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TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES | ||||||||||||||||||||
M & A Hikma Pharmaceuticals to Buy Generic Drug Maker RoxaneINVESTMENT BANKING Cyber Insecurity: Hacking BackPRIVATE EQUITY Private Equity Firms Raise Funds in Brazil Despite ChallengesHEDGE FUNDS Carlyle Hedge Fund WarningOFFERINGS Secret I.P.O. Filings Feed Deal FrenzyVENTURE CAPITAL Stripe, Digital Payments Start-Up, Raises New Funding and Partners With VisaLEGAL/REGULATORY Chinese Markets Uneasy After Huge Sell-Off | ||||||||||||||||||||
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BY AMIE TSANG
EXECUTIVE STRATEGY AT BANK OF AMERICA Bruce Thompson, Bank of America's former chief financial officer, had taken a victory lap just days before he was ousted from his job. His departure stunned investors, Julie Creswell and Michael Corkery report in DealBook. "I haven't spoken to anyone who isn't surprised," said Mike Mayo, a CLSA banking analyst, who has a sell rating on the bank. "It's a head-scratcher."
The move has also highlighted the burden on the chief executive Brian T. Moynihan, who is under ever greater pressure to expand the bank while integrating disparate businesses and personalities. Executives at other banks were able to bolster profits more easily by shedding businesses and cutting costs, but Mr. Moynihan was stuck managing the enormous financial and legal fallout from two transformational mergers undertaken by his predecessor: the acquisitions of the mortgage lender Countryside and the investment banking giant Merrill Lynch. Bank of America's stock performance has lagged that of other megabanks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. It has taken more than $70 billion in charges to pay legal fines, settlements and penalties related to its consumer mortgage business. An embarrassing $4 billion error in its books also caused regulators to delay a promised stock-buyback plan. People briefed on the matter have said that Mr. Thompson, who was widely seen as a successor to Mr. Moynihan, sawhis star dim after the accounting miscalculation. With Mr. Thompson gone, there is no clear successor to Mr. Moynihan. Thomas K. Montag, the chief operating officer and head of the investment bank, is not considered a likely candidate. "I think Moynihan has done a reasonably good job of dealing with the legacy issues, but I don't think he gets the same respect as some of his peers and my question is, is he the right guy going forward?" asked Jonathan Finger, a partner at the Houston-based Finger Interests, which owns about 900,000 shares of Bank of America.
THWARTING THE QUICK BUCK While there has been plenty of agitation over Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails, there has been less focus on her ideas to transform Wall Street and corporate America. If Mrs. Clinton becomes president, her plans could radically change the way investors and chief executives behave, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the DealBook column.
As part of her efforts to end investors' obsession with short-term results, Mrs. Clinton wants to introduce a "six-year sliding scale" for capital gains taxes. Individuals in the top bracket would pay ordinary income tax of 39.6 percent on the sale of investments in the first two years. The rate would decrease over the next four years to the current capital gains rate of 20 percent. Laurence D. Fink, the chief executive of the $4 trillion asset manager BlackRock, has proposed something similar. He has suggested applyingcapital gains treatment only after three years, then decreasing the tax rate each year after that, potentially dropping to zero after 10 years. Creating incentives for investors, chief executives and board directors to be less focused on quarterly profits and immediate stock prices should be aboon to the economy, Mr. Sorkin writes. "From a political perspective, it's hard to argue with - it's about as safe as they come." Even the activist investor Carl C. Icahn has said, "She is onto something." However, Mrs. Clinton has also stepped into riskier territory, hinting that she would consider the argument that stock buybacks could be considered stock manipulations. While that might resonate politically for some in the Democratic party, Mr. Sorkin notes, it is likely to be a step too far.
BIGGER IS BETTER IN PHARMACEUTICALS Teva's $40.5 billion acquisition of Allergan's generic drug business is its entry into the pharmaceutical arms race, Michael J. de la Merced writes in DealBook. The drug industry has seen a surge in acquisitions in recent years as manufacturers have sought to plug holes in their product portfolios and grow. The purchases have given big drug companies access to new drugs in late-stage development, meaning they have new treatments without having to engage in the lengthy and often expensive process of research.
Acquisitions also help pharmaceutical companies maintain negotiating leverage when their partners grow. The five biggest American health insurers may shrink to three if two big mergers announced this month are approved, and hospital systems have been merging too. As such, big drug makers with ample cash reserves are on the hunt. Pfizer, AbbVie and Allergan could all start pursuing acquisitions. Teva dropped its attempted takeover of Mylan, which has been trying to buy Perrigo, an Irish drug maker, for $34 billion. But Neil Unmack at Breakingviews writes that, "A faster, cleaner deal with Allergan should let Teva deleverage more quickly, paving the way for more deals."
ON THE AGENDA The Committee on Financial Services hearing titled "The Dodd-Frank Act Five Years Later: Are We More Prosperous?" starts at 10 a.m. Twitter will release second-quarter earnings after the market closes and will discuss the results at 5 p.m. BP hosts a results webcast at 9 a.m. Pfizer will discuss results for the second quarter at 10 a.m. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of house prices will be released at 9 a.m., followed by The Conference Board's report on consumer confidence at 10 a.m.
GREEK PREPARATIONS FOR EURO EXIT The Greek government is facing fresh criticism over secret preparations that would have allowed the country to leave the euro, Jack Ewing and Niki Kitsantonis report in The New York Times. In a recording released on Monday, Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's former finance minister, detailed a contingency plan to create an alternative banking system that could switch to a new currency. Mr. Varoufakis said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece had authorized the preliminary plan, but did not allow the final plan to be put into action.
Opposition members of Parliament have called for an investigation, putting pressure on Mr. Tsipras, who has relied on opposition support to pass legislation demanded by creditors. Mr. Varoufakis has defended himself in an Op-Ed in The Financial Times. "While I understand the press's excitement emanating from elements of that exchange, such as having to consider unorthodox means of gaining access to my own ministry's systems, there is only one matter of significance from a public interest perspective. There is a hideous restriction of national sovereignty imposed by the troika of lenders upon Greek ministers who are denied access to departments of their ministries pivotal in implementing innovative policies."
Contact amie.tsang@nytimes.com
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS »
Hikma Pharmaceuticals to Buy Generic Drug Maker RoxaneHikma Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay about $2.65 billion in cash and shares for Boehringer Ingelheim's generic drugs business in the United States.
Honeywell International to Buy Elster for $5.1 Billion The deal came three years after Elster, which manufactures water and gas meters, was acquired by Melrose Industries for about $2.3 billion.
McGraw Hill Financial Buys SNL Financial for $2.2 Billion The deal by the owner of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and S&P Capital IQ is expected to strongly complement S&P Capital IQ's offerings in banking and insurance and expand the analytics and capability of its Platts business serving energy markets.
Alstom Shells Out Again to Keep GE Deal on Track Alstom is to accept €300 million, or $333 million, less than agreed for its power turbines unit from General Electric as a contribution to the U.S.-based buyer's efforts to win antitrust clearance in Europe.
Gambling Firm GVC Raises Offer to $1.6 Billion for Rival Bwin.party The online gambling firm GVC Holdings returned on Monday with a new 1 billion-pound, or $1.55 billion, bid for its rival Bwin.party Digital Entertainment, looking to trump a recently accepted offer from 888.
Zurich Insurance Examining Bid for RSA of Britain One of Europe's largest insurers, Zurich said it made its interest public in response to "market speculation" that it was considering an offer for RSA Insurance Group.
BHF Kleinwort Benson Reviews Fosun Takeover Offer The Belgian owner of Kleinwort Benson, one of the City of London's oldest names in banking, has formed a boardroom committee to review what it believes is a hostile €675 million takeover offer from China's Fosun International.
Delta Air Lines to Buy Stake in China Eastern Delta Air Lines will spend $450 million for 3.55 percent of China Eastern Airlines, extending the company's strategy of taking minority stakes in overseas carriers to strengthen its international business.
Zegona Buys Spain's Telecable for $706 Million in First Deal An investment vehicle set up by two former Virgin Media executives bought the Spanish cable operator Telecable for $706 million including debt on Monday, putting it at the center of Spain's telecom sector.
INVESTMENT BANKING »
Cyber Insecurity: Hacking Back "I'm terrified of what some banks, not necessarily U.S. banks, but some international banks do to dissuade attackers," says John Strand, a cyber security expert.
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PRIVATE EQUITY »
Private Equity Firms Raise Funds in Brazil Despite ChallengesHamilton Lane, a private equity firm, is said to be raising its second fund of funds from Brazilian investors.
K.K.R. Bets on Irish Housing Revival K.K.R. is to team up with an Irish government fund to lend to home builders.
HEDGE FUNDS »
Carlyle Hedge Fund Warning Carlyle Group's $4.9 billion hedge fund firm, Claren Road Asset Management, faces the prospect of investor withdrawals after an influential consultant advised clients to pull their money, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people briefed on the matter.
I.P.O./OFFERINGS »
Secret I.P.O. Filings Feed Deal Frenzy Many United States companies secretly seek to go public, but those that file confidentially face very different fates when their filings spark interest from prospective acquirers.
Gloo Networks to List on AIM, Seek Media Sector Deals Gloo Networks, an acquisition vehicle aimed at the media sector, is to list on London's AIM and will seek companies worth up to 1 billion pounds, the company said Tuesday.
VENTURE CAPITAL »
Stripe, Digital Payments Start-Up, Raises New Funding and Partners With Visa The San Francisco-based digital payments start-up now has a $5 billion valuation and a partnership with Visa to help it compete.
Goldman Sachs Bets on Indian Furniture Start-Up The investment bank is leading a $100 million investment in Pepperfry.com, an Indian online furniture marketplace, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a person familiar with the situation.
LEGAL/REGULATORY »
Chinese Markets Uneasy After Huge Sell-Off Shanghai's main share index fell sharply early on Tuesday but ended down just 1.7 percent after the government pledged to support the market.
The World Wide Web, the New Frontier in Fraud Online crime poses tough challenges for prosecutors, in which identifying defendants, let alone linking them to criminal activity, is proving hard.
Manhattan D.A.'s Office Appeals Goldman Programmer Case Cyrus R. Vance Jr.'s office is appealing a state judge's ruling that overturned a jury verdict convicting Sergey Aleynikov, a former Goldman programmer.
Goldman to Pay $1.8 Million for Auditing Failures The bank's clearing and execution unit failed to send "a substantial number" of details about orders to a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority auditing system over seven years, the regulator said.
Lawyer Emails Put Visa and MasterCard Settlement at Risk The discovery of a trove of emails between two opposing lawyers who are also close friends is threatening to scuttle a $6 billion class-action antitrust settlement between Visa, MasterCard and millions of merchants.
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GUIDE TO CHINA'S MARKET TURMOIL
engleski
  The 24 Republicans Who Just Voted For The Ex-Im BanksShould your tax dollars be used to guarantee loans to fat-cat corporations like Boeing and GE? Apparently 24 Republicans in the Senate believe that taxpayer funded "crony capitalism" is the way to go. Here are the names of the 24 Republican Senators who voted to cut off debate on the re-authorization of the Export-Import Bank, jot them down and remember them... Get The List  Bruce Jenner's New Reality TV Debut Didn't Quite Go As PlannedNot all the reviews of the first episode of I Am Cait were kind to the reality show — sometimes referred to as an eight-part documentary series that shows an angst-riddled but hopeful Jenner in a wide variety of settings and situations... Read More  Gay Mafia Targeting Churches From The InsideYour congregation may be the next institution on the radical homosexual left's target list. And the shock troops who intend to transform your church may already be sharing the pew with you... Read More  3 Million More Children In Poverty Under ObamaThe poverty rate for children in America has risen 22 percent under the Obama presidency – a total of 3 million more, according to the 2015 "Kids Count" report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The number of children in poverty was 18 percent in 2008, the year Obama was elected, and had risen to 22 percent by 2013... Read More |
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Firefox + You - July 2015
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Make every day Caturday
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This month, we have 15 feline themes to tickle your cat fancy. Take your pick from cool cats, artsy cats, cute cats and pirate cats. Chase your mouse over to our latest theme collection to make your Firefox
even more furr-tastic.
GET A NEW THEME, RIGHT MEOW >>
https://addons.mozilla.org/
Are you more of a dog lover? Sit, stay and check out these four-paw rated themes for the canine crowd.
https://addons.mozilla.org/
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Sharing made easy
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Found something online that you want to share right away? The Share feature in Firefox lets you share straight from your browser without leaving the website you’re visiting. Visit our Share Activation page and click on the Activate Now link to connect your preferred networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! Mail, Tumblr, LinkedIn and more. Then the next time you find something worth sharing, click the share icon (the paper airplane) and send it on its way.
SET UP EASY SHARING >>
http://activations.mozilla.
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Maker Party is here!
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Every year for the Mozilla Maker Party, thousands of users around the world come together to teach Web literacy skills and build creative apps, games, Web pages and more. Our fun, hands-on teaching activities get your party-goers reading, writing and participating on the Web in minutes. You can remix your favorite website, learn the basics of privacy and security online and more. Join in and share the fun!
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Blocking made efficient
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Clear out the extra characters to get the link and nothing but the link.
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Stay in sync on the go with Firefox for Android. It's flexible and fast, with features you’ll love.
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Keep your Firefox fast and healthy
Make sure you're running the latest, greatest and most secure version of Firefox.
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