The World Economic Forum in Davos, which begins this Wednesday, is as notable for its attendees as for its absentees, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the DealBook column. While this year’s guest list includes prime ministers, chief executives of some of the largest financial institutions and at least one movie star, others in the financial world’s inner circle are, perhaps surprisingly, electing not to go to Switzerland.
Mr. Sorkin writes: “Whatever their reasons for staying away, the leaders of some of the largest and most transformative companies are demonstrating, with their absence, the difficulty of convening a global conversation with all the main stakeholders.â€
EUROPE ON EDGE AFTER DEUTSCHE BANK’S SURPRISING LOSS  | Deutsche Bank went with a double element of surprise on Sunday night, reporting a $1 billion fourth-quarter loss that was bigger, and released earlier, than expected, Jack Ewing writes in The New York Times. Deutsche Bank, the German-based bank that is one of the only European banks able to keep pace with the large United States banks, attributed the loss in part to a decline in bond trading.
Deutsche Bank’s investment banking arm contributed 965 million euros, or $1.3 billion, to the bank’s quarterly net loss. And much like its American counterparts, Deutsche Bank reported losses from legal activities and official inquiries in the last year. Most recently, the bank suspended traders amid investigations into possible manipulation of the $5-trillion-a-day foreign exchange market.
Mr. Ewing writes: “Deutsche Bank has provided another reminder that the financial crisis has never really ended for European banks â€" raising questions about whether the Continental economy can recover before they do.â€
IBM RENEWS EFFORT TO SELL SERVER BUSINESS  | IBM has initiated talks to sell its low-end server business with companies including Dell and Lenovo. But IBM’s efforts to sell the server unit are nothing new, David Gelles writes in DealBook. Last year, IBM nearly closed a deal with Lenovo, the world’s largest personal computer maker, until talks broke down over the server unit’s price. The unit, which includes IBM’s x86 server business, pulls in an estimated $5 billion in revenue a year.
Mr. Gelles reports: “A sale would be the latest step in IBM’s evolution from a dominant producer of hardware like computers and servers into a company focused on providing services to governments and businesses.â€
TOASTING ANOTHER BEVERAGE DEAL  | Anheuser-Busch InBev sold Oriental Brewery, a South Korean brewer, in 2009. Now, it is buying the company back, Chad Bray writes in DealBook. The deal, announced on Monday and valued at $5.8 billion, comes only a week after Suntory, the Japanese beverage maker, agreed to buy Beam Inc., the maker of Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark whiskeys, for $13.6 billion.
Anheuser-Busch InBev sold Oriental Brewery to the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for $1.8 billion in July 2009. K.K.R. then sold half of the company to Affinity Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in the Asia-Pacific region. The latest deal is the largest on record for a private equity firm looking to sell an Asian investment, The Wall Street Journal reports.
ON THE AGENDA Â |Â Verizon Communications releases fourth-quarter earnings before the bell. Happy birthday to Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft and owner of the Super Bowl bound Seattle Seahawks. Biz Stone, the founder of Jelly and co-founder of Twitter, is on Bloomberg TV at 1 p.m.
WEALTH ADDICTION IN WALL STREET’S HALLOWED HALLS  | “In my last year on Wall Street my bonus was $3.6 million â€" and I was angry because it wasn’t big enough,†Sam Polk writes in a New York Times Op-Ed on Sunday. “When the guy next to you makes $10 million, $1 million or $2 million doesn’t look so sweet.†After spending years moving up in the industry and earning ever higher pay, Mr. Polk eventually realized that he was suffering from wealth addiction and left his job as a Wall Street trader to help others.
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Electra Partners to Take Majority Stake in British Shoemaker  | The British private equity firm Electra Partners says its funds will buy a stake in Hotter Shoes held by another private equity shop, Gresham, in a deal worth as much as 200 million pounds, according to a person familiar with the matter. DealBook »
Rolls-Royce Expected to Make Offer for Wartsila  | The aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce is expected to make a public offer for the Finnish manufacturer Wartsila Corporation, Reuters reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. REUTERS
Intel Sells Online Television Business to Verizon  | Intel is selling its online television services and products unit to Verizon Communications for an undisclosed amount, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
A Potentially Harmful Merger for Food Giants  | A proposed merger between Sysco, the country’s largest food distributor, and US Foods, its largest competitor, could significantly reduce competition and drive up prices of the meals Americans eat outside their homes, according to a New York Times editorial. NEW YORK TIMES
Nest C.E.O. Intends to Help the Company Grow, for Now  | Tony Fadell, the co-founder and chief executive of Nest, which Google acquired for $3.2 billion last week, said he planned to help Nest grow, and did not yet intend to take on a larger design role at Google, The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Agreement in New York on Division of JPMorgan Funds  | Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general, announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement on how to allocate a piece of the $613 million New York State received as part of the settlement with JPMorgan Chase, Susanne Craig reports in The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES
Wells Fargo Bans Staff from Peer-to-Peer Lending  | Wells Fargo, the largest United States bank by market value, said it had barred its employees from lending their own money through peer-to-peer lending platforms, The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES
British Financial Services Sector Optimistic, Survey Finds  | Of the 87 banks, asset managers and insurance companies surveyed, 69 percent said they felt more optimistic about the business environment, the highest level since 1989. DealBook »
K.K.R. Agrees to Loan for Italian Coffee Vending Company  | Kohlberg Kravis Roberts agreed to lend 100 million euros to Gruppo Argenta, an Italian coffee vending machine operator, The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES
Carlyle Sale Raises $285 Million  | The private equity firm Carlyle Group raised $285 million last week from selling shares in the Chinese appliance maker Haier Electronics Group, The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Elliot Management Increases Stake in Celesio  | Elliott Management, the hedge fund founded by Paul Singer, increased its position in the German pharmaceutical wholesaler Celesio and now controls shares equivalent to 24.08 percent of voting rights, Reuters reports. Celesio’s shares fell last week after the McKesson Corporation, a health care services company, failed to generate enough shareholder support for its $8.3 billion offer to acquire the company. REUTERS
Work Weekends and Long Hours, Fund Manager Advises Young Bankers  | Randall Dillard, managing director and chief investment officer at Liongate Capital Management, had this advice for young bankers: be ready to work incredibly hard, but steer clear of private equity. DealBook »
Italian Bank Offloads Risk to U.S. Hedge Fund  | UniCredit, the largest bank in Italy, is expected to announce on Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with Mariner Investment Group, a United States hedge fund, to hand off some of its default risk, The Financial Times reports. Mariner will set up investment vehicles for long-term infrastructure financed with capital injections from insurers and pension funds. FINANCIAL TIMES
Japanese Hedge Fund to Open Door to Outside Investors  | Three former Goldman Sachs managing directors plan to open their Japanese hedge fund, Golvis Asia Opportunities Fund, to outside investors this quarter, Bloomberg News reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Office Depot Mexico Seeks $374 Million in I.P.O.  | Grupo Gigante aims to raise $374 million in its initial public offering of Office Depot’s Mexican unit, Reuters reports, citing local filings. REUTERS
Rhode Island Company’s I.P.O. Seen as Successful  | The Cranston-based Coastway Bancorp was the first Rhode Island company to have an initial public offering in six years, The Providence Journal reports. Coastway began trading on the Nasdaq stock market on Wednesday, closing on Friday at $10.90 a share, down slightly from $10.92 a share on its first day of trading. PROVIDENCE JOURNAL
Blinkx Founder to Join Venture Firm Balderton Capital  | Suranga Chandratillake will return to London from Silicon Valley and lead Balderton Capital’s early stage investments in technology and online media. DealBook »
After Funding Round, Dropbox Valued at $10 billion  | Dropbox, the online storage provider, is said to have closed a funding round of $250 million, valuing the company at $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. The funding round is being led by BlackRock. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Andreessen Horowitz Said to Be Raising New $1.5 Billion Fund  | Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm, is said to be raising its fourth fund in six years, Fortune reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. The firm aims to raise about $1.5 billion for the fund. FORTUNE
Venture Capital Ignoring Europe  | Silicon Valley is largely ignoring Europe, but it may be because Europe is not doing enough to draw attention from venture capitalists, Sten Tamkivi writes in TechCrunch. TECHCRUNCH
Business Insider Commences New Funding Round  | The website Business Insider is said to be raising a new round of funding from existing investors, ReCode reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. The website turned down a $100 million acquisition offer from AOL last year. RECODE
Boston Fed’s Latest Role: Community Organizer  | The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has used $1.8 million from outside donors to help some of the most depressed midsize cities in Massachusetts, Nelson D. Schwartz writes in The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES
Doctor Tells of Leaking Data to a ‘Friend’ at SAC  | Dr. Sidney Gilman, a main witness for prosecutors in the insider trading trial of Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager at SAC Capital Advisors, testified that he passed confidential information to Mr. Martoma. DEALBOOK
JPMorgan Claims BVG Owes $200 Million Over C.D.S.  | JPMorgan Chase said on the first day of a trial that BVG, the German company that operates Berlin’s trains and buses, owes about $200 million in losses resulting from a credit-default swap contract BVG signed in 2007, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
HSBC and Citigroup Suspend Currency Traders  | The suspensions by the two banks on Friday came amid questions about whether the traders colluded to fix benchmark currency rates. DealBook »
