Opening Bell: 10.13.16

Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf Quits in Fallout From Fake Accounts (Bloomberg)
Stumpf, 63, is retiring from both posts effective immediately, the bank said Wednesday in a statement. Tim Sloan, 56, the chief operating officer long viewed as his most likely successor, will become CEO. Lead director Stephen Sanger will become the board’s non-executive chairman. Elizabeth Duke, a former Federal Reserve Board governor, will be vice chair.

Elizabeth Warren goes on tirade after Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf retires (CNBC)
Warren tweeted on Wednesday that she would still like to see Stumpf "return every nickel he made" during the period the fake accounts were opened, as well as face an investigation by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wells Fargo's new CEO faces immediate test (Reuters)
The newly installed chief executive of Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) will present third-quarter results on Friday, less than 48 hours after replacing John Stumpf at the helm of the bank. Investors are seeking reassurance that Wells Fargo can rebuild its reputation and retain profits while overhauling the hard-charging sales culture at the heart of a scandal over unauthorized accounts. Sloan's nearly 30 years with Wells, largely spent on the corporate and institutional side of the bank, and his moderate temperament make him a safe pair of hands. But as chief operating officer of the bank since November 2015, he had oversight over Wells' retail division, where employees opened up to 2 million accounts without customers' knowledge, some of them during his tenure as COO.

Fed Minutes See Rate Rise ‘Relatively Soon’ (Dealbook)
The Federal Reserve expects to increase its benchmark interest rate “relatively soon” if the economy continues to advance at a reasonable pace, according to an account published Wednesday of the bank’s most recent policy meeting.

People really want Ken Bone to do p0rn (NYP)
While his name rather sounds like the star of an X-rated film, P0rnhub says that “searches for Ken Bone skyrocketed +186 percent on P0rnhub following the debate.” His number of Twitter followers had also blown up to 181,000 by Wednesday, powered by his self-proclaimed “Boneheads” fans.

The World’s Best IPO Has Gained 6,000%, But Analysts Say Stay Away (Bloomberg)
Luen Wong Group Holdings Ltd. jumped 1,438 percent on the first trading day after its April initial public offering and is now 6,715 percent above its offer price. The company, which reported sales of $41 million last year and profit of $1.1 million from projects like laying roads and digging sewers, is today worth $2.9 billion. The run-up highlights quirks in Hong Kong’s stock market, where wild swings are a regular occurrence, many firms have a tiny portion of their shares available to trade and there’s a healthy sideline in mainland Chinese firms buying companies to engineer reverse takeovers. Luen Wong’s world-beating showing has been ascribed to a combination of all three and has left analysts urging caution.

Credit Suisse’s investment banking unit faces brighter outlook (FT)
After a year of losses and scandals, of sackings and restructuring, something is finally going right at Credit Suisse’s investment bank. The division has quietly risen to fourth place in the global M&A league tables after advising on the three biggest deals in the world so far this year. And it has been winning new talent to replace those who left because of the Swiss bank’s decision to prioritise wealth management over investment banking in its 2015 restructuring.

HSBC: There's Now a Very High Chance of a 'Severe Fall' In U.S. Stocks (Bloomberg)
In a new note, Gunn says he is now on alert for a big dip in U.S. equities. "With the U.S. stock market selling off aggressively on October 11, we now issue a RED ALERT," he writes. "The possibility of a severe fall in the stock market is now very high," he adds, noting that volatility has continued to rise since the end of the summer and the recent sell-off was seen across many areas of the market, and not just select groups.

There’s A Sexy Kenneth Bone Costume (HP)
We all know Kenneth Bone ― the undecided voter who asked Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at presidential debate about energy policy. Despite Bone being inexplicably still undecided, we’ve grown to love his calm demeanor, his vibrant fashions, and toying with his existence on the internet...Unfortunately for Bone, he entered the zeitgeist just weeks before Halloween. IZOD has already mostly sold out of the iconic red sweater he wore. So, what’s a Bone fan supposed to do? Well, in true Halloween spirit, Yandy has turned the Kenneth Bone uniform into, uh, a costume. They’re calling it the “Sexy Undecided Voter Costume.” Yes, you read that right. It’s a sexy costume...The costume description says it features “an iconic red crop top with cap sleeves, a white cropped undershirt, blue high waisted pants with a back zipper closure, the must-have mustache, black glasses and a microphone.” Apparently, Yandy started taking pre-orders on Tuesday and sold out its initial run “within four hours.”