Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
       Asia stocks rose modestly on Tuesday following data showing China’s economy grew a little faster than expected in the first quarter.
       
    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices were steady on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar remained on the back foot, with the metal supported by festering worries over U.S.-China trade tensions.
       
  • • OIL
      
      Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid worries there could be a high risk of disruptions to supply, especially in the Middle East.
       
    • INDIA
      
      India is likely to receive average monsoon rains in 2018, the the state-run India Meteorological Department said, raising the possibility of higher farm and economic growth in Asia’s third-biggest economy, where half of the farmland lacks irrigation.
       
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar steadied on Tuesday as the market’s focus shifted back to U.S. trade policy as investors wagered U.S.-led attacks on Syria would not escalate into a wider conflict in the Middle East.
       
    • CRYPTO CURRENCY
      
      The world may be buzzing about Bitcoin and the like, but hardly ever do they pass the payment speed and day-to-day usability test. There are several reasons for that, ranging from the time required for a crypto transaction to complete to the high transaction costs to name a few.
       
    • AUSTRALIA
      
      Australia’s central bank saw scant reason to raise interest rates this month given inflation remained below target and likely to remain subdued in the face of sluggish wage growth.Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) April meeting showed its Board agreed the next move in rates was more likely to be up than down, assuming the economy gathered momentum as expected.

    • BANGLADESH
      
      An Ecuadorian bank and Wells Fargo have reached an out-of-court settlement over a 2015 cyber heist, providing a possible precedent for the Bangladesh central bank’s planned suit to recover $66 million still lost in one of the world’s biggest such cases.

    • US
      
      Nine states in the U.S. Northeast have slashed greenhouse gas pollution, created thousands of jobs in clean energy, and cut consumer power costs using a market-based scheme to slash carbon emissions, according to a study released on Tuesday.

    • CHINA
      
      China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that it hopes the United States can appropriately deal with the issue involving Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp in accordance with laws and rules.

    • UK
      
      The British government on Monday condemned what it and the United States have described as a Russian government-backed campaign of cyber espionage as another example of Moscow’s disregard for international rules.

    • US
      
      U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, with the biggest boosts from technology and healthcare sectors as investors were optimistic about earnings season and appeared less worried about U.S.-led missile attacks in Syria.
       

    • JAPAN
      
      Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday he suspects the United States wants a bilateral free-trade agreement, but he reiterated Japan’s preference for Washington to join the multi-lateral Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
       

    • FRANCE
      
      France has begun the process of stripping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of his Legion of Honour award, the country’s highest distinction.The move comes after President Emmanuel Macron, alongside the United States and Britain, ordered military strikes on Syrian targets in response to a suspected poison gas attack that killed dozens of people last week near the capital Damascus.