Opening Bell: 9.23.16

Yahoo-Verizon deal may be complicated by historic hack (CNBC)
Yahoo faces fallout from lawmakers, users and even Verizon following what could be the biggest data breach in history. "Breaches are damaging and expensive, as Yahoo has discovered," said Chris Petersen, CTO of security company LogRhythm. "The ramifications of a successful attack are far-reaching, and could potentially impact their deal with Verizon." ... The biggest question is when Yahoo found out about the breach and how long it waited to disclose it publicly, said Keatron Evans, a partner at consulting firm Blink Digital Security. (Kara Swisher at Recode reported that Verizon isn't happy about Yahoo's disclosures about the hack.)

Airbnb Raises $555 Million in Funding (Bloomberg)
This funding round, which values the San Francisco-based company at $30 billion, could eventually reach $850 million, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because talks are ongoing. Bloomberg reported last month that Airbnb was seeking up to $850 million in new funding at a $30 billion valuation. The company disclosed that it has raised $555.5 million in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

HSBC walks U.S. regulatory tightrope over $10 billion of 'trapped' capital (Reuters)
Britain's HSBC (HSBA.L) is seeking to release billions of dollars of capital tied up in the United States without upsetting the country's politicians and regulators, senior sources at the bank said. HSBC, which has been in the sights of U.S. regulators over breaching anti-money laundering rules, has more than $20 billion of capital in the United States earning a slim 1 percent return, of which up to half could be returned to the holding company via asset sales, analysts and investors say. The bank's investors are currently missing out on higher profits and more secure dividends as a result of this hefty U.S. balance sheet. The bank earns a return on equity of just 1.4 percent on this, compared with 5 percent for HSBC globally and 13 percent for major U.S. commercial bank rivals, according to Deutsche Bank research.

The Man Who May Inherit the Mess at Wells Fargo (Bloomberg)
The man assigned to do the messy task: Tim Sloan, the bank’s 56-year-old president, chief operating officer and trusted No. 2 to Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf. As Stumpf recounted for Congress this week, Sloan told Tolstedt that the bank would “go in a different direction." She was soon replaced. It was quintessential Sloan, the quiet fixer, the man called in to clean up messes or help cinch giant acquisitions. He’s also long been considered Stumpf’s likely successor, a view that’s only grown as the CEO has taken a public beating in recent days. Sloan finds himself in what analysts say is an enviable position amid the crisis. By dint of his past jobs, he can make the case that he is insulated from the taint of the current controversy.

People are getting Botox on their scrotums and it's been christened it 'scrotox' (Mirror)
Men aren't adverse to cosmetic surgery and, as the Metro reports, the numbers who've plumped for a procedure have doubled over the last decade. A 'scrotal uplift' includes doses of Botox, and is just one of the procedures a man can have. Though at up to £2800 a pop, we hope it does more than iron out some wrinkles. Mark Norfolk, Clinical Director at Transform told the site: "Over the past year, requests for scrotum Botox have doubled at Transform showing the huge demand and interest for this procedure."

Investors Weigh Whether a Female CEO Matters to Market Returns (Bloomberg)
Some investors are finding that companies with more women in top positions outperform. Now they’re starting to wonder: How much does a female CEO add to market returns? On one hand, a company led by a woman has reached the pinnacle of corporate diversity efforts, but on the other hand, some investors worry that women are too frequently appointed to helm struggling companies, running off the "glass cliff." Market returns bear out both points, showing that female CEOs frequently deliver strong performance, but are often handed a difficult job to start.

In 136 Years, Women Will Be Paid as Much as Men. Maybe (Bloomberg)
Progress in narrowing the gender pay gap nationally has slowed since 2001, according to The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap, a report published on Thursday by the American Association of University Women. If that rate of change persists, U.S. women will be paid the same as men by 2152, according to the advocacy group’s report.

Mark Cuban has Leon Cooperman’s back in insider-trading battle (NYP)
Cuban, cleared by a Texas jury in 2013 of insider trading charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, told The Post on Thursday that Washington’s pursuit of the hedgie “sure looked like a witch hunt.” Cooperman, the head of Omega Advisors, was charged by the SEC on Wednesday with using info obtained in 2010 from executives at Atlas Pipeline to reap at least $4 million in profits — and then trying to cover up his scheme. The 73-year-old investor passionately denied the SEC’s allegations in both a letter to investors and a phone call with the media.

Police question bridge-crossing clown when umbrella is mistaken for gun (UPI)
Mount Pleasant police said a witness called 911 Wednesday to report a man in full clown regalia was crossing the Ravenel Bridge and appeared to be carrying a gun. "It appeared to be a male, but he had full face makeup on dressed like a clown," the caller told 911 dispatchers in records obtained by WCIV-TV. "It's a thing, and it's a little sketchy, and he appeared to have a rifle underneath his right arm. Could have been something else." The caller attempted to describe the clown's attributes, but had a difficult time through the clown's costume and makeup. "When I looked, my impression was that's a crazy ass 50-some-year-old perv. I mean, I can't give you anything solid on that," the caller said. "To look at him, he looks all rainbow. I think from the front there's more color." The caller made a second pass across the bridge to get a better look at the clown. "They won't miss him. He's half red, half yellow, and... OK, I'm sorry that is absolutely an umbrella he is carrying, not a gun," the caller said. "Oh I'm glad I was able to verify that. I'm sorry that I guessed that wrong. Like I said, I just saw the wooden part and said what I thought it was."