OVERNIGHT

What do you do when your credibility is already in question? Most likely what China did Sunday when it released information that its manufacturing industry sector expanded in April for the second straight month. That was the so-called good news. The bad news for anyone willing to read between the lines was, as reported by Reuters, it grew "only marginally, raising doubts about the sustainability of a recent pick-up in the economy."

In truth the term marginally itself is most likely a hedge to soften just how lousy things really are. Either way, other Asian markets digested the news by selling off with the Nikkei sliding 3.6%, the MSCI ASIA-Pacific index fading 0.4%, Australian shrares falling 0.6% while Hong Kong and Chinese  market are closed Monday. Shares in New Zealand were off 0.2% and Korea's Kospi  was down 0.5%.

The dollar rallied to 106.51 against the yen after falling to 106.20, a low last in October 2014. Central bank officials in Australia are set to meet Tuesday with its cash rate at 2% where many believe it will remain though some economists are expecting a cut. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported:
Over the weekend, the U.S. Treasury Department, in its semiannual currency report to Congress, called out China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany for relying on policies it says threaten to damage the U.S. and the global economy. The move, meant to pave the way for a new pan-Pacific trade deal, may discourage Japanese authorities to directly intervene in the currency market, analysts say.