Opening Bell: 4.6.16
Inversion Crackdown Will Sting Investment Bankers (MoneyBeat)
Pfizer’s advisers were Goldman Sachs Group, Centerview Partners, Guggenheim Partners and Moelis & Co. Freeman & Co. estimated it would pay them between $120 million and $150 million in fees. Allergan, advised by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, was expected to pay between $160 million and $200 million. Advising on tax inversions has been a lucrative business for investment bankers. U.S. investment banks have been advisors on over $700 billion of announced tax inversion deals since 2011, according to Dealogic. Last year alone, U.S. advisors were involved in announced deals valued at $240 billion.
Three Pfizer Presidents Still Get $1 Million After Failed Deal (Bloomberg)
Three Pfizer Inc. executives will each receive $1 million cash awards tied to the drugmaker’s combination with Allergan Plc even after that $160 billion deal was terminated.
NYU Graduates Seeking $11 Billion of Gold in Ransacked Mine (Bloomberg)
At Blyvooruitzicht, a 77-year-old gold mine southwest of Johannesburg, almost everything had been stolen except gold-bearing ore in the looting after the operation was closed in 2013. Now, New York University graduates Bastiat Viljoen, 31, and his brother Dane, who was an intern at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., want to revive the ailing mine, which they say may contain 9 million ounces of gold, worth almost $11 billion at current prices. They are partly financed by South African mining entrepreneur Peter Skeat.
U.K. Banks Struggle to Lure Talent for Top Jobs as Rules Bite (Bloomberg)
Bankers are concerned about regulations that could see executives thrown in jail for failing to spot serious misconduct on their watch, which has shifted the City of London’s reputation from a light-touch Babylon to a risky place to work. Combined with British politicians’ desire to name and shame, an unforgiving press and diminishing cash compensation, the nation’s banks have been left struggling to fill senior positions, lawyers and recruiters said.
People Are Being Less Than Totally Respectful Of Donald Trump’s Walk Of Fame Star (HP)
Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has reportedly attracted various unsavory types of vandalism, including graffiti, urination and (canine) defecation, since the start of his presidential campaign last summer, according to Vanity Fair.
Biggest Banks to Face Tougher Debt Limits to End Too-Big-to Fail (Bloomberg)
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision already imposes higher capital ratios on the 30 largest global banks, led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc, based on the riskiness of their businesses. The committee is now seeking feedback on a surcharge to the so-called leverage ratio, which is based on the size of balance sheets, without consideration of risk. The charge could be made a hard minimum requirement that mustn’t be broken, or designed as a buffer, which can be temporarily breached in times of crisis.
Exclusive: Russia sees oil price of $45-$50 per barrel 'acceptable' as it prepares for freeze deal (Reuters)
Russia believes an oil price at $45-$50 per barrel is acceptable to allow the global oil market to balance, as it prepares to meet leading oil producers in Doha later this month, sources familiar with Russian plans said on Wednesday.
IMF Warns of Possible Crises for Emerging Markets Hit by Outflows (WSJ)
An exodus of cash from emerging markets in recent years is closely tied to developing economies’ slower growth rates and could end with financial crises in the countries involved, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
Pennsylvania reporter, 9, brushes off criticism of homicide coverage (UPI)
A Pennsylvania 9-year-old who acts as editor and lead reporter for her own newspaper is defending herself from critics who say she shouldn't cover homicides. Hilde Kate Lysiak, 9, of Selinsgrove, who has been writing, editing and publishing the Orange Street News for more than a year, said in a YouTube video Sunday that online commenters had a lot to say about her most recent piece -- an exclusive report from a murder scene. Lysiak said she acted on a tip Saturday afternoon about police activity on Ninth Street, so she visited the scene, spoke to police and neighbors and was able to write a story bearing the headline, "EXCLUSIVE: MURDER ON NINTH STREET!" [...] Lysiak ended the video by addressing her critics directly. "I know this makes some of you uncomfortable, and I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I'm 9. But if you want me to stop offering news, then you get off your computer and do something about the news. There. Is that cute enough for you?" she said.