TOP STORIES 
 
ZIMMER TO BUY BIOMET FOR $13.35 BILLION 

Zimmer Holdings agreed to buy fellow orthopedic device maker Biomet for about $13.35 billion in cash and stock, in a bid to position the combined company as a leader in making products to repair muscles and bones. Zimmer shares rose 16%.

 
GM PROFIT FALLS AMID RECALL 
 

General Motors 1Q results fell 82% but far exceeded Wall Street expectations, as the push to sell cars and trucks at higher prices in North America helped the auto maker offset the cost of model recalls. Shares rose 1%.

 
U.S. STOCKS RISE, BUOYED BY APPLE, FACEBOOK RESULTS 
 

Stocks rose after upbeat reports from Apple and Facebook lifted technology shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 30 points, putting the blue-chip benchmark within striking distance from its all-time closing high

 
RUSSIA LAUNCHES MILITARY EXERCISES AT UKRAINE BORDER 
 

Russia said it launched military exercises along the Ukrainian border after Ukrainian forces killed pro-Russian militants and overran three roadblocks outside the eastern city of Slovyansk, in part of a renewed military operation to regain control.

 
VERIZON LOSES CONTRACT WIRELESS PHONE CUSTOMERS 
 

Verizon Communications lost wireless customers for the first time early this year. The loss of phone customers came as the company's first-quarter profit more than doubled to $3.95 billion, as revenue rose 4.8% to $30.8 billion.

 
UPS PROFIT SLIDES ON HARSH WEATHER 
 

United Parcel Service posted a lower 1Q profit of $911 million, or 98 cents a share, pointing to unusually harsh weather that increased its expenses and slowed its revenue growth. Revenue rose to $13.8 billion.

 
U.S. JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP BY 24,000 
 

Initial claims for jobless benefits, a measure of layoffs, rose by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 329,000 in the week ended April 19, the Labor Department said. The weekly gain was the largest since December.

 
OIL FUTURES BOUNCE HIGHER ON VIOLENCE IN UKRAINE 
 

Oil futures gained as increased violence in Ukraine renewed concerns that the West could impose sanctions on Russia, the No. 2 oil-exporting nation.

 
ISRAEL SUSPENDS PEACE TALKS WITH PALESTINIANS 
 

Israel says it has suspended peace talks with the Palestinians in retaliation for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's plan to bring together Palestinian political factions in a national unity government, despite Israeli warnings and U.S. advice.

 
E-CIGARETTES FACE FIRST REGULATIONS 
 

The FDA proposed to impose the first federal regulations on electronic cigarettes, eventually banning sales of the popular devices to anyone under 18 and requiring makers to gain FDA approval for their products.

 
GE IN TALKS TO BUY ALSTOM'S ENERGY BUSINESS 
 

General Electric is in talks to buy French engineering firm Alstom's energy operations, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would help consolidate the struggling power-generation business.

 
 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
The Wall Street Journal 
E-CIGARETTES FACE FIRST REGULATIONS 
 

The FDA proposed to impose the first federal regulations on electronic cigarettes, eventually banning sales of the popular devices to anyone under 18 and requiring makers to gain FDA approval for their products.

 
The Wall Street Journal 
OBAMA, ABE STRESS REGIONAL BENEFITS OF ALLIANCE 
 

President Obama offered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an unequivocal affirmation that if islands at the center of Japan's territorial dispute with China were ever attacked, the U.S. would come to Japan's aid.