Bloomberg: Ken Fisher Shocks With Sexual Remarks, Wonders Why
First Ken Fisher shocked his audience with sexist and off-color remarks. Then the billionaire said he didn’t understand why. After stunning the crowd at a San Francisco conference by talking about genitalia and likening winning clients to "trying to get into a girl’s pants," Fisher said he was surprised by how people reacted. He said he’s spoken like that plenty of times. “I have given a lot of talks, a lot of times, in a lot of places and said stuff like this and never gotten that type of response,” Fisher, 68. Fisher Investments oversees $112 billion. Fisher acknowledged having dropped acid and loyal employees being tattooed with his firm’s name for promotions. "The most stupid thing you can do is what every mutual fund firm in the world always did” and that’s “brag about performance in a direct mail piece,” Fisher said. That’s “a little bit like walking into a bar and you are a single guy and want to get laid and walking up to some girl and saying: ‘Hey you want to have sex?’ Fisher didn’t stop there. When asked what he would have done differently in his life, he said he would “have more sex.” He added a vulgar remark comparing his waning virility to the seasonality of a Christmas tree. “I regret I accepted that speech invitation because it was kind of a pain in the neck,” Fisher said.
FT: Fed Eases Liquidity Rules For Foreign Banks (Rescues Deutsche)
Having cracked down on Deutsche Bank in the past, The Fed appears to be playing good-regulator/bad-regulator, Deutsche is expected to benefit most from an imminent change in The Fed's liquidity rules. Specifically, US banking regulators have dropped an idea to subject local branches of foreign banks to tough new liquidity rules (forcing US branches of foreign banks to hold a minimum level of liquid assets to protect them from a cash crunch). Randal Quarles, the vice-chair for banking supervision at the Fed, accepts the banks’ argument that any liquidity rules on bank branches should only be imposed in conjunction with foreign regulators. “Without some international agreement, we could have the situation where each country is trying to grab whatever isn’t nailed down if there is another scare.” Deutsche Bank benefits most (or rescued from major liquidity needs) since it has by far the largest assets in US branches.
Bloomberg: China Hit by EU Tariffs as High as 66%
The European Union imposed tariffs as high as 66.4% on steel road wheels from China, targeting manufacturers. The duties punish Chinese exporters of steel wheels for vehicles including cars, tractors and trailers for having sold them in the EU below cost, a practice known as dumping. The European market for such wheels is worth an estimated $881 million. Dumped imports of steel road wheels from China caused “material injury” to EU-based manufacturers of the goods, the European Commission, the 28-nation bloc’s executive arm in Brussels. The EU industry employs 3,600 people mainly in Germany, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy, Romania and Poland, the commission said in a subsequent emailed statement about the case. Separately, the
commission threatened to stoke longstanding tensions with China over steel trade by opening an inquiry into whether Chinese producers of hot-rolled, stainless-steel sheets and coils receive market-distorting government aid. The probe, which also covers Indonesia and is due to last as long as 13 months, could lead to EU anti-subsidy duties on imports of these steel products -- used for other kinds of steel and for tubes -- from both countries. Hot-rolled, stainless-steel sheets and coils from China, Taiwan and Indonesia face a separate threat of European anti-dumping duties as a result of an investigation opened in August.
Bloomberg: 20 Richest People in the Automotive Industry
1. Bill Gates Company: AutoNation Inc. Stake Value: $914,554,258 Percent of Total Net Worth: .9% Total Wealth: $105 billion Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
2. Larry Ellison Company: Tesla Inc. Stake Value: $730,773,000 to $1 billion Percent of Total Net Worth: 1.3% Total Wealth: $58.5 billion Location: Palo Alto, Calif.
3. Elon Musk Company: Tesla Inc. Stake Value: $8,307,076,693 Percent of Total Net Worth: 36.9% Total Wealth: $22.9 billion Location: Palo Alto, Calif.
4. Pallonji Mistry Company: Tata Motors Ltd. Stake Value: $302,722,710 Percent of Total Net Worth: 1.5% Total Wealth: $19.7 billion Location: Mumbai
5. Susanne Klatten Company: BMW AG Stake Value: $8,763,327,399 Percent of Total Net Worth: 47.8%
Total Wealth: $18 billion Location: Munich
6. Stefan Quandt Company: BMW AG Stake Value: $10,817,887,438 Percent of Total Net Worth: 72.2% Total Wealth: $14.8 billion Location: Munich
7. Li Shu Fu Company No. 1: Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. Stake Value: $38,988,918 Percent of Total Net Worth: .4% Location: Hangzhou, China Company No. 2: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Stake Value: $10,520,321,446 Percent of Total Net Worth: 99.9% Total Wealth: $10.6 billion Location: Hangzhou, China
8. Georg Schaeffler Company No. 1: Continental AG Stake Value: $9,494,765,020 Percent of Total Net Worth: 110.4%* Location: Hanover, Germany Company No. 2: Schaeffler AG Stake Value: $3,116,322,400 Percent of Total Net Worth: 36.2% Total Wealth: $7.99 billion Location: Herzogenaurach, Germany
9. Blair Parry-Okeden Company: Cox Automotive Stake Value: $1,738,541,209 Percent of Total Net Worth: 21.6% Total Wealth: $7.84 billion Location: Atlanta
10. James Kennedy Company: Cox Automotive Stake Value: $1,738,541,209
Percent of Total Net Worth: 21.6% Total Wealth: $7.84 billion Location: Atlanta
11. James Pattison Company: James Pattison Group Stake Value: $48,327,817 Percent of Total Net Worth: .8% Total Wealth: $6.35 billion Location: Vancouver
12. Ernie Garcia Company No. 1: Carvana Co. Stake Value: $4,060,262,827 Percent of Total Net Worth: 67.4% Location: Tempe, Ariz. Company No. 2: DriveTime Stake Value: $1,005,999,251 Percent of Total Net Worth: 16.7% Total Wealth: $4.93 billion Location: Tempe, Ariz.
13. Hiroshi Mikitani Company: Trust Co Ltd. Stake Value: $234,488 Percent of Total Net Worth: Negligible Total Wealth: $5.87 billion Location: Nagoya, Japan
14. Margaretta Taylor Company: Cox Automotive Stake Value: $1,150,111,876 Percent of Total Net Worth: 21.6% Total Wealth: $5.18 billion Location: Atlanta
15. James Cox Chambers Company: Cox Automotive Stake Value: $1,150,111,876 Percent of Total Net Worth: 21.6% Total Wealth: $5.18 billion Location: Atlanta
16. Katharine Rayner Company: Cox Automotive Stake Value: $1,150,111,876 Percent of Total Net Worth: 21.6% Total Wealth: $5.18 billion Location: Atlanta
17. Quek Leng Chan Company No. 1: Hong Leong Asia Ltd. Stake Value: $5,103,369 Percent of Total Net Worth: .1% Location: Kuala Lumpur Company No. 2: Hong Leong Industries Bhd. Stake Value: $291,110,648 Percent of Total Net Worth: 5.5% Total Wealth: $5.27 billion Location: Kuala Lumpur
18. Rahul Bajaj Company No. 1: Bajaj Finance Ltd. Stake Value: $586,320,006 Percent of Total Net Worth: 12.4% Location: Pune, India Company No. 2: Bajaj Auto Ltd. Stake Value: $1,208,532,867 Percent of Total Net Worth: 25.5% Total Wealth: $5.2 billion Location: Pune, India
19. Chung Mong-Koo Company No. 1: Hyundai Motor Co. Stake Value: $1,269,429,178 Percent of Total Net Worth: 27.9% Location: Seoul Company No. 2: Hyundai Mobis Co. Stake Value: $1,408,455,597 Percent of Total Net Worth: 30.9% Total Wealth: $4.5 billion Location: Seoul
20. Wang Chuan-Fu
Company: BYD Co. Stake Value: $3,522,094,647 Percent of Total Net Worth: 82.4% Location: Shenzhen, China
Company: BYD Co Ltd. Stake Value: $4,993,622 Percent of Total Net Worth: .1% Total Wealth: $4.11 billion Location: Shenzhen, China
Bloomberg: China’s Gold-Buying Spree Tops 100 Tons
China has added more than 100 tons of gold to its reserves since it resumed buying in December, reinforcing its standing as one of the major official accumulators as central banks stock up on the precious metal. The People’s Bank of China picked up more gold last month, raising holdings to 62.64 million ounces in September, according to data. In tonnage terms, the latest inflow totals 5.9 tons, and follows the addition of about 99.8 tons over the prior nine months. While a 10th straight month of accumulation marks a steady buying pattern for the PBOC. The central bank announced a 57% jump in reserves to 53.3 million ounces in mid-2015.