Opening Bell 8.8.17

Google Fires Engineer Who Wrote Memo Questioning Women in Tech [NYT]
The memo, called “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” angered many in Silicon Valley because it relied on certain gender stereotypes — like the notion that women are less interested in high-stress jobs because they are more anxious — to rationalize the gender gap in the tech industry. The memo quickly spread outside the company, as other Google employees railed against many of its assumptions.

Small caps could be sending a warning for the whole stock market [CNBC]
The second quarter earnings period has been a dud for small caps, and that could be a warning for large cap names, which have seen a surprisingly strong quarter with profit growth near 12 percent.
"The large cap multinationals are getting a tailwind from currency and they're getting better growth outside the U.S., and small caps are more domestically focused," said Steven DeSanctis, small- and mid-cap analyst at Jefferies.

Gundlach, Wary of Pricey Market, Sets Cap on DoubleLine's Growth [BBG]
The co-founder and chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital LP says risky assets such as junk bonds and emerging-market debt are overvalued. He’s reducing those positions in DoubleLine funds and investing more in higher-quality credits with less sensitivity to rising interest rates, mindful that doing so may mean he gives up some performance for a while.

Exclusive: British banks' turnaround plans frustrated by U.S. justice delays [Reuters]
Like their global competitors, Britain's top banks have spent billions of dollars in fines, settlements and restructuring costs to deal with legal and financial fallout from the 2008 crisis.
For Barclays, RBS and Standard Chartered, hopes that their unresolved cases in the United States can be settled this year have been clouded by delays in appointing key staff at the DoJ since Donald Trump became president.

Inside banker’s fall from grace after whipping out penis at party [NYP]
Anders Borg — who was once Sweden’s minister of finance — also reportedly threatened guests, groped other men and called female revelers “whores” and “sluts” during his night of debauchery, a source at the party told the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet.

Wells Fargo, Awash in Scandal, Faces Violations Over Car Insurance Refunds
[NYT]
The latest inquiry, by officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, where the bank has its headquarters, involves a different, specialized type of insurance that is sold to consumers when they buy a car. Called guaranteed auto protection insurance, or GAP, it is intended to protect a lender against the fact that a car — the collateral for its loan — loses significant value the moment it is driven off the lot.

Bear hijacks car for joyride, then poops inside [NYP]
The bear hijacked the Subaru from Cornelius’ neighbor in the Colorado town early Friday — likely releasing the parking brake and causing the car to roll down the driveway and crash into a utility box and the mailbox, the paper reports.