Verizon Jan 2016 $33 Puts Trade 48k Contract Block Below Bid

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Verizon Jan 2016 $33 Puts Trade 48k Contract Block Below Bid 2014-06-18 19:09:15.182 GMT

By Brian Welcher June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Verizon Jan 2016 $33 puts trade 48k contract block at 58c (below bid); volatility 21.2 vs 4-wk range 21-22.2 * Total option vol 3x 4-wk avg * Put vol 5.5x 4-wk avg Link to Function {VZ US <EQUITY> OMST <GO> } Link to Company News:{VZ US <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: Brian Welcher at +1-404-507-1333 or bwelcher2@bloomberg.net

Blackberry Aug. $8 Puts Trade 4k Contracts Above Ask

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Blackberry Aug. $8 Puts Trade 4k Contracts Above Ask 2014-06-18 19:27:48.711 GMT

By Brian Welcher June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Blackberry Aug. $8 puts trade 4k contracts at 54c (above ask); volatility 53.6 vs 4-wk range 42.6-51.8. * Total option vol 3.7x 4-wk avg * Call vol 3.4x 4-wk avg * Put vol 4.4x 4-wk avg Link to Function {BBRY US <EQUITY> OMST <GO> }

Link to Company News:{BB CN <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: Brian Welcher at +1-404-507-1333 or bwelcher2@bloomberg.net

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Oct. $24 Puts Trade 12k Contracts

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Idenix Pharmaceuticals Oct. $24 Puts Trade 12k Contracts 2014-06-18 19:18:13.247 GMT

By Brian Welcher June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Idenix Pharmaceuticals Oct. $24 puts active. * Total option vol 6.5x 4-wk avg * Put vol 11x 4-wk avg * 3-mo. 90/110 skew ratio is 2.86 vs 52-wk range of 0.93-1.14 Link to Function {IDIX US <EQUITY> OMST <GO> } Link to Company News:{IDIX US <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: Brian Welcher at +1-404-507-1333 or bwelcher2@bloomberg.net

FT : Economic activity has rebounded, says Fed

Economic activity has rebounded, says Fed

The US Federal Reserve tapered its asset purchases by another $10bn to a monthly pace of $35bn in an upbeat statement that made no concession to signs of higher inflation. The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said that "economic activity has rebounded in recent months" but left its language on inflation unchanged. Coming despite a run of stronger inflation numbers in recent months, that suggests the Fed is confident there is still spare capacity in the economy, and it can keep rates low well into 2015 without triggering inflation. The FOMC voted for the cut in asset purchases by a majority of 10-0, with all of the new members – Stanley Fischer, Lael Brainard and Loretta Mester – joining the consensus. In an important sign of change to the Fed’s thinking, however, the FOMC cut its forecasts for long-run growth in the US economy and the average level of interest rates once the economy is back to normal. The long-run numbers describe some of the most fundamental parameters of the US economy – its potential to grow and the long-run price of money – and they are seldom changed. The downward revisions show the Fed is becoming more pessimistic on the long-run potential of the world’s most important economy. Its longer-run growth estimate came down fractionally, from 2.25 to 2.2 per cent, while the median estimate for interest rates in the long-run fell from 4 to 3.75 per cent. As expected, the Fed slashed its growth forecast for 2014, reflecting the extra distance the economy has to climb after cold weather caused output to fall in the first quarter. The FOMC now expects growth of 2.2 per cent this year, down from the 2.9 per cent it expected in March. It kept its 2015 and 2016 growth forecasts exactly the same, but moved its unemployment forecasts a little lower, to 6.05 per cent for the end of 2014 rather than the 6.2 per cent it predicted in March. The Fed kept its inflation forecasts almost totally unchanged, however, edging them up a fraction to 1.6 per cent for this year and predicting below target inflation all the way until the end of 2016. That suggests it does not believe stronger price numbers recently herald an inflation surge. The Fed’s interest rate forecasts on its infamous "dot chart" edged slightly upwards: whereas the median FOMC official expected end-of-2015 rates to stand at 1 per cent in March, the median is now between 1 and 1.25 per cent. The end of 2016 median was up from 2.25 per cent to 2.5 per cent. That is hard to interpret, however, since the change was fractional and Lael Brainard, one of the new governors, joined the committee too late to submit forecasts at this meeting. "Labour market indicators generally showed further improvement," said the FOMC. "Household spending appears to be rising moderately and business fixed investment resumed its advance, while the recovery in the housing sector remained slow."

FT : Liechtenstein agrees to return Abacha’s stolen €167m to Nigeria

Liechtenstein’s government has agreed to return to Nigeria €167m linked to the late General Sani Abacha, ending the country’s longest running battle to recover money that the late military dictator laundered through European banks.
Nigeria first requested Liechtenstein’s assistance in recovering the assets in 2000, two years after Abacha’s sudden death at the age of 54 paved the way for the return of civilian rule.

But the recovery effort has been hampered by lawsuits taken out by companies linked to the Abacha family – as it has in other legal jurisdictions.
Liechtenstein’s constitutional court dismissed a final appeal over the return of the funds in March 2013, but the principality still refused to release the money, infuriating Nigerian officials.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s minister of economy and finance, late last year accused Liechtenstein of “aiding and abetting corruption” by refusing to accept Nigeria’s guarantees that it would pay compensation if any liabilities resulted from a last-ditch effort by Abacha-linked companies to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Officials in the principality feared they could be open to compensation claims from the Abacha-linked companies if it was shown they had not had a fair hearing.
But on Tuesday a statement by the principality said: “In May 2014, the complaint pending in Strasbourg was withdrawn by the four Abacha companies, clearing the path for repatriation of the assets once and for all.”
Abacha was the penultimate and most brutal of Nigeria’s military rulers. He and what Switzerland’s Supreme Court dubbed the “Abacha family criminal enterprise” amassed a fortune estimated at $3bn-$5bn from misappropriation of public funds during his 1993-1998 rule.
In a bizarre twist on Tuesday, the Nigerian government dropped embezzlement charges against Mohamed Abacha, the late dictator’s eldest son saying there had been new developments in the case.
Mohamed Abacha was accused of receiving N100bn ($600m) of the late dictator’s money, and has fought off various attempts to charge him over the years.
Enrico Monfrini, a Swiss lawyer working with the Nigerian government, has traced $2.4bn of assets linked to Abacha, most of which were channelled through European banks.
Criminal investigations and subsequent forfeiture proceedings established that the Lichtenstein funds originated from bribes paid by Germany’s Ferrostaal AG to companies whose ultimate beneficiary was Abacha. They related to a grossly inflated contract for the construction of an aluminium smelter.
So far, Nigeria has recovered $1.3bn, the largest tranche of which – $500m – came from Switzerland in 2005. A further $1.1bn – in France, the UK, Luxembourg and the Channel island of Jersey – is still tied up in legal proceedings. The US in March froze more than $458m linked to Abacha in Jersey and France.
Nigeria has engaged the World Bank’s Stolen Asset Recovery unit (Star), which was set up by Mrs Okonjo Iweala when she was at the bank, to ensure that the funds recovered from Liechtenstein are used properly – as it has done with other recovered assets.
While the Abacha funds are being recovered belatedly, fresh allegations of grand scale corruption have emerged in Nigeria this year.
The government of President Goodluck Jonathan has hired PwC to carry out a forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in response to allegations by Lamido Sanusi, the former central bank governor, that the state oil company failed to remit as much as $20bn in revenues due to the treasury between 2012 and 2013.

>>> BBVA may sell remaining 9.9% stake in China Citic after split, bankers say

BBVA may sell remaining 9.9% stake in China Citic after split, bankers say

Spain’s BBVA could look to sell its remaining 9.9% stake in China Citic Bank in the short-term following the termination of their strategic cooperation announced 5 June, industry bankers and analysts said.

In October 2013, BBVA sold a 5.1% stake in China Citic Bank to parent Citic Group for USD 1.3bn. It was previously reported that this stake sale could be the first step towards BBVA divesting its entire stake in China Citic Bank.

The 9.9% stake in China Citic Bank, which has a market capitalization of about HKD 244.118bn (USD 31.49bn), amounts to about USD 3bn.

Citic Group is likely to buy back the 9.9% stake in China Citic Bank, the first banker and first analyst said. The second analyst, however, said any potential transaction may take place after August, after Citic Group completes its reorganization.

The analysts said that BBVA is unlikely to maintain a sizable presence in the Asian market after its velvet divorce from China Citic Bank. BBVA is expected to maintain some operations such as wholesale and syndicate business with key customers but not big business at the branch level, they said.

“BBVA hung onto its stake in China Citic Bank because of its 2006 binding agreement and as it was not hit as hard as other European peers, there was less pressure to raise cash,” one of the analysts said. “Its exit from Citic is long overdue.”

Potential buyers

On the other hand, there could be other interested buyers for BBVA’s 9.9% stake, the first banker and analysts speculated, pointing to Alibaba, Singapore and Qatar-based sovereign funds, and China's state-owned energy and telecommunication companies as potential acquirers.

Boyu Capital’s backing of Alibaba would make the Chinese online giant a frontrunner in a potential bidding process as it could provide ample financial firepower and political support to carry out the transaction, the first banker said.

For Alibaba, building a substantial holding in China Citic Bank makes sense even though Alibaba is in the process of acquiring a new banking license, the first analyst said.

“That license is more related for distribution and asset-light businesses like distribution, remittance, consulting, and it would take Alibaba ages to build the physical network,” he said.

“[Sovereign funds] agreed to buy into Citic Pacific at 1x to book, which is to me is a huge premium,” the first analyst said. “They have clearly high confidence in future appreciation of the group assets, which are mainly made up of banking operations.”

Earlier this month, Citic Group kickstarted a listing process in Hong Kong as Citic Pacific will acquire parent company Citic Group in a CNY 227bn (HKD 281bn) deal. The new Hong Kong-listed entity will be renamed Citic Limited, as previously announced.

The first banker and the analysts noted that European and North American banks are unlikely to have the appetite to buy a stake in China Citic Bank as they are grappling with their own capital requirement issues and lack confidence in the stock market performance of Chinese banks over the next few years.

The same banker noted that Goldman Sachs sold out its stake in ICBC last year and Bank of America followed suit with China Construction Bank. HSBC, which exited Bank of Shanghai, still holds a stake in Bank of Communications, however, it is rumored to be planning to offload its shares as well.

BBVA and Citic Bank did not reply to requests seeking comment. Alibaba declined to comment. Boyu did not return calls seeking comment.