Fixing of structural issues urged. THE ECONOMY has the potential to grow by 4.5-5.5 per cent a year if the country addresses hindering structural issues, said Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob. (The Nation, 7/9/16)
Nod for Gold Line monorail, but impact study requested. THE BT3.8-BILLION Gold Line monorail project for western Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River was given the green light by the Cabinet yesterday, with the line expected to be in service in 2018. (The Nation, 7/9/16)
CAT Telecom’s 4G service scheduled for My brand launch next month. CAT TELECOM plans to launch 4G service as part of its My brand mobile phone operations next month, Viroj Tocharoenvanith, senior executive vice president for wireless business, said yesterday. The new 4G service will mainly utilise the True Move H network of True Corp, after CAT and True reached a network-roaming deal recently. Viroj said CAT was currently testing the roaming and technical aspects the 4G service, which would be officially launched next month. The roaming 4G network with True – part of CAT’s recent agreement with True Move H Universal Communication (TUC) – would see TUC paying a rental fee of Bt9.3 billion to CAT for using the state agency’s 3G-850MHz network to provide wireless broadband service. (The Nation, 7/9/16)
Govt to issue benchmark bonds. THE government plans to raise more than half of the estimated Bt957.72 billion under its fund-mobilisation plan through benchmark bond issues in the next fiscal year starting next month, according to the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO). (Bangkok Post, 9/9/16)
US created 151,000 jobs in August vs. 180,000 jobs expected — Nonfarm payrolls increased just 151,000 for the month, extending the futility August has experienced over the years. This is now the 10th time in the past 13 years the month whiffed on market expectations. Wall Street economists were expecting the nonfarm payrolls report to show a gain of 180,000 in August, with the unemployment rate ticking down one-tenth to 4.8 percent. Wage growth slowed. In addition to the below-expectation number, wage growth actually took a step back, with hourly earnings up just 3 cents and an annualized pace of 2.4 percent. The average work week declined 0.1 percent to 34.3 hours. (CNBC, 5/9/16)
China economy news: Caixin services PMI above 50 in August. Activity in China’s services sector improved in August as new orders picked up, a private survey revealed on Monday. The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 52.1, up from 51.7 in July but still below an 11-month peak of 52.7 in June. (CNBC, 5/9/16)
BOJ’s Kuroda says room for more easing, including new ideas. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda signaled his readiness to ease monetary policy further using existing or new tools, shrugging off growing market concerns that the bank is reaching its limits after an already massive stimulus program. He also stressed the BOJ’s comprehensive assessment of its policies later this month won’t lead to a withdrawal of easing. But Kuroda acknowledged that the BOJ’s negative interest rate policy may impair financial intermediation and hurt public confidence in Japan’s banking system, a sign the central bank is becoming more mindful of the rising cost of its stimulus. (Reuters, 5/9/16)
European Central Bank Leaves All Three Rates Unchanged. The European Central Bank kept its stimulus program unchanged in a sign that policy makers don’t see an immediate danger to the euro-area recovery from risks including Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. The Governing Council left the main refinancing rate at zero, the deposit rate at minus 0.4 percent and asset purchases at 80 billion euros ($90 billion) a month, as predicted in a Bloomberg survey. President Mario Draghi will present new economic forecasts when he addresses reporters at 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt. (Bloomberg, 9/9/16)
Biggest weekly U.S. crude oil inventory drop since 1999: EIA. U.S. crude stocks slumped more than 14 million barrels last week in the biggest weekly drawdown since 1999 as imports to the Gulf Coast hit a record low, which analysts attributed to Tropical Storm Hermine. Crude inventories fell 14.5 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 2, compared with expectations for an increase of 225,000 barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. (Reuters, 9/9/16
Japan second quarter GDP growth revised up slightly, momentum weak. Japan’s economy grew faster over April-June than initially estimated, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday, with upward revisions to capital expenditure and inventories, but the lack of a strong growth driver is seen undermining momentum for the rest of this year. The Cabinet Office said the economy grew at a 0.7 percent annualized rate over April-June, an upward revision of the preliminary reading of 0.2 percent growth, in which the strong yen and weak demand were seen hurting exports and capital spending . (Reuters, 9/9/16)
