The Big Day, but More Uncertainty to Come

THE BIG DAY, BUT MORE UNCERTAINTY TO COME  |  It may be Election Day, but the outcome won't end uncertainty for Wall Street, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the DealBook column. Regardless of whether President Obama or Mitt Romney wins, the business world will face a series of political unknowns that could last through much of next year.

First up is the so-called fiscal cliff, the tax increases and spending cuts set to go into effect on Jan. 1. “Many investors have already begun selling stocks and companies in anticipation of tax increases,” Mr. Sorkin says. Then there is Europe. And the Middle East. And the question of who will take over for Ben S. Bernanke at the Federal Reserve. “Over the next year and a half, Mr. Bernanke's future as the Fed chairman will feed a sense of uncertainty among investors who have become accustomed to his easy money policies.”

As the fight over the fiscal cliff drags on, “investors could be among the biggest losers,” writes The Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column. Unanswered questions have led one investment strategist, David Joy of Ameriprise Financial in Boston, to recommend shunning riskier investments, according to Reuters.

 

MORGAN STANLEY TAPS A TRADER  | 
Morgan Stanley is betting that Colm Kelleher has what it takes to revive its securities unit. The firm chose Mr. Kelleher, rather than Paul J. Taubman, his partner and rival, to become the sole president of the unit in January, a job that involves persuading clients “who rely on Morgan Stanley for advice on mergers and stock sales to use it for trading services as well,” DealBook's Michael J. de la Merced and Susanne Craig write. Trading seems likely to remain a focus. One analyst, Glenn Schorr of Nomura, said the task of getting “fixed income right” falls “squarely in Colm's world.”

The strategy contrasts with that of another firm, UBS, which is drastically scaling back its trading business, Antony Currie writes in Reuters Breakingviews. Morgan Stanley controls about 7 percent of the fixed-income market, “at best half the share of the biggest player, JPMorgan,” Mr. Currie notes. The stakes are high for Mr. Kelleher, who is now positioned to be a possible successor to the chief executive.

 

ON THE AGENDA  |  The election is finally here, bringing the most expensive presidential race in the country's history to a close. Wall Street will also be watching some important Senate races closely, including in Massachusetts where Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, is facing off against the incumbent Scott Brown, a Republican. NYSE Euronext, AOL and Office Depot report earnings b efore the opening bell. News Corporation announces results after the market closes. AOL's chairman and chief executive, Tim Armstrong, is on CNBC at 10:40 a.m. and on Bloomberg TV at 11:15 a.m. Pete Peterson is on Bloomberg TV at 10 a.m. Simon Johnson, professor of finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management, is on Bloomberg TV at 8 p.m.

 

GOLDMAN'S NEW DIRECTOR  |  Mark E. Tucker, the chief executive and president of the Asian life insurance company AIA Group, is joining Goldman Sachs's board as its 12th director. Mr. Tucker brings experience in Asia and in the banking and insurance industries, Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman's chief executive, said in a statement. He was selected to lead AIA in July 2010 by Robert H. Benmosche, A.I.G.'s chief executive, as AIA was preparing to be spun out of A.I.G. through an initial public offering, according to a Bloomberg News article at the time.

 

 

 

Mergers & Acquisitions '

Nike Nears Deal to Sell Cole Haan to Private Equity Firm  |  Nike is nearing a deal to sell its Cole Haan brand to Apax Partners for about $500 million as Nike looks to streamline its product offerings, DealBook reports. DealBook '

 

Netflix Adopts Poison Pill  |  Netflix announced that its board had adopted a shareholder rights plan, or poison pill, just days after the activist investor Carl C. Icahn disclosed he had acquired a 9.98 percent stake. DealBook '

 

Ousted Duke Energy Chief Named Head of Tennessee Utilit y  |  William D. Johnson, the ousted chief executive of Duke Energy, was named the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the government-created provider of wholesale power in Tennessee and parts of six other southern states. DealBook '

 

Rothschild Proposes Alternative to Bumi Asset Sale  |  The mining company Bumi said on Monday that it had received a proposal from the British financier Nathaniel Rothschild, less than a month after Indonesian shareholders in the mining company had offered to buy Bumi's coal mining assets for around $1.2 billion. DealBook '

 

Stifel Financial to Buy KBW for $575 Million  |  The Stifel Financial Corporation agreed on Monday to buy the investment ba nking firm KBW Inc., acquiring a 50-year-old concern known for its role as an adviser to the financial services industry. DealBook '

 

Humana to Buy Metropolitan Health Networks for $500 Million  | 
WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

INVESTMENT BANKING '

Berkshire Hathaway's War Chest Swells  |  Berkshire Hathaway's cash rose 17 percent, to $47.8 billion, in the third quarter, as Warren E. Buffett “extended his search for larger acquisitions,” Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Wall Street Turns to Hurricane Relief  |  Financial firms have promised various forms of aid, including donations, loans and waived fees, and many in the financial industry are volunteering in recovery efforts. DealBook '

 

Credit Suisse Announces Venture With Qatar Fund  | 
REUTERS

 

Deutsche Bank's Head of Acquisitions in Asia Said to Depart  | 
BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Scottish Money Managers Take a Shine to Small American Banks  | 
BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

PRIVATE EQUITY '

Warburg Pincus Said to Be Selling Sc otsman Industries  |  Warburg Pincus agreed to sell Scotsman Industries, a maker of ice machines, to the Ali Group, an Italian food-service conglomerate, for about $575 million, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the deal. WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

A Look at a Pension Fund's Private Equity Investments  |  The California State Teachers' Retirement System has updated its data on how its $22 billion private equity portfolio performed across different funds. FORTUNE

 

HEDGE FUNDS '

Einhorn Bets Against British Media Company  |  David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital disclosed a short position in Daily Mail and General Trust, which publishes the popular British newspaper Daily Mail. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Harbinger Enters Natural Gas Partnership  |  Philip Falcone's Harbinger Group is betting on natural gas, buying a stake in gas fields from Exco Resources for $373 million, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

Whitney Tilson's Bet on the Election  |  The hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, a rare Obama supporter on Wall Street, sent out an e-mail saying he was “willing to match up to $25,000 worth of bets on the outcome of the presidential race.” BUSINESS INSIDER

 

Robertson Backs a Fund Focused on Asia  |  Julian Robertson, the founder of Tiger Management, is providing seed capital to Tiger Pacific Capital, Reuters reports. REUTERS

 

I.P.O./OFFERINGS '

Zillow Announces an Acquisition  |  The real estate information company Zillow said it was paying about $12 million in cash and 150,000 shares of restricted stock for Mortech, which caters to the mortgage industry. Zillow also offered a downbeat projection for revenue in the fourth quarter. ALLTHINGSD

 

VENTURE CAPITAL '

A Struggle Over Online Privacy Rules for Children  |  Silicon Valley and Washington are at loggerheads over “the data collection and dat a mining mechanisms that facilitate digital marketing on apps and Web sites for children,” The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES

 

Pioneering Venture Capitalist Dies at 79  |  Paul M. Wythes, a co-founder of Sutter Hill Ventures, was “one of Silicon Valley's earliest venture capitalists,” Bloomberg News writes. BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

LEGAL/REGULATORY '

France Plans $25 Billion in Tax Breaks for Businesses  |  The tax credit is scheduled to go into effect next year and last for three years. ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Suzuki's American Unit Files for Bankruptcy Protection  | 
ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

A Triple Whammy for Barclays  |  Just months after settling a rate-rigging investigation, Barclays now finds itself caught in two more inquiries - one related to energy price manipulation and the other involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Peter J. Henning writes in the White Collar Watch column. DealBook '

 

European Regulators Raise Antitrust Concerns With TNT-U.P.S. Deal  |  The Wall Street Journal reports: “European Union regulators have warned that a planned deal to create Europe's largest package-delivery company raises competition problems in almost all 27 member states, according to a person familiar with the situation.” WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Rochdale Securities Under Scrutiny  |  The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is looking into possible unauthorized trading at Rochdale Securities. WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

ING to Pay $8.8 Million Penalty to Taiwan  | 
BLOOMBERG NEWS

 

MF Global Customers Take Aim at PricewaterhouseCoopers  |  The accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers was added as a defendant in a lawsuit over the collapse of MF Global, Reuters reports. REUTERS

 

G-20 Officials Put a Focus on Growth  |  Officials from the Group of 20 countries who met in Mexico City “warned that efforts to deal with debt troubles in Europe and the United States must be balanced with actions to spur the global economy,” The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES