BAC

• Putin Doesn't Rule Out Sending Troops (WSJ)
• Japan Cuts Economic View on Tax Rise (WSJ)
• No "harsh weather" in Chipotle restaurants where comp store sales rose 13.4% (PR)
• No sanctions for you: EU sanctions push on Russia falters amid big business lobbying (FT)
• Consumer Spending on Health Care Jumps as Obamacare Takes Hold (BBG)
• China Seen Cracking on Property Controls (BBG)
• Google, IBM results raise questions about other tech-sector companies (Reuters)
• California city evacuation lifted after military ordnance found (Reuters)
• For Obama, Standoff With Moscow Jumbles Plans at Home and Abroad (WSJ)

Over the weekend, there has been some consternation over the report that the CEOs of the 6 largest US banks: JPM, BAC, GS, MS, C and WFC, collectively made $96.1 million in 2013, more than $86.3 million the year before and the most since the financial crisis. However, we are confident those same people would have an aneurism if they were to learn that James "Jimmy" Levin, a 31-year-old hedge fund trader - head of global credit and an executive managing director at Och-Ziff - last year made a whopping $119 million, or more than all of the CEOs of the six largest firms combined.

So from MF Global's "vaporized" commingled client assets to Basel's "evaporated" toughened derivatives rules, the banks are indeed "very happy." And now back to perpetuation the illusion that the system is stable.

• Top Medicare Doctor Paid $21 Million in 2012, Data Shows (BBG)
• Separatists build barricades in east Ukraine, Kiev warns of force (Reuters)
• Greece launches sale of five-year bond (FT)
• High-Frequency Trader Malyshev Mulls Accepting Outside Investors (BBG)
• U.S. defense chief gets earful as China visit exposes tensions (Reuters)
• GM Workers Who Built Defective Cars Fret About Recall (BBG)
• Kerry, Congress Agree: Superpower Status Not What It Was (BBG)
• Crimeans Homeless in Ukraine Seek Solace in Kiev Asylums (BBG)
• JPMorgan's Dimon says U.S. banks healthy, Europe lagging (Reuters)

Most Buy Side managers have no idea about the disparate business models of the four largest US banks by assets. 

• Russia's Gazprom says Ukraine did not pay for gas on time (Reuters)
• Ukraine Moves to Keep Control in East (BBG)
• Banks Set to Report Lower Earnings as Debt Trading Slumps (BBG)
• More DeGeners and Obama selfies needed: Samsung's lower first-quarter estimate highlights smartphone challenges (Reuters)
• Citi Is Bracing to Miss a Profit Target (WSJ)
• Another slam from GM? Safety group calls for U.S. probe of Chevy Impala air bags (Reuters)
• Japan drugmaker Takeda to fight $6 billion damages imposed by U.S. jury (Reuters)
• EU court rules against requirement to keep data of telecom users (Reuters)
• White House may ban selfies with president after Ortiz-Obama photo promotes Samsung (Syracuse)

• Nato chief defends eastern advance (FT)
• Russia looks east as it seeks to rebalance trade interests (FT)
• Plane from Guinea briefly quarantined in Paris after Ebola scare (AFP)
• US attacks Japan’s stance on Trans-Pacific Partnership (FT)
• Thank you IMF: Ukraine PM says will stick to austerity despite Moscow pressure (Reuters)
• U.S. Army seeks motive for Fort Hood shooting rampage (Reuters)
• China Slowdown Adds to Emerging-Market Growth Hurdles, IMF Says (BBG)
• Top investors press Allianz to step up oversight of Pimco (Reuters)
• U.S. to Evaluate Role in Mideast Peace Process, John Kerry Says (WSJ)
• Scientists dismiss claims that Yellowstone volcano about to erupt (Reuters)
• Ukraine detains 12 riot police on suspicion of 'mass murder' (Reuters) - on CIA orders?

Two weeks ago, when Bank of America found that its weekly retail spending data has continued coming in far weaker than expected compared to 2013, it did the laughable: it blamed not the weather in general, but one storm in particular, to wit: "once again adverse weather potentially impacted spending last week, as the storm “Titan” moved across the US over the weekend of March 1st and 2nd and was followed by yet another cold spell." Two weeks later, after shockingly BofA finds precisely the same weakness continuing into the end of a balmy March, it no longer even bothers looking for excuses. The sad reality: there are none.

• BOE to Sign Agreement With China on Yuan Clearing Next Week (BBG)
• U.S. law firm plans to bring suit against Boeing, Malaysia Airlines (Reuters)
• Citigroup Fraud Stings Mexico Star as Medina-Mora Chased (BBG)
• Fraternity Chief Feared for Son as Hazings Spurred JPMorgan Snub (BBG)
• UBS suspends six more forex traders (FT)
• Goodbye CSCO Q1 EPS: China to strengthen Internet security after U.S. spying report (Reuters)
• Good luck: Spain Banks With $55 Billion of Property Seek Deals (BBG)
• Citic Pacific Said to Plan About $4 Billion Public Offering (BBG)
• Yahoo Japan to buy eAccess from SoftBank for $3.2 billion (Reuters)
• "Whatever it takes" to talk down the Euro: Euro, peripheral bond yields fall on ECB easing debate (Reuters)

Why is Citigroup not like any of the top four banks, including JPM, WFC, USB or BAC?   

Another year, another failure by Citigroup to i) pass the Fed's stress test and ii) be able to stop investing cash in such idiotic fundamental concepts as CapEx, and instead reward activist shareholders with increased dividends and buybacks. As the WSJ reports, Citigroup "failed to get Federal Reserve approval to reward investors with dividends and stock buybacks, a significant blow to Chief Executive Michael Corbat's effort to bolster the bank's reputation following a 2008 government rescue." Hardly surprising for a bank which effectively was wiped out in the crisis and which only survived thanks to the Fed-backed crammed-up, spinoff of billions of toxic assets into a bank bank, however certainly surprising for a bank that is supposed to be "fixed" five years into a "recovery." What's worse, the stock is now trading below the infamous $5 level on a pre-split adjustment level - the same split that was supposed to at least optically, give the impression that things at Citi are ok. Turns out optics is only half the answer.

• U.S. Small-Cap Rally Sends Valuation 26% Above 1990s  (BBG)
• Russian troops seize Ukraine marine base in Crimea (Reuters)
• Apple in Talks With Comcast About Streaming-TV Service (WSJ)
• Top J.P. Morgan Executive in China to Leave Bank (WSJ)
• Treasury's Lew to undergo treatment for enlarged prostate (Reuters)
• Billionaire Sought by U.S. Holds Key to Putin Gas Cash  (BBG)
• Israel closes embassies around the world as diplomats strike (Reuters)
• Herbalife to Nominate Three More Icahn Candidates to Board (BBG)
• Australian ship homes in on possible debris from Malaysia plane (Reuters)
• California DMV Investigating Potential Credit Card Breach (WSJ)

• How Putin Parried Obama's Overtures on Crimea (WSJ)
• West Readies Tighter Sanctions After Russia Seals Crimea Claim (Bloomberg)
• Putin says U.S. guided by 'the rule of the gun' in foreign policy (Reuters)
• JPMorgan Said to Agree on Commodities Unit Sale to Mercuria (BBG)
• Short Sellers Target Chinese Developers as Rout Deepens (BBG)
• HFT finally under the spotlight: High-Speed Trading Firms Face New U.S. Scrutiny (WSJ)
• Chinese Dollar Bond Investors Demand Higher Yields After Default (BBG)
• According to Joe LaVorgna it's the snow's fault: Deutsche Bank Said to Plan Job Cuts at Investment Bank (BBG)
• Israeli airstrikes kill 1 Syrian soldier, wound 7 (AP)

We would suffer too many subdural hematomas if we were to comment on this most recent outbreak of the "idiot meteorologist" syndrome by Bank of America below.

• Malaysia Says Stolen Passport User Had No Links to Terror Groups (BBG)
• Malaysia military tracked missing plane to west coast (Reuters)
• Freescale loss in Malaysia tragedy leads to travel policy questions (Reuters)
• Top German body calls for QE blitz to avert deflation trap in Europe (Telegraph)
• Firms Suffer 23% Drop in Asia Fees Amid Search for Cash (BBG)
• Putin Dismisses U.S. Proposal on Ukraine (WSJ)
• Lenovo says China strike an IBM matter, but it won't cut wages (Reuters)
• Congress to Investigate GM Recall (WSJ)
• New hedge funds face life or death battle for funding (FT)
• Muni Bond Costs Hit Investors in Wallet (WSJ)
• BOJ keeps stimulus in place, cuts view on exports in warning sign (Reuters)
• ECB Homes In on Risky Assets as Inspectors Fan Out Across Europe  (BBG)
• Snowden: "The Constitution was violated" (Reuters)