Opening Bell: 2.24.16
J.P. Morgan Sounds Fresh Warning on Energy-Loan Losses (WSJ)
Shares of big banks fell on Tuesday amid a broadly lower market after the largest U.S. bank by assets said it plans to add about $500 million to reserves for oil and gas and an additional $100 million related to metals and mining in the first quarter, according to a Tuesday presentation for investors that the bank hosts annually. That is on top of the bank’s $815 million in oil-and-gas reserves and $240 million in metals and mining reserves as of the end of 2015.
This Year’s Biggest IPO Is a Blank Check for the Oil Business (WSJ)
Amid an otherwise frozen market for initial public offerings, Silver Run Acquisition Corp. raised $450 million in an upsized offering at $10 a share late Tuesday, according to people familiar with the deal. It hopes to snap up oil and gas assets on the cheap, according to offering documents. The private-equity-backed company has no assets or operations yet, but its chief executive, Mark Papa, was one of the most successful executives in the U.S. shale-drilling boom. The deal, which was originally intended to raise $400 million, roughly doubles the amount of cash raised in initial public offerings this year and reaffirms investors’ appetite for bottom-feeding in the oil and gas business.
Fed's Fischer Says `Still Early' to Judge Impact of Market Woes (Bloomberg)
The Fed’s No. 2 policy maker said if market developments lead to “a sustained tightening of financial conditions,” that could slow the global economy and affect growth and inflation in the U.S. “But we have seen similar periods of volatility in recent years -- including in the second half of 2011 -- that have left little visible imprint on the economy,” he said.
‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort’s Ferrari for sale (NYP)
Jordan Belfort’s white 1991 Ferrari Testarossa has just 8,000 miles on its odometer, and comes with the name and address of the former penny stock scammer-turned-motivational speaker in the warranty booklet and supply invoices, Caters News reports. Belfort — played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the Oscar-nominated film — bought the Italian beauty from Kessler Motors in New York. Monaco-based dealership Monegasque Classics Sarl is only offering a price on request — and may just put it up for auction at a later date, a rep said.
Man Turns Bedroom Into $21,000 Bat Cave And Makes His Wife A Promise (HP)
Darren Wilson wanted a suitable place to store his $21,000 collection of Batman memorabilia in his home in Calne, Wiltshire. He spent the last 18 months -- and many a dark night -- on this project. "I was doing the room as a computer room initially and it just came to me," Wilson told South West News Service. "People who see it are pretty amazed. We like to be different, but every other room is normal." [...] Wilson's bat cave is a conversation piece with visitors, but there is one topic he said he won't bring up with his wife, Catherine. "I've promised I won't decorate any more rooms," he said.
What Brexit could mean for the City (FT)
Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Dimon warns of a “massive dislocation” to the financial hub that would reverse decades of growth for international banks in London and scatter them across Europe and the rest of the world. He fears that UK-based banks would no longer be able to sell services throughout the bloc if Britain left the EU. His own bank would scale down its London operations and set up elsewhere: “If we can’t passport out of London, we’ll have to set up different operations in Europe.”
Chinese Deals Feel the Chill From Washington (Dealbook)
The latest Chinese deal to feel the chill from Washington was a planned $3.78 billion investment by the Tsinghua Unisplendour Corporation of China in the American hard disk drive maker Western Digital. On Tuesday, Tsinghua said it was abandoning the purchase of a 15 percent stake in Western Digital, citing a decision by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review the deal.
Uber of Private Jets Raises Funds From Saudi Royal Family (Bloomberg)
A seat on a flight on a Learjet 45 on that route on March 1 currently costs $1,990, with a minimum 4-seat purchase. JetSmarter offers space on flights that would otherwise leave empty and on last-minute deals without charge to members that have paid an annual fee of $9,000.
Mysterious high-pitched tone keeps Oregon residents up at night (Reuters)
An unexplained high-pitched tone has kept residents of a Portland suburb awake at night for at least a week, confounding the best efforts of police and firefighters to pinpoint its source, officials in the community said on Monday. Adding to the mystery is the fact that the noise, a steady, whistle-like note resembling a flute, has only been reported after dark in Forest Grove, a rustic community of 22,500 located about 25 miles (40 km) west of Oregon's largest city. Former residents say they remember a similar sound echoing through the night air several decades ago, according to reports filed with Forest Grove Fire and Rescue, an agency spokeswoman said. The tone is unusual for its combination of high pitch and ambiguous point of origin, said audio engineer Tobin Cooley, president of the company Listen Acoustics, who agreed to informally assess the phenomenon for Reuters on Monday.