FT : German car club ADAC hit by vote scandal over ‘auto Oscars’

German car club ADAC hit by vote scandal over ‘auto Oscars’

Few organisations enjoy higher trust among a cautious and fastidious German public than ADAC, the car club that provides roadside assistance when members’ vehicles break down.
So the revelation that the German organisation inflated the voting figures for its annual “Germany’s favourite car” award – coveted by vehicle companies as a valuable marketing tool – at a ceremony dubbed the “auto Oscars”, has triggered an outpouring of anger and bewilderment.
ADAC, whose more than 18m members give it huge lobbying clout in Berlin, conceded that Michael Ramstetter, its communications chief, had made up the number of votes cast for the prize, which was awarded to the VW Golf at the annual ceremony in Munich on Thursday.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, the daily newspaper, reported last week that instead of the claimed 34,299 votes cast in favour of the VW Golf, only 3,409 were received.
Karl Obermair, ADAC managing director, criticised the newspaper at Thursday’s ceremony for printing “falsehoods”, only for Mr Ramstetter to admit his mistake the following day. ADAC fears vote totals in previous years were also manipulated.
Although ADAC insisted the vote manipulation had not affected the outcome – the VW Golf outsold any other vehicle in Germany last year – the scandal has undermined public trust in an organisation previously considered unimpeachable.
ADAC members took to the organisation’s Facebook page to voice their anger, and the scandal drew calls for an inquiry from Germany’s transport minister and car companies, all of which sent executives to attend the ceremony. Among the guests were Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen chief executive, and Norbert Reithofer, BMW chief executive.
Mr Ramstetter has since resigned as ADAC communications chief and editor of the ADAC Motorwelt magazine. Motorwelt claims to have 15.9m readers, making it the most-read magazine in Europe.
Maintaining trust is vital for ADAC, which provides a range of other services including crash-tests and insurance.
The organisation has consistently blocked attempts to impose a speed limit on Germany’s motorways and opposes a plan to introduce a toll on foreign users of German motorways.
Mr Obermair apologised on behalf of ADAC at a hurriedly scheduled press conference in Munich on Monday, saying employees had reacted with a mix of “outrage and disbelief that such a thing could happen”.
He said ADAC took the matter very seriously but that Mr Ramstetter had accepted sole responsibility. The group had begun an “intensive investigation” in order “to restore trust and the credibility of the ADAC”, he said.
Süddeutsche quoted Mr Ramstetter as saying: “I screwed up and inflated the figures. So I’m accepting the consequences and assuming responsibility.”

WSJ : Hapag-Lloyd And CSAV Merger MOU Expected Within Weeks

Hapag-Lloyd And CSAV Merger MOU Expected Within Weeks
German and Chilean Companies Could Form Fourth Largest Container Shipper

LONDON—A deal to bind merger talks between German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd AG and its Chilean peer Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores SA VAPORES.SN -2.48% is expected to be signed by early February, according to people familiar with the matter, as both sides haggle over the shareholding structure in the prospective combined company.

The merger, which would create the world's fourth-largest container shipper, with annual revenue of around $13 billion, has moved ahead in fits and starts since the two companies acknowledged negotiations back in December.

"If no major disagreements emerge, we should have [a memorandum of understanding] signed within the next three weeks or so," said one person familiar with the talks. The two sides are still negotiating how much each will hold in the merged entity and whether CSAV's ships will be part of the deal or be leased to Hapag-Lloyd, this person said.

If an MOU is signed the companies will then proceed to due diligence and the merger could be completed some time in the first quarter.

Under current talks, the Luksic family, one of Chile's richest, and CSAV's main shareholder, will become a major holder in Hapag-Lloyd with a stake close to that of German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne, who owns 28% of the Hamburg-based shipper, according to another person involved in the deal. The Luksics started buying into CSAV in 2011 and now control 46% of the company.

As previously reported, the German company will control 70% of the merged entity, with CSAV owning the remainder, based on current discussions. Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV declined to comment on the progress of the talks.

Big mergers are rare in the container-shipping industry, which moves 95% of all manufactured goods. The industry is dominated by families and sovereign-wealth funds, typically better equipped than publicly traded firms to endure years of losses during long down-cycles. But recently, pressure for consolidation has strengthened ahead of the expected launch later this year of an alliance between Denmark's A.P. Møller-Maersk MAERSK-B.KO -0.61% A/S, Switzerland's Mediterranean Shipping Co. and France's CMA CGM SA, the industry's top three players in terms of capacity. The alliance, called P3, will control about half the market share of the world's busiest trade routes.

Two earlier attempts by Hapag-Lloyd to merge ultimately foundered—its 2008 proposed tie-up with Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines, N03.SG -0.95% and last year's talks with fellow German shipper Hamburg Süd.

Hapag-Lloyd operates around 150 ships, competing head on with the P3 partners in the Asia-Europe, trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes. CSAV operates around 50 vessels.

(BFW) German Utilities to Benefit From Clean-Energy Aid Cuts: Goldman

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German Utilities to Benefit From Clean-Energy Aid Cuts: Goldman 2014-01-20 14:37:43.745 GMT

By Stefan Nicola Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Slower growth in renewables, as proposed by Economy and Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, will benefit coal- and gas-fired plants as they raise output to meet demand, Goldman Sachs says in research note. * More thermal power output needed over time as pace of renewables growth insufficient to counter loss of atomic reactors closing 2015-2022 * More older coal-fired plants likely to shut as Gabriel’s proposals lack short-term commitment to capacity mkt * Forward power prices to rise over time, “reflecting a likely increasing share of higher-priced gas” * EON, Verbund, CEZ, GDF Suez, RWE, Fortum to benefit from higher prices; Goldman sees EPS impact (unhedged on 2015e) of +25% to +65% from EU10/MWh increase in prices * NOTE: German clean-energy companies today said govt plans to accelerate cuts in solar and wind-power aid threaten shift to renewables NSN MZPCGU6S972F <GO>

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To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6246 or snicola2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or landberg@bloomberg.net

(BFW) Acciona Confirms in E-Mail Osx Leasing Shares Seized in Holland

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BN 01/20 12:26 *ACCIONA CONFIRMS IN EMAIL OSX LEASING SHARES SEIZED IN HOLLAND BN 01/20 12:26 *ACCIONA SAYS DUTCH JUDGE AGREES TO EMBARGO ON OSX UNIT BN 01/20 12:26 *OSX LEASING UNIT SHARES SEIZED TO GUARANTEE CREDITORS PAYMENT

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Acciona Confirms in E-Mail Osx Leasing Shares Seized in Holland 2014-01-20 12:33:56.984 GMT

By Juan Pablo Spinetto Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- OSX leasing unit shares seized to guarantee creditors payment, Acciona says * Dutch judge agrees to embargo on OSX leasing unit shares * Seizure first reported by Veja columnist Lauro Jardim * OSX press officer in Rio de Janeiro not immediately available for comment * NOTE: While OSX declared bankruptcy earlier this month, its leasing unit, through which the company owns the ship securing debt, wasn’t part of the judicial recovery petition filed in a Rio de Janeiro court.

Link to Company News:{ANA SM <Equity> CN <GO>} Link to Company News:{OSXB3 BZ <Equity> CN <GO>}

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To contact the reporter on this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto in Rio de Janeiro at +55-21-2125-2519 or jspinetto@bloomberg.net

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

(BFW) SocGen, Standard Chartered to Help Iran Access $4.2b, Fars Says

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BN 01/20 11:24 *FARS IS IRANIAN STATE-RUN NEWS AGENCY BN 01/20 11:23 *FARS DOESN'T IDENTIFY PERSON WHO SPOKE ON BANKS CHOSEN BY IRAN BN 01/20 11:20 *STANDARD CHARTERED, SOCIETE GENERALE AMONG BANKS CHOSEN BY IRAN BN 01/20 11:19 *BANKS TO EASE IRAN ACCESS TO $4.2B HELD IN ACCOUNTS: FARS BN 01/20 11:19 *3 BANKS CHOSEN TO FACILITATE IRAN'S ACCESS TO ITS FUNDS: FARS

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SocGen, Standard Chartered to Help Iran Access $4.2b, Fars Says 2014-01-20 11:45:52.64 GMT

By Golnar Motevalli Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Societe Generale, Standard Chartered and one other bank will help Iran access frozen oil revenue, state-run news agency Fars reports, citing unidentified official. * Funds unlocked due to interim nuclear deal * Third bank not identified * NOTE: Iran Freezes Nuclear Work Meeting Terms for Sanctions Relief {NSN MZP2ZI6S972T <go>} * NOTE: Iran Nuclear Accord Implementation to Begin, Obama Says {NSN MZB3OV1A74E9 <go>}

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To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Golnar Motevalli at +971-4-3641020 or gmotevalli@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dana El Baltaji at +971-4-364-1021 or delbaltaji@bloomberg.net

(SG) Allianz : On the wrong side of rising rates

* Update We are downgrading Allianz from Hold to Sell as we expect PIMCO’s earnings to come under pressure in 2014, disabling Allianz’s main growth engine. Coupled with the lacklustre growth prospects of its insurance operations, we see group earnings stagnating in the medium term, while we see better momentum with other stocks, especially those more positively correlated with US economic recovery.

* SG view US recovery has been one of the main drivers of stock specific performance in 2013 and our economists expect this to continue in 2014. While we see this as positive for stocks vulnerable to low bond yields, such as Axa, Aegon and Prudential, we see it as a threat to Allianz because of its dependence on PIMCO, which we think is now facing a very difficult environment after many years of extremely strong performance helped by low interest rates. In this report, we highlight that the likely loss of much of PIMCO’s performance fees, as well as the likelihood of continued outflows, especially in its core funds, will cause its operating earnings to fall by 10% in 2014, disabling Allianz’s main growth engine. In addition, we expect limited growth in its insurance operations, which are concentrated in mature, low growth European markets with a significant exposure to low German yields. The question we ask investors is why own Allianz now? The stock is not cheap by sector comparison in our view (trading on sector average spot multiples of 1.4x 2014e P/TNAV with a 14% R/TNAV and P/E of 10.3x), and is facing a period of unattractive earnings stagnation.

* How we value the stock 
We are reducing our target price to €118 (from €125) to reflect our 3% cut to earnings in 2014 (6% in 2015), bringing us below consensus. We value the stock using a SOTP model that uses cross-cycle assumptions and an explicit growth rate for 7 years. Inputting €5.22 2013e DPS gives a -8% 12m projected TSR, putting the stock in the SG Sell rating band.

*Events, catalysts & risks 
Q4 results are on 27 February. The key risks to our recommendation and target price are a reversal of US economic recovery and a fall in US bond yields, and better than expected performance in its insurance units.