INFLATION

Asian stock markets declined for the first time in five days Friday as weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data stoked fears of a growth slowdown in the world's second largest economy.

Indian inflation probably crept up in July as poor monsoon rains drove food prices higher, a Reuters polls showed on Wednesday, giving the RBI less room to cut interest rates to revive a flagging economy.

U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open Thursday ahead of the Labor Department's weekly jobless claims data and the Bureau of Economic Analysis' trade balance report.

Asian stock markets advanced for the fourth straight session Thursday after data showed that Chinese inflation continued to cool down in July, providing more room for further policy easing to boost growth.

Crude oil futures advanced during the Asian trading hours Thursday after data showed Chinese inflation continued to cooled for a fourth straight month in July, rising hopes for monetary easing measures to support growth.

Most of the Asian markets rose Thursday as hopes for monetary easing measures to be announced by China grew following reports that the country's inflation slowed down in July compared to the previous month.

China announced Thursday morning that its inflation cooled for a fourth straight month in July.

Asian stock markets rallied Monday as better-than-expected jobs data from the U.S. and optimism at European action to boost the faltering regional economy buoyed sentiment.

Next week will be a reasonably quiet one for both the U.S. and the euro zone, but China will be dumping a whole bunch of macro data for July .

India's service sector continued its growth for the ninth consecutive month in July, based on a slow but steady growth in new orders, according to the latest HSBC PMI data released Friday.

Most of the Asian markets fell Wednesday amid increasing concerns over the slowdown in economic growth in China as the country's manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in July compared to that in the previous month.

The number of unemployed people across all 17 euro zone countries soared 11.2 percent to 17.8 million in June -- up 1 percentage point from the year before, Eurostat, the European Union's statistical agency, reported Tuesday. Euro zone unemployment among people younger than 25 rose to 22.4 percent.

The week is chock-full with data releases that will confirm if the summer malaise continued in July. As always, Friday's employment report will carry the most weight. Another highlight of this week is the much anticipated Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures point to a lower opening Monday as investors remained cautious while waiting for the central banks around the world to announce stimulus measures to recover the economic growth.

China will be in focus again in Asia as the slowdown in the second quarter economic activity and the dovish comments by Premier Wen raised expectations of a further reserve requirement ratio cut.

The price of hamburgers, hot dogs and other commonly grilled items shot up dramatically in June, government data released Tuesday showed, far outpacing price increases seen for other food items and the general cost of living, which actually dipped slightly in the month.

Ordinary Iranians are facing long food queues, spiraling inflation and the debilitating effects of Western sanctions on the country?s key oil sector.

U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open Tuesday as investor sentiment turned positive on expectations for new U.S. Federal Reserve stimulus measures.

Most European markets rose Tuesday as investors continued to have hopes that the U.S. Federal reserve will announce more stimulus measures to boost the economic growth.

Bad news from India isn't easing off just yet. Inflation hovers above 7 percent and economic growth remains tepid after plunging to a nine-year low of 5.3 percent in the first quarter, year-on-year.

India's headline inflation slowed to its lowest level in five months in June, helped by slower increases in fuel prices, adding to pressure on the RBI from business leaders to cut interest rates to help revive the lacklustre economy.