Bhaskar Prasad

HSBC Holdings PLC is planning to sell yuan-denominated bonds listed on the London Stock Exchange, a move that will make the City the first place outside mainland China or Hong Kong to do business in the currency.

Home prices in China fell in March, indicating that the government's efforts to curb the property market boom are gaining further momentum.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its global growth forecast despite a persisting Eurozone debt crisis.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into China fell in March as investors spooked by a lingering European crisis cut down on spending.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) surprised markets with a 50 basis point cut in the main interest rate, the first policy easing in three years, as focus turned to lifting lending controls and tackling a slowdown in the economy.

Japan said Tuesday it would offer $60 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost a global firewall against Europe's debt crisis.

South Korea's central bank has lowered the country's growth forecast for 2012 to 3.5 percent on account of the global economic slowdown that has resulted in the weakening of exports.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to ease rates when it announces the annual credit policy on Tuesday, in order to lift constraints on lending and in a response to the continued shortage of liquidity in the banking sector faced with a slow moving economy.

Temasek Holdings, the Singapore state-owned investment group, has agreed to buy $2.3 billion worth of shares in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) from Goldman Sachs, a move that is seen as part of its strategy to increase investment in emerging economies.

South Korea's central bank said Friday that it is keeping the key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent, subsequent to the inflationary pressures witnessed by the country.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore Friday tightened monetary policy in an attempt to alleviate core inflationary pressures and thereby to enhance growth.

Indian software services firm Infosys Technologies Ltd Friday reported 27.4 percent quarterly rise in profit, but presented disappointing guidance for future sales subsequent to the uncertainties in the global economy and the volatile nature of the currency.

An unexpected drop in the US trade deficit in February has prompted analysts to raise the first quarter GDP growth estimates.

Growth was 8.1 percent in the first quarter, the lowest since the same period in 2009, largely due to weak global demand and reduced investment in domestic real estate.

Iran has stopped oil exports to Germany and declared a ban on imports from 100 European Union companies in retaliation to the EU embargo on Iranian crude imports which will come into force in July, the Press TV has reported.

The foreclosure activity in the US for the first quarter declined to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2007, according to a report by RealtyTrac.

China's growth rate will decrease in 2012, according to the forecast by World Bank following the deterioration in the domestic property market and decrease in export demand globally.

Japan's core machinery orders rose in February against all expectations, indicating that the country’s economy is in the path of recovery in spite of deflationary pressures, a strengthening currency and decreasing foreign demand.

A tsunami can be caused by a sudden disruption of the sea floor resulting in the vertical displacement of water. When earthquakes happen beneath the sea, as in the present case, water above the area, which is deformed, will undergo sudden displacement from its equilibrium position.

Iran has stopped oil exports to Spain in retaliation to the European Union ban on Iranian crude imports that comes into force in July, the Mehr News Agency has reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

The U.S. Justice Department sued Apple Inc. and Hachette, owner of Macmillan on Wednesday for allegedly fixing the price of e-books.

Certain issues were brought to the board's attention regarding Mr. Dunn's personal conduct, unrelated to the company's operations or financial controls, and an audit committee investigation was initiated, the company said.

China reported Tuesday an unexpected $5.35 billion trade surplus in March, following a vast deficit in February and in the midst of a continued exports weakness caused by economic crises in overseas markets.

The earnings season, which starts with Alcoa Inc. reporting first quarter results Tuesday, is expected to be sluggish and could witness markets struggling to maintain gains made in the past several weeks.

BOJ policy-makers voted to keep the central bank's key rate within a range of zero to 0.1 percent and to maintain the size of its asset-buying program at 65 trillion yen.

Chesapeake Energy Corp, the second largest natural gas producer in the US, said on Monday that it has finalized three deals to sell its assets, which will raise $2.6 billion, as it faces cash crunch and a rising debt.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund has raised its stake in Xstrata Plc to a little over 5 percent, which is valued around $2.7 billion, in advance of the Anglo-Swiss miner's intended merger with Glencore International Plc.

Consumer electronics and entertainment giant Sony is letting go 10,000 employees, a sixth of its total workforce, in an effort to concentrate resources on core business and bring the company back to black.

“Price hikes at the pump have been losing steam for weeks. ... Crude oil prices have slipped and if they don’t rebound in the very near future, gasoline prices will peak very soon, if they haven’t already,” said Trilby Lundberg, president of Lundberg Survey Inc.