- Win or lose, Cameron's political career hangs by a thread (Reuters [21])
- Greece aims for deal with lenders, IMF hard on reforms: minister (Reuters [22])
- Greek Jobless Legacy Adds Danger for Tsipras as Funds Dry Up (BBG [23])
- U.S. Will Change Stance on Secret Phone Tracking (WSJ [24])
- China April HSBC PMI shows biggest drop in factory activity in a year (Reuters [25])
- Goldman Sachs in Talks to Sell Its Coal Mines (WSJ [26])
- Takeover Fuel Begins to Flow as S&P 500 Bull Run Makes History (BBG [27])
- Jim Beam’s New Owner Mixes Global Cocktail (WSJ [28])
- Buffett Says Minimum Wage Increase Isn’t Answer to Income Gulf (BBG [29])
- IMF to Brighten View of China’s Yuan (WSJ [30])
- Oil hits 2015 high as traders look beyond ample current supply (Reuters [31])
- Growing Shipping Alliances Are Straining Major U.S. Gateway Ports (WSJ [32])
- Merkel Says Germany Can’t Cut Off Nazi Past, Cites Greece (BBG [33])
- Warren Buffett makes Berkshire gala an all-consuming affair (Reuters [34])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* The Justice Department will start revealing more about the government's use of secret cellphone tracking devices and has launched a wide-ranging review into how law-enforcement agencies deploy the technology, according to Justice officials. (http://on.wsj.com/1Azmgkv [35])
* The International Monetary Fund is close to declaring China's yuan fairly valued for the first time in more than a decade, a milestone in the country's efforts to open its economy that would blunt U.S. criticism of Beijing's currency policy. (http://on.wsj.com/1bqSac9 [36])
** Goldman Sachs Group Inc got a disconcerting update a year after buying its second coal mine in Colombia: "Certain operational issues have arisen," commodities executives reported. (http://on.wsj.com/1E7ZH6Z [37])
** Top executives close to Charter Communications Inc have begun reaching out to Time Warner Cable Inc's management to discuss a possible merger of the cable operators. And they have a clear message: This time, we want to play nice. (http://on.wsj.com/1PgQrU4 [38])
** Dean Foods Co, the largest U.S. milk processor by sales, has 31 brands of white milk around the country. Starting this month, it will sell just one. (http://on.wsj.com/1FJDTUz [39])
** International air-safety watchdogs are poised to advocate installing video cameras in airliner cockpits, putting pilots groups on the defensive and prompting them to recast their opposition strategy. (http://on.wsj.com/1OSD4P3 [40])
* To save their planned merger, food-distribution rivals Sysco Corp and US Foods Inc need to convince a federal judge over the next two weeks that their industry is a lot more diverse than antitrust enforcers claim. (http://on.wsj.com/1KFQN5W [41])
NYT
* As airlines try to distinguish their high-end service with luxuries like private sleeping chambers, showers, butler service and meals from five-star chefs, United Airlines is offering a loftier, more cerebral amenity to its first-class and business-class passengers: elegant prose by prominent novelists. (http://nyti.ms/1JjNAbl [42])
* Vice Media has signed deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars with established TV companies that are eager to engage its young, male audience. (http://nyti.ms/1zGNoDj [43])
* Dave Goldberg, the late chief executive of SurveyMonkey and husband of the Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg was raised around "woman power" and was an avid supporter of female achievement. (http://nyti.ms/1I6SQ3i [44])
* EPA rules aim to address dangerous fumes from formaldehyde, a chemical often used in furniture, but industry forces and others see government overreach. (http://nyti.ms/1GK72ev [45])
* No political party has done more for hedge funds and bankers recently than Britain's Conservatives, and the party in turn has been well rewarded. Hedge fund managers have been writing eye-popping checks to the Conservative Party before the British election on Thursday. And with no campaign finance limits for party donations, there is little to hold them back.(http://nyti.ms/1PgZ8On [46])
Canada
** Canadians strongly support the Conservative government's move to raise the contribution limits for Tax Free Savings Accounts, but expanding the Canada Pension Plan would be an even more popular move, a new Nanos survey conducted for the Globe and Mail reveals. (http://bit.ly/1AztqFo [47])
** Canadian military aircraft bound for Nepal had to stop flying into the earthquake-stricken country after Kathmandu closed its airport to heavy planes, out of fears that its runway was damaged by tremors. (http://bit.ly/1dHB0bX [48])
** Manulife, Canada's largest life insurer, is looking to wearable fitness trackers, data collection and an enticing rewards program to boost sluggish sales and connect with customers in a radical new way. (http://bit.ly/1E8ZjFf [49])
NATIONAL POST
** With a last-minute legal maneuver, Canada federal government will try to prevent the release of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr on bail on Tuesday in an Edmonton courtroom. (http://bit.ly/1bVyPjR [50])
** Canadian Prime minister Stephen Harper paid a surprise visit to Iraq on Saturday, meeting with the country's prime minister and delivering a substantial aid check for the war-torn region. (http://bit.ly/1bVAfL8 [51])
Hong Kong
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- Vancouver property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, who was last week identified as Chinese fugitive Cheng Muyang, has broken his silence to admit he is wanted on corruption charges in the mainland but denies he is guilty. Ching's lawyer David Lunny said his client "had no involvement whatsoever in any graft or corruption". (http://bit.ly/1DXp9Np [52])
-- Radioactive contaminated food may have been entering the city unnoticed for years because of deficiencies in safety controls on fresh produce brought in by sea. Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong said food safety surveillance was too relaxed at the Kwai Chung container terminal as it relied heavily on the importer taking the initiative. (http://bit.ly/1IDZBKr [53])
-- Private developers have no role in preserving heritage buildings and are left at a disadvantage by the absence of a comprehensive conservation policy, according to property tycoon Lau Ming-wai, 34, who took over as chairman and CEO of Chinese Estates Holdings last year. (http://bit.ly/1Pgzn0o [54])
THE STANDARD
-- If the political reform proposal is voted down, universal suffrage in the Legislative Council elections can only be achieved in 2024, chief executive Leung Chun-ying said. The government's proposal for the 2017 chief executive elections will need a two-thirds majority, or 47 votes, to pass. (http://bit.ly/1EK1YIZ [55])
-- Despite dire forecasts, the number of Labour Day travellers soared 24 percent and 16.6 percent on Friday and Saturday, the first two days of the holiday. Retailers whined that mainlanders did little shopping in tourist destinations and malls. (http://bit.ly/1OS8HZ7 [56])
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
-- Mainland billionaire and philanthropist Yu Panglin, whom owned martial arts star Bruce Lee's former Kowloon Tong residence, died in Shenzhen on Saturday at the age of 93. His wealth estimating at about HK$10 billion ($1.29 billion) will be donated to charity in accordance to his will.
-- Sun Hung Kai Properties said its nine major shopping malls in Hong Kong attracted a combined 3.42 million visitors in the first three days of May, generating HK$189 million in revenue, up 12 percent from the same period a year ago. Sino Land also saw a 10 percent rise in visitor number in its three shopping malls in Tuen Mun.
Britain
The Times
RUSSIANS LEAD CASH EXODUS FROM BRITAIN
Investors have withdrawn $356 billion from Britain over the past 15 months amid mounting concerns about the domestic political climate and as Russian money has moved abroad after sanctions were imposed on Ukraine. (http://thetim.es/1KFpSHn [57])
SAINSBURY'S COUNTS LOSSES AMID DELAYS IN EGYPT CASE
A hearing to overturn an Egyptian jail sentence of two years imposed on J Sainsbury's chief executive has been postponed until May 21. (http://thetim.es/1bT92Jg [58])
The Guardian
STAR WARS VIII TO BE FILMED IN UK, OSBORNE TO ANNOUNCE
The eighth episode of Star Wars is to be filmed in the UK, with production based at Pinewood Studios, George Osborne is to announce on Monday. (http://bit.ly/1EPqnOk [59])
AUSTERITY POLICIES AND FAILURES ON PUBLIC HEALTH HAVE COST LIVES, SAY SENIOR DOCTORS
Austerity policies and the coalition's failure to tackle obesity and alcohol misuse has damaged the nation's health and cost lives, a group of senior doctors have warned. (http://bit.ly/1FJecDL [60])
The Telegraph
BUSINESS LEADERS ISSUE LAST-DITCH WARNING AGAINST LABOUR
Business leaders have issued a last-minute warning that Labour's heavy-duty proposals to raise taxes on the rich will wreak damage to Britain's growth prospects. (http://bit.ly/1bqG0A2 [61])
BT READY TO FACE COMPETITION SCRUTINY ON EE TAKEOVER
BT is expected this week to make its case to competition watchdogs that its 12.5 billion pounds ($18.94 billion) takeover of the mobile operator EE should be waved through. (http://bit.ly/1EPr7mQ [62])
Sky News
CONSUMER BORROWING BOOM FUELS DEBT WORRIES
Lending to consumers jumped last month by the largest amount since before the financial crisis. Bank of England figures showed consumer credit, covering personal loans, overdrafts and credit cards, surged by more than 1.2 billion pounds in March. (http://bit.ly/1zqlvyQ [63])
DIAGEO MULLS SALE OF PARTS OF ITS WINE CELLAR
Diageo, the FTSE-100 producer of Guinness and Smirnoff is considering the sale of parts of its wines division amid growing investor disquiet about the company's performance. (http://bit.ly/1FJeESg [64])
The Independent
INVESTORS TAKE 1 BLN STG OUT OF UK MARKETS AHEAD OF GENERAL ELECTION
Investors have taken a record 1 billion pounds out of funds linked to the UK stock exchange in March 2015 in what experts believe to be a sign of stress about the upcoming general election. (http://ind.pn/1dB0aZX [65])
RBS WARNS OF 'ANOTHER TOUGH YEAR' DEALING WITH LEGACY OF MISCONDUCT
Royal Bank of Scotland warned that it faced another year of pain in which fines for market rigging, mis-selling and litigation would continue to dog the bank, deferring any hopes that it can be returned to the private sector. (http://ind.pn/1QdaK7s [66])