BEIJING (Reuters) - Risks are rising that China's economic growth will slide further in the second quarter after weekend data showed unexpected weakness in May trade and domestic activity struggling to pick up.

Evidence has mounted in recent weeks that China's economic growth is fast losing momentum but Premier Li Keqiang tried to strike a reassuring note, saying the economy was generally stable and that growth was within a "relatively high and reasonable range".

China's economy grew at its slowest pace for 13 years in 2012 and so far this year economic data has surprised on the downside, bringing warnings from some analysts that the country could miss its growth target of 7.5 percent for this year.

"Growth remains unconvincing and the momentum seems to have lost pace in May," Louis Kuijs, an economist at RBS, said in a note. "The short-term growth outlook remains subject to risks and we may well end up revising down our growth forecast for 2013 further."

Exports posted their lowest annual growth rate in almost a year in May at 1 percent, exposing a more realistic picture of trade following a crackdown by authorities on currency speculation disguised as export trades to skirt capital controls, which had created double-digit rises in export growth every month this year even as world growth stuttered.

May exports to both the United States and the European Union - China's top two markets - both fell from a year earlier for the third month running.

Imports fell 0.3 percent against expectations for a 6 percent rise as the volume of many commodity shipments fell from a year earlier.

The volume of major metals imports, including copper and alumina, fell at double-digit rates. Coal imports fell sharply.

"The trade data reflects the sluggish domestic and overseas demand, signaling a slower-than-expected recovery in the second quarter," said Shen Lan, an economist at Standard Chartered bank in Shanghai.

A government factory survey of purchasing managers and a similar poll sponsored by HSBC, both issued earlier this month, showed export orders falling in May, suggesting the outlook remained grim.

Inflation, bank-lending growth and investment were below expectations in May, while factory output and retail sales rose around the same pace as in April.

China's consumer inflation slowed to 2.1 percent, the lowest in three months, while producer prices (PPI) fell 2.9 percent, the lowest since September. A Reuters poll had forecast consumer inflation at 2.5 percent and factory-gate prices down 2.5 percent.

"The inflation data showed China's economic growth continued to slow down. Second-quarter growth is probably even slower than the first quarter. In particular, the PPI data showed very weak demand," said Jianguang Shen, chief China economist at Mizuho Securities Asia in Hong Kong.

Central bank data showed Chinese banks made 667.4 billion yuan ($109 billion) in new loans in May, below market expectations of 850 billion yuan and down from April's 792.9 billion yuan.

M2 money supply rose 15.8 percent from a year earlier, slightly below a median forecast of 15.9 percent, while total social financing, a broad measure of cash in the economy, was 1.19 trillion yuan versus 1.75 trillion yuan in April.

Retail sales, fixed-asset investment and industrial output met expectations, rising 12.9 percent, 20.4 percent and 9.2 percent from a year earlier, respectively.

RATES AND OTHER REMEDIES

Economic growth slipped to 7.7 percent in the first quarter, down from 7.9 percent in the previous quarter. Both the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development cut their forecasts for China's economic 2013 economic growth in May, to 7.75 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.

But the further loss of momentum in the April and May could prompt the central bank to try to give the economy a lift, said Jian Chang, China economist for Barclays in Hong Kong.

"We had expected an L-shaped economic recovery in China and that the growth would stabilize at around 7.9 percent," Chang said.

"We now think China's growth will stabilize at around 7.6 percent (this year). The possibility for the central bank to cut interest rates is now rising," Chang said.

However, government economists from top think-tanks in Beijing told Reuters this week that the new leadership of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li will tolerate quarterly growth slipping as far as 7 percent year-on-year before looking to lift the economy, focusing on economic reforms rather than short-term stimulus.

Li was quoted by state television as saying that China's economy was generally stable, while China Central TV reported that Xi told U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to the United States that "we are confident of maintaining long-term sustainable economic growth".

He acknowledged China was at a "critical moment of economic restructuring" but that it would bring "enormous" potential, the TV said.

Cutting interest rates would be a difficult decision for the central bank for fear that providing cheaper credit could exacerbate a rise in property prices, which policymakers have been trying to contain.

"Property prices will jump if it cuts rates as recent government cooling measures have not achieved desired results," said Tang Jianwei, senior economist at Bank of Communications in Shanghai.

"And cutting rates may not be effective in slowing speculative money inflows, which are mainly driven by expectations of yuan appreciation."

Most economists agree however that the government will avoid major stimulus along the lines of its 4 trillion yuan package unleashed in the global financial crisis in 2008. It sparked a lending boom, which fuelled a property bubble and left local governments under a pile of debt.

The new leadership is keen to push economic restructuring towards domestic consumption and away from reliance on exports and investment for growth.

Sources told Reuters in May that a consensus had been reached among top leaders that reforms would be the only way to put the world's second-largest economy on a more sustainable footing.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Neil Fullick)

Starting with books, movies and TV shows video products, Amazon will include mobile phones and cameras in the coming weeks, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Under the marketplace model, the U.S. company will offer a platform for third parties and consumers to sell and buy products. Foreign companies are currently not allowed to directly offer online retailing in India.

Amazon already runs a price comparison portal, junglee.com, in India.

(Writing by Ranjit Gangadharan in Mumbai; Editing by Anand Basu)

European Tour Race to Dubai on Monday:

1. Matteo Manassero (Italy) 1,114,516 euros

2. Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) 1,029,186

3. Brett Rumford (Australia) 875,270

4. Sergio Garcia (Spain) 829,395

5. Mikko Ilonen (Finland) 788,486

6. Richard Sterne (South Africa) 717,094

7. Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) 684,405

8. Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 682,900

9. Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 662,628

10. Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 635,994

11. Branden Grace (South Africa) 632,966

12. Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 630,427

13. Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) 590,807

14. Thomas Aiken (South Africa) 579,820

15. Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 566,530

16. Jamie Donaldson (Wales) 557,137

17. Marc Warren (Scotland) 538,109

18. Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 537,871

19. Chris Wood (England) 508,965

20. Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 485,665

(Editing by Caroline Helly)

Blood Testing for Harrington's Former Patients

In aprovided by the Tulsa Health Department on Tuesday, it was reported that more than 2,500 people have received free blood testing through that county's agencies, nearly 60 more through the Oklahoma City-County Health Department and nearly 600 others through 30 other various county health departments, bringing the.

Situation updates yesterday by both the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Tulsa Health Department revealed that of the total tested thus far, 57 people have tested positively for hepatitis C, three have tested positively for hepatitis B, and at least one person has tested positively for HIV -- all conditions that are blood-borne.

Confidential, personal notifications have begun to be made to those who tested positive and further investigation into the origins of the positive test results will begin, as is routine for any positive results of such testing, explained, director of the Tulsa Health Department.explained that questions and investigations will help to determine whether the positive tests were as a result of exposure through Harrington's actions or another method and the public will be updated as further information is available.

Dentist Waives Hearing

Harrington, the dentist whose practices are at the center of this public health dilemma, was scheduled for a hearing Friday with the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry for possible suspension of his dental license. Through his attorney, Harrington notified the board that he waived today's hearing, reported, and is now scheduled for an Aug. 16 hearing for possible revocation of his license.

Harrington voluntarily surrendered his credentials to officials March 20, and both his Tulsa and Owasso offices are closed.

Free Blood Testing Continues

For current and former patients living in the Tulsa area, free blood testing continues to be offered at the North Regional Health and Wellness Center. While walk-ins are taken, it is advised to call the Center at 918-595-4380 to schedule an appointment for testing to minimize wait time.

Current and former patients of Harrington living elsewhere in the state should contact their local county health department for testing availability.

A Patient Information hotline, 918-595-4500, is available for questions or concerns. Both English- and Spanish-speaking representatives are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. through 5 p.m.

Bottom Line

It is too early in the blood testing process to determine how many, if any, of the people who have tested positive for blood-borne diseases acquired them through unsanitary dental practices or were exposed in another way. In the meantime, current and former patients of Harrington should continue to avail themselves of the free blood testing.

After the release of a Treasury Department watchdog report and three congressional hearings, it is still unclear who was responsible for creating what the Treasury audit called "inappropriate" criteria for scrutinizing groups.

Lawmakers have accused top IRS officials of lying to Congress and not being more forthcoming about what they knew about the targeting.

Here is what is publicly known about the IRS scandal, based on the Treasury audit, congressional investigators and IRS officials' recent testimony:

March 2010 - A group of workers in a Cincinnati, Ohio, IRS field office begins developing partisan criteria for reviewing groups' applications for tax-exempt status. Groups whose names included the words "Tea Party" and "Patriots" were among those flagged for extra scrutiny.

The criteria were developed as that office was coping with a flood of applications after the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision that empowered the creation of 501(c)(4)s, tax-exempt groups that do not have to disclose their donors as long as they are not "primarily" engaged in political activity.

June 29, 2011 - Lois Lerner, a Washington-based official in charge of the IRS's tax-exempt office, is alerted to the targeting. She then orders that the criteria be changed to focus more generally on political or lobbying activity.

January 2012 - Without approval from IRS executives, a team of specialists changes the criteria back to terms that focused on the specific policy positions of organizations. It is not publicly known who was on this team.

March 2012 - News reports detail complaints from conservative Tea Party groups about receiving lengthy and intrusive questionnaires from IRS officials reviewing their tax-exempt applications.

March 8, 2012 - House Oversight and Government Reform Committee staff members discuss with Treasury Inspector General staff potential problems with the IRS's efforts to increase scrutiny of certain tax-exempt applications.

March 22, 2012 - House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee holds a hearing on general IRS operations. Chairman Charles Boustany questions then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman about reports that the IRS has been targeting Tea Party groups. Shulman testifies that "what has been happening has been the normal back-and-forth that happens with the IRS" and that "there's absolutely no targeting."

Late March 2012 - The IRS's deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, Steven Miller, asks a senior technical adviser, Nancy Marks, to examine whether there are any problems in the review of tax-exempt applications for politically active groups and to make recommendations.

May 2012 - The IRS internal review concludes, and Miller and Shulman are briefed, that workers in the Cincinnati office had been using partisan criteria to review applications. Two employees are disciplined, but Miller later says it appears one of them was actually not responsible. Those individuals have not been publicly identified.

May 2012 - The criteria are again changed to become more neutral as directed by Holly Paz, a director in the Washington tax-exempt office.`

Spring 2012 - Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George tells Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin that George's office had begun to review reports that the IRS was not being consistent in identifying and reviewing applications for tax-exempt status from groups involved in political advocacy.

June 28, 2012 - House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa sends a letter to George, saying his panel understands that an inspector general's review has begun and asks for updates.

Fall 2012 - The inspector general's office lists on its website information that a review of alleged targeting by the IRS is occurring.

Throughout 2012 - Lerner gives several statements to congressional staff members saying that no targeting was occurring and that the follow-up questionnaires to conservative groups were not unusual.

April 2013 - White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler is notified about the existence of the inspector general's review on April 16. On April 24 she is told about the probe's preliminary findings and later informs Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and other senior White House staff on what she had heard. Ruemmler decides not to brief President Barack Obama; White House spokesman Jay Carney said later that this was done to avoid any appearance of presidential interference in the review.

May 10, 2013 - Lerner makes the IRS's first public admission of the targeting, apologizing for the activity after the agency planted a question with an audience member at an American Bar Association conference. White House and Treasury senior staff members were briefed beforehand about the strategy for making the news public. Obama has said he learned of the targeting from media reports about Lerner's comments.

May 14 - George releases his office's report, which says that ineffective management led to the IRS using "inappropriate criteria" to target Tea Party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny. The report says investigators could not determine who specifically was involved. The Justice Department opens a criminal probe into the matter.

May 17-22 - Three congressional panels hold hearings on the IRS scandal, during which Shulman and Miller say they cannot give lawmakers the names of those responsible for creating the criteria, or who was disciplined after the internal probe into the targeting. In a hearing before the House Oversight panel, Lerner says she did nothing wrong and then declines to answer questions, citing her constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination.

(Reporting By Karey Van Hall with additional reporting by Patrick Temple-West and Kim Dixon; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)