>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down

In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: XONE -10.2%, TLYS -8.2%, GES -6.1%, CHL -2.1%, FNV -1.7%, (light volume).

Metals/mining stocks trading lower: GG -1.5%, EGO -1.4%, SLV -1.3%, GDX -0.8%, GLD -0.5%, .

Oil/gas related names showing early weakness: STO -2.9%, TOT -1.7%, SDRL -1.6%, RDS.A -1.6%, RIG -1.5%, BP -1.4% (has begin bidding for Gulf of Mexico leases, according to reports) .

European pharma/drug names trading lower: GSK -1.9% SNY -1.1% NVS -0.9%

Coal names under pressure with analyst comments weighing on select names: WLT -6.5% (cautious coal comments at BofA/Merrill related to falling marginal costs depressing price; WLT estimates sharply lowered; also prices $200 mln of 9.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 and $350 mln of Senior Secured Second Lien PIK Toggle Notes due 2020), ANR -2.2%, ACI -1.6%, BTU-1.3%

3-D printing names lower following XONE earnings: SSYS -1.5%, DDD -1.2%

Other news: AGEN -11.6% (Agenus and GSK's MAGE-A3 cancer immunotherapeutic Phase 3 study in non-small cell lung cancer misses first co-primary endpoints ), BEAT -9.8% (Announces the Acquisition of the Cardiac Patient Services Business of Biomedical Systems, Corp. for aggregate consideration of $8.65 million at closing), FCEL -5.3% (still checking), CIDM -5.1% (announces proposed public offering of common stock), CSBK -4.5% (announces stock offering results; received orders for ~$170.6 mln of common stock), NBY -2.4% (announces proposed public offering of common stock and warrants), KNDI -2.3% (continuing yesterday's modest pullback), PHG -1.9% (still checking), SGMO -1.5% (announces public offering of $100 mln of common stock), RCL -1.2% (still checking), HPP -0.6% (prices 3,511,845 shares of its common stock by selling share holders), FSLR -0.6% (following yesterday's Analyst Day), NQ -0.5% (attributed to Whitney Tilson cautious mention), EBAY -0.5% (announces it continues to believe PayPal and Ebay are better together), CYH -0.4% (nnounces definitive agreement to lease Ocala, Florida hospital), TSLA -0.4% (NY lawmakers plan to fight against direct sales ban)

Analyst comments: UA -1.9% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee), BYI -1.7% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman), XEL -1.4% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman), ORCL -0.9% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus), AEE -0.7% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman), NEE -0.5% (removed from Conviction Buy list at Goldman)

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: CRMB +12.5%, MLHR +5.5%, BGMD +4.1% (light volume, also announces issuance of patent covering Galectin-3 testing for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy), RGDX +3.4% (light volume), LEN +2.1%, TSL +1.6% (announces receipt of favorable arbitration award and adjusts fourth quarter and full year 2013 earnings results), CAG +1.4%, JBL+1%, SVA +1%, CTAS +0.7%.

Other news: SNTA +21.1% (announces positive interim results from the ENCHANT-1 trial of ganetespib in metastatic breast cancer at the 9th European Breast Cancer Conference; all objective responses were confirmed by independent radiological review), DCTH +11.4% (continued strength), NAVB +8% (provides update on European Marketing Authorization Application for Lymphoseek: 'Committee will continue with its review of the MAA'), MNGA +8% (selected for four demolition projects), GERN +7.5% (reports Myelofibrosis IST placed on partial clinical hold), TNGO +5.4% (still checking), AEG +2.5% (strength in overseas trading that was attributed to US rate outlook), MT +1.4% (still checking), VOYA +0.8% (prices 33.8 mln shares of common stock; upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank), FPRX +0.7% (discloses it entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb), SUNE +0.6% (announces private placement of shares to Samsung in connection with SunEdison Semiconductor IPO), SGEN +0.6% (following positive MadMoney mention).

Analyst comments: REPH +7.2% (initiated with a Buy at Brean), ZIOP +3.1% ( initiated with a Buy at Mizuho), ZLTQ +2% ( initiated with a Buy at Stifel), ULTA +1.7% ( upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman), YUM +0.3% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at First Global)

(Nomura) Accor - Easier to dispose than to acquire

* Accor (ACCP.PA): Easier to dispose than to acquire

* Strategic flip from disposals/capital returns to increased asset intensity
Accor‟s new strategy recognises the previous plan to exit owned/leased assets was
unworkable and risked giving away value. Its new internal propco enables it to retain the
benefit of turning around underperforming assets, but does not address the legacy of previous
sale and leasebacks. This can only be done through asset repurchases, meaning investors
are essentially now reliant on Accor‟s acquisition rather than divestment skills.

* Internal split brings discipline and showcases growth in HotelServices
Management hopes that the Services business will be faster growing and deserving of a
multiple in line with its asset-light peers. The pipeline of 116k asset-light rooms suggests 25%
growth in system size and Accor is well placed to lead the structural growth in European
franchising. Our main reservation is that the market has historically undervalued hybrid
assets, meaning that a demerger may be necessary to unlock the sum of the parts – this is
not practical until the contribution from leased assets has been reduced from 46% to less than
25%, which will take several years to implement.

* Near-term RevPAR outlook dominated by France; VAT impact will weigh
Accor‟s share price has been strong (+8% YTD relative to E300) as investors look for cyclical
European exposure. However, Accor is not a diversified European bellwether as 34% of
revenues come from France where the hotel cycle is yet to improve. Notably, the risk from the
recent increase in VAT on French hotels (from 7% to 10% on 1 January) creates a headwind
to pricing power that is likely to be evident in Accor‟s 1Q results on 17 April.

* 2014E P/E of 24x, 18.1x blue sky EPS and 3x BV are full, in our view
From a valuation perspective, we believe the market is already pricing in the earnings upside
from the opco/propco split. Our SOTP based on blue sky 2016E EBITDA gives our new target
price of EUR 35.40. Valuing the property business as a REIT based on an NAV multiple of
1.4x and dividend yield of 5.1% gives a fair value range of EUR 39.3-42.3. This best-case
scenario is virtually priced into the shares (7% upside to midpoint) despite being an uncertain
outcome. Please read on for more details.

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: CRMB +12.5%, DCTH +11.4%, NAVB +8%, LEN +6%, MLHR +5.5%, MCP +4.1%, PLUG +3.1%, AEG +2.5%, JBL +1.9%, MT+1.4%, T +1.3%, SVA +1%, VOYA +0.8%, FPRX +0.7%, CTAS +0.7%

Gapping down: AGEN -30.2%, XONE -9.1%, TLYS -8.2%, WLT -6.5%, GES -6.1%, FCEL -5.3%, CIDM -5.1%, CSBK -4.5%, NBY -2.4%, CHL-2.1%, PHG -1.9%, BCS -1.9%, SDRL -1.6%, SGMO -1.5%, SSYS -1.5%, GG -1.5%, RIG -1.5%, BP -1.4%, BP -1.3%, SLV -1.3%, DDD -1.2%,RCL -1.2%, SNY -1.1%, HPP -0.6%, FSLR -0.6%, NQ -0.5%, EBAY -0.5%

RTR- HP CEO says to flesh out entry into 3D-printing market in June

(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co will outline plans to enter the commercial 3D-printing market in June, saying it has solved a number of technical problems that have hindered broader adoption of the high-tech manufacturing process.
HP's foray is set to give added momentum to a fledgling industry so far dominated by smaller players like Stratasys unit Makerbot, and could help counter criticism that the sci-fi-like technology is over-hyped and still too immature for widespread consumer adoption.
Chief Executive Meg Whitman told shareholders on Tuesday the company will make a "big technology announcement" in June on how it will approach the market, saying inhouse researchers have resolved limitations involved with the quality of substrates used in the process, which affects the durability of finished products.
Another issue is the glacial speed with which objects actually print, Whitman said.
"It's like watching ice melt. And the quality of today's 3D printing is not as good as it should be -- the surface of the substrate is not perfect," she told an annual shareholders meeting. "We actually think we've solved these problems."
"The bigger market is going to be in the enterprise space," manufacturing parts and prototypes in ways that were not possible before, she added.
Industry observers have long expected HP, the largest of several printer-making companies from Canon to Xerox, to eventually get into the business.
The nascent but fast-growing technology may represent an interesting new area for HP, which is struggling to drum up revenue growth amid a global decline in PC sales and a difficult transition toward becoming more of a provider of networking, storage and services for enterprise clients.
HP executives have estimated that worldwide sales of 3D printers and related software and services will grow to almost $11 billion (6.6 billion pounds) by 2021 from a mere $2.2 billion in 2012.
MakerBot concentrates on selling more affordable devices to consumers, while contract manufacturers like Flextronics use the technology to help craft prototype parts or devices for corporate clients.
"HP is currently exploring the many possibilities of 3D printing and the company will play an important role in its development," CTO and HP Labs director Martin Fink said in a February blogpost on HP's website.
"The fact is that 3D printing is really still an immature technology, but it has a magical aura. The sci-fi movie idea that you can magically create things on command makes the idea of 3D printing really compelling for people."

RTR- Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn-led hedge fund aims to raise $2 billion

(Reuters) - Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn plans to raise $2 billion in a macro hedge fund, his firm, LSK & Partners, said on Thursday, as investors continue to back a low-risk and rapidly growing investment strategy.

The venture marks Strauss-Kahn's first partnership with an asset manager for the DSK Global Investment Fund that will invest globally, Mohamad Zeidan, the firm's chief operating officer told Reuters.

Strauss-Kahn will manage the fund with his daughter and economist, Vanessa Strauss-Kahn, and is currently on a trip to China to raise capital for the hedge fund from institutional investors and wealthy individuals.

"China plays and will play a predominant role in this fund," Zeidan told Reuters in an interview in Shanghai, where he is promoting the fund. He said the fund is awaiting regulatory approval from Luxemburg before it can start raising the money.

"We have met with the largest groups in each sector and I'm talking to the financial sector, insurance companies, bankers, financial groups, private and public," he added.

China, home to some 643,000 millionaires in 2012, according to a Capgemini and RBC Wealth report, and large institutional investors, is seen as a major source of capital for alternative investments such as hedge funds and private equity funds.

Institutions such as China Investment Corp, the country's sovereign wealth fund, as well as China's currency regulator and National Social Security Fund, have been actively seeking opportunities to diversify into alternative investments.

Strauss-Kahn, who is the special economic adviser to the Serbian government, joined forces in 2013 with Thierry Leyne, a civil engineer and a member of the french society of financial analysts, to create LSK & Partners.

LSK & Partners' Luxembourg-based hedge fund will rely on Strauss-Kahn's analysis of economic, financial and political events and other policy trends that affect market prices.

Macro hedge funds focus on major economic trends and events and bet anywhere they see value, including stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities and derivatives markets.

Such funds managed $166 billion at the end of February in the $2 trillion global hedge funds industry and raised $16.3 billion last year, data from Eurekahedge shows.

FT :Tax havens set deadline to open up with automatic data exchange

Tax havens set deadline to open up with automatic data exchange

The British Virgin Islands, Liechtenstein and Jersey are among 44 countries that have set a deadline of September 2017 for reporting investors’ tax details to their home governments, under pioneer plans aimed at leaving “no hiding place for tax evasion”.
An “ambitious but realistic” timetable for automatic tax information exchange was unveiled by the countries that have pledged to become early adopters of the system.


The countries said the plan would “provide a step change in our ability to clamp down on tax evasion, which reduces public revenues and increases the burden on those who pay their taxes”.
The initiative includes the UK’s Crown Dependencies and overseas territories, along with much of Europe, India, Argentina and Colombia. Luxembourg did not appear on the latest statement, despite previously agreeing to be an early adopter of information exchange.
The inclusion of many once secretive offshore centres in the system will pave the way for pressure to be exerted on tax havens that resist signing up. In a joint statement, they said their decision to move quickly on tax transparency recognised “that only those financial centres which adopt the highest standards in tax transparency and work in close co-operation to tackle cross-border tax evasion will prosper in the future”.
The plan will require banks to put in place procedures to record new clients’ tax residence from January 2016. Procedures for identifying existing accounts will be needed by December 2016 for high value accounts or December 2017 for low-value accounts or those held through a company, trust or foundation.
The details to be reported include interest, dividends, account balance, income from certain insurance products, sales proceeds from financial assets and other income generated from assets held in the account.
The move to automatic information exchange between tax authorities will impose significant costs on financial institutions but will mark a step change in the information available to tax authorities, expanding the scope and cutting the costs of investigations.
Nearly all EU countries and some other countries exchange information about the interest earned on bank accounts but the new standard is much wider in scope and includes all types of investment income and capital gains.
The huge deficits that opened up following the global financial crisis and a series of evasion scandals have prompted governments to mount a concerted attack on evasion. Since 2009, tax authorities have been able to request information about offshore accounts but only in cases where they have grounds for suspicion.
The catalyst for the latest move to prise open secretive tax havens was US legislation known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), passed in 2010 in the wake of a scandal involving UBS, the Swiss bank.
Last year European governments agreed to adopt their version of Fatca, and the UK secured similar agreements with its crown dependencies and overseas territories.