>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: FIVE +16.6%, CXDC +11.5% (thinly traded), SCS +6.3% (also upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James), CYCC +4.4% (thinly traded), SFM +4.3% (also announces public offering of 15 mln shares of common stock by Apollo Global Management and certain other stockholders), GOMO +3.2%, PVH +1%, MOV +0.4%, UBS+0.3% (is comfortable with previously stated outlook during investor presentation).

M&A related: YONG +15% (Consortium submitted a proposal to increase the previously offered merger consideration payable to holders of the Publicly Held Shares in connection with the proposed merger from $6.69 per share to $7.00 per share), YOKU +8.1% (higher on reports of Tencent (TCEHY) investment), ALNY +5% (Genzyme exercises its right to purchase additional shares of Alnylam common stock).

Select solar related names showing strength: JKS +3.5%, JASO +1.4%, SPWR +1.2% (sells more than 70 megawatts in concentrator cell packages for two projects in inner Mongolia, China).

A few metals/mining related names trading higher: KGC +1.6%, GG +1.1%, RIO +0.8% (Australia has cut price estimates on iron ore, according to reports ), GDX +0.5%, GLD +0.3%.

Select social media related names showing modest strength: YELP +2.5%, TWTR +1%, LNKD +0.9%.

Other news: OXGN +14.7% (continued strength), SINA +6.4% (YOKU sympathy), OIBR +4% (still checking), TASR +2.6% (ticking higher, Danville Police Department deploying EVIDENCE.com With 96 AXON On-Officer cameras), HIMX +2.4% (following FB news), TM +2.3% (plans to spend JPY 360 bln on share buyback, according to reports), SSLT +1.9% (still checking), DDD+0.9% (announces its ProJet 3510 MP 3D printer and proprietary VisiJet Stoneplast dental materials are now also available for use with 3Shape Implant Studio), SN +0.9% (lowered its total 2014 capital plan to $600-650 million from $650-700 million as a result of significant decreases in drilling and completions costs and efficiency improvements), DUK +0.8% (to sell unused nuclear fuel assemblies from retired Crystal River Nuclear Plant), PFE +0.6% (achieves primary endpoint with Phase 3B Top-Line Results Of GENOTROPIN in very young children born small for gestational age), AMZN +0.4% (Amazon Web Services Receives Department of Defense-Wide Provisional Authorization for All U.S. Regions), ICPT +0.3% (disclosed pre-arranged stock trading plans for execs),AAPL +0.2% (China smartphone market will reach 422 mln users this year, according to reports).

Analyst comments: VTNR +2.5% (ticking higher, initiated with a Buy at Wunderlich), NXPI +2.3% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley), GRMN +1.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup; tgt raised to $65 from $50), BBRY +1% (target raised to $8 from $4 at Citigroup), MN +0.7% (Manning & Napier initiated with a Strong Buy at Raymond James), WBMD+0.5% (initiated with a Buy at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey), CVA +0.4% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird), MDSO +0.3% (initiated with a Buy at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: FIVE +15.8%, OXGN +14.7%, FCEL +7.6%, INSM +6.6%, SINA +6.4%, SCS +6.3%, PLUG +4.6%, YOKU +4.5%, CYCC +4.4%, SFM +4.3%, OIBR +4%, BLDP +3.3%, GOMO +3.2%, HIMX +2.4%, SSLT +1.9%, BYD +1.8%, GG +1.1%, PVH +1%, DDD +0.9%, SN +0.9%, RIO +0.8%

Gapping down: GCA -18%, REED -12.5%, BODY -9.9%, RGSE -9.8%, MNGA -7.8%, IGT -7.4%, GEVO -7.3%, BFAM -5.4%, SZYM -2.6%, VEEV -2.1%, RBS -2%, LNDC -1.8%, PNRA -1.7%, LYG -1.6%, CCL -1.4%, ESS -1.1%, ECYT -1.1%, ZNGA -0.8%

BArron's : Why Traders Are Spooked

Conspiracy theories abound, and some investors lose big on unusual S&P pricing. If the cause was fear of rising rates, the problem may return.

The hot topic Tuesday on Wall Street was far from ordinary, and had little to do with the usual worries about economic growth, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, or China's wobbly financial market.

Traders were scratching their heads, and even spinning conspiracy theories, about the unusual aftermath of Friday's expiration of futures and options.

On Monday, just as the market opened, the price of many stocks surged so much that the settlement of derivatives tied to the Standard & Poor's 500 index occurred at a price some 10 points higher than Friday's closing price.

This stunned many traders because settlement prices usually align with closing prices from the night before. These traders lost money. It's hard to say how much everyone lost, but it was enough that Chicago derivatives exchanges were peppered with questions from riled traders demanding to know what happened.

Though there has been some speculation that the unusual trading was related to algorithmic traders manipulating the stock, options and futures markets, a simpler explanation is more probable. Many big investors regularly engage in "funding trades" that are designed to arbitrage money by trading similar, yet different markets. While this type of stuff may seem exotic to ordinary stock and bond investors, the markets are stitched together by relationships, and slight differences, between stocks and derivatives. Sometimes, very big trades can roil the markets, and that is what probably happened Monday.

A big program trader is thought to have been long S&P 500 futures and short each of the stocks in the index. Because the fund was short stocks, the fund was paid by its brokerage firm or clearing firm what's known as a short stock rebate. The rebates tend to be higher than the amount of interest that can be earned in a money-market account. This type of funding transaction can be very lucrative when large sums of money are involved. The risk is relatively muted because buying a futures contract covers the risk that a basket of short stocks will increase in price. How? The futures contract value will increase, and that offsets the impact of short stocks rallying higher. Futures prices also reflect dividend expectations for stocks.

The natural question now is why did this program trader decide to exit a profitable trade with little risk? The answer: rising interest rates. Many investors are now uncertain when the Federal Reserve may finally raise interest rates. They are confused by the bank's statements after the recent rate-setting committee meeting. Rather than waiting to see if the bank raises rates six months after tapering ends, as some now think, or later, as almost everyone previously thought, this major program trader decided to exit his large position in stocks and S&P 500 derivatives. He sold long derivatives, and bought short stocks. The volume was so much larger than what ordinarily trades at the open that it managed to push prices sharply higher in some stocks.

Steve Sosnick, the risk manager for Timber Hill, one of the world's largest derivatives trading firms, explained in a communiqué for customers of his firm's parent company, Interactive Brokers (ticker: IBKR), what happened Monday morning.

" Apple (AAPL) opened at $533.68 at 9:30:00, which was its high for the day. Goldman Sachs (GS) opened at $170.00, which was also its high for the day. As GS was opening, AAPL had declined to $532.07. Within a minute, both AAPL and GS were nearly 50 cents lower. This is a tiny sample of an opening that was characterized by most index components opening at or near their highs of the day. Because the early opening stocks were already declining as laggards opened later, the index computation using 500 official opening prices was able to greatly outstrip the observed high of the day," Sosnick wrote in a post.

For those keeping score at home: Sosnick is using opening prices from the stocks' primary exchanges; consolidated prices are slightly different.

All of this bobbing up and down in the stock market rippled through the derivatives market. Remember, the final values of expiring contracts are based on the value of the underlying stocks at the open. Because stocks open at slightly different times during the first few minutes of trading, the index settlement price can occur outside the observed range of the S&P index. "That was the case on Friday, as the settlement price of the index was 1,893.30. The highest level of the index during the trading day was only 1,883.97. That meant that holders of the 1,890 strike call options received an unexpected windfall as their seemingly worthless options suddenly expired in the money. The opposite happened to put holders," Sosnick explained.

Bottom line: Investors must now treat options and futures expirations as potentially volatile events with unexpected outcomes. It is hard to say if the recent expiration was an isolated event or the start of a trend as investors prepare for higher interest rates. Until the answer becomes clearer, treat options and futures expirations as events to be anticipated, and feared.

FT : Murdoch makes big succession planning step with jobs for sons

Rupert Murdoch has taken a big step in the succession planning of his media empire by appointing his sons Lachlan and James to top roles.
Lachlan, 42, is to be non-executive co-chairman of 21st Century Fox and News Corp, and James, 41, is to be chief operating officer of 21st century Fox, reporting to but sharing many responsibilities with Chase Carey, the chief executive.

The brothers were already directors of both companies.
There is no new role for Elisabeth Murdoch, the third sibling from Rupert’s first marriage.
Rupert said he was “very pleased” Lachlan was returning to a leadership role in 21st century Fox.
“Lachlan is a strategic and talented executive with a rich knowledge of our businesses,” he said in a statement. “From 1994 to 2007, Lachlan’s executive career at the company spanned the globe, culminating as deputy chief operating officer responsible for the group’s most important publishing businesses in addition to its vast US television station holdings.”
In an internal memo to News Corp employees, Rupert wrote: “I asked that the new News have the sensibility of a start-up and that we focus on creative teamwork as we develop our core businesses, and I am proud of the efforts you have made in recent months, under the leadership of Robert Thomson.
“I have no doubt that Lachlan’s strategic sense and his passion for media and for knowledge will greatly assist Robert and me as we lead the company over the coming decade.”
Mr Carey said James’s appointment “in many ways . . . formalises the role he’s been playing for some time and acknowledges the contribution he has made in driving our business”.
The company said Mr Carey’s role in the company was still being determined. “We are finalising Chase’s extended agreement and are confident it will be completed shortly,” a spokesperson said.
James, who was heavily involved in the fallout of the hacking scandal at the News of the World and decision to close the British newspaper, will have direct responsibility for Fox Networks Group, which will now report to him and will also have direct responsibility for the strategic and operational development of the company’s interests in the pay-television Sky and Star services in Europe and Asia, respectively.
Lachlan is also currently an executive chairman of NOVA Entertainment Group – an Australian national FM network, executive chairman of Illyria Pty Ltd, and a director of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.
Until recently, he also served as non-executive chairman of Ten Network Holdings.

(BFW) AT&T Has Made No Proposal, Negocios Cites Vodafone CEO as Saying

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

AT&T Has Made No Proposal, Negocios Cites Vodafone CEO as Saying 2014-03-26 08:40:15.673 GMT

By Joao Lima March 26 (Bloomberg) -- AT&T has made no proposal to Vodafone, Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Negocios cites Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao as saying in an interview. * NOTE March 12: AT&T Says Window for a Wireless Deal in Europe May Be Closing {NSN N2BVCP6S972O <go>} Story link (in Portuguese): http://tinyurl.com/lf3vve9

Link to Company News:{VOD LN <Equity> CN <GO>} Link to Company News:{T US <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: Joao Lima in Lisbon at +351-21-340-4570 or jlima1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anabela Reis at +351-21-340-4650 or areis1@bloomberg.net

>>> APPLE is testing interesting level, news of Icahn selling NFLX yest, pus

Apple closed above important levels - next few days will be important.

----- Original Message -----
From: LAURENT CHEKROUN ()
To: LAURENT CHEKROUN ()
At: Mar 25 2014 14:39:52

Investors that he could increase ists atke in AAPL, new launch this year with iphone 6 (2 products/ 4.7 & 5.5 inches), new iPad air, New MacBook Air....new Apple TV,...lot of things coming....

Stock could head higher, I would buy here to play next range...544 / 550 / 572