Thailand

• Infrastructure takes centre stage as panel convenes on digital economy – The government has set up an ad hoc committee to begin working on the preparations for the digital economy, starting with the urgent agenda for infrastructure. “Infrastructure is the fundamental factor of the digital economy. We need to process this while waiting for the National Digital Economy Committee to be officially established in the next couple of months. “Once the committee is set up, the working committee will be disbanded,” Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said yesterday. (The Nation, 27/2/15)
• Bt1trn budget disbursed – Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said that as of February 20, around Bt1 trillion of the target of Bt2.12 trillion had been disbursed. He is confident that the disbursement will reach 60% of the target in March. (Post Today, 27/2/15)
• Bad month for private sector investments – Private investment in Thailand continued to see a slowdown in January along with a contraction in exports, particularly to China, although private consumption and government expenditure improved. Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) director-general Krisda Chinavicharan said the slowdown in private investment was marked by a 5.8-per-cent contraction in cement sales last month. Private consumption in January, based on value-added tax collected from domestic purchases, rose 9.5 per cent year on year. Motorcycle sales rode into positive territory, rising 14.5 per cent year on year. The Consumer Confidence Index fell slightly from December to 69.7, on concerns over slow economic recovery and a consistent slide in crop prices. Scores below 100 indicate low confidence. (The Nation, 27/2/15)

• Exports fall 3.46% in January – January exports remained in the doldrums, with shipments falling by the biggest margin in five months. The Commerce Ministry yesterday reported exports contracted by 3.46% last month to US$17.2 billion, the biggest fall since last August. Last December, exports rose by 1.9% year-on-year to $18.8 billion, but the growth was not large enough for the 2014 performance to escape contraction. Full-year figures showed a decline of 0.41% to $228 billion, the second straight year for a drop after shipments fell by 0.3% in 2013. Bank of Thailand spokesman Chirathep Senivongs Na Ayudhya said last month’s export figure was in line with the central bank’s forecast, signalling that the export sector had not yet recorded a decent recovery. (Bangkok Post, 26/2/15)
• Ministry to halve rates of land tax – The Finance Ministry is set to halve the maximum rates of the land and buildings tax from the previous proposal and offer a higher layer of tax exemption to soothe anxious homeowners and landlords. The new proposed ceiling rates are 0.25% for land for agricultural use, down from 0.5% previously, 0.5% for residential use, down from 1%, and 2% for commercial use, dropping from 4%. Unused or vacant land will be charged at 0.5% and double every three years but not exceed a maximum level of 2% of the appraised value. (Bangkok Post, 26/2/15)
• BAAC will write off debts – The government has agreed in principle to a guideline to help alleviate farmers’ debt burden to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC). Proposed by BAAC, the guideline features writing off outstanding debts owed by farmers who were no longer able to service debts or who passed away. It will also extend the debt repayment period for those who still have the ability to repay. (Bangkok Post, 26/2/15)
• Seven non-bank institutions seek nanofinance licences – The first seven non-bank financial institutions have submitted their applications to the Bank of Thailand for a nanofinance operator’s licence. Two applicants are in the process of reviewing their application documents, while five others are in the process of adjusting their submitted documents, central bank spokesman Chirathep Senivongs Na Ayudhya said yesterday without disclosing their names. (Bangkok Post, 26/2/15)
• Land and buildings tax rate set for cuts – The Finance Ministry is contemplating a reduction in the maximum rates of the land and buildings tax in a bid to soothe people’s nerves. A gap between the ceiling and the effective tax rates should be narrowed to three to four times from eight to 10 times, Finance Minister Sommai Phasee said yesterday. (Bangkok Post, 25/2/15)
• Bt40bn borrowing plan to fund road maintenance and repairs nationwide to go before the cabinet for approval next week, said the Finance Ministry. Of the total budget set aside for road construction and maintenance, 15 billion baht will be spent by the Rural Roads Department and 25 billion by the Highways Department. The budget is part of the government’s economic pump-priming scheme and aimed at creating jobs in rural areas during this dry season. (Bangkok Post, 25/2/15)
• Rice loss figure revised up – The estimated loss incurred by ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s rice-pledging scheme has increased by 19 billion baht from a previous estimate of 518 billion. The higher estimated loss has raised the total losses from buying 84 million tonnes of paddy in the 15 schemes from 2004-14 to almost 700 billion baht, with the Yingluck government alone accounting for 537 billion, said Finance permanent secretary Rungson Sriworasat yesterday. (Bangkok Post, 25/2/15)
• Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) drops from 92.7 points in December to 91.1 points last month, with 100 being the base point. Industrial confidence in the next three months also fell, from 101.7 points to 100.4 points in the same period. FTI chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree yesterday said the decline was caused by a number of factors: a lack of tangible new government investment; lower purchasing power of farmers; high household debt at 84.7 per cent to gross domestic product; an unsupportive interest rate; reduced demand from major trading partners; and a strong baht when compared to neighbouring countries’ currencies. (The Nation, 25/2/15)

Global

• US: Bullard: Fed should lose its ‘patience’ on rates – St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNBC on Thursday the word “patient” should come out of the policy statement in March to give options for raising interest rates this summer. Bullard, who’s generally hawkish, called possible rate hikes “the normalization process,” as he expects the unemployment rate to fall below 5 percent in the second half of the year and overall economic growth at 3 percent for 2015. (CNBC, 26/2/15)
• U.S. initial jobless claims increase to 313,000 – In the week ending Feb. 21, the advance figure of seasonally adjusted initial claims for jobless benefits increased to 313,000, 31,000 more than the revised level of the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday. (Xinhua, 27/2/15)
• US: New orders for manufactured durable goods in January increased 2.8 percent to 236.1 billion U.S. dollars, beating market consensus, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Thursday. (Xinhua, 27/2/15)
• US: Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers declined 0.7 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday. Analysts had expected the figure to decline 0.6 percent. The core CPI, the key figure that excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent in January. (Xinhua, 27/2/15)
• German consumer climate upswing expected to continue – German consumer climate indicator has been forecast to reach 9.7 points for March – the highest level since October 2001 when the indicator was at 11.0 points, market research group GfK reported on Thursday. (Xinhua, 26/2/15)
• China 2014 coal output down 2.5 pct on yr – China’s coal output decreased 2.5 percent on year to 3.87 billion tonnes in 2014, according to the statistical bulletin released by the National Bureau of Statistics today. According to the bulletin, China’s total energy consumption in 2014 increased 2.2 percent on year to 4.26 billion tones of standard coal equivalent, and coal consumption dropped 2.9 percent on year and accounted for 66 percent in total energy consumption of the country. (Xinhua, 26/2/15)
• Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen headed to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for a second day of testimony, repeating her message that the Fed could start raising interest rates later this year if the economy continues to strengthen. Ms. Yellen appeared before the House Financial Services Committee to discuss the economy and monetary policy and answer lawmakers’ questions. She told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday the Fed sees the U.S. employment picture “improving on many dimensions” while spending and production are rising at a solid pace. (WSJ, 25/2/15)
• U.S. new home sales slow in January – Sales of U.S. new homes fell slightly in January but the overall pace remained near its six-year high, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The sales of new single-family houses in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000, 0.2 percent below the revised December rate but 5.3 percent higher than the year-ago level. (Xinhua, 25/2/15)
• Spanish economy to grow by 2.4 pct in 2015: PM – Spain’s economy would grow by 2.4 percent in 2015, according to predictions of the Spanish government announced on Tuesday by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Rajoy made this statement at the Spanish Parliament on Tuesday during the annual two-day state-of-the-nation parliamentary debate. The figure is 0.4 percent higher than the forecast previously announced by the government. (Xinhua, 25/2/15)
• French consumer confidence at highest in nearly three years – Paris: French consumer confidence rose to its highest level in nearly three years in February, INSEE statistics agency said on Wednesday. The index rose to 92 from 90 in January, beating analyst forecasts of 91 and reaching its highest level since May 2012. It was still well below its long-term average of 100. (Economic Times, 25/2/15)
• Hong Kong pledges $4.4 billion sweeteners in post-protest budget – Hong Kong unveiled HK$34 billion ($4.4 billion) of sweeteners in its budget on Wednesday, including help for businesses hit by pro-democracy protests, as it works to rebuild confidence in a city that some fear is losing its competitive edge. The government has warned that the Asian financial hub must make economic stability a top priority after more than two months of pro-democracy protests late last year paralyzed parts of the city and unnerved authorities in Beijing. (Reuters, 25/2/15 )
• Retail sales surge during China’s Lunar New Year holiday – China’s retail sales for the weeklong Spring Festival or Lunar New Year holiday continued to grow steadily as businesses rushed to take advantage of the nationwide shopping spree, data from the country’s Ministry of Commerce showed on Tuesday. Shops and restaurants across the country pocketed 678 billion yuan (US$111 billion) in sales volume, up 11% from last year’s holiday period, the ministry said in an online statement. (Wantchinatimes, 25/2/15)
• Fed will be flexible in rate hike, Chair Yellen – A modification of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s forward guidance on interest rate does not indicate a set timetable for the central bank to begin the rate hikes, the U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said in her semiannual monetary policy report to the Congress. In prepared remarks to the Senate Banking Committee, Yellen repeated that the Fed’s pledge to be patient in beginning to raise interest rate means an increase is unlikely for “at least the next couple” of the Fed’s policy meetings. The central bank adopted the guidance in December and repeated it in January. (Xinhua, 25/2/15)
• Services PMI surges in Feb. – US Markit’s services PMI rose nearly 3 points to 57 in the flash read for Feb., the strongest rate of growth since Oct. and driven by a rebound in new work. The employment gauge gained at the fastest rate since Nov. Backlogs accumulated for the seventh straight month. (Investor’s Business Daily, 24/2/15)
• U.S. consumer confidence declines in February – U.S. consumer confidence, which had increased in January, declined in February, the New York-based research group The Conference Board said Tuesday in a report. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index registered 96.4 in February, down from 103.8 in January. (Xinhua, 24/2/15)
• U.S. home prices stable in December – U.S. home prices didn’t change much in December, according to S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. The 10-City Composite gained 4.3 percent year-over-year, up from 4.2 percent in November. The 20-City Composite gained 4.5 percent year-over-year, compared to 4.3 percent in November. The National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 4.6 percent annual gain in December 2014 versus 4.7 percent in November. (Xinhua, 24/2/15)
• EU backs 4 months aid extension for Greece – European Union officials on Tuesday approved the extension aid program for Greece, considering the list of Greece reform measures to be sufficiently comprehensive. Commenting on the list of Greece reform measures arriving yesterday, European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis said those measures are deemed sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for the successful conclusion of the review. (Xinhua, 24/2/15)
• Eurozone January inflation confirmed at -0.6%, lowest since 2009 – Consumer price inflation in the euro zone was unchanged from an initial estimate in January, underlining concerns over deflation in the single currency bloc, official data showed on Tuesday. Eurostat said consumer price inflation fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, in line with expectations and unchanged from a preliminary estimate. Euro zone inflation declined by 0.2% in December. (Nasdaq, 24/2/15)