Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:  

• Ukraine Seeks to Wrap Up IMF Talks as Crisis Hits Economy. Ukraine is completing bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund to avert a default and curb damage to the economy from a four-month political crisis. Loan negotiations began three weeks ago. To speed up the process, Ukrainian Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk canceled a trip to The Hague, where world leaders are discussing the standoff with Russia over his country. The IMF will announce the results of its mission tomorrow, with Ukraine seeking as much as $20 billion, Finance Minister Oleksandr Shlapak said today in Kiev. 
• China Faces ‘Mini Crisis’ on Debt Defaults, Ex-PBOC Adviser Says. China is headed for a “mini crisis” in its local-government debt market as economic reforms lead to the first defaults, according to a former adviser to the People’s Bank of China. “It will be a partial, controllable and mini crisis,” Li Daokui told reporters on the sideline of the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong today.
• German Confidence Falls. German business confidence fell for the first time in five months as companies assess the risks to trade from escalating European Union sanctions against Russia. The Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, fell to 110.7 in March after reaching 111.3 the prior month, the highest level since July 2011. Economists predicted a decline to 110.9, according to the median of 44 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. 
• European Stocks Rebound Before U.S. Consumer, House Data. European stocks rose the most in three weeks as better-than-forecast U.S. consumer-confidence and housing data signaled the world’s largest economy has rebounded from the harsh winter. EasyJet Plc gained 3.7 percent after forecasting that its loss may narrow in the six months through March. Luxottica Group SpA advanced 4 percent after saying it will design spectacles that use Google Inc.’s Glass technology. Baloise Holding AG (BALN) climbed 2.9 percent after the Swiss insurer unexpectedly increased its dividend. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 1.3 percent to 328.57 at the close in London after yesterday falling the most in two weeks.

Fox News:

• Open the floodgates? Indiana becomes first state to scrap Common Core. Indiana has become the first of 45 states to opt out of the national education standard known as Common Core, and critics of the controversial K-12 program say the move could "open the floodgates" for others to follow.

CNBC:

• Out of Gas: Most Americans Can't Afford New Cars.
• Is the IPO market in a bubble?

ZeroHedge:

• Russia Prepares Mega-Deal With India After Locking Up China With "Holy Grail" Gas Deal.
• Fed Finds TBTF Banks Increase Systemic Risk, Have A Funding Advantage.
• Case Shiller Home Price Index Declines For Third Month A Row: Longest Negative Stretch Since March 2012. (graph)
• Consumer Confidence Jumps To 6-Year High (Led By Surge In Hope). (graph)
• New Home Sales Drop To Lowest Since October, Median Home Price Below Year Ago Levels. (graph)
• 5 Reasons Why Chinese "Stimulus" Hopes Are Overdone. (graph)
• What A Bank Run In China Looks Like: Hundreds Rush To Banks Following Solvency Rumors.
• IRS Rules Bitcoin Is Property (Not Currency).

ValueWalk:

• Falling Profits Is Best Leading Indicator For Recession: Edwards.

Business Insider:

• Everyone Is Saying This Is The Worst Tech IPO Of The Boom So Far.
• Obama Is Trying To Kill The Tomahawk And Hellfire Missile Programs.
• The Good, The Indifferent, And The Ugly Emerging-Market Currencies.
• Retired Ukrainian General: Russia Is 'Placing Europe On The Verge Of A Third World War'.
• HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT FROM THE RICHMOND FED. (graph)
• REPORT: GM(GM) Misled Grieving Families About Lethal Glitch.

CNN:

• Why Obama is losing millennials.

PxFeed Top News:

• BREAKING NEWS: Russia adds 10,000 troops, air defense artillery, wheeled vehicles to positions near Ukraine eastern border. Via CNN.

BusinessCloudNews:

• Google(GOOG) touts updates and price cuts to incentivise persistent cloud use.

TheWeeklyStandard:

• Obama: I'm Concerned About a Loose Nuke Being Detonated in Manhattan. (video)

Reuters:

• Fed's Plosser wants interest rates at 3 pct by end-2015. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser believes the Fed should aim to raise short-term rates to 3 percent by the end of 2015 and 4 percent by the end of 2016, a Philadelphia Fed spokeswoman said.

Telegraph:

• Moody's warns of Hong Kong risk to Chinese banks. Ratings agency warns of growing risks from the rapid rise in loans from Hong Kong banks owned by some of China's biggest lenders.