World News!

China

• The Chinese central bank has raised the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks by another 50 bps, effective 5/18.  This will bring the reserve requirement to 21%, and is distinctly an effort to bring inflation down from its current 5.3% level.

PIIGS

• The International Monetary Fund warned that Europe's debt crisis could still spread to core euro zone countries and the emerging eastern European countries.  The IMF indicated that they do stand ready to provide more aid if requested, but also stated that Portugal has other options that have not been tried, such as complying with the austerity measures to bring their debt under control or selling government assets.

Spain

• Spain suffered two earthquakes - one magnitude 4.4 and the second, felt two hours later, at magnitude 5.2 - centered near the town of Lorca (southeast of Madrid on the Mediterranean Sea).  Eight people were killed, at least 130 injured, and around 20,000 buildings were damaged.

Syria

• Thousands of students rallied in Aleppo to demand an end to the military seige of other cities in the country.  Security forces dispersed the crowd in an uncharacteristically gentle fashion, only using batons to savagely beat protesters.  No tanks were deployed.

United States

• Researchers in the United States have genetically modified the virus resus cytomegalovirus to produce antigens to attack simian immunodeficiency virus, the simian equivalent of HIV.  The same approach could be used to create a vaccine for HIV, although the ethical and safety issues involved injecting humans with genetically modified viruses have to be ironed out first.
• Raj Rajaratnam, founder and CEO of the Galleon Group hedge fund, has been found guilty on five counts of conspiracy and nine counts of securities fraud.  He has been released on a $100 million bail with an electronic tag until sentencing, due July 29, at which he faces between 15 1/2 and 19 1/2 years in prison.
• In an interview with the BBC, US Attorney General Eric Holder reiterated the administration's position that the death of Osama Bin Laden was not an assassination, stating that it was a "kill or capture mission", and that Bin Laden's surrender would have been accepted if it had been offered .