Holiday Bell: 3.25.16
Microsoft told potential Yahoo bidders it might back bids: report (Reuters)
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) executives are in talks with equity firms considering bids for Yahoo Inc! (YHOO.O) saying that Microsoft might be willing to offer "significant financing" for their efforts, tech news site Recode reported on Thursday. However, Microsoft has not made commitments so far to investors, and any discussions are exploratory, Recode reported, citing unnamed sources.
Hedge Funds Dealt Setback as U.S. Sides With Argentina on Defaulted Bonds (Dealbook)
The United States government has weighed in on the legal battle between Argentina and a group of New York hedge funds, lending its support to the struggling country and dealing a setback to the investors. In a “friend of the court” or amicus curiae, brief filed on Wednesday at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, the Justice Department said it supported an American federal judge’s decision to lift an injunction that had prevented Argentina from raising new money in the bond markets or paying its creditors...It is a move that will increase the pressure on a group of holdout bondholders that refused to take part in two debt restructurings by Argentina after it defaulted on $100 billion of debt in 2001. The appeals court has often deferred to opinions of the American government.
Cruz Calls Trump a 'Sniveling Coward' as War Over Wives Continues (Bloomberg)
In the opening salvos of a two-week fight for Wisconsin, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz called Republican rival Donald Trump a coward after the billionaire threatened to "spill the beans" on the lawmaker's wife. "It's not easy to tick me off. I don't get angry often. But you mess with my kids, you mess with my wife—that'll do it every time," Cruz told reporters on Thursday before touring a metal-fabrication plant in Dane, Wisconsin. "Donald, you're a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone."
Sprout Investors Say Valeant Overcharging for Female Libido Pill (Bloomberg)
Investors in Sprout, the female libido pill maker bought by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. for $1 billion last year, said Valeant has failed to successfully commercialize the treatment by setting the price too high and neglecting to market it, putting the drugmaker at risk of violating the merger agreement.
Beer Truck Collides With Chip Truck, Making Frat Boy Dreams Come True (HP)
Beer and potato chips were left sprawled all over a Florida highway after a Budweiser truck reportedly collided with a Frito-Lays truck on Wednesday morning. The two trucks crashed along I-95 in Melbourne, leading to a cleanup effort that briefly shut down the interstate, WFTV reported. Neither driver was injured, according to local reports.
There Isn't Much Left of Marissa Mayer's Yahoo Golden Parachute (Bloomberg)
Ousting Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer could cost Yahoo! Inc. about $12.4 million. Thanks to Yahoo’s declining share price and the vesting schedule of Mayer’s awards, letting her go now would be a bargain compared with 15 months ago. Had she been terminated in December 2014, Mayer would have been able to collect $36.1 million in severance and equity awards vesting early, according to the Web portal’s proxy statement. If her termination would have come within a year of selling the company, the exit package at that time would have swelled to $157.9 million.
Blackstone Mutual Fund Loses Half Its Assets (Bloomberg)
Clients withdrew $585.5 million from the Blackstone Alternative Multi-Manager Fund in the first three weeks of this month, leaving it with $631.2 million in assets, down from $1.2 billion at the end of February, according to data from Morningstar Inc. The decline reflects a large redemption by Fidelity, which had put almost $1 billion into the fund in 2013, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified.
Why Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Still Isn’t Sold (Bloomberg)
The property—purchased from a financially ailing Jackson in 2008 with a $23.5 million note from Thomas Barrack Jr.’s Colony Capital LLC—is located in Los Olivos, a town of around 1,100 residents located about 130 miles northeast of L.A. That’s pretty far from the proliferation of the highest-end homes. “Most of the homes in these price ranges are waterfront, or with ocean views, or they’re in the cities,” said DeSimone. “They’re concentrated in L.A., New York, San Francisco, and Miami.”
Suspected komodo dragon found wandering in New York (UPI)
Police in New York said officers captured a stray animal that was an unusual sight for the streets of Queens -- a komodo dragon. The New York Police Department's 109th Precinct tweeted photos Thursday of the komodo dragon that was captured under a trash bin by residents of the Flushing neighborhood. Officials said the 3-foot-long komodo dragon does not appear to be fully grown. The species can grow to up to 10 feet long and weigh up to 150 pounds. The apparent escaped pet was taken to a local animal hospital for care.