Opening Bell: 10.15.15
Goldman Misses Estimates on Bigger Trading Drop Than Rivals (Bloomberg)
Third-quarter net income fell 36 percent to $1.43 billion, or $2.90 a share, from $2.24 billion, or $4.57, a year earlier, the New York-based company said Thursday in a statement. Earnings adjusted for an accounting gain were $2.64 a share, short of the $3 average estimate of 22 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Net revenue was $6.86 billion, falling below $7 billion for the first time in two years.
Citigroup Beats Estimates as Cost Cuts Outpace Revenue Drop (Bloomberg)
Third-quarter net income rose 51 percent to $4.29 billion, or $1.35 a share, from $2.84 billion, or 88 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based lender said Thursday in a statement. Earnings amounted to $1.31 a share excluding accounting adjustments, beating the $1.27 average estimate of 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Blackstone posts third-quarter loss as asset values drop (Reuters)
Blackstone Group LP, the largest alternative asset manager, reported its first quarterly economic net loss in four years on Thursday, as the summer's stock market plunge weighed on the value of its portfolio, even as it generated more cash. Blackstone's private equity, real estate, corporate credit and hedge fund assets all declined in value in the third quarter. Most of the New York-based firm's capital however is locked in long-term funds, which do not have to sell assets if valuations are low, so the losses were mostly on paper rather than realized.
First US trial over Libor scandal kicks off (NYP)
Two UK traders gamed the global financial market’s benchmark interest rate for five years to enrich themselves and their bank, prosecutors said Wednesday as the first criminal trial tied to the massive scandal got underway in Manhattan federal court. Anthony Allen, 44, and Anthony Conti, 46, “exploited and abused their role” in helping set Libor while at Dutch bank Rabobank, federal prosecutor Carol Sipperly told the jury in opening arguments.
The trial is the first in the US stemming from the Libor scandal, which led to billions in fines and rattled the world’s biggest banks, including Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Deutsche Bank.
Woman accused of taking clothes off, trashing Subway in custody (KTUU)
The 35-year-old Anchorage woman accused of taking her clothes off and trashing an East Anchorage Subway Tuesday night was arrested and is being held at Anchorage jail, police spokeswoman Anita Shell told Channel 2 News. Nikki Abrell went into the Subway on Tudor Road around 5 p.m. Tuesday and locked herself in the bathroom for two hours and refused to come out, Shell said. A Channel 2 viewer at the scene, Tina Anaya says she was planning to pick up a sandwich for dinner when she pulled up to see the restaurant being trashed. "When I pulled up, I saw a bunch of the Subway workers outside and I thought they were taking a smoke break," Anaya said. "But when I looked inside there was a naked woman literally tearing the place apart."
Fed Faces This Checklist of Hurdles for a December Rate Hike (Bloomberg)
The Fed needs to see more jobs, solid spending and calmer markets.
Apple Expands Stock Program to All Employees (WSJ)
Apple Inc. made all employees, including those in retail stores, eligible for a stock-award program, in a move to retain talent. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an email to employees on Wednesday that all Apple workers are now eligible to receive restricted stock, which generally vests after a certain period of time, expanding a program that typically applied only to employees “from our product areas,” Mr. Cook said. “This is another way for us to say thanks,” Mr. Cook wrote, calling the move “an unusual step.” Still, Apple employees will have to earn the stock awards. Mr. Cook said managers nominate workers for the awards, which are approved by the board of directors.
Lululemon’s Founding Family Gets Revenge With Cashmere (Bloomberg)
The Wilsons opened the first Kit & Ace in the summer of 2014 in Vancouver, where they live. Since then, they’ve expanded in Canada, the U.S., and Australia. They plan to double the number by mid-2016, to turn a profit by 2018, and, according to a recruiting video, to bring in sales of $1 billion in five years. It took Lululemon more than a decade to become a billion-dollar brand. The Wilsons’ plan is an ambitious one, fueled by an $845 million payout from selling half their stake in their old company.
Samurai slices 100 mph fastball with sword in Japan (UPI)
A Japanese swordsman dubbed a modern-day samurai sliced a 100 mph fastball in half 30 feet away from where it was launched by a pitching machine. Isao Machii, who previously made headlines when he dueled a sword-wielding robot and sliced a shrimp traveling 80 mph through the air, drew his sword after the ball was fired from the pitching machine and sliced it in half in midair. Video of the stunt, posted to YouTube by Oricon News, shows the ball was clocked at 100 mph in the air and was fired from a machine 30 feet away from where Machii was standing. The video closes in on some of the remains of the baseball, which appears to have been sliced almost exactly in half.