By Jarrett Renshaw

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Biden administration moved on Tuesday to boost wages and worker protections on federally funded construction projects, drawing the ire of trade groups that warn the union-friendly changes could curtail investment.

Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated the new labor reforms at a Philadelphia union hall, calling the administration unapologetically pro-union.

"When union wages go up, everyone's wages go up. When unions are strong, America is strong," she said, adding that the policies would give workers a "raise."

The trip marks the latest in a string of visits by U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration to the electoral battleground state of Pennsylvania to court unions, a core constituency of his Democratic Party even as many rank-and-file members favor Republicans.

By making changes to a 1930s law, the Labor Department seeks to boost wages and protections as the federal government spends billions of dollars on new roads and bridges, and expanding industries like computer chips and green energy.

The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 tasks the government with establishing wage floors - known as prevailing wages - that apply to construction projects funded by the federal government. Today, it applies to more than one million construction workers on $200 billion of such projects, the administration said.

Biden ordered the review of the labor law early in his administration. It will become effective in roughly 60 days.

Trade groups have long criticized the prevailing wage requirements, saying they discourage small businesses from seeking federal contracts.

The rule changes the way prevailing wages are calculated, basing them on the average wages paid to at least 30% of local workers, instead of the 50% threshold set in 1983. That raises the wage the government can set because they can eliminate more lower-wage workers from the calculation.

The Labor Department must currently periodically survey contractors and other parties to update wage rates, but will now be able to adopt prevailing wages determined by local governments, issue wage determinations for jobs when data is lacking and update outdated wage rates.

The change will add a new anti-retaliation provision to protect workers who raise concerns and strengthens the government's ability to withhold money from a contractor in order to pay employees their lost wages.

"This is yet another Biden administration handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market," said Associated Builders and Contractors official Ben Brubeck.

Biden won 57% of union households nationwide in the 2020 election compared with 40% for Trump, according to Edison Research.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's household borrowing grew in July for a fourth straight month and by the biggest amount in almost two years, central bank data showed on Wednesday, amid mounting worries by policymakers.

Total borrowing from banks increased by 6.0 trillion won ($4.55 billion) to stand at a fresh record high of 1,068.1 trillion won at the end of July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It was bigger than the monthly increase of 5.8 trillion won in June and the biggest since September 2021.

Growth in mortgage loans eased to 6.0 trillion won from 6.9 trillion won the previous month, but the fall in other loans softened to a marginal 0.01 trillion won from 1.2 trillion won.

There was some demand for stock investment, contributing to higher borrowing, and seasonal factors at the start of the second half of the year, a BOK official told a briefing.

South Korea's central bank held interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting last month, but the board members kept the door open for further tightening, expressing concern about rising household debts among others.

The country's financial regulator said in a separate statement that it would prepare a pre-emptive measure for stable management of household debts in the second half, if deemed necessary.

($1 = 1,318.4400 won)

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's consumer prices dropped in July for the first time since February 2021, while factory gate prices continued their declines, data showed on Wednesday, as lacklustre demand weighed on the economy.

The consumer price index (CPI) for the month dropped 0.3% year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, a slightly slower fall than the median estimate for a 0.4% decrease in a Reuters poll. CPI was unchanged in June.

The producer price index (PPI) fell for a 10th consecutive month, down 4.4% from a year earlier after a 5.4% drop the previous month. That compared with a forecast for a 4.1% fall.

China's economic recovery slowed after a brisk start in the first quarter, as demand at home and abroad weakened. Authorities have rolled out a flurry of policy measures to support the economy, with more steps expected.

By Ann Saphir

(Reuters) -Americans borrowed more than ever on their credit cards in the last quarter, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Tuesday, with balances surpassing $1 trillion for the first time even as overall household debt loads were largely unchanged.

Credit card balances rose by $45 billion to $1.03 trillion in the second quarter, the regional Fed bank said in its latest quarterly household debt and credit report, reflecting robust consumer spending as well as higher prices due to inflation, researchers said.

Household debt ticked up 0.1% to $17.06 trillion, as mortgage balances - the biggest portion, and typically the biggest driver, of overall household debt - were largely unchanged.

Meanwhile, credit card delinquencies are at an 11-year high, as measured using a four-quarter average, the data showed.

But the quarter-to-quarter trend appeared less alarming, with New York Fed researchers noting a leveling out near pre-pandemic levels in the most recent two quarters.

"Despite the many headwinds American consumers have faced over the last year - higher interest rates, post-pandemic inflationary pressures, and the recent banking failures - there is little evidence of widespread financial distress for consumers," New York Fed researchers wrote in a blog accompanying the data release.

Though rising balances will challenge some borrowers, and student loan borrowers may be squeezed as student loan repayments resume this fall, they wrote, "household credit shows some early signs of stabilizing at pre-pandemic health, albeit with higher nominal balances."

Student loan balances declined by $35 billion to $1.57 trillion in the second quarter, the data showed. New York Fed researchers attributed the decline to the timing of the academic year, as well as to some small forgiveness programs kicking in.

Mortgage originations increased to $393 billion in the April-June period, from a nine-year low of about $324 billion last quarter, the data showed.

They remain much lower than the average in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the impact of the U.S. central bank's aggressive interest rate hikes over the past 15 months. Overall mortgage balances ticked down to $12.01 trillion, from $12.04 trillion in the prior quarter, reflecting some changes in credit reporting that are expected to reverse next quarter, New York Fed researchers said.

Auto loan balances continued their long-term increase, rising by $20 billion to $1.58 trillion in the second quarter, the data showed. Originations rose about 11% to $179 billion, reflecting the sharp rise in car prices; the number of newly opened loans remains below pre-pandemic levels, the report said.

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's imports and exports fell much faster than expected in July, threatening growth prospects in the world's second-largest economy and heightening pressure for the government to provide fresh stimulus to prop up demand.

Imports dropped 12.4% in July year-on-year, customs data showed on Tuesday, missing a forecast fall of 5% in a Reuters poll. Exports contracted 14.5%, steeper than an expected 12.5% decline and the previous month's 12.4% fall.

Inbound shipments saw their biggest decline since January, when COVID infections shut shops and factories, crushing domestic demand.

The economy grew at a sluggish pace in the second quarter as demand weakened at home and abroad, prompting top leaders to promise further policy support and analysts to downgrade their growth forecasts for the year.

Poor imports and exports are the latest sign that third quarter growth could slow further, with construction, manufacturing and services activity, foreign direct investment, and industrial profits all weakening.

"Most measures of export orders point to a much greater decline in foreign demand than has so far been reflected in the customs data," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China Economics at Capital Economics. "And the near-term outlook for consumer spending in developed economies remains challenging, with many still at risk of recessions later this year, albeit mild ones."

China's yuan hit a three-week low and Asian stocks turned weaker after the data.

The state planner last week said stimulus would be forthcoming, but investors have so far been underwhelmed by proposals to expand consumption in the automobile, real estate and services sectors.

Beijing is looking for ways to boost domestic consumption without easing monetary policy too much lest it triggers large capital outflows as other major economies raise interest rates to tame soaring inflation.

That is affecting economic activity in the rest of Asia. South Korean exports to China fell 25.1% in July from a year earlier, the sharpest decline in three months.

China's trade surplus grew by $80.6 billion, beating a forecast of $70.6 billion in the poll.

(Reuters) -Electric-vehicle parts supplier Proterra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, making it the latest company to go belly up in an industry grappling with supply chain constraints, slowing demand and a funding drought.

The move comes weeks after Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy protection and put itself up for sale after failing to resolve a dispute over a promised investment from Foxconn.

Proterra, whose shares nearly halved in value after the bell, listed its assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. The company had a market value of $362 million as of last close.

In January 2021, Proterra was valued at $1.6 billion, including debt, in a merger deal with a blank-check firm.

"We have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to efficiently scale," CEO Gareth Joyce said in a statement.

Proterra, which makes electric buses as well as battery packs, said it intends to continue to operate in the ordinary course of business. It plans to file the customary motions with the bankruptcy court to use existing capital to fund operations.

The company earlier this year announced plans for more job cuts and said it will combine electric bus and battery production in South Carolina as it looks to trim costs.

By Safiyah Riddle

(Reuters) - The share of U.S. consumers who believe it is a bad time to buy a home reached the highest level in at least 13 years in July, according to a survey released on Monday, as the supply of available properties remains scarce and home prices appear to have stopped cooling.

The portion of U.S. consumers saying now is a "bad time to buy" a new home increased by 4 percentage points in July to 82%, according to a report released Monday by Fannie Mae, the highest level since the mortgage finance giant began conducting the survey in 2010.

Consumers' outlook also appears to have taken a hit, with a net 17% of respondents expecting price increases in the next 12 months, the highest percentage in over a year.

The grim perception of the housing market comes as home costs appear to have hit a floor after downward price pressure from the Federal Reserve's 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes since March 2022.

Persistently high home-buying costs are in large part due to limited housing stock, which has remained at historically low levels. Many homeowners are now unwilling to buy a new home that would require more expensive financing compared to mortgage costs locked in before the Fed started raising rates.

Willingness to sell was unchanged in July, according to the survey, with 64% of respondents indicating that now was a good time to sell - unchanged from the month prior.

Not all was pessimistic in the report, however, as confidence in the labor market and expected decreases in future mortgage rates pushed the overall Home Purchase Sentiment Index to 66.8, up 4 points year over year and 0.8 points from June.

"While consumers are reporting confidence in the components related to their personal financial situations, it’s unlikely we'll see housing sentiment catch up to other broader economic confidence measures until there is meaningful improvement to home purchase affordability," said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist.

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -A federal appeals court on Monday blocked the Biden administration from proceeding with another piece of its student debt relief agenda, a rule that would make it easier for people who are defrauded by their schools to have their loans forgiven.

At the request of a group representing for-profit colleges, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals prevented the rule from taking effect pending the outcome of an appeal to be heard in November.

The three-judge panel gave no reason for granting the emergency injunction sought by the trade group, Career Colleges and Schools of Texas (CCST), which is appealing a lower-court judge's decision not to block the U.S. Department of Education's rule.

CCST sued in February after the Education Department in October finalized a new rule changing a program that allows students to seek debt relief if their schools mislead them.

The new rule offers greater grounds for borrowers to get debt relief in cases of fraud and establishes a procedure for the Education Department to forgive debt for groups of students at schools where this occurred.

The rule is separate from Biden's more sweeping student debt relief plan. The Supreme Court in June blocked his administration from canceling $430 billion in student loan debt for 43 million borrowers. The Democratic president has since announced plans to provide relief for student loan borrowers using a different approach.

A spokesperson for the Education Department in a statement said it was reviewing Monday's order, adding that it "won't back down in our efforts to take on predatory colleges, provide relief to borrowers who have been cheated or had their school close, and hold institutions accountable for deceptive schemes."

Students who have received debt forgiveness through the program on deceptive loans have attended for-profit colleges including Corinthian Colleges and ITT (NYSE:ITT) Technical Institute.

CCST called the rule an unlawful and unconstitutional plan designed "to accomplish massive loan forgiveness for borrowers and to reallocate the correspondingly massive financial liability to institutions of higher education."

The panel's three judges -- Edith Jones, Kyle Duncan and Cory Wilson -- were all appointed by Republican presidents.

By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Public debt in most Pacific countries is expected to fall in the next 12 months as countries move towards the gradual unwinding of COVID-19 stimulus and the fiscal situation improves, according to a World Bank report released on Tuesday.

“In line with fiscal consolidation efforts, public debt is projected to decline during 2023- 2024 across the Pacific (except in Solomon Islands and Federated States of Micronesia),” the Pacific Economic Update said on Tuesday.

Debt has surged in the region since 2019 as the tourism-dependent economies were hit by COVID border closures, trade was hurt by logistical challenges and weather events caused damage. Countries took on more debt to implement support and stimulus packages. This was particularly notable in tourist- dependent countries such as Fiji, Palau and Vanuatu.

The World Bank has previously said six Pacific countries - Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu - are at a high risk of debt distress.

However, Tuesday’s report added that as the fiscal deficit widens in Solomon Islands and FSM, the governments are expected to increase borrowing to meet the financing gap — increasing the public debt.

It added that in terms of economic output, most Pacific countries - except Palau, Samoa and Solomon Islands - are projected to hit pre-pandemic gross domestic product levels by 2024.

“In contrast, some countries where fishing license revenue is a dominant contributor to income, such as Kiribati and Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2021 because the fishing sector was less impacted by border closures,” it noted.

The report added that risks remained including uncertainty in global commodity price movements and geopolitical tensions serve as downside risks to the Pacific’s economic recovery.

“Given the region’s vulnerability to disasters, climate change is a persistent major underlying risk,” it added.

By Kevin Buckland and Brigid Riley

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese government bond yields fell from multi-month highs on Monday, mirroring a sharp retreat in their U.S. peers at the end of last week after data showed U.S. jobs growth had cooled.

The 30-year JGB yield fell 2 basis points (bps) to 1.595%, after reaching 1.63% in the previous session for the first time since mid-January. The Finance Ministry's auction of about 900 billion yen ($6.33 billion) of the tenor on Tuesday will be closely watched as a litmus test of demand in the sector.

The 20-year yield declined 1.5 bps to 1.32%. It hit 1.355% on Friday, a level last seen at the start of February.

The 10-year JGB yield slid 2 bps to 0.62%. On Thursday it had risen to the highest since January 2014 at 0.655% as the market continued to seek an equilibrium level between the Bank of Japan's official policy ceiling of 0.5% under yield curve control (YCC) and the new de-facto limit at 1% following last month's surprise policy tweak.

Minutes of that meeting released in the Tokyo morning offered little in the way of fresh clues for traders.

Equivalent U.S. Treasury yields were little changed at around 4.06% in Tokyo trading after plunging some 14 bps on Friday from a nine-month high above 4.2% reached earlier that session.

Investors are closely monitoring how the Bank of Japan conducts its bond-purchase operations for hints on a comfortable level for the 10-year yield.

The central bank's focus thus far on buying of maturities up to 10 years may buff the attractiveness of the 30-year bonds at Tuesday's auction, said Takafumi Yamawaki, head of Japan fixed-income research at J.P. Morgan Securities.

"The BOJ has not shown the intention to control superlong yields," Yamawaki said, adding that on an absolute basis, "life insurers think the 30-year JGB yield at this moment is quite attractive."

At the shorter end on Monday, two-year JGB yield fell 0.5 bp to 0.015%, while the five-year yield declined 1 bp to 0.20%.

Benchmark 10-year JGB futures closed 0.24 yen higher at 146.60, rebounding from Friday's nearly five-month low of 146.24.

($1 = 142.0800 yen)