Opening Bell: 2.10.16
Morgan Stanley Trading Executive Provides Grim Picture for Wall Street (WSJ)
Morgan Stanley’s top trading executive warned that the first quarter was shaping up to be another tough one for Wall Street, as volatile markets take a toll on investors’ desire to buy and sell with banks. That view is particularly significant because the first quarter is often the strongest period for banks’ trading businesses. “The year started out OK, but it’s been a lot choppier since then,” said Edward Pick, Morgan Stanley’s head of trading, during a discussion at the Credit Suisse Financial Services conference Tuesday. Trading revenue, he added, so far this year has looked more like the weaker second half of the year “rather [than] the healthy first quarter we saw last year.”
Firms Dig Deeper Into Debt Markets (WSJ)
Related Fund Management, an arm of Stephen Ross’s Related Cos., will soon start raising a closed-end debt fund that could be as large as $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. New York-based Related started making debt investments focusing on junior debt two years ago mostly in partnership with Highbridge Principal Strategies, a unit of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Meanwhile, Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors, of Boca Raton, Fla., is looking to raise more than $500 million for a new debt fund, according to people familiar with the firm. Like Related, Kayne Anderson has been focusing its debt investments on junior, or so-called mezzanine, debt that is more risky but pays a higher interest rate than senior debt.
The $20 Billion Manager Who Won After the Crisis Is Buying Again (Bloomberg)
In UBS Group AG, which has plummeted 26 percent this year, Samra sees his preferred combination of cheapness and a safety buffer. The Swiss bank, the third-largest holding in Samra’s biggest fund, has strong capital levels, a less complex balance sheet and a wealth-management business that’s worth more than the lender’s market value, says Samra, while declining to specify which stocks he’s been buying amid the selloff.
Britain’s Global Banking Hub Is Mostly Leery of an E.U. Exit (Dealbook)
In the extreme, banking executives worry about a painful economic and financial fallout from a British exit — known, in the political shorthand, as a Brexit. Even without a major shock, it could force global banks like HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to reassess their European operations, a logistical challenge that would affect the most basic transactions.
600-pound pig crashes New Hampshire primary (UPI)
A 600-pound pig stopped by a New Hampshire primary polling place on Tuesday after escaping from a local farm. The pig was spotted on its way to a Pelham high school by Merry Maid workers who shared a photo of the hefty animal to Facebook. Pelham police were called to retrieve the pig at 9 a.m. after it wandered into a parking lot full of voters participating in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary. Police learned the pig was from a local farm and called its owner who came to the school to pick it up.
Economic Tumult to Color Janet Yellen’s House Testimony (WSJ)
Ms. Yellen, in remarks to the House Financial Services Committee, likely will seek to keep the Fed’s options open while officials await additional data on economy’s health and watch how events play out in financial markets. One deepening source of angst: New indications that expectations for future inflation among households and investors are sinking, a sign the Fed could have enduring trouble getting inflation up to its 2% target.
Deutsche considers multibillion bond buyback (FT)
Deutsche Bank is considering buying back several billion euros of its debt, as Germany's biggest bank steps up efforts to shore up the tumbling value of its securities against the backdrop of a broader rout of financial stocks.
German Finance Minister Schaeuble Has 'No Concerns' Over Deutsche Bank (Bloomberg)
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he’s not worried about Deutsche Bank AG after the shares and bonds of Germany’s biggest lender took a battering over investor concern about capital and funding levels. “No, I have no concerns about Deutsche Bank,” Schaeuble told Bloomberg Television in Paris after a meeting of French and German finance chiefs on Tuesday. He didn’t elaborate further.
Man Accused Of Tossing Gator Into Wendy's Drive-Thru Window (HP)
A Florida man in Jupiter is facing assault charges after Fish and Wildlife officials said he tossed an 3.5-foot live alligator into the drive-thru window of a Wendy's. U.S. Marshals arrested 24-year-old Joshua James on Monday and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession and transportation of an alligator, according to WPTV.com. The incident happened last October, but officials for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Department only tracked him down recently. According to the incident report, James pulled up to the window at a Wendy's in Loxahatchee last fall and placed an order for a drink. After he got the beverage, investigators said he tossed the alligator, which he had in the back of his truck, into the restaurant's kitchen, according to the Miami Herald...Linda James, the suspect's mother, told WPTV.com her son was just joking around. “It was just a stupid prank," she said. "He does stuff like this because he thinks it's funny.”