News

Tesla looks to China sales, Bloomberg reports – Tesla Motors would like its Model S to qualify for China’s electric car subsidies that the government said will remain more valuable than initially planned, reports Bloomberg. Two analysts said that China’s extension of incentives, which Tesla?s car doesn?t get as a U.S. import, still creates favorable conditions ahead of the start of Model S sales there in March. Reference

Hess CEO pursues new strategy, WSJ reports – John Hess, CEO of Hess Corp., is transforming the company to a exploration and production firm from the refining and marketing business his late father built. After a tough proxy fight last year, he says they’re in a transition period. "Expectations are set by Wall Street analysts, not the company, so getting a re-basing of the company will take some time." Reference

BofA sees room to boost Merrill profitability, Reuters says – The head of Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch wealth management unit, John Thiel, thinks the division could boost its pre-tax margin to over 30% once interest rates normalize, reported Reuters, citing Thiel’s comments at an investor conference. For comparison, the report notes that the division’s margin was 26.4% in 2013. Reference

KKR, Carlyle said to be in talks fo Abril Educacao stake, Reuters reports – Abril Educacao, the Brazilian education company, is in talks with Carlyle (CG) and KKR (KKR) about the sale of a minority stake in the company for up to $187.5M,according to the Valor Economico newspaper, reports Reuters. Reference

EU expected to approve DuPont biotech corn, WSJ reports – The EU is set to approve its second genetically modified crop in 15 years, which would be a win for DuPont, even as most EU states object, reports the Wall Street Journal. Reference

Former Google Wallet head Bedier joins board of WePay, Re/code reports – Former Google Wallet (GOOG) head longtime PayPal (EBAY) executive Osama Bedier has joined the board of directors of WePay, a California-based startup and PayPal rival, Re/code reports. Other WePay competitors include Stripe and Balanced. Reference

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