- Russia Hails Local Votes to Split From Ukraine as EU Imposes Sanctions. Rebels in eastern Ukraine said they’re seeking to join Russia after disputed referendums yesterday as the government in Kiev was handed a deadline to pay for Russian gas to prevent supplies being cut off. The self-styled Donetsk People’s Republic declared itself a sovereign state today after saying 90 percent of voters backed breaking away from Ukraine yesterday. Separatists in neighboring Luhansk announced a similar move. Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, OAO Gazprom (OGZD), said Ukraine must pay for next month’s supplies by June 2 or face a shutoff the next day.
- Ukraine Rebels Seek to Join Russia as Gas Deadline Is Set. Rebels in eastern Ukraine said they’re seeking to join Russia after disputed referendums yesterday as the government in Kiev was handed a deadline to pay for Russian gas to prevent supplies being cut off.
- Ukraine Bonds Drop 2nd Day as Rebels Say Votes Favor Secession. Ukrainian bonds dropped for a second day and the hryvnia depreciated as pro-Russian groups in the country’s east said large majorities voted in favor of secession. The yield on the government’s dollar-denominated bonds due in July 2017 climbed 14 basis points to 13.71 percent. The hryvnia weakened 0.8 percent to 11.7450 per dollar by 12:48 p.m. in Kiev, taking this year’s retreat to 30 percent, the most among more than 170 currencies monitored by Bloomberg. The Ukrainian Equities Index (UX) fell 1.6 percent to 1,084.63.
- China Credit Gauge Declines as Officials Seek to Tame Debt Boom. China’s broadest measure of new credit fell last month as authorities extended their campaign to tame financial dangers even as construction and manufacturing data point to risks that the economy’s slowdown will worsen. Aggregate financing was 1.55 trillion yuan ($249 billion) in April, the People’s Bank of China said yesterday in Beijing, compared with 2.07 trillion yuan in March. New local-currency bank loans were 774.7 billion yuan, down from 1.05 trillion yuan the previous month.
- China Regulators Said to Draft Plan for Bank Failure Risk. China’s government is drafting rules to help manage the fallout of any bank failure, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as lenders in the country face rising loan defaults and increased competition. The People’s Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission are working on a plan to ensure the safety of deposits and an orderly repayment of financial firms’ liabilities during a crisis, the people said, asking not to be identified because the draft rules haven’t been made public. Under the rules, financial institutions deemed to have failed will be allowed to cease operations rather than be propped up.
- China Swap Rate Rises First Time in Three Days on Zhou Comments. China’s one-year interest-rate swaps rose for the first time in three days after the central bank said it would refrain from large-scale stimulus measures to boost growth in Asia’s largest economy.
- Assad’s Military Gains Challenge Obama’s Syria Strategy. With the Syrian uprising in its fourth year, U.S. President Barack Obama may be further than ever from his goal of seeing rebels topple President Bashar al-Assad. What’s more, U.S. and European officials say that Syria, because it has become a magnet and training ground for Islamic extremists from all over the world, now poses a greater security threat to the U.S., European nations and countries in the region than the Assad regime did before the uprising.
- India Exit Polls Signal Modi Bloc Winning Majority in Election. India’s main opposition bloc led by Narendra Modi is poised to win a majority in a national election, most exit polls signaled, boosting his chances of taking power in the world’s second-most populous country. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies will win 249 to 340 seats, according to six exit polls today, with 272 needed for a majority. The Congress party and its allies, in power for the past decade, are projected to win 70 to 148 seats. Results will be announced on May 16.
- EU Banks Urged to Boost Capital Now as Stress Test Doubts Voiced. European banks are being urged to boost their ability to withstand losses before the conclusion of a stress test that is drawing criticism for its design.
- Europe Stocks Rise to Six-Year High; Mining Stocks Rally. European stocks rose to their highest level in more than six years, as mining companies advanced, and Sky Deutschland AG rallied after British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc said it’s in talks to buy the company. A gauge of commodity producers jumped the most in almost seven months as JPMorgan Chase & Co. recommended buying shares in miners on signs of a recovery in Chinese demand. Sky Deutschland increased the most in more than two years. Logitech International SA added 6.8 percent as Credit Suisse Group AG advised buying the stock. Alstom SA added 2.8 percent after a report that Siemens AG may improve its offer for the company’s energy unit. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.7 percent to 340.96 at the close of trading.
- Russell 2000 Volatility Hits Seven-Share High. Traders are loading up on options as the Russell 2000 Index (RTY) hovers near the first 10 percent decline since 2012. Demand for protection against further losses has pushed the Chicago Board Options Exchange Russell 2000 Volatility Index up 11 percent this year to 19.53. That’s the highest level since 2007 versus the VIX gauge of Standard & Poor’s 500 Index contracts. In the past three days, more than 1 million options traded on an exchange-traded fund tracking small-cap shares.
- Crisis in Ukraine: Streaming Coverage.
ZeroHedge:
- The Solution To The Declining Middle Class: Destroy Fixed Costs And Debt.
- Is The Market Consolidating Or Topping? (graph)
- Russia Demands "Immediate Talks" With Kiev; Says Referendums Show "Real Mood" Of People.
- East Ukraine's Donetsk Declares Itself Sovereign: Asks Putin To "Consider Absorption" Of Newly Independent State.
- Seen On The New Donetsk Republic Leader's Wall...
- JPMorgan(JPM) Could Slash 10,000 More Jobs [REPORT].
- Timothy Geithner Calls Those Seeking Wall Street Accountability “Terrorists".
- Europe's Russian Nightmare Is Starting To Come True.
- Pro-Russian Ukrainian Mayor Says Region Needs Russian Troops.
- Morgan Stanley Dramatically Slashes Its Outlook For The Tablet Market.
- New Video From Nigerian Kidnappers Allegedly Shows Kidnapped Schoolgirls.
- Fleet of ObamaChoppers to Cost $20 Billion. You would think America didn’t have any economic troubles, and the government could waste whatever money it wanted to on anything. President Obama’s has ordered a fleet of 23 presidential helicopters — ObamaChoppers — that will cost taxpayers an incredible $20 billion. That’s $20,000,000,000,000.00. Although the program won’t deliver the ObamaChoppers until 2020 — typical military-industrial complex delays — they’re named after the president because he ordered them. It also was a no-bid contract.
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