Opening Bell: 4.29.15
Twitter CEO’s Credibility at Risk After Disappointing Results (Bloomberg)
Twitter Inc.’s chief executive officer failed to foresee a slowdown that forced the social-media company to miss analysts’ first-quarter revenue estimates and cut its 2015 sales forecast, and the stock slumped 18 percent. While this isn’t the first time Twitter has fallen short on promised results, investors had been told that new features and services, as well as a management overhaul, were starting to pay off. Now, with results missing projections and executives warning of a “slow start” to April user additions, analysts are asking whether Twitter’s potential market is limited and about management’s ability to lure more users and advertisers.
Warren Said to Join Vitter in Seeking to Curb Fed Crisis Lending (Bloomberg)
Elizabeth Warren and David Vitter, senators at opposite ends of the political spectrum, are collaborating on legislation to further curb the Federal Reserve’s authority to bail out banks in a crisis, according to two people familiar with the matter. They are seeking to define more clearly when a bank is solvent, and thus eligible for funding, limit the length of time a firm can borrow and set penalty rates of interest on emergency loans, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private.
SEC Is Set to Propose New Rules on Executive Compensation (WSJ)
On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission is set to propose long-awaited rules that would force thousands of companies to tell investors how the pay of top management tracked the firm’s financial results.
Oklahoma court favors Continental CEO in $1B divorce case (AP)
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the ex-wife of billionaire energy tycoon Harold Hamm in their near-$1 billion divorce settlement. In a 7-2 decision Tuesday, the state's highest court ruled in favor of Hamm, the chairman and CEO of energy giant Continental Resources and granted his motion to dismiss the appeal by Sue Ann Hamm...An Oklahoma County judge in November approved the couple's divorce settlement, which included an award of nearly $1 billion to Sue Ann Hamm. But Sue Ann Hamm appealed, arguing that the amount was only a fraction of the couple's estimated $18 billion wealth.
Baseball Coach Suspended After Forcing Players To Spit In His Face (HP)
Justin Hill, who coaches at Currituck County High School, was suspended for one game on April 17, almost two weeks after the spitting incident on April 6, WAVY.com reports. Sources told the station that Hill was angry when nine players skipped practice on Friday, April 3. At the next practice, Hill ordered all the players to spit in his face, which was his way of calling their tardiness disrespectful, according to FayObserver.com. Hill eventually apologized to the team, according to WKBN.com.
This Desk Makes You Stand Up for Your Health (WSJ)
“Whirrr, whirrr,” goes my Stir Kinetic M1, undulating its desktop to signal it’s time to stand for a while. I oblige, and its mechanized legs rise to meet me. Twenty minutes later, the desk purrs again. I’ve earned the right to sit back down. All day long, the M1 logs my ups and downs and coaxes my derrière out of the comfy office chair that doctors agree is nearly as bad as cigarettes.
Banks Feel the Heat From Lawsuits (WSJ)
Banks are being sued for loan provisions that can protect corporate clients from boardroom attacks by hedge funds and hostile bidders. The lawsuits, filed on behalf of shareholders of corporate borrowers, say the provisions—which require companies to repay debt ahead of schedule if dissidents seize majority control of their boards—entrench incumbent directors and discourage dissidents whose arrival could benefit all investors.
Op-Ed: The Trader as Scapegoat (NYT)
"So why was Mr. Sarao singled out? Probably because his strategy was transparent, and his account relatively small. Larger firms that combine many strategies with evolving algorithms will not display so clear a signature. Mr. Sarao made no pretense at market making and no attempt to disguise his strategy. But the strategy itself was not new. If regulators and prosecutors are serious about enforcement of securities laws, they should focus on the largest players in the fragmented markets for stocks and not on an individual, acting alone, who managed to fool an algorithm."
Oracle leads US corporate bonds surge (FT)
Amgen and Oracle led a US corporate bond sales charge on Tuesday, raising $13.5bn to buy back shares as the market for company debt heated up again after the traditional earning season blackout period.
Envoy Predicts Greece Will Stick With Euro (Bloomberg)
While negotiations over the terms of an EU-backed bailout for Greece “have been dragging on,” Ambassador David O’Sullivan said on Tuesday that he’s confident a solution will be found and that “Greece will very definitely stay within the euro.”
Alleged pizza thieves try to sell pizza to police officers (ADN)
Of 80 frozen pizzas stolen Sunday in the village of Gambell, 75 have been recovered, according to Alaska State Troopers. Village police officers received their "strongest investigative lead" in the case when John Koozaata, 29, and Lewis Oozeva, 21, called the Gambell Police Department and tried to sell the pizzas to on-duty officers, according to a trooper dispatch posted online Monday.