Opening Bell: 10.27.11

Europe Forges Greek Deal (WSJ)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after the marathon negotiating session that the leaders had reached agreement with private banks on a "voluntary" 50% reduction of Greece's debt in the hands of private investors. He also said they had agreed to expand the firepower of the euro zone's bailout vehicle, known as the European Financial Stability Facility, by four- or five-fold—suggesting it could provide guarantees for around €1 trillion, or about $1.4 trillion, of bonds issued by countries such as Spain and Italy. Mr. Sarkozy expressed satisfaction that the Greek debt agreement wouldn't be forced on holders of Greek bonds. "France wanted to avoid the drama of a Greek default, when you remember the consequences of the failure of Lehman Brothers, and it's done," he said.

Greek PM Says 50 Percent Haircut Means Debt Now Sustainable (Reuters)
A deal that imposes 50 percent losses on private sector bondholders means Greece's debt burden will be sustainable, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Thursday. Greece will produce no more primary budget deficits from next year, but some of the country's banks may face temporary nationalization as a result of the debt relief, he warned. "The debt is absolutely sustainable now," Papandreou told a news conference after a meeting of euro zone leaders, which reached agreement with private investors on a 50 percent write-down.

Europe's Debt Threatens MF Global And Corzine (Dealbook)
A sale would almost certainly mean an abrupt exit for Mr. Corzine, age 64. His entrance, shortly after losing his bid to remain governor of New Jersey, generated enormous interest in what had been a respectable but small financial player. MF Global put such a premium on his presence that this summer, it included a “key man” provision in the sale of $325 million worth of bonds. Should Mr. Corzine leave to join the Obama administration by July 1, 2013, it agreed to pay a higher interest rate on the notes. Now, his reputation is intertwined with MF Global’s fate. “This is Corzine’s legacy, and this is where he’s got to step in,” Mr. Repetto said. “If you have a dominant leader like that, he needs to step in and reinvigorate the business and reassure investors and clients.”

RIM Hit With Lawsuits After Blackberry Outages (Reuters)
The U.S. lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in federal court in Santa Ana, California, was brought on behalf of all U.S. BlackBerry owners with an active service agreement at the time of the email, internet and messaging interruptions. It accuses Research in Motion of breach of contract, negligence and unjust enrichment.

US Economic Growth Probably Fastest In A Year (Bloomberg)
Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 2.5 percent annual pace after advancing 1.3 percent in the previous three months, according to the median forecast of 83 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Household purchases, the biggest part of the economy, may have climbed more than twice as fast as in the second quarter...“The U.S. economy finished the third quarter a lot better than it started,” said David Semmens, a U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in London. “While the recovery at first appeared to have lost its way, it is certainly not off track.”

Currency Traders In Worst Year Since 1991 (Bloomberg)
“What’s really frustrating is that we’re supposed to do well in a lousy world market,” said John Taylor, the founder of New York-based FX Concepts LLC, the world’s largest currency hedge fund. Taylor said in an Oct. 19 interview in London that he has lost 12 percent this year and assets under management fell to $5 billion from as much as $8 billion. “We’re doing very badly.”

Occupy Wall Street Seeks Winter Residence (NetNet)
Plans are underway to rent an enormous space capable of housing up to 300 people so that Occupy Wall Street can continue through the winter..."We're going to find a place where people can sleep at night, store their stuff. We'll maintain a continuous presence in the park but you can't ask people to put their lives in danger. It's Occupy Wall Street, not Freeze to Death In Zuccotti Park," he said.

Gupta Case Targets Insider Culture (WSJ)
The accusations indicate a new twist in an insider-trading investigation that has so far focused primarily on those who profited directly from stock tips, but is now examining a culture where prosecutors say secrets are swapped freely among powerful business figures.

Nurse Making $269,810 Demonstrates California Public Worker Overtime Binge (Bloomberg)
Jean Keller earned $269,810 last year working as a nurse at a men’s prison on California’s central coast by tripling her regular pay with overtime hours. Keller got more overtime in 2010 than any other state employee. In all, California’s public workers collected $1.7 billion of extra pay last year, more than half of it in overtime, state payroll data show. The rest was for unused vacation and union-negotiated benefits such as uniform allowances, physical-fitness incentives and special compensation in recognition of a “complex work load.” “It’s outrageous,” said 29-year-old Gilbert Ramirez, one of about 30,000 teachers fired in California since 2007 because of budget cuts. “It boils my blood that I’m out of work and they claim they don’t have enough money to pay me.”

Fed Ties Purse Strings Of Banks (WSJ)
Adding to the unrest at the larger lenders, some smaller banks are getting clearance to move ahead with their buybacks. "It is another flashpoint between the regulators and bank management," said Gerard Cassidy, banking analyst with RBC Capital Markets. "You can see the level of frustration for senior management. They want to do what is best for shareholders but are being held back by the Federal Reserve."

Sex Offender Fined For Groping Ad Display (Berkshire)
A convicted sex offender admitted he kissed and fondled a cardboard cutout of a woman, which was part of a North Street pharmacy's advertising display...Saturday around 5 p.m., Price, who was allegedly intoxicated, walked into the Rite Aid pharmacy, "grabbed hold of the sunglass display, hugged it tightly and then began to lick and kiss the face of the female party on the display," according to a Pittsfield Police report. This behavior lasted about a minute, according to police, and ended when Price fell to the floor. He eventually got back on his feet and began yelling and screaming, according to the police report. Meanwhile, Price's behavior apparently scared customers who "actively" tried to get away from the area. Price was arrested by the Pittsfield Police.