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Monday, October 17, 2016

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A Critical Eye on Wall Street’s Secrets

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund firm, in 2015.
Jason Alden/Bloomberg

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund firm, in 2015.

The National Labor Relations Board has challenged some parts of the employee contracts at the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, including the confidentiality agreement.

White Collar Watch

The Shadowy Line Between Friendly Sales Pitch and Deception

The S.E.C. sued the Texas attorney general for securities fraud related to his role promoting Servergy, a tech company, but a judge rejected the agency’s claims.

Breakingviews

Bank of America Inches Toward Long-Term Goal

The bank reported its best pretax quarterly earnings in a decade on Monday, but a decent return on equity remains a long way off.

The Upshot

Q. and A. With Eric Rosengren: The Danger of Low Unemployment

The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston explains the seemingly odd concern of having too many people who are employed.

Morning Agenda: Looser Tongues in Silicon Valley, Law Firms Lagging on Diversity

The prospect of a Trump presidency has pushed the tech community to participate in politics, even as traditional fund-raising is lagging.

IBM Is Counting on Its Bet on Watson, and Paying Big Money for It

The years of investment in its artificial intelligence effort, IBM executives say, are increasingly turning into moneymaking opportunities in sizable markets like health care and manufacturing.

How the Chemical Industry Joined the Fight Against Climate Change

In the move away from a profitable chemical used for air-conditioning, companies were driven less by idealism than by intense competition.

In China, Property Frenzy, Fake Divorces and a Bloating Bubble

As experts warn about the soaring cost of housing, the growing use of mortgages could make the country’s latest property boom particularly unstable.

Leading New York Law Firms Lag in Including Women and Minorities

Some of the nation’s most profitable firms were required for the first time to complete a benchmarking survey to give a better picture of their makeup.

Specter of Trump Loosens Tongues, if Not Purse Strings, in Silicon Valley

The tech community’s usual reticence about politics is being upended by the prospect of a President Trump, even as traditional fund-raising is lagging.

Hacked Transcripts Reveal a Genial Hillary Clinton at Goldman Sachs Events

WikiLeaks released the material as part of a trove of emails obtained in an illegal breach of a top aide’s email account.

Magnate’s Twin Goals: Fighting Climate Change and Electing Donald Trump

Andrew Sabin, who made a fortune recycling precious metals, is a political paradox, throwing his wallet behind climate change initiatives and the Republican nominee.

The Upshot

How Did Walmart Get Cleaner Stores and Higher Sales? It Paid Its People More

Can the answer to what ails the global economy be found in the people in blue vests at your neighborhood Walmart?

Puerto Rico’s Governor Warns of Fiscal ‘Death Spiral’

Meeting in New York with the panel charged with addressing the island’s debt, Alejandro García Padilla asked help in lobbying Congress for assistance.

Flush and Dominant, Australia’s Banks Come Under Pressure

Claims of misconduct have put big lenders under a spotlight and offer an example to global regulators scrutinizing “too big to fail” institutions.

How Three Strong-Performing Funds Pick Stocks

Big, Small, American, Chinese: Different stocks produced outstanding results for investors and the funds that hold them.

Fundamentally

Higher Prices Dim the Appeal of Dividend-Paying Stocks

As dividend-paying stocks have become more expensive, investors have been forced to seek other options.

Breakingviews

Wells Fargo’s Problems Go Beyond Sham Accounts Scandal

The bank has avoided large penalties for creating unauthorized products, but its competitors are leaping ahead in investment banking and trading.

Off the Shelf

Three Excellent Books on Long-Term Investing

As the market fluctuates, these books remind us to use common sense and stick to the basics when saving and planning for retirement.

‘Brexit’ Blurs the European Investment Outlook

Though markets have stabilized since the vote for Britain to leave the European Union, where investors and businesses go from here is uncertain.

Insight & Analysis
Book Entry

Review: ‘The Content Trap’ Rethinks Digital Media Strategy

Bharat Anand has taken his insights from years of teaching at Harvard to provide a framework for thinking more broadly in the face of digital disruption.

Street Scene

How Wall St. Regulation Pushed Up Libor, and Borrowing Costs

Regulators want to eliminate risk at Wall Street banks, and that will have unintended consequences – like higher interest rates — for everyone else.

Another View

A Streamlined Test to Determine Insider Trading

A sensible rule would be to distinguish tips to close friends and family from disclosures to work colleagues, social acquaintances and others.

Another View

Corporate Board Diversity Gets Push From Business Leaders

The Business Roundtable has strongly endorsed a link between board diversity and board effectiveness and the creation of long-term shareholder value.

In Depth

Graphic: Global Mergers Decline in Third Quarter

In a quarter that began when markets were just steadying from the Brexit vote and that ended when markets were rattled by Deutsche Bank, it may not be surprising that deal-making slowed significantly.

Timeline: Wall Street's Interest Rate Scandal

Abuse of interest rates and the failure to address the problem is one of the most expensive scandals to hit Wall Street since the financial crisis.

Graphic: Top 10 Hedge Fund Chiefs Took Home a Combined $10.07 Billion

JPMorgan paid its C.E.O. $27 million in 2015. In another Wall Street universe, the hedge fund manager Ken Griffin made $1.7 billion.

The Top 20 Venture Capital Investors Worldwide

To identify today’s top venture investors, CB Insights, a research firm that tracks the venture capital industry, created a data-driven list.

Editors’ Picks
Bottom Line Nation

This Is Your Life, Brought to You by Private Equity

Since the financial crisis, the private equity industry has become hugely influential. Here’s how it plays out in your daily life.

Beware the Fine Print

Pivotal Nursing Home Suit Raises a Simple Question: Who Signed the Contract?

A pending wrongful death lawsuit will test a new legal strategy to prevent nursing homes from requiring their residents to take disputes to arbitration.

Special Section
Special Section
Mutual Funds & E.T.F.s

A section on how funds performed in the third quarter of the year — and on where they may be heading.

Special Section
DealBook: Fintech’s Power Grab

A collection on financial disruptors looking to transform the nature of money.

Markets »

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Columns

Another View

Opinion Contributors

Book Entry

Jonathan A. Knee

Breakingviews

Reuters Commentary

Deal Professor

Steven Davidoff Solomon

DealBook Column

Andrew Ross Sorkin

In Debt

Stephen J. Lubben

Life@Work

Tony Schwartz

Standard Deduction

Victor Fleischer

Street Scene

William D. Cohan

The Trade

Jesse Eisinger

White Collar Watch

Peter J. Henning