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Efforts by Citigroup to change employee culture at its Banamex operations in Mexico.

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Two of three obese people live in developing countries. About 29% of the global population is obese in 2013, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Between 1980 and 2013, obesity increased by 47% for kids and 27% for adults in the global population. Dr Murray of IHME says no country was the exception. Diet and inactivity are the principal culprits. About 37% of world's men and 38% of women are obese. Obesity increased rapidly first in developed countries, becoming noticeable by 1980 and slowing since 2006, and now is growing fast in developing countries. Germany is a surprise No. 8 on the list. The U.S. No. 1 ranking tells a lot about the misguided priorities of living in the U.S., lack of education on healthy eating and healthy living, and not putting healthy habits at the top of things to do above making more money. An extreme case is South Africa where 42% of women are obese. The most obese countries are by rank - U.S., China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, Pakistan, Indonesia. Middle Eastern and North African countries have high obesity rates for children. The study is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation....

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U.S. GDP growth was a seasonally adjusted annual -1% in the 1st quarter of 2014, according to the Commerce Department.

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U.S. president Obama outlines foreign policy goals at West Point in May 2014. It raises more questions than it answers about the substance of U.S. foreign policy, what it wishes to achieve, and the kind of world we want to live in in the light of the president's record.

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Argentina's Kirchner government pressures soy farmers in the Pergamino region, north of Buenos Aires, to increase soy bean exports after a bumper crop. This is intended to maintain Argentina's international reserves of $29.5 billion in May 2014. Soy bean exports are likely to bring in an estimated $29 billion in 2014, making up about one third of exports.

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Turkey's finance minister Simsek praises the independence of the central bank, as prime minister Erdogan and the Economy minister Zeybecki put political pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates. Erdogan says the half percentage cut in rates to 9.5% is "a mockery of this nation." Governor Basci of the central bank has said in the past that such calls are part of Turkish political culture and the bank remains independent. Inflation is high at 9.38% and expected to reach 10% in May 2014. The central bank forecast is for interest rates at 8.33% by the end of 2014. India, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia, face high inflation and depend on capital inflows for growth. Analysts say investors are likely to reduce Turkish assets if Governor Basci is forced out. For emerging markets political protests in Turkey, Russia (with the added volatility created by the Ukraine crisis), India, and Brazil, have led to capital outflows and increased uncertainty. The situation is reversing itself in India with the election of a business friendly government and in Indonesia following the recent election....