Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• Euro Ministers Alarmed as Bloc Shuts Down Greece Plan B. Europe’s refusal to draw up contingency plans to prepare for the failure of negotiations with Greece is alarming some euro-area finance ministers. Slovenian finance chief Dusan Mramor led the calls at a meeting of the bloc’s 19 finance chiefs on Friday to consider a “plan B” to mitigate the fallout if negotiations with Greece fail. Several others raised similar concerns during official talks and in private conversations at a meeting in Riga, Latvia, on Friday, two people with knowledge of the discussions said. “What my discussion was about was what we will do if no new program will be achieved in time for Greece to be able to refinance itself or improve liquidity,” Mramor told reporters on Saturday. “A plan B can be anything.”

• What Next Two Weeks Hold in Store in the Greek Crisis Saga. A euro area finance ministers meeting over the disbursement of bailout funds ended in acrimony on Friday, as creditors expressed frustration with the country’s refusal to comply with the terms attached to its emergency loans. While focus now turns on a May 6 interest repayment to the International Monetary Fund and the next Eurogroup meeting on May 11 in Brussels, the country has a number of funding hurdles to clear before then and beyond.  

• Author Alleges Bill Clinton Just Quit Education Company Because of 'Clinton Cash'. Former president Bill Clinton stepped down from his position at Laureate International Universities, part of Laureate Education Inc., on Friday. His five-year term as "honorary chancellor," the company and Clinton's staff said, had expired. But Peter Schweizer, the conservative author of a forthcoming book examining the Clintons’ financial dealings, suggests a different explanation: Clinton actually resigned in order to avoid a wave of negative publicity. Bloomberg Politics has obtained a chapter of the book describing what Schweizer presents as a “troubling” co-mingling of official State Department business with the private financial affairs of Bill Clinton and a nonprofit run by Laureate’s chairman, Douglas Becker.

• U.S. Bird Flu Spreads to Egg-Laying Chickens in Minnesota County. Bird flu has spread to egg-laying hens in Minnesota, the top U.S. turkey producer that’s been battling the disease since early last month. A flock of 175,000 birds in Clay County was confirmed to have the highly contagious variety of avian influenza, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Friday. This is the first case in the state for chickens, data from the agency show. The USDA also confirmed additional cases for turkey flocks in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.

Fox News:

• At least 1,180 killed as 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Nepal; search for survivors. (video) A powerful earthquake struck Nepal Saturday, killing hundreds of people across a swath of four countries as the violently shaking earth collapsed houses, leveled centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches on Mt. Everest. It was the worst temblor to hit the poor South Asian nation in over 80 years. At least 1,180 people were confirmed dead in Nepal, including 181 in the capital, Kathmandu alone, according to the police. Another 34 were killed in India, 10 in Tibet and two in Bangladesh. Two Chinese citizens died at the Nepal-China border.

ZeroHedge:

• One Last Look At The Real Economy Before It Implodes - Part 6: Solutions.

• China Could Face "Sharp" Rise In Capital Outflows If Stocks, Economy Lose Momentum.

• 11 Signs That We Are Entering The Next Phase Of The Global Economic Crisis.

• Are You Faster Than A Stock Market Spoofer?

• 8 Recessionary Charts. (graph)

• 5 Things To Ponder: Market Soup. (graph)

• Nasdaq Soars To Record Highs On Dismal Data & Vapid Volume. (graph)

• Number Of Companies Beating Revenue Estimates Hits Lowest Level In Two Years. (graph)

• Germany Prepares For "Plan B", Says Greece Would "Need Not Only A Third Bailout, But Fourth, Fifth Or Even More".

• Just 6 Charts. (graph)

• Overseas Investors Have "Little Appetite" For Chasing Chinese Mania: JPM. (graph)

Business Insider:

• Trucking industry labor dispute may cripple West Coast ports again.

• The Canadian consumer is falling off a cliff.

• There is a growing disconnect in the stock market. (graph)

• The billionaire linked to the 'Clinton Cash' scandals once said something amazing about doing business with Bill Clinton.

• Chris Christie is ramping up his campaign, but this chart shows why he's in real trouble.

• Wall Street can't stop talking about the 'ridiculous' arrest of the 'Flash Crash' trader. It's been almost five years since the "Flash Crash" and regulators are suddenly blaming Navinder "Nav" Sarao, a 36-year-old who trades S&P futures from his mom and dad's house in a London suburb. Yep, regulators think a guy in saggy sweatpants and Nike Airs trading from his parents' basement did it.

Neue Zuercher Zeitung:

• Greek Default Would Be Manageable, UBS Chairman Weber Says. Consensus at IMF meeting was increasingly that a Greek default would be manageable systemically, UBS Chairman Axel Weber said.

Hindustan Times:

• In pics: Earthquake strikes Nepal, rocks India, brings panic and destruction.

ISIS has built near-impregnable base and mass appeal: New book - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/europe/story/isis-has-built-near-impregnable-base-and-mass-appeal-new-book-20150205#sthash.TSyXsl7s.dpuf

ISIS has built near-impregnable base and mass appeal: New book - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/europe/story/isis-has-built-near-impregnable-base-and-mass-appeal-new-book-20150205#sthash.TSyXsl7s.dpuf