GOOG

• Scalpel in Hand, Chinese Premier Li Stirs Reform Hopes (Reuters)
• Obama Sets Conditions for Keystone Pipeline Go-Ahead (FT)
• World’s Most Indebted Households Face Rate Pain (BBG)
• SAC Probers Weighing 'Willful Blindness' Tack (WSJ)
• Draghi Says ECB Ready to Act, Calls for Investment Over Tax (BBG)
• U.S. Tops China for Foreign Investment (WSJ)
• Basel Presses Ahead With Plans to Limit Bank Borrowing (FT)
• Gillard Ousted as Australia PM by Rival Rudd (FT)
• Japan Economic Strength Will Show in Stocks, Nishimura Says (BBG)

• Here come the rolling blackouts: Obama takes on power plant emissions as part of climate plan (Reuters)
• Walking Back Bernanke Wished on Too Much Information (BBG)
• As previewed last week: Bridgewater "All Weather" is Mostly Cloudy, down 8% YTD (Reuters)
• U.S. Said to Explore Possible China Role in Snowden Leaks (BBG)
• Coeure Says No Doubt ECB Loose Monetary Policy Exit Distant (Bloomberg)... so a "recovery", but not at all
• U.S. steps up pressure on Russia as Snowden stays free (Reuters)
• Texas' Next Big Oil Rush: New Pipelines Ferrying Landlocked Crude Expected to Boost Gulf Coast Refiners (WSJ)
• Singapore Offsets Bankers as Vacancies Fall (BBG)
• Asian Stocks Fall as China Sinks Deeper Into Bear Market (BBG), European Stocks Rally With Bonds as Metals Advance (BBG)
• Qatar emir hands power to son, no word on prime minister (Reuters)

• Bonds Tumble With Stocks as Gold Drops in Rout on Fed (BBG)
• Bernanke Sees Beginning of End for Fed’s Record Easing (BBG)
• Gold Tumbles to 2 1/2 Year-Low After Fed as Silver Plummets (BBG)
• PBoC dashes hopes of China liquidity boost (FT)
• U.S. Icons Now Made of Chinese Steel (WSJ)
• Emerging Markets Crack as $3.9 Trillion Funds Unwind (BBG)
• Everyone joins the fun: India sets up elaborate system to tap phone calls, e-mail (Reuters)
• China Manufacturing Shrinks Faster in Threat to Europe (BBG)
• More on how Syria's Al-qaeda, and now US, supported "rebels", aka Qatar mercenaries, operate (Reuters)
• Echoes of Mao in China cash crunch (FT) - how dare a central bank not pander to every bank demand?
• French watchdog tells Google to change privacy policy (Reuters)

• China cash crunch deepens as PBOC withholds funding (FT), just a week behind ZH
• Platts in hot manipulated crude again: Traders Try to Game Platts Oil-Price Benchmarks (WSJ)
• Kabul Suspends Security Talks With U.S., jeopardizing plans to maintain a U.S. military presence (WSJ)
• Afghan government irked over U.S. talks with Taliban (Reuters)
• BOJ Kuroda: BOJ to Adjust Policy If Japan Econ Changes (MNI)
• Google Considering Private-Equity Alliances (BBG)
• Korean Air Buying 747-8s to End Boeing’s Sales Drought (BBG)
• Syria's Islamists seize control as moderates dither (Reuters)
• SEC considers policy shift on admissions of wrongdoing (FT)
• U.K. Banker Bonuses Face Decade Delays in Industry Overhaul (BBG)

It appears that unlike the president, whose rating is plunging in the aftermath of PRISM-gate, US corporations are not eager to double down on their privacy intrusive ways, and some are becoming increasingly concerned about what all the recent exposure may do to their bottom line. Such as Google, which earlier today became only the first company to challenge the long-standing gag order issued by the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), arguing that the company has a First Amendment right to speak about information it is forced to give to the government. From Google: "Greater transparency is needed, so today we have petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to allow us to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately." And yes, GOOG, which once upon a time pretended its motto is "don't evil" and since transformed it to "be evil, just don't get caught", still refer to "constitutional rights" - how quaint.

How is it possible to NOT monetize 200 million eyeballs? 

• Global shares pummeled, dollar slumps as rout gathers pace (Reuters)
• Hong Kong to Handle NSA Leaker Extradition Based on Law (BBG)
• Lululemon chairman sold $50 million in stock before CEO's surprise departure (Reuters)
• Companies scramble for consumer data (FT)
• Traders Pay for an Early Peek at Key Data (WSJ)
• When innovation dies: Apple looking at bigger iPhone screens, multiple colors (Reuters)
• Washington pushed EU to dilute data protection (FT)
• Japan-U.S. drill to retake remote island kicks off (Japan Times)
• EM economies in danger of overheating, World Bank says (FT)
• Don't forget the Indian crisis: Chidambaram seeks to quell concerns over rupee (FT)

• BIS lays out "simple" plan for how to handle bank failures (Reuters) - Are we still holding our breath on Basel III?
• Deficit Deal Even Less Likely - Improving U.S. Fiscal Health Eases Pressure for a 'Grand Bargain' Amid Gridlock (WSJ)
• IRS Faulted on Conference Spending (WSJ)
• Deadly MERS-CoV virus spreads to Italy (CNN)
• Turkish PM Erdogan calls for calm after days of protests (Reuters)
• Financial system ‘waiting for next crisis’ (FT)
• Russia to send nuclear submarines to southern seas (Reuters)
• China Nuclear Stockpile Grows as India Matches Pakistan Rise (BBG)

"It's highly debatable whether AAPL iCloud is making the inroads that they predicted..."

• The deeper agenda behind "Abenomics" (Reuters)
• BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda promises to stabilise bond market (FT)
• Obama Sees Sunset on Sept. 11 War Powers in Drone Limits (BBG)
• Lower CPMs for everyone: FTC Begins Probe of Google's Display-Ad Business (WSJ)
• Apple’s Tax Magic Leaves Irish Bondholders Unmoved (BBG)
• Asia Goes on a Debt Binge as Much of World Sobers Up (WSJ)
• All hail Gazpromia: UK gas supply six hours from running out in March (FT)
• Spain’s banks face €10bn more provisions (FT) ... and then more, and more, and more
• Truck strike may have caused Washington state bridge collapse, officials says (Reuters)
• P&G Says A.G. Lafley Rejoins as Chairman, CEO (BBG)
• Five Key Things About the SAC Insider Case (BBG)

Following the first quarter rout in AAPL stock, some wondered if there would finally be rotation at the top floor of the hedge fund hotel of stocks held by most hedge funds. The answer is no: as of March 31, AAPL still retains the title of stock with the largest number of hedge fund investors at 188, more than GOOG with 184 and above AIG with 180.

Last September, when we exposed the heretofore unknown entity actively managing Apple's $100 billion+ in offshore held cash (and thus untaxed in the US), we made the following "bold" prediction: "with the topic of finding effective tax loopholes which are perfectly legal, yet which apparently are unfair, serving as the basis of the entire presidential race to date, what Apple can be absolutely certain of is that once the farce culminating on November 6 is over, the government's eye will finally turn to minimizing "externalities" among such companies which have been able to pass through corporate tax savings to end consumers by abiding within the legal system that countless other muppet congressmen, senators and presidents have developed over the ages. Because while AAPL may have built the iPhone, very soon it will be only fair that it share its profits acquired over the years, and thus its cash balance...with the general public." Or in other words, in September we predicted the Apple "tax witchhunt" would take place shortly after Obama won his reelection. Today, it has officially begun.

It seems the words of Plosser and Williams are more powerful than the rumors of Hilsenrath for now. While the jury is still out for whether the 'Tepper Top' is in, today's equity sell-off (admittedly a mere 0.5%) appears to have stunned a few people back into the reality that stocks actually fall. Trannies were worst performers but broadly speaking this was the worst drop in 2 weeks (only 2nd down day in May) and it appears equity markets are beginning to play catch-down to the reality other risk asset classes have been warning about for a week or two. Homebuilders were the worst performers (as the data this morning was just horrible - US and Europe) and while Tech held us up for a little while, APPL's retest of its 50DMA saw sellers come back (and GOOG also lost ground from the open). Away from stocks, Treasuries closed -6bps (their best day in 5 weeks); credit continued to widen (weaken); VIX shifted higher still; shorts actually 'won' on the day (most-shorted -1% vs RUT -0.5%); and despite an early dip, the USD ended the day up another 0.25% (with AUD weakness the most obvious pain for carry traders).

• As scandals mount, White House springs into damage control (Reuters)
• Glencore Xstrata chairman ousted in surprise coup (Reuters), former BP CEO Tony Hayward appointed as interim chairman (WSJ)
• JPMorgan Chase asks Bloomberg for data records (Telegraph)
• Platts Retains Energy Trader Confidence Amid Price-Fix Probe (BBG)
• Syrian Internet service comes back online (PCWorld)
• Japan Q1 growth hits 3.5% on Abe impact although fall in business investment clouds optimism for recovery (FT)
• Soros Joins Gold-Stake Cuts Before Bear Market Drop (BBG)
• Factory Ceiling Collapses in Cambodia (WSJ)
• Sony’s $100 Billion Lost Decade Supports Loeb Breakup (BBG)
• Snags await favourite for Federal Reserve job (FT)
• James Bond’s Pinewood Turned Down on $300 Million Plan (BBG)

• Microsoft prepares U-turn on Windows 8 (FT), Microsoft admits failure on Windows 8 (MW), After Bumpy Start, Microsoft Rethinks Windows 8 (NYT)
• China reports four more bird flu deaths, toll rises to 31 (Reuters)
• Republicans shift stance on US budget (FT)
• NYC Tallest Condo Corridor Gets New Entrant With Steinway (BBG)
• U.S. Says China's Government, Military Used Cyberespionage (WSJ)
• China rejects Pentagon charges of military espionage (Reuters)
• Bank of China Cuts Off North Korean Bank (WSJ)
• Libya defense minister quits over siege of ministries by gunmen (Reuters)
• London Recruiter Says City Job Vacancies Rose 19% (BBG)
• Colleges Cut Prices by Providing More Financial Aid (WSJ)  or, said otherwise, loans
• Jeweler agrees to plead guilty in KPMG insider-trading case (LA Times)