• Due at 2130GMT, Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler will deliver a speech to the DairyNZ Farmers’ Forum in Hamilton on the significance of dairy to the New Zealand economy. The first to say that NZ is milking it for all it worth will be sent to stand in the corner.
• 2300GMT, Federal Reserve Jeremy Stein speaks on the US economic outlook and monetary policy to the Money Marketeers at New York University – from a prepared text with audience questions following
• Also at 2300GMT, St. Louis Federal Reserve vice president David Wheelock leads a discussion about the St. Louis Fed, which is commemorating 100 years since it was chartered
• At 2350GMT the Bank of Japan (BOJ) release the minutes of their April 7-8 meeting. At the meeting there was no change in monetary policy at all and the bank reiterated its view that the economy was on track for a gradual recovery. The sales tax hike (from 5% to 8%) had been introduced a few days previously, on April 1, but the bank said it had taken expected demand volatility around the introduction into account in its projections.