Frontrunning: May 13

• Obama, McConnell missteps undercut trade pact in U.S. Senate (Reuters)
• Bears Beware: Rout Puts Investors on Wrong Side of Central Banks (BBG)
• U.S. Set to Rip Up UBS Libor Accord, Seek Conviction (BBG)
• Greece’s Creditors Said to Seek EU3 Billion in Budget Cuts (BBG)
• Amtrak train derails in Philadelphia, killing at least five (Reuters)
• Oil glut worsens as OPEC market-share battle just beginning (Reuters)
• China Stimulus Aims at Restructuring Trillions in Local-Government Debt (WSJ)
• Wisconsin officer will not face charges in killing of biracial teen (Reuters)
• Foreign Money Is Pouring Into U.S. Real Estate, and It's Not Just Houses (BBG)
• Greek PM says time for action from lenders, IMF payment scrapes by (Reuters)
• Samsung Unveils New ‘Internet of Things’ Push (WSJ)
• Hundreds search for U.S. helicopter after second Nepal quake kills scores (Reuters)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

* The U.S. military is considering using aircraft and Navy ships to directly contest Chinese territorial claims to a chain of rapidly expanding artificial islands, U.S. officials said. (http://on.wsj.com/1K5772G)

* North Korea's defense minister has been executed by anti-aircraft fire for disloyalty and showing disrespect to dictator Kim Jong Un, senior officials from Seoul's National Intelligence Service told South Korean lawmakers in a closed hearing Tuesday. (http://on.wsj.com/1RC3RxU)

* The two large earthquakes that struck Nepal on Tuesday were likely part of a chain reaction triggered by the magnitude-7.8 temblor that ravaged the country April 25, according to seismologists. (http://on.wsj.com/1L0Vpnz)

* General Electric is putting its Japanese commercial finance operation up for sale, shedding a key piece of its unit GE Capital's Asia operations. (http://on.wsj.com/1Hg9G14)

* Verizon is spending $4.4 billion on AOL Inc , a loose confederation of advertising-technology businesses, random "content" plays, and a money-leaking adventure called the Huffington Post. This puts Verizon in a number of intriguing, if conflicted, new positions. It will have to be neutral arbiter in these advertising businesses, but also have to nurture and develop its offerings of online video and content. (http://on.wsj.com/1HbEsFB)

* Samsung unveiled a set of technologies to add computing power to many kinds of everyday devices, such as fitness trackers, media storage gadgets, security cameras and drones. (http://on.wsj.com/1cQye41)

* Economic growth may be set to slow in the United States, although the eurozone remains on course for a pickup, according to leading indicators released by the OECD. (http://on.wsj.com/1FaTSug)

FT

City law firm Gateley set to float on AIM (http://on.ft.com/1FckISU)

Cameron to unveil counterterror measures aimed at Islamists (http://on.ft.com/1FckY4j)

Drop long-term pay plans, think-tank argues (http://on.ft.com/1Fcltvc)

Overview

Gateley is set to be the first British law firm to list in London after it announced its stock market flotation on Tuesday in a move that will give it access to funds for expansion.

British Prime Minister David Cameron will on Wednesday set out new laws intended to curb organisations and individuals who promote militant ideologies at home and recruit young people to radical islamist groups abroad.

A new report from the think tank High Pay Centre says Long-term incentive plans (LTips) should be scrapped and performance bonuses for executives should be paid in cash not shares.

NYT

* Verizon Communications said it would buy AOL Inc for $4.4 billion - the deal is just the latest corporate reaction to a staggering shift in the way people across the globe get their news and entertainment. (http://nyti.ms/1IA1uaX)

* A vote halted consideration of legislation granting President Obama "fast track" power to complete a major trade accord with 11 nations in the Pacific Rim. (http://nyti.ms/1Hg5EG4)

* Investors are betting that a surge in international students will increase the imbalance in the supply and demand in student housing. Their bet is a simple one: As students from the world's growing middle and upper classes flock to London for higher education, the stark supply-demand imbalance in student housing will grow. (http://nyti.ms/1H2sFXy)

* Athens will repeatedly run an obstacle course to pay billions of euros in debts to creditors and to meet basic obligations like salaries and pensions. (http://nyti.ms/1cv4QQ8)

* General Electric's $13.5 billion planned acquisition of Alstom's energy business has hit a major snag, in the face of European Commission concerns that the deal would hurt competition in the market for heavy-duty gas turbines. The European Commission has asked GE for more information on the proposed agreement, adding to concerns that it is prepared to block it. (http://nyti.ms/1G4ZLdg)

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The Canadian government is funding an independent organization to investigate war crimes in Syria and Iraq, joining an international effort to build criminal cases against Islamic State leaders even while the regional conflict is ongoing. (http://bit.ly/1HdiSjU)

** Canadian governments are bracing for rising debt-servicing costs, attempting to lock in low interest rates before the inevitable rise forces unpopular decisions on spending and taxes. (http://bit.ly/1K5UAfj)

** The Canadian Forces released heavily censored reports from several military investigations into the death of Sergeant Andrew Doiron, 31, on Tuesday in an attempt to lay to rest questions about how the special-forces soldier died at the hands of Canada's allies. (http://bit.ly/1RDuIKb)

NATIONAL POST

** Air Canada reported on Tuesday its best-ever adjusted net income, operating income, operating margin, passenger revenues and passenger load factor - a measurement of how many seats are filled - for the traditionally difficult first quarter. One analyst says the company is turning into a "quality stock" after the record-setting quarter. (http://bit.ly/1cS9Df9)

** Royal Dutch Shell Plc's return to the U.S. Arctic plus C$500 million of additional funding from the Canadian government amps up the prospects of oil and gas development in the Beaufort Sea, according to David Ramsay, who oversees the oil and gas sector in the Northwest Territories. (http://bit.ly/1zZ4JXR)

China

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

-- Television Broadcasts Ltd will invest HK$6.2 billion ($799.8 million) in programmes over the coming six years in a commitment that has helped secure the renewal of its free-to-air licence. The licence will be renewed for a 12-year period from Dec. 1, giving TVB time to battle new rival after the government decided to revoke Asia Television's licence. (bit.ly/1Phw1zG)

-- The cost of expanding Terminal 2 at Chek Lap Kok airport to support the proposed third runway could soar to HK$14 billion ($1.81 billion) by the time work begins in 2019 - 47 per cent up on the original prediction, a veteran engineer says. (bit.ly/1G4CCYs)

-- Securities and Futures Commission Chairman Carlson Tong Ka-shing has vowed to crack down on potential market manipulation after several small players exhibited very unusual share price movements in the recent market rally. Tong said the regulator had a team focused on monitoring unusual share price movements. (bit.ly/1cuC428)

THE STANDARD

-- Hackers believed to be from overseas have threatened to launch fresh cyber attacks on Bank of China and Bank of East Asia unless they pay them with virtual currency bitcoin. Police confirmed that they received reports on Monday from two financial institutions, claiming their websites were hacked on Saturday, leading to unstable service. (bit.ly/1KH85Pt)

-- Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has shrugged off opinion polls on the government's political reform proposal, saying that different surveys will have different results. (bit.ly/1PhzaQ7)

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

-- Chinese water treatment group Yunnan Water Investment Co Ltd plans to issue 288 million shares in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, raising HK$1.67 billion to fund acquisition of water treatment projects and repay debt.

Britain

The Times

FARAGE AND CARSWELL AT WAR OVER UKIP'S 3.5 MLN POUND WINDFALL

Ukip faced internal disorder as its sole MP accused his own party of seeking to waste millions of pounds of taxpayers' money. Nigel Farage and Douglas Carswell, the two most senior figures in the anti-EU party, were at loggerheads over how to use 3.5 million pounds ($5.48 million) in Commons funding for opposition parties.(thetim.es/1cPVi2Y)

The Guardian

DAVID CAMERON TO UNVEIL NEW LIMITS ON EXTREMISTS' ACTIVITIES IN QUEEN'S SPEECH

A counter-terrorism bill including plans for extremism disruption orders designed to restrict those trying to radicalise young people is to be included in the Queen's speech, David Cameron will tell the national security council on Wednesday.(bit.ly/1zXN3vM)

CO-OP CHAIRMAN ADMITS BOARD ELECTION WILL CHANGE AGAIN NEXT YEAR

Allan Leighton, chairman of the Co-operative Group, has told the independent societies that own 22 percent of the supermarkets and funeral home business that elections to the board will be run differently next year. (bit.ly/1cPZJeb)

The Telegraph

RAIL COMPANIES IN LINE FOR COMPENSATION IF STRIKE HITS

Transport companies would receive compensation from Network Rail if a strike goes ahead and causes chaos on the country's railways. (bit.ly/1zXMou8)

Sky News

WORLDPAY ADDS TO 6 BLN POUND LONDON FLOAT LINE-UP

Worldpay, the UK-based payment processing giant, has picked Lazard Ltd to prepare it for a flotation that could propel it straight into London's blue-chip share index.(bit.ly/1Ezqb2n)

TESCO AXES 450 JOBS AS HOMEPLUS STORES CLOSE

Embattled supermarket Tesco Plc is to close its last six Homeplus stores and cut about 450 jobs. (bit.ly/1RBxgIF)

The Independent

LABOUR'S PRIVATE POLLS SHOWED THE TORIES AHEAD AS EARLY AS CHRISTMAS 2014

Private polling conducted for the Labour party in the run-up to the general election showed the Conservatives in the lead as early as last year, said James Morris, Ed Miliband's chief private pollster. (ind.pn/1F5S3NP)

PRINCE CHARLES'S 'BLACK SPIDER' LETTERS SET FOR PUBLICATION AFTER 10-YEAR LEGAL BATTLE

The Royal Family's reputation for political neutrality faces its most serious challenge in a generation after the Cabinet Office announced that "black spider" memos written by Prince Charles to senior ministers would be published on Wednesday afternoon, following a Supreme Court ruling last month. (ind.pn/1JG5BAQ)

Comments

[spanish inquisition]

Much truthiness in the headline

• Bears Beware: Rout Puts Investors on Wrong Side of Central Banks (BBG)

Up next, at BBG we have given up all actual financial reporting and analyze your positions on what side of the Central Bank's we believe your positions lie. Watch for our following stories.

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Manufacturing Consumer Confidence.

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