TheChek News Flow

LANXESS management could sell co to a large competitor , Boerse online said . price of € 65 or more possible (ransquawk)

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Weidmueller to Offer EU47.50/Shr in Cash for R. Stahl 2014-04-10 05:40:51.169 GMT

By Jurjen van de Pol April 10 (Bloomberg) -- R. Stahl shares closed at EU32.11 in Frankfurt yday. * Statement: http://tinyurl.com/odpa4e2

Link to Company News:{RSL2 GR <Equity> CN <GO>} Link to Company News:{191159Z GR <Equity> CN <GO>}

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jurjen van de Pol at +49-69-9204-1104 or jvandepol@bloomberg.net

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

LVMH 1Q WRAP: Fashion & Leather Sales Beat Is Highlight 2014-04-10 05:43:42.544 GMT

By Heather Burke April 10 (Bloomberg) -- LVMH 1Q sales were a bit weaker than estimated, improved “where it really matters,” says UBS (buy). * High point a beat in Fashion & Leather sales, boosted by price increases; Louis Vuitton commentary suggests brand repositioning underway * Wines & Spirits main reason for sales being a bit softer than estimated, China cognac results shouldn’t be surprise

Bernstein (outperform): * Fashion & Leather sales “stellar,” progress in Louis Vuitton repositioning * Wine & Spirits, Watches & Jewelry, Perfumes & Cosmetics missed mkt ests. * Wine & Spirits “lackluster,” mainly due to Chinese retailers overstocking in 4Q13 * Negative FX of 500bps part of sales miss

Citi (buy): * Vuitton strength to help shrs even with S-T weakness in cognac, perfumes, watches * Acceleration in Fashion & Leather/Vuitton is positive outcome amid weak trends at soft luxury peers such as Prada, Gucci brand. Hugo Boss, Tod’s * 2014 consensus Ebit of EU6.45b may stay generally unchanged

* NOTE: Call tomorrow 3:30pm CET +44 (0) 207 107 1613 or +33 (0)1 70 77 09 34

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

To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Burke in London at +44-20-7673-2044 or hburke2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Ludden at +44-20-7673-2645 or jludden@bloomberg.net

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Carrefour 1Q Rev. In Line With Ests., Spain Sales Rise 2014-04-10 05:30:19.754 GMT

By Heather Burke April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Carrefour 1Q total sales EU19.8b, est. EU19.8b (median of 13). * 1Q sales hurt by FX effect, lag in Easter holidays, drop in fuel prices * 1Q total France sales down 0.9%; organic growth ex-fuel, ex- calendar 1.4% * 1Q other European countries sales down 2.2%; organic growth ex-fuel, ex-calendar down 1.2% * 1Q emerging mkts sales down 9.2%; organic growth ex-fuel, ex-calendar up 10.5% * 1Q France hypermarket LFL sales ex-fuel ex-calendar up 0.7%; food sales rose in qtr * 1Q France supermarket LFL sales ex-fuel ex-calendar up 1.8% * 1Q Spain LFL sales up 0.6%, Italy LFL down 5.9%, Belgium up 1.5% * 1Q Brazil LFL up 6.4% * 1Q China LFL down 3.1% * Preview here * Call +33 (0)1 70 77 09 58

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

To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Burke in London at +44-20-7673-2044 or hburke2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Ludden at +44-20-7673-2645 or jludden@bloomberg.net

Key Statements from the FOMC

* The information reviewed for the March 18-19 meeting indicated that economic growth slowed early this year, likely only in part because of the temporary effects of the unusually cold and snowy winter weather. Total payroll employment expanded further, while the unemployment rate held steady, on balance, and was still elevated. Consumer price inflation continued to run below the Committee's longer-run objective, but measures of longer-run inflation expectations remained stable. * Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in January and February at a slower pace than in the fourth quarter of last year. * Manufacturing production was roughly flat, on balance, in January and February, in part because of the effects of the severe winter weather, which held down both motor vehicle output and production outside the motor vehicle sector. * Real personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased a little, on net, in December and January. * The pace of activity in the housing sector appeared to soften. * Measures of labor compensation indicated that increases in nominal wages remained subdued. * Financial market conditions in the United States over the intermeeting period appeared to have been influenced by an easing of concerns about developments in the EMEs but relatively little affected by the generally weaker-than-expected economic data, which market participants appeared to attribute in large part to the temporary effects of unusually severe winter weather. On balance, U.S. financial conditions remained supportive of growth in economic activity and employment: The expected path of the federal funds rate was little changed, longer-term yields on Treasury securities edged down, equity prices rose, speculative-grade corporate bond spreads narrowed, and the foreign exchange value of the dollar depreciated slightly. * Broad stock price indexes rose over the intermeeting period, apparently boosted by a solid finish to the corporate earnings season. Equity prices were also supported by a broad increase in investors' willingness to take riskier positions, in part likely reflecting an easing of concerns about EMEs early in the period... House prices registered a further notable rise in January. * The staff's assessment was that the unusually severe winter weather could account for some, but not all, of the recent unanticipated weakness in economic activity, and the staff lowered its projection for near-term output growth. Largely because of the combination of recent downward surprises in the unemployment rate and weaker-than-expected real GDP growth, the staff lowered slightly the assumed pace of potential output growth in recent years and over the projection period. As a result, the staff's medium-term forecast for real GDP growth also was revised down slightly. Nevertheless, the staff continued to project that real GDP would expand at a faster pace over the next few years than it did last year, and that real GDP growth would exceed the growth rate of potential output. * A few participants, however, highlighted factors other than weather that had likely contributed to the slowdown during the first quarter, including slower growth in net exports following its unusually large positive contribution to growth in the fourth quarter of 2013. Moreover, it was noted that some of the pickup in economic growth that had appeared to have been indicated by the data available at the January meeting had been reversed by subsequent data revisions. For many participants, the outlook for economic activity over coming quarters had changed little, on balance, since the time of the December meeting. * While there was general agreement that slack remains in the labor market, participants expressed a range of views regarding the amount of slack and how well the unemployment rate performs as a summary indicator of labor market conditions. Several participants pointed to a number of factors--including the low labor force participation rate and the still-high rates of longer-duration unemployment and of workers employed part time for economic reasons--as suggesting that there might be considerably more labor market slack than indicated by the unemployment rate alone. * However, in light of their concerns about the possible persistence of low inflation, members agreed that inflation developments should be monitored carefully for evidence that inflation was moving back toward the Committee's longer-run objective. * Members again judged that, if the economy continued to develop as anticipated, the Committee would likely reduce the pace of asset purchases in further measured steps at future meetings.

After Hours Summary: RT +9.9%, JOEZ +0.8%, IMPV -34.4%, SIGM -7.3%, APOG -5.6%, BBBY -5.5% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: - RT +9.9%, - JOEZ +0.8%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: - UEC +2.5% (Huber Capital Management disclosed 10.14% passive stake in 13G filing), - RTEC +1.1% (announced favorable ruling in patent infringement lawsuit against Camtek (CAMT)), - CPE +0.8% (SVP bought ~14.6k shares at $8.30 worth ~$120k on April 7)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: - IMPV -34.4%, - SIGM -7.3%, - APOG -5.6%, - BBBY -5.5%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: - TEU -7.6% (announced commencement of public offering of common shares and warrants), - SIGM -7.3% (named Elias Nader Chief Financial Officer; co also reported earnings), - NMFC -2.5% (commenced offering of 3.5 mln shares of common stock), - HYGS -1.1% (announces it filed a final short form $100 mln base shelf prospectus), - CVX -0.5% (issues interim update for Q1: earnings expected to be lower than prior quarter)

Asian Market Update: Strong Aussie jobs overshadowed by another disappointing round of China trade data

***Economic Data*** - (CN) CHINA MAR TRADE BALANCE: +$7.7B V +$1.8BE; Exports Y/Y: -6.6% v +4.8%e; Imports Y/Y: -11.3% v +3.9%e - (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: 18.1K V 2.5KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.8% (3-month low) V 6.1%E; Participation Rate: 64.7% v 64.8%e; Full-Time Employment Change: -22.1K v +80.0K prior; Part-Time Employment Change: +40.2K v -31.8K prior - (AU) AUSTRALIA APR CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 2.4% V 2.1% PRIOR (9-month high) - (KR) BANK OF KOREA (BOK) LEAVES 7-DAY REPO RATE UNCHANGED AT 2.50% (AS EXPECTED; 11TH STRAIGHT PAUSE) - (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR EXPORT PRICE INDEX M/M: -0.4% V +0.7% PRIOR; Y/Y: -4.2% V -3.6% PRIOR; IMPORT PRICE INDEX M/M: -0.5% V +0.9% PRIOR; Y/Y: -4.5% V -4.8% PRIOR - (JP) JAPAN FEB MACHINE ORDERS M/M: -8.8% V -2.6%E PRIOR; Y/Y: 10.8% V 17.5%E PRIOR - (JP) JAPAN MAR BANK LENDING INCL TRUSTS: 2.1% (5-month low) V 2.2% PRIOR; BANK LENDING EXCL TRUSTS: 2.3% V 2.4% PRIOR - (JP) JAPAN MAR TOKYO AVERAGE OFFICE VACANCIES: 6.7% V 7.0% PRIOR - (JP) Japan investors sold net ¥380.5B (net sales for 3rd week) in foreign bonds last week vs sold net ¥763.6B in prior week; Foreign Investors bought net ¥223.6B (net buyers for the 1st time in 4 weeks) in Japan stocks v sold net ¥515.5B in prior week - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAR BUSINESS MANUFACTURING PMI: 58.4 V 56.5 PRIOR (8 months high) - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND ANZ TRUCKOMETER HEAVY M/M: -1.1% V +2.4% PRIOR - (PH) Philippines Feb Exports: $4.65B v $4.38B; Y/Y: 24.4% v 16.6%e prior - (UK) UK MAR RICS HOUSE PRICE BALANCE: 57% V 43%E (4-month high)

Market Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 +0.7%, S&P/ASX +0.4%, Kospi %, Shanghai Composite -0.2%, Hang Seng +0.1%, Jun S&P500 -0.1% at 1,863, Jun gold +0.8% at $1,315, May crude oil -0.4% at $103.22/brl

***Highlights/Observations/Insights*** - FOMC policy meeting minutes were widely perceived as dovish, sending USD/short-term treasury yields lower and gold/stocks higher. Fed officials reinforced expectations they will maintain Fed Funds at low levels even after employment and inflation are near mandate-consistent levels. Some also expressed concern that the shift in Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) "could be misconstrued as indicating a move by the Committee to a less accommodative reaction function," confirming that market interpretation of a more hawkish Fed after the March statement was premature.

- Bed Bath Beyond was the most notable US mover afterhours following earnings. Shares are down 5.7% at the end of extended session after the company missed on the top line and guided Q1 EPS below estimates. Following its initial selloff, BBBY took a further tumble after the conference call when it guided both Q1 and FY14 revenue well short of consensus.

- A rather busy economic calendar in Asia kicked off with disappointing data from Japan, where Feb machine orders fell much further than expected, prompting the govt to cut its assessment on orders to state that rising trend in the segment is stalling. Later in the day, Japan also downgraded its assessment of broader CAPEX - the first time this crucial GDP component was downgraded in 16 months.

- Australia employment offered some brief with a second consecutive month of gains well above consensus. Analysts expected jobless rate to rise to fresh 10-year high of 6.1%, but instead it fell to a 3-month low of 5.8%. Traders were also mindful of outsized gains last month as well as contraction in employment in all sectors of AiG surveys for last month in expectation of a soft print. Note that much of the job gains were in part-time rather than full-time sector, and labor participation rate dropped off by a decimal from prior month's 5-month high.

- On the surface, China's March trade surplus came in higher than expected, but both imports and exports showed a y/y decline against expectations for a rebound from the terrible February report. Customs office attempted to gloss over the disappointing results, expressing optimism that Q2 exports will recover and that 2014 target of 7.5% can still be met. Traders did not take the data nearly as in stride, sending US equity futures and China indices into the red, JPY higher, and AUD off its post-jobs figures highs. Separately, premier Li spoke, reiterating China can accept 2014 GDP below 7.5% target and further negating speculation over a large-scale stimulus to relieve the downward pressure on economy.

- Bank of Korea left rates on hold as widely expected at 2.50% - unchanged for the 11th consecutive month. The new BOK Gov Lee cited an update to the calculation method in lifting 2014 GDP target to 4.0% from 3.8% and also expressing optimism over exports and domestic demand. Regarding the Korean Won, which hit a fresh 5 1/2 year highs going into the decision, Lee said he would support stabilizing FX if one-sided movements continue.

***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (CN) PBoC to drain CNY70B in 14-day repos and CNY44B in 28-day repos (16th consecutive drain); Injects net CNY55B this week v drained CNY62B prior (1st injection in 9 weeks) - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥250B in 1-3 yr JGB, ¥250B in 3-5yr JGB, and ¥400B in 5-10 yr JGB - PIMCO Total Returns Fund reduces US govt debt holdings to 41% from 43% prior

- USD/KRW: Onshore open at KRW1,035 vs KRW1,041 prior close (strongest KRW since Aug 2008) - USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1510 v 6.1490 prior setting (first weaker CNY setting in 3 sessions)

- AUD/USD rose about 60pips above $0.9430 - 4-month highs - after better than expected Aussie jobs data before retreating toward $0.94 handle after China trade numbers. NZD/USD hit multi-year highs as well, approachign $0.8750. JPY pairs are under added pressure from risk-off flows after China trade, with USD/JPY falling below 101.70, down 40pips from the highs.

***Equities*** US markets: - RT: Reports Q3 -$0.07 (adj) v -$0.07e, R$295.6M v $283Me; +12.3% afterhours - CVX: Issues interim Q1 update: Earnings for the quarter are expected to be lower than Q4 as a result of adverse foreign exchange effects and selected asset impairments and related charge; -0.5% afterhours - IMPV: Reports Q1 prelim -$0.44 to -$0.40 v -$0.35e, R$31-31.5M v $36.6Me (previously guided -$0.37 to -$0.33, R$36-37M); -0.8% afterhours - APOG: Reports Q4 $0.27 v $0.31e, R$214.4M v $217Me; -5.6% afterhours - BBBY: Reports Q4 $1.60 v $1.60e, R$3.20B v $3.22Be; -5.7% afterhours - ALLY: Prices 95M share IPO at $25, the low end of $25-28/shr expected range

Notable movers by sector: - Consumer Discretionary: Kintetsu Department Store 8244.JP +3.2% (management changes) - Materials: Dongwu Cement International 695.HK +1.5% (FY13 results) - Technology: Elan Microelectonics 2458.TW -0.7% (Q1 results) - Healthcare: Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical 002603.CN +2.8% (FY13 results); Tianjin Chase Sun Pharmaceutical 300026.CN +3.4% (FY13 results); Sinopharm Group 1099.HK +1.0% (FY13 results) - Telecom: Ten Network TEN.AU +2.7% (H1 results) - Utilities: Transurban TCL.AU +1.0% (Q3 results)

Heartbleed: How and Why to Change Your Passwords A file photo dated Jan. 23, 2012 shows a silhouetted face in front of a computer screen with a fictional password input field in Hanover, Germany. European Pressphoto Agency/Julian Stratenschulte You know how you’ve been meaning to update your passwords? Today’s really the day to do it.

On Monday, security researchers found an issue so scary they called it "Heartbleed." It’s a flaw in an encryption tool used by about two-thirds of Internet servers that could be exploited to leak your login names and passwords.

It’s not clear exactly which services were impacted, or what passwords may have been compromised. But if you have an account on YahooYHOO +3.07%, OKCupid or Github—three popular sites known to have had the vulnerability (and patched it)—you should change your password as soon as possible.

Big Web companies are taking steps to fix the problem. You can check if a service has updated its security by typing in its domain name at https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest. (If everything’s green, it has probably been fixed.)

Even without Heartbleed, passwords have never been more vulnerable, and you should change them for important accounts every 90 days.

Here’s what else you need to know today:

Turn on two-factor authentication Beyond using fresh passwords, it’s now important to adopt an additional defense, available on a growing number of sites, called "two-factor authentication." (It also goes by "second factor," "login verification" or by branding such as, in Bank of America’s case, "SafePass.")

This option, now offered by many email services, banks and social networks, sends you a one-time code (usually via text message) every time you (or anyone else) tries to log into your account. You’ll need to type in that code to access your account.

Use at least five different passwords The biggest mistake you could make is choosing the same password for everything. If your password gets compromised on one site, someone might try to use it elsewhere.

Instead of trying to keep track of unique passwords for every site, memorize groups of them. Start with five key categories: banking, email, social networking, shopping and, finally, sites you visit very infrequently. Within those categories, you can make each password more unique by tacking on a character or two at the end specific to a site, like AZ for Amazon.com.

If there’s a breach in, say, one of your retail sites, you should immediately change all of the passwords in that group, though this strategy may have bought you a little time.

Choose strong passwords What counts as strong? Longer is better; you’ll want passwords at least six to eight characters long that include numbers and characters. If your password appears on lists that hackers have exposed, you’ll need to start over.

Pet and family names are also a bad place to start because criminals might have access to your personal information. They might even be looking at your Facebook posts.

Unfortunately, sites and apps all have different standards. They also have different rules about the number and kinds of characters they’ll allow—some, for example, won’t accept uppercase, while others require it. A friend recently made a project of changing passwords on all 129 accounts in his life, and was ready to pull out his hair when he discovered one site would not accept the ampersand, while another wouldn’t accept a dollar sign.

It’s especially important to have unique passwords for email accounts, because hackers with access to your email can use it to initiate a "forgot my password" recovery process for other sites.

Some people also intentionally give incorrect answers to security-challenge questions on sites—What was your first car? What was the name of your first pet?—so that criminals with information about you still can’t guess the right answer.

There’s help to remember Writing down your passwords on something you keep in your wallet could put them at risk. But it is better to choose stronger passwords that you keep written in a safe place than to choose easily cracked ones that you memorize.

There are good ways to remember longer passwords, however.

The most basic trick is mnemonics. For example, choose passwords based around a phrase or random assortment of words you can remember. Or, use the first letter of every word from the phrase as your password. So, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," could be "ILMHISF."

Don’t just stick to phrases and words that are true in your life. You can also remember phrases that are fabrications, like the wrong name for your dog, that criminals are less likely to guess.

Finally, some people invest in password manager services and apps, such as LastPass, PasswordBox and 1Password, which keep track of passwords and suggest especially strong ones.

Some security experts, though, warn against creating a single point of potential failure with all your passwords, especially if the service stores your passwords remotely. Still, they’re safer than just using "1234" or "password."