Thailand

• Corruption at lowest level in 5 years : survey – The corruption situation index improved to 49 points last month from 46 in June. Perceived corruption has hit the lowest level in five years, thanks to greater awareness of the problem and scrutiny by society, according to a survey by the university and the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand. (The Nation, 23/1/15)
• FDI approved – The Commerce Ministry’s Business Development Department has given approval for 37 foreign firms with initial investment capital of Bt1.66bn to set up operations in Thailand this month under the Foreign Business Act. (The Nation, 23/1/15)
• Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) reached a 14-month high in December – Suparat Sirisuwannangkura, vice chairman of the FTI, said the survey of 1,153 operators from 42 industries found that TISI reached climbed 3 points to 92.7 in December from 89.7 in November, thanks to robust domestic sales of fashions, food and electric appliances over the New Year and of cars over the Motor Expo. However, a TISI score below 100 still indicates weak confidence. (The Nation, 22/1/15)

• Bt244 bn earmarked for water projects – The National Water Resources Policy Committee yesterday revealed an investment budget of Bt110bn for fiscal 2015 and Bt134bn for fiscal 2016 as part of its 10-year water-management plan from 2015 to 2024. (The Nation, 22/1/15)
• Gloomy global outlook worries exporters – FTI said yesterday that exporters are concerned about the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s downgrading of their forecasts for global economic growth, but that it has decided to maintain its projection for the country’s exports to expand by 4% this year. (The Nation, 22/1/15)
• Monetary easing, oil in focus at BoT – The Bank of Thailand had already anticipated theInternational Monetary Fund’s mark-down of likely global economic expansion this year, so its external focus is on the repercussions from crashing oil prices, quantitative easing in the eurozone and Japan, and heightened geopolitical tensions originating from Russia. (The Nation, 22/1/15)
• Undaunted retailers keep expanding – The flagging purchasing power of medium- and lowincome consumers helped limit retail sales growth to 3.2% last year, missing the Thai Retailers Association’s 5-6% projection. (The Nation, 22/1/15)
• Rice losses expected to top Bt682bn – Financial losses incurred from rice subsidy schemes dating back to 2004 are likely to exceed the estimated Bt682bn, says the Finance Ministry. (Bangkok Post, 22/1/15)
• Treasury to support land plots to SEZ – The treasury department said it is prepared to provide 2,500 rai of land to attract the private sector to invest in the special economic zones (SEZ). (Bangkok Biz, 21/1/15)
• Urgent meet sought on baht – In the wake of global currency volatility, the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Thai Chamber of Commerce will soon call for a meeting with the Bank of Thailand to discuss currency risk and hear the bank’s views on how to balance the rate of the baht to ensure benefits for exports, imports and investment. (The Nation, 21/1/15)
• Nong Khai added to first phase of SEZ development – The special economic zone committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has agreed to include Nong Khai in the first phase of SEZ development in addition to the other five locations already approved. (Bangkok Post, 20/1/15)
• Thai economy ‘to grow 3% despite capital market fluctuation’ – The economy will expand by more than 3% this year but the capital market will be full of fluctuations caused by global uncertainties, the Institute of Directors (IOD) was told yesterday. (The Nation, 20/1/15)
• Prices drop for construction supplies – Following the collapse of fuel costs, the retail prices of building and other basic materials will be reduced in stages by 2-7.7 per cent to ensure fairness to consumers, according to the Internal Trade Department. (The Nation, 20/1/15)

Globally

• ECB to inject over one trillion euros to stimulate economy, inflation – From March this year, the ECB and national central banks in the euro zone will purchase bonds and securities from euro zone governments, agencies and European institutions in addition to the existing purchasing programs of bonds and securities issued in private sector. According to ECB President Mario Draghi, the total purchasing will amount to €60bn (about US$69bn) per month. It would last at least until the end of September 2016, and could be extended until the ECB saw a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation which is consistent with its medium-term inflation maintenance target of below, but close to, 2%. (Xinhua, 23/1/15)
• ECB’s stimulus decisions help raise inflation expectations: IMF chief – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde welcomed Thursday the latest decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to launch a massive stimulus program in an effort to support the eurozone’s fragile economy. (Xinhua, 22/1/15)
• Merkel appeals for urgent fiscal reform in Europe at WEF – The German leader made her speech prior to the announcement of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Thursday decision to start quantitative easing by purchasing public and private securities in a bid to address prolonged low inflation. Merkel highlighted that whatever the decision of the ECB on quantitative easing, European leaders must not be diverted from continuing with meaningful structural reforms. (Xinhua, 23/1/15)
• U.S. initial jobless claims fall from 7-month high – The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid fell last week from a seven-month high, U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. In the week ending on Jan. 17, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits edged down to 307,000 after hitting a seven-month high of 317,000 in the prior week, the department said. (Xinhua, 23/1/15)
• U.S. house prices rose 0.8% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month’s revised reading of 0.4 percent, beating market consensus, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. (Xinhua, 23/1/15)
• Foreign capital inflows via Shanghai-HK stock link program limited – A total of US$11.4bn of capital flowed into the Shanghai bourse via the program in November and December, 2014, while the capital outflow was US$1.5bn, said Guan Tao, a senior official of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) at a press conference on Thursday. (Xinhua, 22/1/15)
• U.S. housing starts rebound in December – U.S. homebuilders broke ground on more houses in December 2014, but applications for building permits continued falling in the month, U.S. Department of Commerce reported Wednesday. U.S. privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,089,000 in December. It was 4.4% above the revised-up November’s estimate and 5.3% higher than the year-ago level. (Xinhua, 21/1/15)
• ECB Proposes QE Stimulus of €50bn a Month – The ECB will hold its first governing council meeting of 2015 on Thursday and is widely expected to announce a quantitative easing program to fight the threat of deflation in the single- currency bloc. Several media outlets quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the ECB is discussing a proposal for a quantitative easing program of about €50bn per month that would last at least one year. (Xinhua, 22/1/15)
• British unemployment rate drops to 5.8% — The British unemployment rate fell to 5.8% in the three months to November 2014 from 7.1% a year earlier, marking its lowest level since mid-2008, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Wednesday. (Xinhua, 21/1/15)
• PBOC Injects Funds into Banking Sector – China’s central bank said Wednesday that it injected liquidity into the country’s banking system, rolling over three-month loans of 269.5bn yuan (US$43.5bn) and adding 50bn yuan. The central bank said the move is aimed at ensuring adequate liquidity ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday when demand for funds is high. (Bloomberg, 21/1/15)
• Analysts expect improvement in China’s steel market demand in 2015 – Demand in China’s steel market will tend to improve in 2015, laying a foundation for steel prices to rebound, according to Qiu Yuecheng, an analyst with Xiben New Line, a major domestic spot trading platform in China. (Xinhua, 21/1/15)
• The IMF lowered its global economic growth forecast to 3.5% for 2015 and 3.7% for 2016 on Tuesday. The global growth rates in 2015-2016 both represented downward revisions of 0.3 percentage points relative to the October 2014 World Economic Outlook, the IMF’s flagship report said. (Xinhua, 21/1/15)
• Fed’s Bullard Eager to Raise Rates Soon – Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is eager to start raising interest rates in the months ahead because the underlying economy is looking stronger. (WSJ, 20/1/15)
• German investor confidence jumps to one-year high – Investors were optimistic towards the outlook of German economy at the start of the new year, a survey found on Tuesday. An indicator measuring the confidence of investors increased for the third consecutive month in January 2015 and reached the highest level since February 2014, the survey by Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim showed. The indicator now stands at 48.4 points, 13.5 points higher than in previous month. (Xinhua, 20/1/15)
• China New Home Sales Jump After Interest Rate Cut Boosts Demand – China’s new-home sales jumped last month after the first interest rate cut since 2012 boosted demand and developers made more apartments available to tap improving sentiment in the nation’s property market. Housing sales surged 41% to 938.4bn yuan (US$151bn) from November and were 4.2% higher than a year earlier, based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics today. (Bloomberg, 20/1/15)
• Malaysia in bid to improve economy in 2015 – The Malaysian government announced a number of proactive measures Tuesday to handle the changing economic scenario caused by the oil price slump and the worst flood in the country. In a special address to the nation, Prime Minister Najib Razak said the government remained confident that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by between 4.5-5.5% in 2015. (Xinhua, 20/1/15)
• ECB May Deliver US$635bn to Steer Euro Away From Deflation – Mario Draghi is likely to announce a €550bn (US$640bn) bond-purchase program this week and won’t skimp too much on the details, economists say. The European Central Bank president will make his biggest push yet to steer the euro area away from deflation by announcing quantitative easing on Jan. 22, according to 93% of respondents in a Bloomberg News survey. The median estimate of the size of the package tops the €500bn in models presented to officials this month. (Bloomberg, 19/1/15)
• Hollande: ECB Will Decide to Buy Government Debt Thursday – French President François Hollande said Monday the European Central Bank will decide to buy government debt later this week, reinforcing expectations the Frankfurt-based institution will follow other major central banks into so-called quantitative easing. (WSJ, 19/1/15)
• Denmark Central Bank Cuts Rates – Denmark on Monday became the latest European country to cut its interest rates as it attempted to dampen investor interest in the Danish kroner ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday. National Bank cut its deposit rate to minus 0.2% from minus 0.05%, and its lending rate to 0.05% from 0.2%. (WSJ, 19/1/15)
• Greece’s Syriza Leads in Polls as General Election Looms – Greece’s leftist Syriza party is holding its lead in opinion polls a week ahead of a key general election, amid signs that political uncertainty is taking a growing toll on the economy. (WSJ, 19/1/15)
• EU Has No Plans to Ease Russia Sanctions – The European Union sought Monday to dispel any suggestion that its united front against Russia was faltering or that members were considering lifting sanctions on Moscow in the near future. (WSJ, 19/1/15)
• Iran sees no OPEC shift toward a cut – Iran sees no sign of a shift within OPEC toward action to support oil prices, its oil minister said, adding its oil industry could ride out a further price slump to US$25 a barrel. The comments are a further sign that despite lobbying by Iran and Venezuela, there is little chance of collective action by the 12-member OPEC to prop up prices – entrenching the reluctance of individual members to curb their own supplies. (Reuters, 19/1/15)