Opening Bell: 9.8.16

Wall Street on Alert to Danger of Donating to Trump-Pence Ticket (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. joined Credit Suisse Group AG and Northern Trust Corp. in warning or restricting employees regarding political donations to avoid violating the federal pay-to-play rule. The rule, meant to prevent firms and employees from making contributions as a quid pro quo for winning business, is complicating donations to the presidential race since Republican nominee Donald Trump chose Indiana Governor Mike Pence, the de facto head of the state’s public pension, as his running mate.

Wells Fargo to Be Sanctioned Over Sales Tactics (WSJ)
Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest U.S. bank by market value, is to be the subject of a regulatory enforcement action related to its cross-selling of products and sales tactics, according to people familiar with the matter...Regulators and prosecutors have been investigating whether Wells Fargo pushed employees too hard to meet sales goals while failing to do enough to prevent questionable behavior, The Wall Street Journal has previously reported. In May 2015, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed suit, alleging the bank pressured its employees to commit fraudulent acts, including opening accounts for people that don’t exist.

European Central Bank Leaves All Three Rates Unchanged (Bloomberg)
The European Central Bank kept its stimulus program unchanged in a sign that policy makers don’t see an immediate danger to the euro-area recovery from risks including Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

Top Czech Envoy Says U.K.’s Brexit Goals ‘Completely Unrealistic’ (Bloomberg)
A lack of understanding by at least some U.K. ministers over how the union works and unwillingness to believe what they’re being told by their civil servants is contributing to contradictory statements from London, Tomas Prouza, state secretary for EU affairs in Prague, said in an interview Wednesday. There’s a very low chance for British financial institutions and other companies to keep unhindered access to the free-trade zone, he said.

Felon Named Coffee Charged With Coffee Attack On Fellow Inmate (TSG)
A career criminal with the surname Coffee was charged yesterday with throwing hot coffee on a fellow inmate at a Florida jail, according to an arrest report. Investigators allege that Andrew Coffee, 53, admitted to dousing the 21-year-old victim with coffee, but denied punching the younger inmate in the head (as victim Chauncey Jones claimed). Throwing the coffee, Coffee explained, was “better than actually ‘beating his ass,’” the report notes. Coffee reportedly told investigators that he has “been getting annoyed by Jones because he is much younger.”

BofA's Moynihan: US stocks higher because 'where else is the money going to go' (CNBC)
Bank of America chief Brian Moynihan told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. stock market keeps heading higher because there's no where else to get returns globally with low to negative interest rates. "Where else is the money going to go, with dividend [stock] yields exceeding sovereign [bond] yields? The money is going to go into the equity markets because they're looking for return," he said.

Egypt’s Money Woes Hit a Touchstone of Marriage (WSJ)
He was a doctor. She was a dentist. And they loved each other, to the point of broaching marriage to their parents. But a romantic union between these two medical professionals fell apart over an economic indicator: the price of gold in Egypt. Mohamed Abdel-Alim, 31, said his hopes of marrying his dentist bride-to-be earlier this year were dashed when her family wouldn’t budge on a customary gift of shiny gold jewelry known as a shabka. The Egyptian equivalent of a diamond engagement ring, the shabka symbolizes the beginning of the lifelong bond of marriage. But it has become prohibitively expensive in a country struggling with unemployment, stagnant salaries and soaring prices.

Sources: Jack Dorsey only has a few more quarters to fix things at Twitter (CNBC)
Revenue is tight and management is looking at options to save money, according to sources who spoke with CNBC's Julia Boorstin...While the situation sounds dire, sources told CNBC that CEO Jack Dorsey's management won't be questioned at Thursday's board meeting. He's been leading the company full time for just under a year. Dorsey is expected to be given a few more quarters to execute his plan to turn the company around, sources said.

Man Crashes Girlfriend’s Car Into Building — 8 Feet Off The Ground (HP)
Plainville police said the man was driving his girlfriend’s Saturn LS when he lost control, sped over a rock island, went airborne and broke through a fence, according to NBC Connecticut. The unidentified driver ended up smashing into a building eight feet in the air. A few minutes earlier and about a mile away, police had pulled over the man on suspicion of drunk driving. But he took off when officers told him to put the car in park, the Hartford Courant reports.