>>> US notable Earnings tonight GOOG, IBM, HON, SLB, GE, SW

Notable earnings

Google (GOOG) is set to report Q2 earnings today after the close with a conference call to follow at 4:30pm ET. GOOG has reported shortly after the bell (4:03pm and 4:02pm) the past two quarters. Current Capital IQ consensus stands at EPS of $6.23 (vs. $4.87 last year) on rev of $15.6 bln (+11%). GOG willook to bounce back acfter missing Q1 estimates. GOOG has repeatedly said that it does not manage q/q and that it has longer term aspirations when it puts a plan in place. This can lead to some volatility in quarterly earnings.  IBM (IBM) is expected to report Q2 non-GAAP EPS of $4.31 (vs $3.91 last year) on revs of $24.1 bln (-3.3% y/y). Co has guided for FY14 EPS of at least $18; consensus stands at $17.87. Co expects to achieve at least $20 of operating EPS in 2015 ($19.79 FY2015 Capital IQ Consensus). Mgmt also noted that they still expect to grow free cash flow by about $1 bln and to meet the $16 bln goal for the year, even with a tax headwind this year (bulk was taken in Q1). The co has posted rev declines the past eight quarters running, and has missed sales expectations five quarters in a row.  Honeywell (HON) is expected to report Q2 EPS of $1.36 vs. $1.32-1.36 guidance and $1.28 last year on sales of $10.18 bln (+5%) vs. $10.0-10.2 bln guidance. Co has guided for FY14 EPS of $5.40-5.55 on rev of $40.3-40.7 bln. HON hasn't missed on the bottom line since 3Q11.  Schlumberger (SLB) is expected to report Q3 EPS of $1.35 (vs. $1.29 last year) on rev of $11.95 bln (+7%). SLB surged to new all-time highs in late June as the co provided Bullish long term financial targets, including EPS of $9-10 by 2017; BHI, HAL, WFT. Seagate (STX) is expected to report Q4 EPS of $1.09 on revs of $3.33 bln (-2.9% y/y). Co guided for Q4 revs of at least $3.3 bln on last quarter's earnings call. The co is expected to guide for 1Q15 revs on its earnings call, with Capital IQ estimates calling for $3.52 bln. Last quarter, the co reported non-GAAP margin 28.5%. The stock has rallied ~26% in the 2+ month timeframe since May 7, when the co approached its multi-week low that also corresponded with its 200 sma (49.20) and the $50 psych level. Of note, on Seagate's Q3 conference call, they expressed the possibility that its recent acquisition of Xyratex could be accretive to its FY15 EPS.  SkyWorks (SWKS) is expected to report Q2 EPS of $0.80 (vs. $0.54 last year) on rev of $570 mln (+31%). cO raised guidance to $0.80 and $570 mln from $0.73 and $535 mln on June 23. The AAPL supplier said is capitalizing on the growing opportunity within the Internet of Things as well as increasing analog complexity associated with higher data rate connectivity standards, both of which are enabling us to substantially outpace the growth of the broader semiconductor market. The stock has struggled at the $48 level. General Electric (GE) is expected to report Q2 EPS of $0.39 (vs. $0.36 last year) on rev of $36.4bln (+3.6%). Earlier in the week there were reports the co may sell its home appliance unit. Last month GE sold GE its Capital's consumer finance business in Sweden, Denmark and Norway for ~ EUR700 mln. Co is also acquiring Alstom's Power and Grid business.

(BFW) *MALAYSIAN PASSENGER JET WAS SHOT DOWN AT 10 KM ALTITUDE: IFX

BFW 07/17 15:19 *MALAYSIAN JET DISAPPEARED FROM RADARS AT 10,000 M ALTITUDE: IFX
BFW 07/17 15:16 *MALAYSIAN JET CRASHED NEAR SHAKHTERSK IN UKRAINE, INTERAFX SAYS
BN 07/17 15:15 *INTERFAX CITES UNIDENTIFIED SOURCE ON MALAYSIAN JET
BFW 07/17 15:14 *MALAYSIAN PASSENGER JET WAS SHOT DOWN AT 10 KM ALTITUDE: IFX
BFW 07/17 15:04 *INTERFAX SAYS FLIGHT WAS FROM AMSTERDAM TO KUALA LUMPUR
BN 07/17 15:04 *INTERFAX SAYS FLIGHT WAS FROM AMSTERDAM TO KUALA LUMPUR
BFW 07/17 15:03 *INTERFAX SAYS PLANE MAY HAVE CRASHED NEAR RUSSIA-UKRAINE BORDER
BN 07/17 15:02 *INTERFAX SAYS PLANE MAY HAVE CRASHED NEAR RUSSIA-UKRAINE BORDER
BN 07/17 15:02 *INTERFAX CITES UNIDENTIFIED PERSON ON PLANE CRASH
BN 07/17 15:01 *MALAYSIAN BOEING 777 MAY HAVE CRASHED IN UKRAINE: INTERFAX
Malaysian Boeing 777 Crashed in Ukraine Near Russian Border: IFX
2014-07-17 15:10:07.552 GMT


By Scott Rose
July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Passenger jet was bound for Kuala
Lumpur from Amsterdam, Interfax reports, citing unidentified
aviation official.
* Airliner began losing altitude 50 km before entering Russian
air space; wreckage was found burning on Ukrainian territory
* Crash happened near Donetsk, where Ukrainian govt troops are
fighting rebels: IFX


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(UBS) European Eq. Strat. : Implication from the reduction in Equity weights

* Our Asset Allocation Team reduce their Equities Overweight
Today our Asset Allocation team reduce their Overweight in Global Equities (see - "We
are worried. We reduce risk – for now" by Stephane Deo & Ramin Nakisa). In the nearterm,
they see some deterioration in the risk/return trade off, following a large re-rating
in equity markets. However, the context is that they are coming from their largest ever
Overweight in Equities and that it still remains their favoured asset class (with European
Equities as an Overweight).

* What are the implications for European Equities?
European Equity returns have also been driven by multiple re-rating rather than
earnings growth (Figure 1). Whilst this is normal for the early stage of the cycle, after 3
years in a row of earnings downgrades – investors are (understandably) running out of
patience. We see a recovery in European earnings in 2014 (+10%) and find ourselves in
the strange position of now actually being above consensus. But there is a near-term
risk to equities as we wait for the earnings to materialise (delayed by FX headwinds).

* Heightened risk in the periphery
The fall in Sovereign risk (measured by the sovereign CDS) has driven a re-rating of the
P/E multiple from c.9x to 13.9x (Figure 2). We see recent concerns over Portuguese
banks as a specific issue rather than a wider contagion risk for the periphery. Since
2012 the ECB has put in place the OMT, fundamental macro imbalances (current
accounts, deficits) are smaller, and the Global recovery is more mature. Nevertheless, it
reminds us just how far periphery Government Bonds have moved.

* Longer term investment case for Europe remains intact
Our longer term investment case for Europe is based on it being a late cycle play on the
global recovery and the depressed level of delivered earnings - still some 25% below
their 2007 peak in contrast to the US. There is also significantly higher Operational
Leverage and now some tentative signs of profit margins rising in Europe.

>>> ZF reportedly considering increasing offer to $13B (from prior reports of $1

ZF reportedly considering increasing offer to $13B (from prior reports of $11-12B, implied value at $110-112.50/shr) - financial press 
- Company intending to discuss the offer with rworkers tomorrow following reports that the Unions had not been informed ahead of the prior bid and had questions about the deal. Unions were purported to have sought to block deal if it is determined to not be good for the company

(BFW) Advent, BC Partners Prepare Bid for Lafarge, Holcim Assets: FT

Advent, BC Partners Prepare Bid for Lafarge, Holcim Assets: FT
2014-07-17 14:00:45.899 GMT


By Christopher Kingdon
July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Advent, BC Partners have joined
forces to prepare bid for cement factories set to be disposed by
Lafarge and Holcim, FT reports, without saying where it got
information.
* Advent, BC Partners will be competing against other groups
incl. team formed by Blackstone, Cinven, Canada Pension Plan
Investment Board and other bidders
* NOTE: July 1, FT Reports Blackstone, Partners Mull Bid for
Lafarge, Holcim Assets NSN N81A3U6TTDSH<GO>


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>>> Time Warner: TAG believes a higher bid for TWX is likley, re-merging of CBS/

Time Warner: TAG believes a higher bid for TWX is likley, re-merging of CBS/VIAB is the next expected deal (83.13)

TAG notes that with TWX closing just 2% off the FOXA bid, the Market is likely expecting a higher bid. They agree, but with few other bidders, they believe FOX may be negotiating against itself. With FOXA pre-bid trading at a higher multiple than TWX, they believe that a FOXA bid of $95 would still be accretive on an EV/EBITDA basis. The next deal they expect is a re-merging of CBS and VIAB. With the Supreme Court having confirmed the broadcast retransmission fees (with the Aereo decision), there's no reason why VIAB and CBS shouldn't re-merge in order to enhance their negotiating position with distributors.