>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: MTZ -14.1%.

M&A news: NOV -9.3% (spin off of DNOW, target lowered to $82 from $90 at Howard Weil to account for DNOW spin (effective today)), SNN -1.7% (cont volatility due to M&A spec).

Select Biotech/pharma related names showing weakness after ASCO: PBYI -13.6%, CYTK -8.8%, CLVS -5.3%, NVS -1.2%.

Other news: AFSI -6.8% (cautious Barrons mention), DSCO -2.7% (files for $250 mln mixed securities shelf offering), ALU -2% (Ex-div), BNNY -2% (announces late 10-Q filing), IEP -1.9% (related to reports of SEC instigation), GFI -1.7% ( South Deep Section 54 lifted, operations resumed), NEON -1.4% ( files for 5 mln share common stock offering), CEL -1.3% (announced that its Board of Directors has instructed the Company to commence preparations for raising debt by offering), INSM -1.1% (files for common stock offering, size not disclosed), ALXN -0.8% (initiates voluntary nationwide recall of certain lots of Soliris (eculizumab) concentrated solution for intravenous infusion due to the presence of visible particulate matter in a single lot).

Analyst comments: Z -3.8% (downgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts, downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at Pacific Crest), STM -2.1% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup), XLNX -1.2% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman), BIG -1.2% (downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays), MCHP -0.9% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman).

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: CONN +10.7%.

M&A news: NPSP +18.7% (Shire (SHPG) has secured funding for $5 bln NPSP bid, according to reports), PL +17.7% (Dai-ichi Life Insurance considering acquisition of PL, according to reports), BRCM +14% (to explore strategic alternatives for Cellular Baseband Business; reaffirms Q2 revenue guidance), HCT +10.9% (to be acquired by Ventas (VTR) for $2.6 bln, or $11.33 per HCT share),AMRI +3.1% (to acquire Oso Biopharmaceuticals Manufacturing for $110 million in cash; co anticipates the acquisition will be accretive to 2014 earnings), AHL +2.6% (Endurance Specialty (ENH) increases Proposal to Acquire Aspen Insurance Holdings (AHL) to $49.50 Per Share in Cash), SQNM +2% (announces its bioscience business was acquired by Agena Bioscience).

Select Biotech/pharma related names showing strength following ASCO: ARIA +14.6%, IMUC +11.9%, PCYC +6.8%, AVEO +5.4%, RXDX +3.6%, PBMD +0.7%, AZN +0.7%, BMY +0.5%.

Other news: LIQD +7.4% (MSDC Management discloses 10.6% passive stake in 13G filing), CANF +6.3% (announces that the US FDA has agreed with its Phase ii liver cancer protocol ), OMER +6.2% (receives FDA approval of Omidria for use in cataract and other intraocular lens replacement procedures), GDP +5% (announces Tuscaloosa Marine Shale well result and operational update),TTM +3.2% (still checking), GCI +2.5% (following positive Barron's mention), SFY +2.3% (announces New Eagle Ford Well tests; average initial production rate of 21.4 mln cubic feet of gas per day), VPCO +1.8% (FDA considering options for regulations on E cigs, according to reports).

Analyst comments: AAV +4% (upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts), TRIP +2.9% (upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at Pacific Crest), CENX +2.5% (upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill), MHR +2.2% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel), KTWO +2% (initiated with an Outperform at Cowen), GLOP +1.4% (initiated with a Outperform at Credit Suisse),MTN +1.3% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Evercore), CMG +1.1% (TAG raises FY14 EPS est above consensus), MNTA +1.1% (resumed with a Buy at Goldman), AA +0.9% (upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill
)

(TheStreet) Apple Will Probably Buy Twitter Next


Apple Will Probably Buy Twitter Next


NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Pursuant to Thursday's This Time It's For Real: Apple Has Killed Pandora, I want to expand on the notion of Apple (AAPL_) buying Twitter (TWTR_).

After months of misguided chatter, it's a move that now makes sense. That's because Apple's deal for Beats Electronics changes everything. It could not only render Pandora (P_) extinct, it puts Apple in pole position to dominant every single aspect of the digital music landscape, not the least of which is data and all it can spawn. Better late than never, given that, up until now, Apple failed to innovate in a post-iTunes Store world. But now, Apple's here and, clearly, it means business.

In some respects, Apple's acting as savior for Beats Music. As an offshoot of Beats Electronics, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to burn the cash and absorb the losses necessary to execute. (For the record, I speculated that Beats Music would require a buyout back on April 22 and argued that much-needed financial breathing room was a key component of the deal with Apple two weeks ago. Billboard just got around to regurgitating that thought trajectory after it become apparent last week).


Apple could -- and probably should -- do something similar for Twitter. Come in and catch what is an extraordinarily useful platform before CEO Dick Costolo and the pressures of being a public company drive into the ground.

Taken as one -- so much of what Apple's doing these days smacks of a company that wants to dominate and do the right thing at the same time.

>>> Allergan: Pershing Square sends letter Shareholders of Allergan; seeks to re

Allergan: Pershing Square sends letter Shareholders of Allergan; seeks to request that the Company call a special meeting

Pershing Square seeks to request that the Company call a special meeting of the Company's shareholders for the following purposes:
  • to remove from office, without cause, the following six members of the current Board of Directors of the Company, as well as any person or persons elected or appointed to the Board without shareholder approval after the Company's 2014 annual meeting and up to and including the date of the Special Meeting;
  • to request that the Board elect or appoint the following individuals to serve as directors on the Board, regardless of whether Proposal 1 is passed;
  • to amend Article II, Section 3 and Article II, Section 9 of the Bylaws to remove certain onerous special meeting provisions, to provide mechanics for determining the place, date and hour of and record date for any special meeting called at the request of Company's shareholders and to provide mechanics for calling a special meeting if no directors or less than a majority of directors are then in office, and (ii) to amend Article III, Section 2 of the Bylaws to establish the authorized number of directors of the Company at nine directors, in each case as set forth in greater detail on Exhibit C hereto;
  • to repeal any amendment changing the Bylaws in any way from the version that was publicly filed with the SEC on March 26, 2014 and became effective as of May 6, 2014; and
  • to request that the Board promptly engage in good faith discussions with Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) regarding Valeant's offer to merge with the Company, without in any way precluding discussions the Board may choose to engage in with other parties potentially offering higher value.

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers
Gapping up: NPSP +19.8%, BRCM +10%, CONN +9.8%, ARIA +9.4%, PCYC +9.2%, AHL +6.5%, AVEO +5.4%, RXDX +3.6%, TTM +2.7%, SQNM +2.6%, RIO +1.5%, AA +1.5%, LIQD +1.4%, NUAN +1.1%, FSLR +1%, MDVN +0.9%

Gapping down: RSH -17.3%, NOV -8.8%, NEON -3.7%, DSCO -2.7%, LIVE -2.1%, KFX -1.3%, AMD -1.3%, ALU -1.2%, GFI -1.1%, INSM -1.1%

NY Post : News of alleged insider trading means investigators can’t use wiretaps

The feds are unlikely to be able to conduct wiretaps as part of the insider trading probe into the activities of golfer Phil Mickelson and investor Carl Icahn now that news of the investigation has leaked, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Probers had been considering using electronic surveillance in their investigation, the Journal reported Sunday. But that plan evaporated once news of the case started to become public, according to WSJ sources.
Wiretapping Icahn could have been an uphill battle, anyway, sources said. He’s part owner of a telecommunications firm that might have been used to conduct the surveillance.
Under pressure to beat the release of news reports, two FBI agents were rushed onto a plane from New York to Ohio on Thursday to catch Mickelson after a tournament golf game to confront him about what he might know, the Journal reported.
But Mickelson just told them to talk to his lawyer.
Both Mickelson and Icahn have denied claims of alleged insider trading.

(BFW) Metso, Outotec Merger Would Make Strategic Sense, DNB Says

Metso, Outotec Merger Would Make Strategic Sense, DNB Says
2014-06-02 10:13:19.414 GMT


By Gaurav Panchal
     June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Metso/Outotec merger could be back on
the table following Weir’s exit, DNB says.
  * See strategic rationale for all-share merger between the two
    * Cites Service operations efficiency, competitive full-
      value chain offering, equipment offering bundling,
      effective O&M offering and stronger balance sheet
  * Assuming Metso paid a 30% premium (~EU11-shr for Outotec) in
    all-share merger, Metso shareholders would own 68% of
    combined company, still be ~15% better off vs current share
    price: DNB
  * Continues to rate Metso sell, PT EU25 as failure of Weir
    deal likely to be main share price driver short-term
    * With Metso up 20% since Weir’s bid in April, risk market
      could react negatively to Metso being acquirer rather
      than the acquired: DNB
  * May 28: Solidium Says Now ‘Not Right Time’ for Weir/Metso
    Deal
    * Solidium owns 11.1% of Metso, 10% of Outotec; activist
      shareholder Cevian Capital owns 13.3% of Metso:
      Bloomberg data



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

--With assistance from Benjamin Dow in Moscow. 

To contact the reporter on this story:
Gaurav Panchal in London at +44-20-7392-0511 or
gpanchal2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Andrew Rummer at +44-20-7073-3722 or
arummer@bloomberg.net
Brian Lysaght

(Manager-Magazin) sale of Siemens business to Wilbur Ross initially burst

Siemens gets his business with postal and airport logistics are not from the farm. Most recently, the U.S. investor Wilbur Ross was a favorite. But the pokered so high at the finish line that Siemens pulled the ripcord.

Hamburg - Up to eleven billion Euros, Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser want for the French rival Alstom Show Chart offer. In parallel, he plays poker for a possible sale of Siemens' stake in the joint venture Bosch Siemens Home Appliances (BSH) to Stuttgart Bosch Group. A much smaller transfer issue, however, is likely to continue to cause headaches Siemens now: The sale of postal and airport logistics, Siemens is promoting since November 2012, according to information of manager magazin online burst from financial circles for the time being.

Last ran about the low-margin business with 3600 employees and 900 million euros in sales only final negotiations with the U.S. financial investor Wilbur Ross. However, the presented shortly before the final whistle as many additional claims that Siemens few days ago pulled the ripcord.
"Now there is silence," it said in a party. The fact that the negotiations would be resumed, is unlikely. A Siemens spokesman did not comment on the information.

Sale is for cliffhanger

Actually, Kaeser goal with announcement of its new strategy on May 7, to report, to the sale of postal and airport logistics execution. This failed, but the participants were optimistic at the time, to come to a conclusion in May.

The sale will be so for the already difficult business with equipment for the mail and baggage sorting increasingly harmful to the cliffhanger - what the Group is not uninvolved. "Siemens tends always to optimize over at division sales," it says in the investment community.

So negotiations with the German-Swedish investor Triton 2013 were already well advanced. But then Wilbur Ross Siemens appeared but as the more promising buyers. Here Ross is known in the industry investors, at the end like to renegotiate times.
Complicating the process also, that the division has developed in the course of the negotiations weaker than initially represented by Siemens. The Information Memorandum According to the Siemens mailed to prospective buyers from the fall of 2013, 2013, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to EUR 25 million of which has more than halved. 2012 were available for the bit more than 50 million euros. Nevertheless, Siemens forecast in the memo for 2014 EBIT of 62 million euros - which turned out according to financial circles but soon to be far too optimistic out.

Compared with their own works, Siemens CEO Kaeser had promised that Siemens would provide the division on the sale financially sound and also retain a minority.