Opening Bell: 5.25.16
Deal Reached On Greek Debt (WSJ)
Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund patched together a deal in the early hours of Wednesday that clears the way for fresh loans for Greece and sets out how the country could get debt relief in the future. The ministers, who held an 11-hour meeting in Brussels, said Greece had done what was necessary to unlock the next slice of financial aid, concluding a review of its bailout that was delayed for months. The new payouts will save Greece from defaulting on big debt redemptions to the IMF and European Central Bank in July.
Big Banks Ladle On The Risk (WSJ)
Banks generally do block deals for their most-favored customers, such as private-equity firms, in an effort to curry favor for future business. But lately, with few initial public offerings or subsequent corporate sales of new shares by U.S.-listed companies, banks have been doing a higher percentage of block-trade deals, exposing them to more risk.
Bank of America Tipster Gets to Keep His Reward (WSJ)
Edward O’Donnell blew the whistle on “the Hustle,” a high-speed mortgage-selling scheme that led to a $1.27 billion fine against Bank of America in 2014. On Monday, an appeals court threw out the penalty—but Mr. O’Donnell still gets to keep a $58 million reward.
Who Gets Venture Capital Funding? (Bloomberg)
The vast majority of venture capital goes to companies founded by men. Just 7% of the 2,005 founders on our list are women. Companies founded by women also get less money—an average of $77 million compared with $100 million for male-led startups. That shortfall parallels the overall U.S. pay gap, where women are paid an average of 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. Among cities with at least 20 founders, South San Francisco startups have the highest ratio of women founders at 16.1% while Santa Monica is second at 15%.
Customs officers find burritos contain meth, no guac (UPI)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said an Arizona woman was arrested with two packages of meth that had been disguised as burritos. The agency said officers at the Morley Pedestrian Gate referred the 23-year-old Nogales woman for further inspection May 20 when attempting to return to the United States. A narcotics-detecting canine alerted officers to the presence of drugs and a search determined the woman was carrying more than a pound of methamphetamine in two packages that had been wrapped in tortilla shells to make them look like burritos.
SEC investigating Alibaba's accounting practices (Reuters)
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) said it was being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over whether the Chinese e-commerce company's accounting practices violated any federal laws.
These Are the Countries Where Millennials Will Work Themselves to Death (Bloomberg)
...12 percent of millennials around the world expect they won't ever retire. In Japan, a whopping 37 percent said they think they'll work until they reach the grave, compared to 18 percent in China, 12 percent in the United States and United Kingdom, and just 3 percent in Spain.
Panama Canal Fever Sweeps Globe Again as New Era in Trade Nears (Bloomberg)
A century after transforming global markets, the Panama Canal is about to redraw world trade once again. Nine years of construction work, at a cost of more than $5 billion, have equipped the canal with a third set of locks and deeper navigation channels, crucial improvements that will double the isthmus’s capacity for carrying cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Motorist throws golf balls in romantic rejection road rage attack (UPI)
A woman who rejected a fellow motorist's flirtatious advances recorded the man hurling golf balls at her car while traveling more than 60 mph. The 25-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, turned her dashboard camera to the side Saturday while driving on the M1 in Nerang, Queensland. The video shows a male driver in a blue car throwing golf balls at the woman's car as she films. "Are you actually kidding me?" the woman can be heard yelling. "This is what happens when you don't let men flirt with you," the woman says in a voiceover recorded after the incident. "They're golf balls."