Opening Bell: 4.1.15
Buffett Says Greek Exit From Euro ‘May Not Be a Bad Thing’ (Bloomberg)
“If it turns out the Greeks leave, that may not be a bad thing for the euro,” Buffett told CNBC in an interview Tuesday. “If everybody learns that the rules mean something and if they come to general agreement about fiscal policy among members, or something of the sort, that they mean business, that could be a good thing.”
Hedge Fund Traders Return to Fray With $1 Billion Launches (WSJ)
“The environment [in Europe] is great at the moment,” said one London-based prime broker at a major bank. “It’s more constructive and fertile than it has been at any time since [the collapse of] Lehman.
GoDaddy Is Said to Price IPO at $20 a Share, Above Range (Bloomberg)
The 18-year-old company, which provides domain-name registration and hosting services, had planned to offer 22 million shares for $17 to $19 apiece. At the IPO price, GoDaddy has a market value of more than $3 billion.
GoDaddy Out to Lose Bad-Boy Image (WSJ)
GoDaddy’s image makeover is part of the plan behind the IPO, according to people close to the company. Commercials with model Bar Refaeli and race-car driver Danica Patrick are gone. A Super Bowl ad in February showed a business owner skipping the big game to work at his desk.
Meet the ex-con whose prison workout is taking over New York (NYP)
“You’re not going to get these fancy locker rooms like SoulCycle, where you can pretend to be a Barbie,” he says. “I’m like, just come, be yourself, let’s get it and have fun.” Alyson Michalak, 26, an occupational therapist from Bushwick, says she feels tougher after taking the class. “I knew it would be really intense with the prison-style workout,” she says. “I feel like I worked a lot harder here.”
Woman in office sex romp leaves New Zealand (NYP, earlier)
The woman filmed having sex with a senior colleague at an insurance firm has flown out of New Zealand to return to her birthplace. The employees, who left the lights on at the insurance company Marsh in Christchurch, New Zealand, were filmed and photographed having sex by patrons of the Carlton bar and restaurant across the road on Jan. 30.
Nasdaq Quarterly Streak Sets Record Even as High Proves Elusive (Bloomberg)
The Nasdaq is rising “at a pace of appreciation that we really haven’t seen since the late 1990s,” Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG LLC in New York, said in a phone interview. “This is, by all accounts, one of the strongest periods for the stock market in the postwar period.”
Allston Said to Face CFTC Probe Into Alleged Manipulation (Bloomberg)
The regulator has subpoenaed CME Group Inc. for information on Chicago-based Allston, said the person, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Through an arbitration process at exchange operator CME Group, Allston was accused last year by a rival, HTG Capital Partners LLC, of misleading competitors through an illegal practice known as spoofing.
Ex-Fannie Mae CEO testifies in $1 billion mortgage trial of Nomura, RBS (Reuters)
Former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd testified on Tuesday in a $1 billion civil trial over losses the company suffered on mortgage-backed securities and said it did not predict the severe decline in U.S. housing prices during the financial crisis.
Man Called 911 About Bar Bill -- 12 Times: Police (AP)
Police say a northern Idaho man called 911 a dozen times to report being overcharged at a bar and now faces a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. Post Falls police Capt. Pat Knight says an officer gave Phillip Poissonnier of Post Falls a ride home after he was kicked out of Club Tequila just after 1 a.m. Monday. Knight tells Spokane, Washington, television station KXLY that Poissonnier then made 12 emergency calls, the first wanting officers to come back to discuss his bar tab. The TV station reports that a bartender produced Poissonnier's receipts showing he was charged $30 for the 10 beers he ordered.