Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:      

• Retailers Stifle U.S. Stocks in Week as Growth Worries Mount. The weakness plaguing consumer companies proved contagious and pushed U.S. stocks to the longest streak of weekly declines since January’s market meltdown. The S&P 500 Index dropped for a third week after disastrous reports from Macy’s Inc. to Nordstrom Inc. sent retail shares tumbling. While apparel makers led the decline, falling to a three-month low, the selling affected a swath of industries that rely on consumer spending. Airlines, media companies and real-estate firms all sank at least 1.8 percent. 
• China’s Economy Grinds Down a Gear as Heavy Industry Drags. China’s economy resumed its grind toward slower growth in April, weighed down by overcapacity industries such as steel and coal. Industrial production climbed 6 percent in April from a year earlier, down from 6.8 percent in March and missing economists’ estimates for 6.5 percent. Retail sales also missed analyst forecasts, rising 10.1 percent, while fixed-asset investment increased 10.5 percent in the January-April period versus economists’ expectation for 11 percent. After a rocky start to 2016 marked by a sliding yuan, capital outflows and tumbling shares, China’s economy stabilized and even picked up in March, led by a surge in new credit and rebound in the housing market. A pullback in lending and Saturday’s tepid readings dash hopes the economy has turned a corner. Top leaders this week signaled a shift away from debt- and stimulus-fueled growth, stressing the need for deleveraging, upgrading industrial capabilities and cutting excess capacity. "All the engines suddenly lost momentum," said Zhou Hao, an economist at Commerzbank AG in Singapore. "The policy tightening will be only a short-term phenomenon."
• China Seen Boosting Cyber War Focus With Probes Against U.S. China’s military conducted cyber probes and intrusions against U.S. computer networks to support intelligence collection and electronic warfare, according to a new Pentagon report. “China is using its cyber capabilities to support intelligence collection against the U.S. diplomatic, economic, and defense industrial base sectors that support U.S. national defense programs,” the Defense Department said in its annual report on China’s capabilities, published Friday. The report, which traditionally draws a strong reaction from the Chinese government, comes ahead of a visit to Vietnam and Japan this month by President Barack Obama and amid increasing tensions between the U.S., China and Southeast Asian nations over sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. Highlighting what the Pentagon described as China’s focus on improving cyber capabilities to counter a “stronger foe,” the report said information gleaned by hackers “could inform Chinese military planners’ work to build a picture of U.S. defense networks, logistics, and related military capabilities that could be exploited during a crisis.”

Wall Street Journal:

• Xi Embraces Mao’s Radical Legacy. The Cultural Revolution is no longer just an ugly chapter in China’s past. Its brutal legacy haunts President Xi Jinping’s ‘China dream’.
• . . . And Donald Trump’s Taxes. Democrats will keep pounding him until he releases his returns.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (REGN), (JWN), (M), (NXST), (ODP), (AXTA), (Y) and (BURL).
• Had bearish commentary on (RL).

MarketWatch.com:

• Jim Cramer doesn’t beat the market. CNBC personality’s Action Alerts Plus portfolio trails S&P 500, study finds.

Fox News:

• Pentagon report says China weaponizing man-made islands in South China Sea. (video) A new Pentagon reported released Friday said that China has reclaimed more than 3,200 acres of land in the South China Sea and the country’s focus has shifted to developing and weaponinzing the man-made islands.

CNBC:

• U.S. concern grows over possible Venezuela meltdown, officials say.

Zero Hedge: 

• Total US Debt Is Back To Its Great Depression Peak. (graph)
• Trump May Have Just Played The Entire Media Universe For Fools, Again.
• New KFC Restaurant Is Run Entirely By Robots.
• For The American Farmer "It's Death By A 1,000 Knives”- US Farmland Values Plunge Most In 30 Years. (graph)
• Liquidity Problems? Deutsche Bank Offers 5% Yields If Depositors Lock Up Their Money For Three Months.
• Six Reasons Why Goldman Is Suddenly Warning About A "Large Drop" In The Market. (graph)
• The ECB Met With Goldman, Other Banks At Shanghai G-20 Meeting, Allegedly Leaking March Stimulus.
• Chart Of The Day: Bonds Vs Stocks Vs Reality.
• Another Headline Head Fake - The Consumer Can't Save The U.S. Economy.
• Scenes From The Venezuela Apocalypse: "Countless Wounded" After 5,000 Loot Supermarket Looking For Food. (pic)
• Did The Clinton Foundation Give $2 Million To Bill's "Energizer" Mistress?
• Germany Changes Stance, Will Spend Almost €100 Billion To Assist Refugees.
• Canaccord Founder Sells $31 Million Vancouver Mansion To Chinese Student.
• Minimum-Wage Blowback - Wendy's To Employ Self-Service Kiosks At 6,000 Locations.
• China Warns US: "Don't Disturb" Hong Kong Social Order; Threatens "Bad Reaction".
• Ralph Nader: Clinton Is Winning By "Dictatorship".
• The Propaganda War Against Capitalism.
• California Tax Revenues Miss Projections By $1 Billion As Residents Flee The State.
• Weekend Reading: Going Nowhere Fast.
• Stocks Bloody On Friday 13 As Treasury Curve Crashes To 9 Year Lows. (graph)

Business Insider:

• The Target(TGT) boycott has reached a boiling point — and sales may suffer as a result. Target is facing a nationwide backlash for its support of transgender rights. More than 1.2 million people have signed a pledge to boycott the retailer after it announced last month that it would welcome transgender customers to use any bathroom or fitting room that matches their gender identity.
• Things could get a lot worse for Apple(AAPL).
• China's production, investment, and retail sales all disappoint in April.
• The American debt crisis in 5 charts.
• China's 'zombie' steel firms are coming back from the dead.
• These 2 powerful charts show the problem the Fed faces.
• This Chinese e-commerce giant is luxury retail's worst nightmare.
• Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is getting in the bidding war for Yahoo(YHOO).
• David Tepper dumps Apple(AAPL).
• The US is gearing up for another military campaign in Libya.
• The Olympics are having an unprecedented meltdown.
• White men in tech are now being referred to as 'non-diverse'.

Reuters:

• China asks Britain for advice on creating financial super-regulator.

Financial Times:

• US recession worries flare up … again.