Lawyers for Fabrice P. Tourre, the former Goldman Sachs trader accused of defrauding investors in a mortgage deal, rested their defense on Monday without calling witnesses, DealBook’s Susanne Craig and Michael J. de la Merced report. The surprise decision to rest, after more than 11 witnesses had been called by the Securities and Exchange Commission, underscored the confidence Mr. Tourre’s lawyers have in fighting the government lawsuit.
The case will probably go to the jury on Wednesday, after closing arguments from both sides on Tuesday. Mr. Tourre’s legal team was visibly upbeat on Friday after their client finished testifying, feeling they had successfully portrayed him as a junior worker at Goldman and hardly the villain of the S.E.C.’s portrayal, Ms. Craig and Mr. de la Merced write. But Mr. Tourre has to overcome evidence that he sent an e-mail containing inaccurate information to ACA Management, which assembled the deal at the center of the case.
“Fabrice has testified in the S.E.C.’s case, and ending things short allows the defense to underscore to the jury where the burden of proof lies â€" that is, squarely on the S.E.C.,†said Susan Brune, a lawyer who successfully defended Matthew M. Tannin, one of two former Bear Stearns executives acquitted in 2009 on charges they misled investors in their mortgage-backed securities hedge funds.
BARCLAYS TO RAISE UP TO $12 BILLION IN CAPITAL  | Barclays said on Tuesday it would raise up to £7.8 billion ($12 billion) in new capital, under pressure from British authorities to improve its capital position after local regulators said the firm’s so-called leverage ratio, a measure of its borrowing, was too low, DealBook’s Mark Scott reports. As part of that effort, Barclays said it would raise £5.8 billion through a rights issue of stock. The offering, set for September, will give existing investors the opportunity to buy one of the new shares for every four shares that they currently own at a 40.1 percent discount to the bank’s closing share price on Monday.
The bank also reported a £168 million loss in the second quarter of the year, compared with a £746 million profit in the period a year earlier. Legal costs weighed on the bank’s second-quarter results. Revenue fell less than 1 percent, to £7.3 billion.
Other European banks also reported earnings on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank said its net profit fell by half in the second quarter as it earned fewer fees from financial market trading and absorbed costs related to lawsuits. UBS said its second-quarter profit rose 32 percent, as it continued an overhaul designed to put its investment banking problems behind it.
COMMUNITY HEALTH TO BUY H.M.A. FOR $3.6 BILLION  | Health Management Associates agreed on Tuesday to sell itself to Community Health Systems for $3.6 billion in cash and stock, a long-expected union of two for-profit hospital systems, DealBook’s Michael J. de la Merced reports. Community Health is paying $10.50 in cash and 0.06942 of a share for each share of H.M.A. Based on Monday’s closing stock prices, that values the deal at $13.78 a share. Including the assumption of debt, the merger is valued at about $7.6 billion.
ON THE AGENDA Â |Â NYSE Euronext reports earnings before the market opens. IAC/InterActiveCorp reports results Tuesday evening. The Senate Banking committee holds a hearing at 10 a.m. on mitigating risk in financial markets, with testimony from Mary Jo White of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
RETAIL GIANT HUNTING FOR LUXURY Â |Â When the real estate scion Richard A. Baker acquired the department store chain Lord & Taylor at the market peak in 2006, it seemed to some retail industry players that Mr. Baker would be the latest money guy to get clobbered trying to break into the fashion business. But no one is snickering anymore, Peter Lattman and Stephanie Clifford write in DealBook.
“On Monday, Mr. Baker’s Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it had agreed to buy Saks Inc., one of the oldest and most revered names in luxury retailing, for $2.4 billion in cash, uniting it with Lord & Taylor and the Canadian chain Hudson’s Bay. The acquisition would create a behemoth in the retail world and cap an extraordinary run of deal-making by Mr. Baker. The combined company would own 320 locations, 179 of which are full department stores. It had combined revenues of about $7 billion in the 2012 fiscal year.â€
Sinclair to Buy TV Stations From Allbritton  | One of the country’s biggest owners of local television stations continued its buying spree, announcing a deal to acquire seven stations, including WJLA, the coveted ABC affiliate in Washington, reported Brian Stelter for The New York Times. The purchase price was $985 million. NEW YORK TIMES
In Ad Merger, a Boon for Two Smaller Banks  | The $35.1 billion merger of Publicis and Omnicom, which will create a new behemoth in the advertising world, raised eyebrows for many reasons. One was that neither company hired a bulge-bracket investment bank, instead using Rothschild and Moelis & Company. DealBook »
America Movil Maneuvers to Allow Bigger Stake in Dutch Operator  | The move by the Latin American mobile phone giant América Móvil would potentially block a proposed deal between the Dutch operator, KPN, and Telefónica of Spain. DealBook »
Takeover Speculation Surrounds Virgin Australia  |Â
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Santander Profit Soars on Lower Charges  | Banco Santander said on Tuesday that its second-quarter profit jumped to 1.1 billion euros, as the Spanish bank benefited from a fall in charges connected to delinquent loans. DealBook »
Upstart Platform’s Pitch: Antidote to High-Speed Traders  | The IEX Group, a trading platform that aims to neutralize certain advantages enjoyed by high-frequency traders, has attracted interest from firms like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Royal Bank of Canada Adds 2 Bankers  | The investment banking arm of the Royal Bank of Canada has hired two bankers, one to cover health care companies and the other to work with consumer corporations, as it continues to expand its footprint in the United States. DealBook »
A.I.G. to Close Its Banking Business  | The American International Group is closing AIG Federal Savings Bank, returning money to customers and shutting accounts in light of limits stemming from the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
The Pigs, Literally, of Wall Street  | The investment banker G. Chris Andersen may be “on track to enter the elite ranks of pig farmers in a country that has taken locavore sensibility to a new level,†Modern Farmer writes. MODERN FARMER
A Strong Year for Private Equity ‘Exits’  | In the latest Triago Quarterly, Antoine Dréan, the founder and chairman of the placement agent Triago, writes: “It’s shaping up as the best year for private equity exits and fund-raising since the crisis.†In addition, investors can expect to receive some of their money back. “Triago believes some $20 billion may expire this year without being invested, adding significantly to investor cash.†TRIAGO QUARTERLY
Third Point Takes Aim at Sony in Investor Letter  | Daniel S. Loeb, who runs the hedge fund Third Point, wrote that “keeping entertainment underexposed, undervalued and underperforming is not a strategy for success.†DealBook »
Hedge Fund Suit May Spell Trouble for U.S.  | The government’s failure to cleanly deal with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s stock and bondholders during the financial crisis is coming back to haunt it, Steven M. Davidoff and David Zaring write in the Deal Professor column. DealBook »
The Price of Herbalife’s Defense Against Ackman  | Herbalife disclosed on Monday that it spent $15.1 million this year defending against a short-seller, who presumably is William A. Ackman. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Affiliate of Plains All American Files to Go Public  | Plains Gp Holdings, an affiliate of Plains All American Pipeline, aims to raise up to $1 billion in an I.P.O., Reuters reports. REUTERS
A Mind-Reading Personal Assistant, in Your Cellphone  | “A range of start-ups and big companies like Google are working on what is known as predictive search â€" new tools that act as robotic personal assistants, anticipating what you need before you ask for it,†Claire Cain Miller writes in The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES
U.S. Accuses JPMorgan of Manipulating Energy Markets  | The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission formally accused JPMorgan Chase of manipulating energy markets, foreshadowing a settlement expected as early as this week. DealBook »
Judge Says Bernanke Should Testify in A.I.G. Case  | The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, who was one of the central decision makers in the 2008 bailout of the American International Group, may have to revisit those tumultuous days because of Maurice Greenberg’s lawsuit against the government. DealBook »
Using Eminent Domain to Save Homes  | The New York Times reports: “The power of eminent domain has traditionally worked against homeowners, who can be forced to sell their property to make way for a new highway or shopping mall. But now the working-class city of Richmond, Calif., hopes to use the same legal tool to help people stay right where they are.†NEW YORK TIMES
Choosing the Next Leader of the Fed  | “No one else can match Janet Yellen’s combination of academic credentials and policy-making experience,†the editorial board of The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
China Opts for Only Small Steps to Stimulate Economy  | Even as new economic reports signal that China’s economy is slowing, Beijing continues to resist a large stimulus package, Bill Bishop writes in the China Insider column. DealBook »
