Apple

• U.S. vows to continue patrols after China warns spy plane (Reuters)
• Bank of Japan Chief Cheers On Tokyo’s Surging Stocks (WSJ)
• Merkel Stamps Out Optimism on Greece After Tsipras Talks (BBG)
• Greece sees reforms deal with lenders in next 10 days (Reuters)
• Why Greece’s Syriza party is not sticking to the script on an IMF deal (Channel4)
• Why Does Putin Care Who Runs a Tiny Balkan Nation? Gas Pipelines (BBG)
• U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed Before Yellen Speech (BBG)
• German Business Confidence Declines as Risks Cloud Outlook (BBG)

• Once-Unthinkable Criminal Pleas by U.S. Banks Get Investor ‘Meh’ (BBG)
• The E-Mail That Helped Catch Barclays: ‘ISDAfix Is Manipulated’ (BBG)
• CFTC Said Preparing ISDAfix Probe Talks in Weeks: Credit Markets (BBG)
• Islamic State takes control of Syria's Palmyra in westward advance (Reuters)
• Tensions High as Greece Gets Smallest Aid Rise Yet (BBG)
• The Rise of the $50,000 Rental (BBG)
• U.S. says South China Sea reclamations stoke instability (Reuters)
• First Hanergy Now Goldin: Hong Kong Stocks Drop Like Stones (BBG)

"Do no evil..." that is part from the racist stuff, would appear to be Google's new meme as The Guardian reports the somewhat unbelievable fact that searches which include the racist slur “nigger” were shown to find the White House in Google Maps. “Some inappropriate results are surfacing in Google Maps that should not be, and we apologise for any offence this may have caused. Our teams are working to fix this issue quickly,” a Google spokesperson said, claiming that it had been experiencing “escalated attacks to spam Google Maps over the past few months”.

• China’s Record Capital Outflows Spark Financial Stability Fears (FT)
• U.K. Inflation Falls Below Zero for First Time Since 1960 (BBG)
• Islamic State Solidifies Foothold in Libya to Expand Reach (WSJ)
• Judge sentences 11 Afghan police over lynching of woman in Kabul (Reuters)
• The $18 Trillion Global Economic Boost If Everything Went Right (BBG)
• Eurozone Prices Confirmed Flat Year-on-Year in April, Core Inflation Inches Higher (Reuters)
• Greek Finances to Stagger On Longer Than You Think (BBG)
• Athens sees EU deal soon, Greeks' approval of government stance dwindles (Reuters)

In what may be the most cryptic press release from Walmart yet, the company just issued an 8-K which consisted all of 5 bullet points, a few charts, and precious little else. Perhaps the reason for the pithy transmission is that WMT had nothing good to say: Revenue declined from $115 billion to $114.8 billion, missing expectations of a jump to $116.2 billion, EPS also missed at $1.03, vs $1.05 expected, operating income tumbled 8.3% from $6.2 billion to $5.7 billion, and finally comp store sales also missed at 1.0%, below the 1.5% expected. With these results, anyone would be short and to the point.

Here are the cliff notes of the Icahn letter:

1. Uncle Carl and his two analysts remain convinced they know how to run AAPL better than its CEO and his thousands of employees.
2. Uncle Carl and his two analysts have built up a massive stake in AAPL shares which however they can't get out of in this illiquid market without tipping the market they are selling - a tip which would promptly send the stock plunging - and as a result have come to the only buyer who is big enough to buy all of Icahn's shares without destabilizing the market: the company itself.

• Tsipras Endgame Nears as Greek Bank Collateral Evaporates (BBG)
• Shi'ite forces ordered to deploy after fall of Iraqi city (Reuters)
• Ratings agency Fitch to downgrade many European banks (Reuters)
• Bubble Blowing to Continue So Long as Yellen Isn’t Raising Rates (BBG)
• Greece's Debt Battle Exposes Deeper Eurozone Flaws (WSJ)
• Obama to set new limits on police use of military equipment (Reuters)
• China April home prices fuel hopes of bottoming out, but long road to recovery (Reuters)
• Hedge Funds Close Doors, Facing Low Returns and Investor Scrutiny (NYT)
• ASIC's Greg Medcraft 'quite worried' about Sydney, Melbourne house prices (Fin Review)

"Water is one of the great opportunities of our times. If you look at the world there are some huge shortages developing in some parts but there is also a lot of water in other parts, just in the wrong place – like water in Siberia for instance, which is not where most people are. There are going to be wars in the Middle East over oil east of the Red Sea, but west of that there will be wars over water since there are serious water problems in that region." Jim Rogers:

Innovative, successful companies are formed due to almost astronomically-unlikely pairings of the right people, at the right time, in the right place. And that place isn't going to be Startup Castle. Promise.

Water, water everywhere,but not a drop to drink

"We are left puzzled by the weak April consumer spending data - we expected the consumer to be a tailwind for growth in this year, offsetting the drag from weaker investment and manufacturing... If consumer spending does not accelerate, we will have to question our forecast for GDP growth to accelerate back above 3.0% in the second half of the year."

Bull markets don’t end all at once. Generally a few egregiously-overvalued sectors blow up first and are dismissed by most observers as aberrations. Instead, they turn out to be a sign of things to come. In the previous decade’s bubble it was subprime housing that led the way, while being initially characterized by experts as too small to matter. Click here for Ben Bernanke’s ongoing attempts to convince the world to relax and ignore housing’s problems. This time around we of course won’t know until after the fact which sector is the canary in the coal mine. But these epic fails in the bubbly social media/online marketplace region of tech certainly look like viable candidates.

New York's thieves are getting bolder. After years without any violent crime in that mecca of hedge funds, midtown east, moments ago the NYC Scanner reported that there was an armed robbery in a jewelry store at 510 Madison where shots were fired (seemingly unaware that NYC is a gun free zone) and while 1 suspect was in custody two are still outstanding.

Less than two years ago, the number of smartphone shipments in China soared by roughly 100% year over year, rising over 80 million for the first time. Fast forward to Q1 of 2015 when according to IDC, the Chinese smartphone market - the largest in the world since 2011 when it overtook the US - has not only reached maturity but is now also fully saturated and as a result smartphone shipments suffered their first Y/Y decline, dropping 4.3% on an annual basis. As IDC notes, "this is the first time in six years that the China smartphone market declined YoY as the market continues to mature." Worse, on a quarter over quarter basis, the market contracted 8% on the back of a large inventory buildup at the end of last year.

• Full picture of Clinton charities' foreign government funding remains elusive (Reuters)
• Greece Readies for Another Week of Deadlines (BBG)
• Greece says deal will be 'difficult' at Eurogroup meeting (Reuters)
• Saudi Arabia’s Rulers Snub Arab Summit, Clouding U.S. Bid for Iran Deal (WSJ)
• Saudi Aramco Said to Plan Spending $80 Billion Overseas (BBG)
• The $900 Billion Influx That’s Wreaking Havoc in U.S. Bills (BBG)
• Cameron rules out another Scottish independence vote (Reuters)
• Banks Prep Defense for Anti-Wall Street Campaigns (WSJ)