Opening Bell: 8.11.15

Google Forms New Parent Company; Shakes Up Management (WSJ)
Google said Monday it had created a holding company, Alphabet Inc., that will manage each of its growing cast of businesses, including those building robots and self-driving cars, helping to cure disease, developing nanoparticles and extending Internet connectivity via balloons. Alphabet will be run by Google’s current leaders, including Chief Executive Larry Page, co-founder Sergey Brin and Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat. Alphabet’s new Google subsidiary—including the search business, YouTube and the Android and Chrome operating systems—will be led by Sundar Pichai, who has been in charge of product and engineering for Google’s Internet businesses. Those businesses generated nearly all of Google’s $66 billion in revenue last year.

Senate’s Warren Seeks Review of Bank Message System (Bloomberg)
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren wants financial regulators to examine whether a group of banks’ new messaging system can be used to circumvent compliance. Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter to six agencies Monday asking whether the service will make it harder to obtain instant messages that can be used in investigations. The system was created by Symphony Communications LLC with funding from 14 financial firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Greece aims for 2016 surplus under new budget targets (CNBC)
Greece and its lenders have reached a deal on the indebted country's fiscal targets, which will see Greece aiming for a surplus from 2016, according to a Reuters report. "The targets for the primary budget have been finalized," an official told the newswire on the sidelines of talks underway between Greek government officials and representatives of international lenders in Athens. The Greek official told Reuters that the budget agreement targeted a primary deficit of 0.25 percent of gross domestic product in 2015, improving to a 0.5 percent surplus in 2016, a 1.75 percent surplus in 2017 and a 3.15 percent surplus in 2018.

Citigroup in $13.5 million settlement over defunct CSO hedge fund (Reuters)
The lawsuit accused Citigroup and its Citigroup Alternative Investments affiliate of misleading investors in a Dec. 14, 2007 letter about the status of the fund's leveraged, 558 million euro ($756 million at the time) original investment in a syndicated loan arranged for ProSiebenSat1 SE, a large German broadcaster. Investors said Citigroup falsely told them in the letter that the quality of the fund's portfolio was "fundamentally sound," but was forced six weeks later to suspend redemptions. They claimed to lose the bulk of their investments when the fund was liquidated, despite Citigroup's efforts to prop it up.

Bra Saves German Cyclist Shot In Boar Hunting Accident (HP)
Police said the 41-year-old vacationer, who they didn't name, was on a bike ride with her husband in the town of Gadebusch, about 45 miles northeast of Hamburg, on Aug. 2. The cyclists heard rifle fire, then the woman felt a sharp pain in her chest, police spokesman André Falke told local newspaper Gadebusch-Rehnaer Zeitung. The bra's metal underwire appeared to have stopped the bullet, leaving the woman with a nasty bruise instead of a gunshot wound. Police found a dead boar in the line of fire, and believe that the bullet may have struck the woman after ricocheting off of the animal.

M&A Deal Activity on Pace for Record Year (WSJ)
Takeover-deal announcements would reach $4.58 trillion this year if the current pace of activity continues, according to data provider Dealogic. That tally would comfortably exceed the $4.29 trillion notched in 2007, a record year for deal making.

Don’t Hit Send: Angry Emails Just Make You Angrier (WSJ)
In studies, people report that they feel better after venting. But researchers find they actually become angrier and more aggressive. People who vent anonymously may become the angriest and most aggressive.

Pork Belly Prices Sizzle (Bloomberg)
Pork bellies, the cut of meat used to make bacon slices, have surged 174 percent since hitting a five-year low in April, according to wholesale prices from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The price reached $1.6968 a pound Friday, a one-year high. “It’s really demand that’s driving this,” said Ryan Turner, a risk management consultant at FCStone Group in Kansas City, Mo. “People are putting bacon on anything.”

Teen Gets Her Senior Photos Taken At Taco Bell (HP)
The 17-year-old told The Huffington Post she jokingly tweeted about taking the photos at Taco Bell a few weeks ago. Then, Creech said, she started to take the idea more seriously. She spoke with photographer Brendan Batchelor, who was into it. The rest is viral Internet history. "People find it funny that I wasn’t joking about it," Creech said. "The employees thought it was great. They were laughing and they were like, ‘Are you serious?'" Creech said now when she goes into her local Taco Bell, people ask to take photos with her. "Now that it's on the news, it's a bigger thing," she said.