(BFW) Fresenius/Permira Make Joint Bid for Danone Medical Unit: DJ

BFW 11/19 18:47 *FRESENIUS/PERMIRA MAKE JOINT BID FOR DANONE MEDICAL UNIT: DJ
Fresenius/Permira Make Joint Bid for Danone Medical Unit: DJ
2014-11-19 18:49:56.952 GMT


By Joshua Fineman
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Danone asks bidders to reaffirm
offers for medical nutrition unit, DJ says, citing people
familiar.
* NOTE: Nov. 14, Danone Said to Weigh Medical-Nutrition IPO as
Sale Talks Falter
WSJ link: http://on.wsj.com/1ubSltS


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To contact the reporter on this story:
Joshua Fineman in New York at +1-212-617-8953 or
jfineman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Arie Shapira at +1-212-617-1488 or
ashapira3@bloomberg.net
Courtney Dentch

(BN) CGG of France Said to Weigh Sale After Approach From Technip

CGG of France Said to Weigh Sale After Approach From Technip
2014-11-19 19:57:30.305 GMT


By Tara Patel, Dinesh Nair, Ruth David and Matthew Campbell
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- CGG SA, the French seismic surveyor
of oil and natural-gas fields, is weighing a sale of the company
after being approached by Technip SA, people with knowledge of
the matter said.
CGG, which is worth about 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion),
rejected an initial offer from Technip as too low and talks are
continuing, said the people, who asked not to be identified
because details of the proposal are private. No final decision
has been made and CGG may decide against a sale, they said.
The French government, whose fund owns stakes in both CGG
and Technip according to Bloomberg data, is pushing for a
combination of the companies, said one of the people. CGG could
also attract interest from other buyers, the people said.
Shares in the the Paris-based operator of specially-
equipped vessels have been volatile in recent months as the oil-
services company grapples with global oversupply in the
industry. The stock has declined 48 percent this year.
The company, which has renegotiated debt terms and cut its
fleet and workforce this year, has been hit by falling demand
from customers amid plummeting crude prices.
A spokesman for CGG declined to comment. Representatives
for Technip did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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--With assistance from Aaron Kirchfeld and Manuel Baigorri in
London and Jacqueline Simmons and Francois de Beaupuy in Paris.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Tara Patel in Paris at +33-1-5365-5058 or
tpatel2@bloomberg.net;
Dinesh Nair in London at +44-20-3525-3212 or
dnair5@bloomberg.net;
Ruth David in London at +44-20-3525-8095 or
rdavid9@bloomberg.net;
Matthew Campbell in London at +44-20-3525-8684 or
mcampbell39@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Will Kennedy at +44-20-7073-3603 or
wkennedy3@bloomberg.net
Aaron Kirchfeld, Elizabeth Fournier

WSJ With Wary Eye on Global Tumult, Fed Opted to Stay on Policy Path for Now


With Wary Eye on Global Tumult, Fed Opted to Stay on Policy Path for Now
Minutes Show Officials Conflicted Over Domestic Economic Improvement and Troubles Abroad

Federal Reserve officials were preoccupied at an October policy meeting with tumult in financial markets, weak economic conditions abroad and risks that low inflation could drift lower. But they forged ahead with a decision to end the central bank’s bond-buying program because the domestic economy and labor market appeared to be on course for further improvement.


Participants at the Oct. 28-29 meeting “pointed to a somewhat weaker economic outlook and increased downside risks in Europe, China, and Japan, as well as to the strengthening of the dollar over the period,” said minutes of the session, which were released Wednesday with the regular three-week lag.

“It was observed that if foreign economic or financial conditions deteriorated further, U.S. economic growth over the medium term might be slower than currently expected,” the minutes said. “However, many participants saw the effects of recent developments on the domestic economy as likely to be quite limited.”

All but one official at the meeting wanted to end the bond-purchase program, known as quantitative easing, that was launched in late 2012 to spur economic growth.

The Fed, led by Chairwoman Janet Yellen , has been navigating a conflicting economic backdrop of late. The job market has continued to improve faster than officials expected, but a strong dollar and weak growth abroad are combining to put downward pressure on inflation. This complicates looming Fed debates about when to start raising short-term interest rates from near zero. The improving job market calls for a move toward rate increases next year, while downward pressure on inflation calls for the Fed to hold off.

Downward pressure on inflation is a more recent development.

“Most participants anticipated that inflation was likely to edge lower in the near term, reflecting the decline in oil and other commodity prices and lower import prices. These participants continued to expect inflation to move back to the Committee’s 2 percent target over the medium term,” the minutes said.

However, officials approached the inflation question with heightened uncertainty. “Many participants observed that the Committee should remain attentive to evidence of a possible downward shift in longer-term inflation expectations; some of them noted that if such an outcome occurred, it would be even more worrisome if growth faltered.”

Against that backdrop, officials appeared to emerge from the meeting with little clear direction on how to reshape the guidance they give the public on the outlook for interest rates. The Fed has been saying since last year that rates would stay near zero for a “considerable time” after the bond program ended.

With the program now completed, many Fed officials are looking to drop the “considerable time” assurance. But the minutes left little clear indication of when and how this guidance might be changed.

Some officials wanted to drop the term at the October meeting. They didn’t want to appear locked into a specific time frame for their plans. “Considerable time” is generally interpreted in financial markets to mean at least six months, though the Fed has sought to play down that notion. Other officials thought this phrase still best described their plans, while others didn’t want to inadvertently send a signal of impending rate increase by removing the phrase.

To this discussion officials added a new twist: A debate about whether they should add new information in their official policy statement on how quickly rates will rise once increases commence.

“With regard to the pace of interest rate increases after the start of policy normalization, a number of participants thought that it could soon be helpful to clarify the Committee’s likely approach,” the minutes said. On this point, too, there was no agreement. This appears to set the Fed up for an intense debate at its December 16-17 on refining these interest rate signals.

Signs of angst about market volatility also emerged at the October policy meeting. The meeting took place a week after sharp swings in prices for U.S. stocks and bonds, in particular a surge in demand for U.S. Treasury securities on Oct. 15 which temporarily drove yields on 10-year Treasury notes below 2%.

“Some participants pointed out that, despite the market volatility, financial conditions remained highly accommodative and that further pockets of turbulence were likely to arise as the start of policy normalization approached,” the minutes said. “That said, more work to better understand the recent market dynamics was seen as desirable.

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APPENDIX

DISCLAIMER:
This communication is for informational purposes only, is not an offer to buy or sell any security, and is not investment advice because it does not take into account the differing needs of individual clients. Clients seeking investment advice specific to their financial profiles and goals should contact their Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated sales representative. This communication is based upon information which Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated believes to be reliable but no representation is made by this Firm as to its completeness or accuracy. This communication is not a complete analysis of every material fact concerning any company, industry or security. Oscar Gruss & Son Incorporated assumes that it will be read in conjunction with other available reports and data. Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. No investor can assume that reliance on the views, opinions or recommendations contained herein will produce profitable results. Foreign-currency-denominated securities are subject to fluctuations in currency exchange rates that could have a positive or adverse effect on an investor's return upon the conversion into local currency of dividends or interest received, or proceeds from the sale of such securities. In addition, the value of U.S. dollar-denominated ADRs and the value of U.S. dollar-denominated ordinary shares, or common shares, of foreign issuers can be influenced by fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

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WSJ : Switzerland’s Eurofin in Process of Largely Shutting Down

Switzerland’s Eurofin in Process of Largely Shutting Down
The Company Is Embroiled in the Espírito Santo Saga

A Swiss financial company embroiled in the Espírito Santo saga is in the process of largely shutting down, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Lausanne-based company, Eurofin Holding SA, is selling or spinning off businesses and winding down asset portfolios, these people said. It is possible that parts of the company will emerge in some form under a different name, one person said.

The news comes as Portuguese regulators publicly announced that they are investigating Eurofin for discreetly helping Banco Espírito Santo SA raise money as the lender headed toward collapse earlier this year.

A parliamentary committee in Lisbon has been questioning Portuguese regulators about the August bailout of Banco Espírito Santo, following allegations of fraud and accounting problems. The hearings are expected to last months, as lawmakers seek to unravel what triggered the disintegration of what was once Portugal’s biggest lender by market value.

On Monday, Bank of Portugal Governor Carlos Costa told lawmakers that regulators had uncovered “evidence that suggests acts of deceit and ruinous management regarding the issuance and placement of Banco Espírito Santo debt in special-purpose vehicles based abroad through various movements made via a Swiss intermediary.”

That intermediary is Eurofin, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In a front-page story in August, The Wall Street Journal reported that Eurofin appeared to have played a central role propping up the Espírito Santo conglomerate over the years. The Journal reported last month that regulators are looking at Eurofin having helped Banco Espírito Santo issue bonds at one price and then sell them to customers at a higher price.

Eurofin said at the time that it is wholly independent from Espírito Santo and that it didn’t sell financial products to the bank’s customers.

Eurofin, founded 15 years ago largely to handle Espírito Santo’s financial transactions, was for years partly owned by Espírito Santo. It derived a substantial portion of its revenue from the Portuguese conglomerate and its top executives frequently traveled to Lisbon to meet with Espírito Santo leaders.

Eurofin, which shares its Lausanne headquarters building with a pole-dancing school, has encountered severe financial problems as the Espírito Santo empire disintegrated. The small company has dismissed dozens of employees. It recently has sold or spun off its private-equity and medical units, according to a person familiar with the matter. Other parts of the company are slowly being shut, this person said.

Eurofin Securities SA, a key business unit, filed for bankruptcy in September, according to a company filing.

On Tuesday, Carlos Tavares, head of Portugal’s securities regulator, said the Espírito Santo bonds sold to customers were two to three times higher than the initial price.

“This price difference was kept by the counterparties that we have not fully identified,” Mr. Tavares said. According to information obtained by the auditors, “the difference was used to repay debts of other Espírito Santo Group entities,” he said.

The sale of those bonds happened mainly in the first half of this year, he added.

“We don’t think Eurofin is a counterparty to Banco Espírito Santo,” Mr. Tavares said. “We suspect that it is an entity related to Banco Espírito Santo, although not formally. We have that suspicion, but we don’t have the full information on that matter.”

Separately, Mr. Tavares said Portuguese regulators are investigating potential insider trading on July 31 and Aug. 1, days before Banco Espírito Santo was bailed out. Mr. Tavares said regulators are awaiting additional information from a “foreign entity” to further advance the investigation.

Mr. Costa, the Bank of Portugal governor, said Monday that binding offers for Novo Banco SA, the “good bank” carved out from the collapsed Banco Espírito Santo are due in the middle of the second quarter next year.

Bankers in Spain say one likely bidder is Banco Santander SA, the eurozone’s largest lender by market value. Santander’s chief executive said this month that the bank would look at buying opportunities in Portugal, where it already owns a lender.

—Margot Patrick contributed to this article.