Today's Headlines

Bloomberg: 

• German Ifo Sentiment Fell After Winter Chilled Recovery: Economy. German business confidence fell for a second month in April after winter weather hindered the recovery in Europe’s largest economy, adding to signs that the European Central Bank may cut interest rates. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 104.4 from 106.7 in March. Economists in a Bloomberg News survey forecast a decline to 106.2, according to the median of 44 estimates. 
• Pimco Reduced Its Holdings of Spanish, Italian Bonds, Balls Says. Pacific Investment Management Co. cut its holdings of Spanish and Italian government debt starting last month after a rally in the securities, according toAndrew Balls, the London-based head of European portfolio management. “We’ve been reducing credit risk in our portfolios and in recent weeks we’ve cut Italy and Spain,” Balls said today in a telephone interview. “It’s a function of levels and fundamentals. The spreads look reasonable but not as attractive as they were.”
• Bird Flu Strain Spreads as Taiwan Reports First H7N9 Infection. Taiwan confirmed an H7N9 bird flu infection in a traveler returning to the island from China, the first incidence of the killer virus spreading outside the mainland. A 53-year-old Taiwanese man tested positive for the latest strain of avian flu after a business trip to the eastern city of Suzhou and returning to Taiwan via Shanghai, Minister of Health Chiu Wen-ta said at a briefing in Taipei yesterday. The patient, who is in critical condition in an isolation room, didn’t come into contact with birds and poultry, Chiu said. The first discovery of the virus outside China, 10 years after an outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, may lead to increased scrutiny of travelers into and out of the country.
• Chinese Contracts Reach Four-Year High as Economy Slows: Options. The cost of hedging against swings in Chinese equities has risen to the highest level in almost four years relative to other emerging markets on signs the world's second-largest economy is losing momentum. The difference in implied volatility for the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund has more than doubled to 5.12 since Feb., based on data compiled by Bloomberg on three-month contracts with an exercise price closest to the shares. That's the biggest gap since August 2009 for the measure of options costs.
• LG Electronics Profit Plunges 91% Amid Stagnant TV Demand. LG Electronics Inc. (066570), the world’s second-largest television maker, posted a 91 percent drop in first-quarter profit as a stagnant market hurt TV sales. The shares fell.
• Jones Group to Close 170 Stores While Trimming 8% of Workforce. Jones Group Inc. (JNY), the owner of the Jones New York, Nine West and Anne Klein fashion brands, will close 170 stores and cut 8 percent of its workforce after first- quarter profit trailed analysts’ estimates.
• Senate Will Pass Online Tax Bill This Week, Reid Says. The U.S. Senate will pass a bill this week that will let states collect sales taxes from retailers outside their borders, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid, a Nevada Democrat, blamed a “handful” of senators for delaying a final vote on the measure, which attracted 74 supporters on a procedural vote April 22.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Airlines Seek More Clarity On Controller Shortage.

Fox News: 

• America's engine of the future to get 'Made in China' label. Thanks to generous support from a foreign backer, there is renewed hope for an American attempt to revolutionize, modernize and sanitize the automobile engine. The catch?  The finished product will be stamped “Made in China.”

MarketWatch:

• GE Capital stops lending to gun shops: WSJ.
• Modified mortgages show ‘alarming’ default trend.

CNBC:

• Small Business Owners to Banks: Can I Get a Loan, Please.
• This Is the Worst Thing About Fake-Tweet Crash.

Zero Hedge: 

• March Durable Goods Implode, Plunge -5.7%; CapEx Recovery Put On Indefinite Hiatus.
• "Working Poor" Spark 170% Increase In Britons Needing Food Handouts In Past Year.
• Why Krugman and the Keynesians Are Lackeys for the Neofeudal Debtocracy.
• European "Bad Is Good" Stock Exuberance Continues But Bonds Reverse Gains. (graphs)
• Rwanda Is Spain Even As PIMCO/Blackrock Cut European Exposure. (graph)
• US Business Cycle Index Plunges Most In 22 Months. (graphs)

Business Insider: 

• Former Israeli Intelligence Chief: Iran Has Already Crossed Israel’s Red Line.
• Two Senators Just Introduced A Bill That Could Neuter Wall Street.
• Samsung's New Phone Can't Match The Competition.
• Here's What's Next For Italy.
• 4 Reasons Atlanta Is A Great Place For Entrepreneurs.

Reuters: 

• Boeing(BA) profit beats estimates despite 787 problems. Boeing Co's first-quarter earnings jumped nearly 20 percent, handily beating analysts' estimates and showing little impact from the 787 Dreamliner problems, sending the company's shares up more than 3 percent in midday trading.
• ECB says ditching austerity would not help euro zone. ECB policymakers rebuffed suggestions that Europe should ease up on austerity and said that while the central bank has room to cut interest rates, such a move would not necessarily help the economy much. European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio said that seeking to stimulate economies by stopping measures aimed at cutting government debt could merely increase countries' borrowing costs rather than triggering growth.
• Fisker, US govt grilled over loans to foundering carmaker. U.S. lawmakers grilled top officials from Fisker Automotive Inc on Wednesday over what was termed "the U.S. Department of Energy's bad bet" when it backed the "green" car-maker with hundreds of millions of dollars in loans. 
• METALS-Copper rebounds over $7,000 but capped by economy worries.

CNN:

• Apple(AAPL) hints at 'exciting new product categories'.

Telegraph:

• Euro may only last five years, says senior German government advisor. The euro has a “limited chance of survival” and may only endure another five years, Kai Konrad, one of the German government’s closest economic advisers, has claimed. 
• Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann attacks FTT. The head of the German central bank or Bundesbank has warned that a planned European financial transactions tax could have unexpected negative implications for monetary policy.  

Australia Network News: 

• 21 people killed in social unrest in China's Xinjiang. Clashes in China's western region of Xinjiang have left 21 people dead, including police officers and social workers, a provincial government official said. Gun fights broke out in Bachu county after police went to search the home of locals suspected of possessing illegal knives, a report on government-run news website Tianshan Net said. The report said 15 of those killed were either police or social workers, including 11 members of China's Uighur ethnic minority, who live mainly in Xinjiang. A further six "gang members" were reportedly shot dead in the violence, while eight more were arrested. A provincial government official said these people were Uighurs but did not confirm their identity. The report said an investigation showed the gang members had been plotting to carry out "terrorist activities", and branded the fighting a "violent terror incident".