- Maryland Governor Calls in National Guard to Control Baltimore Riots (BBG [21])
- Fed Seen Delaying Liftoff to September to Push Down Unemployment (BBG [22])
- Nepal PM says toll could rise to 10,000 (Reuters [23])
- China Readies Fresh Easing to Tackle Specter of Debt (WSJ [24])
- ‘Damned Lies’ Threaten to Overshadow U.K. GDP in Election Fight (BBG [25])
- Uncertainty Over Impact of a Default by Greece (NYT [26])
- Why the Cost of Hedging European Banks Stocks Has Soared (BBG [27])
- Carinthia cash crunch gives Austria its own mini-Greece (Reuters [28])
- The Dinner Proposal That Led United Into Corruption Probe (BBG [29])
- The London Bankers Aiming for Westminster (BBG [30])
- Oil-Industry Debt Mounts Up (WSJ [31])
- Ford profit misses expectations, 2015 profit outlook affirmed (Reuters [32])
- Standard Chartered Misses Estimates in Last Results Under Sands (BBG [33])
- Nine face midnight firing squad in Indonesia, hopes for reprieve gone (Reuters [34])
Overnight Media Summary
WSJ
* Riots, looting and violent unrest engulfed swaths of Baltimore on Monday, hours after thousands of people attended a funeral for Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody this month. (http://on.wsj.com/1PPDLpr [35])
* The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on one of the most direct constitutional issues to cross its docket in recent memory: Are same-sex couples entitled to marry nationwide? (http://on.wsj.com/1PPEffe [36])
* ESPN sued Verizon, alleging the telecom's new FiOS TV packages breach a contract covering distribution. (http://on.wsj.com/1PPEUxm [37])
* U.S. authorities reached a tentative consent agreement with medical device maker Medtronic over flaws in its SynchroMed infusion pump for cancer and pain medicine. (http://on.wsj.com/1PPFCdO [38])
* Institutional Shareholder Services said DuPont shareholders should elect Nelson Peltz and John Myers, two of the four nominees of Peltz's Trian Fund Management, to the board. (http://on.wsj.com/1PPG2RE [39])
FT
Greece's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has been sidelined after three months of fruitless talks with international creditors to unlock 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds, heartening investors and sparking a rally on the Athens stock market.
Royal Dutch Shell and Total SA have delayed multibillion-dollar offshore oil projects in west Africa as part of efforts to rein in costs and shore up cash flow following the collapse in crude prices.
The death toll from Nepal's worst earthquake in 80 years rose to about 3,800 on Monday, with 6,500 injured, as rescuers struggled to reach remote hill villages while Kathmandu's small airport was overwhelmed by flights carrying relief supplies.
iPhone sales among the middle class in China and other emerging economies propelled Apple ahead of Wall Street's forecasts for the fifth successive quarter, as it pledged to return another $70 billion to shareholders.
NYT
* Regulators, investors and economists are starting to conclude that after five years of endless analysis and speculation, no one really knows how the markets will react to a Greek default. (http://nyti.ms/1z865PC [40])
* A three-way takeover battle in the world of generic drugs appeared poised to escalate on Monday, as the pharmaceutical company Mylan NV pointedly rejected a $40 billion takeover bid from an Israeli competitor, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (http://nyti.ms/1DvDfUE [41])
* ESPN filed a lawsuit against Verizon in New York Supreme Court on Monday, asserting that the telecommunications company breached its contract with the network when it unveiled a new cable package last week. (http://nyti.ms/1z85WLZ [42])
* Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is putting officials in charge of day-to-day talks who are less polarizing than the finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis.(http://nyti.ms/1PPJUlD [43])
Hong Kong
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
- The cost of building the over-budget high-speed rail link to Guangzhou is likely to surge to a whopping HK$85 billion ($10.97 billion), 30 percent more than the original HK$65 billion budget, legislator Michael Tien Puk-sun warned. He said neither the MTR Corporation nor its major shareholder, the government, would want to bear the extra cost. (bit.ly/1zhkauu)
- The number of tourists visiting Hong Kong continued to decline in the first two weeks of this month and industry leaders see no sign of improvement. Tourism Board chairman Peter Lam said the provisional figures showed a single-digit percentage decline and it was too early to say whether Labour Day holiday would boost the hospitality and retail industries. (bit.ly/1Jwaob0)
- The competition watchdog is making the vehicle-fuel market one of its first targets for investigation, with the Environment Bureau pledging to cooperate. Anna Wu Hung-yuk, chairwoman of the Competition Commission, confirmed that it has embarked on an initial study following complaints that petrol suppliers were quick to raise prices but slow to reduce down. (bit.ly/1Oxfszi)
THE STANDARD
- Nearly 51 percent of people in a survey support the Hong Kong government's political reform package. TVB said it commissioned Lingnan University to conduct the poll of 1,112 people aged 18 and over from Thursday to Sunday. (bit.ly/1FsMQBC)
- Hong Kong manufacturers may find it hard to move from Guangdong to less costly Southeast Asian nations despite scarce and more expensive labor in the province, as moving to cheaper places may be risky in securing stable suppliers and customers, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries said. It urged members to focus on selling to Chinese consumers online. (bit.ly/1bN0STf)
- For the first time, the Hong Kong Federation of Students will not attend this year's June 4 candlelight vigil in Victoria Park. The federation said it could not reach a consensus on whether to attend the event, held annually for the past 26 years and organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. (bit.ly/1HLRmLF)
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
- Value Partners' senior fund managaer Gordon Ip said high-yield Chinese property bonds are among his top investment choices due to their relatively attractive yield, despite a pessimistic view on the country's high-yield bonds due to concern over default.
Britain
The Times
Sacked Morrisons chief's 1 mln pounds bonus
The former boss of Morrisons, Dalton Philips, was paid a 1 million pounds ($1.52 million) performance-related bonus last year, despite being sacked for presiding over a plunge in sales, profits and market share at the struggling supermarket chain. (http://thetim.es/1z7zNUQ [44])
Alliance Trust feels heat of big investor
One of Alliance Trust's biggest shareholders, Axa Investment Managers, has applied pressure on the board to cut costs and improve the share price only one day before a crunch annual meeting that could dictate the future of the 127-year-old investment trust. (http://thetim.es/1A7TxTv [45])
The Guardian
* British exit from European Union would cost UK billions, German study warns
A British exit from the European Union could cost the UK as much as 300 billion euros ($326.25 billion), or 14 percent of GDP, according to a German study. The report from two respected German institutes warns of far-reaching consequences for the whole region should next week's UK general election pave the way for a referendum on EU membership, as promised by the Conservatives, and ultimately a British departure from the bloc. (http://bit.ly/1dlwrE8 [46])
* Centrica suffers protest vote over pay deal for new boss Iain Conn
Centrica Plc suffered a protest vote over pay at its annual meeting on Monday when one in three investors failed to back a pay deal for its new boss, Iain Conn. The annual meeting was held after the owner of British Gas announced it was hiring more than 350 service staff and pledged to spend 50 million pounds to make life easier for its customers after more than 300,000 of them defected last year. (http://bit.ly/1GnLbcK [47])
The Telegraph
* We'll need Russian gas for years to come, says Centrica
Europe will remain dependent on Russian gas for years to come, energy giant Centrica Plc has warned, dismissing suggestions the EU can replace it with other sources as "unrealistic'. (http://bit.ly/1HLJQjY [48])
* EE sales fall despite 4G and bundling growth
BT Group will face a growth challenge when it takes control of EE, the latest results from Britain's biggest mobile operator showed, as a combination of regulators, WhatsApp and changing consumer habits hurt sales. First-quarter operating revenues, the main measure of spending on the EE network, were down 1.1 percent on last year, to 1.47 billion pounds. (http://bit.ly/1HLKbTS [49])
Sky News
* Fund Giants dial up 1 billion pounds O2 mobile stakes
Two of the world's biggest investment funds are close to snapping up 1 billion pound stakes in the company, which is poised to become Britain's leading mobile communications provider. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore are in advanced discussions about acquiring minority shareholdings in the new holding company of O2 and Three. (http://bit.ly/1FsEQAE [50])
* TopShop Store Card Group banks on 1 billion pound sale
The finance group which provides credit cards to TopShop customers has hired bankers to prepare a sale or flotation that could value it at more than 1 billion pounds. Owners of NewDay, which is among the UK's biggest branded store card issuers, have appointed Lazard and UBS Group AG to work on a potential deal. (http://bit.ly/1KoT0CE [51])
