Japan offers upbeat economic assessment.

For the first time since May of 2012, Japan's Cabinet Office says its coincident index is "improving," which indicates the government sees "a high likelihood of an economic expansion" based on the composite of 11 key economic indicators. "The indicators that most contributed to the rise were manufacturing-related numbers, such as industrial output and industrial electricity usage," The positive assessment comes on the heels of the Bank of Japan's more sanguine take. On Thursday, the central bank said the economy is "recovering moderately."