CHINA

Consumer Fears Spark Surge in Retail Sales: Chinese retail sales swelled 27.3% in May to a record $18.9 billion as fears of inflation led to rounds of panic buying, according to official reports. The surge, the biggest since China’s last episode of economic jitters in 1989, is another sign that Beijing’s efforts to slow economic growth are not succeeding. “Some consumers still stubbornly cling to the belief that buying high-valued products could protect their . . . savings from devaluation,” the China Daily newspaper said. China’s official urban cost-of-living price index rose 16.7% over the first five months compared to the same period in 1992, but the real inflation rate is seen as hovering near 20%.