1.Europe’s largest economy is expected to shrink by 6.2 percent in 2009 according to the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank.Bundesbank: German economy will stagnate through 2010

2.With the panic subsiding fast, Brazil’s equity markets have staged an astonishing turnaround allowing canny investment banks to find their feet in the country again. Writer John Rumsey – Back on song

3.Big banks in the U.S. say they’re on the mend. The five largest were profitable in the first quarter, rebounding from record losses for the industry in the fourth quarter. Share prices have jumped, with the KBW Bank Index doubling since March 6. Bank Profits Get Fatter With Accounting Rules Masking Looming Loan Losses

4.Apple’s stock rises and falls with the faintest rumors about Steve Jobs’s health. But how much influence do CEOs really have? Do CEOs Matter?

5.Why should Chinese and Indians come to the US today? Their local capital markets are outperforming the US market; venture capital is available for startups; their local banks are in better shape. If the rule of law in the US is no better than China, just what do immigrants expect to find in America? – What’s left to offer?

Photo: Cologne, Germany (Dom im Hintergrund der Hohenzollernbrücke bei Nacht)