JPMorgan Chase is moving to protect customers whose accounts are tapped by Internet-based payday lenders, planning to give those customers more power to stop withdrawals and close their accounts, Jessica Silver-Greenberg reports in DealBook. Under the changes, to be announced on Wednesday, JPMorgan is also limiting the fees it charges customers when the withdrawals trigger penalties.
The new approach comes as JPMorgan and its big rivals face scrutiny from regulators for enabling the online lenders, whose high-interest loans skirt state laws. After Ms. Silver-Greenberg wrote about the matter in The New York Times, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, said the practice was “terrible†and vowed to change it. The bank’s new policies will go into effect by the end of May. Bank of America and Wells Fargo said their policies on payday loans remained unchanged.
Ms. Silver-Greenberg writes: “It is possible that other lenders could institute changes, especially because rivals have followed JPMorgan’s lead in recent years. In 2009, for example, after JPMorgan capped overdraft fees at three a day, Wells Fargo also changed its policies to reduce the number of daily penalties charged.â€
MALONE’S RETURN TO CABLE  | John C. Malone, who made his fortune building TCI into a cable giant, is moving to re-enter the cable business after largely leaving it behind more than a decade ago, DealBook’s Michael J. de la Merced writes. Mr. Malone’s Liberty Media agreed on Tuesday to buy a 27.3 percent stake in the cable service provider Charter Communications for $2.6 billion, a move that also represents the latest big acquisition for a man versed in the art of deal-making. The agreement also helps Apollo Global Management, Oaktree Capital Management and Crestview Partners â€" the investment firms that helped Charter exit bankruptcy in 2009 â€" cash out.
Mr. Malone, whose ruthless style earned him the sobriquet “Darth Vader,†largely stayed away from the cable industry after selling TCI to AT&T in 1999 for about $32 billion. Focusing on his collection of media properties known as Liberty, he made a series of deals, including a spinoff of his stake in Discovery Communications and complex agreements with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp. As The New York Times wrote in 1997, “a day without a deal is like a day without sunshine†to Mr. Malone.
U.S. SAID TO EXAMINE MICROSOFT BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS  | The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have opened preliminary inquires into Microsoft’s business dealings in China, Italy and Romania, Nick Wingfield reports in The New York Times. The authorities are looking into Microsoft’s involvement with companies and individuals accused of paying bribes to overseas government officials in exchange for business, a person briefed on the inquiry said. The question is whether Microsoft’s practices ran afoul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “Microsoft joins a list of about 100 other companies under investigation at present related to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to Mike Koehler, a professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law,†Mr. Wingfield writes. “ines in these corruption cases can run into the tens of millions of dollars.â€
ON THE AGENDA  | Hewlett-Packard holds its annual meeting in Mountain View, Calif., at 5 p.m. Oracle reports earnings after the market closes. The Federal Reserve’s policy making committee releases a statement at 2 p.m., followed by a news conference by Ben S. Bernanke at 2:30 p.m. Muhtar A. Kent, chief executive of Coca-Cola, is on Bloomberg TV at 8:30 a.m. Howard Schultz, chief of Starbucks, is on CNBC at 4:30 p.m.
RARE STAMPS ON THE BLOCK  | Bill Gross, a founder of the mutual fund giant Pimco, is auctioning off a collection of assets not typically associated with the prominent bond fund manager. Mr. Gross, for the first time, is offering some items from his collection of rare United States stamps in a public auction on April 9 in New York, “conservatively estimated to bring $1.5 million to $2 million,†according to Reuters. The proceeds of the sale will go to Doctors Without Borders and the Millennium Villages Project at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. “This is the first time Mr. Gross has ever offered stamps from his famous U.S. collection which is the finest, most valuable collection of U.S. stamps and postal history owned by a private individual,†said Charles Shreve, a professional philatelist who will help conduct the auction.
Yahoo Said to Have Dailymotion in Its Sights  | Yahoo is in talks to buy up to 75 percent of Dailymotion, the video site owned by France Télécom, “in what would be Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer’s first major acquisition,†The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Brazilian Billionaire Confirms Talks to Sell Stake in Energy Firm  | Eike Batista confirmed on Tuesday that he was negotiating to sell part of his stake in MPX, his natural gas and electricity generation company, which has over $3 billion in debt. DealBook »
Judge Approves Sale of Rights to Hostess Brands, Including Twinkies  | A bankruptcy judge has approved the sales of several major Hostess Brands product lines, including Twinkies, fetching about $800 million for the bankrupt baker. DealBook »
BBC to Sell Lonely Planet to American Billionaire  | The British Broadcasting Corporation is taking a loss on the sale of its Lonely Planet guidebooks division to NC2 Media, a company controlled by the Kentucky businessman Brad M. Kelley, The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES
Deutsche Telekom’s Chief to Become Chairman of MetroPCS  | The incoming chief executive of Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile USA, is set to become chairman of the board of MetroPCS after its merger with T-Mobile USA, Reuters reports. REUTERS
Prelude to an AmerisourceBergen Deal  | As part of a broader distribution deal, Walgreen and Alliance Boots will have the right to purchase a 7 percent stake in AmerisourceBergen on the open market, plus an additional 16 percent through warrants. DealBook »
Deutsche Bank Cuts 2012 Profit  | Deutsche Bank set aside an additional $780 million to cover legal problems and sharply reduced its net profit for 2012 to $376 million. DealBook »
Goldman Sachs Twins Leave for Wellness Company  | Peter and Paul Scialla, who rose to become partners at Goldman Sachs, have left the Wall Street firm “to focus full-time on Delos Living, a wellness company they started in their spare time,†New York magazine’s Kevin Roose reports. NEW YORK
Rebutting the Contention That Small Is Better for Banks  | In relation to the economy it supports, the United States banking system is relatively small compared with those of other developed countries, so breaking up banks doesn’t seem justified, writes Richard E. Farley, a partner at the law firm Paul Hastings. DealBook »
Spanish Banks to Pull the Plug on Moribund Real Estate Developers  |Â
BLOOMBERG NEWS
HSBC Fires Staff From Insurance Venture in China  |Â
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Buyout Firms Join Bidding for Life Technologies  | K.K.R. and Hellman & Friedman have formed a group to bid for Life Technologies, and Roche Holding is also entering the fray, according to Reuters, which cites unidentified people familiar with the matter. REUTERS
A Combative Investor Takes a Gentler Approach  | The style of Christopher Hohn of the London-based hedge fund Children’s Investment Fund was once called “poison†by a corporate chief. But now, “the 46-year-old professes to be a changed man,†The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Farallon, Hedge Fund Firm, Raises Real Estate Fund  |Â
REUTERS
Former Political Candidate Charged In Facebook Fraud  | Reuters reports: “A former Oregon gubernatorial candidate was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in defrauding investors who had hoped to buy shares of Facebook Inc before its initial public offering in May 2012, federal authorities said.†REUTERS
Inventors of BlackBerry Turn to Quantum Technologies  | Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, the inventors of the BlackBerry, are teaming up on a $100 million fund to support “quantum science technologies capable of spearheading the next wave of computing,†Reuters reports. REUTERS
News Syndication Company Raises $15 Million  | NewsCred, which places licensed news from prominent outlets onto its clients’ Web sites, announced a $15 million financing round led by Mayfield Fund. PAIDCONTENT
Freddie Mac Sues Banks Over Libor Loss  | Freddie Mac is suing more than a dozen banks and the British Bankers Association, claiming that rate manipulation caused it to get lower payments on Libor-linked products, The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES
JPMorgan Reaches Settlement With MF Global Trustee  | The settlement would return about $546 million to customers of the collapsed brokerage firm. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Cyprus Lawmakers Reject Bailout Deal  | The New York Times reports: “Lawmakers rejected a 10 billion euro bailout package on Tuesday, sending the president back to the drawing board to devise a new plan that might still enable the country to receive a financial lifeline while avoiding a default that could reignite the euro crisis.†NEW YORK TIMES
Senate Panel Advances White’s S.E.C. Nomination  | Mary Jo White has cleared an important hurdle on her path to becoming a top Wall Street regulator, as the Senate Banking Committee cast a 21-1 vote in her favor. DealBook »
S.E.C. Said to Examine Fund Fees  | The Wall Street Journal reports: “The Securities and Exchange Commission is closely scrutinizing the fees and expenses, including travel and entertainment, that hedge funds and private-equity firms charge to their investors.†WALL STREET JOURNAL
Debevoise & Plimpton’s Trusts and Estates Group Finds a New Home  | Loeb & Loeb has hired the group of trusts and estates lawyers from Debevoise & Plimpton, which had decided last year to eliminate the practice. DealBook »
Turnaround Expert at Japan Airlines to Retire  | Kazuo Inamori, honorary chairman of Japan Airlines, recalled helping the airline rise up from “this abyss called bankruptcy.†His resignation takes effect on April 1, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
