Eurozone interest rates raised
The European Central Bank has increased interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent despite fears that higher borrowing costs would hurt recovery.

Inflation has been rising above the targeted rate and retail sales are growing. Data showed sales in the 12-country zone rose by 1.4 per cent in April. Rates in the eurozone are now at their highest level since early March, 2003. Analysts says the ECB will raise the rates to 3 per cent in August, and to 3.25 per cent later in the year.
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China says FDI higher than estimated
Beijing: China has said that foreign direct investment into the country last year was $12 billion more than it had previously announced. The Ministry of Commerce, which reported that inward FDI was $60.3 billion in 2005, a decline of 0.5 per cent, said the total had been revised up to $72.4 billion, which includes sizeable foreign investments in the financial sector last year as international banks took stakes in a number of Chinese lenders. The Commerce Department also said that outward foreign direct investment grew sharply, up almost 26 per cent in 2005 to $6.9 billion as Chinese companies increasingly looked to establish their presence in international markets.

Outward investment by Chinese enterprises, excluding financial institutions, in the first quarter of this year totalled $2.68 billion, up 280 per cent from the same period a year ago.
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