Opening Bell: 9.7.16

BlackRock issues climate change warning (FT)
Investors can no longer ignore climate change and should act to protect their portfolios as extreme weather events become more common and governments step up their efforts to fight global warming, according to BlackRock. The world’s largest asset manager said governments and investors had been slow to appreciate the problems related to global warming but that this must change. “Investors can no longer ignore climate change. Climate factors have been under-appreciated and underpriced because they have been perceived to be distant [problems],” said Ewen Cameron-Watt, a senior director at BlackRock.

Berkshire is enjoying a superb comeback this year (CNBC)
Year to date, shares of Berkshire Hathaway — which trade in both astronomic Class A and more standard-priced Class B flavors — are up some 13.5 percent, while the broad S&P 500 has risen about 6.8 percent. This outperformance comes after an unusually dour year for Berkshire in 2015, which saw the company's value slide by 12 percent even as the S&P remained essentially flat.

Brazil’s ‘Better Than Goldman’ Bank Slowly Rebounds From Scandal (NYT)
BTG Pactual, a once highflying Brazilian investment bank that stumbled badly during a brush with scandal last year, is reinventing itself with more modest aspirations. Gone is the brash desire to outdo the American investment bank Goldman Sachs — some here once joked that BTG stood for “Better Than Goldman,” and the bank expanded to Hong Kong, the United States and Europe, even Switzerland. Today, simply getting back into the game may be as meaningful for BTG, given the tumultuous nine months it has endured since its former chief executive and guiding force, André Esteves, was arrested in November on charges of obstruction of justice in the sprawling Petrobras corruption investigation, accusations he has denied.

The New Short: Find Industries Exposed to Exotic Hacking Attacks (Bloomberg)
A few hours after Carson Block announced last Thursday that he was shorting St. Jude Medical Inc. stock over hacking risks to the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators, the e-mails started stacking up in Billy Rios’ and Jonathan Butts’ inboxes. The two are top medical-device cybersecurity consultants, and they were inundated with inquiries from hedge funds, short sellers and other investors trying to make sense of the news -- or profit themselves from the trade by Block’s firm, Muddy Waters Capital LLC. In total, Rios and Butts, who work together, said they’ve fielded more than 40 requests, with more coming in. "This one blew up. This was like nothing else we’d seen," said Butts, who, like the hackers working with Muddy Waters, researches ways to subvert safeguards designed to prevent intruders from breaking into medical devices. "This is almost like The Big Short -- someone saw something that nobody else did."

Man arrested for driving car with frying pan instead of steering wheel (Mirror)
A man has been caught driving his car with a frying pan. The 32-year-old had swapped the cookery instrument in place of the steering wheel...Police in Adelaide, Australia, were called to reports of a man "loitering" around Norman Street just after 8am on Sunday. When they arrived, the man sped off in his Mazda Sedan. The car was also found to be uninsured and unregistered. 7 News Adelaide reports that the man had also changed his number plates and had breached a previous bail.

Newest Canadian Bank Aims to Woo Country’s Chinese Entrepreneurs (Bloomberg)
Wealth One Bank of Canada wants to become the preferred bank for Canada’s Chinese community, said Chief Executive Officer Charles Lambert. The closely held lender, which has about 30 employees and started taking deposits in July, is targeting individuals and businesses with online banking services supported by offices in Toronto and Vancouver and a retail branch in Markham, a city north of Toronto with a large Chinese population.

Allergan says 'outlier' drugmakers scaring off venture capital money (Reuters)
CEO Brent Saunders, in an interview on Tuesday, did not mention names of companies, but said several that have come under fire for "egregious" price increases are causing a backlash against the industry. "My biggest fear, every time there's another headline or more regulator negativity, is that venture capital needed for innovation could move out of the sector," Saunders said, adding that the amount of venture capital backing for early-stage drugmakers is slowing.

Buyer of Waldorf Says It’s Time to Digest $13.5 Billion of Deals (Bloomberg)
Anbang Insurance Group Co., known for its aborted attempt to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. in March, is turning its attention from chasing deals to digesting $13.5 billion of overseas acquisitions announced since 2014. The company will focus on integrating purchases such as South Korea’s Tongyang Life Insurance Co., Vice Chairman Yao Dafeng said in an interview on Tuesday. While Yao said Anbang will still continue to seek acquisitions, mostly insurers and banks, his comments suggest a deal spree that included buying New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel and mounting a $14 billion bid for Starwood might abate.

Man allegedly used homemade line to fish for drugs in police drop box (UPI)
The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office said a sergeant confronted a man spotted using a homemade cord and fishing hook to remove drugs from the Operation Medicine Cabinet drop box in front of the sheriff's Coastal Station in Carpinteria. Christian Kulbe, 46, had successfully reeled in some drugs and syringes when he was caught early Sunday fishing in the drop box, one of several set up by the sheriff's office and the Santa Barbara County Public Works to allow residents to safely dispose of unused drugs and medications.