Opening Bell: 12.1.15
BlueCrest to Return All Outside Investor Money (Bloomberg)
Outside investors, who account for about $7 billion of the firm’s assets, will get 75 percent of their money before the end of January and 90 percent by the end of the first quarter, the firm said in a statement. BlueCrest will become a private investment partnership, according to the statement, which cited declining fees and rising costs as reasons for the move.
Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital takes a beating on energy bets (NYP)
Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital Re, which invests alongside his hedge fund, fell 3.9 percent in November, the company reported on Monday, leaving it down 20.1 percent for the year. His biggest losers this year are solar energy play Sunedison and coal producer Consol Energy.
Bank of England to Ease Capital Pressure on U.K. Banks (WSJ)
The Bank of England Tuesday declared an end to years of financial-crisis banking reforms, saying U.K. banks had broadly done enough to strengthen their balance sheets. The central bank said that capital requirements for itsonce crippledbanking sector wouldn’t continue to creep up in coming years. Instead, it set a capital target that most U.K. lenders have nearly already hit.
Niagara police officer convicted in cheese-smuggling case (UPI)
A former police officer in Niagara was sentenced to four months in prison in relation to a large-scale cheese-smuggling operation. Scott Heron, 42, of Niagara Regional Police was found guilty on six charges, including customs offenses, after attempting to smuggle large quantities of cheese from the United States to Canada undeclared in 2012. Police say Heron intended to distribute the cheese, valued at over $200,000, to local restaurants. He was also found guilty of evading $325,729 in duties and taxes.
As Puerto Rico Crisis Worsens, Congress In No Rush to Help (Bloomberg)
Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt crisis has already led to four hearings this year in the U.S. Congress, hours of testimony and no consensus over how to help the Caribbean commonwealth. Another hearing Tuesday is unlikely to change that.
Wall Street Perk: Parental Leave (WSJ)
The latest entrant in the race: Credit Suisse Group AG. On Monday, the Zurich-headquartered bank announced one of the richest parental-leave packages in financial services, giving U.S. employees 20 paid weeks off after the arrival of a child, up from 12 weeks.
Dimon Says JPMorgan Plans Service With Peer-to-Peer Lender (Bloomberg)
“We haven’t announced it yet, we’re going to be doing a thing with one of these peer-to-peer, small-business lenders,” Dimon said Tuesday in a panel discussion in Washington. “The kind of stuff we don’t want to do or can’t do, but there’s somebody else who can do it and do it probably well. So this is going to be collaborative.”
People Want To Rename An English Train Station After Kanye West (HP)
A petition that calls for Canterbury West in Kent, southeast England, to have its name changed to "Kanye West Station" is gaining ground. Mark Kilner posted the tongue-in-cheek campaign on Change.org -- and 1,045 people had signed up by 11 a.m. Monday to try and transform it into a tribute to the rap superstar.