Opening Bell: 5.9.17

Elliott Advisors takes legal action to oust Akzo Nobel chairman (FT)
In its letter Elliott said not a single shareholder had publicly backed the Akzo board’s “standalone strategy and stance of non-engagement, while eight out of the 20 largest shareholders have publicly urged Akzo Nobel to constructively engage with PPG”.

JPMorgan Tells Banks to Partner Up as U.S. Deposit Drain Looms (BBG)
A "deposit is destroyed" if the "Fed does not reinvest," the presentation states.
JPMorgan estimates that a quantitative easing-related deposit-drain could result in loan growth lagging deposit growth by $200 billion to $300 billion a year. That could be particularly problematic for banks that rely on deposit products that roll over swiftly, such as brokered accounts bought from third parties, large commercial banking accounts and high-interest savings accounts.

Testosterone is the enemy of smart investing decisions, study finds (MarketWatch)
"What we found was the testosterone group was quicker to make snap judgments on brain teasers where your initial guess is usually wrong," says Caltech Professor Colin Camerer. "The testosterone is either inhibiting the process of mentally checking your work or increasing the intuitive feeling that 'I'm definitely right.'"

U.S. regulators look at Volcker Rule, a sign they hear Wall Street (Reuters)
Since Trump took office, Treasury, "has probably conducted more outreach to the financial industry, at least the asset management industry, than the Obama administration did in eight years," said Paul Stevens, president of the Investment Company Institute

Goldman shakes up investment bank leadership (FT)
Gregg Lemkau, who had risen to the role of co-head of global mergers and acquisitions in a 25-year career with the bank, is one of the two new co-heads flanking Mr Waldron, along with Marc Nachmann, former head of the global financing group and head of Latin America. Mr Nachmann, a German national who was made partner in 2004, will relocate to London.

Ex-Nomura Trader Says He Was Trained to Lie to Customers (BBG)
"It was just commonplace on the desk," he said. "I didn’t think about the reality of it when I was actually doing it." DiNucci, who worked at Nomura from 2009 to 2012, pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and agreed to cooperate with the government.

On Deck Goes From Hot Tech Startup to Dull Lender (WSJ)
The online lender said Monday that it would put a renewed focus on achieving profitability by slowing growth and cutting costs. Shares fell by nearly 7% in response. Fundamentally, investors are finally waking up to the fact that On Deck is more of a niche financial company than a revolutionary technology platform.

Why Do Gas Station Prices Constantly Change? Blame the Algorithm (WSJ)
In economics textbooks, open competition between companies selling a similar product, like gasoline, tends to push prices lower. These kinds of algorithms determine the optimal price sometimes dozens of times a day. As they get better at predicting what competitors are charging and what consumers are willing to pay, there are signs they sometimes end up boosting prices together.

Pepe the Frog Is Dead, or So His Creator Hopes (NYT)
Oren Segal, the director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said he appreciated Mr. Furie’s struggle to maintain control of his character. But he had “mixed feelings” about seeing the frog in a coffin. “This meme is almost like Elvis,” he said. “Elvis lives on, and Pepe is going to live on regardless of whether we put him in a casket in a cartoon.”

Danish brewer puts the 'P' in pilsner (Reuters)
The beer named "Pisner" - a word-play combining pilsner with local slang for urine - contains no human waste, but is produced from fields of malting barley fertilized with human urine rather than traditional animal manure or factory-made plant nutrients.