Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Ukraine Troops Killed in Slovyansk as Rebels Down Chopper. Ukrainian troops facing off against pro-Russian separatists in the eastern city of Slovyansk suffered fatalities in an ambush and a helicopter was shot down as unrest spread and roadblocks were set up around the capital. The pilots survived after the military chopper was hit with machine-gun fire and crashed into a river near the city in the Donetsk region, the Defense Ministry said on its website. Four Interior Ministry troops were killed and 30 were wounded fighting rebels in Slovyansk, the ministry said in a statement. The campaign to drive out insurgents from the easternmost regions is in danger of stalling as a growing death toll threatens the government’s efforts to retake positions from Russian sympathizers in the run-up to May 25 presidential elections. With violence spiraling in Ukraine after dozens died in Odessa three days ago, the authorities moved to erect roadblocks around the capital Kiev to prevent provocations.

• How Russia Inc. Moves Billions Offshore -- and a Handful of Tax Havens May Hold Key to Sanctions.

• EU Cuts Euro-Area Growth Outlook as Inflation Seen Slower. The European Commission predicted low inflation will remain a threat to euro-area expansion for at least the next two years as it trimmed its economic-growth forecast and warned of the impact of tensions with Russia. The 18-nation euro zone’s inflation rate will be 0.8 percent this year and 1.2 percent in 2015, both lower than forecast in February and well below the European Central Bank’s target of just below 2 percent, the Brussels-based commission said today. Gross domestic product is projected to rise 1.7 percent in 2015, compared with the commission’s previous forecast of 1.8 percent.

• Iron Ore Seen Slumping Below $100 as Supply Surge Widens Glut. Iron ore may drop to less than $100 a ton for the first time since 2012 as swelling global supplies push the global seaborne market into surplus and demand growth in China, the largest user, slows amid tighter credit. Prices of the steelmaking ingredient may decline to $95 in the fourth quarter, according to CLSA Ltd., a unit of Citic Securities Co., China's largest brokerage by market value. SSY Futures Ltd. sees a retreat below $100 "very shortly." The commodity may drop as Australian exports increase and Chinese demand growth slows, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecasts a fourth-quarter average of $100. Shipments from Australia's Port Hedland rose to a record last month, while stockpiles at ports in China are at an all-time high.

• E-House Falls as Property Concern Mounts: China Overnight. Chinese stocks trading in the U.S. snapped a four-day gain as E-House China Holdings Ltd. (EJ) led a drop in real estate companies amid mounting concern that home sales in the world’s second-largest economy are slowing. The Bloomberg index of the most-traded Chinese shares in the U.S. fell 0.8 percent to 99.31 as of 12:17 p.m. in New York. The American depositary receipts of E-House, a real-estate agent, dropped as much as 6.1 percent.

• European Stocks Decline on Ukraine, Chinese Manufacturing. European stocks fell, following a third week of gains for the region’s equities, as violence intensified in eastern Ukraine, while a report showed Chinese manufacturing contracted for a fourth month. Credit Suisse Group AG dropped 2.3 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. forecast its own trading revenue will slide this quarter. Wincor Nixdorf AG lost 5.1 percent after the maker of self-checkout tills in supermarkets posted worse-than-expected earnings. Wacker Chemie AG dropped 3 percent after the chemical maker also reported earnings that missed estimates. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.3 percent to 336.89 at the close after earlier falling as much as 0.9 percent.

• Investors Tiring of Junk Bonds Lift Trades Most Since ’09. The more than doubling of their money since 2008 has some junk-bond investors getting restless. Trading (NTMBHV) in the highest-risk corporate debt is climbing as money managers show a willingness to part with securities that handed them 144 percent returns in five years. Average volumes increased 5 percent in April from the previous three months, the first advance for the period since 2009, according to data compiled by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

• Holder Signals Criminal Charges Coming Against Some Banks. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said his department is readying criminal cases against banks that show financial institutions aren’t too big to prosecute. Holder, in a video message posted today on the department’s website, said improved coordination with regulators is creating a relationship that “will prove key in the coming weeks and months” as prosecutors pursue charges. The government is nearing decisions on whether to charge Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and BNP Paribas SA, (BNP) people familiar with those probes said. Holder didn’t specify any banks.

• JPMorgan(JPM) Leads Wall Street Banks Lower on Trading-Slump Forecast. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM:US) led shares of Wall Street banks lower, dropping the most in almost a month, after warning that a deepening trading slump may last through the second quarter. Shares of the company tumbled 2.7 percent to $54.08 at 9:58 a.m., the worst performance in the 83-company Standard & Poor’s 500 Financials Index. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. (C:US) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC:US) all lost at least 1.3 percent.

Wall Street Journal:

• Tweet to Buy: How Amazon(AMZN) and Twitter’s(TWTR) Social Shopping Cart Works.

• China’s Property Bubble Has Already Popped, Report Says. China’s great real-estate bust has begun, says Nomura. A combination of a huge oversupply of housing and a shortage of developer financing is producing a housing market downturn that could drive China’s GDP to less than 6% this year. “To us, it is no longer a question of ‘if’ but rather ‘how severe’ the property market correction will be,” three Nomura analysts wrote in a report released Monday.  And there isn’t much the government can do to head off problems.

Fox News: 

• US aid indirectly helps Hamas, under deal with Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority's announcement that it will send 3,000 police officers to Gaza as part of a unity agreement with Hamas could mean U.S. taxpayers are now at least indirectly helping an officially designated terror organization maintain law and order -- and its grip on power.

• Rep. Gowdy named to lead Benghazi select committee. South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor known for his aggressive style of questioning at congressional hearings, has been tapped to lead a select committee tasked with investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks.

ZeroHedge: 

• Caught On Tape: Ukraine Helicopter Firing Rockets, Shot Down. (video)

• Ukraine Is The New Wild West: Russia Today British Journalist Gets "Price On His Head".

• Is This The Reason For The Relentless Treasury Bid?

• 3 Underappreciated Indicators To Guide You Through A Debt-Saturated Economy. (graph)

• Global Manufacturing PMI Plunges To 6-Month Lows. (graph)

• ISM Services Jumps To 8-Month High But Employment Tumbles. (graph)

• Markit Reports Slowest Service Jobs Creation In Over A Year. (graph)

• Charlie Munger Slams HFT: "They Are Like Rats In A Granary". (video)

Wall Street All-Stars:

• Indicator Update: What about Ukraine?

Business Insider: 

• GUNDLACH: 'For The Rest Of My Career, We Will Never See 1 Million Housing Starts Again'.

• Here's What You Need To Know About Yik Yak — The Anonymous Gossip App Wreaking Havoc On High Schools Everywhere.

• Fed Study: People Who Skip College Forfeit $800,000 On Average.

• JEFF GUNDLACH: Short The Homebuilders.

• Nigeria Terrorist Leader: 'I Abducted Your Girls' And Will Sell Them.

• The Mob Now Rules Eastern Ukraine.

Reuters:

• Apple(AAPL) on medical tech hiring spree, a possible hint of iWatch plans. Apple Inc is building a team of senior medical technology executives, raising hackles in the biotechnology community and offering a hint of what the iPhone maker may be planning for its widely expected iWatch and other wearable technology.

• Target(TGT) removes CEO in wake of devastating cyber attack. Target Corp removed Chairman and Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel on Monday in the wake of a devastating data breach that hurt the No. 3 U.S. retailer's profits, shook customer confidence in the company and prompted congressional hearings. 

• Financial information provider Markit files for U.S. IPO.

Telegraph: 

• House price confidence 'inflating bubble'. Survey finds 72pc believe prices will keep rising for the next two years as thousands of first-time buyers turn to parents to fund a mortgage.

China National Radio:

• China Stats Bureau Sees GDP Over Estimated by ICP Report. The comparison figures underestimated China's price levels and overestimated GDP scale, citing a person with the National Bureau of Statistics. Figures about China didn't reflect the real situation, the person said.