Thai Authorities Near Airline Certification Target. Thailand is moving closer towards its goal of recertifying its major international carriers, which is a key step in resolving ICAO concerns regarding the country’s aviation oversight. Thai authorities have previously said they intend to reissue a total of nine AOCs in the first half of the year, which would cover the country’s main international carriers. In addition to the first six, three AOCs are expected to be completed in the next few weeks, according to local media reports. However, some small airlines may have to stop their international flights because they have not passed the recertification checks. (MRO Network, 27/6/2017)
EEC upbeat as 10 prominent firms sign up. Ten leading industrial companies and foreign investors have decided to invest and expand in the special economic zone of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), says a key official. (Bangkok Post, 28/6/2017)
PPP fast-tracks motorways. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Committee has approved to put two motorways worth a combined 142 billion baht under the fast-track PPP scheme, the first joint investment projects from the Highways Department in 20 years. The two projects are motorways linking Ayutthaya’s Bang Pa-in district with Nakhon Ratchasima province, worth 85.9 billion baht, and Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district with Kanchanaburi, worth 56.5 billion. (Bangkok Post, 29/6/2017)
BoT tightens belt on consumer loans. The Bank of Thailand is set to announce tighter regulations governing unsecured loans next month as part of its effort to discourage consumers, particularly low income earners, from accumulating further debt. (Bangkok Post, 30/6/2017
Draghi speaks of ‘strengthening and broadening recovery’ in euro zone, but says stimulus must remain. The European Central Bank (ECB) will have to be prudent to gradually adjust its monetary stimulus to the economic recovery, Mario Draghi, the president of the central bank, said Tuesday. Speaking at the European Central Bank Forum in Sintra, Portugal, Draghi made it clear however that the current stimulus needs to remain in place as inflation dynamics remain “more muted than one would expect.” (CNBC, 28/6/2017)
U.S. business activity unexpectedly slows in June – Markit – Business activity in the U.S. private sector slowed in June, dampening optimism over the American economy, according to preliminary data released on Friday. In a report, market research group ISH Markit said that its flash services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 53.0 in June, from the prior month’s reading of 53.6. That was a three-month low. Analysts had expected the reading to recover to 53.7. – Nasdaq (26/6/17)
Williams sees gradual rate hikes as key to further U.S. growth. With the U.S. economy at full employment and inflation set to hit the Federal Reserve’s 2-percent target next year, the U.S. central bank needs to keep raising rates gradually to keep the economy on an even keel, a Fed policymaker said Monday. “If we delay too long, the economy will eventually overheat, causing inflation or some other problem,” San Francisco Fed President John Williams said in remarks prepared for delivery to the University of Technology Sydney. “Gradually raising interest rates to bring monetary policy back to normal helps us keep the economy growing at a rate that can be sustained for a longer time .” (Reuters, 27/6/2017)
Fed’s Williams sees advanced economies stuck in low growth mode. Central banks in the United States and other advanced economies will find themselves stuck with slow growth over the long-term unless fiscal authorities do something decisive to turn things around, a U.S. central banker warned Tuesday. That dour view may come as a surprise given that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates earlier this month and plans to continue to do so gradually to keep the U.S. economy from overheating. Rising interest rates often signal optimism about economic prospects. (CNBC, 28/6/2017)
U.S. first-quarter GDP growth revised up to 1.4 percent. The U.S. economy slowed less sharply in the first quarter than initially estimated due to unexpectedly higher consumer spending and a bigger jump in exports. Gross domestic product increased at a 1.4 percent annual rate instead of the 1.2 percent pace reported last month, the Commerce Department said in its final assessment on Thursday. It was still the slowest growth rate since the second quarter of last year. Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP growth to remain unchanged at a 1.2 percent rate. (Reuters, 30/6/2017)
US weekly jobless claims total 244,000 vs 240,000 estimate. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits edged up last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a tight labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 for the week ended June 24, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast first-time applications for jobless claims declining to 240,000 in the latest week. (Reuters, 30/6/2017)
