Alibaba Puts IPO Record in Sight (WSJ)
No final decision has been made, but the addition of new Alibaba shares could help push the IPO beyond $20 billion, potentially topping Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.'s record $22.1 billion offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2010, according to Dealogic, which tracks IPO data. The largest IPO in the U.S. was Visa Inc.'s $19.7 billion offering in 2010.
Former KPMG Partner Scott London Gets 14 Months for Insider Trading (WSJ)
Federal prosecutors argued Mr. London's actions weren't purely to help a friend, but also for personal gain. The judge said the amount of that gain – about $70,000 — was "a drop in the bucket" relative to Mr. London's $900,000 annual salary. But Assistant U.S. Attorney James Bowman emphasized what he said was the serious nature of the crime, saying "any time you're a vice president of KPMG and you're on a street corner accepting bags of cash you're part of a corrupt arrangement."
KKR and Nasdaq Plan Market to Trade Shares in Private-Equity Funds (WSJ)
KKR & Co. plans to allow its investors to sell portions of their stakes in buyout funds through a private market run by Nasdaq OMX Group Inc., thought to be the first time pieces of these exclusive vehicles have been traded this way in the U.S., said people familiar with the matter.
Tech giants settle wage-fixing allegations for a reported $324M (Reuters)
Four major tech companies including Apple and Google have agreed to pay a total of $324 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to hold down salaries in Silicon Valley, sources familiar with the deal said, just weeks before a high profile trial had been scheduled to begin. Tech workers filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc, Google Inc, Intel Inc and Adobe Systems Inc in 2011, alleging they conspired to refrain from soliciting one another’s employees in order to avert a salary war. They planned to ask for $3 billion in damages at trial, according to court filings. That could have tripled to $9 billion under antitrust law.
Woman Jailed In Altercation Over Corn Dogs (HP)
Workers at a Midland, Texas business said Charmelle Henry threw 75 cents at them and demanded a corn dog, according to News West 9. When the 45-year-old wasn't happy with the corn dog she received, she threw that at them as well and demanded a dog that was not microwaved. After giving her a second corn dog, the workers noticed that Henry had a knife in her hand. She allegedly told the workers that she would "stab [them] in cold blood" unless she got another corn dog. She also began stabbing the counter with her pocketknife, according to an arrest report obtained by MRT.com. One employee called police, who subdued the "extremely agitated" woman with a K-9 unit after she refused to follow their orders.
BofA Ex-CFO Settles Merrill Case With New York (WSJ)
The deal addresses the last piece of a lawsuit New York filed against Bank of America in 2010 alleging the bank and its former executives misled investors over mounting losses at Merrill Lynch. Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill Lynch in September 2008. Shareholders of both banks approved the deal 2½ months later, but the lawsuit alleged Bank of America shareholders weren't fully aware of what they were getting into.
Michael Dell to sell gardening firm ValleyCrest to KKR unit: FT (Reuters)
ValleyCrest, owned by Dell's family investment office MSD Capital, is expected to fetch about $1 billion and talks for a deal are understood to be advanced.
The 10 worst jobs for 2014 (CNBC)
#1. Lumberjack. Change from ranking on 2013 list: Down 1. Midlevel income: $24,340. Key factors for ranking: work environment (ranked worst of all 200 jobs), income and outlook. Lumberjack comes close to the bottom for nearly every factor, from the job being dangerous to low income. But it's also taken a hit on the outlook as the construction industry slumps and the newspaper industry shrinks. Plus, technological advancements are quickly replacing the need for humans in the wood-harvesting process. There were just under 44,000 logging workers, as the BLS calls them, in 2012, and that number is expected to drop 9 percent by 2022. Still, good luck finding a lumberjack who would agree he (or she) has the worst job! Most say they love being outdoors and that trumps everything else.
James Franco loves taking selfies in bed, doesn’t plan on slowing down (NYDN)
ames Franco says his recent Instagram postings of him in bed — alone or not — are his way of sharing a “very kind of intimate portrait” of himself and to get people talking. “It’s not like I’m exposing myself or anything,” he said in an interview Thursday. Franco calls selfies and Instagram phenomena “that I am just playing around with like everybody else” to see what kind of reaction it evokes. He says when he takes pictures of himself, “It’s almost like it’s connected to you” and that by putting “that intimate space out there it’s kind of this new thing that we’re all getting used to.” He also says that it “obviously causes a lot of stir,” noting that he was being asked about the photos by reporters. The actor, author and director wrote in a New York Times essay last December titled “The Meanings Of The Selfie” that he has “become increasingly addicted to Instagram” and acknowledged that he has “been accused of posting too many of them.”
