“After years of false starts and stops, the Justice Department is nearing the end of an investigation into the role Credit Suisse played in hiding American wealth offshore. But at the same time, a new investigation is beginning, threatening to entangle the giant Swiss bank for even longer,†Ben Protess and Alexandra Stevenson write in DealBook.
The biggest danger to Credit Suisse, suspected of sheltering billions of dollars for American clients who evaded taxes, comes from federal prosecutors. The Justice Department has considered a so-called deferred-prosecution agreement that would suspend any indictment in exchange for a large cash penalty and other concessions, but it is also pushing for a guilty plea from a Credit Suisse subsidiary, people briefed on the case said. The outcome depends on settlement talks in the coming weeks and will most likely strike a blow at overseas tax shelters.
Just as the criminal inquiry is drawing to a close in Washington, a civil investigation has started from scratch in New York. Benjamin M. Lawsky, New York State’s top financial regulator, has requested documents from Credit Suisse and is expected to demand additional records this week, two people briefed on the case said. Mr. Lawsky will examine whether the bank lied to New York authorities about engineering tax shelters. The escalating Credit Suisse inquiry, along with some recent shifts in international law, might provide momentum to the government’s uneven effort to collect taxes and punish the banks involved.
BLACKROCK’S SUCCESSION PLANS TAKE SHAPE  | BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced a number of executive moves on Sunday aimed at grooming potential successors to its founder and leader, Laurence D. Fink. Mr. Fink, one of the most influential and respected players on Wall Street, is not expected to step down anytime soon, but planning for his departure is nonetheless an important issue for the company, Michael J. de la Merced writes in DealBook.
Charles S. Hallac, one of BlackRock’s first employees and the creator of the company’s Aladdin trade management system, was promoted to co-president, according to an internal memorandum. He will serve in that role alongside Robert S. Kapito, a BlackRock founder and the man most likely to take over the firm should Mr. Fink step down in the near term. Succeeding Mr. Hallac as chief operating officer is Robert Goldstein, the current head of BlackRock’s institutional client business.
CEMENT GIANTS AGREE TO MERGE  | Holcim and Lafarge, the world’s two biggest cement companies, said on Monday that they had agreed to a merger to help them better adapt to competition on the global stage, David Jolly writes in DealBook. Holcim, which is based near Zurich, and Lafarge, based in Paris, are among the world’s biggest suppliers of cement and related products like stone, gravel and sand. The new company will be called LafargeHolcim.
The companies had combined revenue of about $44 billion last year and adjusted pretax income of about $8.9 billion. They have a combined work force of about 135,000 employees. The merger is projected to close in the first half of 2015 and is subject to shareholder approval. Perhaps more important, it must pass muster with the antitrust authorities in numerous jurisdictions around the world.
ON THE AGENDA  | The consumer credit report for February is released at 3 p.m. James Bullard, the president of the St. Louis Fed, gives a speech on monetary policy at 11:45 a.m. The N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament national championship game is on CBS at 9 p.m. SAC Capital Advisors rechristens itself Point72 Asset Management and becomes a family office.
INDIA’S BIG PHARMA DEAL  | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries of India said on Sunday that it would pay about $4 billion in stock for Ranbaxy Laboratories, a smaller Indian rival, David Gelles writes in DealBook. The combined company will be the largest pharmaceutical maker in India and the fifth-largest specialty generic drug maker in the world. Annual revenue is estimated to surpass $4.2 billion.
Ranbaxy shareholders will receive 0.8 of a Sun Pharmaceutical share for each of their Ranbaxy shares, representing an 18 percent premium over Ranbaxy’s 30-day volume-weighted average share price. At Friday’s closing price, that values the deal at about 457.5 rupees a share, or $7.64.
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Alfa Laval in $2.17 Billion Deal for Norwegian Pump Maker  | Alfa Laval of Sweden expects the acquisition of Frank Mohn to enhance its product offerings for the marine and offshore oil and natural gas sectors. DealBook »
Roche Group to Acquire Testing Equipment Maker For $450 Million  | The Swiss drug maker Roche will initially pay $275 million for the privately held IQuum of Massachusetts, and up to an additional $175 million if the company reaches certain product milestones. DealBook »
Diamond’s New Venture Agrees to Second African Investment  | Atlas Mara Co-Nvest, backed by Robert E. Diamond Jr., a former Barclays chief executive, has signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to privatize the commercial arm of the state-owned Development Bank of Rwanda. DealBook »
Altice to Expand Numericable Stake Before SFR Merger  | The share purchase is an important step in Altice’s plans to merge SFR, Vivendi’s mobile business, with Numericable as part of the deal. DealBook »
Questions for Comcast as It Looks to Grow  | As Comcast prepares to defend its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable at a Senate hearing this week, some obvious questions beg answers, David Carr writes in the Media Equation column. NEW YORK TIMES
Apple’s Deep Pockets: What $159 Billion Could Do  | Apple has a problem that anyone would like to have, Nick Bilton writes in the Bits blog: what to do with a vast amount of cash. NEW YORK TIMES BITS
The Oracle of Omaha, Lately Looking a Bit Ordinary  | Warren E. Buffett’s 49-year market record is stellar. Just don’t count the last five, Jeff Sommer writes in the Strategies column. NEW YORK TIMES
Former Kaplan Chief Assembling a Digital Learning Company  | Jonathan Grayer, the chief of Weld North, has acquired two digital learning businesses that will help the company expand into school management and teaching English as a second language. DealBook »
Brazilian Firm Magnifies Focus on Distressed Debt  | The investment firm Jive Investments Holding, which acquired some of Lehman Brothers’ Brazilian assets in 2010, is raising a new $100 million distressed debt fund focused on nonperforming corporate loans. DealBook »
Hedge Fund Advertising Off to a Slow Start, Survey Finds  | Only a fraction of hedge funds and private equity firms have even registered under a new statute that gives them the ability to broadly solicit capital. DealBook »
GrubHub Soars in Market Debut; Other New Listings Rise, Too  | Shares of GrubHub opened at $40, rising nearly 54 percent above the I.P.O. price. Others, including IMS Health and Opower, also enjoyed a pop in their first trades. DEALBOOK
Technology’s Man Problem  | Crude apps, patronizing behavior. For some, “bro†culture offers one explanation for why there are so few women in tech, The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
Vox Introduces New Blend of Journalism and Tech  | The new site, led by Ezra Klein, the founder of Wonkblog, features a next-generation content management tool that greatly enhances digital storytelling, The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
Personality and Change Inflamed Mozilla Crisis  | The issues troubling Mozilla, a highly unusual tech titan, run deeper than the firestorm that led to the departure of its chief, Brendan Eich, after only two weeks, The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
My Bitcoin Befuddlement  | A virtual currency might look more appealing if a potential investor could just fathom how it worked, John Schwartz writes in The New York Times. NEW YORK TIMES
Protesters Take Aim at Google Ventures Partner  | Protesters on Sunday targeted the San Francisco home of Kevin Rose, a Google Ventures partner, as anti-tech sentiment continues to rise in the area, ReCode reports. RECODE
‘Reverse Auctions’ Draw Scrutiny  | Supporters say FedBid and similar companies encourage competition, but critics say they prompt businesses to submit unrealistically low bids to shut out rivals, The New York Times reports. NEW YORK TIMES
Weil Hires Senior Goldman Bankruptcy Specialist for London Office  | Weil plans to announce on Monday that it has hired Andrew Wilkinson as the newest member of the firm’s corporate restructuring and bankruptcy practice, serving as a partner in the London office. DealBook »
The Wallet as Ethics Enforcer  | Take back executives’ bonuses? It’s not likely to happen at General Motors, or at many other companies, under current rules, Gretchen Morgenson writes in the Fair Game column. NEW YORK TIMES
Hiring Rises, but Number of Jobless Stays High  | Better weather encouraged employers to begin hiring workers more aggressively in March, adding 192,000 to payrolls. The jobless rate, however, remained flat at 6.7 percent, The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
