US regulators are reportedly preparing a handful of the US’s biggest banks for news that their living wills (their plans for winding down without a taxpayer bailout in the case of a potential bankruptcy) aren’t going to cut it. Among them: JPMorgan, just a week after Jamie Dimon’s shareholder letter touting the firm’s “fortress balance sheet” – WSJ
Maybe it was its “aimed at millennials” pitch, but consumer lending company Affirm has bucked the “’down round’ trend” and raised $100 million in new funding, just a year after $275 million of equity and debt fund-raising. The recent infusion pushed Affirm’s valuation to $800 million. The company uses “data science to more accurately assess credit risk” than credit-history-reliant traditional scoring systems and doesn’t charge compound interest or other fees – NYTimes
Weeks after warning that it was in the cards, Peabody Energy has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection – WSJ
Everyone knows that big-time institutional investors like BlackRock, Vanguard, and their ilk own a huge chunk of the public stock market (nearly 70%, by some estimates). But only recently have some regulators started asking what that means for competition—especially with those investors holding “big minority stakes in many companies in the same industry.” Oh, and by the way, depending on just how “interested” the DOJ is, the “entire system of mutual fund holdings” could be in play – NYTimes
Nomura’s shuttering several parts of its European business and shrinking its operations in the Americas in order to cut costs and refocus on profitability in the face of increasing global volatility – NYTimes
Valeant bondholders—fed up with its delayed 10-K filing—have issued the company a notice of default that triggers a 60-day clock in which Valeant must act or face demands of immediate repayment – Bloomberg and Law360
Ford’s looking to bring a bit of the Valley to Dearborn – NYTimes
The Journal looks at what we’re losing [think manners, sharing, and even some interpersonal skills] as landlines go the way of the VCR – WSJ
It’s just a taste, but man, is it worth it. Ladies and gentlemen, courtesy of the Denver Nuggets . . . the Lion King cam – YouTube