FT : IBM eyes sale of semiconductor arm

IBM eyes sale of semiconductor arm

A pedestrian walks past International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) offices in New York©Bloomberg
IBM is exploring a sale of its semiconductor business in what would be its most significant strategic move since it faced a financial crisis in the early 1990s.
The US technology giant has appointed Goldman Sachs to sound out possible buyers for the business, according to people familiar with the matter. IBM is not wedded to the idea of selling and could also seek a partner with which to create a joint venture for its semiconductor operations, these people said. A value for the business could not be learnt.

“It is a step away from their heritage,” said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. “This is probably their biggest strategic realignment for 20 years.”
News of the process comes just a fortnight after IBM announced the sale of its low-end server business to Lenovo for $2.3bn.
However, unlike the server sale and disposals of other commodity businesses in recent years, a sale of the chip division would involve an exit from one of the most technology-intensive parts of its business.
IBM is one of a handful of companies around the world that have invested the billions of dollars needed to be on the cutting edge of the latest generation of silicon technology.
It is credited by analysts with having stolen a lead over US rival Intel in some advanced technologies.
The most likely buyers would be semiconductor manufacturing groups Global Foundries and TSMC, Mr Moorhead added. Along with Samsung and Intel, these would be the only companies left in a field that has narrowed as the cost of building new generations of advanced fabrication plants, or “fabs”, has risen into billions of dollars.
The prospect of a disposal surprised some analysts, who said that having the most powerful chips at the heart of its IT systems had given IBM an edge in developing some of its most advanced computing applications, such as the Watson question-and-answer system.
“I’d be shocked – there would be no Watson without [IBM’s] Power chips,” said Rick Doherty, an analyst at Evisioneering in New York. “Take away the Silicon part, and IBM may not be the tech giant it is 10 years from now.”
Take away the Silicon part, and IBM may not be the tech giant it is 10 years from now
- Rick Doherty, Evisioneering analyst
He added that much of IBM’s most important intellectual property was tied up with its semiconductor business.
However, despite the huge investments and advanced technology needed to be in chips, the business has become an increasingly less important part of IBM’s operations in recent years as it has expanded in software and services.
Any disposal or joint venture would have to ensure that IBM still had access to advanced chipmaking facilities so that it had a guaranteed supply of the chips for its most advanced applications, Mr Doherty said.
IBM and its advisers declined to comment.

>>> Telecom Italia announces creation of procedure to regulate the potential sal

Telecom Italia announces creation of procedure to regulate the potential sale of its stake in TIM Brasil

TIM Brasil (Bovespa: TIMP3), Brazil’s second-largest mobile telephone service provider and Telecom Italia’s (TI) subsidiary, announced today that TI issued a notice to the market regarding the creation of procedures to regulate the potential sale of its stake in TIM Brasil. The announcement noted that TI's board of directors received preliminary material concerning the procedures on 16 January.

According to the TIM Brasil announcement, TI’s notice reads as follows:

The board of directors received the results of studies conducted by the directors with the aim to establish a procedure to manage any extraordinary transaction related to TI’s participation in Grupo TIM Brasil companies.

The document was unanimously approved and is being published on the company’s website. The procedure regulates the process of research and decision-making for any transaction that may result in the transference, for any entity other than TI, of its shares in Grupo TIM Brasil. The procedure also applies to potential transactions involving assets or business sectors for a value exceeding EUR 2bn.

>>> UK government sounding out potential advisers for sale of 40% stake in Euros

UK government sounding out potential advisers for sale of 40% stake in Eurostar

The UK government has begun sounding out investment banks regarding an advisory mandate on the sale of its 40% stake in Eurostar, Sky News reported.

Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman quoted from a statement issued on 6 February by the UK Department for Transport (DfT), in which the department said it is looking to hire advisers to help decide whether selling the government’s stake in the cross-Channel train service would represent value for taxpayers.

It is understood that the DfT and the government’s Shareholder Executive department has asked about six banks to make pitches for the mandate this week, as well as the next, Kleinman said.

Analysts cited by the report estimated a valuation of GBP 200m (EUR 240m) for the government’s 40% shareholding in Eurostar.

SNCF, a French state-backed, rail operator holds a 55% stake in Eurostar and is considered most likely to make an offer for the UK government’s stake, Kleinman said.

The German rail operator Deutsche Bahn had previously indicated its interest in Eurostar, but subsequently announced it intends to operate a rival rail service using the Channel Tunnel, Kleinman added.

Kleinman noted talk that the Italian state rail company (Trenitalia) and infrastructure funds could acquire the UK government’s stake in Eurostar.


Source Sky News

>>> What to look at today - 07/02/2014

US Markets closed higher, S&P regains 100d MA, Dow regains 200d MA, Markets were helped by eco data and yen weakness, for once rebound happened with volume above average at 730mil shares...VIX @ 17,23 - ....Today's data will focus on jobs with the nonfarm payrolls report for January, also hourly earnings and average workweek will also be announced and the December consumer credit report...Goldman’s Hatzius Sees Slack Jobs Mkt, Fed Holding to 2016 {NSN N0LG416K50XV <go>}...AAPLrepurchased $14b of Shares on the last 2 weeks (3.1% of mkt cap)LNKD -8% after Hours on Earnings...IBM said to consider selling its semi business...S&P Fut & Nikkei helped by weaker yen (102.20)...Nikkei +2.15%...Hang Seng +1.10%...Shanghai reopen after golden week +0.36%...China HSBC services PMI falls again to a near 2 1/2 year low, however employment component in services is not as weak as manufacturing. HSBC chief
economist expects services growth to bounce back a little in the coming months.


Eur$ 1.3590 S&P Future +0.42% European Fut +0.32%

Keep an eye on :
- ABBN VX : ABB May Raise More Than $1b Selling Non-Core Units, Reuters Says
- AIR FP : Airbus Mulling Upgraded Engines for A380: Reuters
- ALO FP : Alstom to Move Part of Global Production to India: Line Link
- ALU FP : Alcatel-Lucent Seeks to Implement Restructuring in 2 Yrs: FAZ
- APAM NA : Aperam 4Q Ebitda Beats Estimates; Sees Higher 1Q Profit q/q
- ATLN VX : Actelion Receives TGA Approval in Australia for Opsumit
- BOSS GY : Hugo Boss 4Q Adj. Ebitda EU157 Mln; Analyst Est. EU157.6 Mln, 2013 Adj. Ebitda In Line With Ests.
- CDR SM : Codere Says Loan Deadline Not Extended as Accord Not Reached
- CFR VX : Richemont’s Lancel Brand Names Marianne Romestain CEO: WWD
- COFB BB : Cofinimmo Sees 2014 Dividend Cut to EU5.50/Shr, Adj. EPS EU6.61
- CON GY : Continental to Increase Employees to 200,000, Handelsblatt Says
- CMA FP : Ciments Francais 4Q Rev. EU861.4m Vs EU901.9m Y/y
- DAI GY : Daimler to Extend CEO Zetsche’s Contract in 2015: Handelsblatt
- ELI1V FH : Elisa 4Q Net, EPS Meet Analyst Ests.; Keeps Dividend Unchangedhy
- FIS1V FH : Fiskars 4Q Net Sales Rise to EU212.6m; Proposes EU0.67/Shr Div
- IPN FP : Ipsen Reports Positive Results From Decapeptyl Phase 3 Study
- IT IM : Italcementi 2013 Group Revenue EU4.24b, Down 5.4% Y/y
- KN FP : BCPE's Perol Faces Conflict of Interest Investigation: Figaro {NSN N0LE856KLVSS <go>}
- KOG NO : Kongsberg 4Q Ebitda Rises to NK611m From NK573m
- MT NA : ArcelorMittal 4Q Ebitda Beats Estimates, Sees 2014 Profit at $8b
- NESN VX : Nestle May Clarify Intentions on L'Oreal Stake Next Week: UBS
- NRE1V FH : Nokian Renkaat 4Q Sales Miss, Loss Exceeds Ests.; Keeps Dividend
- 1913 HK : Prada Extend gain +10% from lows, +1.30% today
- UG FP : Peugeot Supervisory Board Backs Management Plan on Dong Feng
- SAA1V FH : Sanoma 4Q Loss Exceeds Ests.; Sees Organic Sales Growth From '16
- SSABA SS : SSAB 4Q Operating Loss Wider Than Ests.; Proposes No Dividend
- SHP LN : Shire Says Vyvanse Did Not Meet Primary Efficacy Endpoint
- STL NO : Statoil 4Q Net NOK11b vs Est. NOK12.7b; Proposed Div. NOK7/Shrto Use Share Buybacks More Actively in Future
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Media to Propose Reduction of Share Capital, Appoints Minucci as Chairman
- UHR VX : Swatch CEO, Irritated by Spying, Criticizes DiNapoli: Reuters {http://reut.rs/LVgR4d}
- VONN SW : Vonntobel 2013 Net New Money at Record, Net Income Declines
- VOW3 GY : VW Supervisory Board Plans Decision on Renschler in 2 Weeks: HB

>>> Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades

>>> Up
*DANSKE BANK RAISED TO BUY VS REDUCE AT NOMURA
*INTESA RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT CITI
*METTLER TOLEDO RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT UBS
*MITCHELLS & BUTLERS RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT NOMURA
*MOBILE TELESYSTEMS RAISED FROM EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*NLMK RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
*ROTORK RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT BERENBERG
*SCA RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN
*STORA ENSO RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT BOFAML
*SYNGENTA RAISED TO MARKET PERFORM VS UNDERPERFORM AT BERNSTEIN
*TATE & LYLE RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS UNDERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
*UNICREDIT RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT CITI
*VEDANTA RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT BOFAML
*VIMPELCOM RAISED TO EQUALWEIGHT VS UNDERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS

>>> Down
*CREDIT SUISSE CUT TO NEUTRAL AT MACQUARIE
*CHR. HANSEN CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWIEGHT AT JPMORGAN
*KERRY GROUP CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
*KUDELSKI CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT HELVEA
*MARSTON’S CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT NOMURA
*MEGAFON CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*STOREBRAND CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT SEB

>>> PT change
*ACCIONA CUT TO SELL FROM NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN
*BANCA GENERALI PT RAISED TO EU27 VS EU21.5 AT CITI; KEPT AT BUY
*DIA PT Cut to EU6.1 vs EU6.8 at Hammer Partners
*PRYSMIAN PT CUT TO EU18.5 VS EU19 AT BERENBERG; KEPT AT HOLD
*TDC CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT BERENBERG
*UBI PT RAISED TO EU5.8 VS EU4.7 AT CITI; KEPT AT NEUTRAL

>>> Initiation
*EUTELSAT REINSTATED AT NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
*Grifols A Shares Resumed Buy at Goldman, B Shares Rated New Buy
*MEDIOLANUM RATED NEW BUY AT CITI; PT EU7.6

>>> Call
>> Stock
*PGE, EUROCASH ADDED TO UBS’S LEAST PREFERRED LIST
*PKO, ENERGA ADDED TO UBS’S MOST PREFERRED LIST
>> Sector
*ITALIAN BANKS RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERWEIGHT AT CITI

WSJ : Apple Repurchases $14 Billion of Own Shares in Two Wee

Apple Repurchases $14 Billion of Own Shares in Two Weeks CEO Cook Says Company Wanted to Be 'Aggressive' and 'Opportunistic' CUPERTINO, Calif.— Apple Inc. AAPL +0.58% has bought $14 billion of its own shares in the two weeks since reporting financial results that disappointed Wall Street, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview.

Mr. Cook said Apple was "surprised" by the 8% decline in its shares on Jan. 28, the day after it reported lower iPhone sales than projected and warned that revenue in the current quarter might decline from the same period a year ago. Mr. Cook said he wanted to be "aggressive" and "opportunistic."

With the latest purchases, Mr. Cook said Apple had bought back more than $40 billion of its shares over the past 12 months, which Mr. Cook said was a record for any company over a similar span.

"It means that we are betting on Apple. It means that we are really confident on what we are doing and what we plan to do," said Mr. Cook, speaking in a conference room at the company's corporate headquarters here. "We're not just saying that. We're showing that with our actions."

Those purchases are part of Apple's previously disclosed plan to repurchase $60 billion of its own shares, Mr. Cook said. He said Apple bought $12 billion of the shares through an "accelerated" repurchase program, and $2 billion on the open market. He said Apple plans to disclose "updates" to its buyback program in March or April.

The revelation about the recent share purchases comes a few weeks before Apple's Feb. 28 shareholder meeting, where activist investor Carl Icahn is pressuring the company to be more aggressive with its $160 billion cash pile.

Mr. Icahn, who owns roughly $4 billion in Apple shares, is asking shareholders to vote on his proposal that Apple buy an additional $50 billion of its own shares by the end of September, above its current plan.

Responding to Mr. Cook's statement about his confidence in Apple, Mr. Icahn said, "So am I."

Apple's Mr. Cook said he wants to "be able to adjust for the long-term interest of the shareholders, not for the short-term shareholder, not for the day trader.

"We may see a huge company tomorrow that we want to acquire or something may happen in the stock market that's unpredictable," he continued.

Historically, Apple hasn't made big acquisitions; the company has never spent more than $1 billion on a single deal. Mr. Cook said Apple has bought 21 companies over the past 15 months.

That track record is a contrast to Google Inc., GOOG +1.47% which has been snapping up companies across the technology landscape, most notably its $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest, a maker of connected home devices founded by former Apple employees.

The Apple CEO said its history of opting for smaller deals doesn't mean that the company won't pull the trigger on a big acquisition if it makes sense.

"We've looked at big companies," said Mr. Cook. "We have no problem spending 10 figures for the right company, for the right fit that's in the best interest of Apple in the long-term. None. Zero."

Apple is fighting the perception that its best days are behind it. Revenue growth has dropped to less than 10% in the last three quarters, while net income fell 11% in the past fiscal year—its first annual decline in more than a decade.

An often-cited factor is that the company hasn't broken into a new product category—as it did with the iPod and iPhone—since introducing the iPad in 2010.

Thursday, Mr. Cook reiterated that Apple plans to enter a new category this year. Apple watchers are speculating about wearable devices or a new television platform.

"There will be new categories. We're not ready to talk about it, but we're working on some really great stuff," Mr. Cook said. When asked whether a new product category could mean an improvement on an existing product like an iPad Air, a lighter version of its tablet computer, or new services such as mobile payments, Mr. Cook declined to comment.

He said that anyone "reasonable" would consider what Apple is working on as new categories.

Mr. Cook said he still considers Apple to be a "growth company" with significant opportunities to expand the position of existing products including the iPhone.

Apple has been losing market share in smartphones as the market grows. In 2013, Apple accounted for 15.5% of all smartphones shipped world-wide, down from 19.4% in 2012, according to Strategy Analytics. By comparison, manufacturers running Google's Android operating system accounted for 78.9% in 2013, up from 68.8% a year earlier.

Mr. Cook has said repeatedly that Apple aims to produce the best phones, not necessarily the most. That has fueled concerns that the iPhone will become a niche product, much as Apple's Macintosh was a niche product during the personal-computer era.

Mr. Cook said Apple has the largest or second-largest market share for true smartphones in nearly every country; he excluded smartphones that are used as feature phones because of their limitations.

"In the other places where we are number two, I'd rather be number one. And you can bet that we're working on that," said Mr. Cook.

He said his statement that Apple doesn't aim to make the most phones has been misunderstood.

"I don't view that as being satisfied with being small or however you want to define it," he said. "I just want to say that the macro thing for us is making a great product and we must do that. If we can't do that, we're not going to force ourselves to hit a price point that makes us produce a product that we're not proud of because we lose who we are in that. We're not going to do that."

>>> US After Hours

After Hours Summary: SMT +38.7%, UEPS +19.0%, EXPE +13.1%, ELON -19.5%, OPEN -7.8%, LNKD -7.6%

After Hours Gainers: Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: SMT +38.7%, UEPS +19%, LCI +15.3%, OCLS +13.8%, ATHN +13.2%, EXPE +13.1%, BEBE +11.2%, OUTR +10%, ADEP +9.1%, CYTK +8.4%, ATVI +8%, RNG +7.6%, UBNT +7.5%, MXL +6.4%, LSCC +6.1%, APTS +4.6%, ONNN +4.3%, MRH +4.3%, NWSA +3.8%, MITK +3.7%, GPS +3.3%, FGL +3.2%, NTGR +2.5%, CRRS +2.5%, UVV +2.4%, ECOM +2.3%, ASYS +2.3%, CLCT +1.8%, SSD +1.3%, AHL +1%, WWWW +0.7%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: OCLS +13.8% (announced completion of agreements required for IPO of subsidiary Ruthigen), OUTR +10.0% (announced new RedBox President and leadership transitions for Coinstar and ecoATM; co also reported earnings), PDO +8.9% (co and Yuma Energy announced a merger agreement), ARIA +6.7% (Reuters reporting that Sarissa Capital Management is seeking two seats on Board of Directors), GPS +3.3% (reported January same store sales +1% vs -1.1% Retail Metrics consensus; co also issued upside Q4 EPS guidance, sales slightly below estimate), MWV +0.9% (announced that it has executred an accelerated share repurchase agreement with BofA/Merrill and Goldman to purchase $300 mln of common stock)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: ELON -19.5%, MCZ -15.7%, PXLW -12.6%, EGOV -12.4%, ACET -11.7%, FWM -11.6%, BRS -11.2%, ECHO -9.4%, OPEN -7.8%, NCR -7.8%, EXXI -7.8%, LNKD -7.0%, HITT -5.2%, STKL -4.9%, GIGA -4.7%, IMPV -2.4%, VRSN -2.1%, KIRK -1.5%, MPWR -1.4%, BRKS -1.2%, SQI -0.8%, NBIX -0.4%, POST -0.2%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: FWM -11.6% (announced Chief Executive Officer Herbert Ruetsch will retire; William Sanford, President of co, will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer; co also reported earnings), LNKD -7.0% (acquired Bright for ~$120 mln), SHPG -4.7% (announced results from two Phase 3 studies for Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) Capsules as an adjunctive treatment for adults with Major Depressive Disorder: Vyvanse did not meet the primary efficacy endpoint in either study), HA -2.2% (co's subsidiary, Hawaiian Airlines, announced system-wide traffic statistics for the month of January 2014: Passengers transported up 4.1% y/y, RPMs up 6.9% y/y, ASMs up 5.3% y/y, Load Factor up 1.2 pts), ALGT -1.9% (reported January 2014 traffic: Revenue passenger miles increased 13.8% year over year to 586.7 mln, load factor fell 1.9% year over year), 

>>> Asian Update

Asian Market Update: RBA quarterly statement raises projections for CPI and GDP as analysts begin to price in 2014 rate hikes

***Economic Data*** - (AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) QUARTERLY STATEMENT ON MONETARY POLICY; raises inflation, growth forecast on lower fx rate; inflation to breach 2-3% target band by mid-2014 - (AU) AUSTRALIA JAN AIG PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION INDEX: 48.2 V 50.8 PRIOR (first contraction in 4 months) - (CN) CHINA JAN HSBC/MARKIT SERVICES PMI: 50.7 V 50.9 PRIOR - (CN) CHINA Q4 PRELIMINARY CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE: $49.8B V $40.4B PRIOR - FX REGULATOR SAFE - (JP) JAPAN JAN OFFICIAL RESERVE ASSETS: $1.28T V $1.27T PRIOR (1st increase in 3 months) - (MY) MALAYSIA DEC TRADE BALANCE (MYR): 9.5B V 9.6BE

***Observations/Insights*** - LinkedIn down over 8% on soft Q1 and 2014 guidance despite beating on the top and bottom lines in Q4. - RBA quarterly policy statement raises all of its projections for CPI and GDP through 2015 and also warns inflation may breach 2-3% target band in mid-2014. Statement, following the RBA dropping its easing bias in a meeting this week, sees H1 and FY14 GDP at 2.75% (+0.25pts from prior forecasts), FY15 GDP at 3.0% v 2.75% prior, 2014 core CPI at 2.75% vs 2.5% prior and 2015 core CPI at 2.5% v 2.25% prior. RBA also reiterates a period of stable interest rates is likely, however analysts with Commonwealth Bank have now gone as far as anticipating the first rate hike some time this year. - China HSBC services PMI falls again to a near 2 1/2 year low, however employment component in services is not as weak as manufacturing. HSBC chief economist expects services growth to bounce back a little in the coming months. - Shanghai Composite returns from week-long Lunar New Year break with a modest catch-up selloff. Despite the aggressive PBoC injections going into the holiday, money market rates have tightened again with overnight repo rates rising about 150bps.

***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (US) Weekly Fed Balance Sheet Total Assets Week ending Feb 5th: $4.11T v $4.10T prior; Reserve Bank Credit: $4.07T v $4.06T prior; M1 y/y change: 8.3% v 8.4% w/w; M2 y/y change: 5.6% v 5.8% w/w - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥110B in JGB with maturity under 1-yr, ¥200B in JGB with maturity over 10-yr as well as ¥2.0T in T-bills - (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$800M in 6.0% 2017 Bonds; avg yield: 2.9785%; bid-to-cover: 4.79x - SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,045.8 (1-week low) tonnes from 10,090.7 tonnes

- USD majors were rangebound ahead of the Friday non-farm payrolls report. Traders are particularly cautious, with another weak figure dismissing the claim that the soft December print was a weather-related one-off, while a strong number would suggest the US recovery story is still intact. EUR/USD consolidated its post-ECB rally on Thursday just below $1.36 and USD/JPY traded within 10pips of the ¥102 handle. AUD/USD remained volatile, spiking about 30pips on the release of RBA quarterly statement above $0.8970 before selling down toward $0.8920. China Services PMI had little impact on the aussie.

***Speakers/Political/In the Papers*** - (CN) China Ministry of Commence (MOFCOM): China 2014 Lunar New Year "golden week" retail sales CNY610.7B, +13.3% y/y - financial press - (CN) China state researcher: China may set up deposit insurance system in 2014 - Chinese press - (CN) China Jan CPI growth may be at 2.3% y/y at the most (v 2.5% in Dec) - Chinese press - (CN) Goldman Sachs: 2014 China growth supported by developed markets recovery - (JP) Japan Econ Min Amari: Currently talking with US about Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: PM Abe wants to see clear effect from extra budget in H1 of FY14/15 - financial press - (JP) Japan Finance Ministry posts Jan 1-20 Trade Balance of -¥2T, record amount - financial press - (JP) US Navy said to be upgrading its naval presence in Japan by swapping three of its currently-stationed ships with more modern vessels - Nikkei - (JP) Goldman Sachs economist: BOJ may announce further easing at the June meeting; Japan CPI may begin to stagnate in Mar-Apr - financial press - (AU) Commonwealth Bank senior economist: RBA likely to start raising rates in late 2014 - financial press - (AU) Minerals Council of Australia: Billions of dollars of investment are at risk unless Abbott govt cuts business regulation - AFR - (KR) South Korea Vice Fin Min Choo: South Korea should monitor markets as uncertainty increased - financial press - (KR) According to a survey by South Korea Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) think tank, over 60% view govt forecasts for $40K GNI per capita within a decade to be infeasible - Korean press

- (EU) ECB's Noyer: No new evidence to suggest change in monetary policy - French press interview - (US) Fed's Rosengren (dovish dissenter in 2013, FOMC non-voter in 2014): unemployment remains too high; must be patient in reducing stimulus - (US) Goldman Sachs chief economist Hatzius: Sees first rate hike by the Fed in early 2016 (in line with prior comments) - financial press

**Equities*** Market Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 +1.8%, S&P/ASX +0.7%, Kospi +0.5%, Shanghai Composite -0.3%, Hang Seng +0.8%, Mar S&P500 +0.1% at 1,767, Apr gold +0.3% at $1,261, Mar crude oil -0.2% at $97.62/brl

US markets: - SMT: Reports Q3 $0.07(adj) v -$0.02e, R$158.0M v $108Me; To exit optical touch sensor business; +38.7% afterhours - UEPS: Reports Q2 $0.40 v $0.31e, R$137.3M v $120Me; +20.9% afterhours - ATHN: Reports Q4 $0.57 v $0.44e, R$171.6M v $169Me; +13.6% afterhours - EXPE: Reports Q4 $0.92 v $0.85e, R$1.15B v $1.14Be; +13.1% afterhours - OUTR: Reports Q4 $1.55 (cont ops) v $1.23e, R$593M v $597Me; authorizes $500M additional share buyback (28% of market cap); +10.0% afterhours - ATVI: Reports Q4 $0.79 v $0.73e, R$2.27B v $2.22Be; +7.8% afterhours - NWSA: Reports Q2 $0.31 v $0.21e, R$2.24B v $2.23Be; +3.8% afterhours - ITW: To Sell its Industrial Packaging Segment to The Carlyle Group for $3.2B, slightly above rumored $3B figure; +1.5% afterhours - BTE: Acquires Aurora Oil & Gas for $2.6B, $1.3B Bought Deal Financing and 9% Dividend Increase Upon Completion of Acquisition; +1.2% afterhours - VRSN: Reports Q4 $0.65 v $0.60e, R$246M v $245Me; Warns Q4 results could be restated; Guides initial FY14 R$1.0-1.02B v $1.03Be - conf call; -0.8% afterhours - NCR: Reports Q4 $0.83 v $0.80e, R$1.67B v $1.78Be; -6.4% afterhours - LNKD: Reports Q4 $0.39 v $0.37e, R$447.2M v $439Me; To Acquire data insights and matching technology co BrightBright's for $120M; -8.5% afterhours - FWM: Reports Q3 -$0.74 v -$0.04e, R$205.7M v $206Me; -17.8% afterhours - IBM: Said to consider selling its semiconductor unit; Value of business not determined - FT - AAPL: CEO Cook: Company repurchased $14B (approx 3.1% of market cap) in shares in two-weeks time, $40B in past 12 months - financial press

Notable movers by sector: - Consumer Discretionary: Yamada Denki 9831.JP +3.2% (9M results); SJM Holdings 880.HK +4.8% (enters JV) - Materials: Kingray New Materials Science & Technology 600390.CN +10.0%, Shenzhen Capchem Technology 300037.CN +7.4% (suppliers of Panasonic trade higher on strong Panasonic financial results); Tonghua Shuanglong Chemical 300108.CN +9.9% (acquisitions) - Energy: Woodside Petroleum WPL.AU -0.2% (enters Leviathan JV) - Industrials: DIC Corp 4631.JP +5.1% (9M results) - Technology: Lenovo Group 992.HK -0.7% (Google reportedly acquired stakes); Kingsoft Corp 3888.HK +2.3% (rumors company to spinoff security software unit); Sony Corp 6758.JP +2.3% (9M results; confirms to sell PC unit); Nikon Corp 7731.JP +6.8% (9M results); Catcher Tech 2474.TW +6.3% (Q1 guidance)

Schonfeld Backs Three SAC Traders as BlueCrest Said to Hire Two

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Schonfeld Backs Three SAC Traders as BlueCrest Said to Hire Two 2014-02-06 17:28:39.557 GMT

By Jesse Westbrook Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Schonfeld Group Holdings LLC is backing three former SAC Capital Advisors LP money managers in London, and BlueCrest Capital Management LLP hired two U.S. employees from the hedge-fund firm that is becoming a family office after settling an insider-trading investigation. Sam Elsokari, Tony Eccles and Liam Pagliaro have each received financing from New York-based family office Schonfeld to invest in stocks, which could allow the traders to raise money from other investors if they are successful, President Andrew Fishman said in an interview today. BlueCrest, a London- based hedge-fund firm, hired Andrew Schiffrin and Ian Kessler in the past month, said two people with knowledge of the hires who asked not to be identified because the firm is private. SAC, based in Stamford, Connecticut, decided in October to close its London office to scale back amid an insider-trading probe by U.S. prosecutors. Schiffrin and Kessler are among U.S. employees who’ve left SAC since the firm agreed in November to close its hedge funds to outside investors and pay $1.8 billion to resolve charges that it profited from illegal tips about companies. “We look for opportunities wherever they are,” said Fishman at Schonfeld, a family office that has used its own capital to back about 35 money managers since 2007. “Obviously, SAC’s downsizing in London was a unique one because you had a lot of experienced managers there.” He declined to comment on how much money the SAC traders received from Schonfeld. Elsokari declined to comment, while contact information for Eccles and Pagliaro couldn’t be located.

Elsokari, Eccles

Elsokari, 36, joined SAC in 2009 from UBS O’Connor LLC, the Zurich-based bank’s hedge fund unit, according to his registration with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. He traded financial stocks at SAC. Eccles, 40, who invests in the shares of commodity companies, started at SAC in 2011 after leaving Ken Griffin’s Citadel LLC, regulatory records show. Pagliaro, 43, who was previously head of equity research at Gartmore Group Ltd., joined SAC in 2012, according to FCA records. Since SAC decided to shut the London office, its U.K. money managers and analysts have accepted jobs at firms including BlueCrest, which has already added at least five former SAC employees since September. Former SAC managers have also landed jobs at Moore Capital Management LLP, Balyasny Asset Management LP and Carmignac Gestion SA. Schiffrin, who trades industrial stocks, resigned from SAC’s CR Intrinsic unit on Jan. 6, Bloomberg News reported last month. Kessler worked for Sigma Capital, another SAC unit. BlueCrest spokesman Ed Orlebar declined to comment on Schiffrin and Kessler, as did SAC spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter. Schonfeld hired Adin Kahn from Israel Englander’s Millennium Management LLC in December 2012 to expand its business and recruit traders from hedge funds. “There have been lots of opportunities set in motion from the financial crisis and obviously the insider-trading scandal,” Fishman said. “We’re actively looking for experienced portfolio managers wherever they are.”

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--Editors: Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam, Christian Baumgaertel

To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Westbrook in London at +44-20-3525-0426 or jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at +1-617-210-4624 or cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net