Global

World Bank Raises Growth Forecasts. The World Bank raised its global growth forecasts as the easing of austerity policies in advanced economies supports their recovery, boosting prospects for developing markets' exports. It sees the world economy expanding 3.2 % this year, compared with a June projection of 3% and up from 2.4 % last year. The forecast for the richest nations was raised to 2.2 % from 2.0%. The bank sees a global expansion of 3.4 % in 2015 compared with 3.3 % predicted in June. In the US, where growth is seen accelerating to 2.8 % this year, unchanged from the outlook in June, the recent budget compromise in Congress will ease spending cuts previously in place and boost confidence from households and businesses, the bank said. (Bloomberg)

IMF Head Christine Lagarde Warns Of Deflation Risks. The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned about the risks to global economic recovery of deflation. Christine Lagarde said that "optimism is in the air" about growth, but the recovery is still "fragile". "If inflation is the genie, then deflation is the ogre that must be fought decisively," she said in a speech in Washington. "We see rising risks of deflation, which could prove disastrous for the recovery," Ms Lagarde said at the National Press. Ms Lagarde also warned about the volatility that could accompany the US Federal Reserve's gradual withdrawal of monetary stimulus. "Overall, the direction is positive, but global growth is still too low, too fragile, and too uneven," she said. (BBC)

Malaysia

Slower Growth For Malaysia’s Retail Industry. Malaysia’s retail industry grew at a slower pace of 3.1% in the third quarter of 2013, down from the 4.8% a year ago and it expects a 4.2% rise in the fourth quarter, according to the Retail Group Malaysia. It said on Wednesday this latest quarterly result was sharply lower than its earlier estimate at 10.5% compiled in September and the estimate at 6.5%. “This latest quarterly growth rate is also lower than the growth rates of third quarter (4.8%) in 2012 and second quarter (4.6%) in 2013,” it said. Members of the retailers’ association expect 4.2% increases in their businesses during the fourth quarter of 2013. The expected slower growths in supermarket & hypermarket, furniture, electrical & electronics as well as personal care led to a lower overall estimate. (The Star)

Asia

China Urges IMF To Give More Power To Emerging Markets. China called on the IMF on Wednesday to stick to a commitment to give emerging markets more power at the world body after U.S. lawmakers set back historic reforms that would give developing countries a greater say. The proposed $1 trillion spending bill for the U.S. federal government did not include funding for the International Monetary Fund. Congress must sign off on the IMF funding to complete 2010 reforms that would make China the IMF's third-largest member and revamp the IMF board to reduce the dominance of Western Europe. The changes would also give greater say to nations such as Brazil and India to reflect their growing economic heft. But the changes have been held up by the lack of approval from the United States. (Reuters)

China’s Credit Growth Slows As Foreign Reserves Jump. China’s broadest measure of new credit fell in December while money-supply growth and new yuan loans trailed estimates amid a cash crunch and government efforts to curb speculative lending. Aggregate financing was 1.23 trillion yuan ($204 billion), the People’s Bank of China said today in Beijing. That compared with 1.63 trillion yuan a year earlier. China’s foreign-exchange reserves, the world’s largest, rose to a record $3.82 trillion at the end of December from September’s $3.66 trillion. New yuan loans were 482.5 billion yuan in December and M2 money supply rose 13.6 % from a year earlier, the central bank said. (Bloomberg)

Singapore Home Sales Fall As MAS Sees Market Stabilizing. Singapore home sales fell to a four-year low and the central bank said the nation’s property market is stabilizing. Annual home sales dropped 33 % to 15,301 units in 2013, according to government data released today. New housing loans have declined and household balance sheets are strong, the Monetary Authority of Singapore wrote in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg News today after a Forbes article this week said the city is headed for an “Iceland-style meltdown.” (Bloomberg)

North America

U.S. Producer Prices Rose In 2013 By Least In Five Years. Wholesale prices in the U.S. climbed in December for the first time in three months to cap the smallest annual increase in five years, showing companies face little pressure to charge more. The 0.4 % increase in the producer-price index matched the median estimate of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg and followed a 0.1 % drop in November, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The socalled core measure, which excludes food and energy, climbed more than forecast, led by the biggest surge in tobacco costs since 2007. (Bloomberg)

Canada Real Estate Market Ends 2013 In Soft Landing Mode. Canadian existing home sales fell in December for a third month as the real estate market ended the year on a soft note after surging for much of 2013. Sales fell 1.8 % in December from the previous month, the Canadian Real Estate Association said today in a statement. In 2013, realtors sold 457,893 units through the Multiple-Listing Service, up 0.8 % from a year ago with the average sales price in 2013 rising 5.2 % to C$382,466 ($349,300). (Bloomberg)

Europe

German Economic Growth Weaker Than Expected. Germany's economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 0.4% in 2013 according to the first official estimates. That is down from the 0.7% growth Europe's largest economy saw in 2012. The preliminary figure from the German statistics agency suggests Germany saw little or no growth in the final three months of the year. However, most economists expect the economy to bounce back in 2014 with growth of up to 2%. The government is forecasting 1.7%. (BBC)

Currencies

Dollar Up On Positive Outlook, Manufacturing Data. The dollar strengthened across the board Wednesday after U.S. data underscored a recovery in the manufacturing sector, and another Federal Reserve official emphasized the central bank was committed to withdrawing monetary stimulus. The dollar rose to ¥104.60 from ¥104.14 late Tuesday. The ICE dollar index, a gauge of the greenback’s strength against six rivals, rose to 80.995 from 80.631 late in the prior session. In other trade, the euro fell to $1.3607 from $1.3679 late Tuesday, while the pound moved lower to $1.6374 from $1.6444. The Australian dollar fell to 89.14 U.S. cents from 89.63 U.S. cents. (Market Watch)

Commodities

U.S. Oil At 2-Week High On Draw; Libya Weighs On Brent. U.S. oil ended at a two-week high on Wednesday after government data showed a larger-than-expected drop in inventories while a rise in Brent was restrained by expectations Iranian and Libyan crude supplies may increase. U.S. oil extended gains by $2.01 to a session high of $94.60, then settled $1.58, or 1.7 %, higher at $94.17 a barrel, its highest settlement since Jan. 2. The February contract expires on Tuesday following a long U.S. holiday weekend. February Brent crude rose $1.16 to a session high of $107.55, before settling up 74 cents at $107.13 a barrel. The contract expires on Thursday. (Reuters)

Gold Down For Second Day As Dollar Rises, Equities Gain. Gold fell for a second session on Wednesday as the dollar rallied after data showed U.S. producer prices rose sharply in December even though there were few signs of sustained price pressures. Spot gold dropped 0.4 % to $1,240.15 an ounce by 3:37 p.m. EST (2037 GMT). Among other precious metals, silver fell 0.3 % to $20.15 an ounce. Platinum dropped 0.2 % to $1,423.75 an ounce, while palladium was up 0.8% at $739.50 an ounce. (Reuters)