April Volatility Brings May ....

April is almost in the history books, and it's been a wild month for stocks.

The Dow is 0.12% higher in April, and up for the seventh month in a row. But there's been no such luck for the rest of the market: the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 are lower this April.

Investors are gearing up for a shift in the calendar to the May through October period -- traditionally a slower time for stocks.

But before you start thinking about the next couple of months, here is what's on tap for the next couple of days: auto sales, ISM manufacturing data, and the all-important government jobs report for April. March proved a disappointment, with just 120,000 jobs created. Economists expect 165,000 jobs were added in April.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has some crafty -- but legal -- ways to save billions of dollars a year in taxes.  The New York Times reports that Apple uses subsidiaries in tax-friendly countries (like Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) and states (like Nevada) to cut its global tax bill.

Last year, Apple paid $3.3 billion in cash taxes on $34.2 billion in profits -- for a tax rate of 9.8%.

Apple was a pioneer of an accounting technique, now used by many tech giants, known as the "Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich."  It reduces taxes by routing profits through Irish subsidiaries and the Netherlands to the Caribbean.

Apple even opened an office in Reno, Nevada, to collect and invest its profits. The corporate tax rate in Nevada is zero; in Apple's California headquarters, it's 8.84%.

While Apple's reduced tax bill doesn't reduce prices for its products, Apple does highlight its substantial role in job creation and charitable giving.