- Stocks up as investors look to end bruising week on a high (Reuters)
- Treasuries Set for Two-Week Gain; Greenspan Warns of Global Risk (BBG)
- Yellen, alongside Fed alum, says rate hikes on track (Reuters)
- Oil Prices Lifted by Fed Comments on U.S. Economy (WSJ)
- China says G20 summit should be about economics, not politics (Reuters)
- Cameron Accused of Hypocrisy for Stake in Father's Offshore Fund (BBG)
- US government to challenge MetLife ‘too big to fail’ decision (FT)
- Kerry visits Iraq, showing support for embattled PM (Reuters)
- The Unraveling of a Wall Street Scion (WSJ)
- How Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen has made al Qaeda stronger – and richer (Reuters)
- Pope calls for compassionate Church open to 'imperfect' Catholics (Reuters)
- The Art of Calling Brazil's Currency Rally From 6,700 Miles Away (BBG)
- War of Words Escalates in Democratic Race (WSJ)
- Travails of the active fund manager may only just be beginning (FT)
- For NATO trainers, race against time to prepare Afghan troops to go it alone (Reuters)
- No Love for Swiss Stocks Despite Record Payouts Versus Bonds (BBG)
- ExIm Bank political stand-off robs Boeing of aircraft deals (FT)
- Damage Extensive for Crippled U.S. Littoral Ship in Singapore (BBG)
- Trump, under fire on many fronts, expands campaign team (Reuters)
- Fed's Williams eyes two 2016 rate hikes: Fox Business Network (Reuters)
- ‘Batman v Superman’ Seen Earning Less Profit Than Superman Alone (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
- After losing a boardroom clash that pitted him against one of America's best-known hedge-fund investors, the 83-year-old chief of the Seven & i Holdings Co, Toshifumi Suzuki, said he would step down. (http://on.wsj.com/1RTKaiP)
- Compensation for chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies fell more sharply last year than any year since the financial crisis, as weaker corporate performance slowed cash bonuses and accounting rules pared back pension growth. (http://on.wsj.com/22grTRO)
- Uber Technologies Inc agreed to pay up to $25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2014. (http://on.wsj.com/1STYH0n)
- Federal regulators said they would seek to revamp their oversight of an obscure but important part of the telecommunications market - the bulk data service - that telecom companies provide to businesses, including each other. (http://on.wsj.com/25OxCTm)
- With Wednesday's agreement to amend terms with its loan holders, Valeant Inc has staved off the prospect of default in the near term. Valeant has to now pay a higher interest rate on its $11.6 billion in loans, as well as a fee. (http://on.wsj.com/22gSJt4)
- General Motors Co's design chief, Ed Welburn, is retiring after more than four decades with the Detroit auto maker, handing the reins to a company insider, who is currently leading vehicle-styling efforts for international markets. (http://on.wsj.com/25OyOWS)
FT
Prime Minister David Cameron has disclosed that he had a stake in a fund set up in Panama by his father. (http://on.ft.com/1SDDvsP)
Former chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata defended the decision to sell its UK steel operations calling them "underinvested and overmanned". (http://on.ft.com/1SDDDss)
A former Barclays banker has tried to implicate three senior Barclays executives, claiming they were aware of the practice. (http://on.ft.com/1SDDLbn)
A British vote to leave the EU would "gravely weaken" Europe and could trigger the end of the continent's influence as a superpower, former prime minister John Major said. (http://on.ft.com/1SDE2es)
NYT
- Investment firm Starboard Value disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it planned to fight for a presence on the board of DepoMed Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company. The hedge fund said it had built up a 9.8 percent stake in the drug maker. (http://nyti.ms/1NcytBP)
- Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said that she did not regret the decision to start raising interest rates in December. "I certainly don't regard it as a mistake," Yellen said. (http://nyti.ms/23gNE9Z)
- Last month, the Indian government had issued additional rules governing foreign ownership of e-commerce companies operating in the country. The government added regulations related to pricing and the sourcing of sales on sites that Amazon.com Inc and several rivals appear to violate. (http://nyti.ms/1qxUwi3)
- General Motors Co on Thursday said it had settled a wrongful death case that was set to go to trial next month as part of ongoing litigation over the company's defective ignition switches. (http://nyti.ms/1oHxinx)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Ottawa and Quebec face a possible new hurdle in their efforts to help Bombardier Inc and its troubled C Series aircraft - the U.S. government. The Obama administration has put the federal and provincial governments on notice that it considers the planned bailout of the Montreal-based company a worrisome barrier to trade, according to an annual compendium of dubious foreign practices by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. (http://bit.ly/1Vctn03)
** Alberta can no longer fuel the growth of Canada's economy without the federal government's help building a new pipeline, Premier Rachel Notley warned in a televised address on Thursday. (http://bit.ly/23ojtu6)
NATIONAL POST
** Postmedia Network Canada Corp has formed a special committee of independent directors to help "explore and review alternatives" aimed at improving its capital structure and liquidity as steep debt repayments weigh on the media company despite significant cost-cutting. (http://bit.ly/23ojZbx)
** Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd has attracted a powerful opponent to its proposed takeover of Norfolk Southern Corp - the U.S. Army. In a letter to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, which must give its approval before any merger can go ahead, the army argues the proposed takeover raises national security concerns since both railroads own "hundreds of miles" of strategic rail lines and serve major military installations. (http://bit.ly/1S18xxg)
Britain
The Times
The average price of a house in the UK has jumped 10.1 per cent over the year to March, the fastest price growth since July 2014, according to Halifax house price index. (http://bit.ly/23mlPJL)
The yen rose to its highest level in 17 months on Thursday, squeezing Japanese exports as Tokyo authorities and independent economists struggled to understand the continuing failure of negative interest rates to tame the surging currency. (http://bit.ly/1ULPpab)
The Guardian
A sharp drop in British productivity has cast further doubt over the country's economic prospects and will add to pressure on the government to prove its productivity plan can bear fruit. (http://bit.ly/1PW9brm)
Engineers working in France's nuclear power industry have issued an impassioned defence of EDF's 18 billion pound plan to build two reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. (http://bit.ly/1S04nWs)
The Telegraph
Steve Rowe, the new chief executive of Marks & Spencer , has branded the retailer's long-suffering clothing division "unsatisfactory" after posting another slump in sales. (http://bit.ly/1MTPw0C)
European nations could launch a trade war against Britain if it votes to leave the EU, according to JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. (http://bit.ly/1S62ISp)
Sky News
Pinewood, the film studio that is home to James Bond and Harry Potter, is drawing up proposals to enter the cinema industry by buying a stake in one of the UK's boutique chains. (http://bit.ly/1V0ctlQ)
Mark Yallop, former Deutsche Bank and UBS executive, is in the frame to become the next chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). (http://bit.ly/1SgdqiU)
The Independent
Banks and other financial firms have been told they have a week to check if they are linked to Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers leaks, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Thursday. (http://ind.pn/23kW3FO)
The controversial offshore fund founded by the Prime Minister's late father is failing to pay off for its wealthy backers after losing thousands of dollars in value this year due to a string of bad bets. (http://ind.pn/1qxi0DN)