Opening Bell: 5.15.17
JPMorgan buys Dublin building with room for 1,000 staff (Reuters)
Ireland's financial services minister, Eoghan Murphy, said in a statement on Monday that JPMorgan's announcement was "a welcome vote of confidence in the strength of Ireland's offering and Dublin's status as a major financial center." Rivalry between the different EU cities has become acrimonious at times, with Ireland complaining to the European Commission that it is being undercut by predatory behavior by other centers.
Ransomware’s Aftershocks Feared as U.S. Warns of Complexity (NYT)
Copycat variants of the malicious software behind the attacks have begun to proliferate, according to experts who were on guard for new attacks. “We are in the second wave,” said Matthieu Suiche of Comae Technologies, a cybersecurity company based in the United Arab Emirates. “As expected, the attackers have released new variants of the malware. We can surely expect more.”
Microsoft hits out at US state’s ‘stockpiling’ of cyber weapons (FT)
“Repeatedly, exploits in the hands of governments have leaked into the public domain and caused widespread damage,” he said. “An equivalent scenario with conventional weapons would be the US military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen.”
Taking the bull case for Valeant seriously (John Hempton)
I am left with a choice. Either (1) The entire myth of Valeant - that it was a ruthlessly low cost operation is bullshit and there are still plenty of unanticipated costs to cut allowing the company to miss on revenue and beat on adjusted EBITDA, or (2) They are cutting hard into revenue producing staff, but this is going to raise adjusted EBITDA or (3) The adjusted EBITDA number and guidance is BS. As you can guess common sense leads me to the third choice. The adjusted EBITDA number and guidance remain BS.
Treasuries probe shapes up to be test for White House (FT)
“This is in a sense the Big Kahuna,” says Robert Hockett, a Cornell University law professor and Federal Reserve consultant. “It’s the most important of all systemically important prices. If you can’t trust the Treasury market? That’s momentous.” UBS, BNP Paribas, RBS and Morgan Stanley received subpoenas last week in a sign that the two-year-old probe is moving forward, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Snap earnings 'miss' shows misreading of analyst 'expectations' (Reuters)
A Reuters review of 19 predictions heading into Snap's earnings report on Wednesday shows that analysts affiliated with the underwriters of Snap's initial public offering in March had far lower revenue expectations than investment firms not involved in the IPO. Nine investment firms that were not underwriters predicted on average that Snap's revenue would grow slightly from the prior quarter to $168.4 million, even though the company in its IPO prospectus had estimated a decline due to the seasonal nature of its advertising business. Analysts affiliated with 10 underwriters forecast on average that revenue would hit $138.4 million, $30 million below the estimate of the non-underwriting firms.
Reckless stock trading leaves Congress rife with conflicts (Politico)
But what many saw as a scandal, others saw as an opportunity. On the very day that Wyden was decrying Tom Price’s bad judgment, Rep. Doug Lamborn, Republican of Colorado, bought shares of the same tiny Australian company, Innate Immunotherapeutics. Within two days three more members also bought in — Republicans Billy Long of Missouri, Mike Conaway of Texas and John Culberson of Texas. Conaway added more shares the following week.
Why Trumponomics won’t make America great again (Economist)
The real difference is that Trumponomics (unlike, say, Reaganomics) is not an economic doctrine at all. It is best seen as a set of proposals put together by businessmen courtiers for their king. Mr Trump has listened to scores of executives, but there are barely any economists in the White House. His approach to the economy is born of a mindset where deals have winners and losers and where canny negotiators confound abstract principles. Call it boardroom capitalism. [Counterpoint: JAMIE DIMON: Trump's economic agenda is the right agenda]
In Cashless Sweden, Even God Now Takes Collection Via an App (BBG)
With very few Swedes carrying cash, the Jarna-Vardinge and Uppsala parishes are now reaping the benefits of being tech-savvy. Not only do mobile app and card payments lower the risk of money being stolen, it’s also cheaper to rely on Swish since there’s a cost involved in depositing large amounts of cash at the bank. In Jarna-Vardinge, the use of Swish has also led to an increase in the amount of money raised, since many of the congregation’s 7,500 members are no longer limiting themselves to any spare coins found in their pockets.
Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen creepily tweets sultry photo of model daughter (NYDN)
“POTUS wants to date his daughter, the VP calls his wife ‘mother,’ and DJT’s attorney posts spank-bank material of his daughter,” wrote a Twitter user, who identifies herself as Bonnie Bratnober. The comparison did not phase Cohen. “Jealous,” the proud dad replied.