Equity Indices

	Closing Price	Change			Closing Price	Change
		On Week	YTD			On Week	YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average	17,949.59	-0.48%	0.71%	FTSE 100	7,027.22	-0.68%	7.02%
S&P 500	2,097.29	0.07%	1.86%	Nikkei 225	19,909.09	0.00%	14.09%
Nasdaq Comp	5,014.10	0.74%	5.87%	Hang Seng	27,850.49	1.05%	17.99%
DJ Euro Stoxx 50	3,719.38	-1.72%	18.21%	MSE Index	3,751.158	-0.41%	12.61%

Japanese stocks rose for a second day,  pushing the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to a 15-year high, as brokerages led gains. Nomura Holdings Inc. jumped the most in more than five months as investors bought stocks that have lagged the broader market this year and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. advanced more than 2.9 percent for a second day, providing the biggest boost to the Topix index. The Nikkei 225 added 1.1 percent to 20,123.37 in Tokyo, headed for its highest close since April 2000 and the Topix climbed 0.8 percent to 1,622.32, to trade at its highest level since November 2007.

Interest Rates

 Benchmark Bond Yields

	Current 2yr Yield	Yield Change		Current 10yr Yield	Yield Change			Present Interest Rate	Last Variance
		On Week	Since Dec 12		On Week	Since Dec 12
US	0.52	0.01	-0.15	1.91	0.02	-0.26	FED	0.00 to 0.25	-0.75  to -1.00	16-Nov-08
Euro	-0.27	0.01	-0.17	0.09	-0.05	-0.45	ECB	0.05	-0.10	04-Sep-14
UK	0.49	0.08	0.04	1.60	0.08	-0.16	BOE	0.50	-0.50	05-Mar-09
Japan	0.00	-0.01	0.02	0.31	-0.02	-0.02	BOJ	0.00 to 0.10	-0.10	05-Oct-10
Australia	1.92	0.22	-0.27	2.46	0.17	-0.35	RBA	2.25	-0.25	03-Feb-15
Canada	0.65	0.14	-0.36	1.45	0.12	-0.34	BOC	0.75	-0.25	21-Jan-15
Malta	0.08	-0.06	-0.38	1.24	0.09	-0.65

 

Japan posted its first trade surplus in nearly three years in March as exports of cars and electronics picked up, an encouraging sign that economic growth may be back on track after a sluggish start to the year.  The 8.5 percent annual increase in exports in March was faster than a revised 2.5 percent increase in the year to February.  Weighed down by lower oil prices, imports by value tumbled 14.5 percent, more than the 12.8 percent drop expected, leaving Japan with a trade surplus for the first time since June 2012.

Italian industrial orders rose 0.8 percent month-on-month in February following a 3.7 percent fall in January. Orders were up 2.0 percent in unadjusted year-on-year terms after a 5.5 percent drop the month before.  Industrial sales rose 0.4 percent month-on-month after a 1.7 percent fall in January, but were down a work-day adjusted 0.9 percent year-on-year.  The data leaves prospects intact for a modest economic recovery as Italy struggles to emerge from a three year long recession.

The number of people in work in Britain jumped by its biggest amount in almost a year in the three months to February and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest in nearly seven years. The last official data on employment and earnings before a national election on May 7 also showed the pace of growth in workers' pay generally slowed in the three months to February. The Office for National Statistics said the number of people in employment rose by 248,000 - the biggest increase in a three-month period since April 2014 - to a record 31.049 million.  It said the employment rate of 73.4 percent showed an unusually big jump to hit a new all-time high.

Forex

	Exchange Rate	Change
		On Week	YTD
EUR/USD	1.0733	0.76%	-11.28%
USD/JPY	119.6600	0.25%	-0.10%
GBP/USD	1.4921	0.98%	-4.21%
EUR/GBP	0.7188	-0.24%	-7.43%
USD/CHF	0.9545	-1.87%	-4.00%

Sterling rose past $1.50 to hit a session high against the dollar after minutes from the latest Bank of England policy meeting showed policymakers slightly more focused on the risks inflation might accelerate.  Traders said sterling was also helped by a growing view within the nine-member monetary policy committee that the next move by the BoE will be a rate hike.

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