While growth in the world's third largest economy, Japan, surpassed expectations in the first quarter, an important pillar of growth was missing: revival in capital spending.
Japanese equities have risen a "bit too fast" and appear to be somewhat "bubbly," according to the former vice finance minister of Japan, as the Nikkei crossed the key 15,000 on Wednesday.
The boom in equity markets from Frankfurt to New York and Tokyo has yet to reach Shanghai, which continues to lag behind its global peers. Still, analysts reckon China stocks will soon play catch-up.
According to local media reports, China could lower its official growth forecast to 7 percent next year – a move that suggests Beijing is growing more comfortable with slower pace of growth.
If an article in Monday's Wall Street Journal is anything to go by, the U.S. Fed is getting ready to unwind monetary stimulus. That prospect is unlikely to be as alarming for markets as feared, analysts tell CNBC.
The ECB is perhaps the best hope of bridging the political and economic fault lines in a union where cooperation was supposed to be the hallmark of a new Europe.
German luxury carmaker Porsche saw record sales in China last year and the recent clampdown on gift-giving and luxury goods in the country won't have a major impact going forward.