In South Korea, the central bank raised its inflation forecast for the current year, citing volatile food and oil prices.
High commodity prices have been benefiting Rio Tinto, but the Anglo-Australian miner has said that extreme weather in Australia hit its production in the first quarter of 2011.
In India, former telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja has appeared in court in connection with a corruption scandal, which has damaged the government’s reputation. If convicted, he faces seven years in prison.
Brazil’s President Dilma Rouseff has begun her visit to China looking to strengthen trade ties with Beijing.
So far during her visit, , external, and the president also said that Foxconn, which makes most of Apple’s products, is planning to invest as much as $12bn in Brazil.
In the UK, official figures have showed that unemployment fell to 2.48 million in the three months to February, the first drop since last autumn.
However, a report from corporate recovery experts Begbies Traynor suggested an increasing number of UK firms were showing signs of financial distress.
But one company that is in fine health is online fashion retailer Asos. It reported a big rise in sales both at home and abroad and said that overseas sales had overtaken those in the UK for the first time.