Kaohoon Morning Brief – 29 October 2021
Morning brief of major stories since the closing of Thai stock market on 29 October 2021.
1) US GDP grew at a slower pace in 3Q
The United States economy grew at a slower pace in the third quarter of 2021, recording a 2% growth as a wave of Covid-19 crisis decelerated consumer spending amid surging inflation. The GDP growth in this quarter missed an estimate of 2.8% by economists.
2) US jobless claims recorded fewest since pandemic started
Weekly U.S. initial jobless claims continued to record fewest numbers since the start of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Jobless claims last week totaled 281,000, lower than the expectation of 289,000 claims.
3) ECB keeps policy rates unchanged
The European Central Bank maintained the refinancing rate and deposit facility rate unchanged at 0%, -0.5% respectively. The central bank stated that the temporary asset purchase programme of private and public sector securities will continue until “at least” March 2022, but added that the pace will be slower than 2Q and 3Q.
4) Facebook changed corporate name to Meta
Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta to emphasize its ‘metaverse’ vision while continuing to build technology to connect people.
“It is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do, to reflect who we are, and what we hope to build,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg before announcing a new name for the company: Meta.