20130108 1101 Global Economy Related News.

UK: Home prices rise as Halifax sees stagnating market
UK house prices rose for a second month in December and will probably remain little changed in 2013 as the uncertain economic outlook constrains property demand, according to Halifax. Values advanced 1.3% from the previous month to an average 163,845 pounds (USD262,900), the mortgage unit of Lloyds Banking Group Plc said in a statement in London today. The monthly price gain in November was revised to 1.6% from a previous estimate of 1%. From a year earlier, values rose 2.6% in December. (Bloomberg)

NZ: Consumer confidence, spending boosted rising house prices
New Zealand consumers increased spending for a third month in December, emboldened by rising house prices, adding to the case for a faster economic recovery and higher interest rates in 2013. Spending on credit and debt cards rose 0.5% from November, Paymark, which processes three quarters of all card transactions, said in an e-mailed statement today. House prices in Auckland, home to a third of the nation’s 4.4m population, rose at the fastest pace in five years, another report showed. (Bloomberg)

US: Wages a balm for US workers facing payroll tax shock
An improving job market is boosting wages and providing needed relief just as every American worker gets hit with a tax increase. Hourly earnings climbed 0.3% on average in December for a second month, the biggest back-to-back increase since the economic recovery began in mid-2009, Labor Department figures showed. Combined with a lengthening of the workweek, this brought the average weekly paycheck to USD818.69, up 1.2 % from October and the steepest two-month gain since February-March 2007, before the recession began. (Bloomberg)

US: Employment trends gauge rises in December
A gauge of employment trends rose in December, but current job growth may be difficult to keep up, according to a monthly labor market report released Monday by the Conference Board. The New York-based private research group said its employment trends index, which is designed to forecast turning points in employment, increased 0.77% in December. "After posting a significant increase in December, following an upward revision in November, the employment trends index is improving," said Gad Levanon, macroeconomic research director at the Conference Board. (MarketWatch)

US: Banks win four-year delay as Basel liquidity rule loosens
Global central bank chiefs gave lenders four more years to meet international liquidity requirements and watered down the measures in a bid to stave off another credit crunch. Banks won the delay to fully meet the so-called liquidity coverage ratio, or LCR, following a deal struck by regulatory chiefs meeting yesterday in Basel, Switzerland. They’ll be able to pick from a longer list of approved assets including equities and securitized mortgage debt as they seek to build up buffers of liquidity for use in a financial crisis. Bank shares soared after the decision to overhaul the proposed ratio. (Bloomberg)