Monday, May 04, 2015

Bloomberg: 
  • Greek Talks Drag On as New EU Forecasts Set to Underscore Crisis. (video) Greece’s talks with international creditors dragged on as the European Commission prepares new forecasts that are likely to underscore the scale of the crisis facing the country’s government. While officials on all sides have reported progress, six days of talks have yet to provide the breakthrough that Greece needs to guarantee the flow of liquidity to its banks. The prolonged cash squeeze is threatening the country’s fragile recovery, with a person familiar with the talks saying that the Commission is likely to slash its growth and budget estimates when it releases new figures on Tuesday.
  • Greek Jobless Legacy Adds to Danger for Tsipras as Funds Dwindle. (video) Evidence that Greece’s cash squeeze is hurting the economy may heap more pressure on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to seal a deal with creditors as haggling over reforms drags on. Unemployment data on Wednesday will highlight that more than a quarter of Greeks remain out of work, according to economists. The figures will come a day after the European Commission gives its latest assessment of the country, when it will probably cut its 2015 growth forecast. 
  • China's Crazy Stock Market, Charted. (graph) 
  • Europe Stocks Climb After Weekly Drop as Syngenta Gains With DAX. European stocks rebounded after their biggest weekly loss since December, as data showed manufacturers raised prices for the first time in eight months. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.6 percent to 396.82 at the close of trading.
  • Investors In This Homebuilder ETF Are Heading for the Exits. Investors in homebuilding shares are heading for the door. Speculators in the SPDR S&P Homebuilders exchange-traded fund have pulled a record amount of cash in April, abandoning the ETF known by its ticker XHB after it reached an eight-year high in February. The fund has retreated 4.8 percent since then.
  • Corporate America’s Unleash-the-Drones Plea Puts the Heat on FAA. As U.S. regulators study how to govern commercial drones, corporate America is plunging ahead on using unmanned aircraft in a bid to speed the process and win concessions on proposed restrictions. Large companies including American International Group Inc., Chevron Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. are planning flight trials to inspect storm damage, pipelines and railroad tracks. Union Pacific Corp. will employ its 7-pound drones to monitor derailments of hazardous materials.
  • I Gotta Pay Our Bills,’ Bill Clinton Says of Six-Figure Talks. Former President Bill Clinton had one reaction when asked if he would continue to collect fees on the order of $500,000 for speeches during his wife’s presidential bid: “Oh, yeah. I gotta pay our bills.” Clinton defended speaking fees that often are hundreds of thousands of dollars, saying there were no conflicts of interest, in an interview with NBC News broadcast Monday.
MarketWatch.com: 
Fox News:
  • Texas officer saved lives in shooting outside Muhammad cartoon contest, police say. (video) A Texas traffic cop saved untold lives Sunday night when he took down two heavily armed men bent on storming a building where a 'Draw the Prophet' Muhammad contest was taking place, killing both before they could make their way inside. The police officer, who has not been identified by Garland Police Department officials, "probably saved lives," said police spokesman Joe Harn, who added that "his reaction, and his shooting with a pistol, he did a good job."
CNBC: 
ZeroHedge:
Business Insider:
Telegraph:
  • 'Warning lights' flash over Greece and France as manufacturing stumbles. France and Greece remain the eurozone's laggards, with the former "locked in reverse gear" as manufacturing remains mired in contraction in April. Markit's French manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 48 in April, from 48.8 in March. This was lower than a flash estimate of 48.4 and well below the 50 level that divides growth from contraction. Greece's PMI contracted to 46.5, from a previous reading of 48.9.
Het Financieele Dagblad:
  • Constancio Sees Risk Search for Yield Runs Out of Control. ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio says risk that the search for yield runs out of control needs to be monitored, citing interview.

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