Opening Bell: 6.18.15
Greek Central Bank Issues Dire Warning on Bailout Talks (WSJ)
Greece’s central bank, in unusually stark language that angered the ruling party, warned Wednesday that failure to clinch a deal with international creditors on desperately needed funding could “snowball into an uncontrollable crisis” for the country. The left-wing party Syriza responded by accusing the central bank of overstepping its role and undermining the government’s negotiating position.
JPMorgan Vice Chairman Jimmy Lee Dies Unexpectedly at Age 62 (Bloomberg)
Lee’s career started as a fluke: His girlfriend, who later became his wife, had applied for and received numerous job interviews, but couldn’t make it to one. “She said, ‘I’m not going to marry a bum, I want you to take this interview.’ I took the interview,” Lee recalled in a video when he won the 2004 Horatio Alger Award. “They said, ‘Do you want to work here?’ I said, ‘No.’ ‘Do you want to come to New York?’ I said, ‘No.’ So they said, ‘Well, what’s on your mind, we got an hour to kill here.’ We ended up talking about sports and leadership and hard work. So they invited me back for another interview, and I no longer had a future as a bum.”
Jimmy Lee, Investment Banking Force, Dies at 62 (NYT)
He was fiercely loyal and considered leaving the firm only once. In his top desk drawer, he kept a copy of the term sheet to become the No. 2 at Blackstone. He most likely would have become a billionaire had he taken the job, because it was long before that firm went public. He would occasionally show it to friends, in part to demonstrate his loyalty to JPMorgan and his colleagues. Mr. Schwarzman recounted how he had tried to recruit Mr. Lee away and nearly had a deal. “We had the press release ready,” Mr. Schwarzman said. Mr. Lee told him needed to speak with JPMorgan’s chief executive at the time, Bill Harrison. He called Mr. Schwarzman back and told him he couldn’t do it. “I told him, ‘Don’t feel badly. You’re following your heart,’ ” Mr. Schwarzman said. “He had so much loyalty to the bank and the people there.”
Alexander Hamilton to Share Image on $10 Bill With a Woman (WSJ)
The Treasury Department announced Wednesday it will replace the main image of its own founder, Alexander Hamilton, on the $10 bill, with a woman as yet to be determined. Mr. Hamilton will remain on the bill in a diminished way. The currency will be unveiled in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. The last woman to appear on a bill was Martha Washington, in the late 19th century.
Couple Allegedly Stabs Neighbor With Rake After Loud Sex Complaints (HP)
When Mark Galin of Rogersville, Tennessee, heard some loud noises coming from the apartment next door on June 9, he feared domestic abuse and called police. It turns out that the couple in question wasn't quarreling -- they were having sex. Later that night, 57-year-old Galin again called police to complain. This time, police determined that Galin's neighbors, Johnny Allen Richards, 33, and Erin Brooke Lawson, 32, had indeed been fighting, according to The Smoking Gun. The couple reacted to Galin's calls with violence, and police responded to the house a third time to arrest them on assault charges, according to the Associated Press. Lawson is accused of hitting Galin with a rake hard enough to break the handle and then stabbing him in the arm with the broken rake.
Airbnb Is in Talks to Raise Funds at $24 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg)
San Francisco-based Airbnb is now projecting 2015 revenue of $900 million, up from $250 million in 2013, the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. The new valuation is more than double a previous estimate and makes Airbnb one of the most valuable private companies in the world behind Xiaomi Corp. and Uber Technologies Inc.
Qatari buyer eyes record-smashing $250M spread at 220 CPS: sources (The Real Deal)
A Qatari buyer is looking to combine multiple apartments at the ultra-luxe 220 Central Park South into a single, $250 million penthouse in the sky, sources told The Real Deal. If a deal is finalized, the mystery buyer would own the priciest residence in New York City by far, and one of the world’s most expensive homes.
Fitbit reaches $4bn IPO valuation (FT)
Fitbit clinched a valuation of more than $4bn after it successfully sold shares in an initial public offering that tested investor appetite as competition in the wearable device market ratchets up. The company and selling stockholders raised $732m in the flotation, valuing Fitbit at $4.1bn, after the number of shares on offer and the price range were increased for a second time as demand for the IPO mounted, according to two people familiar with the deal.
Nutella lovers rage after French minister condemns snack (Reuters)
French government minister Segolene Royal was forced to apologize on Wednesday after saying Nutella was harmful to the environment, a comment that raised hackles in the industry and in Italy where the food spread is made. The outspoken environment minister said on French television earlier this week that people should stop eating the sugary, chocolate-hazelnut paste because it was made with palm oil, a product whose growers have come under fire from environmentalists for contributing to deforestation and destroying rare habitats. France’s Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil, an industry body, condemned her comments, saying producers and food companies were making progress on the environmental front.
In Return to Twitter, Jack Dorsey Aims to Follow Path of Steve Jobs (Dealbook)
...there is also the matter of whether Mr. Dorsey can replicate the success that Jobs had with Apple. Mr. Dorsey had been previously ousted before by Evan Williams, his fellow co-founder who is still on the Twitter board. Twitter was known for being a terrible scrum during its early years, a place more akin to “Game of Thrones” than Silicon Valley-style nose-to-the-grindstone mettle. Mr. Dorsey was ejected, in part, because he didn’t get along with Mr. Williams. Mr. Dorsey was in charge of the technical side of things, and the servers “were melting down every day,” as some of the criticism went. A lengthy Vanity Fair article about Twitter said that Mr. Dorsey “admitted he was a flawed manager” during this time. So the interim post is a triumph for Mr. Dorsey, who left in such ignominy only to be brought back.
Georgia Woman Accused Of Stealing 131 Pairs Of Underwear (HP)
A woman in Jasper, Georgia, faces felony shoplifting charges after authorities said she stole 131 pairs of underwear from a Walmart in nearby Kennesaw on Sunday night, according to WSBTV.com. The purloined panties were worth $749.95 in all. Police said Julia Marie Jones, 22, tried to hide the garments in her purse, a handbag and grocery bags, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.