Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:   

• Ukrainian Casualties Test Cease-Fire as Gas Threat Looms Large. Casualties among Ukraine’s army tempered optimism about a cease-fire holding as the authorities in Kiev grappled with simultaneous threats to the country’s finances and energy supplies. While the situation in the conflict zone was “relatively calm” during the night with only sporadic cease-fire violations, three government troops still died in 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said on Friday. The U.S. is considering whether to shut one or more Russian banks out of the world financial system if pro-Russian rebels continue to violate the cease-fire, two Obama administration officials said.
• Russian Sanctions Seen Entrenched as EU, U.S. Keep Pressure. The European Union will probably overcome internal divisions and extend economic sanctions against Russia that expire in July even as the conflict in eastern Ukraine shows signs of abating, according to a survey of economists. The punitive measures will remain in place, according to 13 of 24 respondents surveyed by Bloomberg. Analysts are evenly split over whether initial violations of a cease-fire negotiated in Belarus this month may trigger new and tighter curbs. The EU’s next planned leaders’ summits, which may include a debate on Russian sanctions, are on March 19-20 and June 25-26.  
• Islamic State Completes Takeover of Town Near Base Used by U.S. Islamic State fighters have completed their takeover of the town of Al-Baghdadi in western Iraq, increasing the threat to a nearby airbase where U.S. advisers are stationed, a local official said. The Iraq army unit protecting a residential compound in Al-Baghdadi, the military’s last position in the town, pulled out late on Thursday, Faleh al-Issawi, deputy chief of Anbar provincial council, said by phone. A group of Islamic State fighters entered, and efforts to dislodge them, including airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition, have failed, he said.  
• European Stocks Climb Amid Airbus Earnings, U.S. Confidence Data. European stocks advanced, extending their highest level since 2007, amid better-than-expected financial results from companies including Airbus Group NV, and U.S. consumer sentiment data. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent to 392.21 at the close of trading. Shares earlier fell as much as 0.3 percent, before advancing as a report showed the University of Michigan final index of sentiment fell this month less than analysts estimated.
• U.S. Oil Discount Poised for Record Widening as Supplies Surge. (video) U.S. crude’s discount to European prices headed for a record widening in dollar terms this month as lower prices failed to curb the nation’s highest oil output in more than three decades. West Texas Intermediate traded for $12.32 a barrel less than Brent, the North Sea benchmark, as supplies expand at the U.S. storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. The spread expanded by $7.57 a barrel this month. U.S. crude stockpiles and output rose to the highest level in weekly data that started in the early 1980s. 
• Nathan’s Brings Hot Dogs to Junk-Bond Market as Risk Returns. Nathan’s Famous Inc., the fast-food chain that started as a Coney Island hot dog stand in 1916, is tapping the junk-bond market for the first time, raising money for a shareholder payout just as debt investors regain their appetites for risk. The company plans to sell $125 million in five-year debt and will use $116 million of the proceeds for a dividend, it said Friday in a statement. Moody’s Investors Service gave the debt its seventh-lowest speculative-grade rating, citing weak protections for investors and “very modest” revenue and earnings from the fast-food chain. Investors are shifting cash back into the riskiest, and highest-paying, corporate debt as an oil-price plunge stabilizes and unprecedented stimulus from central banks around the world suppress yields. Nathan’s may need to pay as much as 10.25 percent on its debt, according to a person with knowledge of the offering. “Whenever you see a company come to market to finance a dividend, and not very cheaply, it raises questions about if its really the best use of the cash,” Jody Lurie, a Philadelphia-based analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott, which manages $61 billion in assets, said in a telephone interview.

ZeroHedge: 

• Here Is What Americans Spent Their "Gas Savings" On. (graph)
• China Just Sided With Russia Over The Ukraine Conflict.
• Stocks Head For Best Month Since Oct 2011 As US Macro Crashes To 12-Month Lows. (graph)
• Live, From Athens, It's Anti-Government Protest Live. (video)
• As IMF Default Looms & Tax Revenues Plunge, Greek Stocks & Bonds Tumble. (graph)
• Steen Jakobsen Warns Of Looming US Slowdown, "I'm Long Gold... And Adding". (graph)
• Pending Home Sales Miss For 5th Month In A Row. (graph)
• UMich Consumer Sentiment Tumbles Most In 16 Months. (graph)
• Chicago PMI Crashes Most Since Lehman To Lowest Since July 2009. (graph)
• Q4 GDP Revised Down To 2.2% From 5.0%: Full Breakdown. (graph)