BBC Traders Millions byu the Minute Season 1 Episode 1 {}
Internet Gambling Can Be Taxed Less Than Casinos, EU Court Says
2014-09-26 10:19:02.174 GMT
By Gaspard Sebag
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Denmark can tax Internet gambling
less that traditional casinos, the EU’s second highest court
ruled today.
* General Court in Luxembourg rules on case today
* EU countries can continue to set a tax level for online
gambling that takes into account the competitive global
environment to attract consumers, the European Gaming and
Betting Association says in e-mailed statement
* Link to ruling in case T-601/11: http://tinyurl.com/kmrz5n7
For Related News and Information:
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To contact the reporter on this story:
Gaspard Sebag in Brussels at +32-2-285-4317 or
gsebag@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Anthony Aarons at +44-20-7673-2227 or
aaarons@bloomberg.net
Peter Chapman
2014-09-26 10:19:02.174 GMT
By Gaspard Sebag
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Denmark can tax Internet gambling
less that traditional casinos, the EU’s second highest court
ruled today.
* General Court in Luxembourg rules on case today
* EU countries can continue to set a tax level for online
gambling that takes into account the competitive global
environment to attract consumers, the European Gaming and
Betting Association says in e-mailed statement
* Link to ruling in case T-601/11: http://tinyurl.com/kmrz5n7
For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Gaspard Sebag in Brussels at +32-2-285-4317 or
gsebag@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Anthony Aarons at +44-20-7673-2227 or
aaarons@bloomberg.net
Peter Chapman
Secular tailwinds, very strong growth at a discount; initiate at Buy
* Source of opportunity
We are buyers of VRNT as we see the company as a unique blend of
growth, profitability, and scale that is trading well below peers. Verint’s
double-digit growth is being driven by increased adoption of the company’s
analytics platform within the Security and Customer Service segments.
Adoption is accelerating as a result of Verint’s capability to operationalize
analytics of unstructured data (Voice, Video, and unstructured text) in highvolume
and speed use cases. The company has announced nearly $200mn
in security signings in just the past two quarters and should garner more
meaningful synergies from the recent KANA acquisition this year and next.
* Catalyst
We see 28% upside to shares over the next year as we expect increased
investor visibility into Verint’s double-digit growth and improved confidence
in growth sustainability with Verint’s demonstrated success in cyber
security and customer service, two of the strongest segments in software.
We believe investor confidence in product differentiation will also improve
as the company’s technology (i.e., advanced data capture and processing
with classification, correlation, and anomaly detection analytics) is harder to
replicate than many investors perceive. Validation is likely to come from
high-profile deal signings, follow-through on previously announced wins,
and execution to mid-teens EPS growth over the next three years as growth
stabilizes at ~10% and margins expand to ~25% (up from 22% this year).
* Valuation
Our $68, 12-month price target is based on a 10-year DCF assuming 23%
FCF margins on $2.4bn in 2023 revenue. Our target implies a 2015E
EV/Sales of 3.7x and EV/FCF of 18x vs. peers of 4.7x and 27x, respectively.
* Key risks
Slower-than-expected adoption of analytics technology within the contact
center, an inability to navigate the transition to SaaS within customer
service, and lumpiness in large deals in the government vertical.
>>> Kremlin official: Russia President Putin has discussed meeting with Ukraine Pres Poroshenko either alone or with German Chancellor Merkel and France President Hollande
Guggenheim Securities Agrees to Acquire Lazard Capital Markets' London Operations, Hires Staff of 10 Professionals; terms not disclosed
Guggenheim Securities, the investment banking and capital markets division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced the execution of a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the London operations of Lazard Capital Markets (LCM), expanding the firm's international presence. Consummation of the transaction is subject to approval by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The acquisition, upon approval, would allow Guggenheim to conduct a range of sales and trading operations, with an initial focus on European corporate and sovereign debt and U.S. and foreign equities.
Guggenheim plans to operate the business under the new name of Guggenheim Securities International Ltd.
As part of the acquisition, Guggenheim is welcoming LCM's team of 10 professionals, led by Duncan Riefler, who ran the LCM London office. He will report to Ronald Iervolino, Senior Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income, based in New York.
Mohamed El-Erian: the man who quit his $100 million job to spend more time with his daughter
2014-09-26 07:57:10.421 GMT
By Lisa Visentin
Sept. 26 (Western Australia Today) -- As the head of a $2
trillion global investment fund, Mohamed El-Erian had scaled
the heights of the financial world and, in the process,
garnered a reputation as a world-renowned economic thinker.
But it was a simple conversation with his 10-year-old
daughter about brushing her teeth that prompted him to quit his
coveted post.
Mr El-Erian, 56, sent shockwaves through the financial
world when he announced his resignation as chief executive of
global investment firm Pacific Investment Management Company
(PIMCO) in January.
He has since revealed the reason behind his decision: a
handwritten note from his young daughter outlining 22
milestones in her life he had missed that year due to his
gruelling work schedule.
Mr El-Erain said the list was a "wake-up call" which
called into question his priorities as a father. Among the
momentous occasions he had missed were her first day at school,
her first soccer match, parent-teacher meetings and a Halloween
parade.
His daughter handed him the list when he asked her why she
had not brushed her teeth despite him asking her to do so
multiple times.
"I reminded her that it was not so long ago that she would
have immediately responded ... she would have known from my
tone of voice that I was serious," Mr El-Erian wrote in an
essay for Worth.
Although Mr El-Erian was quitting a job that reportedly
netted him $100 million a year, he noted his reasons would
resonate with all working parents.
Work-life imbalance, he wrote, is "one of our greatest
challenges" and "particularly tough on the more vulnerable
members of our population, including single parents and
lower-income families".
His own work-life balance "had gotten way out of whack,
and the imbalance was hurting my very special relationship with
my daughter. I was not making nearly enough time for her."
At the height of his career, Mr El-Erian kept a punishing
schedule where he would sleep from 9pm to 1am, then work on his
op-ed columns for several hours, get to the office at 4.30am to
work on the trading floor before taking up management duties at
9am.
Since resigning the post, Mr El-Erian has been making up
for lost time. He now takes it in turns with his wife to drive
his daughter to school and says they are planning a
father-daughter holiday together.
While he no longer has a full-time job, Mr El-Erian has
taken on a "portfolio of part-time jobs", including a role as
chief adviser to PIMCO's parent company, Allianz. He is also
chairman of US President Barack Obama's Global Development
Council.
In an interview with Reuters this week, Mr El-Erian
conceded that he had hoped to quietly slip away from his top
job and had been surprised at the interest his resignation had
generated.
"If I had known that there would be this media circus, I
would've done a lot of things differently," he said.
Click here to see the story as it appeared on Western Australia
Today web site.
WAToday.com.au
Copyright © (2011) Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited.
www.watoday.com.au. Not available for re-distribution.
-0- Sep/26/2014 07:57 GMT
2014-09-26 07:57:10.421 GMT
By Lisa Visentin
Sept. 26 (Western Australia Today) -- As the head of a $2
trillion global investment fund, Mohamed El-Erian had scaled
the heights of the financial world and, in the process,
garnered a reputation as a world-renowned economic thinker.
But it was a simple conversation with his 10-year-old
daughter about brushing her teeth that prompted him to quit his
coveted post.
Mr El-Erian, 56, sent shockwaves through the financial
world when he announced his resignation as chief executive of
global investment firm Pacific Investment Management Company
(PIMCO) in January.
He has since revealed the reason behind his decision: a
handwritten note from his young daughter outlining 22
milestones in her life he had missed that year due to his
gruelling work schedule.
Mr El-Erain said the list was a "wake-up call" which
called into question his priorities as a father. Among the
momentous occasions he had missed were her first day at school,
her first soccer match, parent-teacher meetings and a Halloween
parade.
His daughter handed him the list when he asked her why she
had not brushed her teeth despite him asking her to do so
multiple times.
"I reminded her that it was not so long ago that she would
have immediately responded ... she would have known from my
tone of voice that I was serious," Mr El-Erian wrote in an
essay for Worth.
Although Mr El-Erian was quitting a job that reportedly
netted him $100 million a year, he noted his reasons would
resonate with all working parents.
Work-life imbalance, he wrote, is "one of our greatest
challenges" and "particularly tough on the more vulnerable
members of our population, including single parents and
lower-income families".
His own work-life balance "had gotten way out of whack,
and the imbalance was hurting my very special relationship with
my daughter. I was not making nearly enough time for her."
At the height of his career, Mr El-Erian kept a punishing
schedule where he would sleep from 9pm to 1am, then work on his
op-ed columns for several hours, get to the office at 4.30am to
work on the trading floor before taking up management duties at
9am.
Since resigning the post, Mr El-Erian has been making up
for lost time. He now takes it in turns with his wife to drive
his daughter to school and says they are planning a
father-daughter holiday together.
While he no longer has a full-time job, Mr El-Erian has
taken on a "portfolio of part-time jobs", including a role as
chief adviser to PIMCO's parent company, Allianz. He is also
chairman of US President Barack Obama's Global Development
Council.
In an interview with Reuters this week, Mr El-Erian
conceded that he had hoped to quietly slip away from his top
job and had been surprised at the interest his resignation had
generated.
"If I had known that there would be this media circus, I
would've done a lot of things differently," he said.
Click here to see the story as it appeared on Western Australia
Today web site.
WAToday.com.au
Copyright © (2011) Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited.
www.watoday.com.au. Not available for re-distribution.
-0- Sep/26/2014 07:57 GMT
To offer up to 3.5M new share to employees
- SPX downside skew is steep but not necessarily due to crash concerns
* S&P 500 skew (3M 90-100%) has steepened to near multi-year highs (Figure 1, left) even as upside skew remains muted. This is among the highest level of downside skew seen at this level of ATM implied volatility since Sep-02 (Figure 1, right). While is it tempting to point to the elevated skew as a flashing warning sign for the equity market, we believe it is more representative of tightened risk management controls than investor fear of an imminent crash.
* Single-stock skew hasn’t risen: Weighted average downside (and upside) skew for SPX components is near decade lows (Figure 2). Also, a large number of SPX top 50 members have skew below their 30-th percentile over the past year (Figure 3). We find ourselves hard pressed to explain these observations were there a heightened fear of a strong market decline.
* Skew may be driven by dealer activity: Given geopolitical concerns and with US equities near highs, dealers would rather (or are forced to) have some tail protection on the books given risk limits (Figure 4). A downside vol supply/demand imbalance may exist with vol sellers waiting for higher levels to sell while dealer demand for book hedges continues.
* Put activity muted: OTM listed put volume, although an incomplete measure (reported volume doesn’t indicate direction), is up only slightly which further points to a lack of widespread fear
* Positioning around high skew: Protection buyers should consider trading put spreads rather than outright puts – it’s the downside tail that is expensive to hedge right now. High skew also cheapens down-and-out puts which can be an effective way to position for a moderate decline.
BASF’s Russia Assets Face Risk: Barclays; Slow Start in Sept.
2014-09-26 07:25:05.833 GMT
By Chiara Remondini
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- BASF is most exposed European
chemical co. to Russia with est. EU6b assets due to its gas
fields Russkoye, Achimgaz, according to Barclays note.
* Barclays (overweight) notes BASF has guarantees from German
govt on compensation for possible losses, not clear how
these would be calculated
* News on Russian draft law to seize foreign assets
“clearly increases” risk for BASF’s oil & gas business
(60%-65% of co.’s oil & gas reserves in Russia)
* Barclays says co. confirms “slow start in the industrial
business” in first weeks of Sept., unclear if slowdown is
broad based
* NOTE yday: Putin Party Proposes Law on Seizing Foreign
States’ Assets
* NOTE yday: Russia-exposed stocks BASF, Nokian Renkaat,
Carlsberg decline
* BASF due to report 3Q on Oct. 24
For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chiara Remondini in Milan at +39-02-8064-4241 or
cremondini@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Ludden at +44-20-7673-2645 or
jludden@bloomberg.net
2014-09-26 07:25:05.833 GMT
By Chiara Remondini
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- BASF is most exposed European
chemical co. to Russia with est. EU6b assets due to its gas
fields Russkoye, Achimgaz, according to Barclays note.
* Barclays (overweight) notes BASF has guarantees from German
govt on compensation for possible losses, not clear how
these would be calculated
* News on Russian draft law to seize foreign assets
“clearly increases” risk for BASF’s oil & gas business
(60%-65% of co.’s oil & gas reserves in Russia)
* Barclays says co. confirms “slow start in the industrial
business” in first weeks of Sept., unclear if slowdown is
broad based
* NOTE yday: Putin Party Proposes Law on Seizing Foreign
States’ Assets
* NOTE yday: Russia-exposed stocks BASF, Nokian Renkaat,
Carlsberg decline
* BASF due to report 3Q on Oct. 24
For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chiara Remondini in Milan at +39-02-8064-4241 or
cremondini@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Ludden at +44-20-7673-2645 or
jludden@bloomberg.net
*** Key Takeaway
Recent developments have begun to hone the Brazilian consolidation story to an end-game, in our view. In this note we perform merger analysis of the two transactions leading the debate: a break-up of TIM Brazil or a break-up of Oi.
The former feels difficult given Oi's leverage and TI's valuation expectations. The latter however has a greater chance of materialising, in time.
Brazilian M&A. Expectations for market consolidation in Brazil have been persistent and varied. With the Telefonica / GVT acquisition and the withdrawal of Oi from the 700 MHz auction, we’ve got a fresh steer on what consolidation scenarios could play out from here (if at all, the regulator in Brazil has been far from accommodating in its rhetoric). Recent press reports suggest either an Oi-led acquisition of TIM Brazil or vice versa – we look at the feasibility of both in this note. We also look at a major factor that could accelerate the operators’ appetite for mobile consolidation: mobile voice price deflation.
Our conclusions. We conclude that an Oi-led consolidation of the market is unlikely due to the latter’s weak balance sheet and (rightly) inflated valuation expectations from TI for TIM Brazil. What’s more feasible, in our view, is that TI / TIM Brazil bide their time and wait for Oi’s weaker relative growth outlook to exacerbate its already onerous leverage and then
move to carve-up Oi at a reasonable valuation. A close to all-paper deal could be feasible, allowing TI to limit the leverage impact to a digestible level.