Inflation Alarms Ring Out Across Asia

By Elffie Chew and John Jannarone Malaysia and Singapore posted 26-year highs in inflation as food and fuel costs continue to back the region's central banks into a corner. Malaysian inflation rose a higher-than-expected 7.7% year to year in June, and economists said the swift price increases add to the case for the first rate increase in over two years by the end of this year. Malaysia's inflation rate last surpassed 7% in February 1982, when it hit 7.3%. The country's consumer-price index expanded 3.9% in June over May, Department of Statistics data show. Ten economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires said they expected consumer... [read full story]