Opening Bell: 7.28.15
Aleynikov Prosecutor to Appeal Second Verdict Reversal (Bloomberg)
An ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. programmer who took the firm’s high-frequency trading code when he left for another job isn’t yet in the clear as prosecutors press an appeal of a judge’s dismissal of the case. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement Monday that he intends to challenge the dismissal of charges against Sergey Aleynikov, whose saga helped inspire Michael Lewis’s “Flash Boys.” Aleynikov was convicted by a Manhattan jury in May of stealing Goldman’s computer code. Earlier this month, a judge overturned the verdict after finding that state law didn’t outlaw Aleynikov’s conduct. A federal jury found him guilty in 2010 of stealing intellectual property, only to have an appeals court toss that finding as well.
Puerto Rico Lacks Cash for Aug. Bond Payment, Official Says (Bloomberg)
Victor Suarez, the chief of staff for Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla, told reporters Monday in San Juan that whether the payment is made will depend on if the commonwealth has cash available. He didn’t say whether the island will be able to do so. The commonwealth is also working on a short-term borrowing backed by oil-tax revenue, Suarez said.
U.S. private sector vows to ante up on climate finance (Reuters)
Google, Apple, Goldman Sachs and 10 other well-known companies joined the White House in launching the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, a campaign that the White House said would inject $140 billion in low-carbon investments into the global economy.
Mike Tyson apparently entering the bitcoin market (CNBC)
Tyson, who was the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, tweeted on Saturday the link to a website advertising the "Mike Tyson Bitcoin ATM" coming in August of this year. The site boasts that "Mike Tyson's fastest knock out in the ring was 30 seconds. The Mike Tyson Bitcoin ATM can turn your cash into bitcoin in under 20 seconds." A representative for Tyson did not immediately return request for comment, although the message from his official account appeared to suggest his authorization of the business. Still, tech news site SiliconAngle reported that Tyson himself may have been "suckered into a deal by a fast talker who has promised him millions if he gets involved and lends his name to the enterprise."
Big Daddy of Primates: Lemur Has Giant Testes (LiveScience)
A recently discovered lemur from Madagascar has the largest testes per body weight of any primate, new research finds. If the northern giant mouse lemur were the size of a human, its testes would be as big as grapefruits, said Christoph Schwitzer, the director of conservation at the Bristol Zoological Society in the U.K...In primates, the size of the testes depends on an animal's mating strategy. Mostly monogamous animals tend to have small testes for their body size. Gorillas fit this profile. Primates with a polyamorous bent have larger testicles, reflecting their need for more sperm to outcompete other males in the mating game.
ECB urged to use firepower aggressively (FT)
The eurozone’s central bankers should be prepared to use their firepower more aggressively to prevent any economic uncertainty in Greece spreading across the currency union, the International Monetary Fund has warned. The IMF guidance, contained in its annual report on the eurozone’s economy published on Monday, comes despite the European Central Bank’s unprecedented quantitative easing programme, in which it is purchasing €60bn in mostly government-backed bonds every month in an effort to stimulate investment and growth.
Hillary Clinton Eyes Corporations in Proposals for Economy (NYT)
Among the splashiest ideas was a call to overhaul capital gains taxes imposed on those in the highest income bracket, families making more than $465,000 a year, so that people would hold on to stocks for longer, reducing corporate obsession with quarterly profits. That would encourage companies to focus more on investing in long-term growth and their work forces.
SEC Poised to Complete CEO-Pay Ratio Rule (WSJ)
Securities regulators are poised to complete rules requiring companies to disclose the pay gap between chief executives and employees, putting in place a measure without broad exclusions sought by companies, people familiar with the deliberations said Monday.
Biker Impaled By Tree, Drives 20 Miles To Hospital (HP)
The unidentified biker suffered injury when he fell off his bike and was impaled in the neck by a two-centimeter-wide branch, the New England Journal of Medicine reports. Despite the painful impalement, the biker managed to get into a car and ride 20 miles to the University of New Mexico for treatment. According to a CT scan, the branch extended about 1.6 centimeters into the patient's neck. Amazingly, the branch didn't cause serious damage to the patient's nerves, airway or major blood vessel, according to Dr. Lev Deriy, an assistant professor and anesthesiologist at the University of New Mexico, who treated the patient.