1. U.S. COMPANIES SLOW HIRING IN MARCH
Hiring in March declined to its slowest pace in five months, according to the ADP National Employment Report, released Wednesday. Private employers added just 158,000 jobs — economists surveyed by Reuters had expected a gain of 200,000. The good news was that revised February data indicated that private payrolls rose by 237,000 in that month, not 198,000 as originally reported. One reason for the slip in March: The construction industry added no new jobs after surging as rebuilding got underway in areas devastated by last fall's superstorm Sandy. [Reuters]
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2. CELL PHONE TURNS 40
Wednesday marks the 40th anniversary of the first call made on a cell phone. Martin Cooper, 84, used the 2.5-pound prototype Motorola DynaTAC he created to place the historic call to his rival, Joel Engel of Bell Labs, from the streets of New York City. Some early mobile phones cost nearly $4,000 — about $8,700 after adjusting for inflation. The gadgets have also gotten a bit lighter — the iPhone 5 weighs 3.95 ounces. [Mashable]
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3. EX-GOLDMAN SACHS TRADER SURRENDERS TO FACE CHARGES
A former Goldman Sachs trader, Matthew Taylor, surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday to face charges that he defrauded the Wall Street firm of nearly $120 million through trading losses. Taylor allegedly hid $8.3 billion in risky futures bets in 2007. In addition to the criminal charges, Taylor is facing a lawsuit filed by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which wants him to pay $130,000 in penalties. Goldman Sachs last year reached a $1.5 million settlement with regulators, who said the firm failed to properly supervise Taylor. [Financial Times]
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4. IMF SIGNS OFF ON CYPRUS BAILOUT
The International Monetary Fund agreed on Wednesday to contribute $1.3 billion to Cyprus' $13 billion bailout. The euro gained strength against the dollar after the announcement, which further cements a deal requiring Cyprus to restructure its two largest banks and reduce its budget deficits, among other financial reforms. "This is a challenging program that will require great efforts from the Cypriot population," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said, but it "provides a sustainable path toward a recovery." [Bloomberg]
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5. GAME OF THRONES SETS PIRACY RECORD
The third-season premiere of HBO's mythical drama Game of Thrones set a record for video piracy this week, with more than 1 million viewers downloading the debut episode in the day after it first aired, according to piracy tracker TorrentFreak. At one point, more than 163,000 people were watching a single torrent, also a record. The previous record of nearly 145,000 simultaneous file-swappers was set in 2008 by the season three debut of Heroes. [CNN]
