(BFW) Weir Group Could Be Forced to Relocate HQ If Yes Vote: Scotsman

 BN 06/19 15:19 *SCOTSMAN REPORTS COCHRANE'S COMMENTS FROM MEETING OF ICAS TODAY
 BN 06/19 15:19 *WEIR GROUP COULD BE FORCED TO RELOCATE HQ IF YES VOTE: SCOTSMAN
 BN 06/19 15:19 *COCHRANE: SCOTLAND `YES' WOULD FACE DELAY IN INVESTMENT: SCOTS
 BN 06/19 15:19 *WEIR GROUP CHAIR COCHRANE WARNS ON SCOTLAND YES VOTE: SCOTSMAN
Weir Group Could Be Forced to Relocate HQ If Yes Vote: Scotsman
2014-06-19 15:26:36.580 GMT


By Angelina Rascouet
     June 19 (Bloomberg) -- http://bit.ly/1pmRHLJ

Link to Company News:{WEIR LN <Equity> CN <GO>}

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First Word scrolling panel: {FIRST<GO>}
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To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Angelina Rascouet at +44-20-7392-0424 or
arascouet1@bloomberg.net

WSJ : ‘Wall of Liquidity’ Headed to Emerging Markets

The fear that emerging markets will lack liquidity has been overstated, partly because the “wall of liquidity” beginning to come out of Japan has been ignored by the market, Franklin Templeton Investments fund manager Michael Hasenstab says.

The Bank of Japan is embarking on its largest ever quantitative easing effort and is on a path to start printing $1 trillion a year, which will be “quite meaningful” to emerging markets, Mr. Hasenstab told nearly 2,000 attendees at Wednesday’s opening session of the 2014 Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago.

Japan’s huge pool of savings has begun to shrink as its population ages and the only entity big enough to fund its debt is the government, he said. That gives him confidence that Japan is going to be “massively expanding” its quantitative easing for some time, he said.

“We think that global liquidity is going to be fairly abundant for many emerging markets,” Mr. Hasenstab said.

As for the impact of interest-rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve, there are big differences between now and the mid-1990s, when the Fed raised rates and emerging markets had a lot of trouble, he said.

Pretty much across the board, these markets have doubled or tripled their international reserves, a cushion they didn’t have in the 1990s, he said.

In addition, many emerging-market nations have delevered massively their government balance sheets through decades of prudent fiscal policy, Mr. Hasenstab said. Korea, for example, has around 30% debt-to-GDP, and the Ukraine has only 40% debt-to-GDP, he said.

“We can no longer be universal about emerging-market economies,” but there is adequate liquidity and China will be a source of stability, he said. “We want to be very selective country-by-country.”

As for the bond markets, they will face losses and his concern now is how to deliver positive returns. He’s shifted his portfolio almost entirely into very short duration assets and is “selectively adding short duration assets in countries of good quality globally,” he said.

He now has long-dollar positions against the yen and the euro. When the Fed ends its tapering and begins raising rates, Japan and Europe will still be printing money, which is bullish for the dollar, he said.

“We think the dollar will decline in value over time against place” like Korea and Mexico, he said.

“There are opportunities, but it’s a smaller pool and you have to be very careful,” Mr. Hasenstab said of emerging markets.

>>> COH -5.5% - guiding down...

Coach Inc Guides initial FY15 Rev down double digits, gross margin 69-70%, capex ~$400M; guides initial FY16 Rev up low single digits, expect to return to sustainable growth in FY16-17 - analyst day
- Pledges to maintain the dividend

>>> Nikkei - Quick chart - Next few days will be interesting...

It will be very interesting to watch Nikkei on the next few days to see if it manages to break strong resistance aropund these levels.

Comments form Abe & news on part of Equities in Pension Fund will be key to boost Nikkei on Higher Levels, I think we can break these levels.

Watch quick chart attached.

See a lot of investors re investing in Asia & Emerging...positive momentum for next few months

WSJ : Why Are Some Mega Deals More Likely to Default?

The average default rate for the past six years of some of the largest buyouts in the U.S. is nearly three times as high as similarly rated non-buyout backed companies, according to new data from Moody’s Investors Services.

The average default rate represents the incidents of default among Moody’s sample sets during a given period.

Five of 10 megadeals analyzed by Moody’s, each with more than $10 billion of debt, have defaulted. That includes two that have filed for bankruptcy protection: Energy Future Holdings Corp. and Chrysler LLC , which filed in 2009, two years after being bought out by Cerberus Capital Management.

The companies have defaulted at an average annual rate of 17.8% since 2008, compared with 6.4% for similarly rated non-private equity-backed companies for the same period. The ratings firm defines default as a failure to make an interest or principal payment; a bankruptcy filing; or a distressed exchange whereby creditors are offered restructured debt often at steep discounts to the value of the original debt.

Other large private equity-backed companies that fit this criteria include Clear Channel Communications Inc ., Caesars Entertainment Operating Co . and Freescale Semiconductor Inc.

By contrast, the five other megadeals analyzed by Moody’s were performing better.

Alltel Communications Inc . was sold to Verizon Wireless in 2008, a few months after it was acquired by TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners , earning a reported $1.3 billion profit for the buyout firms. HCA Holdings Inc.HCA -0.14% was upgraded a few months after its 2011 initial public offering. Hertz HTZ +1.09% Corp ., First Data Corp . and Univision Communications Inc . all managed to avoid falling into distress despite their high leverage levels.

One reason for the different outcomes of the megadeals is the industries they operate in, said John Rogers, a senior vice president of Moody’s who co-authored the report. Hospital operator HCA and semiconductor company Freescale, for instance, were subject to very different sector trends.

“The cyclicality of the industries is vastly different,” said Mr. Rogers.

Some of the headwinds faced by failed companies were somewhat outside the control of their buyout sponsors, said Mr. Rogers, citing Energy Future Holdings as an example. “Not many people sitting around in 2007 were thinking about shale gas,” he said.

Nonetheless, heavy debt loads left the companies with very thin cushions.

“Private equity firms got out over their skis in terms of financing deals prior to the financial crisis,” said Mr. Rogers. As a result, “there is a very limited room for things to go wrong.”

CNBC - GE submits revised proposal to French govt for Alstom deal, creates 3 JVs

{http://www.cnbc.com/id/101762392}
General Electric Co. (GE) and Siemens AG are both circling Alstom in a bid to add turbines and other equipment for power plants and transmission networks amid rising demand in the oil and gas industries.
General Electric has presented a revised proposal for the power and grid business of France's Alstom to the French government, after French President Francois Hollande told GE and rival Siemens they need to improve their competing offers.

Under the new proposal, General Electric will form three new joint ventures with Alstom, and will sell its signaling business to the firm for an undisclosed price. Alstom's board is expected to vote on the new proposal before a June 23 deadline.
According to a person close to the situation, the new proposal does not change the economics of GE's original $17 billion dollar offer for Alstom's power business, an acquisition GE expects will be accretive to earnings once it is completed. The $19.3 billion offer from Germany's Siemens and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries would have Siemens buying Alstom's gas turbine business and Mitsubishi taking a minority stake in the company.
Read MoreSiemens and Mitsubishi finalize Alstom offer
The new offer from Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE allows for the two companies to form a 50-50 joint venture that combines their grid businesses. Like the other proposed JV's it would be based in France. Additionally, they would form a 50-50 joint venture in renewables that would contain Alstom's offshore wind and hydro businesses, but not GE's.

The last joint venture would be in the nuclear business. The French government would hold a preferred share in this business, giving it veto power over any projects or issues the government fears could compromise the security and technology of its nuclear plants.
With GE buying Alstom's power business, the last part of the revised offer aims to strengthen Alstom's remaining transportation business. A maker of high-speed trains, Alstom would buy GE's signaling business for an undisclosed price.
When GE's original offer was announced back in April, there were concerns Alstom's weaker transportation business might not survive on its own.

Read MoreGE planning to offer sweetened Alstom bid: Reports
To win what would be the biggest deal of CEO Jeff Immelt's tenure at GE, the conglomerate has already promised the French government it will create 1,000 new jobs in France.
Immelt will be holding a press briefing later today to discuss the revised offer

(BFW) Uber Can’t Be Prohibited in Netherlands, Minister Kamp Says

Uber Can’t Be Prohibited in Netherlands, Minister Kamp Says
2014-06-19 13:59:21.530 GMT


By Elco van Groningen
     June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Uber is a taxi-service not a taxi-
carrier, Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp says in parliament
today.
  * Says large Dutch cities can only impose rules on taxi-
    carriers
  * Official taxi drivers using Uber do have to abide by rules,
    minister says

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To contact the reporter on this story:
Elco van Groningen in Amsterdam at +31-20-589-8517 or
vangroningen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Simon Thiel at +44-20-7673-2814 or
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James Cone

>>> Sony CEO says not thinking of splitting off entertainment business

(Reuters) - Sony Corp Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said on Thursday that the Japanese consumer electronics company was not thinking of splitting off or listing its entertainment business.

Hirai was responding to a question at an annual shareholders meeting.

Sony rebuffed a proposal last year by investor Daniel Loeb, chief of hedge fund Third Point, to partially spin off its entertainment business to unlock shareholder value. Hirai has repeatedly said since then that retaining full ownership of the entertainment unit is important for synergy across Sony.

Hirai also acknowledged at the meeting that Sony had not responded quickly enough to tough market conditions in its electronics division, which he has failed to make profitable despite promises to do so when he took the helm two years ago.