The opening ceremony of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is set for Friday evening, April 30, 2010, in good weather, local meteorological authorities said. Photo shows a night view of the Shanghai World Expo Garden. Photo: Xinhua

Spain: In a statement, the INE (National Statistics Institute) said first-quarter unemployment rose to 20.05% from 18.83% in the fourth quarter of last year.  The rate is the highest in the developed world, Spain's highest since 1997 and it tops government's predictions, which forecast a 19% unemployment rate at the end of this year. 4.6m people are jobless.

Goldman Sachs: US federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into whether Goldman Sachs or its employees committed securities fraud in connection with its mortgage trading, people familiar with the probe say, according to The Wall Street Journal. However,  prosecutors would face a higher threshold in bringing a criminal case against Goldman, whose role in the mortgage market came under sharp scrutiny this week during a Senate hearing on Tuesday. In contrast to civil cases, the burden of proof is higher in criminal ones, where prosecutors must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Journal says the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and Justice Department often coordinate their actions on investigations. The probe underscores heightened efforts by the Manhattan US Attorney's office in prosecuting white-collar and Wall Street crime. It is in the midst of pursuing the largest insider-trading case in a generation, charging 21 individuals and negotiating 11 guilty pleas in that matter.

The Journal says in the more than two-century history of the U.S. financial markets, no major financial firm has survived criminal charges.

The FT speculates today that the bank could withdraw support from its co-accused in the SEC's civil fraud case, Frenchman Fabrice Tourre, if interests diverge; “There is a fork in the road where you have to decide: is the company going to lock arms with the individual ... or is the company going to paint the individual as a rogue employee and throw him under the bus?” says Ron Safer, a defence attorney at Schiff Hardin in Chicago.

Economic View: Awaiting the finishing touches: Goodbody economist, Deirdre Ryan, comments - - "It looks as if Greece will have some very tough medicine to take as talks on the rescue package with the EU, the ECB and the IMF enter their final stages. An announcement on the measures that will be implemented to reduce the Greek budget deficit in exchange for financial support is imminent and may even come later today. Press reports indicate budget austerity measures totalling €24bn (10% of Greek GDP) have been agreed which will see the budget deficit reduced by close to 11% over a three year period. While the magnitude of the package is similar to that being currently implemented by the Irish government (€16bn or 10% of GDP), Ireland has been given until 2014 to reduce its deficit to the 3% of GDP limit. As such, the Greek plan should surely appease Germany who has pledged to commit its support to any credible package as swiftly as is possible.

With Italian bond auction getting off the ground yesterday and the renewed sense of urgency evident around Greece over recent days, markets have taken solace from the latest events. A yield pull back was seen across peripheral Europe yesterday, with Irish 10 year spread versus Europe narrowing 11bps to 2.11%. Nevertheless, this only reverses some of the recent moves. The escalation in sovereign concerns over the past number of weeks means the Irish 10 yr spread versus Germany still stands 76bps above it trough level at the beginning of April (1.342%). This represents a sizeable increase in the cost of funding for the Irish Exchequer should spreads not fall back further. However, as we have highlighted, with no impending debt maturity and over 60% of funding requirement for the year already met at this stage, this is not an issue in the very near term. This point was highlighted by Fitch yesterday in their reiteration of the Irish credit rating (AA-, stable outlook). Moodys also restated yesterday that that Irish credit rating is not in danger of being downgraded (Aa1 negative outlook). Both outlined the credibility displayed by the Irish government in consolidating its public finances, something that will certainly be required from Greece in the quarters ahead. "

Greek woes fail to dampen market optimism: Davy analyst, Barry Dixon, comments  --"Concerns about Greece's precarious financial position and the potential for contagion to other indebted nations in the Eurozone are finding it difficult to dampen market enthusiasm.

This is not surprising given the torrent of positive newsflow over recent weeks. The Q1 earnings season in the US has been hugely positive. Not only have almost 80% of companies beat profit expectations, but real volume-driven top-line growth is also coming in ahead of forecast – providing increasing evidence that the recovery is real. At the same time, the US Fed will keep interest rates at the current low level for some time. This is a very positive concoction for equity markets. In response, full-year bottom-up forecasts for the S&P rose by circa 9% in April – the biggest increase in some time.

The good news is not just confined to the US. Positive business and consumer sentiment indicators, combined with a fifth consecutive month of falling unemployment levels in Germany, indicate that the European economy may also be recovering.

Equity market valuations remain broadly in-line to slightly below long-term valuation levels. This looks attractive, particularly in the early stages of what is becoming a more sustained recovery. If Greece's financial problems are sorted out, it is likely that the market could continue its positive run for a while yet."