The rise and fall of one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups

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Zenefits, a San Francisco-based company which offers free benefits management software in exchange for becoming the customer's insurance broker, was once valued at $4.5 billion. 

In just a few months, however, cofounder Parker Conrad has resigned as CEO, the VP of sales has departed, alcohol has been banned at work, and 17% of the workforce has been laid off.  

This is the story of how one of the fastest-growing startups in Silicon Valley history raised $580 million then spiraled out of control.

Elsewhere, the CEO of Valeant has already rejected Bill Ackman's master plan, bonuses at Deutsche Bank's investment banking unit fell 20% last year, and the CFO of SunEdison is stepping down.

The price of oil may finally have bottomed, according to the International Energy Agency, and GM may have just dropped $1 billion on a self-driving car startup with just 40 employees. 

Last of all, here is what is keeping Goldman Sachs' investing team up at night.

Here are the top Wall Street headlines at midday:

Amazon Echo's next frontier is banking — yes, banking - Amazon Echo has already taken over your home — it was only a matter of time before it took control of your finances, too.

A bunch of senior sales and trading staff have left Bank of America - Bank of America has been cutting jobs, and now we're hearing who is going to leave.

Hedge fund manager David Ganek scored a 'tremendous victory' in his suit against the US government - Ganek scored a big win on Thursday after a judge refused to dismiss his case against the US government.

A Morgan Stanley exec says this is the one personality trait she looks for in every job candidate - Carla Harris was a star dealmaker for Morgan Stanley before being named vice chairman of the firm's prized global wealth-management division.

China just made a move to tackle the biggest threat to its economy, and it reeks of desperation - Chinese officials have said that they will start allowing commercial banks to swap nonperforming loans in super-indebted companies for stock.

Here is the skill you need to master to make it as a successful Wall Street trader - What does it take to be a successful trader?