As It Happens

Investors will cast a wary eye on the latest gauges of the United States' economic health this week, while troubled Europe shows early signs of turning the corner. As finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 top economies gather in Washington, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund's Spring meeting, they view a subdued global landscape where even the United States' prospects seem tarnished. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be able to claim an early success in the bank's fledgling money printing program with figures on Friday set to confirm that falling prices throughout the 19-country euro zone are beginning to stabilize. Greece has until mid-week to improve a package of reforms required for the release of euro zone loans that it needs to stay afloat, and that will be a hot topic in Washington.

World oil markets will not see a significant rise in Iranian supplies for up to five years even if the OPEC member and world powers clinch a final nuclear deal by end-June, Fatih Birol chief economist and future head of International Energy Agency (IEA) said. While the likelihood of an immediate jump in Iranian supplies looks slim, the chance of a steep fall in deliveries from other regions is rising as IEA estimates companies will cut investments by as much as $100 billion in 2015 in oil exploration and production due to lower prices. Iran and six world powers reached a framework nuclear agreement on April 2, spurring hopes for a final deal by end-June that would lift economic sanctions imposed by the West against Tehran's disputed nuclear program. "In three to five years we may see stronger (oil production) growth coming from Iran assuming Iran and global powers strike a final deal in June," Fatih Birol, who will head the IEA from September, told Reuters in an interview in New Delhi.

Even if it survives the next three months teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Greece may have blown its best chance of a long-term debt deal by alienating its euro zone partners when it most needed their support. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' leftist-led government has so thoroughly shattered creditors' trust that solutions which might have been on offer a few weeks ago now seem out of reach. With a public debt equivalent to 175 percent of economic output and an economy struggling to pull out of a six-year depression, Athens needs all the goodwill it can summon to ease the burden. Since outright debt forgiveness is politically impossible, the next best solution would be for Greece to pay off its expensive IMF loans early, redeem bonds held by the European Central Bank and extend the maturity of loans from euro zone governments to secure lower interest rates for years to come.

Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech is facing growing resistance within the supervisory board to his criticism of Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, deepening a leadership crisis at a time when Europe's ...

Airbus (AIR.PA) will not abandon its A380 jumbo jet program despite slow sales, its chief executive told Les Echos newspaper, and needs more time to decide whether to redesign its engines as major customer Emirates Airline has requested. Airbus boss Fabrice Bregier appeared to rebuff the request in the interview with Les Echos published online on Sunday. "We are already working on ways to make the A380 more attractive economically by adding seats while preserving the amazing comfort of the plane," he said. The CEO added that the A380 program would break even by the end of the year, and that Airbus hoped to maintain its financial performance.

Germany's BDI industry association is more optimistic about the prospects for Europe's biggest economy than it was three months ago due to cheap oil, strong private consumption and a weak euro, its president said on Sunday. "For this year we expect gross domestic product (GDP) growth of about 2 percent," BDI President Ulrich Grillo told Handelsblatt business daily. While expressing concern about economic developments in Russia and Brazil, Grillo pointed to India, the United States, Spain and Britain as bright spots that could help Germany, traditionally strong on exports. "Europe is profiting from the stimulus of low interest rates, but in the long term structural reforms are required," he told the paper.

Three weeks before the Milan Expo opens on May 1, the site of the showpiece event is still a mass of trucks raising dust and workers in hard hats racing to finish building after delays, graft and cost ...

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday as blue-chip conglomerate General Electric posted its best day in six years. The broad S&P 500 ended the week up almost 2%.

A new patent filed by Facebook could change the way advertisers target ads online, and that could spell trouble for Google.

Getty Images Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek. … Continued The post Spotify may be raising a $400 million round that would value it at $8.4 billion appeared first on Business Insider.

Poughkeepsie Journal
Tax filing deadline is Wednesday
Poughkeepsie Journal
Wednesday is the deadline for filing personal income tax returns for both federal and state governments. Done already? Waiting for a refund? There's an app for that at the Internal Revenue Service, which says it pays nine out of 10 refunds within 21 days.
Long waits ahead for late tax filersMontgomery Advertiser
With tax-filing deadline coming right up, here are some tipsSacramento Bee
Does the Post Office Stay Open Late on Tax Day April 15, 2015?SavingAdvice.com
Forbes -KPAX-TV -Christian Science Monitor
all 328 news articles »

Valdosta Daily Times
Summer gas prices expected to be lowest since 2005
Valdosta Daily Times
Gasoline prices this summer are projected to be the lowest seasonal prices seen in a decade. Both AAA and GasBuddy.com released statements last week saying the national average price for a gallon of gas is expected to be $2.35 through the summer ...
AAA News- American Automobile Association says gas prices mostly stable in ...Observer Chronicle
AAA says gas prices mostly stable in mid-Atlantic regionseattlepi.com

all 44 news articles »

fox8.com
Regular Gasoline Price Continues To Fall, Even After Crude Oil's Rebound
The Next Digit
With the continuously falling price of Gasoline, this is probably the right time for you to move out on a long road trip. Well, this is not a joke, as the average national price for one gallon of regular gasoline has been falling at a steady rate for quite some time now ...
Refiners, retailers drop prices, chase US drivers' demandSTLtoday.com
Gas prices continue to lowerNews 10NBC
U.S. Pump Prices Fall With Refiners Running at Decade HighBloomberg
Modern Readers
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The Leader
Shell Eco-Marathon rewards brain energy over horsepower
The Leader
Get PhotoGino Gisevan, six, of St. Clair Shores, left, Dominic Mazzocco, 2, center, of Clawson and Julian Gisevan, 3, of St. Clair Shores are excited as they watch automobiles zoom by in downtown Detroit in the course of the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas ...
Shell Eco-marathon competition features futuristic energy efficient vehiclesAmerican Register
Detroit streets will be full of fuel efficient carsThe Detroit News

all 72 news articles »

The Next Digit
Walgreens to shut down 200 stores in the U.S. by 2017
The Next Digit
Walgreens has announced its plans to shut down 200 stores in the U.S, citing restructuring and removing stores that were not meeting sales expectations. The leading drugstore is set to expand on a $1 billion charge-reduction strategy, announced on August ...
Walgreens announces plan to shut down 200 stores in USThe Silver Ink
Walgreens Has Goal of Closing 200 Stores in U.S.DC Progressive
Walgreens Boots Alliance Sees Significant Merger Benefits (WBA)Seeking Alpha

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Market Journals
GE Capital Marks Reaordeing of US Finance
Market Journals
The separation of GE capital marks the next stage in a great reordering of US finance, heavily influenced by the US government. America's best-known conglomerate — would sell down GE Capital's assets from $363bn to about $90bn, and return to its ...
General Electric (NASDAQ:GE) stock rises after the buyback announcementThe Next Digit
General Electric News – GE has been Capital succumbs to changing regulatory ...Observer Chronicle
Back to Business: GE Sells Real Estate, Dismantles GE CapitalGreentech Media
Financial Times -Reuters -Seeking Alpha
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CBS Local
Report: Gov. Brown May Drop Part Of Delta Water Tunnels Project
CBS Local
SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown is rethinking a major component of the state's proposed $25 billion twin-tunnel water project. The San Jose Mercury News reports that the governor is proposing to dropa 50-year guarantee to restore the ...
Gov. Brown proposes dropping major part of twin-tunnel projectKERO 23ABC News
Brown proposes dropping major part of twin-tunnel projectU-T San Diego
Gov. Brown proposing to drop major part of twin-tunnel projectKCRA Sacramento

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The Leader
WaPo: Window Closing To Apply For Hassle-Free Reverse Mortgage
Reverse Mortgage Daily
Come April 27, the process for getting a reverse mortgage will be significantly different. And if prospective borrowers are interested in a reverse mortgage without a lot of hassles, then now's the time to apply for the loan, a Washington Post article suggests.
Today's Mortgage Rates: Wells Fargo 30-Year FHA Refinance Rates and ...Eastern Morning Herald
Applying for reverse mortgages will get tougherLos Angeles Times
Home Loans: Mortgage Rates at BoA, Capital One Apr 12, 2015Finance Daily
The Seattle Times -South China Morning Post (subscription)
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Greece's finance ministry dismissed on Sunday a report by a German newspaper which said that euro zone officials were shocked at Greece's failure to outline plans for structural reforms at last week's talks in Brussels. The mood between Greece's newly-elected leftist government and its euro zone partners has been tense during negotiations that will determine whether the cash-strapped country deserves further financial aid by its EU/IMF lenders. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung cited participants at last week's meeting as saying that they were disappointed by Athens' lack of movement in its plans, adding that the Greek representative just asked where the money was "like a taxi driver" and insisted his country would soon be bankrupt. "When the readers of FAS read the minutes of the Euro Working Group meeting the newspaper will have difficulty justifying its headline and the content of its article," the finance ministry said.

Omaha World-Herald
Refiners, retailers drop prices, chase US drivers' demand
Omaha World-Herald
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average national price of a regular gallon of gasoline continues to drop. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the price of a regular gallon of gas dropped 5 cents in the past three weeks to $2.45 a gallon. Thank you ...

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