Opening Bell: 6.12.15
Ex-IMF Chief Strauss-Kahn Acquitted in French Pimping Trial (Bloomberg)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, was cleared of aggravated pimping by French judges on charges stemming from a string of sex parties he attended five years ago. A panel of French judges issued the verdict in Lille Friday, saying there was conflicting testimony against him from seven prostitutes and insufficient evidence that the 66-year-old Strauss-Kahn helped plan the gatherings.
EU Prepares for Worst as Greece Drives Finances to Brink (Bloomberg)
European officials are preparing for the worst as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s brinkmanship pushes Greece’s finances to the limit. Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Tsipras to accept the framework for financial aid as the German public turns against supporting Greece and euro-area officials demanded a proposal for stabilizing the country’s debt by the end of Friday. The International Monetary Fund team left Brussels earlier this week, despairing of Tsipras’s tactics.
Emerging Markets Suffer Largest Outflow Since 2008 (WSJ)
Global investors have yanked $9.3 billion from stocks in developing countries in the week to Wednesday, the most since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2008. Asia has been particularly vulnerable with $7.9 billion pulled out of the region’s equity markets, the most in almost 15 years, according to data provider EPFR Global.
Bullish Uber plans to invest $1 billion in China in 2015 (Reuters)
In an emailed letter to investors, first published by the Financial Times newspaper, Uber head Travis Kalanick said China was the "number one priority" for the company worldwide and that the firm was completing almost 1 million trips in China per day.
Cannibalism might hold cure for Alzheimer’s (NYP)
Women and children of the tribe, called the Fore, used to eat their deceased relatives��� brains at funerals as a sign of respect. Eating brains left members of the tribe regularly afflicted with a mad cow-like disease called kuru. At the epidemic’s peak during the 1950s, at which point the tradition of eating their dead was banned, the disease claimed 2% of the population per year.
Shareholders thrilled Twitter CEO resigned (NYP)
Twitter investors cheered as Costolo prepared to head to the exits — pushing the company’s shares up as much as 7 percent in after-hours trading.
NAACP leader has pretended to be black for years: family (NYP)
The head of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, is facing questions about whether she lied about her racial identity, with her family saying she is white but has portrayed herself as black. Rachel Dolezal would not answer questions about her background in an interview with The Spokesman Review newspaper...Ruthanne Dolezal said that she and her daughter have not been in touch for years but that Rachel Dolezal began to portray herself as African-American eight or nine years ago after the family adopted four black children.