RBI Monetary Policy statement

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the benchmark interest rates unchanged at the recently concluded bi-monthly monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. It however, lowered the proportion of funds banks have to deposit with it (SLR) by 50 basis points to 21.5% from an earlier 22%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has jumped on the easing bandwagon, becoming the latest global central bank to cut interest rates in response to slowing inflation and concerns over economic growth. The RBA lowered its benchmark rate by 25 bps - its first change since August 2013 - to a new record low of 2.25%. The news sent the Australian dollar skidding to a six-year low of $0.7650, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index closed up 1.5% at 5,707.37 - its highest close since May 2008.

Russia’s GDP is expected to shrink by 3% in 2015 with oil prices at $50/bbl and an estimated capital outflow at $115B, said the country's economy minister, over the weekend. Inflation in 2015 is now forecast to stand at 12%, up from the previous estimate of 7.5%, he added. The announcement comes just days after the Russian central bank unexpectedly lowered its key interest rate by two percentage points to 15%, and almost a week after the country's credit rating was cut to "junk status" at Standard & Poor's.

According to figures released by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, China became the world’s top destination for foreign direct investment in 2014, edging the U.S. out of that position for the first time in more than a decade. Foreign businesses invested $127.6B in China last year, up from $123.9B in 2013, while their investments in the U.S. fell to $86B from $230.8B. The U.S. also slipped behind Hong Kong, falling into third place among all FDI recipients.

China is planning to cut its growth target to around 7% in 2015  its lowest goal since 2004, as policymakers try to manage slowing growth, job creation and pursue reforms to drive the economy, Reuters reports. Data last week showed that China's economy only expanded 7.4% in 2014, its slowest pace in 24 years. Sources say the growth target, which is set to be announced in March, was endorsed by top party leaders and policymakers at a closed-door Central Economic Conference in December.

Apple reports largest net income for its fiscal first quarter.

Apple +7.3% premarket after reporting the largest net income of any public company in history and beating even the most bullish Wall Street forecasts. The tech giant posted profit of $18B for its fiscal first quarter, up 38% from $13.1B a year earlier, and sold 74.5M iPhones during the quarter. CEO Tim Cook also announced that the company will begin shipping the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Watch sometime in April.

Microsoft reported a fall in its quarterly profit that was in line with Wall Street forecasts, as the company struggled with the impact of a strong U.S. dollar and reduced demand for Windows software due to slumping personal computer sales. Net profit came in at $5.86B compared with $6.56B in the year-ago quarter. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also set its financial forecast for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in June, below Wall Street estimates. MSFT -6.8% premarket.