>>> Asian Update

Asian Market Update: World Bank remains upbeat on China; Japan looks to push forward GPIF reform

***Economic Data*** - (AU) AUSTRALIA MAY AIG PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION INDEX: 46.7 V 45.9 PRIOR (5th consecutive contraction) - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAY QV HOUSE PRICES Y/Y: 8.2% V 8.4% PRIOR (10-month low) - (JP) JAPAN MAY OFFICIAL RESERVE ASSETS: $1.28T V $1.28T PRIOR - (JP) Japan May 1st-20th Merchandise Trade Balance: -¥1.18T v -¥1.01T y/y

Market Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 flat, S&P/ASX +0.6%, Kospi -0.7%, Shanghai Composite -0.6%, Hang Seng +0.3%, Jun S&P500 +0.1% at 1,941, Aug gold +0.1% at $1,254, Jul crude oil flat at $102.47/brl

***Highlights/Observations/Insights*** - World Bank maintains its China 2014 GDP target of 7.6% and 2015 target of 7.5%, echoing comments from IMF head Lipton overnight suggesting that there is no evidence of a significant slowdown in China. Note that in contrast, the IMF called on China to lower its 2015 GDP objective to 7.0% to achieve more sustainable growth. World Bank also said China has the ability to step up fiscal and monetary support for growth, which it will likely use should growth weaken. Also of note out of China, the CBRC reiterated policymakers would maintain reasonable lending and fine-tune policy at the appropriate time, with lending priority given to small business and major infrastructure projects.

- In Japan, local press indicated PM Abe has requested the Health and Welfare minister to make a more concerted effort to press forward with GPIF pension fund reform to increase its investment in the stock market. Report suggested that Abe is looking for the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) to announce a portfolio rebalancing by September or October, ahead of its initial year-end deadline. Later in the day, Minister Tamura confirmed the reported request, stating he has asked GPIF to work on the early review of its portfolio guidelines and urging administrators to complete review process quickly.

- Down under, Australia's AiG put out the last of its monthly metrics with Construction data. All 3 indices - manufacturing, services, and construction - have now been in contraction for at least 3 months. AiG noted the milder decline in the Australian PCI in May was due to less pronounced reductions in employment and supplier deliveries, while construction activity and new orders fell more sharply. In New Zealand, the Treasury announced its Fiscal Deficit in Apr was less than expected due to lower spending, reiterating it was on track to achieve a budget surplus in FY14/15.

***Speakers/Political/In the Papers*** - (JP) Japan PM Abe asks health and welfare minister to push the GPIF public pension move faster to increase its stock investment - Japan press - (JP) Japan Health Minister Tamura: PM Abe calls for early review of GPIF portfolio - financial press - (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Intends to bring forward GPIF review; ECB took preemptive measures due to worry on risks of deflation - (CN) Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co researcher: Land market continues to be soft in June amid continued cautious sentiment - Shanghai Daily - (CN) China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC): China to maintain reasonable lending and social financing growth; To fine-tune policy at the appropriate time - financial press - (CN) Several provinces in China may significantly reduce corporate tax to boost economy - Chinese press - (US) Appaloosa's Tepper says some prior concerns about the market have been "alleviated" - CNBC's Kelly - (US) US Senate to vote on advancing Brainard and Powell to Fed Board of Governors next week - financial press

***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥300B in 1-3yr JGB, ¥200B in 3-5yr JGB and ¥150B in JGB with maturity over 10-yr - (AU) Australia sells A$700M in 3.25% bonds due 2025; Avg yield: 3.8594%; Bid-to-cover: 4.28x - (US) Weekly Fed Balance Sheet Total Assets Week ending June 4th: $4.33T v $4.32T prior; Reserve Bank Credit: $4.29T v $4.28T prior; M1: -$1.7B (3rd consecutive decline) v -$11.0B prior; M2: +$36.1B (biggest increase in 4 weeks) v +$5.0B prior; M1 y/y change: 10.6% v 10.6% w/w; M2 y/y change: 6.2% v 6.2% w/w - USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1623 v 6.1708 prior setting (strongest Yuan setting since May 9th)

***Equities*** US markets: - MY: Receives approval to develop and operate 300MW off-shore wind power project in China Jiangsu Province; +14.6% afterhours - PAY: Reports Q2 $0.37 v $0.33e, R$467M v $445Me; confirms restructuring, to cut headcount by 500 (9% of workforce); +3.7% afterhours - PNRA: Approves 3 year, $600M buyback program (15% of market cap); terminates prior; +1.8% afterhours - AIG: Authorizes Repurchase of Additional Shares of AIG Common Stock for up to $2B (2.5% of market cap); +0.9% afterhours - SEAC: Reports Q1 -$0.22 v -$0.04e, R$24.3M v $30.8Me; Raises buyback authorisation by $15M (5.2% of market cap) to $40M; -11.4% afterhours

Notable movers by sector: - Consumer Discretionary: Intime Department Store Group 1833.HK +2.7% (launches e-commerce platform with Alibaba) - Financials: Shimao Property 813.HK -2.0% (May sales results); Poly Real Estate Group 600048.CN -0.4% (May sales results) - Materials: Beadell Resources BDR.AU +6.2% (BlackRock raises stake) - Industrials: Guangzhou Automobile Group 2238.HK +3.5% (May production results) - Technology: Beijing Ultrapower Software 300002.CN +1.2% (launches mobile game); Omron 6645.JP +0.8% (technology used in Amazon phone) - Healthcare: China Medical System Holdings 867.HK +1.3% (announces acquisition) - Utilities: Kurita Water Industries 6370.JP +0.7% (awarded contract)

(TEchCrunch) Dropbox Acquires Stealth Messaging Startup Droptalk

Dropbox Acquires Stealth Messaging Startup Droptalk

Dropbox has swallowed up another early stage startup, this one a stealthy company called Droptalk which was developing a tool that allowed you to share links privately with friends via a Chrome extension, to be followed by both iOS and Android applications. None of the products were publicly available, as the company had only just launched its browser add-on into a limited beta.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

What made the company appealing to Dropbox (besides, of course, the name!) was that in addition to its web sharing features, the tool also integrated with your cloud storage, so you could see during a conversation who was updating which files or adding files to a shared folder. Combined with a messaging-like interface and plans to take on mobile messaging with a cloud storage component, it’s easy to see why Droptalk may have had some appeal.

droptalk

Droptalk was founded around a year ago by a team of ex-Facebook and LinkedIn engineers who wanted to change the way people communicated with each other and got work done, the company explains in a blog post announcing their acquisition. The idea, like many others that have come before, was to attack the “work email” problem not by reinventing the inbox, but offering better tools for sharing and communication so you didn’t have to lean on email quite so much.

The founding team includes serial entrepreneurs Rakesh Mathur and Ashk Bhardwaj and CTO Anand Prakash.

Mathur founded Webaroo and built its SMS-based social messaging platform to over 60 million users over 3 years. He also oversaw the exits of Junglee to Amazon and Snapstick to Rovi. Meanwhile, Bhardwaj brings years of experience, having helped grow Aricent into a $30 billion company, and along with Mathur was instrumental in JustChalo’s recent exit to OpenTable. Prakash also worked at Webaroo, and most recently, LinkedIn.

Rounding out the small team of five were Manveer Chawla, previously of Facebook, and Nirmesh Mehta. All are now joining Dropbox as a part of this deal, and Droptalk itself seems to be shutting down, as it’s no longer accepting beta signups. However, we understand that this deal may be more than just an acqui-hire – it could be that there’s some plan to actually integrate some of the technology Droptalk developed into Dropbox’s core product.

That would make sense given Dropbox’s prior interest in the companies developing tools for work-related communications. For example, earlier this year, it acquired Zulip, another pre-launch, stealth company developing a workplace chat solution. Like Droptalk, Zulip also allowed employees to communicate outside of email, and tapped into users’ online storage.

However, while Zulip had some small amount of seed investment, Droptalk, on the other hand, was fully bootstrapped.

NYT : Are There Any Telecommunications Deals Left?

Are There Any Telecommunications Deals Left? 

Link to article : {http://nyti.ms/1hh1uBy}

Telecommunications bankers are running out of deals to pitch.

Over the past three years, a rush of multi-billion dollar acquisitions has reshaped the United States wireless market. Now, with Sprint and T-Mobile zeroing in on an agreement to join forces, one of the last big deals for the industry may be nearing an announcement.

Some of the deals that have led up to this moment were foregone conclusions. Verizon always planned to take full control of Verizon Wireless, but waited until the debt markets could support its $130 billion purchase from Vodafone.

Others had been long rumored and finally came to fruition. After AT&T was blocked by regulators in its attempt to acquire T-Mobile, it was expected that T-Mobile would try to grow on its own. That’s why it merged with MetroPCS.

Still others were surprise moves that set off a chain reaction that is still playing out. AT&T, unable to buy more wireless customers, has turned its attention to television, agreeing to buy DirecTV.

The lines separating telephone, Internet and television companies, meanwhile, continue to blur, as each muscles into the others’ territory.


But between these announced deals, and the impending announcement by Sprint and T-Mobile, it is hard to see what meaningful assets telecommunications companies can set their sights on next. In the wake of all this consolidation, there are only a few potential targets remaining.

Dish Network, the satellite television provider, has lucrative customer relationships and a trove of spectrum. With AT&T buying DirecTV, buying Dish could be a reasonable counterpunch by Verizon or a combined Sprint/T-Mobile. But Charlie Ergen, Dish’s chief executive and controlling shareholder, is notoriously unpredictable. And it is not clear that rivals plan to mimic AT&T’s strategy, especially with Dish’s market capitalization of more than $26 billion.

Another potential target could be U.S. Cellular, a small wireless carrier based out of Chicago. With a market capitalization of about $3.5 billion, U.S. Cellular is small enought that most of the big telecommunications could easily acquire it.

But with about 4 million customers, the company doesn’t provide much additional scale. What is more, U.S. Cellular is family controlled, complicating any deal.

Still another takeover target could be CenturyLink, a Louisiana based provider of Internet, landline and television services. But CenturyLink already is a reseller of Verizon’s wireless services, and DirecTV’s satellite television offerings. And with a market value of more than $20 billion, the company is not cheap.

“It’s hard to see many more megadeals without further blurring the lines,” said Jefferson Wang of IBB Consulting. Instead, Mr. Wang said the big wireless providers were likely to pursue content deals that layered media services on top of basic telephone service. For example, Sprint has struck a deal with Spotify that give friends and family a discount on the streaming music service.

Of course, Sprint’s deal for T-Mobile hasn’t yet been announced, let alone approved. And AT&T and DirecTV, and Comcast and Time Warner Cable, are still seeking approval for their tie-ups.

But if the current crop of deals are approved, the wireless industry — having shrunk from six major carriers to three in a matter of years — is unlikely to change much more anytime soon.

Combining Forces
T-Mobile’s planned merger with Sprint would be about the 18th largest deal in the telecommunications industry since 1984.

WSJ : Altice's Patrick Drahi Hungry for More Cable, Telecom Deals

Altice's Patrick Drahi Hungry for More Cable, Telecom Deals
Absorbing SFR, Franco-Israeli Investor Aims to Play a Deeper Role in European Consolidation

"I have ambitious dreams," Patrick Drahi, executive chairman of Altice, said in his first interview since winning the bidding for SFR. Bloomberg News
When Franco-Israeli cable investor Patrick Drahi first approached Vivendi SA VIV.FR +0.08% to buy the conglomerate's French mobile operator, he was met with amused incredulity.

"Are you out of your mind?" asked Vivendi Chairman Jean-René Fourtou, noting that Mr. Drahi didn't have the money, according to people familiar with the November 2012 meeting. "You're punching above your weight."

Less than two years later, Mr. Drahi swooped in with a staggering package of loans and junk bonds to buy Vivendi's mobile firm SFR for €17 billion ($23 billion) in cash and stock, upending a coordinated effort by the French establishment to consolidate the country's mobile sector.


Now, ahead of what investors, bankers and telecommunications executives expect to be a tsunami of European telecom consolidation led by giants like Telefónica SA TEF.MC +0.86% and Vodafone Group VOD.LN -0.54% PLC, the Moroccan-born Mr. Drahi is again positioning himself to play the unlikely spoiler—this time on a European level.

"I have ambitious dreams," Mr. Drahi, executive chairman of Altice SA, ATC.AE -0.09% said in his first interview since winning the bidding for SFR. "There is a big game to play in the consolidation of the European telecom market in which we could play a role."

Mr. Drahi's European push comes as companies have started a series of mergers that could help unify Europe's fragmented telecom market. So far this year, there have been nearly $65 billion in European telecom deals, the most since 2000, according to Dealogic. Despite some resistance from European antitrust regulators, analysts and investment bankers expect more deals to come.

It won't come easy: Mr. Drahi's Luxembourg-based company Altice and French unit Numericable Group SA NUM.FR +2.71% will be heavily indebted once the SFR deal closes. The 50-year-old will also have to navigate between promises to preserve jobs in France and cutting costs to make the business more profitable in a market where operators have suffered from stiff competition.

He will also face big competitors. Mr. Drahi's plan is to buy more cable and mobile companies in markets where he is already present, including Belgium, Portugal and Israel—but also in other parts of Europe, citing Germany as a possibility. And farther away, he is looking at assets in Central and South America, he said. But companies like Vodafone and John Malone's Liberty Global PLC are making similar bets that customers increasingly want so-called quadruple-play offers that bundle together broadband, mobile, fixed-line and TV services.

"Mr. Drahi would be going up against some big fish," said Javier Borrachero, head of telecom research at Kepler Cheuvreux. "But with companies that are a one-man show, one never knows."

A self-made billionaire who started out two decades ago selling cable subscriptions door-to-door, Mr. Drahi said he has one rule: "Always start with cable."

The son of math teachers, Mr. Drahi attended some of France's top engineering schools, including École Polytechnique. But he shunned the more traditional route, followed by many of his classmates, of going on to work for big French companies or government ministers.

At the end of a summer internship doing maintenance work for French railway operator SNCF, the then-20-year-old Mr. Drahi told his supervisor: "I will never work here, I want to do my own thing," recalls Olivier Huart, CEO of broadcasting company TDF Group and Mr. Drahi's former classmate.

"Patrick doesn't have any inhibitions—when he wants something, he says it and does it," Mr. Huart said.

Inspired by Mr. Malone, the U.S. cable magnate, Mr. Drahi began by buying up a concession for a small cable network in southern France in the 1990s. After a stint working for a predecessor of Mr. Malone's Liberty Global, Mr. Drahi cashed out—and used the money to buy more cable. By 2004, Mr. Drahi had found private-equity backers to help him eventually consolidate all of France's cable operators under the name Numericable.

He decided to push further. Mr. Drahi met with Vivendi's SFR, Bouygues SA EN.FR +0.86% 's Bouygues Telecom and upstart Iliad SA, ILD.FR +0.61% toying with the idea of a tie-up or partial sale, according to people familiar with the matter. None was willing.

So Mr. Drahi pursued in Israel what he had at the time failed to do in France. In 2009, he bought into Israeli cable company Hot and later merged it with a local mobile operator, testing what he intends to do in France provided France's competition regulators approve the merger of Numericable and SFR.

After the 2012 meeting with Mr. Fourtou, Mr. Drahi knew he had to return to Vivendi's negotiating table with more financial firepower. He began with initial public offerings in 2013 and early 2014 of Altice and Numericable in Amsterdam and Paris—netting €2 billion. Mr. Drahi then arranged $22 billion of euro- and dollar-denominated junk bonds and loans to finance his bid.

Mr. Drahi said Altice will probably have to wait around two years before doing another "big" acquisition as the immediate priority is to focus on integrating the French business. But he doesn't see his group's debt as an impediment to more deals. "It's not debt that keeps me up at night, it is cash that serves no purpose," said Mr. Drahi, during one of his regular trips to Tel Aviv.

Labeled an outsider during the fight for SFR, Mr. Drahi doesn't mingle with French officials in exclusive clubs, according to people close to him. He prefers dinners at home in Geneva or Tel Aviv with his wife, to whom he has been married for almost 25 years. But since his victory in the bidding for SFR, there are signs he has risen within the French establishment.

"Drahi impressed me," said Henri Lachmann, a Vivendi board member who steered the board committee overseeing the SFR sale earlier this year. "He is a carnivore who throws himself on his targets."

The executive is also taking steps to play along. Mr. Drahi recently met with French President François Hollande, according to people familiar with the matter. A spokeswoman for the presidency wasn't able to comment. And after donating €10 million to French elite telecom schools, he is considering investing in a French newspaper, a move that has practically become a rite of passage for French businessmen.

"Over the past few months, I think we took some people by surprise," Mr. Drahi said, adding with a chuckle: "Now, things are more serious."

WSJ : David Tepper: My Fears Have Been ‘Alleviated’

David Tepper: My Fears Have Been ‘Alleviated’

David Tepper, the hedge-fund manager who spooked some investors last month when he said he was “nervous” about the markets, said many of his concerns have been “alleviated” thanks to the ECB’s unorthodox moves.

Mr. Tepper, who runs $20 billion Appaloosa Management in Short Hills, N.J., struck a cautious note at an investor conference last month. He said he was worried about slow U.S. growth and the risk of a worsening global economy unless the European Central Bank took aggressive action.

Sure enough, the ECB on Thursday reduced interest rates, pushing the deposit rate into negative territory, and announced a series of other measures designed to boost bank lending and keep ultralow inflation from gaining traction.

“Bottom line is all of those things alleviated, one by one by one to a certain extent,” Mr. Tepper told CNBC.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 100 points in the final trading hour, on pace for yet another record high.

“[Tepper] has more to do with stocks doing better than the ECB reflation trade,” said Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at National Alliance Capital Markets in New York. “Makes sense. Equity short base and apathy still at high levels.”

The comments mark an about-face for Mr. Tepper, who last month stressed how nervous he was about the markets. “The market is kind of dangerous right now,” he said in May at the annual SALT conference in Las Vegas. “It’s a tough market.”

Mr. Tepper at that time offered a bearish and blunt stance on Europe, describing the ECB as being “really, really behind the curve.”

“They’re waiting, waiting, waiting,” he said. “The ECB better ease in June, I’m nervous.”

The Dow dropped 167 points on May 15, the day after Mr. Tepper made his cautious comments in Las Vegas.

Mr. Tepper’s warnings were especially notable because he built his firm, and fortune, with concentrated wagers on certain assets appreciating. Though at times he has made bearish investments, he is best known for scoring huge paydays owning bank investments in 2009 and going big on U.S. equities, including airlines, in 2013.

Last month he advised investors to hold some cash in case the market heads lower.

One month later, it appears he’s not so worried anymore.

(BFW) Dish Could Offer $45/Shr for T-Mobile: Jefferies (Earlier)

Dish Could Offer $45/Shr for T-Mobile: Jefferies (Earlier)
2014-06-05 20:22:40.666 GMT


By Joshua Fineman
     June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Dish could finance T-Mobile offer
with 75%/25% debt/equity split, Jefferies analyst Mike McCormack
wrote in note earlier.
  * Likely that combined co. would divest $4b worth of spectrum,
    including 10MHz of mid-band, DISH’s 800MHz EBlock spectrum
  * Leverage likely to fall “materially” with cost savings,
    TMUS operating growth, reduced need to buy spectrum L-T
  * TMUS/DISH deal likely to have easier time on regulatory
    front
  * TMUS remains hold at Jefferies, PT $30, Bloomberg avg. $35
  * NOTE: Yday, Sprint, T-Mobile Said Near Deal Valued at Almost
    $40/Shr


For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

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:
Brad Skillman at +1-212-617-2763 or
bskillman1@bloomberg.net
Joshua Fineman

>>> US Close Dow+0,59% S&P+0,65% Nasdaq+1,05%


Closing Market Summary: Stocks Climb While ECB Announces Additional Easing

The stock market finished the Thursday session on an upbeat note after receiving a shot in the arm from an easing announcement made by the European Central Bank. Small-cap stocks led the way with the Russell 2000 climbing 2.1%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.7% with all ten sectors posting gains.

This morning, the European Central Bank announced several easing measures after the past few months were filled with speculation surrounding potential stimulus from the ECB. The central bank lowered all three of its interest rates (main refinancing rate to 0.15% from 0.25%, marginal lending facility rate to 0.40% from 0.75%, and deposit facility rate to -0.10% from 0.00%), announced the deployment of a targeted long term refinancing operation [LTRO], and said preparations for purchases of asset-backed securities have begun. In addition, the ECB announced it will stop sterilizing purchases under its Securities Market Program [SMP].

One of the factors that forced the action was the continued strength of the euro, which has been stubbornly holding just below its best level since late 2011. Today's announcement knocked the single currency down...for about three hours. The euro/dollar pair slumped from 1.3600 to 1.3500 following the announcement, but rallied all the way to 1.3655 by the end of the New York session. Conversely, the Dollar Index (80.39, -0.28), which was boosted initially, slumped to lows by the close.

Meanwhile, equity indices began with slim gains, but slipped into the red during the first hour of action. However, that weakness did not stick as small-caps bounced, taking the broader market along for the ride.

To be sure, the market also received an encouraging push from fund manager David Tepper, who said his chief market concerns have been alleviated by today's ECB action. This came after Mr. Tepper caused quite a market stir with a comment not that long ago that "it's nervous time" and that he wouldn't advise getting "too freakin' long." In all fairness, Mr. Tepper did not advise shorting the market in his prior comments, but today's remarks were decidedly more optimistic.

The industrial sector (+1.1%) ended in the lead, thanks in part to a 6.7% gain in the shares of Joy Global (JOY 61.70, +3.85) after the company reported better than expected earnings. Dow component Caterpillar (CAT 106.96, +2.65) rallied in sympathy, while other areas of the sector like defense contractors (PHLX Defense Index +1.5%) and transport stocks (Dow Jones Transportation Average +0.8%) also displayed relative strength.

Industrials notwithstanding, three of the remaining five cyclical sectors also finished ahead of the broader market, while energy (+0.6%) and materials (+0.4%) lagged. Meanwhile, the countercyclical side saw relative strength among utilities (+0.8%), while consumer staples (+0.4%), health care (+0.2%), and telecom services (+0.04%) lagged.

Interestingly, the underperformance of the health care sector did not stop biotechnology from rallying alongside other high-growth names. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 245.19, +1.72) climbed 0.7%.

Strikingly, the broad-based rally did not lure money away from the Treasury market. The 10-yr note slumped immediately following the release, but rallied off those lows, ending higher by five ticks with its yield down two basis points at 2.58%.

Today's participation marked an improvement from recent days, but the final tally of 615 million was still below the longer-term average of 700 million.

Economic data was limited:
  • Initial claims for the week ending May 31 were 312,000. That was up 8,000 from an upwardly revised reading of 304,000 (from 300,000) in the prior week and basically in-line with the consensus estimate. According to the Department of Labor, there were no special factors impacting the initial claims reading. The latest entry left the four-week moving average at 310,250, down 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. That is the lowest four-week moving average since June 2007. 
  • Continuing claims fell by 20,000 to 2.603 mln (consensus 2.650 mln) for the week ending May 24 versus a downwardly revised 2.623 mln (from 2.631) in the prior week. That left the four-week moving average for this series at 2.635 mln, down 18,250 from the prior week. That is the lowest level since December 2007. 
Tomorrow, the Nonfarm Payrolls report for May will be released at 8:30 ET (consensus 220K), while the April Consumer Credit report (consensus $15.00 billion) will cross the wires at 15:00 ET.
  • S&P 500 +5.0% YTD 
  • Nasdaq Composite +2.9% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.6% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 -0.7% YTD

FT : Second Open SSL flaw discovered

Second Open SSL flaw discovered

A second serious flaw has been found in the security software used to protect about two-thirds of all websites from cyber criminals, a month after the first, called Heartbleed, prompted consumers across the world to change their passwords.
The vulnerability was reported on Thursday in the Open SSL software, best known as the technology behind the padlock shown next to a web address, but it had existed for up to 10 years.

The organisation behind the open source technology said companies now need to update their software again to prevent so-called “man-in-the-middle attacks”, where attackers can decrypt communication between a computer, and, for example, a public wifi network.
It is not known whether the flaw has been used, but attackers often pounce during the window after a vulnerability has been announced, and before every site has updated its software.
Nicholas J. Percoco, vice-president of strategic services at Rapid 7, a Boston-based cyber security company, explained the flaw probably affected “the majority of systems on the internet”.
“A man-in-the-middle attack is dangerous because it can allow an attacker to intercept data that was presumed to be encrypted between a client (for example, an end user) and a server (for example, the online bank),” he said. “This attack is also passive in nature and may not be detected by a client, server or network-based security controls.”
The flaw may not have been discovered for such a long time as the code behind the software is complex and few computer engineers are experts in it.
This latest discovery comes after the Heartbleed bug – one of the most significant breaches of internet security ever – was found in the same software at the beginning of April. The flaw enabled hackers to obtain any confidential data including passwords that were stored in a computer’s short-term memory.
After Heartbleed was announced, companies including Google, Amazon, Yahoo and Facebook rushed to update their software. Those which did not make it in time, including the Canadian tax authority and the UK parenting site Mumsnet, suffered attacks. US regulators warned of the risk of criminals impersonating online banking sites and stealing passwords.
However, Symantec, another cyber security company, stressed this bug was not as serious as Heartbleed because it was much harder to execute and relied on the computer and the server being vulnerable already. Symantec advised consumers to avoid using unsecured wifi, to change passwords regularly and not use the same password for different sites.
The non-profit organisation behind the widely used open source software has complained of being chronically under-resourced – before the Heartbleed bug announcement it ran on less than the equivalent of two full-time engineers.
Since then, Microsoft, Google and Salesforce are among a long list of technology companies that have formed the Core Infrastructure Initiative to fund Open SSL and other crucial building blocks of the internet.

>>> VeriFone beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs

--> PAY +3,32% in After Hours

VeriFone beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY14 EPS in-line, revs above consensus 

- Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.37 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.32; revenues rose 8.6% year/year to $467 mln vs the $443.42 mln consensus.
- Co issues downside EPS guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.33-0.34, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.37 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $455-460 mln vs. $453.82 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
- Co issues in-line EPS guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $1.42-1.44 vs. $1.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY14 revs of $1.825-1.835 bln vs. $1.8 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

>>> Transformation Initiatives
- In April and June of 2014, VeriFone approved restructuring plans in order to support its transformation initiatives. In connection with these restructuring plans, the company will reduce headcount by approximately 500 by calendar year end 2014. VeriFone expects to reinvest a substantial portion of the savings from these actions to improve its operational infrastructure and invest in its strategic growth initiatives.

>>> Diamond Foods misses by $0.06, reports revs in-line

Diamond Foods misses by $0.06, reports revs in-line  

- Reports Q3 (Apr) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues rose 3.2% year/year to $190.9 mln vs the $191.72 mln consensus.
- Despite headwinds associated with tree nut commodity costs in fiscal 2014 that adversely impacted the Nuts segment; the Company expects to realize an increase in Adjusted EBITDA year-over-year.