Fang Fang, one of JPMorgan Chase’s top deal makers in China and a focus of the United States government’s investigation into the bank’s hiring practices in China, is resigning, Neil Gough writes in DealBook. Mr. Fang announced his decision in an internal memo sent to employees on Monday.
Mr. Fang was one of several JPMorgan executives whose emails discussing hiring practices were turned over to authorities by the bank as part of a federal bribery investigation in the United States that is looking into the bank’s “Sons and Daughters†hiring program. Neither Mr. Fang nor any JPMorgan executives have been accused of wrongdoing as a result of the United States investigation.
ICAHN TO GET 3 MORE SEATS ON HERBALIFE BOARD Â |Â Herbalife, the besieged nutritional supplements company, said on Monday that it had renegotiated its agreement with Carl C. Icahn, allowing him three additional seats on its board, which would bring his representation to five seats. Mr. Icahn currently controls a 16.8 percent stake in the company.
With Herbalife, Mr. Icahn is taking on a rival, William A. Ackman, who has made a $1 billion bet against the company, declaring that it is a pyramid scheme and arguing that it is at risk of being shut down by federal regulators.
CREDIT RATINGS STILL LOOM LARGE Â |Â After the 2008 financial crisis, the Dodd-Frank financial reform law directed the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate credit rating agencies, whose high grades on complex mortgage securities contributed to the collapse of the financial system. Now, some investor advocates are hoping that the S.E.C. will toughen the rules, which are still not final, or start over, Gretchen Morgenson writes in the Fair Game column.
Scrutiny after the financial crisis revealed that the agencies had not only inflated the ratings for mortgage securities, but had also been paid by the very issuers whose securities they rated. The slow pace of regulatory change is especially baffling because Dodd-Frank directed the S.E.C. to combat these practices back in 2010. And while the S.E.C. did issue new rules, many continue to be frustrated with weaknesses in the proposed regulations. For their part, the rating agencies say they have improved their systems and can manage the conflicts of interest.
Ms. Morgenson writes: “The root of the rating-agency problem, of course, is an overreliance on these grades throughout the financial system. Institutional investors who are too lazy to assess a security lean on ratings, and financial regulators rely on them when writing their rules.â€
TREMORS AT PIMCO  | Pimco, the giant asset manager, “has been attracting attention for all the wrong reasons,†Jeff Sommer writes in the Strategies column. For one, investors have been removing assets from the firm’s flagship Pimco Total Return bond fund, managed by William H. Gross, Pimco’s founder. But perhaps more damaging has been the scrutiny directed at the firm’s corporate culture since Mohamed A. El-Erian, the chief executive and Mr. Gross’s heir apparent, announced in January that he was resigning to spend time with his family and to work on projects like writing a book.
Since Mr. El-Erian announced his departure, many have raised questions about Mr. Gross’s leadership style and his fund’s recent performance. And while some have called Mr. Gross a “genius,†others have indicated that he oversees his firm with a heavy hand. For many investors, including the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan, the most relevant question is whether the shake-up is affecting the performance of Pimco funds. But despite these latest troubles, Mr. Sommer writes, “The bond king’s investing talent isn’t really in doubt; his ability to run a happy and collegial workplace is.â€
ON THE AGENDA  | The Purchasing Managers’ Index for March is out at 9:45 a.m. Jeremy C. Stein, a Fed governor, speaks in Washington at 9 a.m. Richard W. Fisher, the president of the Dallas Fed, speaks in London at 1:45 p.m. The Senate meets to consider a bill on Ukraine assistance along with Russia sanctions. Biz Stone, a co-founder of Twitter, is on CNBC at 10 a.m. Robert B. Zoellick, a former president of the World Bank, is on CNBC at 3:30 p.m.
MURKY BEGINNINGS IN THE SILK ROAD CASE Â |Â Last May, federal prosecutors in Maryland indicted a man known as Dread Pirate Roberts in a suspected murder-for-hire plot. It turns out that the indictment was the quiet beginning to a criminal case against Ross W. Ulbricht, the man who federal prosecutors contend is the mastermind behind the notorious Silk Road online marketplace for illegal drugs and hacked credit card numbers, Matthew Goldstein writes in DealBook.
The three-count “John Doe†indictment was unsealed recently by the United States attorney for Maryland, whose office filed another indictment against Mr. Ulbricht that identified him by name on Oct. 1, the day the F.B.I. arrested him at a library in San Francisco. The court filing helps to fill in some gaps in the timeline of the federal government’s undercover investigation into Silk Road. But despite some clues, including information found on a server in Iceland, it still remains a mystery how the F.B.I. and other law enforcement officials working on the investigation were able to unmask Mr. Ulbricht as Dread Pirate Roberts.
“Mr. Ulbricht’s case has garnered more attention than the average drug-trafficking case, not only because of the sensational nature of the murder-for-hire plot but also because Silk Road accepted only Bitcoin as payment and operated in the hidden corners of the Internet accessible only through a special software system,†Mr. Goldstein writes, adding, “Some Bitcoin proponents are following Mr. Ulbricht’s case closely out of fear that it will taint the digital currency as primarily a vehicle for criminals to engage in illegal activity on the Internet with a high degree of anonymity.â€
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Nokia Handset Sale to Microsoft Delayed  | Microsoft said on Monday that its $7.5 billion takeover of Nokia’s handset business would now close in April. The deal had been expected to be completed by the end of March. DealBook »
Madison Square Garden Buys Stake in Indie Film Bastion  | Tribeca Enterprises, the Manhattan-based independent film concern co-founded by Robert De Niro, has agreed to sell a 50 percent stake to the Madison Square Garden Company in a deal that values Tribeca at $45 million, The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES
Standard Life in Advanced Talks to Buy Phoenix Asset Management Unit  | The British life insurance and pensions group Standard Life has announced it is in “exclusive and advanced†talks to buy Ignis Asset Management from Phoenix Group Holdings. REUTERS
Credit Suisse Reaches $885 Million Mortgage Settlement  | The Swiss bank says it will take a charge of about $311.5 million to resolve claims it sold questionable loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. DealBook »
Banks Urge Young Analysts to Do the Unthinkable: Take Weekends Off  | In an industry in which grueling schedules are embraced as a badge of honor, efforts to promote work-life balance reflect a significant change in corporate culture, Rachel L. Swarns writes in The Working Life column. NEW YORK TIMES
Banker Deaths in London Under Scrutiny  | Coroners in London are preparing to investigate two recent apparent suicides by bankers, as unexpected deaths by finance workers around the world have raised concerns about mental health and stress levels in the industry, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Wall Street’s Ties to Putin Are Scrutinized  | The crisis in Ukraine has led to calls for big banks to re-examine their ties to the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The attendance of chief executives from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley is now in doubt, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
ATP and 2 Private Equity Firms to Buy Danish-Based Payments Company  | The private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital and the Danish pension fund ATP will pay about $3.1 billion in cash for Nets, a secure payment provider based in Copenhagen. DealBook »
TPG to Buy Warranty Insurance Firm for $1.5 Billion  | The private equity firm TPG Capital said on Friday that it had agreed to buy the Warranty Group, which underwrites insurance contracts for product warranties. DealBook »
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Said to Be Leading Bids for Dubai’s Mauser  | The private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is said to be the front-runner among four bidders for the packaging group Mauser, which is based in Germany and owned by Dubai International Capital, Reuters reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. REUTERS
Carlyle’s Rubenstein Speaks on Proposed Tax Changes  | David M. Rubenstein, the co-founder of the private equity firm Carlyle Group, discusses proposed changes in the carried interest tax on CNBC. CNBC
Ackman Close to Breaking Even on Herbalife Bet  | William A. Ackman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, is close to breaking even on its bet against Herbalife after that company’s stock plummeted on news of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Largest British Hedge Funds Getting Bigger  | Britain’s 20 largest hedge funds control 82 percent of the nation’s assets under management, Bloomberg Businessweek writes. BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
Australian Hedge Fund Manager to Join Financial Inquiry  | Michael Hintze, the founder and chief executive of the hedge fund CQS, has been appointed to assist an inquiry into Australia’s financial system, Business Insider reports. BUSINESS INSIDER
Candy Crush Saga Maker to Price I.P.O. on Tuesday  | The maker of Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment, plans to price its initial public offering on Tuesday. The European game maker is hoping that the enormous success of its puzzle game will persuade investors to pay as much as $24 a share, valuing the company at $7.6 billion. NEW YORK TIMES
IMS Health Prepares for I.P.O. Â |Â IMS Health Holdings is in the final stages of preparing for its initial public offering, which could value the company at $7 billion, The Wall Street Journal writes. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Investors Look to Cambian I.P.O. for Signs of Sector’s Rehabilitation  | A successful initial public offering for Cambian, one of Britain’s largest providers of care for those with behavioral and mental health problems, could indicate the sector’s rehabilitation and encourage other health care companies owned by private equity firms to go public, The Financial Times writes. FINANCIAL TIMES
Birchbox, Seller of Beauty Products, Steps Out From Web With a Store  | Birchbox, which has raised $12 million so far from a variety of venture firms, is opening a physical store as it takes aim at a full-blown shopping and lifestyle “experience,†The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
Name-Calling in the Virtual Playground  | Secret is the latest social media platform to confront the tendency of anonymous chat to provide cover for bad behavior, the Bits blog writes. NEW YORK TIMES BITS
Justice Department Names New Leader for Criminal Division  | David O’Neil, a longtime Justice Department official, will assume the role of acting assistant attorney general on Monday, overseeing some major investigations into Wall Street and corporate misdeeds. DealBook »
Markets Could Be Underpricing Geopolitical Tension  | “Markets have been sanguine about geopolitical risk for several years now, a phenomenon illustrated by the relaxed approach they have taken to Ukraine’s crisis,†Mohamed El-Erian, the former chief executive of Pimco, writes in The Financial Times. FINANCIAL TIMES
G.M.’s Bankruptcy Drawn Into Defect Inquiry  | The nascent federal investigation into General Motors is looking in part into whether the automaker committed bankruptcy fraud by not disclosing defects that could lead to expensive future liabilities, The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
U.S. Official Lobbies for Trans-Atlantic Trade Pact  | Completing a landmark trans-Atlantic trade agreement could help Europe wean itself from reliance on Russian energy supplies, the United States trade representative, Michael Froman, has said, The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
China Reaffirms Goal for Financial Markets  | Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of China said that Beijing would “introduce a modern and competitive market system with fair and open market rules.†REUTERS
