20110427 1025 Global Economic Related News.

Singapore: Production surges on drug, electronics output
Singapore’s industrial output grew at the fastest pace in four months as manufacturers produced more pharmaceuticals and computer parts, bolstering an economic expansion that has allowed the central bank to tighten policy. Manufacturing which accounts for about a quarter of the economy, climbed 22% in March from a year earlier after a revised 4.7% increase in February, the economic development board said. (Starbiz)

China: Denies raising capital requirement
China has denied tightening capital rules for its five biggest banks following media reports that it had lifted the capital requirement above a minimum mark. The denial came after Bloomberg said China had increased the capital adequacy ratio for its top banks to as high as 11.8% for the year, above an initial minimum level of 11.5% to guard against risks in the banking sector. (Starbiz)

S. Korea: Growth accelerates in 1Q11, adding price pressure. Gross domestic product rose 1.4% QoQ from the previous quarter, when it advanced 0.5% QoQ, the Bank of Korea said. The economy grew 4.2% YoY in 1Q11. (Source: Bloomberg)

Euro: Debt reaches record 85.1% of GDP as crisis festers
Euro-area debt reached a record in 2010, making it harder for the bloc’s better-off countries to bear the costs of the fiscal crisis triggered by Greece. Debt rose in all 16 countries that were using the euro last year, lifting the bloc’s average to 85.1% of gross domestic product from 79.3% in 2009, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. Greece’s deficit topped expectations and debt ballooned to 142.8% of GDP, the highest in the euro’s 12-year history. Ireland’s debt surged the most, by 30.6% pts to 96.2% of GDP. (Bloomberg)

US: Home prices decrease, approach recession low
Residential real-estate prices dropped in the 12 months to February by the most in more than a year, putting the market on the verge of eclipsing the nadir reached during the U.S. recession. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities fell 3.3% from February 2010, the biggest year-over-year decline since November 2009, the group said today in New York. At 139.27, the gauge was just shy of the six-year low of 139.26 in April 2009, two months before the economic slump ended. Values will probably keep falling as foreclosures swell the supply of unsold homes, which means the construction industry will take time to recover. Another report showed consumer confidence climbed more than forecast this month, making it more likely that spending will keep growing as the economic expansion creates jobs and stock prices advance. (Bloomberg)

U.S: Consumer confidence in April increases more than forecast. The Conference Board's confidence index rose to 65.4 from a revised 63.8 reading in March, figures from the New York-based private research group showed. (Source: Bloomberg)