Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Greece Talks Accelerate as Draghi Heads to Meet Lagarde. (video) The debate over what to do about Greece is accelerating. Greek officials will hold talks with the euro area and the International Monetary Fund Thursday and Friday as the rest of Europe urges the administration in Athens to hurry up with work required to access more aid and avert a sovereign default. IMF officials will also talk about Greece in Washington. 
• Ukraine Urges U.S., EU to Coordinate Actions on Minsk Peace Deal. Ukraine urged the U.S. and the European Union to do more to work together on implementing a peace deal to end the conflict in the country’s east. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and EU Council President Donald Tusk agreed to coordinate actions to “de-escalate the situation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region at talks in Aachen, Germany, on Thursday, according to a statement on Poroshenko’s website. 
• Europe Stocks Rise as ArcelorMittal, Salzgitter Gain on EU Probe. European stocks rebounded from a two-day decline, buoyed by a rally in steelmakers. ArcelorMittal and Salzgitter AG jumped more than 5.7 percent after the European Union expanded a competition probe, opening up the prospect of tariffs on non-stainless steels from China and Russia. ThyssenKrupp AG climbed 2.8 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6 percent to 397.99 at the close of trading, reversing a drop of as much as 0.9 percent.
• Andurand Sees Oil Prices Capped by U.S. and OPEC Supply. (video)
• Iron Glut Seen by China Mills as BHP Says Supply Tops Demand. Overcapacity in the seaborne iron ore market will persist through to at least 2019 as the world’s largest suppliers expand production further, according to the China Iron & Steel Association. Growth in low-cost supply will exceed cuts to output made elsewhere, including in China, Vice Chairman Wang Liqun said at conference in Singapore on Thursday. Steel-demand growth in China is seen as flat this year, Wang said. 
• Consumer Comfort in U.S. Declines for a Fifth Consecutive Week. Consumer confidence fell for the fifth consecutive week as attitudes toward the economy dimmed and moods soured at both ends of the income scale. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index decreased to 43.5 in the period ended May 10, the lowest level since early March, from 43.7 the prior week. The last time the gauge declined for as many weeks was in late 2013. Views on the U.S. economy dropped to a five-month low, and confidence also retreated among full- and part-time workers.

ZeroHedge:

• King Of Bahrain Snubs US President, Meets Horse Instead.
• Bundesbank Blasts Draghi For Breaking Bailout Taboo.
• As If 85 Million Avon(AVP) Shares Short Suddenly Cried Out And Were Suddenly Silenced... By A Fake LBO Letter.
• No Bubble Here: $1.5 Million 750 SqFt. Flat; Rent-A-Bed $1,000/Month Or 20 Beds In 7-Bedroom House $21,000/Month.
• Saudis Declare Victory Over Shale Just As US Oil Production Jumps, Bakken Wells Hit Record. (graph)
• In Stunning U-Turn, NBC Retracts Story That Obama Lied About bin Laden.
• Why There Has Been No Recovery (In One Simple Chart): A Harvest Of Corruption. (graph)
• Consumer Comfort Tumbles For Longest Streak In 18 Months. (graph)
• Bund "Stable" As Put-Call Ratio Collapses To 6-Month Low. (graph)
• Kansas City Southern Gives Disastrous Economic Update, Pulls Guidance, Announces Stock Buyback.
• Gold Breaks Key Technical To 3-Month High, Silver Surging. (graph)
• Wholesale Deflation Strikes US Economy: April PPI Has Biggest Annual Drop In 5 Years. (graph)
• Jobless Claims Collapse Near 42 Year Low, But Texas Turmoils. (graph)
• Varoufakis Has Futuristic Greek Debt Plan That "Fills Mario Draghi's Soul With Fear".

Business Insider: 

• The Saudis just went nuclear on their Obama snub.
• Hillary Clinton wants to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. 
• DEUTSCHE BANK: Greece is 'suffering a new exodus' as people scramble to get their cash out.
• 'The eurozone is a complete disaster and Britain needs to leave the EU'.
• A slowdown in the trucking industry is the latest warning sign for the US economy.

Telegraph:

• Germans pile into gold amid Greek eurozone default fears. Economic uncertainty in Europe and fear of a Greek default are turning people to buy gold bars and coins.

Handelsblatt:

• "I don't find it OK that banks without market access get loans to finance bonds of their own country, which is itself without market access," Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann says in interview. Asked whether the ECB would be willing to force a Greek exit by stopping ELA funding, Weidmann says central banks "aren't responsible for the composition of the monetary union or the granting of aid payments". "I'm concerned by the increased politicization of central banks, as well as the constantly rising expectations in us. That's risking a dangerous overstraining of central banks. This is not only against the backdrop of democratic legitimization, but also because we wouldn't even be in a position to solve Europe's problems."