Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• China Stocks Climb Most Since August as Materials Firms Advance. Chinese stocks jumped the most in more than seven months as materials and industrial companies led gains on optimism plans for a new economic zone near Beijing will boost earnings. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.5 percent at the close after a two-day holiday. Hesteel Co. and Beijing Orient Landscape & Environment Co. both surged by the daily limit. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.9 percent for its biggest jump since Oct. 10. Foreign investors bought a net 1.07 billion yuan ($155.2 million) of shares through the trading link with Hong Kong.
• Europe Stocks Little Changed as Energy Shares Rally, Autos Fall. (video) The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose less than 0.1 percent at the close. Stocks advanced as much as 0.4 percent earlier in the day after a private report on hiring showed a surge in U.S. payrolls last month. The benchmark is still up for the sixth time in seven trading days, having completed its third straight quarterly gain last week. Miners on Wednesday advanced for a second day as copper prices climbed, while energy shares tracked an advance in oil.
• Fed Favors Plan to Start Shrinking Balance Sheet Later in 2017. Most Federal Reserve officials said they backed a policy change that would begin shrinking the central bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year, as they reiterated their outlook for gradual interest-rate increases. “Most participants anticipated that gradual increases in the federal funds rate would continue and judged that a change to the committee’s reinvestment policy would likely be appropriate later this year,” according to minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s March 14-15 meeting released Wednesday in Washington. “Many participants emphasized that reducing the size of the balance sheet should be conducted in a passive and predictable manner,” the minutes showed.
• Cooperman Sees Stocks Gradually Rising on Solid Economic Data. Hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman, who has been ordered to face an insider-trading lawsuit, expects a gradual increase in stocks even after a market rally following the U.S. presidential election in November. “I think the market is not over valued, it’s reasonably fully valued,” Cooperman, founder of Omega Advisors, told CNBC Wednesday. “There are plenty of risks out there. Corporate debt levels and political uncertainty. Are we going to get a tax package through Congress?” Cooperman forecast that the market will be modestly higher by year’s end. The S&P 500 Index has risen about 11 percent since the election of President Donald Trump.
• White House Tallies $10 Billion Saved by Repeal of Regulations. (video) The White House estimates it will save $10 billion over 20 years by having rescinded 11 Obama-era regulations under a relatively obscure 1996 law that lets Congress fast-track repeal legislation with a simple majority. The window to invoke the Congressional Review Act is April 28 and the Trump administration is hopeful that several other measures will pass both houses of Congress and reach the president’s desk before that date, Marc Short, White House director of legislative affairs, told reporters Wednesday.

Wall Street Journal:

• Why the Refinancing Slowdown Matters for the Fed. Traders and analysts say monetary policy is already tightening on its own and the Fed could see it as a step toward shrinking its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.

Fox News:

• Trump says 'heinous' chemical weapons strike in Syria 'cannot be tolerated'. (video)
• Susan Rice's alleged unmasking requests not so routine, ex-officials say. (video)

CNBC:

• This chart shows why the bulls are getting excited about earnings. (video)
• Cooperman on Trump: The market is acting like it's being run by capitalists. (video)
• Trump tells NYT that Susan Rice is 'going to be the biggest story'.

Zero Hedge:

• Steve Bannon Removed From Trump's National Security Council.
• Germans Concerned After 270,000 Syrian Refugees Granted Permission To Bring Family Members.
• Trump Meets Xi: Goldman Previews This Week's Main Event.
• Productivity Myths Shattered: Is Productivity Rising Or Falling? Why?
• Are Mexico’s Oil Reserves Almost Depleted?
• WSJ: Susan Rice Was Not Alone In "Unmasking" Team Trump.
• WTI/RBOB Tumble After Surprise Inventory Build Sends Crude Glut Back To Record High. (graph)
• The "Soft Data" Euphoria Is Over: Non-Manufacturing ISM Slides To Pre-Election Lows. (graph)
• 2 Charts Show How Close The U.S. Is To Healthcare Collapse.
• Trump Effect: ADP Employment Surges To Highest Since 2014 As Manufacturing Hiring Spree Continues. (graph)
• For Gundlach, These Are The Three Key Charts To Watch.
• Shorts Crushed After JAB Acquires Panera In Largest Ever US Restaurant Deal.

Business Insider:

• YouTube's $35-a-month TV streaming service just launched — here's what it's like.

The Telegraph:

• Food prices rise at fastest pace in three years as inflation returns.