Opening Bell: 1.3.17
Jain Finds His Second Act as Ex-Deutsche Bank Chief Joins Cantor (BBG)
Jain, who stepped down as co-chief executive officer of Germany’s largest bank in mid-2015, will join Cantor Fitzgerald LP as president in coming weeks to help the New York-based firm grow businesses including trading and prime brokerage. His new employer’s financial services and real estate units collectively have more than 10,000 workers -- but that’s just a 10th what Jain previously led.
Another Madoff Legacy: Ways for Investors to Keep Ponzi Profits (BBG)
The legal fallout from Bernard Madoff’s epic fraud includes an ironic twist: a road map for investors wanting to hold on to profits that seem too good to be true. In the eight years since Madoff’s arrest, a series of recent court decisions have favored investors who profited from the scam, dashing the hopes of trustee Irving Picard to return more to Madoff’s victims who lost $17.5 billion in principal.
Jamie Dimon: I wish JP Morgan could keep it all in London (Financial News)
“A major fear to me about Brexit is that it causes the EU to fail down the road,” Dimon said in a recent interview at JP Morgan’s offices in London. He proclaimed a “love” for London, but provided no reassurance that JP Morgan wouldn’t move business from the City to the continent after Brexit takes effect. “I wish we could keep it all here,” said Dimon, who wore a pair of cufflinks made from British coins. “I think it’s very good for Europe.”
Wall Street, America’s New Landlord, Kicks Tenants to the Curb (BBG)
Now among America’s biggest landlords, some of these companies are leaving tenants like Allen in the cold. In a business long dominated by mom-and-pop landlords, large-scale investors are shifting collections conversations from front stoops to call centers and courtrooms as they try to maximize profits.
Indonesia Cuts Ties With J.P. Morgan Over Downgrade (WSJ)
“We don’t close ourselves to assessment because it’s important for us to improve ourselves,” Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said. “But the institutions with big names have very high responsibility in creating positive psychology instead of doing [something] misleading.”
Paris Eyes Luring 20,000 Bankers From London Amid Brexit Rupture (BBG)
Paris will make its case to London-based executives in a series of February meetings as it competes for talent with rival cities such as Frankfurt. Europlace’s marketing materials show it will extol how Paris already employs more than 180,000 financiers, is home to the region’s biggest bond market and boasts the second-largest pool of asset managers.
Starting 2017 In The Right Spirit… With A Contender For The Most Depressing Chart In Europe (FT Alphaville)
With both sales and buybacks not being the drivers of poor earnings, we believe European companies face a lack of improved profit margins. In fact, for the first time since 1990, European profit margins have stagnated at a time when US margins have improved. The gap in profitability is the widest seen during this time period.
Facebook 'Censors' Nude Statue of Sea God Neptune, The Well-Known Renaissance Symbol of Northern Italian City (Daily Telegraph)
A virile, muscled statue of the sea god Neptune has fallen foul of Facebook’s prudish policies on nudity after an Italian art historian was told to remove it from her web page. In a statement, Facebook told her: “The use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebook’s guide lines on advertising. It presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual and which shows to an excessive degree the body, concentrating unnecessarily on body parts.”