Taiwan - Unemployment rate fell to 17-month low in May
Taiwan’s jobless rate fell in May to the lowest level in 17 months as stronger international demand prompted manufacturers and retailers to hire. The seasonally adjusted rate declined to 5.22% last month from 5.43% in April, the statistics bureau said in Taipei. (Bloomberg)
US - Sales of existing homes fall as end of tax credit looms
Sales of US previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in May as demand began to slip even before a government tax credit expires. Purchases of existing houses, which are tabulated when a contract closes, decreased 2.2% to a 5.66 million annual rate. (Bloomberg)
US - Inflation expectations signal no hurry for Fed to raise rates
A decline in expectations for future inflation in the US signals that Federal Reserve policy makers should be in no hurry to raise rates as they meet to set borrowing costs. Investors anticipate an inflation rate of 1.69% in the next five years, compared with 2.01% on 28 April, when policy makers concluded their last meeting on monetary policy. (Bloomberg)
EU - June consumer confidence holds near nine-month low
European consumer confidence remained near the lowest in nine months in June as rising unemployment and a fiscal crisis clouded the growth outlook. An index of consumer sentiment in the 16-nation euro region rose to minus 17.3 from minus 17.8 in May, the Brussels-based European Commission said. The May reading was the lowest since September 2009. (Bloomberg)
China - Yuan gain may alter global growth more than velocity
China’s shift toward a stronger exchange rate may alter the shape of the world economy’s expansion more than its speed, economists said. Chinese consumers might buy more as the rising yuan boosts their purchasing power, while their counterparts in the US cut back on their spending as the cost of goods imported into America rises. The shift will add 0.1 percentage point to global growth this year and next, leaving the rate at about 4%., (Bloomberg)
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