Opening Bell: 5.11.16
Jefferies Pressed LendingClub to Improve Disclosure (Bloomberg)
In the weeks leading up to the resignation of LendingClub Corp.’s chief executive officer, investment bank Jefferies Group asked the company to bolster its disclosures to borrowers, people with knowledge of the matter said. Jefferies, which planned to bundle LendingClub loans into bonds, wanted the firm to improve its notifications to ensure that loan applicants understood they were handing over rights that could allow the lender to close loan applications faster, potentially by accessing information about customers’ assets and income. Jefferies demanded that LendingClub improve the way it discloses to borrowers what those rights, known as "power of attorney," allow the company to do, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. Jefferies said it would only bundle loans made with the improved disclosures into bonds. LendingClub believed its existing language was just as clear, but changed its notifications to meet Jefferies’ request at the end of March, one of the people said.
As Lending Club Stumbles, Its Entire Industry Faces Skepticism (Dealbook)
Before the recent turmoil, more traditional banks were putting faith in the industry’s underwriting models and low-cost lending system. The banks had been buying loans from the marketplace lenders and also forming partnerships. JPMorgan Chase, for example, started a partnership with OnDeck to offer small-business loans. JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, figured that OnDeck could offer the loans more cheaply and quickly than if the bank processed them internally. Some analysts predict that if the funding pressure continues, large banks could end up acquiring the marketplace lenders, or pieces of them.
General Mills Mentioned as 3G Takeover Target by Citigroup (Bloomberg)
General Mills Inc. may be a takeover candidate for 3G Capital, the private equity firm that has driven consolidation in the food industry with the help of Warren Buffett, according to Citigroup Inc. Kraft Heinz Foods Co., created last year in the merger orchestrated by 3G, could acquire General Mills for $86 a share, Citigroup analyst David Driscoll said in a report on Tuesday.
Germany’s School for Central Bankers Draws Risk-Averse Crowd (WSJ)
Long ago, Schloss Hachenburg was a palace for local counts. Now it is home to an elite academy for about 350 young men and women. The castle offers only one degree: central banking. The typical student? “Risk-averse,” says the school’s rector, Erich Keller...the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, remains a hallowed institution, and its in-house university [in Hachenburg], called Deutsche Bundesbank University of Applied Sciences, is still churning out graduates. Around one-quarter of the Bundesbank’s roughly 10,000 staffers are graduates of the three-year program, including many in its upper echelons. More than four of five graduates still work for the Bundesbank 10 years after graduation.
Hitman mistakenly killed guy at the wrong address (AP)
A man accused in a 2006 contract killing in which he went to the wrong house and killed someone with the same name as the intended target has been found guilty of murder and kidnapping charges. A Geauga County judge convicted 46-year-old Chad South of murder and kidnapping charges last week in the death of 31-year-old Daniel Ott in Burton Township...Authorities say a Daniel Ott was targeted in retaliation for his willingness to testify against a man involved in a stolen-car operation.
14-year-old turned down a $30M offer for start-up (CNBC)
Taylor Rosenthal can't even legally drive but has already turned down a $30 million offer to buy his start-up RecMed, CNN Money reported on Tuesday. The 14-year-old exhibited his start-up, a vending machine that serves first-aid kits rather than snacks, at TechCrunch Disrupt NY this week...To date, the start-up has raised $100,000. Rosenthal plans to start distributing the machines in the fall.
Fund managers have been running from Puerto Rico debt (CNBC)
Over the past year, the number of funds with exposure to Puerto Rico has been pared to 29 — out of a pool of 562 municipal bond funds — from as many as 48 in June 2015, according to data from Morningstar and a study by Markov Processes International. Total dollar exposure has been cut as well, from about $9.9 billion last summer to $6.3 billion now.
GM Credits Silicon Valley for Accelerating Self-Driving Cars (WSJ)
Richard Holman, a 30-year automotive veteran running GM’s foresight and trends unit, said Tuesday that three years ago most industry participants would have estimated 2035 as a reasonable timetable for self-driving cars. Speaking to a conference in suburban Detroit, Mr. Holman said now most people see that technology being deployed by 2020, if not sooner. Mr. Holman noted companies like GM and its rivals have been working on autonomous vehicles for several years, and said tech giant Google and electric-car maker Tesla deserve get credited for moving the industry along.
Staten Island man who stabbed his wife to death looking for an ‘awesome’ girl to write to him in prison (NYDN)
“Hey ladies, are you awesome? Like I am? I'm looking for a fun, intelligent girl to stimulate my brain (and possibly my heart),” Jonathan Crupi wrote in a personal ad on convictpenpal.com. “I’m not married and I don’t have any kids. No baby-mama drama here!” That’s because Crupi savagely murdered his wife in July of 2012 — pushing Simeonette Mapes down a flight of stairs in their New Springville home and then stabbing her 15 times...He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in September — but is apparently ready to move on with his romantic life. “I'm a bit of a nerd, but that's cool now, right? I've been told that I'm really funny, adventurous, and down to earth. Oh, and that I'm handsome, too lol,” he says in the ad on the popular inmate website.