Alibaba filed for an IPO

In the U.S. which is expected to be one of the largest in history. Forecasts on valuation range as high as $245B for the company that earns more revenue than Amazon and eBay combined. Last year, Alibaba handled about $248B in transactions. Yahoo (YHOO) has a 22.6% piece of the Alibaba pie, while SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBF) holds 34.4%. When Alibaba debuts later this year, it will become the largest Chinese corporation to trade in the U.S.

Rs 1 trillion locked in Reality sectors.Is there way out ?

India's real estate market has been faltering for quite some time as the country's economy has remained under stress. But, now hopes are pinned on the new government. Various real estate stakeholders viz., stakeholders builders, investors, financial institutions, and private equity players are now hoping for improvement in this sector. An article in Mint states that, US$ 16 bn of the PE funds have got locked in hundreds of real estate projects. Not only that, the sector needs an infusion of another US$ 1 bn for completion of these projects. As this sector lacks regulations, even banks have shown less interest in investing in realty projects. Thus, large parts of the projects are now financed through PE players who charge phenomenal interest rates which increase the project costs. These instances have impacted the investors' wealth and thus they are now struggling to take an exit.

This sorry state of affairs in the Indian real estate calls for solid regulations in place. For the real estate sector to revive, the government should seek to streamline the processes. Only a structural change can attract serious, long-term capital. Having said that, one should also note that this is not going to be an overnight task. It will take some time for the government to improve the policy and guidelines which are in the best interest of all the real estate stakeholders.

Gold consumption in China is on the rise.

According to data from the China Gold Association. Jewelry purchases increased 30% to 232.53 metric tons in the first quarter. Despite the increase in consumption, demand for bars fell 44% to 67.95 tons as investors lightened up. Gold production rose 7.3% during the period. Analysts forecast 2014 could be the first year since 2002 that demand for gold in China doesn't increase.

Portugal plans to follow Ireland

Portugal exit its international bailout program without taking a precautionary credit line from its lenders, the EU and the IMF. Instead, Portugal will rely on international debt markets for financing. While the exit from the assistance program after three years of harsh austerity marks a turnaround in Portugal's fortunes, economic growth remains fragile, and unemployment and debt high.

Chinese HSBC PMI edged up to 48.1 in April

From 48 in March but came in below the flash figure of 48.3. The reading indicates that factory activity contracted for a fourth consecutive month, although the figure contrasts with official data that shows slight growth. While Beijing has recently introduced additional reform aimed at boosting the economy by promoting more private-sector investment, HSBC believes that "bolder actions will be required to ensure the economy regains its momentum."

The European Commission expects eurozone GDP to grow 1.2%

This year and 1.7% in 2015 following two consecutive years of contraction. The commission cut its inflation forecast to 0.8% for 2014 and 1.2% for next year, although it believes that the probability of deflation is low. "Overall, the outlook has improved, but it remains conditional on continued credible action on several fronts at national and EU levels," says the EC's Marco Buti.

Eurozone manufacturing PMI increased

To 53.4 in April from 53 in March. All the nations covered indicated factory sector growth, which,  "highlights how the recovery is becoming more broad-based." However, eurozone unemployment remained at a high rate of 11.8% in March. The number of unemployed people fell by 22,000 on month to 18.913M.