Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:  

• China Has a Massive Debt Problem. China has a $28 trillion problem. That’s the country’s total government, corporate and household debt load as of mid-2014, according to McKinsey & Co. It’s equal to 282 percent of the country’s total annual economic output. President Xi Jinping’s government aims to wind down that burden to more manageable levels by recapitalizing banks, overhauling local finances and removing implicit guarantees for corporate borrowing that once helped struggling companies. Those like Baoding Tianwei Group Co., a power-equipment maker that Tuesday became China’s first state-owned enterprise to default on domestic debt. Now hold that thought, and consider this: China’s also trying to prop up a $10.4 trillion economy that’s decelerating and probably will continue to do so through 2016, or so says the International Monetary Fund.  
• Greek Banks Win More Emergency Cash as Talks Loom. The European Central Bank almost doubled an increase in emergency funding to Greek banks from last week, suggesting deposit flight is accelerating as bailout talks drag on. The European Central Bank’s Governing Council raised the cap on Emergency Liquidity Assistance by about 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to 75.5 billion euros on Wednesday, people familiar with the decision said. ELA is funding provided by national central banks at their own risk, and is extended against lower-quality collateral than the ECB accepts. “The ceiling increase shows that deposit outflows from Greek lenders continue,” said Andreas Koutras, an analyst at in Touch Capital Markets Ltd. in London. “The question now is when will the collateral against ELA be exhausted -- in other words how much time is left?” 
• Greece Optimism Cuts Spain Yields Most in 11 Months Versus Bunds. All it took was a glimmer of optimism in Greece’s debt negotiations to fuel a rally in Spanish bonds that cut their yield premium over German bunds by the most in almost a year. Greek bonds also jumped, pushing the three- and 10-year yields down from the highest levels since 2012, while a slump in German bunds sent yields up by the most in three months.
• Gazprom Accused of Market-Power Abuse to Raise EU Gas Prices. European Union regulators attacked OAO Gazprom’s pricing structure throughout the eastern part of the continent, further straining political relations between the 28-nation bloc and Russia. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, said Gazprom may have imposed unfair prices by preventing gas from flowing from certain central and eastern European countries to others. The move comes days after she signed off on a so-called statement of objections to Internet search giant Google Inc. “All companies that operate in the European market –- no matter if they are European or not –- have to play by our EU rules,” Vestager said in a statement Wednesday.
• Saudi Jets End Bombing Lull as Houthis Take Base in Yemen. Saudi Arabia renewed its aerial assault on Shiite rebels in Yemen, a day after saying it would scale back military operations. Fighter aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition attacked Houthi positions in the cities of Taiz and Aden, residents said by phone, and were seen flying over the capital, Sana’a. The Shiite Houthis had earlier seized a brigade base from forces of the Saudi-backed President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi, according to locals and the Houthi-controlled al-Masirah television channel. 
• European Shares Are Little Changed While Greek Lenders Rebound. European stocks halted a two-day gain amid disappointing earnings releases, while Greek shares rallied after a report that the nation won access to more emergency funding for its banks. Kering SA lost 3.9 percent as it posted a worse-than-expected drop in revenue at its Gucci brand, and Tesco Plc slid 5.2 percent after reporting its biggest annual loss ever. Greece’s benchmark ASE Index climbed 2.1 percent, the most among western-European markets, with its banks gaining the most in almost two months. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 408.99 at the close of trading in London. It earlier rose as much as 0.6 percent and fell 0.8 percent.

Wall Street Journal: 

• Fed’s Rate Decisions Hang on Dollar, Growth Concerns. Central-bank officials remain optimistic but headwinds threaten GDP, inflation projections.

CNBC:

• Cost of housing soars: How high can it go? (video)

ZeroHedge: 

• Behold The Patsy: First Photograph Emerges Of The "Criminal Mastermind" Reponsible For The Flash Crash. (pic)
• Copper Crash Continues - Hits 1-Month Lows. (graph)
• Radioactive Drone Discovered On Roof Of Japanese PM's Office. (pic)
• For Caterpillar, It's The Second Great Depression. (graph)
• Paging Bill Gross: Bund Yields Spike By Most In 6 Months. (graph)
• Crude Inventories Rise For Record 15th Straight Week, Production Drops. (graph)
• But The Weather? March Existing Home Sales Surge To Highest Since September 2013. (graph)
• Wedges And Triangles: Big Move Ahead?
• The Defaults Are Coming In HY Energy, UBS Warns. (graph)

Business Insider:

• TRADERS: The 'Flash Crash' arrest is a joke.
• Boehner: The Obama administration blocking facts on Benghazi.
• US oil inventories surge to another 80-year high.

MNI:

• Greek Govt Moving Backward in Some Areas, Regling Says. There is backward movement in some policy areas, contrary to understanding reached on Feb. 20, ESM's Klaus Regling said in an interview. Creditors' baseline scenario remains to keep Greece in the euro zone; ESM is prepared for all possible outcomes.