Opening Bell: 12.1.16
Gary Cohn, a Potential Successor at Goldman, Could End Up With Trump (NYT)
In the last month, both of the firm’s vice chairmen have announced plans to retire from the Wall Street firm. Then, this week, the No. 2 executive at the company, Gary D. Cohn, met with President-elect Donald J. Trump to talk about the possibility of a job with the new administration. Mr. Cohn is said to be open to leaving Goldman if he is offered a position by Mr. Trump, according to two people briefed on his thinking.
Here's what Wall Street's top performers expect from their bonuses this year (BI)
According to an annual survey by Wall Street recruiting firm Options Group, total compensation for FICC staff in the US will be up 5% from last year on average. Those working in securitized products and rates trading are expecting the biggest bump in their bonus, while those in equities and investment banking are less positive. Bonuses for equities staff are expected to drop 5%, while investment bankers expect a 4% drop.
Wall Street Wins Again as Trump Picks Bankers, Billionaires (BBG)
It would suit Whitney Tilson just fine if voters who backed Trump because he promised to rein in Wall Street are furious now that he’s surrounding himself with bankers and billionaires. “I can take glee in that -- I think Donald Trump conned them,” said Tilson, who runs Kase Capital Management. “I worried that he was going to do crazy things that would blow the system up. So the fact that he’s appointing people from within the system is a good thing.”
Wilbur Ross’ private equity fund raised $500M from the Chinese government (NYPost)
A China syndrome has cropped up among the Trump administration’s potential conflicts of interest. President-elect Donald Trump picked Wilbur Ross to become the US Commerce secretary — but the Chinese government is a big investor in the private equity mogul’s funds. WL Ross & Co. in 2010 raised roughly $500 million from a state enterprise, China Investment Corp. (CIC), to invest alongside his fund, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Steven Cohen, SAC Reach $135 Million Insider-Trading Settlement (WSJ)
Billionaire Steven A. Cohen and his former hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors agreed to a $135 million class-action settlement Wednesday, bringing legal costs tied to SAC-related insider-trading cases close to $2 billion. The new amount will be paid to investors in Elan Corp., now a part of Perrigo Co. Elan played a part in a case involving a former employee, Mathew Martoma, who was in 2014 sentenced to nine years in prison for trading on inside tips in Elan and other stocks while at SAC.
How one trader lost more than $2 million in a week by betting against oil stocks (CNBC)
Wednesday's biggest options trade in any ETF was the apparent sale of 86,227 December 35-strike puts on the XOP at a price of $0.12 per share, or $12 per contract. The $1 million this generated may sound like a lot of money, but everything is relative. On Tuesday, Nov. 22, roughly the same amount of December 35-puts appeared to be bought, for about $0.40 per share — or a total cost of nearly $3.5 million. That means that the trader lost some $2.5 million in just over a week.
Exclusive: Europe's biggest tech hope Spotify starts talking about profit (Reuters)
Music streaming service Spotify, one of Europe's most valuable tech start-ups, could start to become profitable as early as next year, said a board member who was also one of the company's first investors. Spotify, the global leader of the music streaming industry has posted steep losses since it was created a decade ago by Swedish founders Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.
David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz Takes a Swing at the Private-Equity Game (WSJ)
In his first major announcement about his retirement plans since wrapping up a triumphant final season with the Boston Red Sox, Mr. Ortiz said he and a star-studded group of former players are launching Dugout Ventures, a private-equity fund that will focus on companies manufacturing the next generation of baseball equipment. Other investors in the fund include Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan and Barry Larkin, as well as retired players Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter.
People Are Applauding This Dog For Trying To Clean Up His Own Pee With Toilet Paper (BuzzFeed)
Pablo needed to pee and couldn’t hold it in any longer. He peed on the bathroom floor, and when Hampton came home, he found wads of toilet paper pulled from the roll onto the wet spot and realized Pablo “tried to clean it up” himself.