Quick Overview

• U.S. personal incomes rose 0.2% in April
  

• U.S. Consumer spending rose 0.2%.
  

• The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment fell from 62.6 to 59.8 in May,
  

• The Chicago purchasing managers' index increased from 48.3 to 49.1 in May,
  

• The U.S. core rate of personal consumption expenditures, an inflation gauge, rose 0 .1% in April and up 2.1% YoY.
  

• Unemployment rate for the Euro area remained at 7.1% in April. Consumer prices the Euro area rose 3.6% YoY
  

• Japan's consumer prices fell 0.1% in April, and rose 0.8% YoY.
  Japan’s unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 4.0% in April.
  Japan’s household spending fell 2.7% YoY.
  

• YoY GDP in India rose 8.8%.
  India’s Finance Minister described inflation at 8.1% as worrisome.
  Canada’s GDP fell 0.1% QoQ, but rose 1.7% YoY.
  

• Pakistan’s central bank expects economic growth will come between 5.5% and 6% in fiscal 2008, down from 7% the previous year. The central bank forecasts that inflation would reach between 11% and 12% this year, up from 7.8 percent in 2007
  
  

• The International Grains Council released its latest estimate of world corn production at 763 million tonnes. This is up 1 million tonnes from their earlier estimate, but is down from last year's 777 million because of wet and cold weather in the US.