Upstart investor raids three from big banks

Upstart investor raids three from big banks


A fast-growing asset management firm has landed three big hires from large banks in recent weeks.

Paul Germain, the global head of prime brokerage at Credit Suisse, Tomer Seifan, the head of institutional solutions in the New York office of BNP Paribas, and Guillaume Auvray, an executive specialized in systematic trading and derivatives at Morgan Stanley, are set to join New York-based Stone Ridge Asset Management, according to a person familiar with the situation. 

The men's new roles were unclear, but the hires appear to be a coup for Stone Ridge, a New York-based manager of unusual mutual fund strategies for more than 100 institutional investors.


The firm was launched in late 2012 by Ross Stevens, a member of the investment committee at large hedge fund firm Magnetar Capital, with Deutsche Bank alum Erick Goralski and RBC Capital Markets veteran Robert Gutmann as co-founders. The firm starting investing in 2013 and has grown quickly to run $3.6 billion as of Dec. 31

Marco Rubio, the 2016 presidential campaign's $40 million man

Marco Rubio, the 2016 presidential campaign's $40 million man



less than a week after announcing his 2016 campaign for president, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida doesn't need to worry about money. 

It's as good as in the bank. 

BramanBraman, a former Jeb Bush supporter who is now one of Rubio's highest-silhouette donors."Marco Rubio will have the resources necessary to run a first-class campaign, that's already been determined," said billionaire Florida auto dealer Norman Braman, a former Jeb Bush supporter who is now one of Rub highest-silhouette donors. 


Annandale Capital founder George Seay, who is hosting a Rubio fundraiser with the moneyed Dallas elite at his 7,000-square-foot, seven-bath home on Tuesday, said: "Marco has had zero trouble raising money."

China fines Alibaba $129,000 for pricing violations

China fines Alibaba $129,000 for pricing violations




SHANGHAI: China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, has been fined 800,000 yuan ($129,000) by the price bureau in eastern Zhejiang province for violations by third-party sellers during promotions on its e-commerce platforms. 

Since Alibaba turned "Singles' Day", a November 11 Chinese response to Valentine's Day, into an online shopping festival in 2009, the event has grown to similar proportions as Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the United States. 

Sales of more than $9 billion were achieved at last year's event, and the company has copyrighted the phrase "Double 11", a reference to the date (11/11), which in turn, refers to the status of single people. 

"The company has been fined 500,000 yuan ($81,000) for matters related to Singles' Day pricing by third-party sellers on our Tmall marketplace in 2013 and 2014 and 300,000 yuan($48,000) for pricing in other promotions in 2013 and 2015," Alibaba Group said in a statement on Friday. .. 
While pricing is handled by third parties, not directly by Alibaba, the group said, it would nevertheless reinforce pricing rules and regulations with sellers to protect consumers. 


The 27,000 vendors featured on Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping sites hope to boost sales and gain customers, but some have complained that discounts and cut-throat corporate rivalry undercut the benefits. 

Greece hunts for cash to stay afloat

Greece hunts for cash to stay afloat


Greece will need to tap all the remaining cash reserves across its public sector-a total of 2 billion euros-to pay civil service wages and pensions at the end of the month, according to finance ministry officials.

Barring a last-ditch deal with its creditors, that is likely to leave no money to repay the International Monetary Fund almost 1 billion euros due in the first half of May, although Greece has said it wants to honour its debt obligations. Athens' scramble for basic funds shows how extreme the financial constraints on Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras have become as he tries to convince sceptical foreign creditors to extend his country new financial aid.
Greece's finance ministry denied that it would need to tap remaining cash reserves to meet salary payments, without providing any figures.


"News agencies' reports that refer to the state's cash reserves are groundless, we categorically deny them," the ministry said in a short statement on Friday.

Pondering if you can retire early? Here's a reality check

Pondering if you can retire early? Here's a reality check

If you're in your late 40s or 50s, you may be wondering if there is a way to retire early. 

Nearly three out of 10 workers expect to retire before they're 65, according the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Unfortunately, many Americans are financially unprepared to retire at all. 

A new survey finds 40 percent of baby boomers have nothing saved for retirement and 21 percent have less than $100,000 saved. 

You don't want to just leave your retirement date to chance. Want to retire before your late 60s? Ramping up your savings is the first critical step. Then consider these three variables that could also impact when you'll be able to retire. 

Your life expectancy

One of the biggest risks to retirement is outliving your money. 

Even if you may think you want to retire early, if you expect to live longer and you're healthy, research shows you're likely to work longer. The later you retire, the less money you will need in your nest egg. 

You can use Living to 100's Life Expectancy Calculator, which incorporates findings from the New England Centenarian Study of centenarians and their families around world, to do your own projections. 

Comcast Deal Collapse Would Kill Other Mergers in Domino Effect

Comcast Deal Collapse Would Kill Other Mergers in Domino Effect



The potential collapse of Comcast Corp.’s merger with Time Warner Cable Inc. wouldn’t just be a setback for those two companies. It would also unwind other pending deals and have a wide-reaching impact on the cable industry.

Staff attorneys at the Justice Department’s antitrust division are nearing a recommendation to block Comcast.’s plan to buy Time Warner Cable and combine the two largest U.S. cable providers, according to people familiar with the matter.


A rejection would be a blow to Comcast, which would have to give up on valuable cable and broadband assets in major U.S. cities including New York and Los Angeles. The $45.2 billion merger proposal is also a way for Philadelphia-based Comcast to fend off competition from phone companies, satellite providers and Web services like Netflix Inc. that have taken hundreds of thousands of its TV subscribers in recent years.

CEO's Big Announcement

Seattle CEO Dan Price cuts own salary by 90% to pay every worker at least $70,000

A chief executive has announced plans to raise the salary of every single employee at his company to at least $70,000 (£47,000) – and will fund it by cutting his own salary by 90 per cent.

Dan Price, the CEO of Seattle-based tech company Gravity Payments, gathered together his 120-strong workforce on Monday to tell them the news, which for some will mean a doubling of their salary.

Seattle was already at the heart of the US debate on the gulf in pay between CEOs and ordinary workers, after the city made the ground-breaking decision to raise the minimum wage to $15 (£10.16) an hour in June.

But Mr Price, 30, has gone one step further, after telling ABC News he thought CEO pay was “way out of whack”.

In order not to bankrupt the business, those on less than $70,000 now will receive a $5,000-per-year pay increase or an immediate minimum of $50,000, whichever is greater.


A spokesperson for the company said the average salary was currently $48,000, and the measure will see pay increase for about 70 members of staff.