Thailand

• Tourism and private consumption to boost GDP – Akom Termpittayapaisit, Secretary General of the National Economic and Social Development Board, said tourism and private consumption should push 1Q15 GDP to reach 3%. The economy in 2H will be stimulated by government spending on roads and motorway construction. He also expressed support of building a yacht marina, which is expected to boost the local economy. (Prachachat, 15/4/15)
• Six-month govt revenue target missed by ‘insignificant’ 0.1%, FPO says – Government revenue came in 0.1 per cent lower than its target for the first six months of this fiscal year, which was not significant, despite three tax departments collecting a total of Bt30 billion less than target, according to the Fiscal Policy Office. (The Nation, 11/4/15)
• Sommai: Slash rate more, Village Fund scheme will get new budget – Finance Minister Sommai Phasee has urged the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to reinforce the downward trend in interest rates by cutting the policy rate further to help support weakening economic conditions. Separately, the move to inject additional liquidity worth 40 billion baht into the Village Fund scheme for villages with good management will be accelerated during this year’s dry season, Mr Sommai said. (Bangkok post, 17/4/15)

• UTCC cuts GDP growth forecast to 3.2% – The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has cut its estimate for this year’s economic growth to 3.2 per cent from the previous forecast of 4 per cent. The reduction followed the university’s projection of export growth at 0.4 per cent, down from its earlier estimate of 4.1 per cent. If, in the worst case, exports contract by 1 per cent, gross domestic product is expected to grow by just 1.9 per cent this year. (The Nation, 17/4/15)

Globally

• U.S. federal budget deficit increases in March – The U.S. federal government budget deficit went up last month, and the deficit in the first six months of the fiscal year also shot up, the U.S. Treasury Department said Monday. The budget deficit stood at 52.9 billion U.S. dollars in March, compared with a deficit of 36.9 billion U.S. dollars a year ago. (Xinhua, 14/4/15)
• U.S. Import Prices Fall 0.3% in March – Prices of imported goods fell broadly last month, raising the likelihood that inflation will remain subdued in coming months amid a limping global economy. Import prices fell 0.3% in March from February, the eighth decline in nine months, the Labor Department said Friday. Prices have fallen 10.5% over the past year, largely reflecting last year’s slide in oil prices that has since stabilized. (WSJ, 10/4/15)
• ECB chief says QE proceeding smoothly – European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi on Wednesday said the asset purchase
  program, or quantitative easing (QE), was proceeding smoothly. (Xinhua, 16/4/15)
• French March CPI up 0.7 pct on soaring manufacturing prices – The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.7 percent in March from a month earlier due to surging costs of manufacturing and energy costs, figures released by the national statistics institute Insee showed Wednesday. (Xinhua, 15/4/15)
• China’s growth slows to 7 pct in Q1 – China’s economic growth slowed to 7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, down from 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Wednesday. (Xinhua, 15/4/15)
• China’s Q1 industrial output slows, structure improves – Despite concerns over lethargic industrial output and increasing downward pressure in the first quarter (Q1) of 2015, growth in China’s key emergent sectors fed positive sentiment. Industrial output in China grew 6.4 percent year on year in the January-March period, down from 8.7 percent growth a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Wednesday. (Xinhua, 15/4/15)
• BOJ Kuroda: Underlying Inflation Trend “Steadily Improving” – Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Wednesday that the inflation trend is improving “steadily,” in another sign that the central bank feels little urgency yet to boost its monetary stimulus. (Nasdaq, 15/4/15)
• Japan’s industrial production -3.1% vs. -3.1% forecast – Industrial production in Japan fell last month, data showed on Wednesday. In a report, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that industrial production fell to a seasonally adjusted -3.1%, from -3.4% in the preceding month. (Investing, 15/4/15)
• Slow growth, Greek crisis, Ebola on menu at IMF, World Bank Spring meet – A sluggish global economy, the Greek debt crisis and continuing fallout of the Ebola epidemic will take focus beginning Thursday when top finance officials gather for the World Bank and IMF Spring meetings. With high unemployment festering in advanced economies, and emerging countries entering their fifth straight year of slowing growth, how to fire up output and demand is the primary order of business for the world’s central bankers and finance ministers in Washington. (Economic Times, 16/4/15)
• U.S. Jobless Claims Rise 12,000 to 294,000 – Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., climbed 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 in the week ended April 11, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 280,000 claims. Jobless claims have been choppy this spring, hitting a 15-year low last month before picking up. Still, they are hovering around levels posted during the mid-2000s’ economic expansion. That suggests that while economic growth has cooled in recent months, the labor market remains stable and companies continue to expand. (WSJ, 16/4/15)
• US housing starts rise below expectations – Privately-owned housing starts in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 926,000, missing market consensus, but were 2 percent above the revised February estimate of 908,000, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. (Xinhua, 16/4/15)
• European Car Sales Make Biggest Leap in a Year – Registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union, a proxy for sales, rose 10.6 percent in March from a year earlier, their biggest gain since March 2014, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association reported
  from Brussels. The data include all 28 European Union members except Malta. Sales are improving along with the eurozone economy. (NY Times, 16/4/15)
• Greek Government Bonds Plunge – Greek government bonds plunged Thursday, shaken by swelling fears that the beleaguered country will be forced into a default. Greece is due to repay the International Monetary Fund more than €750 million ($801 million) on May 12—part of the terms of its first bailout program in 2010. (WSJ, 16/4/15)
• China fiscal revenue rises 5.8 pct in March – China’s fiscal revenue rose 5.8 percent year on year to reach 1.07 trillion yuan (174 billion U.S. dollars) in March, the Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday. Although the pace slightly quickened from the 3.2-percent gain seen in January-February, it remained within a low-growth range, said the ministry website. (Xinhua, 16/4/15)