Opening Bell: 3.24.16
Yahoo Investor Starboard Seeks to Replace Entire Board (Bloomberg)
Yahoo! Inc. investor Starboard Value LP nominated nine directors to replace the entire board at the struggling Web portal, which it contends has been mismanaged under Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer. Starboard, a longtime critic of the company and an activist shareholder with 1.7 percent of Yahoo shares, nominated its chief executive officer, Jeffrey Smith, among others for election at Yahoo’s annual meeting later this year, according to a letter to shareholders.
Another U.S. rate hike may be around corner: Fed's Bullard (Reuters)
Another U.S. interest rate hike "may not be far off" after the Federal Reserve stood pat last week and made only minor downgrades to economic forecasts, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Thursday. Bullard, who voted to support the March policy decision, noted in a speech that the labor market had improved since December. "As it turns out, the decision to pause seems to have put more weight on the global and U.S. growth downgrade," he said in prepared remarks.
Fearing crash, bond fund Pimco warns off 'helicopter money' (Reuters)
One of the world's biggest bond fund managers has urged central banks not to dole out free cash to citizens saying it could lead to hyperinflation, a debt market sell-off and even a banking crash.
Man Arrested For Not Returning VHS Rental 14 Years Ago (HP)
A North Carolina man is speaking out after he says he was slapped in handcuffs for not returning a VHS rental more than 14 years ago — and now the movie’s star, Tom Green, is coming to his rescue. James Meyers, 37, says he was driving his daughter to school Tuesday morning when he was pulled over by Concord police for a broken taillight. It was that moment he was informed that there was a warrant out for his arrest, specifically for not returning the 2001 flop, “Freddy Got Fingered.”
Tidjane Thiam, Chief of Credit Suisse, Was Paid $4.7 Million in 2015 (Dealbook)
Tidjane Thiam, the new chief executive of Credit Suisse, was paid 4.57 million Swiss francs, or about $4.7 million, in his first six months on the job as he undertook an ambitious plan to turn around the Swiss banking giant. As part of its annual report on Thursday, Credit Suisse said that Mr. Thiam, who joined the bank in July, received a salary of 1.58 million francs and so-called variable compensation, or a bonus, of 2.86 million francs in cash and deferred shares. The shares will vest in three years. He also got a small amount for pensions and other benefits.
Hedge-Fund Flows Drop 80% in February as Investors Rebel (Bloomberg)
Investors allocated a net $4.4 billion to hedge funds in February, 80 percent less than the average pledged during the month since 2010, according to data from eVestment.
The World's Best Performing Market Is Still in Serious Trouble (Bloomberg)
After a disastrous 2015, Brazilian stocks and bonds are posting the biggest gains among global peers this year. Speculation that President Dilma Rousseff could soon be ousted, ending a political stalemate that has paralyzed the country, is fueling the rally. Yet, whoever steps into Rousseff’s shoes would face daunting challenges, from closing a crippling budget deficit to pulling Latin America’s biggest economy out the worst recession in more than a century.
Matt Harvey: ‘I think a lot of women would be impressed by my shoe collection’ (NYP)
“I think a lot of women would be impressed by my shoe collection,” he says, adding, “It’s getting to the point where it’s ridiculous: I have too many suits, over 20. My suit game has stepped its level up, and that has a lot to do with my stylist Khalilah (Beavers).”