We’ve got a name for the fun that bigwigs in Davos will be discussing at this year’s World Economic Forum: the “crisis economy,” where all of the challenges facing world leaders seems inextricably linked to market performance around the globe – WSJ
A flatline Q4 for most of the big banks portends a rough road ahead, and $130 billion in lost market value over the last 2 weeks isn’t going to help – NYTimes
BlackRock, meanwhile, managed a 6% increase in Q4 earnings thanks largely to its booming ETF operations, which saw $60 billion in inflows in the fourth quarter alone – NYTimes
Recent enforcement actions against BigLaw attorneys—as well as auditors, fund administrators, and custodians—have defined the SEC’s new focus on “gatekeepers” in its ongoing quest to rein in misdeeds – Law360
This week’s Fair Game takes up the disconcerting start to 2016 for junk bonds, where a mix of a disastrous stretch for commodities (especially oil and gas) and currency exposures (prompted by the very same energy-sector losses) is spelling big trouble for high-yield debt and its investors – NYTimes [see also Bloomberg]
The pursuit of Deutsche Bank and its HFT Autobahn (which allegedly took “advantage of millisecond changes in exchange rates to give clients worse prices than they were entitled to”) has crossed the pond – NYTimes
And while we’re talking tech, banks who ignore it—especially for the smartphone set (oh hey, millennials!)—will do so at their own peril – NYTimes (h/t to DWB)
Puerto Rico, whose troubles House Speaker Paul Ryan said Congress may get to sometime in March, is not getting better on its own—upping estimates of its anticipated shortfall to $23.9 billion over the next decade – Bloomberg
GE Capital, whose selloff efforts we’ve documented here over the past year, is using its “living will” submission to the Fed to make its case for de-SIFI-cation, arguing that its divestiture efforts would make it safe to wind down in a crisis – Law360
More fodder (this time, economic) for those Brady (and Manning) haters out there – WSJ
Not content to just leave it at “man [and woman’s] best friend?” Well, there’s much, much more for you here – NYTimes