Opening Bell: 6.15.15
Greece Enters Fateful Week After Brussels Talks End Fruitlessly (Bloomberg)
The latest failed attempt to find a formula to unlock as much as 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in aid for the anti-austerity government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras brings Greece closer to the abyss. With two weeks until its euro-area bailout expires and no future financing arrangement in place, creditors had set June 14 as a deadline to allow enough time for national parliaments to approve an accord.
Twitter CFO’s Ascent Creates New Power Center (WSJ)
A former tech banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Anthony Noto has emerged as a front-runner to replace Mr. Costolo, who announced Thursday that he would be stepping down as CEO on July 1. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chairman and co-founder, was named interim chief.
Barclays bankers on edge after firing over joke email (NYP, earlier)
Morale at Barclays in New York plummeted last week after the bank fired Justin Kwan, a junior banker, for sending a jokey e-mail to the new crop of interns, which was highlighted on last Sunday’s Business cover, Kevin Dugan reports. The June 3 e-mail from Kwan, a second-year analyst in the bank’s Power Group, told the baby-faced bankers-to-be that “if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen,” and that they should “bring extra ties to be used as napkins for their superiors.” After Kwan was fired three days later, bummed-out Barclays employees have inundated managers’ in-boxes with questions about what they can and cannot say for fear of being let go, according to two bankers.
Investors Eyeball Iran Market (WSJ)
Dominic Bokor-Ingram recently visited a growing economy full of well-run companies that the London-based money manager deemed ripe for investment. The catch: The place was Tehran, a target of grinding international sanctions...A handful of intrepid institutional investors like Mr. Bokor-Ingram, an investment manager who works for the U.K.’s Charlemagne Capital, are considering an entry into Iran, one of riskiest frontiers of global equities. Eager for a competitive edge, they are planning joint ventures, hiring staff and bracing for what can be a capricious business environment.
Dealbreaker Dramatic Reading Night Returns June 24th (DB)
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My boss grabbed my crotch and broke my testicle (NYP)
Michael Peacock, 45, endured three surgeries, including the removal of one of his private parts, after he was manhandled during a two-day “team-building” seminar in upstate New York, a lawsuit says. On July 18, 2012, the workers for the data-security company Iron Mountain Management went barhopping in Kingston and took a cruise on the Hudson to foster camaraderie. But as the booze flowed, boss Richard Langtry became “increasingly loud and aggressive,” Peacock claims in New Jersey Superior Court papers. Langtry “drank heavily throughout the day and into the evening,” and then, as the men passed each other outside a restroom, “grabbed [Peacock’s] left testicle, squeezed it hard and pulled it down as if to rip it from his groin,” court papers claim. The “emasculating” attack, which left the 6-foot-8 Peacock not only unable to strut but doubled over in pain, “was a perverse and misguided attempt by Langtry to bond with Peacock while simultaneously demonstrating his authority and dominance,” court papers say.
Finra summons banks over market fears (FT)
According to people familiar with the matter, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or Finra, has called the meetings to discuss the tougher bond trading environment, a phenomenon that some people — including Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and economist Nouriel Roubini — fret could trigger or exacerbate the next financial crisis.
Terrorism Victims Seek Part of BNP Penalty (WSJ)
BNP pleaded guilty in June 2014 to illegally funneling billions of dollars through the U.S. financial system for clients in Sudan, Iran and Cuba—countries designated as state sponsors of terror and subject to U.S. embargoes at the time of the misconduct. Now, a group of terrorism victims is asking the U.S. Justice Department to compensate them with funds from the BNP settlement, attempting to draw a connection between the French bank’s misconduct and terrorist acts overseas.
Hopes high for Thiam turnaround at Credit Suisse (Reuters)
Tidjane Thiam starts work as CEO of Credit Suisse next month with investors optimistic he can bring about a major change of strategy at the bank, even if he has to raise cash to do it. An expectation that the 52-year-old will successfully switch Credit Suisse's focus to lucrative Asian wealth management and shrink its cash-intensive investment bank has propelled the Zurich-based lender's shares around 12 percent since Thiam's appointment was announced in March. That's almost three times more than Europe's index of bank shares .SX7P has progressed over the same period.
Brothel offers free sex to protest tax hike (AP)
“Effective immediately: Free Entrance! Free Drinks! Free Sex!” the Austrian bordello writes on its website. The Oesterreich daily quotes owner Hermann Mueller as saying he will pay the women working for him to make up for the money they would normally get from clients. A woman answering the telephone at the establishment confirmed the offer Sunday. She refused to identify herself. Prostitution in Austria is legal and regulated. Mueller, who runs other brothels in Germany and Austria, says he is pushing back against what he says is unfair taxation of nearly 4 million euros (over $5 million) in the past decade.