Thailand

• Thailand’s rating held — Moody’s held Thailand long-term government bonds at Baa1 with stable outlook based on strong fundamentals and political resilience. (Post Today, 03/06/14)
• JSCCIB forecasts 2014 growth of 2-2.5% — The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) forecast that 2014 GDP will grow by 2-2.5% from recovery in consumer spending, as the government has begun to pay farmers for their rice. (Post Today, 03/06/14)
• Household debt defaults rising — The NESDB says that the risk of default by Thai households has increased despite the slowdown in debt accumulation, partially from the economic slowdown. NPLs have risen by 31.3% and the rate of 3-month default on personal loans has risen by 42%, while 3-month defaults on credit card loans has increased 36.4%. (Khao Sod, 03/06/14)

• May inflation climbs 2.62% on food, fuel prices – Inflation gushed 2.62% last month, the most in 14 months, due to rising food and fuel prices against the baht’s depreciation, the Commerce Ministry reported yesterday. (The Nation, 03/06/14)
• Junta backs dual-track rail spend – The dual-track railway project will go ahead, and the high-speed railway project will be subject to a new cost-benefit study, the junta has decided as it looks into the past government’s transport and infrastructure spending plans. (Bangkok Post, 03/06/14)
• BoI: NCPO to be given list of new board tomorrow – The list of the new members of the Board of Investment is expected to be presented for consideration to the National Council for Peace and Order tomorrow. (The Nation, 03/06/14)
• Ministry of Finance will start pumping stimulus through 8 government banks to give a short boost to the economy. The stimulus package is valued at Bt343bn, and will help boost GDP by 0.8-1%. (Daily News, 03/06/14)
• NCPO gives timeline for interim govt – The National Council for Peace and Order will form an interim government before October and the government will take one year to carry out national reform before calling a general election, NCPO chief Prayuth Chan-ocha says (Bangkok Post, 31/05/14)
• Consumer confidence rebounds – Consumer confidence last month improved for the first time in 14 months and to the highest level in four months on anticipation of cool-headed politics after the military stepped in pull the country out of a year-long recession due to the domestic conflict. (Bangkok Post, 04/06/14)
• BoI proposes Gen. Prayut as head of BoI board ahead of the NCPO economic discussion today. The NCPO also has plans to install a new body that will monitor funding use by government and state enterprises, while several experts have called to enact a new law to enforce this. (Krungtep Thurakit, 04/06/14)
• Government bank boards to be headed by qualified people — The Permanent Secretary of Finance said that the boards of government banks will be chaired by qualified individuals within the Ministry of Finance. He said state enterprises will have to make the decision themselves. (Thai Post, 04/06/14)
• NESDB says jobs are harder to find, especially for newer graduates. In the first quarter there were 117,386 job openings, down 36.6% in the same period last year. Of those openings only 79,352 jobs were filled, down by 12.9% YoY. (Post Today, 04/06/14)
• NESDB forecast Thailand GDP in a range of 1.5-2.5% from the previous estimate of 3-4%. In the first quarter, GDP fell by 0.6% YoY in response to the troubles. It stressed that this forecast was made prior to the coup. (Post Today, 06/06/14)
• FTI: rice payout should give much needed boost to manufacturing. This should prompt the return of investment from recent delays. Auto manufacturing should also return as spending improves, while agricultural machines will also show some sign of recovery. (ASTV Manager, 06/06/14)

Globally

• US: PMI: Adjusted for seasonal influences, the final Markit U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 56.4 in May from 55.4 in April, signaling a robust improvement in overall business conditions, the report showed. The number beat analysts’ estimates marginally. US ISM: A separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed that U.S. manufacturing sector continued its expansion in May, with PMI registering 55.4, an increase from April’s reading of 54.9. But the reading was slightly below market expectations. (Xinhua, 03/065/14)
• U.S. April construction spending climbed less than economists’ forecast, which limited gains on Wall Street. The construction spending in April rose 0.2% compared with the prior month, the Commerce Department announced Monday. Economists had expected the number to increase 0.7%. (Xinhua, 03/065/14)
• Consumer price inflation in Germany rose less than expected in May, underlining concerns over the risk of deflation in the euro area. CPI accelerated at an annualized rate of 0.9% last month, down from 1.3% in April. (Investing.com, 02/06/14)
• Eurozone manufacturing PMI falls to 6-month low in May – Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 52.2 in May from the flash estimate of 52.5, marking a 6-month low, reported Markit on Monday. (Xinhua, 03/065/14)
• US: U.S. personal consumption expenditure, which accounts for about 70 percent of the U.S. economic activity, decreased 0.1% in April, while personal income increased 0.3%, said the U.S. Commerce Department Friday. Analysts had expected consumer spending to gain 0.2% last month while personal income to increase 0.4%. (Xinhua, 31/05/14)
• U.S. consumer sentiment fell in May, with the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final reading of the index registered 81.9, slightly higher than the preliminary reading of 81.8, but lower than market consensus of
• 82. 5. (Xinhua, 31/05/14)
• The Chicago Business Barometer in May, however, came out better than expected. The index increased to 65.5 in the month from 63.0 in the prior month, the highest since October, the Institute for Supply Management said Friday. (Xinhua, 31/05/14)
• China’s PMI hits 5-month high, pointing to stabilizing economy— The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 50.8 in May from 50.4 in April, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). (Xinhua, 01/0614)
• US: U.S. new orders for manufactured goods in April increased for three consecutive months, up 0.7% to US$499.8bn, the highest level since 1992, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Economists had expected the reading to add 0.5%.(Xinhua, 04/06/14)
• Eurozone jobless rate at 11.5% in April — Seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of the eurozone stood at 11.7% in April, down slightly from the previous month, European Union (EU) statistics office Eurostat said Tuesday. (Xinhua, 03/06/14)
• Eurozone annual inflation down to 0.5% in May — The eurozone’s annual inflation rate is expected to drop to 0.5% in May, from 0.7% in April, European Union (EU) statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday. (Xinhua, 03/06/14)
• US: The number of Americans who initially applied for jobless benefits last week rose slightly. The U.S. Labor Department reported that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims increased 8,000 from the previous week to 312,000, while the four-week moving average fell to a seven-year low of 310,250. (Xinhua, 06/06/14)
• Europe: ECB cuts interest rates — The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday announced that interest rates of the main refinancing operation, marginal lending facility and deposit facility will be cut to 0.15%, 0.4% and 0-.1% respectively. (Xinhua, 06/06/14)
• Britain: Bank of England keeps rates at record low – The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee left its benchmark interest rate at 0.5%, where it has sat since the worst of the financial crisis more than five years ago. (Reuters, 05/06/14)
• China: HSBC China services PMI slows in May – The HSBC China services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.7 in May from 51.4 in April, HSBC Holdings PLC said Thursday. (WSJ, 05/06/14)