Opening Bell: 10.27.17
SEC Signals Pullback From Prosecutorial Approach to Enforcement (WSJ)
Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC’s enforcement division, indicated the regulator would drop the “broken windows” strategy of pursuing many cases over even the smallest legal violations, and may also pull back from trying to make some companies admit to wrongdoing as a condition of settling with the SEC.
As Trump tax comes to floor, failure could spell stocks selloff (Reuters)
“The nature of the rally over the last two months has been tax-cut led. If we don’t get a cut then the market is going down” several percentage points, said Edward Perkin, chief equity investment officer at Eaton Vance. A collapse in the tax measure would likely send the S&P 500 down 5 percent or more, Goldman Sachs said in an Oct. 20 note. “Tax reform will determine the direction of the S&P 500’s next 100 points,” the report said.
A CVS-Aetna Deal Is Logical But Also a Stretch (BBG Gadfly)
CVS Health Corp. is reportedly considering a blockbuster buyout of health insurer Aetna Inc. There is a sort of reverse precedent for such a tie-up, with an insurer buying a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM). But there's never been a deal like this, where a company with no experience operating a major insurer would suddenly run one of the country's largest.
Phase Out Libor? Not So Fast, Bankers Say (WSJ)
Nearly 80% of market participants believe the London interbank offered rate should continue to be used as a financial benchmark if the way it’s calculated changes, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey of 164 asset managers and others who work at financial institutions. Though regulators are ratcheting up efforts to find alternative benchmarks, 73% of survey respondents said Libor should continue to exist alongside any new reference rates.
How to Profit From Behavioral Economics (Businessweek)
The professional investors at Fuller & Thaler also use systems to guard against their biases. They don’t visit companies, says Giovinazzo—because when you meet with people, you judge them more on whether you like them than whether they’re good leaders. To avoid anchoring, he and his colleagues at Fuller & Thaler don’t set price targets for stocks or make quarterly earnings forecasts. It’s good to know that markets can be irrational, but it can only help if you recognize that you’ll be, too.
This Robot Will Handle Your Divorce Free of Charge (WSJ) “I think people get caught up in trying to make money,” says Browder, 19. “I’m just trying to make the law free for everyone.” A computer-science major at Stanford who finds class “just so boring,” Browder is now out to democratize a new institution: divorce. About 95% of divorces are uncontested, which can cost up to $10,000, the bulk of which is for attorney fees. Starting in February, DoNotPay will generate all the documents necessary to file for divorce, without involving lawyers. All you need is to get your partner to sign.
Joseph Tsai agrees to purchase 49 percent minority stake in Nets, sources say (ESPN)
Joseph Tsai, the executive vice chairman and co-founder of Chinese e-commerce goliath Alibaba, has reached an agreement in principle to purchase a 49 percent minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets that includes the option to acquire controlling interest of the NBA franchise in several years, league sources told ESPN. The purchase price will be based upon a $2.3 billion valuation of the team, league sources said.
About that Great Moderation (Tesari)
To the extent there was a Great Moderation, it purchased lower volatility for a marked worsening in skew. In essence, to take analogy from ecology: in curbing brush fires policymakers have created greater potential for forest fires.
Exec is accused of violating every HR policy ever (NYP)
He often appeared drunk and high on cocaine at work and she once snapped a photo of him passed out on the floor, McIlraith says in the complaint. “At times, he has passed out in the office,” the complaint says, above a photograph that purportedly shows Legg sprawled out on the carpet. She also took photos of a sign Legg allegedly posted outside his office that read, “Suck my balls,” and a photo of an ejaculating penis that he’d allegedly drawn.