Opening Bell: 1.16.18
Bitcoin dives below $12,000 to six-week low over crackdown fears [CNBC]
The price of bitcoin fell below $12,000 for the first time since December 5, according to CoinDesk data. It was trading at $11,182.71 a coin at about 4:52 a.m. ET, and was down more than 8 percent from an hour earlier. CoinDesk's bitcoin price index tracks prices from cryptocurrency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit and Bitfinex.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that authorities in China were planning to block domestic access to Chinese and offshore cryptocurrency platforms that allow centralized trading. Regulators will also target people and companies that provide market-making, settlement and clearing services for centralized trading, the publication said, citing unnamed sources.
GOP Leaders Struggle to Avert Shutdown Amid Immigration Blow-Up [Bloomberg]
Democrats say the burden is on Trump to help break the stalemate after he rejected a bipartisan proposal to shield young, undocumented immigrants from deportation and ignited outrage by reportedly disparaging Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries.” Democrats want to attach such an immigration measure to the must-pass spending bill, an idea House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reject.
“No, we’re not going to do that," Ryan said Friday during an event in his home state of Wisconsin. "People are attaching these as far as leverage is concerned," but Republican leaders won’t go along, he said.
Exclusive: Saudi Aramco snubs UBS and Bank of America for listing roles - sources [Reuters]
The two investment banks, among the world’s biggest, have not been asked to attend meetings in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks where its rivals will pitch for global coordinator mandates for the IPO, said the people familiar with the matter.
They have been frozen out by Aramco, the sources added, despite having operations in the Middle East and wanting to take part in the initial public offering, which could be the biggest in history.
Democrats Add Momentum to G.O.P. Push to Loosen Banking Rules [NYT]
The bill would allow hundreds of smaller banks to avoid certain elements of federal oversight, including stress tests, which measure a bank’s ability to withstand a severe economic downturn. Under current law, banks with assets of $50 billion or more are considered “systemically important financial institutions” and therefore governed by stricter rules. The bill would raise that threshold to institutions with assets of $250 billion or more, leaving fewer than 10 big banks in the United States subject to the stricter oversight.
Ackman looks to persuade judge $290M Allergan settlement is fair [NYPost]
Lawyers for the embattled hedgie will appear before a federal judge in Los Angeles in an attempt to persuade him the $290 million settlement with Allergan shareholders is fair.
Earlier this month, Judge David O. Carter called into question whether the deal was fair. Ackman’s Pershing Square hedge fund is on the hook for $194 million of the settlement.
Brent oil falls by $1 but demand underpins near $70/barrel [Reuters]
Brent futures LCOc1 fell by $1.08, or 1.54 percent, to $69.18 per barrel by 1108 GMT. Traders said Brent was well supported overall at around $70.
Brent hit $70.37 on Monday, a high from December 2014, when markets were at the beginning of a three-year decline.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $63.87 a barrel, down 43 cents, or 0.67 percent. WTI hit a December 2014 peak of $64.89 in early trading.
Spotify Disrupted the Music World, Now It’s Doing the Same to Wall Street [WSJ]
Banks working on Spotify’s unusual public share listing stand to collect a fraction of the fees underwriters typically charge in big IPOs, in a blow to the already beleaguered stock-selling business.
Spotify’s three advisers—Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Allen & Co.—are poised to share roughly $30 million in fees, though that could change depending on the size of the company when it debuts and the success of the deal, according to people familiar with the matter.
BlackRock’s Message: Contribute to Society, or Risk Losing Our Support [Dealbook]
Laurence D. Fink, founder and chief executive of the investment firm BlackRock, is going to inform business leaders that their companies need to do more than make profits — they need to contribute to society as well if they want to receive the support of BlackRock.
Mr. Fink has the clout to make this kind of demand: His firm manages more than $6 trillion in investments through 401(k) plans, exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, making it the largest investor in the world, and he has an outsize influence on whether directors are voted on and off boards.
Car Flies Into Second Floor Of Building And Stays There [HuffPo]
A speeding car driven by a man authorities said had been using drugs soared off a median divider and into a second-floor dental office in Santa Ana, California, early Sunday. And the vehicle lodged there as cops and rescuers arrived to extinguish a small fire and help extract one of the occupants, the Orange County Fire Authority noted in a series of tweets. Another car occupant exited unassisted. Both had minor injuries.