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Durable goods orders, which range from toasters to aircraft, increased 3.3 percent last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. The department also revised prior readings for orders to show a smaller decline in March than previously estimated. Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders to rise 1.5 percent. Excluding transportation, orders climbed 1.3 percent.[+]

When ill health and political gridlock forced Shinzo Abe to quit after one dismal year as Japan's prime minister, his pride was dented and his self-confidence battered. One thing, however, was intact: his commitment to a controversial conservative agenda centered on rewriting Japan's constitution. Conservatives see the 1947 pacifist charter, never once altered, as embodying a liberal social order imposed by the U.S. Occupation after Japan's defeat in World War Two.[+]

The dollar edged up, gold steadied and European shares held near five-year highs on Tuesday as investors look out for U.S. Federal Reserve signals on the future of its stimulus program. Upbeat comments from Chicago policymaker Charles Evans have made Wednesday's release of minutes of the U.S. central bank's last meeting and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony in Congress the same day the main focus for markets.[+]

The Japanese government upgraded its assessment of the economy on Monday, as emerging signs of an upturn in exports and factory output added to growing evidence that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's aggressive polices are beginning to reignite growth. The world's third-biggest economy is gradually recovering, according to the government's monthly report released by the Cabinet Office.[+]

The U.S. economy showed worrisome signs as jobless claims rose sharply last week while ground-breaking at home construction sites tumbled in April and a gauge of underlying inflation pointed to weak demand. The data could fuel fears over the impact of a government austerity drive that began in January, and could raise pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep its money printing press running on overdrive as the central bank buys bonds to support the economy.[+]

The euro slipped against the dollar and German bond prices rose on Thursday on investor positioning for more monetary easing by the European Central Bank following a run of weak economic data. Those expectations are likely to be reinforced when euro zone inflation data for April is released at 0900 GMT (5 a.m. EDT), which is expected to show an annual rate of just 1.2 percent, well below the central bank's target range.[+]

The euro fell to a six-week low against a buoyant dollar on Wednesday, hurt by worse-than-expected German and French gross domestic product data that strengthened the case for more monetary easing in the euro zone. In contrast, the U.S. is showing signs of a recovery, underpinning expectations that the Federal Reserve may wind down its asset purchases program by the end of the year. That has pushed up U.S. bond yields and driven the dollar to a 4-1/2 year high against the yen.[+]

Central bank intervention, the euro zone crisis and China's rise have expanded the list of data that moves markets, but surprises in measures such as PMIs and U.S. jobs numbers still pack the biggest punch. Eager for an early view of economic momentum, investors put extra focus on purchasing manager indexes (PMIs), especially the flash, or preliminary, numbers from China, Europe and the United States.[+]

The euro rose versus the dollar for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday, helped by profit-taking on bets favoring the U.S. currency and by expectations that German investor morale could nudge higher. But the shared currency is unlikely to make large gains due to concerns the euro zone economy overall is still struggling.[+]

Japan's Nikkei share average surged to a fresh 5-1/2-year high on Monday as the weakening yen further bolstered exporters, while brokerage shares attracted buyers who see growing volume bringing in much more fee income. The benchmark Nikkei .N225 rose 1.2 percent to 14,782.21, its highest closing level since late December 2007. During the session it climbed as high as 14,849.01.[+]