Opening Bell: 4.7.15
Greece moves to quell default fears, pledges to meet 'all obligations' (Reuters)
Following a meeting with the head of the International Monetary Fund, Varoufakis told reporters the government plans to "reform Greece deeply" and would seek to improve the "efficacy of negotiations" with its creditors. Greece has not received bailout funds since August last year and has resorted to measures such as borrowing from state entities to tide it over. It offered a new package of reforms last week in the hope of unlocking funds, but has yet to win agreement on the proposals with its EU and IMF lenders.
Bridgewater Said to Gain 14% in ’15 After Seeing Dire Europe (Bloomberg)
“The lack of aggressive policy action by the ECB and other governing actors has resulted in stagnation and depression across much of the Eurozone,” the $165 billion Westport, Connecticut-based firm wrote in its 2015 strategic report, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.
Why Wearing Makeup Helps This Man Trade Korea’s Hottest Stocks (Bloomberg)
Seo Jae Hyeong says he’s started wearing skin foundation and facial masks at night. It’s not about looking younger, the 49-year-old head of Daishin Asset Management Co. says. Seo is trying to get first-hand insight into one of South Korea’s hottest stock-market bets: the cosmetics industry. Led by Amorepacific Corp. and LG Household & Health Care Ltd., makers of Korean beauty products are surging more than 100 times faster than the broader market and prompting the nation’s male-dominated investment world to rethink how it covers the sector.
Venture-backed U.S. IPOs hit lowest levels in two years (Reuters)
About 17 venture-backed companies raised $1.43 billion in the three months ended March, compared with 37 that raised $3.40 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the report. The last time the number fell below 20 was in the first quarter of 2013, when eight venture-backed companies raised $716.9 million.
Chinese man's 17 girlfriends discover each other during hospital visit (UPI)
The Changsha man, identified by the surname Yuan, was hospitalized March 24 with non-life-threatening injuries from a car accident and doctors got into contact with a number of people they believed to be family members. However, the 17 people who turned up at the hospital were revealed to be Yuan's girlfriends, who were unaware of each others' existence until they all arrived at the hospital at the same time. A girlfriend who identified herself as Xiao Li said she has spoken with several of the other women and discovered many of them had been regularly giving him money. She said one of the women had been supporting him financially for nine years.
RadioShack’s Blueprint for a Rebirth, Planned by a Hedge Fund (Dealbook)
RadioShack will slim down to become an electronics convenience store of sorts, focusing on things like Bluetooth headsets, chargers and other accessories that shoppers may need immediately rather than waiting a day or two for shipment of a web order. One of the most profitable RadioShack stores is a Bridgehampton, N.Y., outlet that is frequented by weekend vacationers who have forgotten their smartphone chargers or earphones.
SAC Fund Manager Steinberg Can Challenge Insider Conviction (Bloomberg)
Steinberg’s case was held up while a federal appeals court considered a bid by two fund managers to toss their convictions on essentially the same evidence. The court threw out those verdicts, rejected the government’s appeal Friday and on Monday lifted the hold on Steinberg. Jennifer Queliz, spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, declined to say whether he would seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court, even as the New York appellate court’s decisions make insider-trading cases tougher to prosecute and imperil other government victories.
Regulators Tap Prosecutors for Key Jobs (WSJ)
Nearly a dozen U.S. regulators have installed former Justice Department attorneys to lead their enforcement units in recent years. Some, like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, are tapping prosecutors to head the entire agency: Former New Mexico U.S. Attorney Norman Bay is set to become FERC chairman later this month.
Wall Street Law Firms Challenge Hedge-Fund Deal Tactic (WSJ)
The backdrop for the push is a sharp rise in so-called appraisal arbitrage, in which funds buy shares of a company on the brink of a sale and argue it is worth more than the takeover price. A record 33 public-company appraisal cases were filed last year in Delaware, and another 20 have been filed in 2015, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The targets are often private-equity-backed buyouts, with both of the largest such deals agreed to last year being challenged, those for grocery-store chain Safeway Inc. and retailer PetSmart Inc.
FL man accused of pointing laser at drivers found with marijuana in rectum, police say (CO)
According to Ormond Beach police, officers received a call from a woman who said someone shined a laser in her face while she was driving. Police said the man, later identified as Roepcke, also shone the light at other drivers as his girlfriend drove him around the city. Roepcke was located and pulled over, said he was just having some fun, according to police, who added that a smoking device that reeked of marijuana was found on him. Roepcke was taken to jail and a bag of a green leafy substance that smelled like marijuana fell out of his rectum during a strip search, according to police.