposal, the plan wage increase would happen in April 2015; however the permanent secretary wishes to move it forward. This will increase government spending by about Bt20bn. (Post Today, 22/08/14)
• G2G sale to Philippines ditched — Thai rice exporters have abandoned the government’s G2G rice sale with the Philippines due to the amount of red tape. They will now look to selling rice to Malaysia, as the process seems more manageable. (Thai Post, 22/08/14)
• FTI manufacturer confidence increases to 89.7 from 88.4 in the previous month. This is a three month consecutive increase, and an eight month high since November 2013. (Baan Mueng, 21/08/14)

• BMTA to start pricing new bus contracts in August, and will likely start the bidding process in late September or early October. The BMTA will start receiving new buses in April at a rate of 300 buses per month until all 3,183 buses are received. (Thai Post, 21/08/14)
• BoI changes strategy – The Board of Investment yesterday gave the nod in principle to the new investment promotion strategy for 2015-21, which focuses on industries that will lead to a change in the country’s economic structure, the creation of value-added businesses and sustainable growth. (The Nation, 20/08/14)
• Mandatory pension funds proposed — The Association of Provident Funds (AOP) will submit a proposal to the NCPO to establish mandatory pension funds, which will allow more voluntary contribution from employees. The current law states that employees cannot contribute more than the employer. The association wishes pension funds to be mandatory for all business sectors, working in tandem with the SSO. (Thai Post, 20/08/14)
• Inheritance tax closer to reality – The Finance Ministry hopes to impose an inheritance tax of 5-30% of asset value on bequest beneficiaries, and a draft proposal now with the Council of State pushes the long-awaited tax a step closer to implementation. (Bangkok Post, 20/08/14)
• NESDB lowers upper level of GDP growth for this year – The National Economic and Social Development Board yesterday tweaked its maximum economic-growth forecast down from 2.5% to 2.0% for this year on external risks despite the escape from a recession in the second quarter and better-than-expected performance in the first half. (The Nation, 19/08/14)
• Gen Prayut says FY2015 budget will start development for the dual track railways. He maintains that the government deficit cannot be allowed to balloon to maintain sustainable growth rate of 3.5-4.5% in the future. (Post Today, 19/08/14)
• Revenue Dept. says poor will be not be affected by the new inheritance tax. The head of the Revenue Department said that the new law will have variable tax levels against income. (Post Today, 19/08/14)
• NESDB will likely hold the GDP forecast at 1.5-2.5% with 2Q14 negative but with signs of recovery. The benefit of government spending will likely be moved to be reflected in 4Q14 GDP, with politics being the main risk. (Krungthep Thurakij, 18/08/14)
• NCPO approves Revenue Dept. tax revamp plan. The proposal includes taxes on idle land and higher property taxes. The proposal will have to be approved by the NLA before becoming law. (Post Today, 18/08/14)
• Commerce Ministry removes import tariff on corn from ASEAN for the next three years. It also announced a successful match-making trip to Myanmar between Thai textile companies and local Burmese counterparts. (ASTV Manager, 18/08/14)

Globally

• U.S. existing home sales continue to increase in July – According to a report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.15mn in July from a slightly downwardly-revised 5.03mn in June. (Xinhua, 21/08/14)
• U.S. jobless claims fall to 298,000 – The report showed that in the week ending Aug. 16, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits fell to 298,000, some 14,000 less than the revised level of the previous week. (Xinhua, 21/08/14)
• U.S. manufacturing activity expanded at the highest pace in more than four years, with the seasonally adjusted Markit Flash U. S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registering 58.0 in August, said financial data firm Markit. (Xinhua, 21/08/14)
• German employment increases in Q2 – Roughly 42.5mn people were in employment between April and June. Adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, 100,000 more people were in employment in the second quarter than in the first three months this year, German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said in a statement. (Xinhua, 21/08/14)
• China’s manufacturing activity at three-month low: HSBC – The HSBC/Markit China flash manufacturing PMI for August dipped to 50.3 from a final reading of 51.7 in July, making the lowest rate in three months as both output and new orders slowed, according to HSBC’s preliminary purchasing manager’s index (PMI), released on Thursday. (Xinhua, 21/08/14)
• U.S. crude stockpiles lost 4.5mn barrels to 362.5mn barrels for the week ended Aug. 15, topping market expectation of 1.7mn, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). (Xinhua, 20/08/14)
• Hollande vows no change as French economy stagnates – France’s Socialist President François Hollande vowed Wednesday to stick to a fiscal program he set out in January, even as he returned from a short vacation to find that the country’s economy stagnant and fewer French people trusting his policies can repair the situation. (WSJ, 20/08/14)
• Eurozone construction output down by 0.7% in June – The eurozone seasonally-adjusted production in the construction sector fell by 0.7% in June from the previous month, the European Union’s (EU) statistics office Eurostat said on Wednesday. (Xinhua, 20/08/14)
• U.S. housing starts rise sharply in July – U.S. privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,093,000 last month. It was 15.7% above the revised June estimate of 945,000, and was 21.7% above the year-ago level. (Xinhua, 19/08/14)
• U.S. consumer prices rise at slowest pace in five months – The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, increased 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, after an increase of 0.3% in June. Over the last 12 months, the index increased 2.0% before seasonal adjustment. (Xinhua, 19/08/14)
• South Asia’s economy to shrink by 9% due to climate change: ADB – Climate change will slash up to 9% off the South Asian economy every year by 2100 if the world continues on its current “fossil-fuel intensive path,” the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday. (Xinhua, 19/08/14)
• U.S. home builder confidence in August rose for a third straight month to the highest level since January. The National Association of Home Builder/Wells Fargo said Monday that the Housing Market Index for August rose two points to 55 in the market for newly built, single family homes, beating market consensus. (Xinhua, 18/08/14)
• Eurozone goods trade surplus up to €16.8bn in June – First estimates for the eurozone’s goods trade surplus in June was €16.8bn (US$22.5bn), compared with €15.7bn in June last year. Compared with May 2014, seasonally-adjusted exports fell by 0.5% while imports rose by 0.5%. (Xinhua, 18/08/14)
• Ukraine’s industrial output plunges 12.1% in July – Ukraine’s industrial output dipped 12.1% in July year-on-year due to the unrest in eastern regions, the country’s industrial heartland, the State Statistics Service said on Monday. (Xinhua, 18/08/14)
• China’s FDI inflows falter again in July – Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland fell sharply again in July, slumping 16.95% from a year earlier to US$7.81bn, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. (Xinhua, 18/08/14)