Opening Bell: 3.9.15
Creditors Reject Greece's Reform Proposals (Bloomberg)
The measures Greece’s government sent to euro-region finance ministers last Friday, including the idea of hiring non-professional tax collectors, is “far” from complete and the country probably won’t receive an aid disbursement this month, Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Sunday.
ECB Starts Buying German, Italian Government Bonds Under QE Plan (Bloomberg)
The ECB and national central banks started buying sovereign debt on Monday under the 19-month plan to inject 1.1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion) into the economy. While purchases included bonds from at least five countries, the size of individual trades -- at between 15 million euros and 50 million euros -- was small relative to the program’s goals, according to people with knowledge of the transactions.
Understanding the Business School Obsession With Ice Hockey (Bloomberg)
The hockey tradition has a long history at B-schools, where hockey clubs are often the most popular of any student activity. It's not because students are particularly proficient at the sport. Rather, its appeal is that the slick ice lets a class of overachievers meet each other on equally unsure footing, students say. "People are trying to figure out the baseline mechanics of how to skate," says Lauren Cohen, a captain of the Yale School of Management hockey team, and a second-year MBA candidate. Close to 20 percent of students in the program join the hockey club, most without any experience. "If you can skate backwards and know how to stop, that’s definitely the high end of intermediate," she says. It can be a relief, Cohen says, to see students who glide through complex mathematical equations stumble just as much as the next person on the ice. "Seeing your classmates struggle to stay upright is a nice reminder that we are all human," says Cohen.
Police Arrest Man Who Allegedly Stole Woman's Car On First Date (AP)
uthorities say a man who allegedly stole a woman's car during their first date last month has been captured. Waterford Township police say 53-year-old Gerald Tietz was arrested Saturday after the vehicle - which had the vanity plate "JSRYGRL" - was spotted in Cherry Hill. Tietz and the woman, identified only as a New Jersey resident, became acquainted online and decide to meet on Feb. 26. Tietz allegedly told the woman his name was Gennaro Aladena and that he went by the nickname "Gooch." At some point that evening, police say Tietz got the woman's car keys and took her vehicle.
Bill Gross’s Fund at Janus Logs First Monthly Outflow in February (WSJ)
The Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund saw a net $18.5 million in withdrawals from investors last month, and its assets under management sank to $1.45 billion from about $1.5 billion at the end of January, according to data released Monday by fund research firm Morningstar Inc.
Exclusive: Ackman's Pershing Square makes $3.3 billion bet on Valeant (Reuters)
Hedge fund mogul William Ackman has purchased a $3.3 billion stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO), making his firm the company's fifth-largest stakeholder, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Ackman's $20 billion Pershing Square Capital Management began building up the 5 percent stake in the Canadian drug-maker this year, only months after his vocal effort to help Valeant buy Botox-maker Allergan (AGN.N) failed.
Schwarzman on path to $1B payday in a single year (NYP)
...according to calculations by Crain’s New York Business, Blackstone boss Steve Schwarzman is well positioned to become the first leader of a public company to be paid more than $1 billion in a single year. He received $690 million in 2014. This year could prove even richer for Schwarzman, considering that Blackstone has more than 80 companies to shop around, the paper reported.
Urinators in Germany warned: St. Pauli walls 'pee back' (UPI)
Leaders in the "party district" of St. Pauli in Hamburg, Germany, are discouraging public urination by covering walls in paint that "pees back." The St. Pauli Interest Community released a YouTube video explaining the most frequently-soiled walls in the district are being covered in a super-hydrophobic paint that causes sprayed liquid to bounce back in the opposite direction -- causing public urinators to make a mess of their own pants and shoes. The walls treated with the paint are labeled with signs reading, "Don't pee here! We'll pee back!"