B99bn allotted for transport in 2017. The government is set to spend 98.8 billion baht next year to develop logistics networks, including three motorways and 10 electric train projects. (Bangkok Post, 7/11/16)
CPI tweak for Internet, phone fees — THE COMMERCE Ministry will adjust its inflation calculation system by increasing the weightage for Wi-Fi and mobile phone service fees, and processed food in order to reflect the real cost of daily spending. The change is due to greater use of Internet and mobile phones by customers, while lifestyle has seen a huge change. (The Nation, 7/11/16)
BoT keeps interest rate unchanged. The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept its interest rate unchanged yesterday at 1.5% as expected. The bank said the Thai economy is growing amid an increase in domestic and global downside risks. (IQ Biz, 10/11/16)
Commerce Industry leaves export growth unchanged. The Minister of Commerce, Apiradi Tantraporn is standing by the Ministry’s growth target for exports to the US of growth 1% this year and 3% in 2017. However, he did say the country needed to see the new president’s stance first. 2016 export outlook remains for growth of 3%. (Post Today, 11/11/16)
Payrolls in U.S. Rise 161,000 in October as Wages Accelerate. Payrolls climbed by 161,000 last month following a 191,000 gain in September that was larger than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for 173,000. The jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent, while wages rose from a year earlier by the most since June 2009. Wage gains picked up, with average hourly earnings rising 0.4 percent from a month earlier. (Bloomberg, 5/11/16)
Euro zone retail sales drop again in September. Retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell by o.2 percent in September from August, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said on Monday. (Reuters, IQ Biz, 8/11/16)
BRIEF-China Oct exports in yuan terms down 3.2 pct y/y, imports up 3.2 pct. China’s exports denominated in yuan fell 3.2 percent in October from the same period a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said on Tuesday. Yuan-denominated imports rose 3.2 percent. That produced a trade surplus of 325.25 billion yuan. (Reuters, IQ Biz, 8/11/16)
U.S. jobless claims drop more than expected. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 254,000 for the week ended Nov. 5, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims for the prior week were unrevised. (Reuters, 10/11/16)
EU Commission forecasts modest euro zone growth. GDP growth in the euro zone is predicted at 1.7 percent in 2016, according to a autumn forecast released by the European Commission. GDP growth in the EU as a whole is expected to reach 1.8 percent. (CCTV, 10/11/16)
Japan’s Sept. core machinery orders fall 3.3%, gov’t cuts assessment. Japan’s core privatesector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 3.3 percent in September from the previous month for the second consecutive month of decline, prompting the government to lower its assessment for the first time in four months, it said Thursday. (Kyodo, 10/11/16)
