Volkswagen and company shareholders are “in advance talks that could lead to the initial public offering of the iconic Porsche AG sports-car maker.” Spinning off Porsche via IPO would help give VW the “fresh cash” in needs to “fund its aggressive push into electric vehicles” and their related tech - WSJ and Bloomberg
Activist Carl Icahn’s latest target is fast-food behemoth McDonald’s, and he’s using his tiny stake in the company (just 200 shares at the moment) to push for new board candidates and—intriguingly enough—“better treatment for the pigs whose meat goes into McDonald’s sausage patties and other pork products” - NYTimes and WSJ
A massive data leak (comprising some 18,000 accounts “collectively holding more than $100 billion” revealed by a “self-described whistle-blower”) of Credit Suisse data “is exposing how the bank held hundreds of millions of dollars for heads of state, intelligence officials, sanctioned businessmen and human rights abusers, among many others.” The data covers account holders from the 1940s through the 2010s (but not the bank’s current operations) - NYTimes
News Monday of Russian recognition of two “breakaway republics” within Ukraine and the entry of troops into those areas means this reminder of the stakes of the incursion for the global economy—particularly in the oil and gas sectors—are very high - NYTimes and WSJ and MarketWatch
SoFi has reached a deal to buy banking-software provider Technisys SA for just over $1 billion, “the latest in a string of deals designed to transform the lender into a one-stop financial shop.” The acquisition will give SoFi “control of its own core-banking platform, the back-end technology that banks use to power mobile-banking apps, open accounts and keep track of customer deposits” - WSJ
The Journal helps us understand how a recent exodus from the bond market—“nearly $160 billion from money-market funds and $17.5 billion from bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in the first seven weeks of the year”—has helped buoy stocks even as markets “struggle[] to gain momentum” - WSJ
Still hoping to avoid any personal civil liability related to their role in the opioid epidemic, the Sackler family has reportedly upped its offer to resolve a spate of opioid-related lawsuits by $1.6 billion - NYTimes and Law360
So, Elon . . . . About that European Gigafactory . . . - WSJ
Libor is dead. Long live SOFR. Wait a sec. SOFR? All you need to know about the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the regulator-preferred Libor replacement - WSJ
In other obscure-to-most market news, Bloomberg profiles the “small band of traders” making a fortune on “inflation trading,” which specializes in “often-complex transactions designed to profit from gyrations in inflation.” Business has been brisk of late - Bloomberg
Since many of you weren’t watching, I can assure you it was quite a wild 2 weeks in Beijing. Here’s to some of the best moments of the ’22 Winter Games - NBC
Stay safe, and get boosted,
MDR
The Robins Kaplan Financial Daily Dose features top stories and latest news headlines in financial markets, banking, securities and technology topics.
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