1 The worst of Russia's economic slump may be over, said the International Monetary Fund, but it warned that possible euro zone stagnation and shifting politics make central Europe's prospects more uncertain.

2 China's major oil companies remain on track to meet S&P Global Ratings' full-year assumptions for 2016 despite weakened upstream results for the first quarter.

3 Gold headed for a weekly decline as investors waited for a key US jobs report that may give a better idea of whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month, Bloomberg said.

4 Share buybacks on the SGX totalled $13.9 million last month. In all, 5.43 million shares were repurchased by 19 stocks. This follows $68 million of share buybacks in March and $29 million in April.

5 Frasers Hospitality Reit has issued a $100 million perpetual bond issue with a coupon rate of 4.45 per cent.