20120620 0939 Global Economy Related News.

Malaysia : The government has no plans to increase the mandatory retirement age for civil servants to 66 years, the same mandatory retirement age for judges. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government would instead appoint retired officers on contract basis. "In this way, the government can ensure that only retired officers with high performance will be appointed to meet service needs," he said. (Bernama)

Several emerging-market countries detailed their plans to boost the IMF's coffers by more than US$90bn, to push the total new commitments to about US$456bn: China is pledging US$43bn, while India, Russia, Brazil and Mexico told G-20 officials they would commit around US$10bn each. Turkey committed US$5bn, and a handful of others offered about US$1bn. (WSJ)

China’s commerce minister Chen Deming said his nation’s economy is heading for a rebound this month following government measures to support growth. He added that the target of 10% growth in trade this year is “still possible” if the European debt crisis can be contained in 2H12. (Bloomberg)

China offered US$43bn to the IMF’s crisis-fighting reserves, rounding off a global push to nearly double the Fund's war chest to US$456bn to help protect countries from fallout from the euro zone debt crisis. (Reuters)

UK: Inflation slows to weakest since November 2009 on fuel

UK inflation slowed to the weakest in 2 1/2 years in May, led by food and fuel prices, which may ease resistance among Bank of England policy makers to increase monetary stimulus. Consumer prices rose a 2.8% from a year earlier, compared with a 3% increase in April, the Office for National Statistics said. That’s the weakest since November 2009. Economists had forecast a gain of 3%, the median of 29 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. From April, prices fell 0.1%, the first drop in that period since records began in 1996. (Bloomberg)

EU: Euro-Zone construction output falls
Construction output in the 17 nations that use the euro dropped 2.7% from March, and 5.0% from April 2011, the European Union's official statistics agency Eurostat said. Eurostat also lowered its estimate for the growth of construction output in March, to 11.4% from 12.4%. The decline in construction during April was widespread across the currency area, with building work down 6.0% in Germany, 2.3% in Spain and 4.4% in Italy. Among the euro zone's larger economies, only France posted a significant increase, of 2.3%. (Dow Jones Newswires)

EU: Euro rises against Dollar as EU seeks acceptable Greek path
The euro rallied to almost the highest level in a month against the dollar after a European Union official said a politically acceptable path will be sought for renegotiating Greece’s bailout conditions. The US currency fell against most of its major counterparts as the Federal Reserve starts a two-day meeting where 12 primary dealers expect some form of added stimulus from the central bank, while nine expect no action. The pound weakened versus the euro after UK inflation slowed in May to the least in 2 1/2 years. Mexico’s peso and Canada’s dollar rose after a report showed a measure of future construction in the US climbed to the highest since September 2008. (Bloomberg)

US: Housing starts in US fell in May to 708,000 annual rate
Builders in the US broke ground on fewer homes than forecast in May as a slump in the construction of apartments swamped a pick-up in single-family houses. Starts dropped 4.8% to a 708,000 annual pace from a revised 744,000 rate in the prior month that was the highest since October 2008, the Commerce Department reported. The median forecast of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 722,000 pace. (Bloomberg)


The US pressed the EU and the IMF to renegotiate their bailout plan with Greece to give the new government more time to meet its obligations. (AFP)

US President Barack Obama felt "encouraged" by Europe's plans to move out of its economic crisis after talks on Monday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the White House said. (AFP)

US ICSC-Goldman Store Sales index rose 0.0% wow in the week ended 16 Jun (-0.7% in the prior week), whilst on a yoy basis, the measure gained 3.6% (2.9% in the earlier week). (Bloomberg)


US stocks rally to one-month high
US stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the highest level in more than a month, as investors speculated the Federal Reserve will announce more measures to stimulate the world’s largest economy. The S&P 500 rose 1% to 1,357.98, gaining for a fourth day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 95.51 pts, or 0.8%, to 12,837.33. Trading volume for exchange-listed stocks in the US was about 6.8bn shares, or almost in line with the three-month average. (Bloomberg)