Bloomberg:
- European Producer-Price Inflation Accelerates to 6.6% on Oil. European producer-price inflation accelerated to the fastest in more than two years in February, led by increasing energy costs, adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to raise key interest rates. Factory-gate prices in the euro region jumped 6.6 percent from a year earlier, the fastest since September 2008, after increasing a revised 5.9 percent in January, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today.
- Corn Rallies to Highest Since 2008 as Stockpiles Drop, Goldman(GS) Sees Record. Corn rose for a third day to the highest price since 2008 in Chicago on concern that a planned increase in sowing in the U.S. will fail to rebuild global inventories drained by stronger demand. U.S. corn stockpiles on March 1 dropped to 6.52 billion bushels, the lowest level for that date since 2007, the Department of Agriculture said on March 31. Farmers in the country will expand corn sowing to 92.178 million acres this year, the second-largest area since 1944, it said, citing a survey. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its three-month forecast for corn by 39 percent to $8.60 a bushel after the USDA figures last week.
- Possible Greek Default May Have Domino Effect. A sovereign debt default by Greece, which prices in the derivatives market suggest is likely, may condemn Ireland and Portugal to the same fate, as investors dump bonds of all three nations and voters resist economic austerity measures. “Greece will restructure in 2013, or perhaps before,” said Marie-Anne Allier, Paris-based head of the euro-aggregate group at Amundi Asset Management. “If Greece restructures, it will be very difficult for Ireland and Portugal to impose a very strict austerity program and not restructure. It’s a domino effect.”
- Google(GOOG) Enters Pact to Buy Nortel Networks Patents for $900 Million. Google Inc. (GOOG) offered $900 million for the rights to about 6,000 Nortel Networks Corp. patents as the world’s biggest Internet-search company seeks to stave off lawsuits by bolstering its portfolio of intellectual property.
- Sept. 11 Trial to Military Commission, Not New York Court. The Obama administration reversed its plan to put the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on trial in civilian court in New York and instead will send the case to a military commission. The case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co- conspirators is being referred to the military justice system, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement in Washington today. The military trial will be held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said two U.S. officials, who weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Wall Street Journal:
- Fujitsu Chief Looks at Japan's Crisis. Top executives at major Japanese companies are collectively facing the biggest test in crisis management they have ever experienced.
- Grand Jury Investigates Apps. Online music service Pandora Media Inc. said it had received a subpoena related to a federal grand-jury investigation of information-sharing practices by smartphone applications.
- Police Kill Yemen Protesters. Police opened fire on protesters in the southern city of Taiz Monday, killing at least 11 and injuring more than 200, in an abrupt return to violence that increases pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to break a dangerous political stalemate with the opposition.
- Why is Buffett Whitewashing Sokol's Exit?
- Chip Stocks Pull Down Tech Sector. Semiconductor stocks such as Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. led a mostly down day in the tech sector Monday following the latest chip-sales figures and reports on how the industry may respond to the effects of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
- Oil Futures Rise Above $108 a Barrel. Crude-oil futures edged higher Monday as tensions in key oil-exporting countries kept investors worried about supply constraints. Prices earlier spiked to the highest levels in 30 months. Although investors remain worried about geopolitics, nothing “was dramatically new over the weekend so we’re in something of a mixed bag,” said Bill O’Neill, a principal at Logic Advisors in New Jersey. But as the situation in Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa shows no signs of a speedy resolution, prices could hit $110 in short order and $120 by the end of the year, if not sooner, O’Neill added. Brent for May delivery added $1.51, or 1.3%, to $120.28 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.
- Pro: Bernanke Comments Most Likely Will Buoy Stocks. The biggest catalyst this week will likely be comments made by Fed Chief Ben Bernanke at a scheduled conference in Atlanta on Monday night.
- More ETFs Reach Far and Wide, Focus is Narrower Than Ever. March's tally isn't in yet, but another 700 to 800 new ETF issues are in the pipeline, says Michael Johnston, a senior analyst at ETF Database.
- UN Helicopters Have Opened Fire In The Ivory Coast, As President Elect's Forces Look Likely to Take Control. UN attack helicopters have opened fire on a base of President Gbagbo, the leader refusing to step down in the country, according to Sky News. The UN attack comes after Gbagbo's forces attacked a UN base, shooting 11 peacekeepers.
- The Crazy Jim Cramer You See On "Mad Money" Is Not An Act - Watch This Clip Of Him Trading Back in 1997.
- How a Major US Bank Laundered Billions in Mexican Drug Money. The Guardian has an alarming story detailing the central role that Wachovia played in money laundering for Mexico's lucrative drug trade. The newspaper's investigation shows how the bank - now owned by Wells Fargo(WFC) - moved $378.4 billion from powerful drug cartels into currency exchange houses in Mexico. That's one-third of Mexico's annual GDP.
- Former CIA Analyst: Obama Has Backed Himself Into a Corner in Libya and Will Have to Admit Defeat or Send in Ground Troops. (video)
- 5 Ways GE(GE) Plays The Tax Game.
- Watch: Geraldo Gets Caught in the Middle of a Violent Firefight in Libya. (video)
- 11,500 Tons of Radioactive Water Are About to be Released into the Pacific Ocean at Fukushima.
- State University Rutgers Paid Snooki $32,000 For a Speech About Partying and Tanning.
- Hedge Fund Third Point Reduces Net Long Exposure: Latest Positioning. Third Point is net long equities to the tune of 42.2%. This is a decrease of 14%, down from last month's 56.2% net long exposure.
- The amount of oil products stored in tankers at sea rose 22% in March, citing data from E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd. Thirty seven tankers held 3.7 million metric tons of oil products last month, up from 29 vessels in February.
Politico:
- Now Libya Steps on President Obama's Message. President Barack Obama’s decision to intervene in Libya has presented him with a whole new set of political problems with members of both parties. But its most worrisome effect for the White House is the way it’s undermining his efforts to address what has been his administration’s longest-running issue — the economy.
- European Banks Seen Raising $57 Billion - Morgan Stanley Poll. European banks will raise at least 40 billion euros ($57 billion) capital this year and fewer than 10 banks will fail an upcoming health check, according to a majority in a poll of investors at a Morgan Stanley conference. Morgan Stanley said 26 percent of respondents to a poll of 800 investors at its European financial services conference in London last week said listed banks would raise 40-50 billion euros of capital this year, 14 percent expected 50-70 billion to be raised, and 10 percent expected over 70 billion to be needed. A third expected 30-40 billion euros to be raised. European banks have raised or announced they will raise about 10 billion euros so far this year. Morgan Stanley said on Monday 43 percent of those polled -- which it said represented a range of international investors -- expected 5-10 listed banks would fail a European stress test of the sector, or would be prompted to raise captail ahead of the test results due in June. Another 42 percent said there would be less than five failures. Some 12 percent said 10-15 banks would fail.
- Libya Rebels to Sell First Oil Cargo This Week - Report. Libyan rebels will this week load the first tanker with crude since an uprising against leader Muammar Gaddafi fully suspended exports from the North African country, Platts news agency reported on Monday. The agency said Liberian-registered tanker Equator was due to arrive in the rebel-held eastern Libyan port of Tobruk on Monday to load a cargo of Serir/Mesla blend crude oil. The agency quoted Wahid Bougaighis, head of the newly established oil company, as saying: "They are coming for sure because there was a contract signed already."
- Exclusive - Al Qaeda Acquiring Weapons in Libya: Algerian Official. Al Qaeda is exploiting the conflict in Libya to acquire weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, and smuggle them to a stronghold in northern Mali, a security official from neighbouring Algeria told Reuters. The official said a convoy of eight Toyota pick-up trucks left eastern Libya, crossed into Chad and then Niger, and from there into northern Mali where in the past few days it delivered a cargo of weapons. He said the weapons included Russian-made RPG-7 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades, Kalashnikov heavy machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles, explosives and ammunition. He also said he had information that al Qaeda's north African wing, known as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), had acquired from Libya Russian-made shoulder-fired Strela surface-to-air missiles known by the NATO designation SAM-7.
- European Insurers See "Dire" Impact of Capital Rules. Europe's proposed Solvency II capital rules for insurers could have "dire consequences" for the sector, making it more vulnerable to economic downturns and forcing it to charge higher prices, insurers warned on Monday.
- Nuns Ask Goldman Sachs(GS) Bosses Whether They're Really Worth $69.5 Million. Goldman Sachs is facing a call from four leading orders of catholic nuns to review whether the pay awarded to chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and other top executives is excessive. The proposal will be put forward at the Wall Street bank’s annual general meeting next month by the orders, who own shares in Goldman, the bank revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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