Weak earnings and the dark cloud of Ukraine continue to weigh on European markets

European equities are on a four-day slide as big names continue to miss earnings targets. But let’s not ignore the underlying theme of a simmering-to-boil scenario in Ukraine. A wet blanket on investor sentiment

• It is official, China’s Alibaba Group has filed to go public in the U.S., representing the largest public stock offering ever. No matter what happens the rest of the year, the $20 billion offering will make 2014 IPO data look amazingly strong. A boon for Yahoo
• Beneath of the surface of the celebrated Alibaba stock offering there are some financial contortions being deployed to get around those pesky Chinese rules regarding foreign ownership of strategic Chinese assets. Buying Alibaba via the Cayman Islands
• SAC Capital’s Steven Cohen gets a little help from Goldman Sachs in the form a loan. It’s good to have friends in high places. Using fine art as collateral
• MSNBC apologizes to each of its six viewers for missing the point of Cinco de Mayo with a politically-incorrect skit about drinking tequila and wearing sombreros. This is the same network that uses the marketing slogan, “lean forward” to promote its views. How to become even less relevant

Related Topics: Goldman Sachs & Co.