U.S. retail sales boosted by auto demand; producer prices climb. U.S. retail sales rose in December amid strong demand for automobiles and furniture, providing further evidence that the economy ended the fourth quarter with momentum and is poised for stronger growth this year. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased 0.6 percent last month after rising 0.2 percent in November. Sales were up 4.1 percent from December 2015. They rose 3.3 percent for all of 2016, up from 2.3 percent in 2015. (Reuters, IQ Biz, 14/1/17)
Fed’s Yellen says she’s upbeat about short-term economic outlook. The U.S. economy is doing well and faces no serious obstacles in the short term, with the labor market looking pretty strong, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday. In the “short term I would say I don’t think there are serious obstacles. I see the economy as doing quite well,” Yellen said in a town hall meeting with educators, adding that she was worried about longer-term issues like widening income inequality and weak growth in labor productivity. (CNBC, IQ Biz, 12/1/17)
ECB leaves rates unchanged, maintains bond-buying program. The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it was keeping its main rates and bond-buying program unchanged Thursday despite the uptick in inflation seen across the euro zone. The euro zone’s central bank had been widely expected to stick with implementing its monetary stimulus program given the solid performance in the latter stages of 2016. Benchmark interest rates were left unchanged. (CNBC, 20/1/17)
US weekly jobless claims total 234,000 vs 254,000 estimate. The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week back to near the lowest levels in decades. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000 for the week ended Jan. 14, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless benefits rising to 254,000 in the latest week. (CNBC, 20/1/17)
Theresa May commits to Brexit vote in UK Parliament. British Prime Minister Theresa May committed to placing a final Brexit deal to a vote in both houses of the UK parliament, as she outlined for the first time her plan for extracting Britain from the European Union. (CNN, 18 /1/17)
Fed Unlikely to Snuff Out U.S. Economic Expansion, Dudley Says. Muted trends in U.S. inflation and economic growth mean the U.S. Federal Reserve is unlikely to threaten the expansion with aggressive interest-rate increases to keep price pressures in check, said New York Fed President William Dudley. “The risk that the Fed will snuff out the expansion anytime soon seems quite low because inflation is simply not a problem,” Dudley said Tuesday in remarks prepared for a speech at a retailing industry conference in New York. (Bloomberg, 18/1/17)
New low-income registration to be open this April. The additional benefits can be life insurance covering low-income people and increase monthly stipend for the aged to Bt1,200– 1,500. (Bangkok Biz, 16/1/17)
Ministry proposes Bt 20 bn SME development fund. THE Finance Ministry will today propose to the Cabinet an SME development fund with the initial size of Bt 20 billion in an effort to sprout small and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural, tourism and service industries across the country. (The Nation, 17/1/17) Thailand Future Fund to be launched in Q2. THE STATE Enterprise Policy Office expects to launch the delayed Thailand Future Fund, worth Bt40 billion to Bt50 billion, in the second quarter as one of the government’s financial tools for infrastructure development. (The Nation, 17/1/17)
Chamber: Crisis could cost B120bn. Ongoing widespread flooding in 12 southern provinces may cost 85-120 billion baht, or 0.5-0.7% of the country’s GDP, if it lasts 2-3 months, according to the latest estimates by the Thai Chamber of Commerce. (Bangkok Post, 18/1/17)
BoT says B/E defaults don’t reflect bond market. The Bank of Thailand has reassured the market that a recent series of defaults on bills of exchange (B/Es) will have a limited impact on the country’s overall financial stability, as the debt instrument accounts for a small portion of the overall bond market. (Bangkok Post, 20/1/17)
