TheChek News Flow

Wanted: Entry Level Hedgies; $353,000 Salary

Bloomberg News Looking for a new start in finance? Hedge funds are hiring and even their beginners are making bank.

The hedge-fund industry ramped up hiring for entry-level positions in 2013, according to a new report from Hedge Fund Research. The average compensation for a mid-performing fund for those entry-level hires was a total of $353,000, including bonuses, according to HFR and its study partner Glocap.

Stay a few years and you’ll be handsomely rewarded. The average compensation for portfolio managers at a large fund was $2.2 million. The senior people at hedge funds weren’t all rewarded equally though, bonuses were between falling 5% from a year ago and  rising 20%, the study said.

In total, average compensation rose 5% to 10% in the industry, the study said.

Compare that pay to Wall Street banks, where a study from the New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently estimated total compensation among the biggest banks was up 5.5% in the first half of 2013 compared to a year earlier but said some doubted the year-end number would exceed 2012’s rate. The average salary, which includes bonuses, for securities-industry employees in New York City was $360,700 in 2012, relatively stable from 2011′s figure of $362,950.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both set aside less of their total revenue for compensation in the first nine months of the year, they reported earlier this month. Goldman said its compensation ratio so far for 2013 is the lowest nine-month rate since it went public in 1999. The accrual works out to about $320,000 per employee.

But don’t expect to find it easy to get a job in hedge funds: the study said the industry took increased notice of a senior investment professional’s performance between 2008 and 2011, trying to make sure they held up comparably alright in the middle of the crisis.

Renault-Nissan's Ghosn Cancels Seoul Trip Ahead of Major Announcement in Japan

SEOUL--Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault SA (RNO.FR) and Nissan Motor Co. (7201.TO), has canceled a trip to Seoul because he has a "major" announcement to make in Japan on Friday, a Renault Samsung Motors Co. spokesman said.

"He is expected to make some announcement today, although we don't know what's it about," said the spokesman.

Mr. Ghosn was supposed to attend an event in Seoul, organized by Renault Samsung, the local unit of French automaker Renault SA, to launch an electric vehicle.

Nissan on Wednesday moved up its earnings release for the fiscal second quarter to Friday from next Tuesday. The company said that the change was due to "executive schedule changes." It didn't elaborate.

Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga was scheduled to attend a news conference for the earnings at its headquarters in Yokohama.

But a Nissan spokeswoman declined to comment on who will be speaking at the press conference and whether there will be any announcement in addition to the result.

Notable after hours earnings movers: FSLR +10.1%, CTRL +7.3%, TRMB+ 5.2%, ELLI -21.1%, HTCH -18%, BODY -18% Companies trading higher after hours following earnings/guidance:

FSLR +10.1%, CTRL +7.3%, TRMB +5.2%, GDOT +5.1%, AHS +4%, MHK +3.7%, SWN +2%, CALD +1.5%, BBG +0.8%, ANH +0.4%, AMRS +0.3%

Companies trading lower after hours following earnings/guidance:

ELLI -21.1%, HTCH -18%, BODY -18%, OPLK -8%, FLR -3.3%, AIG -2.5%, KOG -2.1%, NEM -0.9%, KRG -0.5%, GSIT -0.1%, ONNN -0.1%

Star Wars 7 Under Pressure for 2015 Release: Hollywood Reporter

Disney’s Star Wars Episode VII facing pressure to release in 2015, despite request from writer Michael Arndt, studio to push release date to 2016, Hollywood Reporter writes citing people close to project. * CEO Robert Iger adamant on 2015 release date

Credit Suisse Dismisses London Trader Over 'Unusual Trading' Losses

Bank Is Investigating How Position Went Undetected

LONDON— Credit Suisse Group AG CSGN.VX +0.21% said a London trader within its investment bank racked up nearly $6 million in losses that haven't previously been made public. The incident has sparked an investigation and attracted continuing scrutiny from British regulators, according to people familiar with the matter.

The losses were sustained late last year, but Credit Suisse this week dismissed an exchange-traded-funds trader, Rohit Jha, in connection with the money-losing positions, these people said. The Swiss bank in January suspended his boss, Matthew Tagliani, who oversaw the bank's London ETF-trading desk, which does business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, these people said.

While the losses aren't considered financially material, Credit Suisse is continuing to investigate how the positions went undetected by its safeguarding systems—and weren't reported to supervisors—for 16 business days last December, according to the people familiar with the matter. At issue is whether other trades that could be more damaging are being properly monitored, the people said.

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority is also reviewing the trades and supervision of the unit, the people said.

Efforts to reach Messrs. Jha and Tagliani were unsuccessful. Mr. Tagliani remains suspended, according to a person familiar with the situation.

"As soon as Credit Suisse discovered unusual trading activities by one trader on its London equity division [exchange-traded funds] desk, the bank promptly notified the relevant authorities and has been cooperating with its regulators," Credit Suisse spokeswoman Sofia Rehman said. "We are confident the trader acted alone and that the matter has been contained."

Mr. Jha was a vice president in Credit Suisse's ETF-trading unit in London. He had worked as a full-time employee at Credit Suisse since July 2009, after starting the previous year as an intern, according to his LinkedIn profile and a person familiar with the matter.

Mr. Tagliani's January suspension came five months after he started at the bank amid its efforts to expand regionally in the growing ETF business, according to the people familiar with the matter. U.K. regulatory records indicate he was deregistered to act in a customer-facing role Oct. 11.

The ETF-trading position in question at one point was in the red almost $20 million, although it ultimately caused a net trading loss of less than $6 million, according to people with knowledge of the details. Individuals besides Mr. Jha discovered the trade and reported it internally, and the bank then notified regulators, one of the people said.

Ms. Rehman confirmed the loss amount and said no clients were affected.

Nevertheless, the circumstances set off a series of questions and a monthslong inquiry that has involved senior executives in equities trading, securities financing and the global investment bank in Europe and the U.S., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Credit Suisse continues to investigate how a position with the potential for losses that size could go undiscovered for more than a couple of days, the people say. The bank remains in discussions with U.K. financial regulators over the matter, and it isn't clear what, if any, actions might come of continuing inquiries, according to people familiar with the discussions.

One person familiar with the trade said it wasn't properly hedged, or balanced with an offsetting position to reduce the risk of losses. While it isn't clear how the positions went undetected, Credit Suisse's internal investigation has focused in part on whether the bank adequately prevents traders from concealing positions from reporting systems designed to detect potential losses, people close to the matter said.

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AT&T Said to Explore Vodafone Takeover as Soon as Next Year (2) 2013-10-31 20:36:49.984 GMT

(Updates share trading in fourth paragraph.)

By Matthew Campbell and Jeffrey McCracken Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- AT&T Inc. executives are laying the groundwork internally for a potential takeover of Vodafone Group Plc next year, mapping out a strategy for a complex deal with Europe’s largest mobile carrier, people familiar with the situation said. While the companies haven’t entered formal negotiations, the largest U.S. phone company is intensifying work on which Vodafone assets it would retain after a deal and who could buy others, the people said, declining to be identified discussing private deliberations. AT&T, which remains interested in U.K. carrier EE as an alternative target, is also formulating a strategy for Vodafone’s operations in Europe, where mobile broadband adoption has lagged the U.S., the people said. A merger, which would create the world’s largest telecommunications operator by sales, wouldn’t be AT&T’s first attempt at combining the companies. AT&T approached Verizon Communications Inc. this year about a transaction in which AT&T would buy Vodafone’s European operations, with Verizon taking over their wireless joint-venture and America Movil SAB taking much of the rest, two of the people said. Verizon rejected that approach as too complex and likely to slow its own $130 billion purchase of Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, they said. Vodafone’s New York-traded shares rose as much as 4.4 percent to $37.90 and ended trading at $36.86. AT&T fell less than 1 percent to $36.20.

Globe-Spanning Company

Combined, Vodafone and AT&T would be a globe-spanning telecommunications player with a market capitalization exceeding $250 billion and large-scale operations in the U.S. and across Europe. With more than 500 million wireless subscribers worldwide, the company would be able to challenge Google Inc. and Apple Inc. when negotiating handset subsidies and wringing profit out of nascent technologies such as mobile advertising. Any transaction would have to wait for the conclusion of Vodafone’s sale of its Verizon Wireless stake, which the companies expect to close in early 2014. AT&T may ultimately decide not to proceed with a bid, the people said. Simon Gordon, a spokesman for Newbury, England-based Vodafone, declined to comment on the company’s interest in a sale to AT&T or anyone else. Brad Burns, a spokesman for Dallas- based AT&T, declined to comment on the company’s European plans.

Colao’s Plans

Bob Varettoni, a spokesman for New York-based Verizon, also declined to comment. A representative for America Movil didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Colao is in principle open to a deal, depending on its terms, one of the people said. A former McKinsey & Co. consultant, Colao is nonetheless formulating a stand-alone strategy for Vodafone that could include major new deals in landline telecommunications, the person said. The company had almost 13 billion pounds ($21 billion) in cash and short-term investments at the end of March, a number that doesn’t include its windfall from the Verizon Wireless stake sale.

AT&T Priorities

Finding a new home for some of Vodafone’s diverse assets would be a priority for AT&T, which is less interested in Africa and India than in Europe’s developed markets, the people said. Vodafone said this week that it is seeking to take full control of its Indian unit, and has asked for permission from India’s government to do so. One potential strategy AT&T has examined would involve spinning off most of Vodafone’s emerging-market assets into a new entity that could be acquired by a single buyer, such as Carlos Slim’s America Movil or China Mobile Ltd., one of the people said. Such a plan was the basis for AT&T’s approach to Verizon earlier this year, two of the people said. AT&T owns a 9 percent stake in America Movil and has two seats on its board. Orange SA, the French company that operates in African countries including Kenya and Senegal, has expressed interest in buying some of Vodafone’s African operations, according to a person familiar with the matter. Through Vodacom Group Ltd., a Johannesburg-based subsidiary, Vodafone operates in South Africa and Mozambique, among other African countries. A representative for Orange declined to comment.

Stiff Competition

As an alternative to Vodafone, EE -- Orange’s joint venture with Deutsche Telekom AG in the U.K -- could be used as a platform for further acquisitions in Europe, the people said. However, that plan would be hampered by the lack of an obvious target in Germany, the region’s biggest economy, where Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica SA and Royal KPN NV are the four network operators, one of the people said. AT&T is looking to international expansion as it prepares for stiffer competition in its home country, the world’s largest market for mobile broadband. Now that it is taking full ownership of its wireless business, Verizon is pledging to step up investment in so-called fourth-generation networks that power devices like the iPhone. Meanwhile, Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Corp. has entered the U.S. market by buying Sprint Corp., which he has said will become a stronger competitor to its larger rivals.

Europe Positioning

The acceleration of work at AT&T on European expansion comes after the company concluded there are cost and strategic advantages to global scale as technological change becomes more rapid, the people familiar with its strategy said. Attempts to create global telecommunications companies have a checkered history that includes the 2002 bankruptcy of Global Crossing and Concert, a failed venture between the original AT&T Corp. and BT Group Plc. A merger or takeover of Vodafone could attract political opposition in the U.K., where it has one of the most visible consumer brands. Operating from a quiet village west of London, it’s one of Britain’s most successful non-financial companies, with a market capitalization greater than BP Plc or GlaxoSmithKline Plc. However, U.K. takeover laws don’t provide a clear mechanism for the government to block a foreign deal, and previous opposition to Kraft Foods Inc.’s 2010 takeover of chocolate- maker Cadbury Ltd. didn’t go beyond strongly-worded speeches and newspaper editorials. Vodafone has its own reasons to seek a new strategy through a tie-up. Growth in Europe has stagnated as the penetration of smartphones plateaus and regulators impose caps on fees from wireless roaming. Recently, CEO Colao has pushed into fixed-line communications with a more than $10 billion deal for Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, the largest German cable operator, that will allow Vodafone to bundle mobile and home broadband packages in its largest market.

For Related News and Information: AT&T Biggest Telecom Loser on Expansion Bets: Corporate Finance NSN MTZZTO6JTSEB <GO> Verizon-Vodafone Talked Merger Before Agreeing to Stake Sale NSN MSJJOU6JIJUS <GO> Vodafone deal news: VOD LN <Equity> TCNI MNA <GO> AT&T deal news: T US <Equity> TCNI MNA <GO> Top Stories:TOP<GO> Mergers and acquisitions news: NI MNA <GO>

--With assistance from Amy Thomson in London, Scott Moritz in New York, Marie Mawad in Paris and Patricia Laya in Mexico City. Editors: Mohammed Hadi, Crayton Harrison

To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Campbell in London at +44-20-3525-8684 or mcampbell39@bloomberg.net; Jeffrey McCracken in New York at +1-212-617-8517 or jmccracken3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Katherine Snyder at +1-212-617-5212 or ksnyder@bloomberg.net

Closing Market Summary: Stocks End October on Lower Note

The S&P 500 ended with a modest loss of 0.4%, trimming its October gain to 4.5%. Small caps displayed notable weakness during morning trade, but the Russell 2000 ended not far behind the S&P with a loss of 0.5%.

Equity indices spent most of the session near their respective flat lines even after more than 250 companies reported their quarterly results between yesterday's close and today's opening bell. Trading volume was subdued until the last 30 minutes of action when a surge in trading activity sent equity indices to lows while pushing the final NYSE volume tally over 900 million shares. The benchmark index displayed early weakness as the broader market followed in the footsteps of the financial sector (-1.1%), which slipped out of the gate and spent the entire session in the red. Financials finished at the bottom of the leaderboard while also ending the month behind the remaining nine sectors with an October gain of 3.2%. Following the early dip, the S&P returned to its flat line, where it hovered until selling accelerated during the final hour. Only the consumer discretionary space posted a gain (+0.2%) with media names providing support after Time Warner Cable (TWC 120.15, +3.27) reported better-than-expected results. Homebuilders did not take part in the rally as the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 22.52, -0.46) lost 2.0%.

Elsewhere, the energy sector outperformed (-0.2%), receiving support from Exxon Mobil (XOM 89.62, +0.81) after the Dow component reported results ahead of analyst expectations. Another Dow member, Chevron (CVX 119.96, -0.34), also announced above-consensus earnings, but ended lower by 0.3%.

Among other earnings of note, Facebook (FB 50.20, +1.20) posted a gain of 2.4% after enduring some after-hours drama yesterday. The social media stock jumped as high as 14.0% in reaction to its solid quarter, but relinquished the gain after company management said during the conference call that a decline in daily traffic among younger users has been observed. Treasuries ended modestly lower with the 10-yr yield up one basis point at 2.55%. In overseas news of note, eurozone unemployment (12.2% actual versus 12.0% expected) and CPI (0.7% actual versus 1.1% consensus) came in well-below estimates, which stoked expectations for additional liquidity provisions from the European Central Bank. On that note, governing council member Ewald Nowotny said the ECB will ensure a smooth transition once long-term refinancing operations come to an end. The euro was under pressure throughout the session, falling over 150 pips against the dollar to 1.3584.

Investors received just two economic data points today. Weekly initial claims decreased to 340,000 from 350,000 (consensus 335,000). This initial claims report represented the first clean reading for the labor market since August as issues with California's numbers have now been ironed out.Unfortunately, the report reflected a modest increase in layoff levels over the past couple of months. An initial claims reading of 340,000 is enough to keep the unemployment rate steady but not enough to drive steady payroll gains above 200,000. The continuing claims level increased to 2.881 million from a downwardly revised 2.859 million (from 2.874 million). The consensus pegged the continuing claims level at 2.850 million. Separately, the October Chicago PMI registered its largest one-month spike in more than 30 years, jumping to 65.9 from 55.7 (Briefing.com consensus 55.0). We are skeptical that the sharp increase is legitimately showing vast improvement in the manufacturing sector. Most of the Federal Reserve regional manufacturing surveys were either flat or softened slightly from lost demand due to the government shutdown. In contrast, the manufacturers in the Chicago region recorded their strongest activity since March 2011.

Tomorrow, the October ISM Index will be released at 10:00 ET.

o Nasdaq +29.8% YTD o Russell 2000 +29.5% YTD o S&P 500 +23.2% YTD o DJIA +18.6% YTD

NQ Mobile: Shares spike to HoD as Longbow Research files 13G disclosing an 8.04% stake 

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