Stephen A. Schwarzman, head of the Blackstone Group, is creating a $300 million scholarship for study at a Chinese university “that he hopes will rival the Rhodes scholarship in prestige and influence,†The New York Times reports. Backed by a group of mostly Western blue-chip companies with interests in China, the Schwarzman Scholars program, whose endowment is one of the largest single gifts to education in the world, will pay for 200 students every year from around the globe to attend a one-year master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
“The program’s creation underlines the tremendous importance of China and its market to Wall Street financiers and corporate leaders, who have become increasingly anxious as security and economic frictions grow between China and the West,†The Times writes. A third of the endowment comes from Mr. Schwarzman’s personal fortune, a third comes from donors and the remaining $100 million is expected to be raised by the end of this year, according to Mr. Schwarzman.
As long as the Chinese economy continues to grow two to three times as quickly as the American economy, and European growth remains sluggish, tensions are likely to rise, Mr. Schwarzman said. “The idea was to deal with this problem in a generational manner,†he said in a video interview with The Times.
NEW LEADERSHIP FOR S.E.C. ENFORCEMENT UNIT  | Mary Jo White, the new leader of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is expected to name Andrew J. Ceresney as co-head of the agency’s enforcement arm, DealBook’s Ben Protess and Peter Lattman report. Mr. Ceresney, a longtime lieutenant to Ms. White both at Debevoise & Plimpton and earlier in his career as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, is expected to share the S.E.C. role with George S. Canellos, who became the interim enforcement chief last year.
“It is unusual, if not unprecedented, for the enforcement unit to be run jointly. The joint leadership is likely to be temporary though, people briefed on the matter said, as Mr. Canellos, who has been at the S.E.C. nearly four years, is expected to return to private practice well before the end of President Obama’s second term.â€
TRUST DESIGNATION IS HOT CORPORATE TREND  | Businesses as diverse as private prisons, billboards and casinos are declaring new identities as real estate trusts, in an aggressive move to reduce their federal tax bills, Nathaniel Popper writes in The New York Times. “The trust structure has been around for years but, until recently, it was generally used only by funds holding real estate. Now, the likes of the Corrections Corporation of America, which owns and operates 44 prisons and detention centers across the nation, have quietly received permission from the Internal Revenue Service to put on new corporate clothes and, as a result, save many millions on taxes.â€
One Wall Street analyst characterized the real estate investment trust designation as a “golden ticket†for corporations. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and I’ve never seen the interest in REIT conversions as high as it is today,†said Robert O’Brien, the head of the real estate practice at Deloitte & Touche.
ON THE AGENDA Â |Â Data on existing home sales for March is out at 10 a.m. Caterpillar reports earnings before the market opens, while Netflix reports earnings on Monday evening. Gregory J. Fleming, head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, is on CNBC at 7 a.m. Barry Rosenstein of Jana Partners is on CNBC at 11:15 a.m.
EUROPE’S CARBON MARKET SPUTTERS  | The carbon market in Europe, “a pioneering effort to use markets to regulate greenhouse gases, is having a hard time staying upright. This year has been stomach-churning for the people who make their living in the arcane world of trading emissions permits,†The New York Times writes. “More important, though, than lost jobs and diminished payouts for traders and bankers, the penny ante price of carbon credits means the market is not doing its job: pushing polluters to reduce carbon emissions, which most climate scientists believe contribute to global warming. â€
COHEN’S REAL ESTATE DEALINGS  | Steven A. Cohen is on something of a real estate shopping spree, according to a report in The New York Post. Already, Mr. Cohen has bought a Hamptons property for $60 million, as his hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors contends with government scrutiny of its trading. In addition, according to The Post, Mr. Cohen “snapped up 145 Perry St. in the West Village for $38.8 million, according to public records of the sale.†The newspaper continues: “There is chatter he bought another city apartment, this one at the Abingdon, also in the West Village, while he renovates 145 Perry.â€
ABB to Buy Power-One for $1 Billion  | The Swiss engineering company ABB has agreed to buy the American renewable energy firm Power-One for $1 billion. DealBook »
Koch Brothers Turn to Newspapers  | Koch Industries, the private company of which Charles G. Koch is chairman and chief executive, is exploring a bid for the Tribune Company’s eight regional newspapers, in line with a broader media strategy, The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES
Investor Challenges a Move by Occidental Petroleum  | Steven Romick, managing partner of First Pacific Advisors, is among investors calling for more scrutiny of the board of Occidental Petroleum, the oil and gas exploration and production company based in Los Angeles, Gretchen Morgenson writes in her column for The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES
Elan Rejects Reduced Bid From Royalty Pharma  |Â
REUTERS
Dell Shares Fall Below Buyout Offer Price  | Dell’s stock fell nearly 4 percent on Friday to close below the $13.65-a-share offer made by the company’s founder, Michael S. Dell, and Silver Lake Partners to take the company private. DealBook »
Anheuser-Busch Reaches Deal With Antitrust Regulators  | Anheuser-Busch InBev said it had received government approval for its $20.1 billion deal to buy control of Grupo Modelo, the maker of Corona. DealBook »
With Concerns About Oversight, Banks Leave Certain Regions  | The Financial Times reports: “Some of the world’s biggest commercial banks are pulling back from selected operations in fast-growing markets in the Middle East and parts of Asia, fearing they may fall foul of tightening rules on anti-money laundering.†FINANCIAL TIMES
Wall Street Tangles With States on Social Media Rules  | “An unlikely alliance of regulators and industry groups is seeking to carve out exemptions in state laws that would allow certain financial firms to sidestep bans on looking at the personal social-media accounts of employees,†The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Mexican Plan Aims to Encourage Lending  |Â
REUTERS
Credit Suisse Embraces the Dark Side of Trading  | Credit Suisse, the operator of the nation’s largest dark pool, has told the major industry data providers that it will no longer provide information on how much trading happens in its pool, CrossFinder. DealBook »
For Silver Lake, Reducing Dell Bid Would Be Costly  | It would cost $750 million for Silver Lake and Michael S. Dell to get out of their current deal to buy the computer maker, Bloomberg News notes. On Friday, shares of Dell fell below the $13.65-a-share offer. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Betfair, an Online Gambling Firm, Rejects Offer Led by CVC Â |Â
REUTERS
Tepper Said to Buy Debt of Energy Future Holdings  | David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management “has recently accumulated a small position in debt securities of Energy Future Holdings,†the troubled Texas power company, in a bet that “the company will not file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection soon,†The Financial Times writes. FINANCIAL TIMES
Paulson’s Bullish Argument on Gold  | John A. Paulson’s firm said in a letter to clients, according to Bloomberg News: “Although inflation and inflation expectations remain subdued, which appears to have dampened the appetite for gold so far this year, we believe that ongoing central bank purchases and strong gold demand from China and India will help support the gold price in the near term.†BLOOMBERG NEWS
Hedge Funds Buy More Gold as Prices Fall  |Â
BLOOMBERG NEWS
SeaWorld C.E.O. Hints at Overseas Ambitions  | While the majority of the proceeds from SeaWorld’s successful I.P.O. go to the Blackstone Group, SeaWorld is using its share of the money to reduce its debt, and, in general, to help it achieve its corporate goals. DealBook »
SeaWorld Shares Close Up 24% in Trading Debut  | The Blackstone Group’s theme-park operator made a splash on Friday in its debut as a publicly traded company. DealBook »
Eventbrite Attracts $60 Million  | The ticketing company Eventbrite has raised $60 million from T. Rowe Price and Tiger Global Management, “making it the latest example of a start-up to raise significant private late-stage funding that puts off an initial public offering,†The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Tech Boom Drives a Favorite Hangout to Close  | The Grove restaurant in San Francisco said it was closing its flagship location on Chestnut Street because of untenable rents, “driven up, in large part, because of the well-paid techies who chow down on its huevos rancheros every day,†the Bits blog writes. NEW YORK TIMES BITS
Cyberattacks a Huge Threat to Start-Ups, and Their Investors  | The hacking of major banks and technology giants garner headlines, but it is the tech-driven start-ups and growth companies that can stand to lose their entire business if they are victims of cyberattacks, write Craig A. Newman and Daniel L. Stein, litigation partners with Richards Kibbe & Orbe. DealBook »
Bernanke Said to Be Missing Jackson Hole  | Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, “will miss the annual Jackson Hole monetary policy symposium this year due to a scheduling conflict,†according to Reuters. REUTERS
European Leaders May Be Heeding Call to Spur Growth  | After the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, high-ranking ministers and officials were “talking up the need to slow the pace of budget cutting and bolster growth on the Continent,†The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
Morris J. Kramer, Pioneer in Deal Law, Dies at 71  | Morris J. Kramer, who as a longtime partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom helped revolutionize the practice of advising on mergers and acquisitions, died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 71.DealBook »
Barclays Employee Named in Libor Case Leaves the Bank  |Â
WALL STREET JOURNAL
No Need for 2 Tracks in Money Market Overhaul  | It is not clear why there needs to be two sets of rules for money market funds that invest in government debt and those that buy corporate debt, Agnes T. Crane writes for Reuters Breakingviews. REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS
