US recovery doubts, the motherhood penalty and late night emails

Don’t expect that rate rise anytime soon. Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting show policy makers have doubts about the strength of the US recovery.

June was the expected timing for a rate rise but few of the Federal Open Market Committee think that would be the right time now first-quarter data has raised the prospect of a slowing economy. The central bank must weigh whether the slowdown was the result of the long, cold winter and a lengthy port strike, and whether the economy is in for a sharp rebound. (FT)

In the news

Brazil brings up a body The investigation into corruption at Petrobras has taken a macabre turn – Congress wants to exhume the corpse of the alleged mastermind of the scandal to quell suspicions that he faked his own death . A member of the ruling coalition says he has “received information that the congressman Jose Janene is alive and is living in a country in Central America”. (FT)

“If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying” Barclays, Citigroup, JPMorgan, RBS, UBS and Bank of America will pay more than $5.6bn to settle allegations that they rigged foreign exchange markets. Transcripts of chats between traders at the banks revealed gems such as: “mate yur getting bloody good at this libor game …think of me when yur on yur yacht in monaco wont yu”. (FT)

US to wind down phone-tapping The National Security Agency will begin to wrap up its mass telephone surveillance programme ahead of its June 1 expiry even as Congress debates its re-authorisation . Lawmakers are divided over whether the programme is necessary for national security and may not reach a deal before the deadline. (WSJ)

Isis seizes Palmyra Pro-government forces have withdrawn from the Syrian city, home to aUnesco world heritage site. (FT)

Bin Laden’s bookshelf The al-Qaeda leader boasts about high suicide rates among US soldiers and a weak US dollar in an open letter released along with a trove of declassified documents from the 2011 raid that killed him. The release also gives some insight into his reading habits – he had a taste for books by Noam Chomsky and Bob Woodward, and 9/11 conspiracy theories that questioned his role in the 2001 attacks. (WSJ, FT)

It’s a big day for

US financial regulation The Senate Banking Committee is set to mark up legislation that would significantly rein in the 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation passed in the wake of the financial crisis. (FT)

Rohingya migrants Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to offer thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar temporary shelter. Members of the ethnic group, whom David Pilling says are becoming “the Jews of Asia”, have seen their boats pushed back by governments wary of accommodating any more asylum seekers. (Reuters, FT)

McDonald’s Thousands of workers have been protesting outside the restaurant group’s headquarters for the past two days. They want a minimum wage of $15 per hour and hope to pile on the pressure ahead of today’s annual meeting. (Reuters)

Food for thought

What’s going on at Hanergy? And where is its chairman? Nearly $19bn was wiped off the value of Hanergy Thin Film Power after Li Hejun failed to turn up at the company’s annual meeting. The solar equipment supplier’s stock was suspended about 30 minutes after shares plummeted 47 per cent. The FT examines what happened and what’s next. (FT)

Suing over late-night emails That company-issued smartphone is raising legal questions – several recent lawsuits allege that companies expect employees to work unpaid and off hoursvia their digital devices. Attorneys say a newly sympathetic attitude among judges and changes in US federal labour regulations could open the door to more claims. (WSJ)

FOMO in Silicon Valley John Gapper heads to San Francisco, where investors are throwing money at start-ups that might create a brave new world for fear of missing out on the next Uber or Facebook. “Is it any wonder that a lot of young technology entrepreneurs, and the engineers they employ on high salaries and rich stock packages, feel as good about themselves as film stars?” (FT)

Europe: the British question David Cameron won re-election but he must now balance the anger of his party’s eurosceptic fringe with the pursuit of a reformed EU and the possibility that a Brexit could be disastrous for both the UK and the continent. As he steers the UK, Mr Cameron might do well to take heed of four important lessons from the Greeks. (FT)

High heels are a feminist issue at Cannes The film festival may love lesbianism, but apparently it draws the line at middle-aged women flocking to a lesbian film in flats. (Daily Beast)

Video of the day

The Macedonian crisis The opposition leader released recorded phone calls made by members of the ruling government that suggest that it used its power to influence elections and manipulate courts. Andrew Byrne is on the ground in a nation in turmoil. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Image: U.S. dollar notes are seen. REUTERS/Nicky Loh.