Opening Bell: 5.14.15
Greece offers privatization concession as Germany stays tough (Reuters)
Greece on Thursday offered a concession to its international lenders by pushing ahead with the sale of its biggest port, Piraeus. Greece has asked three firms to submit bids for a majority stake in the port, a senior privatization official told Reuters, unblocking a major sale of a public asset as the EU and the IMF demand economic reforms from Athens. Despite the conciliatory move, Germany's Bundesbank showed no sign of easing off on its hardline stance toward Greece.
The U.S. Economy Just Had Its Worst Month Since the Recession (RTE)
Macroeconomic Advisers on Thursday said its monthly estimate showed GDP fell an inflation-adjusted 1% in March, the largest drop since December 2008, “when the U.S. economy was in the throes of recession,” the firm said. Monthly GDP had climbed 0.3% in February and ticked up 0.1% in January after falling 0.4% in December, the firm said.
Draghi: ECB Stimulus for ‘as Long as Needed’ (WSJ)
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday the ECB’s vast stimulus efforts will remain in place “as long as needed” until officials are confident they will meet their inflation objective on a sustained basis, and played down concerns that the bank’s policies are widening the gap between rich and poor.
Man Robs Credit Union For Girlfriend's Bail Money: Cops (HP)
Police in Pleasant Grove, Utah, said Robert Phillip Rivas, 26, robbed the Utah Community Credit Union on May 4, to get bail money for his girlfriend, who was behind bars on drug charges, according to KSL.com. Rivas and his suspected accomplice Armando Jesse Ambriz, 28, were both arrested a short time after the credit union was robbed. Investigators only recently discovered a possible motive behind the heist: True love...Rivas allegedly robbed the credit union branch office wearing a wig, mustache and hat. Police said Ambriz disguised himself with an orange construction vest, a wig and fake beard.
Morgan Stanley hit with $2M fine for inaccurate short positions (NYP)
During one 13-month period, the bank failed to report short positions on nearly 4 billion shares held in “certain proprietary accounts of its foreign affiliates,” said the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Banks are required to regularly report their short positions to Finra. “Short-interest reporting continues to provide investors with important transparency into the level of short selling in a particular issue,” said Tom Gira, Finra’s executive vice president of market regulation.
Pimco to Close Two Equity Strategies; Firm’s Equities Chief to Leave in June (WSJ)
Pimco executive Virginie Maisonneuve will depart the firm in late June of her own accord, the company said. Based in the London office of Pimco, Ms. Maisonneuve was appointed to the role after the departure of Bill Gross, Pimco’s founder and former chief investment officer, last year. There are no immediate plans to replace her. Portfolio managers and analysts associated with the two Pimco equity strategies—called Pathfinder and Emerging Market Equity—also will leave the Newport Beach, Calif.-based firm.
Millennials Are Ditching College and Heading Back to the Workplace (Bloomberg)
College enrollment in the spring semester dropped 2 percent from the year before, to 18.6 million, according to a report being released Thursday by the nonprofit National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The steepest drop was among students in their mid-20s and older who are re-entering the workforce. The report doesn’t examine whether students are dropping out or declining to enroll in the first place.
Don't Disturb The Manatees During Their 'Relaxed Orgy' (HP)
...there's been a rash of concerned citizens reaching out to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which has a dedicated manatee hotline, to report what they perceive as manatees in trouble. But these gentle giants are actually just doing what comes naturally: having sex en masse in shallow, warm water, where they are likely to be spotted by confused vacationing humans. "The call we usually get is, 'There's a mom manatee, and all the babies are trying to save it,' but in actuality, the large female can have up to 20-something males trying to breed the one female,” Nadia Gordon, a marine mammal biologist with the state agency, said to Jacksonville TV station WJXT.