SAC\'s Conference Call for Investors

The hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors is holding a conference call with investors on Wednesday morning to address the latest insider trading charges leveled at a former employee, DealBook's Peter Lattman reports. A conference call is an unusual move for a hedge fund, but, according to Bloomberg News, investors are particularly concerned about the case against Mathew Martoma, a former SAC portfolio manager. For the first time, the government has linked the hedge fund's founder, Steven A. Cohen, to questionable trades.

Mr. Cohen “remains committed to managing money for clients,” Mr. Lattman reports. About 40 percent of SAC's $14 billion under management comes from outside clients, who face restrictions on withdrawing money. Mr. Cohen has not been charged with wrongdoing, and it was unclear whether he would participate in the conference call. Executives at SAC “have already reached out to the firm's largest investors t o calm concern” about the ostensibly improper trades, Bloomberg News reports.

 

BLANKFEIN GOES TO WASHINGTON  |  Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, has been on something of a media tour recently to warn about the so-called fiscal cliff. Now, he is headed to the White House, along with other business leaders, to talk about ways to avoid the spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect at the start of next year, according to Bloomberg News. Speaker John Boehner and other House Republican leaders are also said to be scheduled to meet with the chief executives.

Morgan Stanley's boss, James P. Gorman, is taking a different approach. Mr. Gorman wrote a memo to Morgan Stanley's employees asking them to pressure lawmakers to reach a compromise, according to The Wall Street Journal. “No issue is more critical right now for the U.S. economy, the glo bal financial markets and the financial well-being of our clients, which is why I am asking you to participate in the democratic process and make your voice heard,” the chief executive said, according to the newspaper.

 

MEGAFON'S SHARES FALL IN DEBUT  |  MegaFon, the Russian cellphone operator, got a chilly reception from investors on Wednesday, as its shares fell in the first day of trading. The company had priced its shares at $20 apiece, the bottom of its expected range, and raised $1.7 billion in the I.P.O. Last week, Steven M. Davidoff discussed concerns about the offering in a Deal Professor column.

 

ON THE AGENDA  |  Stephan Leithner, Deutsche Bank's chief compliance officer, is scheduled to appear before a German parliamentary committee examining rate manipulation. Edw ard DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, speaks at the Exchequer Club in Washington in 12:30 p.m. Workday, which went public last month, reports earnings after the market closes. Warren E. Buffett is on CNBC at 8:30 a.m. James Chanos of Kynikos Associates joins Howard Lutnick, chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, and Lawrence H. Summers in a discussion about Washington's fiscal troubles on Bloomberg TV at 4 p.m. Data on new home sales in October is to be released at 10 a.m.

 

ARGENTINA'S DEBT MESS  |  Thanks to a United States court ruling, Argentina may be approaching another default. The country's long-running battle with a group of hedge funds became even messier last week, when a judge ruled that, if the government makes a scheduled $3 billion payment to bondholders on Dec. 15, it would also have to set aside $1.33 billion for the hedge funds , which own older bonds. Argentina is not expected to pay the hedge funds, including Elliott Management and Aurelius Capital Management, which its politicians have called “vultures.”

The situation is now “chaos,” Steven M. Davidoff writes in the Deal Professor column. Argentina's stock market has fallen, and credit-default swaps on its debt have skyrocketed in price. The case offers “a lesson on the hazards of United States courts' interfering in international affairs,” Mr. Davidoff writes. “The Federal District Court overseeing this case through a decade of tiring litigation seems more focused on cramped legal interpretations and the morality of debt than on the wider consequences of its rulings.”

 

FACEBOOK'S MOVE INTO E-COMMERCE  |  Wall Street analysts have started saying positive things about Facebook, months after its disappointing debut on the publi c market. That is in part because of its new Gifts service, which allows users in the United States to buy presents for their friends. Somini Sengupta reports in The New York Times: “If it catches on, the service would give Facebook a toehold in the more than $200 billion e-commerce market. Much more important, it would let the company accumulate a new stream of valuable personal data and use it to refine targeted advertisements, its bread and butter.”

 

A NEW LEADER FOR GROUPON?  |  Andrew Mason, Groupon's colorful chief executive, is in the hot seat. According to AllThingsD, several Groupon board members have been “seriously discussing making major leadership changes,” including possibly hiring a new chief executive. The board has a meeting on Thursday, when it may discuss such matters. Pressure has mounted on Mr. Mason in the wake of Groupon's accounting issues, and as the stock price has fallen more than 80 percent since the I.P.O. last year. AllThingsD cautions that any move to remove Mr. Mason “is not likely to happen immediately, if at all,” and “any changes are likely to be done with his involvement.”

 

 

 

Mergers & Acquisitions '

Cnooc and Nexen Resubmit Deal Plans to U.S. Regulators  |  The move gives United States regulators more time to review the proposed merger, The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES

 

ConAgra's Chief Emphasizes Lure of Private-Label Brands  |  It may have taken a year and a corporate spinoff, but ConAgra has succeeded in buying Ralcorp. And it could not have c ome soon enough for ConAgra's chief executive, Gary Rodkin, who sees Ralcorp's strength in private-label brands as an important part of his own company's future. DealBook '

 

Head of Financial Times Group to Step Down  |  Rona Fairhead, the chief executive of Pearson's Financial Times Group, will step down in April, the company says. Hers will be the second prominent departure in recent months. DealBook '

 

Viacom Promotes Its Head of M.&.A. to Chief Financial Officer  | 
WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

INVESTMENT BANKING '

Moynihan's Spotty Memory  |  Bank of America's chief executive, Brian T. Moynihan, was pressed by a lawyer in a deposition connected to the bank's legal battle with MBIA. Mr. Moynihan often said he did not recall certain details, leading the lawyer to ask if the chief executive would say he had a good memory. ROLLING STONE

 

Bets on Financial Firms Pay Off for Fairholme Fund  |  Bruce Berkowitz and his Fairholme fund are poised for a 30 percent gain this year after betting on stocks like A.I.G. and Bank of America, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

What Citigroup's Chairman Might Be Planning  |  Michael O'Neill, the chairman of Citigroup, who is now “effectively running” the bank after leading a successful effort to oust Vikram S . Pandit as chief executive, may draw on strategies he has previously used as he tries to turn the company around, Reuters reports. These include “the ruthless pruning of underperforming operations and deciding which ones are worth additional investment.” REUTERS

 

PRIVATE EQUITY '

Carlyle Raises New Energy Fund  |  The Carlyle Group raised $1.38 billion for a fund to lend to energy projects and companies, Reuters reports. REUTERS

 

Carlyle May Sell Stake in China Pacific Insurance, Credit Suisse Says  | 
WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

HEDGE FUNDS '

< span class="title">Green Mountain Coffee Defies Short-Sellers  |  Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which has been a target of criticism by the hedge fund manager David Einhorn, reported a higher profit on Tuesday, sending its shares up more than 20 percent. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Hedge Funds Are Optimistic About Greek Debt Holdings  |  Talk of a Greek debt restructuring has some hedge funds expecting significant gains from their Greek bonds, Reuters reports. REUTERS

 

I.P.O./OFFERINGS '

SolarCity Sets Price Range for I.P.O.  |  The company aims to price shares at $13 to $15 apiece, and it would raise about $151 million at the top end of th e range, Reuters reports. REUTERS

 

Sinopec Plans to Take Unit Public in Hong Kong  |  The Chinese energy giant Sinopec is planning an I.P.O. next year for its refining and petrochemical engineering unit that could raise about $1.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing four unidentified people with direct knowledge of the matter. WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

VENTURE CAPITAL '

Lift, Start-Up Backed by Obvious Corporation, Raises $2.5 Million  |  Lift, which aims to help “people achieve their goals,” raised $2.5 million in a financing round led by Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital, TechCrunch reports. The company has previously been funded by the Obvious Corporation, t he accelerator created by co-founders of Twitter. TECHCRUNCH

 

LEGAL/REGULATORY '

Autonomy's Ex-Chief Calls on H.P. to Defend Claims  |  In a public letter, Mike Lynch again rejected H.P.'s claims about Autonomy and argued that Hewlett-Packard botched the takeover of his former company and mishandled its integration. DealBook '

 

Tax Changes Are Expected to Prompt Share Buybacks  |  The New York Times reports: “A number of academics and investors, and a new industry s urvey, suggest that companies are likely to shift more money to buybacks after this year because taxes on those gains are expected to grow less than a proposed tax increase on dividends.” NEW YORK TIMES

 

Europe Moves to Impose Stricter Rules on Credit Rating Agencies  |  Bloomberg News reports: “Credit rating companies face curbs on when they can assess government debt and restrictions on their ownership under draft plans agreed upon by the European Union to limit the industry's influence and tackle conflicts of interest.” BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Spanish Lenders Get Approval for Government Bailouts  |  The European Union is allowing Bankia, Novagalicia Banco and Catalunya Banc to be recapitalized next month. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Questions Surround Stock Trades by Executives  |  The rules governing executives who buy and sell shares of their own companies “are so flawed they have left a confusing landscape that can both raise suspicions about trades that are innocent, and provide cover for others that are less so,” The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL