Investors are scrambling to put their money where they think the Fed’s mouth will be, betting an estimated $26.6 billion in net wagers through December 1 on the prices of 5-year Treasury-note futures falling. Such price drops would mean higher bond yields, “reflecting the growing certainty that the Fed will raise rates” next week – WSJ
Yet another new gig for former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke—this time, a sort of extension of sorts of his senior advisor role at Pimco. Big Ben (when not defending his legacy) will be heading up the newly created global advisory board for the bond giant, to be joined by a veritable who’s who of the international economic scene, including former British PM Gordon Brown, former ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, Anne-Marie Slaughter, and Ng Kok Song – NYTimes and WSJ
A nasty side-effect of the Chinese government’s iron-fisted regulation of domestic businesses and its market intervention over the summer is the current logjam of Chinese IPOs—675 and counting with more than $63 billion in stock waiting on government approval to be sold – WSJ
Unhappy with the 24% premium that Pep Boys’ buyout offer from Bridgestone represented, activist investor Carl Icahn made his own buyout offer for the car parts retailer—outbidding the Bridgestone offer by an additional 50 cents/share. Icahn, with 12% of Pep Boys’ stock, is the second-largest shareholder behind Mario Gabelli’s firm – NYTimes and Bloomberg
Some additional thoughts from Dealbook’s White Collar Watch on the “fine line between fair and fraud” in the SEC’s recent spoofing charges – NYTimes
It’s certainly not always true that where Europe goes America will follow (see, e.g., David Hasselhoff’s musical career), but when it comes to cybersecurity rules, the EU’s recent action may be worth tracking (especially for American companies doing business there, who’d better get used to it anyway) – Law360
The FTC’s intervening (again) in the proposed Staples/Office Depot $6.3 billion deal, citing its potential to “significantly reduce competition in the market for consumable office supplies sold to large businesses” – NYTimes
Ex-Im’s back. But not exactly humming along yet – NYTimes
LeBron James: Just Doing It . . . for the rest of his life – Bloomberg
Shakespeare’s version was “For the apparel oft proclaims the man,” offered up by Polonius as some potential comic relief in the otherwise brutally dark Hamlet. Twain went for “Clothes make a man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Regardless of source, there’s some science behind the concept known as “enclothed cognition” – NYTimes
