Wall Street Prepares to Open

WALL STREET PREPARES TO OPEN  |  The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and other trading platforms are set to open on Wednesday, after Hurricane Sandy forced markets to shut down for two days. Wall Street is coming back online even in the face of lingering concerns. Large swaths of the financial district in Manhattan remain underwater or without power.

In the aftermath of the storm, “Wall Street faces a critical test,” Susanne Craig and Ben Protess write in DealBook: “If the exchanges open before they are truly ready, the markets might be vulnerable to complications that could ripple through the financial system.”

But Wall Street also wants to show it can “operate in difficult conditions.” The New York Stock Exchange spent much of Tuesday conducting trials. Earlier, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, stranded in California, held a phone con ference with bank regulators to discuss potential difficulties. “Right now there are a lot of connectivity problems,” said Lawrence E. Leibowitz, the chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext.

The banks are making backup plans, too. “We're working on contingency plans right now on how to move people logistically are around the city,” the president of Goldman Sachs, Gary D. Cohn, told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday. Goldman plans to open its headquarters on Wednesday, the firm said in a memorandum to staff members. JPMorgan Chase is reopening its Park Avenue headquarters in addition to at least 100 hub bank branches, but Frank J. Bisignano, the bank's co-chief operating officer, said, “Power in New York City will be a challenge,” Nelson D. Schwartz reports in The New York Times.

 

DISNEY'S NEW TOY  | 
The Walt Disney Company is paying $4.05 billion to acquire Luc asfilm, giving it control of the Star Wars franchise. The cash-and-stock deal, which ranks among Disney's largest, follows the company's usual strategy of taking over big-name franchises with the hope they will pay off down the road, DealBook's Michael J. de la Merced writes. George Lucas, who is described as Lucasfilm's “sole shareholder,” could see his wealth rise immensely. The Media Decoder blog writes that the deal “strengthens the legacy” of Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive, who is known for aggressively expanding the company. Disney plans to release a new Star Wars movie in 2015.

 

FRESH LEGAL WOES FOR BARCLAYS |  Barclays is feeling the heat, again. On Wednesday, it disclosed two new investigations. American regulators are looking into whether the bank violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in its capital-raising efforts during the financial crisis, following similar inquiries by British counterparts. The United States government is also looking into the past energy trading activities of Barclays.

As if that were not enough, Barclays also reported a third-quarter loss of £106 million ($170 million). That compares with a profit of £1.4 billion in the period a year earlier. “The last three months have been difficult for Barclays,” said Antony P. Jenkins, who took over as the bank's chief executive in July during a rate-rigging scandal.

 

ON THE AGENDA  |  It has been one year since MF Global collapsed in bankruptcy. Regulators moved forward this month with an effort to prevent a similar failure from happening in the future.

Hank Greenberg, A.I.G.'s former leader, is on Bloomberg TV at 8 a.m. The chairman of the CME Group, Terrence Duffy, is on Bloomberg TV at 10 a.m. Morgan Stanley's chief United State equity strategist, Adam Parker, is on CNBC at 2 p.m. General Motors and McGraw-Hill Companies report earnings before the market opens, and Caesars Entertainment and MetLife are scheduled to announce results Wednesday evening.

 

TAPPING THE 401(K)  |  The latest trend seems to be using retirement funds, like I.R.A.'s and 401(k)'s, to finance risky ventures, Steven M. Davidoff writes in the Deal Professor column. While these strategies have tax advantages, they also raise concerns. Mr. Davidoff writes: “The fact that all of this activity is for anything but retirement is a case study in how legitimate tax policies can be distorted and rules bent to benefit the inventive. More sadly, though, is that a whole industry growing around these investments also shows how some Americans are willing to risk anything for a big jackpot in the markets.”

 

 

 

Mergers & Acquisitions '

PVH to Buy Warnaco Group for $2.9 Billion  |  The fashion company PVH Corporation agreed on Wednesday to acquire the Warnaco Group in a $2.9 billion deal, bringing various Calvin Klein brands under one corporate umbrella. DealBook '

 

Europe Extends Deadline for Reviewing Glencore-Xstrata Deal  |  The European Commission extended the deadline to Nov. 22 for reviewing the merger of Glencore International and Xstrata after Glencore agreed to certain concessions, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Consolidated Media Shareholders Back News Corp. Offer  |  News Corporation, run by Rupert Murdoch, is set to take over Consolidated Media Holdings after shareholders of the Australian company voted in favor of a $2.1 billion offer, Reuters reports. REUTERS

 

Allergan Looks to Sell Lap-Band Unit  |  The chief executive of Allergan said the company had hired an investment bank to advise on a sale of its Lap-Band weight-loss business, and was sending letters to potential buyers, The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES

 

Softbank Plans $8.8 Billion of Capital Expenditures  | 
REUTERS

 

Australian Magnate Steps Up Camp aign Against Whitehaven Coal  |  The mining magnate Nathan Tinkler wrote an open letter to shareholders of Whitehaven Coal, “declaring open war on the firm in which he is the top shareholder and adding to speculation over his motives,” Reuters writes. REUTERS

 

INVESTMENT BANKING '

UBS Said to Lay Off Traders in Asia  |  The Swiss bank UBS has begun to eliminate jobs, laying off “between 50 and 60 traders in the past couple of days in Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong, a person familiar with the bank said,” according to The Wall Street Journal. WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Retrenching by UBS Could Benefit Rivals  | 
BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Spanish Bank Reports 82% Drop in Profit  |  The Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria said third-quarter profit fell as it continued to account for real estate losses. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Berkshire Hathaway Forms Venture With Brookfield  |  Berkshire Hathaway and Warren E. Buffett are teaming up with Brookfield Asset Management to manage a network of residential real estate affiliates, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

PRIVATE EQUITY '

Best Buy Cancels Analyst Meeting  |  Best Buy, which is awaiting a potential buyout bid f rom its founder, Richard Schulze, canceled a meeting with analysts because of the storm. The company had planned to outline its turnaround strategy. REUTERS

 

Advent Wins Bidding War for Polish Retailer  |  Advent International is taking a 98 percent stake in EKO Holding, after sparring with a rival private equity firm, Mid Europa Partners, Reuters reports. REUTERS

 

HEDGE FUNDS '

Fund Run by Endowment Chief Limits Withdrawals  |  A $3.3 billion fund run by the former chief of the endowment for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told investors on Friday that it was limiting the amount they could take out each quarter, after years of disappointing returns, J ulie Creswell reports in The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES

 

Investors Sue Green Mountain Coffee  |  Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which was criticized by the hedge fund manager David Einhorn last year, is now being sued by investors who claim it misled them about demand for products, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

I.P.O./OFFERINGS '

Some I.P.O.'s Remain on the Calendar This Week  |  Hurricane Sandy forced markets to close, but the planned $119 million I.P.O. of Restoration Hardware is now set for later this week, as are at least two others, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Property Firm Plans an I.P.O. in Thailand  |  Ananda Development is looking to raise up to $250 million through a listing in Thailand, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

VENTURE CAPITAL '

Flooding Takes Web Sites Offline  |  The hurricane knocked out The Huffington Post and Gawker sites, showing the “vulnerabilities from the sometimes ad hoc organization of computer networks,” The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES

 

EMC Acquires Antifraud Start-Up  |  The data storage company EMC paid an undisclosed price for Silver Tail, a start-up whose backers include Andreessen Horowitz and Citi Ventures, the Bits blog reports. NEW YORK TIMES BITS

 

LEGAL/REGULATORY '

Lawyer Withdraws From Case by Man Claiming Facebook Ownership  |  The lawyer representing a man claiming to own a substantial stake in Facebook withdrew from the case on Tuesday, just a day after he defended his client in an interview. DealBook '

 

Hong Kong Named World's Top Financial Center  |  The World Economic Forum praised Hong Kong's tax regime and overall business environment, Reuters reports. REUTERS