Fund Boss’s Gamble on Health Law Pays Off Big (WSJ)
Glenview Capital Management LLC made a bold decision when President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul was rolling out: Bet on it. The result has been one of the most successful hedge-fund wagers in recent years. New York-based Glenview has realized and paper gains of more than $3.2 billion since it started making investments in hospitals and insurers four years ago, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of securities filings...Its latest win comes courtesy of Anthem Inc., the nation’s second-largest health insurer by revenue, which is expected to announce a $48 billion-plus acquisition of rival Cigna Corp. as early as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter. Glenview owns shares in both companies, as well as in insurers Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc., which struck a $34 billion deal of their own three weeks ago. Shares of all four companies have rallied in anticipation of tie-ups.

U.S. Authorities Probe Banks’ Handling of FIFA Funds (WSJ)
The previously undisclosed scrutiny represents a new prong of the corruption case, which has roiled the International Federation of Association Football, known as FIFA. The probes also create the potential for new headaches for the financial industry over its money-laundering controls, which are increasingly under the regulatory microscope. Prosecutors have questioned HSBC Holdings PLC, Standard Chartered PLC and Delta National Bank and Trust Company, according to the people. At least three other major international banks have been contacted in the probe, the people said.

Blackstone C.F.O. Is Said to Be Headed to Airbnb (Dealbook)
Airbnb, the highly valued house rental start-up, is currently in talks with a top executive at the investment firm Blackstone Group, Laurence A. Tosi, to be its chief financial officer, according to a person briefed on the matter.

China Wants Silicon Valleys Everywhere (Bloomberg)
City officials in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, are doing their best to nurture their own Silicon Valley. Changsha’s high-tech zone is 15 times the size of New York’s Central Park. The city wants to lure companies that focus on new materials, software development, electronics manufacturing, and mobile apps.

50 Cent’s accountant has no idea how much money he has (NYP)
The bean counter, Mai Pho, was testifying in the punitive phase of a lawsuit brought by the baby mama of the rapper’s rival Rick Ross. The woman, Lastonia Leviston, already won a $5 million verdict against the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, after jurors found he violated her privacy by posting her private sex-tape video online. Pho provided information about Jackson’s net worth so jurors in Manhattan Supreme Court could determine how much to charge as punishment for posting the film. But the California accountant — who has never actually met her famous client — was accused of leaving major assets off Jackson’s balance sheet, including $29 million he lent to companies he controls. “Was the $29 million on your list?” Leviston’s lawyer, Philip Freidin, asked Pho, noting that he found the figure on the rapper’s subpoenaed tax returns. “No,” she admitted, referencing a list of assets and liabilities she wrote that puts Jackson’s net worth at $4.4 million. Forbes magazine says it’s closer to $155 million.

Billionaire Thomas Peterffy Is Listing Greenwich Estate for $65 Million (NYT)
Hungary-born billionaire Thomas Peterffy , a pioneer of computerized stock trading, is listing his 80-acre estate in Greenwich, Conn. for $65 million. Mr. Peterffy’s house and most of the outbuildings were originally built in the early 1900s as part of a country estate. The main house measures about 8,000 square feet, with eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

Trump Says He’s With the GOP, for Now (WSJ)
Mr. Trump hasn’t ruled out taking his White House run independent. Last weekend in Ames, Iowa, he said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility. And in an interview with the Hill newspaper published Thursday, Mr. Trump threatened to go on his own if he feels mistreated by the GOP, which has condemned his recent belittling of Sen. John McCain’s war record.

Financial Times to be sold to Japan’s Nikkei in $1.3B deal (NYP)
Nikkei, the Japanese media company, swooped in on Thursday to buy the Financial Times — the 131-year- old newspaper recognized in part by the pink paper it is printed on — for $1.3 billion. The deal is said to be an eye-popping 35 times the operating profit of the Financial Times Group. The pricey deal does not include FT’s 50-percent stake in The Economist.

Brave topless models defend First Amendment at courthouse (NYP)
A photographer facing a $1.1 million lawsuit for snapping pics of a shirtless model atop the Empire State Building staged a semi-naked photo shoot outside Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday afternoon in protest. “I’m getting sued for a million dollars, I don’t give a s–t,” said Allen Henson, 30, an Iraqi war veteran turned professional photographer. “I’m not intimidated,” he added. “They’re going to lose and I’m going to have a blast doing it!” Five models struck bare-breasted poses on the courthouse steps, as about 50 passers-by stopped to gawk...The models next bared it all in the lobby of 80 Centre St., the courthouse where Henson’s civil trial will resume August 6. Henson only squeezed off a few snaps before security put the kibosh on the stunt. “I thought I was going to be tased,” said the photog.