Opening Bell: 8.7.15
Canadian Banks’ Money-Laundering Controls Failed (WSJ)
Canada’s top banking regulator has found that money-laundering controls at the country’s banks failed on numerous occasions, according to a document obtained by The Wall Street Journal. Between 2009 and 2014, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions logged 72 failures of anti-money-laundering controls at the country’s banks, according to an OSFI document released under the Canadian Access to Information Act.
Ackman Bets on Mondelez Going on Sale (Dealbook)
By putting $5.5 billion into Mondelez International, a hedge fund billionaire is wagering that the company, which makes Oreos, Cadbury chocolates and Trident gum, could be prodded into selling itself. That would make it only one of many possible takeover targets in the food industry.
Real Estate Investment Aided by Ponzi Scheme Could Recoup Victims’ Money (Dealbook)
With the ocean roaring in front of them, guests relaxed under white umbrellas on a recent summer afternoon here. Stacked against a hill behind them were the villas and cottages of the Panoramic View, the beneficiary of one of the most audacious frauds in Long Island history. And, it turns out, one heck of an investment. In a Ponzi-meets-“The Producers” fraud, two brothers-in-law tricked investors out of $96 million, diverting much of the money, which investors thought was going into managed funds, to prop up the then-faltering Panoramic View. But in a remarkable twist, the men who lost so much of others’ money turned out to have a way with real estate. The Panoramic View was such a good investment that now, two years after the men were arrested, the investors stand a chance of recouping some of their money — a rarity in fraud cases. That prospect has the federal government in charge of selling a luscious piece of Hamptons real estate. And the government, the victims, the defendants and a federal judge are in unusual agreement: sell high.
Apollo widens reach with $19bn deal (FT)
Apollo Global Management is taking control of a $19bn portfolio of real estate investments trusts and credit products, in a bid to turn one of the largest alternative investment companies into a more broadly based asset manager with a significant retail business. Apollo is acquiring control of AR Global Investments, a new vehicle holding most of the asset management business of AR Capital for $378m. The deal will double Apollo’s real estate assets under management to $27bn and take its total assets under management from over $162 billion to $182bn.
Spain Says Banker’s Seized Picasso Will Head Back Home (Dealbook)
In the view of Jaime Botín, a member of a wealthy Spanish banking dynasty, the work is simply his personal property. Purchased in 1977 and kept on a yacht docked along Spain’s Mediterranean coast, it is valued at as much as 26 million euros, or $28.3 million, in today’s booming art market. But on Friday, after an apparent tip from the Spanish authorities, it was seized by French customs officials from the yacht, which had docked in Corsica. The Spanish government contends that Mr. Botín was trying to move the Picasso to Switzerland for sale, in defiance of a court ruling invoking a Spanish law meant to shield such works of art from export.
Bank Shares Become Latest Thorn for Australia’s Market (WSJ)
In the last two days, shares in the country’s largest banks have fallen sharply after one of Australia’s biggest, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., announced plans to raise 3 billion Australian dollars ($2.2 billion) in capital. The money would help meet the industry regulator’s call for big banks to increase the level of capital held against potential home-loan losses. It follows an announcement late last month of plans to sell a finance unit to help build a capital cushion.
John McAfee on arrest: 'I was impaired' (CNBC)
In case you've been wondering whatever happened to John McAfee, the cybersecurity pioneer with a checkered past including allegations of murder, he has been living in the small town of Lexington, Tennessee. He's also been running a cybersecurity firm called Future Tense Central. And he just got in trouble with the law. Again. Last Sunday McAfee was arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for DUI and possession of a handgun while under the influence. "I was impaired, I must admit," McAfee told CNBC.
Police: Motorist brought sheep along for McDonald's run (UPI)
The North Yorkshire Police Roads Policing Group, which shared a picture of the car and its wooly passenger on Twitter, said the motorist was pulled over Wednesday evening when an officer noticed two of its tires were completely bald. The officer soon discovered there was a sheep in the back of the car...A police spokesman told the Northern Echo the motorist explained he had just taken the sheep with him for a quick trip to the McDonald's in Leeming Bar. "Some people take their dogs in their cars, I take my sheep," the man was quoted as saying to the officer.