China Urged to Prioritize Economy Over Territorial Ambitions, Says Taiwan’s President Lai 
Oil Prices Hold Steady as Ukraine Tensions and Fed Cut Expectations Support Market 
China’s Services Sector Posts Slowest Growth in Five Months as Demand Softens 
Trump and Lula Discuss Trade, Sanctions, and Security in “Productive” Phone Call 
RBI Cuts Repo Rate to 5.25% as Inflation Cools and Growth Outlook Strengthens 
BOJ Faces Pressure for Clarity, but Neutral Rate Estimates Likely to Stay Vague 
Japan’s Nikkei Drops as Markets Await Key U.S. Inflation Data 
Asian Currencies Steady as Rupee Hits Record Low Amid Fed Rate Cut Bets 
Dollar Holds Steady as Markets Shift Focus to 2026 Rate Cut Expectations 
South Korea Posts Stronger-Than-Expected 1.3% Economic Growth in Q3 
Europe Confronts Rising Competitive Pressure as China Accelerates Export-Led Growth 
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released its Trade and Development Report 2016 earlier on Thursday. UNCTAD said that the world economy in 2016 is in a "fragile state,” and added that “Neither financial bubbles nor export surges offer a sustainable solution to tepid growth and weak labour market conditions.”
UNCTAD said that there was lack of policy coordination among systemically important economies. The agency called for a more ambitious policy package to address existing imbalances and ease the constraints on faster growth.
The UNCTAD report follows a modest downgrade by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to global growth forecasts on Wednesday. OECD trimmed global GDP growth forecast for 2016 to 2.9 percent from previous 3.0 percent. 2017 GDP growth forecast was cut to 3.2 percent from previous 3.3 percent.
