Good morning! Morning Minutes is a round-up of stories that will break on Wednesday (Nov 9) and which we think you'd be interested in.

It appears on weekdays, available by 7am.

Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?

The winner of the US presidential elections will be unveiled on Wednesday (Nov 9), probably hours after polling stations begin to close on the US East Coast from 7pm (8am Singapore time).

Mrs Clinton has a slim lead in the polls but no one was ruling out a Trump win.

A polling average by tracker site RealClearPolitics gave Mrs Clinton a 3.3-percentage point national lead, but Mr Trump is closer or even has the advantage in several of the swing states that he must conquer to pull off an upset.

Outstanding service staff to receive Service Gold National Kindness Award

Service staff who have gone beyond the call of duty to create extraordinary experiences for their guests will be recognised at an awards ceremony on Wednesday (Nov 9).

Organised by the Singapore Kindness Movement and the Singapore Hotel Association, the ceremony also aims to promote gracious behaviour in the service industry.

Close to 100 staff from 54 hotels will receive the Service Gold National Kindness Award.

Duterte visiting Malaysia

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrives in Malaysia on Wednesday (Nov 9) for a two-day state visit.

He will discuss with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak efforts to combat piracy in the Strait of Malacca and a plague of kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf militant group.

The two leaders are also expected to compare notes on their recent pro-China outreach that analysts say reinforce the regional narrative of China's rise and the United States' decline.

EU economic forecasts

The European Commission is scheduled to release its autumn economic forecasts on Wednesday (Nov 9).

The commission had earlier forecast the euro area and the European Union to grow at 1.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively this year, with growth in Europe expected to remain modest as the performance of key trading partners slowed and some of the supportive factors started to wane.

Thai central bank expected to keep policy rate unchanged

Thailand's central bank is expected to keep its already-low policy rate unchanged for a 12th straight meeting today, letting government spending and tourism aid a slow economic recovery in the face of tepid demand at home and abroad.

Economists predict that the one-day repurchase rate would be left unchanged at 1.50 per cent, when the monetary policy committee (MPC) meets on Wednesday (Nov 9).

Thailand's last rate change, a 25-basis-point cut, was in April 2015. The rate is near a record low of 1.25 per cent reached during the global financial crisis.

Most analysts forecast no policy change for the rest of 2016, but two expect a rate cut at the MPC's last meeting of the year on Dec 21, citing a weak economic outlook.