TOP STORIES 
 
BANK OF AMERICA REPORTS LOSS 

BofA reported a 1Q loss of $276 million, or 5c a share, versus a profit of $1.48 billion a year ago, as it was weighed down by $6 billion in legal charges and was hit by slumping mortgage originations. Revenue fell 2.7% to $22.57 billion.

 
U.S. HOUSING STARTS CLIMB 2.8% IN MARCH 
 

U.S. housing starts rose 2.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 946,000, fueled by growth in single-family homes, but broader trends suggest the market remains in a slump.

 
MT. GOX GIVES UP ON REHABILITATION BID 
 

Defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has given up its plan to rebuild under bankruptcy protection and said it has agreed with a Tokyo court on the first step toward liquidation.

 
YAHOO UP AS CONCERNS EASE 
 

Yahoo shares rose 8% after the company's first-quarter report indicated progress with its advertising business and eased concerns about slowing growth at Alibaba, the e-commerce giant in which Yahoo owns a 24% stake.

 
U.S. STOCKS RALLY IN OPENING TRADE 
 

U.S. stocks opened broadly higher as rising hopes of economic stimulus from Asia helped boost investor confidence. Futures had pared some of their gains premarket after U.S. housing data missed forecasts.

 
U.S. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES IN MARCH 
 

Industrial production increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in March from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said. Capacity utilization, a gauge of slack across industries, rose 0.4 percentage point to a 79.2% rate.

 
SOUTH KOREAN FERRY CAPSIZES 
 

South Korea's rescue services raced to find more than 100 people still missing after the sinking of a passenger ferry early Wednesday. Two people have been confirmed dead.

 
COMBAT VEHICLES IN EAST UKRAINE RAISE RUSSIAN FLAG 
 

Militants seized Ukrainian armored military vehicles and then paraded them with a Russian flag through the streets of Slovyansk, the country's defense ministry said, amid growing signs a new operation to clear out pro-Russian separatists was already sputtering.

 
ALIBABA FLEXES MUSCLES AHEAD OF IPO 
 

Alibaba is nearing another giant milestone: a hotly anticipated initial public offering in the U.S. that could raise about $15 billion from investors, just shy of what Facebook sold when the social-networking firm went public in 2012.

 
OIL FUTURES PRICES HIT SIX-WEEK HIGHS ON UKRAINE CRISIS 
 

Oil futures prices gained as unrest in Ukraine fueled concern the West could impose further sanctions on Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter.

 
CREDIT SUISSE PROFIT BELOW EXPECTATIONS 
 

Credit Suisse delivered a disappointing profit figure for the first quarter, as the Swiss lender was weighed down by the performance of its investment bank.

 
 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
The Wall Street Journal 
ALIBABA FLEXES MUSCLES AHEAD OF IPO 
 

Alibaba is nearing another giant milestone: a hotly anticipated initial public offering in the U.S. that could raise about $15 billion from investors, just shy of what Facebook sold when the social-networking firm went public in 2012.

 
The Wall Street Journal 
U.S. HOUSING MARKET SLOW TO HIT ITS SPRING STRIDE 
 

A flurry of recent housing data suggests that the market's spring selling season is getting off to a slow start, a worrisome sign after a winter of expectations that warmer weather would rekindle growth.