South Korea and the U.S. said they are close to new terms for a deal on how resume American beef imports, as President Lee Myung Bak prepared to announce staff firings over public anger at his handling of the issue.

China, the world's second-biggest oil-consuming nation, unexpectedly raised gasoline and diesel prices by at least 17 percent and increased power tariffs to rein in energy use, potentially driving up inflation.

China's export growth unexpectedly accelerated in May, easing concern that government measures to tame inflation will trigger an economic slump. Overseas sales rose 28.1 percent from a year earlier, after gaining a revised 21.9 percent in April, the customs bureau said on its Web site. That was more than the 20 percent median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

U.K. retail sales unexpectedly rose by the most since records began two decades ago as Britons bought more seasonal food and clothing during the warmest May ever. Sales rose 3.5 percent, the most since the series started in 1986, after falling 0.3 percent in April, the Office for National Statistics said today in London.

Vietnamese banks have more than enough funds to cover compulsory reserves after attracting deposits by raising their interest rates following an official rate increase last week, the central bank has said. The State Bank of Vietnam raised its base rate to 14 percent from 12 percent, effective June 11, and banks increased their rates closer to a ceiling of 21 percent on deposits and loans in the Vietnamese dong, up from the 18 percent in effect since May 19.

Deutsche Bank AG raised its growth estimate for Taiwan's economy, citing policies by new president Ma Ying-jeou to invest in infrastructure, expand ties with China and develop the service sector.

The Swiss central bank will probably leave its main lending rate unchanged at a six-year high tomorrow as slowing growth limits policy makers' room to combat inflation, a survey of economists shows. The Swiss National Bank's Governing Board led by Jean-Pierre Roth will probably keep the three-month Libor target at 2.75 percent when it meets in Geneva tomorrow, according to 16 of 25 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey

European inflation accelerated more than initially estimated in May as food and energy costs soared, intensifying what finance ministers from the world's richest nations said is becoming a ``more complicated'' dilemma. The inflation rate in the euro area rose to 3.7 percent last month, the highest since June 1992, from 3.3 percent in April, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said in a statement today. That is higher than the 3.6 percent estimate published on May 30.

Corn climbed to a record near $8 a bushel as floods damaged crops in the U.S., the largest producer and exporter, threatening global food supplies. Soybeans rose to a three-month high. The flooding may be the worst in the Midwest since 1993 and will probably cause ``hundreds of millions of dollars'' of damage, according to the National Weather Service. U.S. corn stockpiles may fall 53 percent to a 13-year low before next year's harvest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said June 10.