>>> Icahn bought another $500m of AAPl, taking its stake to $3.6b...sent letter

Apple: Icahn sent letter to AAPL Board requesting to increase buyback - SEC filing  

"...Tim Cook himself has expressed on more than one occasion that Apple is undervalued, and as the company states, it already has in place "the largest share repurchase authorization in history." We believe, however, that this share repurchase authorization can and should be even larger, and effectuating that for the benefit of all of the company's shareholders is the sole intention of our proposal. The company has recommended voting against our proposal for various reasons. It seems to us that the basis of its argument against our proposal is that the company believes, because of the "dynamic competitive landscape" and because its "rapid pace of innovation require[s] unprecedented investment, flexibility and access to resources", it does not currently have enough excess liquidity to increase the size of its repurchase program. Assuming this indeed is the basis for the company's argument, we find its position overly conservative (almost to the point of being irrational), when we consider that the company had $130 billion of net cash as of September 28, 2013 and that consensus earnings are expected to be almost $40 billion next year. Given this massive net cash position and robust earnings generation, Apple is perhaps the most overcapitalized company in corporate history, from our perspective. Regardless of what liquidity it may require with respect to "unprecedented investment, flexibility and access to resources" for innovation moving forward, we believe the unprecedented degree to which the company is currently overcapitalized would overcompensate for any such investments (including possible investments in strategic M&A, to which the company does not refer). Said another way, we believe that the combination of the company's unprecedentedly enormous net cash balance, robust annual earnings, and tremendous borrowing capacity provide more than enough excess liquidity to afford both the use of cash for any necessary ongoing business-related investments in addition to the cash used for the increased share repurchases proposed..."

(BFW) Brazil Prosecutors Said to Seek Order Against Alstom

 BN 01/23 19:49 *SAO PAULO SAID TO SEEK TO CANCEL ALSTOM BRAZIL CO. REGISTRATION
 BN 01/23 19:49 *SAO PAULO SAID TO SEEK TO HALT ALSTOM OPS IN BRAZIL
 BN 01/23 19:49 *SAO PAULO SAID TO HAVE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS FROM SWISS GOVT
 BN 01/23 19:49 *SAO PAULO PROSECUTORS SAID TO PREPARE REQUEST AGAINST ALSTOM
Brazil Prosecutors Said to Seek Order Against Alstom
2014-01-23 19:50:42.941 GMT


By Denyse Godoy
     Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Sao Paulo state’s public prosecutor
is preparing to ask a judge to halt Alstom’s operations in
Brazil and cancel the company’s registration in the country,
according to a government official familiar with the case who
asked not to be named because the plans aren’t public.
  * Prosecutors are awaiting depositions, banking records and
    other documents requested from Swiss officials before moving
    forward with the request
  * Prosecutors have already received depositions from French
    officials regarding alleged bribery
  * NOTE: Alstom is accused of paying bribes in 1998 to extend a
    1983 government contract to provide equipment for subway
    power stations in Sao Paulo city
  * NOTE: Some Alstom executives and ex-officials are also the
    subject of a criminal investigation regarding the bribery
    probe
  * “Alstom vehemently repudiates any insinuation that there is
    a company policy of irregular payments to obtain
    contracts,” the company’s press office in Sao Paulo said in
    an e-mailed statement. “Alstom has never refused to provide
    any clarifications requested by authorities.”


Link to Company News:{ALO FP <Equity> CN <GO>}

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

To contact the reporter on this story:
Denyse Godoy in Sao Paulo at +55-11-3048-4636 or
dgodoy2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jessica Brice at +55-11-3048-4533 or
jbrice1@bloomberg.net

>>> Barrick Gold Corp Exec: Met cost guidance for 2013, reserves in gold may be

Barrick Gold Corp Exec: Met cost guidance for 2013, reserves in gold may be lower for a range of factors and valuing our reserves at a conservative $1100/ounce - CIBC conf presentation comments
- Met 2013 Guidance: Met original gold production guidance of 7.0-7.4 Moz and AISC guidance of $900-$975/oz; Met Copper production guidance of 520-550 Mlbs at C1 cash cost guidance of $1.90-$2.00/lb. Also met Capex guidance of $4.5-$5.0B 
- 2014 Outlook: Not surprisingly, we expect lower gold production in 2014, Copper production to be "somewhat lower". Capex to be significantly lower. 
- expecting output at Cortez mine to be lower this year 
- considering potential impairments at some operations, will be reflected in final FY results 
- Will continue disciplined capital allocations even if it means lower production or mine closures.

>>> T. Rowe Price letter urges Time Warner Cable/Charter talks -sources

Jan 23 (Reuters) - T. Rowe Price Group sent a letter this week to Time Warner Cable urging the cable company to have talks with smaller cable provider Charter about a possible deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

As of Sept. 30, T. Rowe owned 5.16 percent of Charter shares and 2.3 percent of Time Warner Cable shares. T. Rowe is Time Warner Cable's eighth-largest shareholder and Charter's third-largest shareholder, the latest publicly available filings show, according to Thomson One.

T. Rowe is the first shareholder to send a letter to Time Warner Cable management since Charter made its approach with a $37.3 billion offer, one of the people said.

Members of Time Warner Cable's board have read the letter, but their reaction was not immediately clear, sources said.

It also wasn't clear whether T. Rowe was urging Time Warner Cable to consider a deal at a specific price.

Representatives from Charter, T. Rowe Price and Liberty Media declined to comment. A spokeswoman from Time Warner Cable said, "Time Warner Cable has an active, ongoing dialogue with many of its shareholders."

Charter, backed by billionaire John Malone's Liberty Media Corp, announced its $132.50 per share bid for Time Warner Cable on Jan 13, which the larger rival promptly rejected as too low. Time Warner Cable responded that it was open to a deal at $160 per share.

The Financial Times first reported the news on Thursday.

>>> The S&P is down 1.3% with materials posting biggest losses

The S&P is down 1.3% with materials posting biggest losses
Sector Ticker % Change YTD % Change
Materials XLB -2.1% -3%
Financials XLF -2.0% -2%
Energy XLE -1.5% -3%
Industrials XLI -1.4% -2%
Health Care XLV -1.2% 2%
Cons. Staples XLP -1.2% -3%
Cons. Disc. XLY -1.1% -4%
Telecom IYZ -0.9% -1%
Technology XLK -0.8% 0%
Utilities XLU -0.6% 1%

>>> Nissan, Renault to Merge Global Production, Nikkei Says

This is a very good news.

Nissan ADRs is +1,79% in New York, +5,68% from lows of the day
Renault is not trading in the US, stock was down -1,61% today


BFW 01/23 17:26 Nissan, Renault to Merge Global Production, Nikkei Says
BFW 01/23 17:23 *NISSAN, RENAULT TO MERGE GLOBAL PRODUCTION, NIKKEI SAYS
MORE: Nissan, Renault to Merge Global Production, Nikkei Says
2014-01-23 18:12:47.90 GMT


By Akiko Nishimae
     Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- (Adds ADR reaction, bullet points)
Cos. expect to save more than 400b yen in annual costs,
newspaper reports on Japanese-language website.
  * Nissan ADRs reverse decline after report
  * To name person in April to oversee merged production: Nikkei
  * Will streamline development: Nikkei
  * Will share standard parts to produce different cars on same
    lines: Nikkei
  * To share technology for electric and fuel-cell cars,
    automatic driving: Nikkei


Story Link:NSN MZV74Y6S9735<GO>

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

--Editor: Steven McPherson

To contact the reporter on this story:
Akiko Nishimae in New York at +1-212-617-2601 or
anishimae3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jan Dahinten at +65-6212-1164 or
jdahinten@bloomberg.net