Media Digest (4.1.2011) Reuters, WSJ, NYT, FT, Bloomberg

David Sokol’s trading in Lubrizol before Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK) bought it may cause regulators to review the transaction. (Reuters)

The Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said pay of executives and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were too high. (Reuters)

Shares in many Asian countries reached 3-year highs. (Reuters)

Brent crude rose to $117 ahead of US jobs data. (Reuters)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) filed an EU complaint against Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) over the search company’s dominance in the region. (Reuters)

Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) will shutter its e-commerce business. (Reuters)

Ally filed for an IPO as the Treasury readied to sell its shares. (Reuters)

Subprime mortgage-backed bonds have had a renaissance. (WSJ)

Earnings of US companies may be slightly hurt by the Japan disaster but it create challenges for the quarters ahead. (WSJ)

Ireland’s banks did poorly in stress tests and need nearly $34 billion in new capital. (WSJ)

New data shows that the Federal Reserve provided financial firms billions of dollars during the credit crisis. (WSJ)

Republicans may take less than the $61 billion they hoped for as a budget compromise nears. (WSJ)

Financiers believe that the pace of IPOs will accelerate. (WSJ)

Japan may give Tepco  bailout funds. (WSJ)

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) took some networks off of its live TV software app after pressure from the companies. (WSJ)

Spain may nationalize some of its savings banks. (WSJ)

Portugal missed its 2010 budget goals. (WSJ)

The Minneapolis Fed president said the agency may need to raise rates if inflation sets in. (WSJ)

U.S. cattle futures settled at all-time highs.

Experts says farmers will plant more corn this seasons as prices rise. (WSJ)

The Tokyo quake has left large numbers of people without jobs. (WSJ)

Portugal’s new elections will occur in early June. (WSJ)

Euro-zone inflation rose as fuel prices spiked. (WSJ)

G-20 nations are expected to continue a heated debate on the role of currencies in the global economy. (WSJ)

Live Nation has bid for the Warner label. (WSJ)

The EU may appeal a case against Boeing (NYSE: BA) which claims the airline company got improper support from the US government. (WSJ)

Chip makers in Japan have slowed production enough to harm shipments of consumer electronics devices later in the year. (WSJ)

American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) and JAL will begin a joint service across the Pacific. (WSJ)

Religious groups are pressing Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) on drug hikes. (WSJ)

India opened investment rules which restrict foreign companies .(WSJ)

The DJIA had is best advance in 12 years. (WSJ)

Banks may be shy about borrowing from the Fed after its disclosed lending details from the financial crisis period. (WSJ)

Large financial firms may support new proxy rules that allow investors to vote on management pay packages. (WSJ)

Cattle futures hit new high.s (WSJ)

Many jobs do not pay enough to support worker daily living needs. (WSJ)

Geithner says a strict Chinese currency policy hurts the Asian nation. (WSJ)

Grain prices rose and supply dropped. (FT)

Ally Financial could raise $5 billion. (FT)

Foreign banks used the Fed’s facility regularly during the financial crisis. (Bloomberg)

China’s PMI showed a rapid rise in industrial activity (Bloomberg)

Acer will focus on competing with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and HTC (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre