Central banks stand pat, Venezuela civil servants put on two-day week and the Silicon Savannah

The yen surged 2 per cent and equities slumped after the Bank of Japan dashed market hopes of stimulus, standing pat despite data showing the country had fallen back into deflation for the first time since 2013.

The BoJ’s announcement follows the Federal Reserve holding rates at 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent on Wednesday afternoon, as expected, noting a slowdown in US economic growth and more sluggish household spending. (FT)

In the news

Zuckerberg seeks tighter grip as Facebook results surge The social network proposed a new class of stock with no voting rights to allow Mark Zuckerberg to maintain long-term control as it announced earnings had surged to $1.5bn from $512m a year earlier, sending shares up 9 per cent after hours. (FT)

Daniel Loeb warns of hedge fund ‘killing field’ The Third Point manager said he believes the industry is in the “first innings of a washout” after a string of disastrous market calls inflicted steep losses on many funds. (FT)

Cruz names Fiorina as running mate in last ditch move The Republican presidential candidate named the former Hewlett-Packard boss as his running mate less than 24 hours after being steamrollered by Donald Trump in the latest round of primary elections. (FT)

Chobani makes millionaires of its employees Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of the yoghurt company, said he would give his 2,000 employees shares worth up to 10 per cent of the company when it goes public or is sold. It is currently valued at around $7bn. (NYT)

Venezuela civil servants put on two-day week The country’s 2.8m civil servants will start their weekends on Tuesday evenings as part of embattled president Nicolás Maduro’s latest effort to cut power usage and stave off a collapse in Venezuela’s electrical generation infrastructure. (FT)

It's a big day for

US growth Economists have forecast GDP will rise 0.7 per cent during the first quarter of the year, but that could be boosted by positive trade data. (Reuters)

Food for thought

Kenyans start to roam Silicon Savannah Kenya has developed one of the most diversified economies in Africa, making it better placed than most to rebound from the end of the commodities boom, writes the FT’s David Pilling. (FT)

It ain’t exactly Cancún There’s no pork and no booze, but Saudi Arabian royals believe that they can turn the country into a go-to tourist destination. And the kingdom is putting its money where its mouth is: it plans to increase investment in the tourism sector from $8bn to nearly $46bn in 2020. (WaPo)

Is this the end of the iPhone’s glory days? Richard Waters explores the trough in Apple’s smartphone business. (FT)

Red Dragon, Red Planet SpaceX plans to send its Red Dragon spacecraft to Mars as soon as 2018, the company announced — the first stage of an audacious plan to establish a human colony on Earth’s nearest neighbour. (FT)

Michelle Obama in the fourth quarter The First Lady is speaking out against injustice in increasingly bold terms as her time in the White House draws to a close. (The Atlantic)

Video of the day

Fed concerns about global economy rise The Federal Reserve signalled that its concerns about global economic and financial hazards have eased since its meeting in March. The FT’s Sam Fleming explains. (FT)