Merrill

• Attorneys Known for Large Civil Settlements Line Up to Sue GM Over Company's Handling of Defective Ignition Switches (WSJ)
• Pakistani Taliban attack airport in Karachi, 27 dead (Reuters)
• U.S. Official: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Has Declined to Speak to His Family (WSJ)
• Ukraine Gas Talks Resume in Brussels to Avoid Cut-off This Week  (BBG)
• China's Central Bank Flexes Muscle (WSJ)
• China says Vietnam, Philippines' mingling on disputed isle a 'farce' (Reuters)
• World Needs Record Saudi Oil Supply as OPEC Convenes (BBG)
• Kraft Raises Prices on Maxwell House, Yuban U.S. Coffee Products (BBG)
• United Continental: One Sick Bird (WSJ)

• Canada Aims to Sell Its Oil Beyond U.S (WSJ)
• ECB Unanimity May Prove Fleeting (WSJ)
• Chinese military spending exceeds $145 billion, drones advanced: U.S. (Reuters)
• France to sell 10 warships to Russia next? BNP Executive Firings Sought by Top New York Bank Regulator Amid Probe (BBG)
• Vodafone says governments have direct access to eavesdrop in some countries (Reuters)
• Home Price Gains of 20% Vanish as Hottest Markets Cool (BBG)
• G-7 Heads Warn Moscow Before Facing Putin (WSJ)
• Barclays Fine Spurs U.K. Scrutiny of Derivatives Conflict (BBG)
• "Or Costs" - Obama Says Putin Running Out of Time Over Ukraine (BBG)
• Banca Monte Paschi Falls After Offering New Stock at 35.5% Discount (BBG)

• At least 74 dead in crashes similar to those GM linked to faulty switches (Reuters)
• Obama Calls for $1 Billion Europe Security Fund; Will Increase U.S. Military Presence in Eastern Europe (WSJ)
• Euro Inflation Slowing More Than Forecast Pressures ECB (BBG)
• China accelerates as euro zone stumbles (Reuters)
• Russia says Ukraine situation worsening, submits U.N. resolution (Reuters)
• Secondary Sales Squeeze Investors (WSJ)
• Barclays Said to Start Cutting Jobs in Investment Banking Unit (Bloomberg)
• Backlash Grows on Release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Taliban Prisoner Swap (WSJ)
• For fallen soldiers' families, Bergdahl release stirs resentment (Reuters)
• PIMCO's Gross stares at record outflow (Reuters)

• Unstoppable $100 Trillion Bond Market Renders Models Useless (BBG)
• Afghan president fumes at prisoner deal made behind his back (Reuters)
• Spain to Unveil $8.6 Billion Stimulus Package (AP)
• How fracking helps America beat German industry (Reuters)
• Obama to Urge European Allies to Stay Tough on Russia (WSJ)
• Frenchman 'admits' Brussels shooting in video (AFP)
• Heloc Payment Jump to Take Bite Out of Consumer Spending (WSJ)
• Obama Said to Propose Deep Cuts to Power-Plant Emissions (BBG)
• Lehman Lesson Lost as Bank Lobby Gains Clout (BBG)
• WSJ reports that WSJ reporting on Icahn insider trading probe may have killed it (WSJ)
• KKR liquidates former Goldman Sachs traders-run hedge fund (Reuters)

• Snowden: 'no relationship' with Russian government (Reuters)
• Bond Surge Worldwide Drives Index Yield to One-Year Low (BBG)
• Shares flirt with record highs on ECB easing bets (Reuters)
• Goldman Shuns Bonds Pimco’s Gross Favors in ‘New Neutral’  (BBG)
• Porn may be messing with your head (Reuters)
• Dish to Become Largest Company to Accept Bitcoin (AP)
• To Make a Killing on Wall Street, Start Meditating (BBG)
• Apple to get Beats, music mogul Iovine for $3 billion (Reuters)
• Fink Says Leveraged ETFs May ‘Blow Up’ Industry  (BBG)

• Yellen Concerned by Housing Slowdown She Has Scant Power to Cure (BBG)
• Because snow in Q1? Citigroup’s CFO Says Trading Revenue Could Slide 25% (BBG)
• Banks Raise Caution Flag on Trading (WSJ)
• The answer is yes: Hilsenrath asks if BOJ’s Kuroda Awakening to His Limits? (WSJ)
• Google Develops Prototype Cars for Fully Autonomous Driving (WSJ)
• Amazon Expects Lengthy Hachette Dispute (WSJ)
• Tencent $1 Billion Game Shows Global Hunt for Mobile Hits (BBG)

• Vietnam, China trade accusations after Vietnamese fishing boat sinks (Reuters)
• SEC Set to Spur Exchange Trading (WSJ)
• Bank of Japan quietly eyes stimulus exit (Reuters)
• Japan Risks Low Growth Even as Easing Spurs Inflation (BBG)
• Hello Japan: Bond Market Message to Fed: Your 4% Rate Outlook Is Too High (BBG)
• Malaysia, UK firm release satellite data on missing MH370 flight (Reuters)
• Fighting rages in eastern Ukraine city, dozens dead (Reuters)
• Bad Credit No Problem as Balance-Sheet Bombs Rally 94%  (BBG)
• Draghi’s Asset-Backed Drive Rouses Academic Skeptics (BBG)
• For-Profit Colleges Face Test From State, Federal Officials (WSJ)

After the crisis, many expected that the blameworthy would be punished or at the least be required to return their ill-gotten gains—but they weren’t, and they didn’t. Many thought that those who were injured would be made whole, but most weren’t. And many hoped that there would be a restoration of the financial safety rules to ensure that industry leaders could no longer gamble the equity of their firms to the point of ruin. This didn’t happen, but it’s not too late. It is useful, then, to identify the persistent myths about the causes of the financial crisis and the resulting Dodd-Frank reform legislation and related implementation...."Plenty of people saw it coming, and said so. The problem wasn’t seeing, it was listening."

• McDonald’s Workers Arrested at Protest Near Headquarters (BBG)
• U.S. Sends Troops to Chad to Hunt for Abducted Nigeria Girls (BBG)
• BofA Scrapping Market-Making Unit Amid Trading Scrutiny (BBG)
• Biggest attack in years kills 31 in China's troubled Xinjiang (Reuters)
• Intense Fighting Flares in Eastern Ukraine (WSJ)
• Fed Officials Tussle Over Labor Market Slack (Hilsenrath)
• Ikea Economics Lure Central Bankers Seeking New Tools (BBG)
• When Putin ordered up new hospitals, his associates botched the operation (Reuters)
• Norway’s $33 Billion Man Steps Up Search in Asia Real Estate Bet (BBG)

Despite the plethora of talking heads proclaiming credit markets as awesomely supportive of stocks - High-Yield bond spreads are flashing red... But that's not stopping investors piling into the worst of the worst. As Liberty Blitzkrieg's Mike Krieger notes, in an all too reminiscent scene from 2007 (MBIA CDS traded 11bps at one point then remember), investors have been buying up bonds with a triple-C-rating en masse.

• "May?" New Cold War May Emerge in Ukraine Crisis, Medvedev Says (BBG)
• Wristslaps will be fast and furious: EU Commission charges HSBC, JPMorgan, Credit Agricole with rigging (Reuters)
• Credit Suisse Rises as U.S. Guilty Plea Ends 3-Year Probe (BBG)
• After Martial Law Declaration, Thailand Waits for General's Next Move (WSJ)
• China property slowdown spells trouble for Asia bonds (FT)
• Russia Close to $400 Billion Gas Pipeline Deal in Pivot to China (BBG)
• Dimon-by-the-Sea Shows London Banking’s Engine of Growth (BBG)
• Modi Faces Greece-Sized Snag to Economic Revival (FT)
• U.K. Inflation Accelerates on Airfare Surge (BBG)

• Qatar Bank: Deutsche Bank to raise $11 bln with help from Qatar (Reuters)
• AstraZeneca rejects Pfizer's take-it-or-leave-it offer (Reuters)
• China Home-Price Growth Slowdown Spreads as Sellers Discount (BBG)
• The new face of NSA: Mike Rogers (Reuters)
• Putin orders troops near Ukraine to return home (AP)
• Wall of Worry Rebuilt as Nasdaq Rout Sends Cash to High (Nasdaq)
• Bank of England's Mark Carney highlights housing market's risk to UK economy (Guardian)
• Greek Selloff Shows Rush for Exit Recalling Crisis (BBG)
• Anti-austerity Greek radicals ahead in Athens local election (AFP)

• Bank of England sees 'no housing bubble' (Independent)
• ‘If the euro falls, Europe falls’ (FT)
• India's pro-business Modi storms to historic election win (Reuters)
• Global Growth Worries Climb (WSJ)
• Bitcoin Foundation hit by resignations over new director (Reuters)
• Blackstone Goes All In After the Flop (WSJ)
• SAC's Steinberg loses bid for insider trading acquittal (Reuters)
• Beats Satan: Republicans Paint Reid as Bogeyman in 2014 Senate Races (BBG)
• Tech Firms, Small Startups Object to Paying for Internet 'Fast Lanes' (WSJ) - but they just provide liquidity
• U.S. Warns Russia of Sanctions as Ukraine Troops Advance (BBG)
• Major U.S. hedge funds sold 'momentum' Internet names in first-quarter (Reuters)

• More than 20 dead, doctor says, as anti-China riots spread in Vietnam (Reuters)
• Russia's Gazprom plans Singapore stock exchange listing (Reuters)
• Inside Europe’s Plan Z (FT)
• Ukraine slides deeper toward war as Russia warns to vote (BBG)
• Fast-Food Protests Spread Overseas (NYT)
• BOJ Beat, Officials Could Upgrade Outlook for Capex (WSJ)
• Euro-Zone Economy Shows Weaker-Than -Expected Expansion (WSJ)
• Yahoo to YouTube Ads Spreading Viruses Rile Lawmakers (BBG)
• New York Times Ousts Jill Abramson as Executive Editor, Names Dean Baquet (BBG)
• NYT Publisher Said to Always Have Clashed With Abramson (BBG)
• Google gets take-down requests after European court ruling - source (Reuters)

The bailout floodgates are open and the US taxpayer is footing the bill once again - whether through IMF loans or more directly. Today saw Ukraine issue $1 Billion 5-Year Notes at a stunningly low risk of only 28bps above US Treasuries and dramatically cheaper than the cost of capital in the public markets (and from the IMF) which yield over 10%. The reason for the 1) low cost, and 2) actual ability to raise debt... the bond is guaranteed by the US Agency for International Development and "assures full repayment of principal and interest" based on the full faith and credit of the US (Taxpayer). We assume Gazprom will be happy...