Diamonds and Dogs

9/27/19

Wells Fargo (WFC) gets a new CEO. The scandal-hit, regulatory constrained big bank is jumping 4% to a six-month high after naming a popular and proven bank leader, Charles Scharf as the new CEO. Mr. Scharf was formerly CEO of New York Mellon and Visa along with several leadership roles at JPMorgan Chase. Last December Wells Fargo agreed to pay a $575 million civil settlement after admitting employees created millions of unauthorized customer accounts. And last fall it admitted 545 customers had gone through foreclosure proceedings after an internal computing error caused them to be mistakenly denied loan modifications. In early 2018, the Federal Reserve issued a consent order barring Wells Fargo from expanding assets beyond their level at the end of 2017 until it can convince authorities it is addressing shortcomings.

Peloton (PTON) gets a flat tire. The fitness Interactive company is down 3% today after dropping 11% yesterday after coming public at $29 a share. 2019 IPOs are having a tough year with over 50% negative for the year. Notable ride-sharing IPO giants Uber and Lyft have tumbled 30% and 42%, respectively. SmileDirectClub posted the worst opening trade for a big IPO in more than a decade. WeWork was forced to delay its listing because of tepid demand. Endeavor Group Holdings became the latest company to scale back plans for an initial public offering.