Boeing

Another month, another indication that the spike in "harsh unweathering" took place in the last month of Q1 and momentum slowed down entering the balmy Q2.

The CBO report is screaming, "This is F-ed up! Fix this now, or pay a price later!"

A dispassionate look at the week ahead.  

• The Fed can't print trade? World Trade Flows Fall in First Quarter (WSJ)
• PBOC’s Zhou Says China May Have Housing Bubble in ‘Some Cities’ (BBG)
• ECB's Weidmann - Reviving ABS market not task for central bank (Reuters)
• LOL: Fitch upgrades Greece by a notch to 'B'; outlook stable (Reuters)
• LOL x2: Spain Sovereign Debt Rating Upgraded by S&P (BBG)
• China Will Vet Tech Firms After Threatening U.S. Retaliation (BBG)
• US to claim victory over China in WTO car dispute (BBG)
• Obama urges Democrats to vote in midterms, attacks Republicans (Reuters)
• U.S. Military Pushes for More Disclosure on Drone Strikes (WSJ)

• "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)

It has been over two months since Malaysian flight MH-370 disappeared and still not a single credible trace of its final resting place has been found. Since then, there have been absolutely no actionable leads, and it increasingly appears as if the plane fell off the face of the earth.  In short: "nobody knows." Or so the conventional wisdom goes. One person, however, who thinks someone may know more than they are letting on is none other than the man who was the Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003, Mahathir Mohamad, and who in a blog post earlier today has some rather provocative questions and thoughts. His conclusion, after noting that "planes like MH370 "don't just disappear" is that CIA and Boeing may be hiding information about missing MH370.

Just as Russia had promised, sanctions were not effective and so they went straight to targeted bans. On the heels of The Pentagon admitting that they had "no solution" to replacing Russian rocket engines in the launch systems for US military satellites (as we have covered extensively), Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin this morning announced:

*ROGOZIN: RUSSIA TO HALT U.S. GPS BASES IN RUSSIA ON JUNE 1:IFX
*RUSSIAN BAN ON ROCKET USE FOR US MILITARY SATELLITE LAUNCHES: IFX

He further added that Russia will not extend its partnership in the International Space Station beyond 2020 (which suggests Russia does not expect a quick resolution to the current tensions).

It seems "market conditions" are right for the big one...

ALIBABA FILES IPO INITIAL REGISTRATION $1B;  ALIBABA HOLDER YAHOO BENEFICIALLY OWNS 22.6%
2013 EBITDA: $2.7 billion, 2013 Free Cash Flow: $3.2 billion; Pro Forma cash $7.9 billion

Here are some of the key details, formerly non-public, from its IPO filing...

At this point it is clear that Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370 which has been missing for two months will almost certainly never be found: whether due to the nature of the disappearance, or because it is a cover up stretching all the way to the very top (recall that it was disclosed by none other than NBC that the released air traffic control recording with the plane was edited, suggesting that the government itself is complicit in whatever happened), the plane will forever be entombed in the annals of history, alongside CNN's Nielsen ratings, and its final resting place will remain a mystery. However, over the past 24 hours, another mystery surrounding the final voyage of flight MH-370 has emerged,  one which this time involves the plane's cargo.

While the US is quick to demand the rest of the world turn its economic back on Russia - especially the Europeans, it appears they are discovering - just as Putin warned, the world is considerably more inter-dependent than they thought. Following Chuck Hagel's orders to review the Air Force reliance on Russian rocket engines used to launch US military satellites, Bloomberg reports the Pentagon admits it "has no great solution" to reduce its dependence on the Russian-made engine.

• Two-Thirds of Insurance Exchange Enrollees Paid Premiums (WSJ)
• Panic: Criminal Charges Against Banks Risk Sparking Crisis (BBG)
• Did the junk bubble pop: Junk Loans Pulled as Investors Say No After Fed Raises Concerns (BBG)
• CME mulls price fluctuation limits for gold, silver futures (Reuters)
• AT&T Has Approached DirecTV About Possible Acquisition (WSJ)
• NBA sets wheels turning for Clippers sale; Oprah in wings (Reuters)
• One way to fix prison overcrowding: Florida Jail Hit by Deadly Blast (WSJ)
• New Boeing jets hold key to more than half of future sales (Reuters)
• Sony slashes profit estimate by 70% (Guardian)

The last time the Russian "Doomsday Plane" was seen in the air doing its trademark loops at 27,000 feet telegraphing Vladimir Putin was somewhere nearby, was on March 31, just days after the formerly Ukrainian region was annexed by the Kremlin. Until today, when over the past 4 hours, the Tu-214 has been quietly circling in position just shy of Finland and the Baltics, where as it is known, NATO has been depositing hundreds of western soldiers in a "defensive" build up.

It is oddly appropriate that moments after we reported that capex at Caterpillar (and virtually every other company we have looked at in detail) tumbled by 50% year over year, that the Census Bureau released the latest Durable Goods report. In it we find that unlike previous months, when headline durable goods tumbled because of "harsh weather" in March it apparently not only did it not snow (although the New Homes Sales report may have something to say about that) but the weather so so balmy, that the headline print came in stronger than the expected 2.0%, printing at 2.6%, up from a downward revised 2.1%. The bulk of the margin however was due to Boeing, which reported some 163 new aircraft orders, compared to 74 in February.

• Ukraine forces kill up to five rebels, Putin warns of consequences (Reuters)
• Obama to Russia: More sanctions are 'teed up' (AP)
• Vienna Banks Bemoan Russia Sanctions Testing Cold War Neutrality (BBG)
• GE’s $57 Billion Cash Overseas Said to Fuel Alstom Deal (BBG)
• GM posts lower first-quarter profit after recall costs (Reuters)
• Apple Stock Split Removes Obstacle to Inclusion in Dow (BBG)
• U.S. regulators to propose new net neutrality rules in May (Reuters)