Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso Announces €100M 5-yr convertible bond
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Bouygues Keeps Earlier SFR Offer Open to Vivendi 2014-04-02 06:44:32.276 GMT
By Sam Chambers April 2 (Bloomberg) -- In response to requests from Vivendi shareholders, Bouygues maintains validity of an earlier offer for SFR, which it made on March 12. * Under terms of its March 12 offer, Vivendi would receive EU11.3b cash, 43% stake in merged co. * Under terms of Bouygues’s most recent offer, Vivendi would receive EU13.15b cash and a 21.5% stake in merged co. * Says both offers remain valid until April 25. Statement * NOTE: Altice said to be considering raising cash portion of its SFR offer. Story * NOTE: A three-week exclusivity period for Vivendi and Altice to reach an agreement expires on April 4
For Related News and Information: First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO> First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Chambers in London at +44-20-7673-2021 or schambers7@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Ludden at +44-20-7673-2645 or jludden@bloomberg.net
Vivendi Universal Bouygues issues update on offer, to allow Vivendi to choose between 2 offers
- To allow Vivendi to choose between the March 12 offer or the March 20th offer.
- According to Bouygues both offers are valid until April 25th.
Mannkind: FDA Advisory Committe votes in favor of safety and efficacy of AFREZZA for the treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes (stock halted) (4.02 0.00)
The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee recently concluded it's review of new drug application (NDA) 22-472, proposed trade name AFREZZA (TECHNOSPHERE Insulin Inhalation System), 3 unit and 6 unit cartridges for oral inhalation, manufactured by MannKind Corporation. The proposed indication (use) for this application is to improve glycemic control in adult patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The panel voted 13 yes, 1 no, with 1 abstain in favor of the safety and efficacy of AFREZZA for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
The panel voted 14 yes, 0 no in favor of the safety and efficacy of AFREZZA for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
--> Co confirmed that the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA voted 13 to 1 to recommend that AFREZZA (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder be granted marketing approval by the FDA to improve glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes and voted 14 to 0 to recommend that AFREZZA be granted marketing approval by the FDA to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. If approved, AFREZZA would be the first ultra rapid-acting mealtime insulin therapy available in the United States.
Pernod Ricard preparing sale of Jan Becher, sale price could reach USD 200m
Pernod Ricard, a French wine and spirits company. is preparing a sale of its Czech liquor producer Jan Becher, a newswire reported on Tuesday.
Stock Spirits Group and SPI Group are likely to be among the potential bidders, according to Reuters, which cited undisclosed sources. Societe Generale was named as a transaction advisor, sources claimed.
The first round of the sale tender is to start this Friday, one of the sources noted. Jan Becher produces Becherovka, a popular digestive liquor, the item said.
The selling price could reach USD 200m, noted the report.
Source Newswire Round-up
US MArket Closed, with S&P Settling at a fresh record high (1885.52), Nasdaq is still leading the move, top name leaded the move...(AAPL+0.91% , NFLX +3.44%, GOOG+1.83%, AMZN+1.66%...Consumer Staples(-0.1%), Telecom Service(+0.3%) & Utilities(-0.7%) ended behind the broader market...VIX @ 13.10 -5.62%...Volume was on the light side @ 700mil shares
Today eco MBA Mortgage, ADP employ. & Factory Orders...Chinese property sector saw some relief following a report from Shanghai Securities News indicating the govt in some of the lower tier cities - more vulnerable to a housing downturn - are considering easing some of the curbs....Tokyo markets got a boost from strong economic data in the US session, with rising treasury yields translating into stronger dollar/weaker yen and subsequently higher equity prices....Nikkei225 breached the psychological 15,000 mark - also its 3-week high. BOJ March Tankan survey revealed diminishing expectations of the economy being able to achieve the 2% inflation target, noting that firms of all sizes see CPI at 1.5% in 1 year and just 1.7% in five years. This follows overnight disappointing manufacturing Tankan for Q1, which prompted economists at Nomura to forecast more BOJ policy easing in July....Nikkei +1.10% (below the 15k)... HS+0.22% ... Shanghai+0.57%
Eur$ 1.3806 S&P Fut +0.12% European Fut. +0.35%
- Europe May Enter New Period Market Volatility, Weber Tells FD {NSN N3E0KZ6K50ZT <go>}
- European Investors Concerned China Growth Unsustainable: Goldman
- JP Morgan Lowers 2014 Iron Ore Price Forecast on Steel Outlook
Keep an eye on :
- AAL LN : Anglo American May Divest Platinum Division: Chicago Tribune
- ASC LN : Asos 1H Pretax Beats Ests., GBP2.5b Sales Next `Staging Post'
- BLT LN : BHP Asset Spin-Off May Have Enterprise Value of $48B, MS Says
- BLT LN : BHP Portfolio Simplification Unlikely to Create Value: Liberum
- BNP FP : BNP Paribas Sells Miami Private Bank to Santander, Echos Says
- DAI GY : Nissan to Offer Mercedes Engine in New Skyline, Nikkei Says
- DL NA : Delta Lloyd CEO Plans to Step Down at May 2015 AGM at Latest
- DPW GY : Deutsche Post Forecasts Ebit to Rise 8% Per Year Through 2020
- EDF FP : EDF Should See More Supportive News Flow in Next 6-9 Mos.: JPM
- EDP PL : EDP Says Iberdrola Decreased Stake to 1.58% From 2.9%: CMVM Link
- GLJ GY : Grenkeleasing 1Q New Business Up 13%; Says Had Successful Start
- IBE SM : Spanish Regulator Says 1st Month Power Tariff Deficit EU1.1b
- MEO1V FH : Weir’s Metso Merger Opposed by Finnish State Fund: Reuters
- MEO1V FH : Cevian Capital May Support Weir/Metso Merger, Times Says
- RB/ LN : Reckitt Benckiser Likely to Spin Off Pharma Unit, JPMorgan Says
- RDSA NA : Shell Using More Chinese Equipment in U.S. Shale Business: FT
- RNO FP : Renault Samsung Aims to Boost Sales by 70% in 2016 vs. 2013
- RSA LN : MORE: Moody’s Cuts U.K. Life Insurers Outlook to Negative
- RXL FP : *REXEL, ADVENT, CVC SAID TO DECIDE NOT TO BID FOR ANIXTER
- SBMO NA : SBM Offshore: Evidence Payment to Officials in Angola/Eq. Guinea
- GENP FP : Stallergenes Says FDA Has Approved Oralair
- SL/ LN : Standard Life, St James's Place Top U.K. Life Picks: JPMorgan
- VONN SW : Vontobel CEO Says He Has ‘Cautious’ Outlook for 1H 2014
- ZAG AV : Zumtobel Sees Sales Rising 3%-5%/Yr Until 2016/2017; Cuts Jobs
>>> Up
*AMEC RAISED TO EQUALWEIGHT VS UNDERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
*ASSA ABLOY RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT PARETO SECURITIES
*AURUBIS RAISED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*IP GROUP RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT NUMIS
*MONCLER RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT UBS
*NESTLE RAISED TO OUTPERFORM VS MARKET PERFORM AT BERNSTEIN
*SALZGITTER RAISED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*STRABAG RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT GOLDMAN
*UNITED INTERNET RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
>>> Down
*ARCELORMITTAL CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
*GSW IMMOBILIEN CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*I Grandi Viaggi Cut to Hold vs Accumulate at Banca Akros
*KLOECKNER CUT TO SELL FROM HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*METSO CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT NORDEA
*SKW STAHL-METALLURGIE CUT TO SELL FROM HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*SUPERGROUP CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT BOFAML
*THYSSENKRUPP CUT TO SELL FROM HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
>>> PT Changes
*Finmeccanica PT Raised to EU7.5 at UBS; Kept at Neutral
*TOD’S PT RAISED 4% TO EU94 AT BARCLAYS; KEPT AT UNDERWEIGHT
>>> Initiation
*BANKIA RATED NEW NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE; PT EU1.45
*DUFRY RATED NEW UNDERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN; PT CHF141
*GAM HOLDING RATED NEW OUTPERFORM AT MEDIOBANCA; PT CHF17.3
*WORLD DUTY FREE RATED NEW NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN; PT EU11.6
>>> Call
Asian Market Update: China property names rally after reports of potential easing of curbs; Copper spikes after a powerful and shallow 8.2 earthquake off Chile
***Economic Data*** - (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: -5.0% (largest decline in 8-months) V -2.0%E; Y/Y: 23.2% V 27.9%E - (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB JOB VACANCIES: +2.6% V -1.7% PRIOR - (JP) JAPAN MAR MONETARY BASE Y/Y: 54.8% V 55.7% PRIOR; MONETARY BASE END OF PERIOD: ¥219.9T V ¥204.8T PRIOR - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAR ANZ COMMODITY PRICE M/M: -0.1% (first decline in 4 month) V +0.9% PRIOR
Market Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 +1.5%, S&P/ASX +0.1%, Kospi +0.2%, Shanghai Composite +0.5%, Hang Seng +0.3%, Jun S&P500 +0.2% at 1,880, Jun gold +0.2% at $1,282, May crude oil flat at $99.75/brl
***Highlights/Observations/Insights*** - Chinese property sector saw some relief following a report from Shanghai Securities News indicating the govt in some of the lower tier cities - more vulnerable to a housing downturn - are considering easing some of the curbs. Specifically, the city of Changsha in Hunan Province and Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province officials are said to have deemed the curbs in place to achieve their desired effect. Furthermore, press source goes on to say that there is "no doubt" the govt will ease home buying curbs in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Note that earlier today, China Index Academy report on property price trends in March saw sequential gains slow for the 3rd consecutive month to 0.38% m/m to CNY11.0K/sqm v 0.54% rise in February.
- Northern areas of Chile have ordered mass evacuations after a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake that struck 60 miles offshore at a shallow depth of just 12.5 miles. Initial reports suggested 5 fatalities and large landslides disrupting road and highway travel. Several mining names said their facilities were too far away to be effected, however Codelco - the state-owned copper company - evacuated employees at its Ventanas site. May copper spiked over 1% above $3.07 on possibility of mining disruptions in the world's top copper producing country. Aftershocks of heightened seismic activity in the Pacific were also felt as far as New Zealand, where NZD/USD fell some 50pips below $0.8590.
- Tokyo markets got a boost from strong economic data in the US session, with rising treasury yields translating into stronger dollar/weaker yen and subsequently higher equity prices. USD/JPY hit 9-week highs above 103.90, while Nikkei225 breached the psychological 15,000 mark - also its 3-week high. BOJ March Tankan survey revealed diminishing expectations of the economy being able to achieve the 2% inflation target, noting that firms of all sizes see CPI at 1.5% in 1 year and just 1.7% in five years. This follows overnight disappointing manufacturing Tankan for Q1, which prompted economists at Nomura to forecast more BOJ policy easing in July.
- Australia reported a large drop in building permits which could potentially soothe some of the recent RBA concern regarding the overheating property market. Note however that this is typically a fairly volatile data series. Moreover, JPMorgan economists suggested that despite today's drop in the headline figure, there is still a clear uptrend in single family dwellings. AUD/USD fell about 15pips toward $0.9220 on the release.
***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥250B in 1-3 yr JGB, ¥250B in 3-5 yr JGB, and ¥400B in JGBs with maturities of 5-10 yrs - (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$700M in 2033 Bonds, avg yield 4.71%, bid-to-cover 4.85x - (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES: CRUDE: -5.8M (first draw in 6 weeks; Largest draw since Jan 7th) v +1Me - (CN) China MoF sells CNY28B in 7-year Bonds at average yield of 4.33% - GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 2.1 tonnes to 811.0 tonnes (lowest since Mar 7th; 2nd consecutive decline)
***Equities*** US markets: - APOL: Reports Q2 $0.28 v $0.18e, R$679.1M v $688Me; -6.0% afterhours - MNKD: FDA advisory panel votes in favor of Afrezza inhaled drug as a treatment for Type 1 diabetes; Follow up: FDA Advisory Committee recommends approval of AFREZZ, MannKind Corporation's Investigational Drug to Treat Diabetes; +110.5% afterhours
Notable movers by sector: - Financials: China Vanke 000002.CN +3.1%, Poly Real Estate Group 600048.CN +6.0%, Huayuan Property 600743.CN +10.2% (some cities in China discuss to ease home purchase curbs) - Materials: Anhui Conch Cement 600585.CN +2.8%, Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement 000789.CN +2.2% (rise in profitability in China cement industry); Zhejiang Furun 600070.CN +4.4% (FY13 results) - Industrials: Chengdu Road & Bridge Engineering 002628.CN +3.3% (awarded contract); Fong's Industries 641.HK +23.3% (enters JV to redevelop land); GrainCorp GNC.AU +1.9% (ADM may increase stake); Toyota Motor Corp 7203.JP +1.5% (Mar China vehicle results; comments from Nomura) - Technology: Renesas Electronics Corp 6723.JP +9.8% (speculation on Apple's bid in LCD unit); Han's Laser Technology 002008.CN +3.4% (awarded order from Apple); Liaoning Julong Financial Equipment 300202.CN +2.0% (FY13 results); Shenzhen O-film Tech 002456.CN +4.0% (to develop fingerprint technology)
Closing Market Summary: S&P 500 Sets Fresh Record High
The stock market kicked off April on an upbeat note with the Nasdaq Composite (+1.6%) leading the charge. The S&P 500 (+0.7%) settled at a fresh record high of 1885.52 with eight sectors registering gains while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) lagged
In the absence of notable pre-market data or earnings, the major averages began the day with a steady climb that was assisted by upbeat action in Europe, where markets in France, Germany, and Great Britain posted solid gains between 0.5% and 0.8%.
For the second day in a row, the Nasdaq began the day in the lead, maintaining its outperformance throughout the session. The early strength of biotechnology (IBB +2.2%) propelled the initial advance while the index was kept near its session high into the afternoon by the daylong outperformance of the technology sector (+1.3%).
The tech sector received considerable support from several of its top components. The largest sector member, Apple (AAPL 541.65, +4.91), rose 0.9% while other large names like Cisco Systems (CSCO 23.10, +0.88),Google (GOOG 1134.89, +20.38), Oracle (ORCL 41.49, +0.58), and Qualcomm (QCOM 80.10, +1.24) gained between 1.4% and 3.9%.
Although the largest sector finished ahead of the broader market, that was not the case with all top-weighed groups. Financials (+0.4%) and energy (+0.5%) lagged while the discretionary space (+1.4%) finished in the lead.The growth-sensitive discretionary sector was underpinned by momentum names like Amazon.com (AMZN 342.99, +6.62), Netflix (NFLX 364.69, +12.66), and Priceline.com (PCLN 1251.37, +59.48), all of which struggled in March, but started April on an upbeat note. Shares of Ford (F 16.32, +0.72) also contributed, gaining 4.6% after the company reported a 3.0% year-over-year increase in monthly sales.
On the countercyclical side, consumer staples (-0.1%), telecom services (+0.3%), and utilities (-0.7%) ended behind the broader market while health care settled in-line with the S&P 500.
With stocks holding gains throughout the session, participants did not show strong interest in volatility protection, sending the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 13.10, -0.78) lower by 5.6%.
Treasuries registered modest losses with the benchmark 10-yr yieldclimbing four basis points to 2.76%.
Participation was on the light side as less than 700 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.
Today's economic data was limited to February Construction Spending and the March ISM Index:
* Construction spending increased 0.1% in February after falling a downwardly revised 0.2% (from +0.1%) in January while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1%. Extreme winter weather conditions in January and February were blamed for a general downturn in economic data; however, construction, which should feel the brunt of the negative winter effects, was largely in-line with recent trends. Thus, there is no reason to expect construction spending to surge due to pent up demand in the near future.
* The ISM Manufacturing Index increased to 53.7 in March from 53.2 in February. The consensus expected the index to increase to 54.0. Extreme winter weather conditions were blamed for a deterioration in the ISM Manufacturing Index in January. Yet, as temperatures returned to normal, the ISM Manufacturing Index remained well below its Q4 2013 averages. This tells us that weakness in manufacturing activities was likely not tied to the adverse weather, but rather caused by cyclical trends.
Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while the March ADP Employment Change will be announced at 8:15 ET (consensus 215K). The day's data will be topped off with the February Factory Orders report (consensus 1.1%), which is set for a 10:00 ET release.
* Nasdaq Composite +2.2% YTD * Russell 2000 +2.2% YTD * S&P 500 +2.0% YTD * Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.3% YTD
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BN 04/01 18:46 *EDP COMMENTS IN E-MAILED STATEMENT BN 04/01 18:46 *IBERDROLA SELLS 1.26% STAKE IN EDP, CUTS HOLDING TO 1.58%
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*IBERDROLA SELLS 1.26% STAKE IN EDP, CUTS HOLDING TO 1.58% 2014-04-01 18:46:41.392 GMT
--ANDREA SNYDER
-0- Apr/01/2014 18:46 GMT