Opening Bell: 6.7.16
Yellen Insists Fed Increase En Route as Focus Moves to September (Bloomberg)
June is out. July might be too soon. The Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate increase is coming, but even September isn’t a sure bet. That’s the message investors and economists are taking from Chair Janet Yellen’s remarks Monday. Her comments were the last the public will hear from a Fed official before the central bank’s policy-setting meeting next week.
Goldman Probed Over Malaysia State Fund 1MDB (WSJ)
U.S. investigators are trying to determine whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. broke the law when it didn’t sound an alarm about a suspicious transaction in Malaysia, people familiar with the investigation said. At issue is $3 billion Goldman raised via a bond issue for Malaysian state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB. Days after Goldman sent the proceeds into a Swiss bank account controlled by the fund, half of the money disappeared offshore, with some later ending up in the prime minister’s bank account, according to people familiar with the matter and bank-transfer information viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Hedge against a Trump presidency, short the peso, says Citi (CNBC)
If Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidency, Citigroup analysts have a strategy they think would work as a hedge, given his anti-Mexico rhetoric. The presumptive Republican nominee has said numerous times he will build a wall along the Mexican border and make Mexico's government pay for it, but Citi strategists say there is something else at risk. "Some legal experts believe that it may be possible for the president to take the U.S. out of NAFTA without congressional approval. While in the end the fallback would be WTO's most favored nation status, softening the economic impact significantly for Mexico, such headlines would certainly lead to MXN (Mexican peso) underperformance," according to a report by Citigroup emerging market analysts. NAFTA is the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement joined by Mexico, Canada and the U.S. on Jan. 1, 1994.
U.S. presses China to reduce barriers for foreign business (Reuters)
Senior U.S. officials pressed China again on Tuesday to reduce barriers for foreign businesses, saying concerns have grown due to a more complex regulatory environment. Foreign business confidence has been impacted by regulatory and protectionist worries, following a series of government investigations targeting foreign companies and the roll-out of a national security law limiting the use of overseas technology. U.S. business groups have also complained about new Chinese regulations they say favour local firms and make it more difficult to operate in China, as well as other laws related to national security.
Amputee Penguin To Get New 3-D Printed Foot (HP)
A penguin named Bagpipes had his foot amputated years ago after he was found back in 2007 with a fishing line wrapped around his leg, One News reported. Bagpipes, who’s currently under the care of the International Antarctic Centre, has been waddling around on his stump. But last week he was fitted for a 3-D printed prosthetic foot — a possible game-changer for the little guy. “It’s designed to level him out a bit and make life a bit more comfortable for him,” penguin keeper Mal Hackett told Stuff, a New Zealand news site.
Deutsche Bank Is Only Thing Missing From Germany’s Biggest Deal (Bloomberg)
Germany’s biggest lender missed out on the advisory and top-tier financing roles on Bayer AG’s $62 billion bid for Monsanto Co., according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company chose to advise rival German chemicals giant BASF SE, which has studied but so far sat out the biggest-ever consolidation wave in the global crop chemicals and seeds industry, the people said. Because of the potential client conflict, Deutsche Bank didn’t join the more than a dozen lenders pitching at Bayer’s headquarters in Leverkusen for a financing role, the people said.
Morgan Stanley seeks approval to offer first U.S.-listed ETFs (Reuters)
The company's asset management unit asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to launch "passive" ETFs that would mimic market indexes as well as "actively managed" ETFs, which allow portfolio managers to pick a set of stocks and bonds they expect to beat the market.
Pine River to Shut $1.6 Billion Credit Fund After Kuhn Retired (Bloomberg)
Pine River Capital Management is closing its $1.6 billion fixed-income hedge fund after Steve Kuhn, one of its co-managers, announced he was stepping away from managing money, the firm said in a letter to clients.
Beijing fetish restaurant teases with lobster and sex (Reuters)
With drinks served in breast-shaped cups and beers opened with bottle openers shaped like a wooden penis, the father and daughter team behind a Beijing S&M restaurant are encouraging customers to mix food with sex. Owner Lu Lu, a 27-year-old divorcee, said business has been good since opening just under a year ago, with young Chinese streaming in to feast on seafood, such as lobster, under the gaze of mannequins wearing bondage gear. Lu's father overcame initial reservations about some of the decor and took charge of the kitchen, dishing up a menu that features items such as 'Horny' and 'Sensuous World'...Apart from one visit by police, Lu said, she has been left to continue to run her establishment, where inflatable naked dolls sit on shelves and waiters wear aprons with breasts on them. That may change, though, with Lu planning to ramp up the kinkiness by putting women customers in handcuffs and getting their male companions to feed them. She also wants to offer customers the chance to whip the waitresses.