Fed’s Yellen sees benefits in letting inflation exceed central bank’s 2% target. It may be wise to run a “high pressure” economy with a tight labor market to reverse some of the negative effects of the Great Recession, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Friday. (Marketwatch, 15/10/16)
Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Unexpectedly Drops as Outlook Sours. Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell to a one-year low in October as Americans soured on the outlook for the economy amid a contentious presidential election campaign. The University of Michigan preliminary index of sentiment declined to 87.9 from 91.2 in September, according to a report Friday. That was weaker than the lowest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Longterm inflation expectations declined to a record low. (Bloomberg, 15/ 10/16)
China’s Days of Exporting Deflation May Be Drawing to a Close. One of the disinflationary pressures that’s gripped the global economy for the past five years is abating. China’s factory gate prices — falling since the start of 2012 — turned positive in September, squeaking out an increase of 0.1 percent from a year earlier. Given China’s status as factory to the world, that means prices of everything from T-shirts, televisions, tools and toys may follow — or at least stop getting ever cheaper. (Bloomberg, 15/10/16)
China’s industrial output expands 6 pct in Jan.-Sept. China’s industrial output expanded 6 percent in the first three quarters of 2016, thanks largely to strong performance in the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors, official data showed Wednesday. (Xinhua, IQ Biz, 19/10/16)
Draghi Signals ECB Unlikely to Stop QE Plan Without Tapering. ECB keeps bond-buying at 80 billion euros a month until March. Mario Draghi signaled the European Central Bank probably won’t stop its quantitative-easing program without tapering it first, indicating that the stimulus is likely to run past the currently scheduled end-date of March 2017. “An abrupt ending to bond purchases, I think, is unlikely,” the ECB president said in a press conference in Frankfurt on Thursday. (Bloomberg, IQ Biz, 20/10/16)
China’s Q3 GDP grows 6.7 pct. China’s gross domestic product expanded 6.7 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2016, stable from the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. (Xinhua, IQ Biz, 19/10/16)
US weekly jobless claims total 260,000 vs 250,000 estimate. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 260,000 for the week ended Oct. 15, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast firsttime applications for jobless benefits rising to 250,000 in the latest week. (CNBC, IQ Biz, 20/10/16)
Economic stimulus not yet approved. Kobsak Phutrakul, assistant minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, said the cabinet has not approved any economic stimulus. He says that the Thai economy is still healthy. (Thai Rath, 19/10/16)
Industrial Confidence up. The Federation of Thai Industries said the Industrial Confidence Index in September was at 84.8, which was higher than the previous month at 83.3 and jumped first time in 4 months. This was driven by more orders in electronics, air conditions and automotive parts. (Khaosod, 20/10/16)
Three dual-track rail routes to be approved by cabinet. A proposal for the construction of three dual-track train routes worth Bt55bn and the south section of the Purple Line from Tao Poon to Rat Burana are expected to go to the cabinet for approval in November. (Thai Post, 21/10/16)
