>>> Fed's Fisher (hawkish, FOMC voter): Strongly encouraged the FOMC not to reac

Fed's Fisher (hawkish, FOMC voter): Strongly encouraged the FOMC not to react to the market volatility in September, encouraged by the new wording of the FOMC statement 
- Fed needs to be careful not to create believe in a Yellen put- Yellen has proven herself to be neither a hawk nor a dove, but "impressively balanced"
- Very happy the statement dropped the term 'significant' in relation to the description of labor market slack
- The 'considerable time' component has been neutered by the data-dependent nature of the new statement
- The US economy is clearly approaching the 2% inflation level, with higher levels of employment
- The gap between current levels of unemployment and the natural rate of unemployment is less than 1%

(BFW) L’Oreal 3Q Rev. Misses Ests., Sees 4Q LFL Sales Improving

L’Oreal 3Q Rev. Misses Ests., Sees 4Q LFL Sales Improving
2014-11-03 17:01:14.394 GMT


By Heather Burke
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- L’Oreal 3Q sales EU5.39b, est.
EU5.47b.
* 3Q total LFL sales growth 2.3%, est. 3.8%
* LFL sales growth by unit:
* Professional Products 2.6%, est. 2%
* Consumer Products down 0.4%, est. up 2.4%
* L’Oreal Luxe up 4.9%, est. 6.6%
* Active Cosmetics up 11.3%, est. 7%
* Body Shop up 1.2%, est. 0.1%
* Body Shop up 1.2%, est. 0.1%</li></ul>
* Says LFL sales growth should accelerate in 4Q, especially in
Consumer Products unit, should be boosted by “extremely
positive” FX effect
* W. Europe 3Q LFL sales down 0.4%, North America up 0.8%, New
Markets 3Q LFL sales up 5.8%
* Outlook: 2014 should be another year of improved economic
performance, with co. slightly outperforming the worldwide
cosmetics market, improving oper. profitability, increasing
its net EPS, in part from Nestle transaction
* Preview here

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To contact the reporter on this story:
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hburke2@bloomberg.net
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(BFW) Smith & Nephew Still Seen as Potential Takeout Target: Bernstein

Smith & Nephew Still Seen as Potential Takeout Target: Bernstein
2014-11-03 13:32:10.435 GMT


By Catherine Larkin
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Smith & Nephew still seen with 35%
chance of being acquired even after Treasury Dept. rules aiming
to restrict tax inversions and failure of AbbVie-Shire deal,
Berstein analyst Lisa Bedell Clive says in note.
* Sees J&J, Styker as potential buyers; says neither deal
would hinge on inversion
* Sees SNN possibly getting offer up to GBP14.00 if bidder
does emerge, stand-alone SNN value of GBP11.50
* Doesn’t expect SNN to be willing seller, though “always
comes down to price” in the end
* Doesn’t expect SNN to be willing seller, though “always
comes down to price” in the end</li></ul>
* SNN new “Best of Bernstein” pick, rates outperform with PT
GBP12.40 (ADRs $39.50)


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To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Arie Shapira at +1-212-617-1488 or
ashapira3@bloomberg.net

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: THLD +29.7%, AU +8.6%, RYAAY +8.6%, MNDO +5%, ARNA +3.2%, INN +3.1%, PDII +1.6%, L +1.5%, BWP +1.1%, EEP +0.9%, SYY +0.7%

M&A news: SAPE +42.3% (Publicis (PUBGY) to acquire Sapient (SAPE) for $25 per share, or $3.7 bln in cash), CVD +29.5% (LabCorp (LH) to acquire Covance for ~$5.6 bln, or $105.12 per share), FUEL +8.1% (Barron's report suggesting name as Facebook (FB) takeover target), OIBR +7.5% (Altice announces it has made an offer for Portugal Telecom (PT) from Oi (OIBR)), PT +5.5% (Altice announces it has made an offer for Portugal Telecom), RCAP +1.2% (terminates agreement to acquire American Realty Capital's (ARCP) Cole Capital)

Select mining stocks trading higher: XCO +4.9%, GFI +3.1%, AUY +3%, GOLD +3%, IAG +2.1%, PAAS +1.3%, GDX +1.2%, EGO +1.1%

Other news: GERN +29.1% (announces removal of full clinical hold on Imetelstat IND), HOLX +3.1% (CMS issued ruling on 2015 reimbursement rates), PLUG +2.8% (positive Barron's mention), LCI +2.3% (announces positive FDA inspection results), ALU +2% (still checking), HLF +1.6% (to settle class action lawsuit, denies any liability), ISIS +1% (earned a $5 mln milestone payment from GSK (GSK) related to the designation of ISIS-GSK5Rx), RENN +0.9% (Sohu (SOHU) to purchase 56.com from Renren, according to reports out Friday)

Analyst comments: ICL +2.1% (initiated with an Overweight at Barclays), RGLD +1.5% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman), SPW +0.7% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush), TJX +0.7% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: SAPE +41.5%, AU +8.8%, RYAAY +8.6%, PT +5.5%, AUY +4.5%, HOLX+4%, GOLD +3.4%, KGC +3.3%, GFI +3.1%, PLUG +3%, EGO +2.6%, ICL +2.1%, ACT+1.9%, GDX +1.6%, PDII +1.6%, L +1.5%, ABX +1.2%, GG +1.2%, BWP +1.1%, PAAS+0.9%, EEP +0.9%, HLF +0.6%

Gapping down: CYOU -8.5%, FRM -4%, BSBR -3.6%, NVO -2.6%, SNE -2.1%, STO-1.6%, TOT -1.6%, BUD -1.4%, HSBC -1.4%, GPRO -1.2%, BP -1.1%, CMRE -1.1%,ARNA -0.9%, SOHU -0.7%

(BFW) Isis Pharmaceuticals Earns $5m in Milestone Payment From GSK

Could pay for the change of name maybe

Isis Pharmaceuticals Earns $5m in Milestone Payment From GSK
2014-11-03 12:03:46.877 GMT


By Catherine Larkin
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Isis Pharma milestone payment tied to
designation of ISIS-GSK5 as development candidate; drug is
second under pact with Glaxo to treat ocular disease.

Link to Statement:NSN NEGPC63MMTC4 <GO>
Link to Company News:ISIS US <Equity> CN <GO>
Link to Company News:GSK LN <Equity> CN <GO>

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>>> ORKLA (ORK NO) - To buy back up to 3M shares

To buy back up to 3M shares 

Has decided to initiate a share buyback program for up to 3 million shares in the market. The buyback program will be conducted in accordance with the authorization provided by the annual general meeting to the board of directors on 10 April 2014. The buyback will be executed according to the market price on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The program will be initiated today and terminated on 31 December 2014 at the latest. The shares purchased under this program will be used for Orkla's stock- and incentive program for own employees.