FT : Berths boom as super-rich rekindle love affair with high-sea luxury

Berths boom as super-rich rekindle love affair with high-sea luxury

The world’s super-rich are returning to the high seas, with the number of luxury yacht sales hitting their highest level since the financial crisis after a spike in demand from American and Russian tycoons.
Superyachts – pleasure boats more than 24 metres in length – have been slower than other sectors of the luxury goods market to bounce back from the financial meltdown in 2008.

But demand from international billionaires has started to pick up over the past 18 months as sellers become more realistic on price, according to yacht makers and brokers.
The longest vessel to hit the sea so far in 2014 is Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri’s 140m Victory, the ninth-biggest in the all-time list of megayachts. The boat is spread over seven decks and is said to have six pools up to 8m in length as well as a floodable internal garage for its “tender” – a small boat that ferries passengers to and from shore.
“Buyers are more sensible now [and] there’s a general move towards less is more. People are going for best quality boats rather than just the biggest boat,” said Chris Cecil-Wright, a yacht broker for 20 years.
Even so, a typical superyacht can still command a price in excess of $150m and boast several gymnasiums and swimming pools, as well as a so-called hydraulic swim platform, or “beach club”, where children can pretend they are at the beach.
There were 221 sales of superyachts in the first half of 2014, a rise of almost a third from the same period a year ago, according to figures from Boat International Media. That represents a 66 per cent rise from the 74 yachts sold in the first half of 2009, the bottom of the market.
Separate figures show the new-build superyacht market is also picking up. According to Superyacht Intelligence, there are 360 yachts being built this year, a number which is expected to rise to 411 – the same level as in 2013. That is still well below the 2008 peak, when there was an order book of 587 yachts.
One broking company, Fraser Yachts, this week said it had sold its fifth yacht in just 10 days during the summer period, which is normally a quiet time for yacht sales. Edmiston, a UK-based luxury yacht broker, sold five yachts in five weeks during June.
Phillip Holden of Bluewater, a France-based brokerage, said sales were up in all areas at his company. “We are moving ahead of pre-recession numbers and forecast good growth over the latter half of 2014.”
While the number of sales has increased over the past year, many in the industry point out that values still remain far-below pre-crisis levels.

The improved outlook will come as a relief to yachtmakers, many of whom were almost crippled by the financial crisis. Lots of companies have been acquired by new – often Chinese – buyers in recent years.
Last year, Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property and entertainment conglomerate by assets, bought 91.8 per cent of Sunseeker from its Irish private equity owner FL Partners in a £300m deal. It follows the purchase by Shandong Heavy Industry of luxury yachtmaker Ferretti in 2012.
A re-emergence of wealthy American buyers, who have traditionally been the biggest nationality of buyers, has helped boost the market.
Christos Livadas, founder and chief executive of NISI Yachts, a European luxury yacht builder, said the US pre-owned market is more or less at the same activity range as pre-crisis levels. However, European buyers have yet to return and the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine has seen some Russian buyers disappear.
But despite China being touted as the next big growth market for yachts for the past two decades, the lack of infrastructure, such as marinas, coupled with restriction on inland migration has stifled appetite.
According to Juliet Benning, editor of Superyacht Business, late autumn is traditionally the period when many deals are struck after the industry shows at Monaco Yacht Show in September and Fort Lauderdale the following month.
However, many in the industry say superyacht sales are unlikely to reach the heady heights of before the financial crisis. “The recession was so deep that we may never see again those halcyon days,” said Bob Saxon, president of the International Yacht Collection.

FT : Airlines divided over crossing Iraq after MH17 crash

Airlines divided over crossing Iraq after MH17 crash
A split has emerged between airlines about whether it is safe to fly over war-torn Iraq, after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed in Ukraine.
British Airways and Etihad Airways are among those continuing to fly passenger jets over Iraq, while Air France and Virgin Atlantic have stopped doing so. Emirates Airline also plans to halt the practice while Qantas, which has been passing over, on Saturday announced it was suspending flying over Iraq.
Many aircraft flying between European and Asian cities pass over Iraq, where the government is fighting jihadis led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis, which controls much of the north and west.

The conflict has prompted US regulators to order the country’s carriers to fly higher above the country “due to the potentially hazardous situation”. The Federal Aviation Administration told US carriers on Thursday night to fly above 30,000ft in Iraq, having previously instructed them to keep above 20,000ft.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, parent of BA, said on Friday: “We fly over Iraq because we consider it safe – if we thought Iraq was unsafe we would not fly over Iraq.”
However, he admitted that it may be “confusing” for passengers trying to understand why airlines had adopted different positions on Iraq.
Mr Walsh said airlines should conduct their own risk assessments to decide whether to fly over conflict zones because they have different operations and aircraft.
He revealed that British Airways decided in March to stop flying over war-torn eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russia separatists allegedly shot down MH17 last month using a Buk surface to air missile.
Mr Walsh said carriers should swap more information. British Airways does not share its risk assessments with other airlines but Mr Walsh said it if had shown them to Malaysia Airlines, a partner in the Oneworld alliance, it might have prevented the tragedy in Ukraine.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said safety was its “number one priority” but there was no evidence that jihadis in Iraq have either the capability or intent to target aircraft flying over the country.
However, Virgin said it had stopped flying over Iraq. “Safety and security is our top priority and we will always follow government advice in such matters.”
In the latest shift of position, Lufthansa, which has been flying over Iraq, announced on Friday that the group’s airlines would suspend doing so until Monday as a “precautionary measure”. It said there was “no danger” in flying over Iraq but Lufthansa wanted to evaluate statements by regulators, including those in the US.
Delta Air Lines and United of the US both said they were not flying over Iraq.

News and analysis on the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by a missile over eastern Ukraine
Carriers often rely on information from their home country governments, including intelligence agencies, when deciding whether to fly over conflict zones.
After the MH17 disaster, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the UN agency that sets global aviation standards, has started considering how “threat information” can be best made available to regulators and carriers.
Emirates is pushing for a new body – possibly set up under the auspices of the International Air Transport Association, the main airline trade body – to share airline risk assessments about conflict zones.
Consumer groups urged carriers, who do not typically give passengers advance details of flight routes, to be more open about which conflict zones they fly over.
Brandon Macsata, executive director of the US Association for Airline Passenger Rights, said: “There are certain passengers who may not want to fly over countries if there is military conflict going on.”
EUclaim, a Netherlands company focused on helping airline passengers claim compensation under EU law for delayed and cancelled flights, also called for more transparency.

WSJ : Formula One Teams Push for a Data Edge

Formula One Teams Push for a Data Edge
Lotus, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Others Put Growing Emphasis on Data Analysis

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, England— Marlon Stöckinger, 23 years old, a Filipino-Swiss Junior Formula One driver, started racing for British racing team Lotus in 2013. He finished that year's Renault RNO.FR -3.50% 3.5 Series season in 18th position on the official Junior F1 rankings, with 23 points.

This year, midway in the calendar, he has 63 points. Notwithstanding Mr. Stöckinger's improving skill, how did he do it?

Lotus says it came partly from new ways it collects data vital for improving the performance of its race cars.

2013, Lotus switched a technical partnership on data storage from California-based NetApp to much-bigger U.S. rival EMC Corp. EMC -0.82%

"We are able to punch way above our weight," says Michael Taylor, Lotus F1 Team's information technology director.

Technology in the F1 Wheel
Formula One drivers have a lot to think about during a race. Check out some of the many buttons, toggles, switches and controls fitted to a F1 car's steering wheel.


Faster access to data during a race allows for quicker car modeling and simulation tests. And the team is now able to analyze car aerodynamics in two hours, rather than two weeks as it had done previously.

"We are able to now pull 2,000 statistics per lap," says Mr. Taylor. "Tire data, weather data, fuel data and positional data [are] feeding into a system that is constantly churning out the optimum race strategy."

Car design and function are also key to performance. Engine problems have marred the results of its senior team this year, with Lotus currently in eighth position out of the 11 teams in this year's championship after finishing fourth last year.

But data advances are giving the car an extra edge, says Lotus.

Data is the "blueprint for a racing driver," says Mr. Stöckinger.

The move by Lotus is just one indication of the sport's rush to collect ever larger amounts of data amid rising technical demands in a sport where victory or defeat are measured in hundredths of a second.

The trend is a shift considering F1's technology challenge has typically focused on tweaking a racing car's 80,000 mechanical parts.

The new data rush is allowing smaller teams to narrow the competitive gap as it means less reliance on driver experience and intuition.

Big teams have taken notice.

Before every F1 race, Dallas-based telecom giant AT&T Inc. T -0.73% installs a custom-built fiber-optic network for Infiniti Red Bull Racing's 60-strong track-side team. At the U.S. Grand Prix's Circuit of The Americas in 2013, for example, it brought 120 miles of cabling.

Red Bull is using the fiber-optic data network to try to give its racing cars an advantage. During a race, 100 telemetry sensors in the car relay metrics like speed, pressure and air flow in seven to 10 milliseconds from the Silverstone circuit to data analysts at both its Milton-Keynes factory and wind tunnel in Bedford, both in southern England, as well as engine manufacturer, Renault SA, in Viry, eastern France, some 400 kilometers away.

Data from a car racing in Australia appears on screens at the U.K. factory in three hundred milliseconds, near instantaneously.

Around 200 gigabytes of data goes to the factory every race weekend—more than triple the amount three years ago, says Al Peasland, Red Bull's head of technical partnerships.

"[AT&T's] network is now 2½ times faster than in 2013, says Austria's Red Bull, FIA F1 Championship constructor and driver champions for the last four consecutive years. "It means we can send more data, more quickly," says Mr. Peasland.

It is a competitive space. AT&T's Indian telecom rival Tata Communications Ltd. 500483.BY +0.75% also plays across the F1 circuit.

F1 team Sahara Force India, headed by Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya, partners with Claro, a unit of Mexican telecom giant América Móvil SAB. AMX.MX -0.96% German software company SAP SE SAP.XE -2.19% works with McClaren Mercedes—this year's ace team.

Lotus is building private cloud data storage across two data centers at its campus in Enstone, an Oxfordshire village west of London, using EMC's server technology.

Data needs have nearly doubled in two years and show no signs of slowing, says Lotus. So EMC is providing 1 petabyte—or one quadrillion bytes—of storage to the team until the end of 2016.

EMC doesn't disclose the cost of the technology.

And Mr. Taylor declined to give specific examples of how data use gives his team an advantage, saying race strategy is confidential.

Annual rule changes are also accelerating investment in data technology to improve car design, executives say. This season's regulations require cars designed with less powerful engines, relying on aerodynamic efficiency from a single tailpipe and lower fuel consumption.

F1 drivers have to watch over 20 controls, including overtake and torque, as they race for two hours at speeds of up to 350 kilometers a hour in a cockpit whose temperature can reach 50 degrees Celsius.

Antonio Felix Da Costa, Red Bull's 22-year-old Portuguese reserve driver, says secure radio messages through his earpiece are kept "short" in pressurized race conditions. "[But] you could very easily break down [without data]."

WSJ : Will This Billionaire Bring $3-a-Month Phone Plans to U.S.?

Will This Billionaire Bring $3-a-Month Phone Plans to U.S.?
Iliad's Xavier Niel Points to 'Enormous Potential' in U.S. Market

Xavier Niel, founder of French broadband Internet provider Iliad, says in an interview that he sees huge potential in the U.S. market. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
PARIS—When Iliad SA ILD.FR -7.01% founder Xavier Niel made a last-ditch attempt this spring to buy a French rival to gain scale, his adversaries thought he was bluffing.

"We told them: Either you tell us you are really for sale, or we turn to other options that may make it difficult to come back to this later," Mr. Niel said, referring to his attempt to buy France's No. 3 telecom company, Bouygues SA EN.FR -3.74% 's Bouygues Telecom.

On Thursday, the French billionaire made good on his threat.

Iliad, which he controls, said it offered $15 billion in cash for 56.6% of T-Mobile US, TMUS +1.46% in a bid to bring Mr. Niel's low-cost, high-margin business to what he views as an overpriced U.S. mobile-phone market.

"The competitive landscape in the U.S. is a lot less aggressive than what we are used to in France," Mr. Niel said in an interview. "There is enormous potential. It is almost too good to be true."

Iliad has thrived on its pledge to cut French households' mobile-phone bills in half, a promise long underestimated by its rivals. The telecom operator entered the French mobile market with cutthroat prices of as little as €2—less than $3—a month in 2012, forcing competitors to follow suit and grabbing around 12% market share in two years.

Mr. Niel sees the same opportunity across the Atlantic, a market five times the size of France's. Iliad would slash bills for T-Mobile US's customers while shoring up profits by sharply cutting costs at the U.S.'s fourth-largest telecommunication company, Mr. Niel said.

Analysts generally consider his bid to be a long shot. T-Mobile US is months into talks to be acquired by rival Sprint Corp. S +1.36% , which is owned by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Corp. 9984.TO -1.25% Still, Mr. Niel's interest highlights how the lucrative U.S. market—which has long sustained big profits and dividends for giants Verizon Communications Inc. VZ -1.17% and AT&T Inc. T -0.73% —has captured the attention of telecom moguls overseas and is likely to get more competitive.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son faces a tough antitrust battle to buy T-Mobile US, but he also has promised a price war if he succeeds.


T-Mobile US already is shaking up the industry with an aggressive campaign to win customers by doing away with once-standard features like two-year contracts and high fees for international data use, as well as by paying subscribers to switch. After losing more than four million postpaid customers in 2001 and 2012, T-Mobile US has added more than four million over the past five quarters, according to UBS. AT&T and Verizon have been forced to cut prices to stay competitive.

Mr. Niel says Iliad would add a hefty dose of adrenaline to what T-Mobile US Chief Executive John Legere already has started doing.

"We and T-Mobile are made of the same DNA. We are both aggressive challengers," Mr. Niel said. "John Legere has done a great job at starting to animate competition, but we can do more." He said he wants to work with Mr. Legere as part of any deal.

A T-Mobile US spokesman declined to comment.

Iliad wants to improve T-Mobile US's cost structure by applying its own ultraslim cost base, under which it has kept costs to a minimum in everything from IT services to back office to equipment purchases. Iliad estimates it will be able to save about $2 billion annually by cutting out costs such as sending paper bills, and savings on equipment and IT systems, Mr. Niel said.

He views these costs savings and Iliad's experience at running a profitable, low-cost operations as part of the synergies of any deal. He argues that Iliad already has higher profit margins than T-Mobile US despite garnering lowering revenue per customer. The U.S. had average monthly revenue per user of $45.77 at the end of the first quarter, compared with $30.14 in France, according to mobile-industry trade group GSMA.

But before Mr. Niel can execute his American dream, Iliad has to win over T-Mobile US's board, which could prove a formidable challenge.

Iliad first approached a T-Mobile US board member in early June and has had "discussions" with members of the board in the past two months prior to making its indicative offer, Mr. Niel said. Iliad has asked T-Mobile US to give it access to its financial accounts to conduct due diligence for five to six weeks before completing its offer, he added.

Sprint and T-Mobile US don't have a formal agreement, but the companies and their largest shareholders—SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom AG—have agreed to the broad outlines of a deal valuing T-Mobile US at roughly $32 billion, more than Iliad is offering.

"Our offer is fair, and it is the only one that is real," Mr. Niel said. "You cannot compare it with an offer that doesn't exist."

The entrepreneur, who made his fortune in tech investments, is convinced Iliad's bid stands a better chance than Sprint's as it represents a much lower antitrust hurdle, would let consumers benefit from cheaper prices and would preserve more jobs. He said Iliad has no plans to cut jobs drastically or close T-Mobile US retail stores.

A deal with Sprint is expected to face a tough fight from antitrust authorities, who have made clear they don't want to see further consolidation among top industry players.


Investors showed Friday that Iliad's bid has plenty of challenges of its own. Its shares fell 7% in Paris trading as analysts expressed concerns over how Iliad would finance the deal, its lack of experience with large acquisitions internationally and the lofty task of convincing T-Mobile US that its cost savings will create more value than the synergies created in a merger with Sprint.

"To say this is surprising is something of an understatement; it is one of the most bizarre bits of potential M&A we have ever witnessed in the sector," said analysts from Espirito Santo in a note to investors.

Mr. Niel rejects these concerns. He said Iliad has lined up financing from a consortium of banks led by BNP Paribas SA BNP.FR +0.53% and HSBC. HSBA.LN -1.12%

He says he is sticking to the same principle that has guided his ascent from a teenage computer programmer in a working class Paris suburb to one of France's richest men.

"I always follow the same idea: Start small and disrupt to create something big," he said.

(Barron's) Despite Its Woes, Adidas Still Has Game

Despite Its Woes, Adidas Still Has Game
The sporting-goods maker's shares plunged after a profit warning, but they will rebound as the company alters strategies.

Adidas shares plummeted last week after the sporting-goods manufacturer served up a profit warning for the year, but they look like good value for investors prepared to play the long game while the company sorts out its problems.

The shares (ADS.Germany) lost almost 20% of their value last week, closing Friday at 58.35 euros ($78.36), or 13.7 times forecast 2015 earnings. But they look cheap compared with rivals Nike (NKE) at a multiple of almost 23, PUMA (PUM.Germany) at 24, and Under Armour (UA) at almost 56.

There's no denying Adidas has a tough job on its hands, but the disparity in valuation with rivals looks extreme. Its shares, which trade almost 40% below their 52-week high, could begin to rebound with tentative signs of improvement.

A consensus of analysts' estimates gives Adidas a 12-month price target of €74.76, or almost 30% above the current price, although some analysts haven't yet updated their numbers or recommendations following last week's announcement. The Herzogenaurach, Germany–based company reports second-quarter earnings in full on August 7. Adidas still could offer a dividend yield of more than 2%, which would compare favorably with its rivals.

But for now, in golfing parlance, Adidas is in the bunker–and the sand is deep.

Adidas, which makes sportswear and sporting equipment under the Adidas, TaylorMade, and Reebok brands, cut its estimate for full-year profit to around €650 million from a prior range between €830 million and €930 million, citing difficulties in the market for golf equipment, problems in Russia, and an increase in marketing investments following the soccer World Cup.

The company, which has a market value of €12.23 billion, earned a profit of €839 million last year, or €4 per share. Earnings per share are currently forecast at €3.57 for 2014 and €4.25 for 2015.

Adidas' fortunes resemble those of PUMA, although the Kering (KER.France) subsidiary hasn't revised its full-year earnings forecast. While PUMA's 2014 revenues are forecast to shrink, those of Adidas are expected to be up slightly at €14.70 billion. PUMA's shares (PUM.Germany), which closed Friday at €185.20, have been treated somewhat more kindly, falling only 20% in 2014.

In truth, the top end of Adidas' previous range for full-year earnings was optimistic. And the weakness in Russia, including the softening ruble, is hardly a surprise given simmering political tensions in the region and the softening domestic economy. Even the slide in the popularity of golf has been flagged in recent weeks.

The problems are exacerbated for Adidas because Russia is one of its so-called "attack markets." Along with North America and Greater China (which for most nations includes Taiwan and Hong Kong), Adidas anticipated that the trio would contribute 50% of sales growth. Now Adidas is shifting from attack to defense. It is reversing a plan to open more stores in Russia and closing them instead to protect profits. Coming on the heels of distribution woes, it is a chastening experience.

Golf sales in the second quarter fell 18% due to poor retail sentiment and the slow liquidation of old inventory. Adidas plans to restructure its golf business, but the National Golf Foundation's finding that 400,000 players quit the sport in the U.S. last year suggests the issue goes beyond Adidas.

That may explain in part why the company is keen to splurge even more on soccer. In the aftermath of the World Cup, in which it provided the uniform with its signature three stripes for the winning German team, it is looking to drive faster growth in developed markets in North America and Western Europe.

Rivals will defend their turf, but Adidas has strong brand recognition, deep pockets, and determination. This game is far from over.

>>> Barron’s Summary: Positive on EMC, AMZN, USTR, AKAM

Barron’s Summary: Positive on EMC, AMZN, USTR, AKAM 

Features: Positive on EMC: even if the data-storage giant resists spinning off VMWare investors still likely to profit; Positive on DHI: fast growth and depressed shares offer investors an undervalued buy play in a strengthening housing market; Positive on USTR: shift in focus from office supplies to janitorial/industrial goods should drive profits. 

Tech Trader: Positive on AMZN: investors losing patience with the loss-averse strategy but the companys push for $9.99 ebooks gaining traction and could lead to an iTunes-like revolution in the publishing industry; Positive on AKAM: growing internet traffic and proliferation of hackers combine to produce perfect growth opportunities for the internet-security and traffic-control company. 

Trader: Negative on HLF: company survived Ackman presentation and then succumbed to 20% decline after poor earnings with more risk ahead due to its exposure to weak Venezuelan bolivar; Positive on DSW: discount footwear retailers outlook is better than recent performance indicates as shares now trade at attractice levels. 

Follow-Up: Cautious on TWTR: Concerned the social company wont be profitable for some time; Positive on TV: Mexican media company performed strongly last year and looks set to continue outperforming. 

Asian Trader: Cautious on Samsung Electronics (005930.KR): company in transition but remains a long-term play for investors willing to wait. 

European Trader: Positive on Adidas AG (ADS.DE): despite recent downturn the company is poised for growth through strong brand recognition and deep cash reserves; Cautious on Banco Espirito: disclosure of its exposure to parent (Banco Espirito Santo International) will make for a rough future. 

Emerging Markets: Positive on India/Indonesia: electoral developments have optimism surging in the two countries; Positive on Chinas recent crackdown on corruption driving growth; Cautious on Thailand as it struggles with instability. 

Striking Price: Fed Action: concerns over a possible Fed-driven bubble circling as the central bank seemingly moves into market management as well as the economy.

>>> Japan govt considering eliminating or scaling down some of the business ince

Japan govt considering eliminating or scaling down some of the business incentives set to expire at the end of FY14/15 to lessen the budget impact from corporate tax cut - Nikkei 
- Incentives said to include preferential measures that ease the tax burden on smaller companies as well as tax breaks for plant and equipment investment; Total revenue saving under consideration seen around ¥250B.

WSJ's Hilsenrath: Fed Can Be Patient on Rate-Hike Debate After Data

WSJ's Hilsenrath: Fed Can Be Patient on Rate-Hike Debate After Data
Underlying Details of Jobs Report Also Includes Several Encouraging Developments

The Federal Reserve was left on a patient course as it weighs interest-rate increases after a roster of economic reports Friday pointed to steady U.S. job growth and firming—but still low—inflation and wages.

A Commerce Department report showed the Fed's favored measure of inflation—the personal consumption expenditure price index—was up 1.6% in June, its 26th straight month below the Fed's 2% inflation goal, though higher than readings at 1% and below last year. Meantime, the Labor Department reported average hourly earnings of private-sector workers were up 2% from a year earlier, unchanged from the range of the past few years.

That could give Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen leeway to stick to a plan to keep short-term rates near zero until well into 2015. Still, Ms. Yellen is facing increasing internal pressure from easy-money skeptics on her policy committee to move more quickly toward rate increases.

In a statement Friday, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Plosser pointed to current inflation and employment levels to argue that the going Fed schedule for weighing rate increases "remains well behind what I consider to be appropriate given our goals."

Mr. Plosser dissented at the Fed's policy meeting this past week, wanting a shift away from easy-money policies.

Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed, said in an appearance on CNBC television that rates might need to rise in early 2015. Mr. Fisher said he didn't dissent at the last meeting because he felt officials were moving in this direction by recognizing firming inflation.

The Fed released projections in June showing most officials didn't expect to move until 2015, and officials have quietly encouraged the market's view that they won't move until the middle of the year.

The job market has improved much more quickly than Fed officials expected several months ago. In December 2013, for example, they projected the unemployment rate would remain between 6.3% and 6.6% through the end of 2014. Instead the rate fell to 6.1% by June.

Another decline in July would have ratcheted up pressure on Ms. Yellen to move more quickly. Instead the Labor Department reported Friday the rate rose to 6.2% in July.

An influx of job searchers in July appeared to increase the count of unemployed. The labor force increased 329,000 last month, which suggests people are becoming more encouraged about seeking out work. The report showed a 141,000 influx of "re-entrants" into the labor force in July, people who hadn't been looking for work but started again.

That last data point fits with the narrative Ms. Yellen has been describing, in which a healthier economy draws more searchers into the labor market, an influx of labor supply that could hold down wages and inflation and give the Fed space to keep rates low.

Some analysts say Ms. Yellen risks falling behind the curve in keeping interest rates so low as the jobless rate falls back near historic norms.

The Fed is being "extraordinarily aggressive as the economy moves back toward normal times," said Laurence Meyer, senior managing director of Macroeconomic Advisers, a research and economic-advisory firm.

Mr. Meyer served as a Fed governor with Ms. Yellen when she was a Fed governor in the 1990s. The two were regular allies in policy debates.

"Why take that risk," he asked, "when you're already at or very close to full employment and policy is extraordinarily accommodative?"

(BFW) Permira Said to Seek Buyer for $5.5b Stake in Hugo Bos


Permira Said to Seek Buyer for $5.5b Stake in Hugo Boss
2014-08-01 15:41:34.123 GMT


By Jim Silver
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Permira in talks with advisers about
potential sale of remaining 56% stake, 3 people with knowledge
of the matter tell Bloomberg’s Aaron Ricadela, Kiel Porter and
Ruth David
* No decision has been made
* Permira’s preference is to sell the stake in a single
transaction because a series of sales to institutional
investors could hurt the stock price
* Representatives for Permira and Hugo Boss decline comment

Link to full story: NSN N9MWPT6JTSED<GO>

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

To contact the reporter on this story:
Jim Silver in New York at +1-212-617-7342 or
jsilver@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrea Snyder at +1-202-624-1831 or
asnyder5@bloomberg.net

(ILS) Finmeccanica: sono Bombardier e Hitachi a essere in co


Finmeccanica: sono Bombardier e Hitachi a essere in corsa per Breda e Sts
2014-08-01 14:46:52.911 GMT


(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Roma, 01 ago - Sono Bombardier e
Hitachi, come riferiscono a Radiocor fonti qualificate, i due
gruppi rimasti in lizza per presentare un'offerta a
Finmeccanica per il business dei Trasporti (AnsaldoBreda e
Ansaldo Sts che il gruppo controlla con il 40%). Il nome
della canadese Bombardier, gia' partner di Breda nella
commessa per il nuovo treno ad alta velocita' Frecciarossa
1000 destinato alle Fs e interessata a crescere nel settore
del segnalamento, circola ormai da tempo. Erano piu' defilati
negli ultimi tempi, invece, i giapponesi di Hitachi, che
comunque furono tra i primi a mostrare interesse in questa
partita che si sta giocando ormai da anni sulla possibile
dismissione del settore trasporti di Finmeccanica. Sembra
dunque tramontato l'interesse dei cinesi di Insigma and China
CNR Corp, manifestato per Breda e Sts non piu' tardi di
qualche mese fa, cosi' come quello della francese Thales che
comunque puntava alla sola Ansaldo Sts
Oggi l'amministratore delegato e direttore generale di
Finmeccanica, Mauro Moretti, durante il suo primo incontro
con la comunita' finanziaria, ha detto che sono due i gruppi
interessati in questo momento nella data room aperta dal
gruppo sui conti delle due aziende. Gruppi che hanno chiesto
una proroga fino alla fine di agosto per poter presentare
un'offerta. Una decisione sulle eventuali offerte, ha
assicurato Moretti, sara' presa entro il mese di ottobre.
Massimiliano Zampini
(RADIOCOR) 01-08-14 16:46:48 (0494)NEWS,SITO,SOLE 3 NNNN

Il sole 24 ore 2006. All rights reserved.

-0- Aug/01/2014 14:46 GMT