Opening Bell: 8.7.18
Stock futures rise with S&P 500 inches away from new record [CNBC]
At around 7 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 91 points, indicating an upbeat open of 91.82 points, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also posting gains before the open.
The S&P 500 was just 0.8 percent away from reaching an all-time high of 2,872.87, set on Jan. 26. The Nasdaq Composite was also within 1 percent of a record high, while the Dow was more than 4.2 percent away from reaching an all-time high.
Some Funds Will Net Massive Gains in Next 24 Hours: Taking Stock [Bloomberg]
Earnings season is practically over, with 85% of the S&P 500 already on the wire, but there are pockets of volatility over the coming week that may make or break some hedge funds’ quarters -- for example, what we saw last night with some of the big swings in select software and Internet names like Twilio +17%, Etsy +10%, Five9 +9%, Rapid7 +8.7%, Owens & Minor -9%, Dean Foods -11%, Dentsply Sirona -13%, and Zillow plunging ~17%.
Inside the bitter divorce war between billionaire exes [NYP]
Buying up multimillion-dollar properties just to torture each other, pilfering Picassos, dumping dead fish in air vents — there’s no limit to what Bill and Sue Gross will do to exact revenge on one another.
The billionaire California couple finalized their divorce in October 2017 — and are still warring with each other.
In the past two months, Sue Gross forked over $37.8 million for pricey pads in Laguna Beach’s exclusive Irvine Cove community, where Bill spent most of his adult life — just so he couldn’t get his hands on them to begin putting down new roots there, according to court papers and sources.
Carl Icahn to go public with his opposition to Cigna-Express Scripts merger [MarketWatch]
The billionaire activist investor plans to send an open letter Tuesday urging fellow Cigna shareholders to vote against the deal, which he calls a “$60 billion folly” carrying a “ridiculous” price tag, according to a draft seen by The Wall Street Journal.
“Cigna is dramatically overpaying for a highly challenged Express Scripts that is facing existential risks on several fronts,” Icahn writes.
Goldman Banker Takes On World’s Largest Gold Miner—and Gets Pushback [WSJ]
Mr. Thornton, 64 years old, spends only two or three days a month at Barrick’s Toronto headquarters. He communicates constantly with his team by email, sometimes firing off requests late at night or when executives are on vacation, according to people familiar with the matter. If he doesn’t receive a quick response, Mr. Thornton repeats the request with the new subject line: “resending,” these people said.
Tesla starts hiring for new $2 billion Shanghai plan [Reuters]
The automaker’s website showed it is looking to fill 14 roles including architectural designer and senior finance manager. Most of the positions are senior in level and require at least six years’ experience, the job descriptions showed.
Tesla did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The 21st Century Herald newspaper, which reported the job postings on Tuesday, said Tesla began advertising the roles on Sunday.
Aging Headbangers Escape Nursing Home To Hit Heavy Metal Festival [HuffPo]
Managers of a German nursing home began to panic when they couldn’t find a pair of elderly friends anywhere on the grounds. Police later discovered the men “disoriented and dazed”— at a heavy metal festival.
The unidentified pals left the home in the rural Dithmarschen district and likely hitchhiked and took public transit to travel 25 miles to the Wacken Open Air festival near Hamburg. The headbangers’ event is touted as the biggest metal festival in the world.
The two men, nabbed before dawn Saturday, were disappointed to miss the last day of the festival, which began Thursday. But they were sent back to the home in a taxi — escorted by a patrol car, Deutsche Welle reported.