Change of Regulator Sets Stage for Overhaul of China’s Markets (WSJ)
The removal of Xiao Gang as China’s top securities cop marks the beginning of an overhaul of financial regulators in the face of a deepening economic slowdown, Chinese officials say. Mr. Xiao, who had been blamed for missteps during China’s stock collapse last year, was replaced on Saturday by Liu Shiyu, a veteran of China’s central bank, which is set to take a leading role in the financial refurbishing.
China to Wall Street’s Deal Makers: We Don’t Need You (WSJ)
In a year that has already produced $81.5 billion of foreign acquisitions by Chinese companies—blowing away the pace in any prior year—not a single big Wall Street bank is among the top three buy-side advisers, according to Dealogic. Leading the charge instead are HSBC Holdings PLC, China Citic Bank and CICC. HSBC and China Citic mainly owe their position to roles advising China National Chemical Corp. on its $43 billion agreement to buy Swiss pesticide maker Syngenta AG.
SEC’s Wyatt Says Third Avenue Situations Are ‘Ongoing Concern’ (Bloomberg)
Regulators remain worried about hard-to-sell assets held by high-yield bond funds as they probe whether the failure of the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund could be repeated, a top U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official said.
Yahoo launches auction process as Starboard gears up for fight (Reuters)
Yahoo Inc officially launched the sale of its core business on Friday, a move seen as a positive step for frustrated investors but not enough to keep an activist hedge fund from pursuing a proxy fight against the struggling Internet company.
For Silicon Valley, the Hangover Begins (WSJ)
A year ago, startups with nascent business models were scoring billion-dollar valuations as investors raced each other to write checks. Today, venture capital is drying up for less successful startups. Investors, eyeing collapsing tech stocks and economic sloth, are culling their portfolios and forcing cash-starved companies to retrench or shut down.
Russian security guard known as ‘Fat Leonardo DiCaprio’ will fulfill your Titanic dreams (MSN)
Roman Burtsev, 33, a security officer in the town of Podolsk, just outside Moscow, achieved notoriety last month when photographs circulated on the Internet that made him look like DiCaprio’s schlumpier cousin. Now the slightly overweight guard has been adopted by a Moscow television station that is playing Pygmalion ahead of the Oscars. Burtsev has gotten voice lessons, gone on an ice-skating date with “Natasha” (unsuccessful – he’s a bit out of shape) and posed for photos with a line of women at a Moscow mall who wanted a chance to trade places with Kate Winslet and be enveloped in DiCaprio’s arms on a mock prow of the Titanic.
Judge Deals Setback to Holdouts in Negotiations With Argentina (Dealbook)
A federal judge presiding over a long-running battle between Argentina and a group of New York hedge funds said on Friday that he would lift an injunction that had locked Argentina out of international markets. The ruling represents a sharp turnaround by Judge Thomas Griesa of the United States District Court in Manhattan, who had previously prevented Argentina from raising new money or paying its creditors before paying investors holding its defaulted debt.
Africa Bruised By Investor Exodus (WSJ)
Stock markets and currencies have been selling off across the continent, especially in commodity-dependent economies. Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and longtime investor darling, has one of the world’s worst-performing stock indexes this year, down by 14% since the start of 2016. The S&P Nigeria BMI index lost more than one-quarter of its value last year as measured in dollars, 10 percentage points more than the average frontier-market index the company tracks.
JPMorgan's Michele: Fear has replaced greed in markets (CNBC)
"I think there is a global growth slowdown underway," Bob Michele, global CIO and head of global fixed income at JPMorgan Asset Management, told CNBC's "Fast Money" this week. Looking at the somberly worded minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting, Michele said the central bank was right to have second thoughts about hiking interest rates.
Teacher strips at airport to try to dodge security queue but her plan goes terribly wrong (Express)
Prosecutor Karen Phillips told the court the incident happened on January 21 when Ni Ghiallgairrh was “running late for a flight to Ireland” and was then held up in security. Miss Phillips said she became “frustrated at the situation”, adding: “She refused to be searched, became heated, got agitated and removed her skirt, standing in her tights. "Members of the public around her were distressed because she was undressing. She also banged on the desk angrily.”
