CB Leaves Rates On Hold as Investors Look to Draghi for QE Hint – The European Central Bank left interest rates at record lows, shifting the focus to President Mario Draghi’s press conference for clues on whether he sees a need to step up stimulus. The 25-member Governing Council kept the main refinancing rate at 0.05 percent at its meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday, as predicted by all 47 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The deposit rate and the marginal lending rate stayed at minus 0.2 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively. (Bloomberg, 3/9/15)
The IMF says the Bank of Japan doesn’t need to ease in October if inflation expectations are anchored – The Bank of Japan does not need to expand monetary policy in October even if it cuts its growth and price forecasts, as long as inflation expectations are well-anchored, the IMF’s mission chief for Japan said on Friday. (Business Insider, 4/9/15)
German industrial output rebounds in July – German industrial output returned to growth in July following a drop in previous month, official data showed Monday. The statistics signaled industrial activities in Europe’s biggest economy remained dynamic. Compared with previous month, output of German factories increased by 0.7 percent in July following a monthly drop of 0.9 percent in June, data from German federal statistical office Destatis showed. (Xinhua, 7/9/15)
U.S. initial jobless claims fall to 275,000 – The number of Americans initially applying for unemployment aid fell last week, a signal of an improving job market. In the week ending Sept. 5, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits decreased to 275,000, 6,000 less than the revised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. (Xinhua, 11/9/15)
BoE votes 8-1 on maintaining interest rate unchanged – The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Thursday voted by a majority of 8-1 to maintain the benchmark interest rate, or Bank Rate, at 0.5 percent. The nine-member committee also voted unanimously to maintain the stock of purchased assets financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at 375 billion pounds (or 578 U.S. dollars). (Xinhua, 10/9/15)
China FDI inflow surges 22 pct in August – Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland jumped 22 percent in August from a year earlier, settling at 8.71 billion U.S. dollars, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. (Xinhua, 10/9/15)
Public debt close to 43% of GDP at end of July – THAILAND’S public debt rose by Bt33.98 billion month on month to Bt5.72 trillion, or 42.85 per cent of gross domestic product, at the end of July on the back of the government’s and state agencies’ increased debts, according to the Public Debt Management Office. (The Nation, 11/9/15)
UTCC trims GDP growth forecast to 3.1 per cent – global economic uncertainties, delay in general election among negative factors. The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce projects that gross domestic product will grow by 3.1 per cent this year and by 4.2 per cent next year amid uncertainty over the global economy and the general election being delayed until 2017. (The Nation, 11/9/15)
Somkid to restructure through infrastructure – Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, head of the government’s economic team, has now turned his focus on mega-infrastructure investment projects as a key component of restructuring the economy, after unveiling short-and medium-term stimulus measures worth more than Bt136 billion aimed at boosting low-income earners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). (The Nation, 10/9/15)
Tax rate cut for SMEs that clean up their accounts – The Finance Ministry is set to cut the corporate income tax rate for small and medium business operators (SMEs) from 15% to 10%, for SMEs that improve their accounting procedures. Permanent secretary for finance Rungson Sriworasat said the proposal will be forwarded to the cabinet for consideration at its meeting tomorrow. (Bangkok Post, 7/9/15)
