Equity Indices

	Closing Price	Change			Closing Price	Change
		On Week	YTD			On Week	YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average	17,928.20	-1.00%	0.59%	FTSE 100	6,927.58	-1.46%	5.51%
S&P 500	2,089.46	-1.20%	1.48%	Nikkei 225	19,520.01	-2.32%	11.86%
Nasdaq Comp	4,939.33	-2.30%	4.29%	Hang Seng	27,755.54	-2.42%	17.58%
DJ Euro Stoxx 50	3,546.56	-4.54%	12.72%	MSE Index	3,814.979	2.21%	14.53%

Britain's top equity index slipped towards a three-week low on Monday, with UK election jitters and higher bond yields putting pressure on sectors such as utilities and properties. U.S. stock index futures were lower ahead of another round of earnings reports and after data showed the U.S. trade deficit surged to its highest level in nearly 6-1/2 years in March as imports rebounded strongly after being held down by a labour dispute at key West Coast ports.

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	0.63	0.07	-0.04	2.19	0.18	0.02	FED	0.00 to 0.25	-0.75  to -1.00	16-Nov-08
Euro	-0.22	0.04	-0.12	0.53	0.36	-0.01	ECB	0.05	-0.10	04-Sep-14
UK	0.58	0.06	0.13	2.00	0.29	0.25	BOE	0.50	-0.50	05-Mar-09
Japan	0.01	0.01	0.03	0.37	0.06	0.04	BOJ	0.00 to 0.10	-0.10	05-Oct-10
Australia	2.11	0.13	-0.08	2.96	0.35	0.15	RBA	2.00	-0.25	05-May-15
Canada	0.69	0.01	-0.32	1.75	0.19	-0.04	BOC	0.75	-0.25	21-Jan-15
Malta	0.13	0.06	-0.33	1.40	0.15	-0.49

The Eurozone ended four months of deflation in April with consumer prices unchanged from year-ago levels, removing the threat of persistent price declines as energy costs pushed up in the month.  Consumer prices in the 19 countries that share the euro were flat in April from a year earlier after a 0.1 percent decline in March, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat estimated.  The bottoming out of price declines is likely to be welcome news for the European Central Bank, which wants to keep inflation below, but close to 2 percent over the medium term.  Eurozone powerhouse Germany's manufacturing sector lost some momentum in April but expanded for a fifth consecutive month. In France, the sector's final PMI showed activity contracting and falling for a 12th successive month.

Australia's central bank cut its cash rate a quarter point to an all-time low of 2.0 percent, aiming to spur a sluggish domestic economy while keeping downward pressure on the local dollar. 

Brent crude oil futures fell from a 2015 high, as Saudi Arabia considered halting bombing in Yemen to allow the delivery of aid, which eased concerns about oil supply from the Middle East.  A stronger U.S. dollar also weighed on the dollar-denominated commodity, while investors waited for data on U.S. commercial crude oil inventories for more direction.

Forex

	Exchange Rate	Change
		On Week	YTD
EUR/USD	1.1184	1.86%	-7.55%
USD/JPY	119.8200	0.82%	0.03%
GBP/USD	1.5180	-1.02%	-2.55%
EUR/GBP	0.7365	2.89%	-5.15%
USD/CHF	0.9260	-3.05%	-6.87%

The dollar skidded from three-week highs against the yen and one-week peaks against the euro as a mixed batch of U.S. economic data added to uncertainty about the pace of future interest rate increases. A better-than-expected report on the U.S. services sector for April was offset by a wider-than-anticipated trade deficit. The dollar initially rallied on the service sector survey, but came crashing back down.

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