Today's news headlines:

‘Buffet ramps up Japan stock bets with vow to invest even more’.
Warren Buffet has signalled his intentions to boost his investments in Japan after his company, Berkshire Hathaway, eyes another sale of bonds priced in Yen. The American investor has revealed that he has increased his holdings in Japanese trading houses to 7.4% from 5% over the last few years and is looking to further increase his exposure to Japanese stocks, potentially paving the way for foreign investors to follow suit. (Bloomberg)

‘England’s health service braces for "most disruptive" strike yet'.
The NHS is preparing for a new four-day strike, this time by its junior doctors, who are demanding more pay and have timed the action so as to cause as much disruption as possible after the Easter bank holiday weekend. The British Medical Association is seeking a whopping 35% pay increase for its striking members, who have received below-inflation increases for the last 15 years. Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has responded by calling these demands unreasonable, as they will result in some junior doctors receiving annual increases of over £20,000. (Bloomberg)

Today

Both the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX index have unsurprisingly reacted well to the news of Buffet’s investment plans and saw gains of 1.6% over the long weekend. European equities are poised to return from the break with a positive outlook as we watch the investor confidence and retail sales data releases this morning. Across the Atlantic, Nonfarm payrolls in the US saw 236,000 new jobs created, pushing unemployment for March down to 3.5% as well as potentially affording the Federal Reserve room for one last hike in May.

Events

China CPI y/y (Mar): 0.7% vs 1% previously
China PPI y/y (Mar): -2.5% vs -1.4% previously
Eurozone Retail Sales m/m (Feb): 10:00AM
US FOMC Member Patrick Harker Speaks: 11:00PM

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