Economic Calendar

• Fed Officials Discuss Explicit Inflation Target (Bloomberg)
• No Fed Shift Seen at June Gathering (Jon Hilsenrath)
• China Developers’ Outlook Lowered to ‘Negative’ by S&P as Credit Tightens (Bloomberg)
• SEC probes Merrill CDO sale (FT), Is Andrew Ross Sorkin already drafting explanation how Merrill was not, repeat NOT short anything? Or is Bank of America just not a Dealbook sponsor?
• The Economy Is Now Immune to Keynesian Crack (Peter Schiff)
• Rosenberg '99%' sure of U.S. recession (Forbes)
• China Inflation Heading for 6% Shows Danger for Wen Extending Rate Pause (Bloomberg)
• White House wants business to aid in debt cap fight (Reuters)

• U.S. Says Bank of America Corp. "significantly hindered" a federal investigation of the company's foreclosure practices (WSJ)
• Additional 23 Fukushima workers exposed to high radiation (NHK)
• US mirrors sluggish global job creation  (FT)
• Getting Away With It - Why are Galleon's investors not impaired? (NYT)
• The Fed flood slows to a trickle (FT)
• Rising Prices a Risk (WSJ)
• Berlusconi suffers stinging referendum defeat (Reuters)
• Roubini Warns Of Euro Break Up As Greek Credit Rating Tumbles (Forbes)
• China Govt Could Cont Hiking Int Rates (Market News)
• Trichet signals hostility to Greek ‘credit event’  (FT)
• Qaddafi Coddled by U.S. Oil Producers (Bloomberg)

• Germany Digs In On Greek Debt Restructuring (Bloomberg)
• Libya emerges as Opec's big winner (FT)
• Athens approves four-year austerity package (FT)
• Germany sticks to demand for Greek bond swap (Reuters)
• Fed said to consider expansion of capital reviews (Bloomberg)
• Ally Financial delaying IPO (Reuters)
• Tokyo Riot Squad to Safeguard Tepco Meeting (Bloomberg)
• Christine Lagarde's victory a "done deal" says IMF rival (Telegraph)
• Jamie Dimon's faulty capital requirement math (Simon Johnson)

• Obama Considering Another Stimulus Tax Cut (New Republic)
• Taxes on the menu in debt-reduction talks (Reuters)
• Americans torn over debt limit (WaPo)
• Dimon Challenges Bernanke on Wall Street Regulation (Bloomberg)
• The Great Property Bubble of China May Be Popping (WSJ)
• Beige Book confirms break in supply chain(FT)
• Trichet May Play ECB Rate Card as Germany Risks Split on New Greek Rescue (Bloomberg)
• Slow growth to anchor Bank rates despite price pressure (Reuters)
• President Obama Authors The Economic Recovery That Isn’t (Forbes)
• New Cracks in Oil Cartel (WSJ)

• Fed Sees Recovery Lagging (Jon Hilsenrath)
• Grand Bargain U.S. Debt-Deal Failure Would Set Up 2012 Election Showdown (Bloomberg)
• Ruling party lawmakers attack new Greek bailout (Reuters)
• IMF's Lipsky says QE3 not necessary (Reuters)
• Yuan's band may be widened (China Daily)
• Tank Looks Dry for the Australian Dollar (WSJ)
• Berlin seeks 7-year Greek debt extension (FT)
• It’s Bubble Time as Asia Braces for Fed’s QE3 (Bloomberg)
• G20 targets volatile food prices (FT)

• Former ECB chief economist Otmar Issing: Greece "Cheated" to join Euro (Bloomberg)
• Fitch cuts Japan credit rating outlook to negative (Reuters)
• Japan ends 25 months of deflation (Bloomberg)
• Basel III break for banks in EU (FT)
• China holds eight percent of US debt (China Daily)
• Obama, GOP unveil competing plans for job growth (WaPo)
• Ebay and PayPal sue Google over trade secrets (Reuters)
• Greek leaders meet to resolve crisis (WSJ)
• Lagarde offers bigger voice to emerging nations (FT)
• G-8: Faster growth to spur faster debt cutting (Bloomberg)

• Merkel-Sarkozy Bond Frays Heading Into Deauville G-8 (Bloomberg)
• China's Cabinet May Impose Temporary Price Controls to Counter Inflation (Bloomberg)
• No Retreat on Medicare (WSJ)
• Goldman Sachs Needs a New Audit Committee (Bloomberg)
• Republicans to roll out new tax-cut proposal (MarketWatch)
• GATA urges Paul to probe Fed's gold swaps; he tells CNBC he will (GATA)
• Civil war looms as dozens killed in Yemen capital (Reuters)
• Foreclosure Drop in Florida and California Do Not Show Recovery (ForeclosureWarehouse)

• France's Lagarde launches IMF bid, BRICs complain (Reuters)
• Greek assets could go to ‘fund of experts’ (FT)... and gold "could" go to central banks
• U.K. Economy Grew 0.5% in First Quarter (Bloomberg)
• OECD cuts Japan GDP forecast again, urges easy monetary policy (Reuters)
• Kan targets structural issues after quake (FT)
• Shanghai Composite down 10% in six weeks, officially enters correction territory (FT)
• Banks Face $17 Billion in Suits Over Foreclosures (WSJ)
• EU Juncker: Still In Favor Of 'Reprofiling' Greek Sovereign Debt (WSJ)

• French government says China backs Lagarde for IMF (Reuters)
• ...but, China has actually not backed Lagarde (WSJ)
• “You Americans Are Funny” — You Start an IMF (Forbes)
• Norquist Emerges as Barrier to U.S. Debt Deal (Bloomberg)
• Scarcity, Usefulness, and Getting an Edge (Hussman)
• Bullard Says Fed May Keep Rates, Balance-Sheet Steady to Assess Economy (Bloomberg)
• For Global Steel Industry, China Poses Guessing Game (WSJ)
• Goldman Finding Third Time a Charm in Russia (Bloomberg)
• Greece Will Accelerate State Asset Sales to Stem Debt Crisis as Bonds Drop (Bloomberg)
• It can go wrong? It will go wrong (WaPo)

• Japanese economy shrinks in first quarter (FT)
• Power Shifts on Foreign-Policy Team (WSJ)
• Government Prays a Bigger Sucker Is Out There (Bloomberg)
• Row within Europe over Greece (FT)
• U.S. Hits Syrian President With Sanctions (Bloomberg)
• Think prices are high? Just wait ’til summer (Post)
• Top European Bank Officials Urge Greece to Persevere on Fiscal Overhauls (WSJ)
• Medvedev Makes a Slight Break With Putin (WSJ)
• U.S. Grants Asylum to Chavez Opponent (WSJ)
• Sex Scandal Is Another Travesty at IMF Door (Bloomberg)

• Al Qaeda names Egyptian militant Adel as interim chief - Al Jazeera (Reuters)
• Geithner: U.S. must deal with budget woes or pay more (Reuters)
• Pressure mounts on Strauss-Kahn to quit (FT)
• IMF issues stark warning to Greece on fiscal goals (Reuters)
• Europe Aims to Keep IMF Job After Strauss-Kahn (Bloomberg)
• The eurozone after Strauss-Kahn (Martin Wolf, FT)
• U.S. mulls White House aide Lipton for IMF No. 2 job (Reuters)
• Could Greece be the next Lehman Brothers? Yes – and potentially even worse (Guardian)
• Moody's Cuts Rating of Four Major Australian Banks (WSJ)
• Fed seeks annual US bank stress tests (FT)
• Mideast peace bid needed more than ever (Reuters)
• World Bank sees end to dollar’s hegemony (FT)

The only thing on today's light economic calendar is the FOMC’s April 26-27 meeting minutes, as the Fed proceeds to monetize bonds now that the debt ceiling has been reached. And meanwhile in Washington we get a debt limit discussion, two securitization-related events, and another energy vote that is expected to fail...

• TEPCO admits nuclear meltdown occurred at Fukushima reactor 16 hours after quake (Mainichi)
• New York Investigates Banks’ Role in Fiscal Crisis (NYT)
• Confidential Federal Audits Accuse Five Biggest Mortgage Firms Of Defrauding Taxpayers (Huffington Post)
• IMF chief claims consent in hotel 'attack' (Post)
• Ryan pushes spending cuts as U.S. hits debt limit (Reuters)
• Merkel rejects Greek debt restructuring (FT)
• "Hidden" debt raises Spain bond fears (FT)
• As Case Unfolds, France Speculates and Steams  (NYT)
• Draghi Backed by Euro Finance Ministers as Next ECB President (Bloomberg)
• Israel Leader Outlines Points Before U.S. Trip (NYT)

• Tepco Says Fuel in 2 Reactors May Have Melted (Bloomberg) "The findings at the No. 1 reactor indicate the likelihood
  that the water level readings in the other reactors aren’t
  accurate"
• The Destruction of Economic Facts (BusinessWeek)
• US residents flee sacrificed Mississippi flood towns (BBC)
• 'Dominique Strauss-Kahn Is Finished' (Spiegel)
• IMF in Wake of Scandal Turns to Lipsky (Bloomberg)
• The Known Unknown of Greek Debt (WSJ)
• Greece Aid May Be Clouded by Strauss-Kahn Arrest (Bloomberg)
• Lowe’s Profit Trails Estimates as Home Projects Curbed (Bloomberg), and, you guessed it, bad wearther blamed
• Warning signs on market liquidity risks (Reuters)... pretty much as warned on Zero Hedge in April 2009

• Japan’s Most Important Banker Sees Only Bubbles (Bloomberg)
• China May Limit Rate Increases After Raising Bank Reserve Ratio (Bloomberg)
• Japan Approves Tepco Nuclear Claims Plan (Reuters)
• What Is The Purpose Of The Euro? (Forbes)
• Senior IMF Official: Asian Countries, Including China, Increasingly See Currency Rise Needed (WSJ)
• Suicide Bombing Kills At Least 69 in Pakistan (Reuters)
• U.S. Attorney Sends a Message to Wall Street (NYT)
• Mighty Determined Sellers (NYT)
• IMF Weighs Extending Greek Repayments (WSJ)
• Beef Buying Koreans Fuel Record U.S. Meat Rally (Bloomberg)