Bhaskar Prasad

Hopes that the European Central Bank’s operations would help to facilitate a meaningful pick-up in the euro-zone economy were dealt a blow by the release of March’s flash Purchase managers Index surveys according to Capital Economics.

The increase in oil prices in recent weeks has caused some to fear that inflation in Asia will soon rise sharply. However, according to Capital Economics, even if oil prices stayed at current levels, inflation would continue to ease across the region.

The U.S. Senate voted Thursday in favor of sending a bill to President Barack Obama which will ban insider trading by Congress members.

T-Mobile USA has announced that it is closing seven customer service facilities across the country by the end of June along with cutting 1,900 jobs.

The U.S. job market continued to improve with statistics from the labor department showing that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits declined to a four-year low last week.

The manufacturing division activity in China shrank in March successively for the fifth month, as showed by the preliminary HSBC survey. Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), the indicator of China's industrial activity, fell from 49.6 in February to 48.1, raising a lingering concern about an imminent hard landing.

The GDP of Ireland for Q4 declined 0.2 percent, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday, which meant that the country has officially returned to recession.

A noticeable progress is seen in the export figures of Japan for February with global economy showing indications of recovery.

Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc is reported to be closing on the acquisition of Actavis for about $7 billion.

A lawsuit that accused Goldman Sachs Group Inc. of defrauding investors was refused dismissal by a federal judge in Manhattan, according to the latest reports.

Recent industry reports suggest that China's corn production in 2011/12 could be as much as 14 percent lower than current official estimates, according to Capital Economics.

The monthly activity data released this week confirmed that Russia’s economy remains in a decent shape, helped by the recent rise in the oil price according to Capital Economics.

Growth in Ecuador may continue to be in the upside in early-2012 as a series of supply shocks and geopolitical risks keep oil prices elevated according to Capital Economics.

Developing economies are going to nominate two candidates to become the next president of World Bank, according to a Reuters report.

Gold is expected to reach a new record high of $2,200 per ounce as fears of Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union break-up surge again and with U.S. monetary policy anticipated to remain supportive, according to Capital Economics.

Business confidence in China has climbed up this quarter, although demand has continued to slow according to Capital Economics.

The latest liquidity operations by European Central Bank (ECB) appear to have averted, at least for the time being, a threatening catastrophe in the euro-zone banking sector. But it would be wrong to think that they have solved the region’s deeper fiscal and economic problems, or secured the future of the single currency itself according to Capital Economics.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has started reducing employees in the trading and investment banking divisions, it has been reported.

Amazon.com Inc Monday announced that it has reached an agreement to buy Kiva Systems Inc, an innovator of material handling order fulfillment systems, for $775 million.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index continued to rise to touch the highest since May 2008 following the announcement from Apple that it has decided to pay a dividend as well as launch a stock buy backs program.

Last week's rise in 10-year U.S. Treasury yields from 2.0 percent to 2.3 percent suggests that it might not be long before mortgage rates increase from their current record low of just above 4 percent, according to Capital Economics.

The release of Chilean Q4 GDP data on Monday confirms that the economic slowdown in late 2011 was not as marked as many had initially feared according to Capital Economics.

An IMF team has arrived in Cairo Monday for talks, on a $3.2 billion loan facility for Egypt. This can be a crucial meeting especially as collapse in investor confidence since last year’s revolution has left Egypt on the brink of a balance of payments crisis according to Capital Economics.

The Internet economy of the G20 countries is predicted to reach $4.2 trillion in 2016, according to a report in the Boston Consulting Group's Connected World series.

With Apple issuing a statement that it will make an announcement Monday regarding the discussions about its cash balance, there is high expectation that this time it will pay a dividend.

China has become less dependent on arms imports and, at the same time, has increased the volume of its arms exports, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

United Parcel Service Inc has finalized the agreement to buy TNT Express NV for 5.16 billion euros ($6.8 billion), according to a report in Bloomberg.

Peru’s economy is likely to be one of the region’s best performers in 2012, having shown resilience in weathering the global slowdown witnessed in late-2011 according to Capital Economics.

Colombia was one of the best performing emerging markets last year, growing by around 6 percent, and it should continue to do well over the coming years. However there are three reasons to think that the current pace of growth is unsustainable according to Capital Economics.