Rolling economic and business news, including the International Monetary Fund urging Japan to take more aggressive steps to avoid Abenomics failing.
IMF: Greater structural and fiscal reforms are needed <- new readers start hereDavid Lipton: Japan must become more competitiveInflation jumps (but it's all about the sales tax)BNP Paribas shares tumbleToday's agenda9.25am BST
Overnight, Greece's opposition leader Alexis Tsipras has emphatically ruled out an alliance in the European Parliament with Britain's Nigel Farage.
Tsipras said groups such as UK Independence Party and France's National Front party were monstrosities created by Europe's drive into austerity, calling his Syriza party an "oasis".
"We are a pro-European force that wants to change Europe, not dismantle it.
Austerity has led to the creation of political monstrosities.
#Syriza's #Tsipiras: We are a pro-European force that wants to change Europe, not dismantle it. #Greece
9.21am BST
The Bank of France says it is following the US Justice Department sanctions busting case against BNP Paribas with the "utmost attention".
A spokeswoman said:
"The Bank of France has no comment to make for now since negotiations are still in progress. The governor of the Bank of France is following this case with the utmost attention."
8.57am BST
Back to the International Monetary Fund's worries about Japan (details here), and the Fund's deputy managing director, David Lipton, has warned that parts of the Japanese economy are under-performing.
"If anything, we've been seeing Japan experiencing slower export growth than Japan had expected and we had expected,"
"There's a need for Japan to strengthen its competitiveness. So we don't believe that strengthening of the yen at this point would be helpful because that would go in an opposite direction from that important need."
8.42am BST
Shares in French bank BNP Paribas have tumbled over 5% in Paris, as traders rush to sell following reports that it could be fined $10bn by US authorities for breaking sanctions.
*BNP PARIBAS SHARES FALL 5.4% TO EU49.8 IN PARIS TRADING http://t.co/132AFnUs7y
European banks have been the target of many of the recent U.S. fines. The pursuit, with cumulative penalties in the ballpark of $10 billion, has triggered private grumbling among European finance executives and some regulators there. The mounting frustration helps explain why some French leaders appear to be rallying around BNP. Christian Noyer, the governor of the Bank of France, said this month that BNP's alleged actions didn't violate European or French laws.
A final resolution of the yearslong U.S. investigation of the French bank is likely weeks away, and it is possible the ultimate settlement amount could total far less than $10 billion. BNP is looking to pay less than $8 billion, according to the people familiar with the settlement discussions, although a person close to the bank said its negotiators haven't mentioned the $8 billion figure in talks with U.S. authorities.
8.28am BST
Friday has started well for Latvia -- Standard & Poor's raised its credit rating by one notch to A- (the seventh highest rating) this morning.
8.25am BST
Another reason to be worried about Japan - factory output fell 2.5% month-on-month in April.
That dashed hopes of growth, with the ministry of economy, trade and industry warning that "production appears to be flat" at present.
8.17am BST
Ironically, the IMF's warning comes as Japan's core inflation rate hit 3.2% in April.
But... that's because Tokyo hikes its sales tax last month, from 5% to 8%. If you strip that out, then inflation rose by just 1.5% -- still shy of Japan's target of 2%.
8.07am BST
Is Abenomics - Japan's great hope for a return to growth - running out of steam?
Over the medium term, transitioning to self-sustaining growth requires greater structural and fiscal reform efforts to avoid slipping back into deflation, overburdening monetary policy, and undermining confidence in the sustainability of government debt.
Because of further declines in the working-age population due to aging, staff projects potential growth to remain below 1 percent over the medium term
The BoJ should act quickly if actual or expected inflation stagnates or growth disappoints.
8.07am BST
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the financial markets, economics, business and the eurozone.
3 reasons to be cheerful @CBItweets Economic growth at 10 year high, @britishchambers upgrades growth forecast, @GfK_en sees confidence soar
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