Bloomberg:

• Draghi Unveils Historic Measures Against Deflation Threat. Mario Draghi unveiled an unprecedented round of measures to help the European Central Bank’s record-low interest rates feed through to an economy threatened by deflation. The ECB today cut its deposit rate to minus 0.1 percent, becoming the first major central bank to take one of its main rates negative. In a bid to get credit flowing to parts of the economy that need it, the ECB also opened a 400-billion-euro ($542 billion) liquidity channel tied to bank lending and officials will start work on an asset-purchase plan. While conceding that rates are at the lower bound “for all practical purposes,” the ECB president signaled policy makers are willing to act again. “We think it’s a significant package,” Draghi told reporters in Frankfurt. “Are we finished? The answer is no.”
• German ECB Critics Condemn Draghi Rate Cut as Pandering to South. A senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition joined banks and insurers in denouncing the European Central Bank’s record-low interest rates, saying the decision distracts from economic reforms. While Merkel said the ECB is independent and she “will deal with” the decision, critics of ECB President Mario Draghi said he is pandering to weaker euro-region economies while expropriating German savers. “If Mr. Draghi thinks he has to undertake selective economic policy for certain parts of the euro area, that is simply not his responsibility,” Ralph Brinkhaus, the finance spokesman in parliament for Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said in ane-mailed statement. “The ECB has to watch out that it doesn’t exceed the limits of its mandate.” 
• Obama Says Putin Running Out of Time Over Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has just weeks to stop supporting a pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine or face stiffer penalties, U.S. President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said. “The G-7 nations are ready to impose additional costs on Russia” if Putin doesn’t take concrete steps to help end the rebellion in Ukraine, Obama told reporters after talks with Cameron today in Brussels. “We will have a chance to see what Mr. Putin does over the next two, three, four weeks.”  
• China Should Resist Further Stimulus, IMF Says. China should refrain from rolling out more stimulus to boost economic growth and continue to implement changes to curb dangers from shadow banking and local government debt, the International Monetary Fund said. “We are not counseling stimulus at this point, we don’t think that there are any sufficient signs to warrant that,” First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton said at a briefing in Beijing today.
• Brazil Signals Rate on Hold as Growth Outlook Worsens. Brazil’s central bank signaled it will keep interest rates unchanged as it weighs the delayed impact of a yearlong tightening cycle and a slowing economy. Policy makers led by central bank President Alexandre Tombini voted unanimously last week to hold the benchmark Selic rate at at 11 percent, halting the world’s longest tightening cycle after nine previous boosts.
• Don’t Fight Money Train Say Emerging-Market Bond Buyers. Investors are so convinced that 2014 will continue to be the opposite of 2013 that they’re piling back into emerging-markets wagers that were among last year’s biggest losers. Buyers plowed $273.8 million two days ago into the biggest exchange-traded fund focused on emerging-market debt, its largest one-day inflow ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They’re also demanding about the least extra yield in a year to own the debt of developing nations instead of benchmark securities. Why? Easy money. Lots of it, all over the globe. “The technicals of this market are almost impossible to fight,” said Karissa McDonough, the fixed-income strategist at People’s United Wealth Management, which actively manages $5 billion. 
• Europe Stocks Rise Near 6-Year High as ECB Adds Stimulus. European stocks rose, trading near a six-year high, and Germany’s DAX Index briefly topped 10,000 for the first time after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi unveiled new plans to stimulate the region’s economy. Banks posted some of the biggest gains in the region, with Mediobanca SpA, Banco de Sabadell SA and Commerzbank AG climbing more than 3 percent each. Smith & Nephew Plc rose 2.3 percent as Medtronic Inc. was said to consider a takeover of the U.K. company. Asos Plc (ASC) tumbled the most on record after cutting its profitability forecast, dragging online retailers lower. Deutsche Bank AG fell 3.8 percent after offering shareholders a discount of more than 20 percent to buy new stock. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4 percent to 344.99 at the close of trading in London after rising as much as 1.2 percent.
• Gold Rallies While Commodities Hold Declines After ECB. Gold climbed the most in three weeks as commodities held declines, heading for the longest losing streak since January, after the European Central Bank unveiled measures to spur the economy and fight deflation. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 raw materials fell 0.4 percent for a fifth day of declines, lead by soybeans and wheat. Gold rallied as much as 1.1 percent to $1,257.73 an ounce in London, the biggest gain since May 14, as some traders closed bets on falling prices. Copper also fell.
• Stay-at-Home Dads Double Since 1989 Amid Jobs Struggle. Fathers account for a growing share of stay-at-home parents in the U.S., with almost a quarter of the men reporting they’re at home because they can’t find a job. Dads represented 16 percent of all parents not working outside the home in 2012, up from 10 percent in 1989, a report released today by the Pew Research Center in Washington shows. There are more than five times as many stay-at-home mothers.  “The share of dads specifically there to care for those at home has been growing steadily across time,” said Gretchen Livingston, the report’s lead author. “We still see a steady increase in this number.”

Wall Street Journal:

• Russian Prime Minister Medvedev Says Thousands Crossing Border to Flee Ukraine. Russia's prime minister said Thursday that a military operation in eastern Ukraine to subdue a separatist rebellion has forced thousands of civilians to flee across the border into Russia, but Ukrainian authorities responded that there was no evidence of a refugee crisis. Russia has increasingly painted the fighting as a humanitarian issue, proposing a resolution before the United Nations Security Council this week calling for the creation of corridors allowing noncombatants to leave and insisting that Ukraine cease what it calls military operations against civilians. The West has reacted coolly to Russia's U.N. proposal and has been skeptical of previous claims about asylum seekers. 
• GM(GM) Fires 15 Employees Over Recall Failures. Auto Maker Says Report Found 'Disturbing' Pattern of Incompetence.

Fox News: 

• Obama digs in on Taliban-for-Bergdahl trade, vows ‘no apologies’.

CNBC: 

• This indicator points to falling home prices.
• What the market expects on Big Jobs Friday.
• US household net worth creeps to record high.

ZeroHedge:

• Fallout From China's "Missing Commodity" Scandal Spreads: Banks Fear About Exposure.
• Ukraine Closes 8 Border Crossings On Reports Of Russian Troop Movement.
• The ZIRP Economy Unmasked, Part 1: Zero Growth In Private Labor Hours Since 1998. (graph)
• SEC's Mary White Pays Lip Service To "Rigged" Market Structure Changes.
• Auto Sales: Hype Versus Reality, You Decide. (graph)
• Draghi's Action Plan Cheat Sheet: "Not Many Options Left".

ValueWalk:

• David Tepper Tells CNBC He Is Not Nervous Anymore.

Business Insider:

• The Ukraine Crisis Is Entering A Dangerous New Phase.
• UK Home Prices Are Going Nuts.

Time:

• Behind the Scenes of Bowe Bergdahl’s Release. TIME talks to Taliban commanders who were involved in the exchange. “We returned our valued guest to his people and in return, they freed our five heroes held in Guantanamo Bay since 2002.” Those close to the leadership and the detainees are feasting on “whole goats cooked in rice”—a special meal usually reserved for celebrations. “This is a historic moment for us. Today our enemy for the first time officially recognized our status.” Asked whether the Taliban would be inspired by the exchange to kidnap others, he laughed. “Definitely,” he says. “It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people. It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.”