Eurozone inflation has fallen to its lowest level

Since late 2009, slipping to 0.5% on year in March from 0.7% in February and undershooting forecasts of 0.6%. The slowdown is likely to strengthen concerns that the eurozone is sliding towards deflation and could add pressure on the ECB to further ease policy at a meeting on Thursday. The euro was +0.1% at $1.3769 at the time of writing.

Election hopes may have taken the sentiments in Indian stock markets to new highs. But that does not make the economy any less vulnerable to global uncertainties. Key amongst them is the Fed's decision to raise interest rates. While it may seem some time away, any tightening in global liquidity is certain to hurt Indian stock markets. Moreover, the currency stability that India has witnessed over the past month or so may not be here to stay. The sharp decline in the current account deficit is the most important reason why the rupee stabilized. As per Business Standard, a lot of funds have come into India in recent weeks in the hope of a business friendly government. This money will flow out just as quickly if that hope does not materialize. To top that a tighter global liquidity situation could only exacerbate India's currency volatility and deficit woes. So while the going is good, it would only be wise on the RBI's part to shore up the forex reserves. The reserve kitty could act as insurance for difficult times ahead.

Lehman Brothers will pay out an additional $17.9B to creditors.

This is its fifth distribution since a judge approved the failed investment bank's liquidation plan in December 2011, and bringing the total doled out so far to more than $80B - $15B higher than its initial estimate of how much would be paid to creditors. While much of this most recent distribution involves money Lehman entities owe to one another, the outlook for creditors keeps improving. Those holding bonds issued by the Lehman parent company are now expected to get 26.9 cents on the dollar vs. an earlier estimate of 21.1 cents. For hedge funds who have spent years buying Lehman debt at big discounts, an increase of just a few cents means millions in profits.

French consumer confidence has strengthened.

 Consumer confidence to 88 in March from 85 in February and topped consensus that was also 85. The rise follows an unexpected return to growth in business activity, as indicated by the latest PMI surveys.

RBI extends deadline on capital norms under Basel III to march 31,2019.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the deadline for banks to implement Basel III capital planning rules by a year to March 31, 2019, due to concerns from the industry on potential stress to asset quality  and consequential impact on the performance/profitability of the banks.

The IMF has agreed to provide Ukraine financial lifeline.

With $14-18B as part of an economic-reform program that will enable the country to tap a total of $27B of international support over the next two years. The Senate is set to approve aid for Ukraine, including $1B in loan guarantees and $150M in direct assistance, and the chamber could authorize imposing further sanctions on Russia, although nothing too major. The House has already authorized help for Ukraine.

Facebook has agreed to acquire Oculus VR,

The developer of a virtual reality headset, in a cash and stock deal worth up to $2.3B. The deal follows Sony's (SNE) announcement that it's developing a VR headset and reports that Microsoft is working on one as well. "Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate," Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg gushed.