TheChek News Flow

Closing Market Summary: Stocks End on Highs Despite Early Weakness

The major averages settled on their best levels of the session despite showing some early weakness. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% while the Nasdaq outperformed with an advance of 0.7%. Stocks began the session in the red as cautious action in Europe contributed to the lower open. Although European indices hovered near their lows as the U.S. session got underway, they were quick to climb off their lows right alongside U.S. equities. The tech-heavy Nasdaq paced the rebound as top-weighted index components like Google (GOOG 1032.47, +20.69), Microsoft (MSFT 38.16, +0.80), and Qualcomm (QCOM 70.03, +1.52) provided significant support. In addition, Cisco Systems (CSCO 24.00, +0.27) added 1.1% ahead of its after-hours quarterly report.

Momentum names also underpinned the Nasdaq after suffering group-wide weakness last week. Facebook (FB 48.71, +2.11), LinkedIn (LNKD 220.65, +11.37), and Priceline.com (PCLN 1124.20, +24.71) gained between 2.3% and 5.4%. Tesla (TSLA 138.70, +0.90) also displayed intraday strength, but surrendered the bulk of its gain into the close amid reports of fire department activity at the company's factory in California. Outside of technology, the discretionary sector (+1.6%) was the only other outperformer among cyclical sectors. Apparel retailers climbed throughout the session after Macy's (M 50.68, +4.35) beat on earnings and revenue. Macy's jumped 9.4% while the broader SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 87.31, +1.13) advanced 1.3%. Homebuilders also provided a measure of support to discretionary shares as the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 22.13, +0.30) settled higher by 1.4%. Also of note, the financial sector ended in-line with the broader market despite underperforming in early action. The sector climbed into positive territory in conjunction with the S&P, and followed the benchmark index into the close. With regard to countercyclical sectors, only consumer staples (+0.9%) finished ahead of the broader market while health care (+0.5%), telecom services (-0.2%), and utilities (+0.3%) lagged. Treasuries finished near their highs with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.74%. Today's participation was on the light side as less than 700 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 1.8% to follow last week's decline of 2.8%.

The Treasury Budget deficit fell to $91.6 billion in October from $120.0 billion in October 2012. Since the data are not seasonally adjusted, the October budget deficit cannot be compared to the surplus in September. The CBO, which typically releases its budget estimate a few days before the Treasury releases the actual numbers, did not release an advance projection for the October data. While the government shutdown likely had an effect on the decline in the October budget deficit, the Treasury Department did not issue a statement explaining what exactly the effects were. Tomorrow, weekly initial claims, September trade balance, and preliminary Q3 productivity will all be reported at 8:30 ET. In addition, Janet Yellen's confirmation hearing will begin tomorrow with an appearance in front of the Senate Banking Committee.

o Nasdaq +31.3% YTD o Russell 2000 +30.9% YTD o S&P 500 +25.0% YTD o DJIA +20.7% YTD

Cameron urges cuts in mobile phone bills

David Cameron is urging mobile phone companies to give customers a better deal as the prime minister fights to win ground in the battle over the rising cost of living. Downing Street has instructed Maria Miller and her officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to exact concessions from mobile phone companies, including on roaming bills, as well as on the lack of transparency in costs. The "telecom consumer action plan", originally announced in September, has been portrayed to the industry as part of a wider push to tackle inflation in the cost of basic services. But the initiative has been pushed up the political agenda Mr Cameron responds to Ed Miliband, Labour leader, who has won public support for his focus on rising energy prices and stagnant wages. The culture ministry has summoned telecoms executives to a meeting this week. The aim will be to win commitments that can feed into policy and which could potentially be revealed in a speech by the prime minister towards the end of the month. Companies summoned to the meeting include Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three. "Cameron [is] trying to regain the initiative from Labour in cost of living debate" by moving the discussion into sectors other than just energy, a telecoms executive said. Another executive with knowledge of the talks said he was worried that "we will be painted as the bad guys next". Mr Miliband has dominated the cost of living debate following his promise of a 20-month energy price freeze if Labour won the 2015 general election. Mr Cameron has denounced the policy as a "price con" but polling suggesting that the Labour leader has struck a chord with voters is worrying Conservatives. Downing Street plans to use the Autumn Statement in December to offer households concrete help with the cost of living. George Osborne, chancellor, said in September he would tackle cost of living issues, citing rail prices, bank charges and water bills as areas in his line of fire. The Treasury is also expected to help households with fuel costs by shifting energy efficiency schemes from customers’ bills and back on to general taxation. Government officials insisted that the meeting with mobile companies was not to discuss the price of phone bills but rather an attempt to tackle the unintended effects on the poorest of having a mobile phone. One telecoms executive added: "Naturally, we will make sure that the point is made that smartphones are quite expensive and that bills have broadly come down year on year." The culture ministry-led initiative comes as Ofcom, the telecoms watchdog, is also trying to enforce better practices across the industry.

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Pink Diamond Sold for $83m Sets Auction Record in Geneva 2013-11-13 20:37:34.458 GMT

By Thomas Mulier Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Pink diamond’s $83m price includes commission * Pink diamond sells for hammer price of CHF68m

Link to Company News:{BID US <Equity> CN <GO>}

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Thomas Mulier at +41-22-317-9201 or tmulier@bloomberg.net

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Sanofi Has Shown Substantial Evidence Lemtrada Works, Panel Says 2013-11-13 20:46:11.882 GMT

By Catherine Larkin and Meg Tirrell Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- FDA advisory panel voted 12-6 that Lemtrada is effective at treating relapsing MS. * 6 dissenters said Sanofi hadn’t proven drug worked because studies weren’t well controlled * Panel will next review whether drug has beneficial effect on disability and whether safety concerns preclude approval * FDA isn’t required to follow panel’s recommendations * NOTE: (Earlier) Sanofi’s Lemtrada Studies Seen Inadequate by FDA Panel

Link to Company News:BAYN GR <Equity> CN <GO> Link to Company News:BTG LN <Equity> CN <GO> Link to Company News:SAN FP <Equity> CN <GO>

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at +1-312-443-5968 or clarkin4@bloomberg.net

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MORE: BNP Paribas to Buy BNP Paribas Fortis Stake for EU3.25b 2013-11-13 20:10:06.512 GMT

By Louisa Fahy Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Belgium to record capital gain of ~EU900m at close of deal, e-mail shows. * BNP Paribas sees negative impact on Common Equity Tier 1 Basel 3 ratio of about 50bp * BNP Paribas sees deal adding ~3% to 2013 pro forma net income

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

To contact the reporter on this story: Louisa Fahy in Washington at +1-202-624-1942 or lnesbitt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Louisa Fahy at +1-202-624-1942 or lnesbitt@bloomberg.net

Snapchat Spurned $3 Billion Acquisition Offer from Facebook

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel in Los Angeles. Associated Press By Evelyn M. Rusli and Douglas MacMillan

Snapchat, a rapidly growing messaging service, recently spurned an all-cash acquisition offer from FacebookFB +3.32% for $3 billion or more, according to people briefed on the matter.

The offer, and rebuff, came as Snapchat is being wooed by other investors and potential acquirers. Chinese e-commerce giant Tencent HoldingsTCEHY -1.12% had offered to lead an investment that would value two-year-old Snapchat at $4 billion.

Evan Spiegel, Snapchat’s 23-year-old co-founder and CEO, will not likely consider an acquisition or an investment at least until early next year, the people briefed on the matter said. They said Spiegel is hoping Snapchat’s numbers – of users and messages – will grow enough by then to justify an even larger valuation, the people said.

A Snapchat spokeswoman declined to comment.

Snapchat specializes in ephemeral mobile messages, including text or photographs, that disappear after a few seconds. The service has not generated any revenue, but is especially popular among teenagers and young adults, who use the app to send messages to friends.

The approaches to Snapchat come amid rising exuberance for social media, and mobile-messaging upstarts in particular. TwitterTWTR +0.79%, an unprofitable short-messaging service, is valued at roughly $25 billion after its initial public offering last week. Pinterest, an image-sharing app, last month raised $225 million from investors who valued the company, which also has no revenue, at $3.8 billion.

Facebook had earlier offered to buy Snapchat for more than $1 billion, the people briefed on the matter said. In recent weeks, Facebook representatives contacted Snapchat again to discuss an all-cash offer that would have valued Snapchat at $3 billion or more. At that price, it would be Facebook’s largest acquisition, more than double its nearly $1 billion deal for photo-sharing social network Instagram in 2010.

Facebook is interested in Snapchat because more of its users are tapping the service via smartphones, where messaging is a core function. Facebook has rapidly increased the share of its revenue coming from mobile advertising, but said last month that fewer young teens were using the service on a daily basis.

Tencent, a diverse Internet company, owns WeChat, a major messaging service in China, and has a stake in KaKao, a popular South Korean app. It was vying to lead a group of investors that had offered to invest $200 million in Snapchat at a valuation of roughly $4 billion.

In June, Snapchat raised $60 million from investors including Institutional Venture Partners; that round valued the company at $800 million.

Three months later, Snapchat said its usage had nearly doubled, to 350 million messages or "snaps" per day, up from 200 million in June.

If Snapchat pursues an investment early next year, Spiegel has told investors he would like to sell a block of his own stock, according to people familiar with those conversations.

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BN 11/13 15:09 *NIGERIA HOUSE OF REPS DEPUTY SPEAKER IHEDIOHA COMMENTS BN 11/13 15:09 *NIGERIAN INVESTIGATION FOLLOWS BERNE DECLARATION REPORT BN 11/13 15:09 *NIGERIA TO PROBE $6.8B CRUDE REV LOST IN VITOL, TRAFIGURA DEALS BN 11/13 15:09 *NIGERIAN LAWMAKERS TO INVESTIGATE NNPC, SWISS OIL TRADERS BN 11/13 15:09 *NIGERIAN LAWMAKERS TO PROBE ALLEGED CRUDE SALE FRAUD BY NNPC

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*NIGERIA TO PROBE $6.8B CRUDE REV LOST IN VITOL, TRAFIGURA DEALS 2013-11-13 15:09:42.654 GMT

--JULIE ALNWICK

-0- Nov/13/2013 15:09 GMT

ECB's Praet: All Options on Table

Central Bank Could Adopt Negative Deposit Rate, Asset Purchases If Needed

FRANKFURT—The European Central Bank could adopt negative interest rates or purchase assets from banks if needed to lift inflation closer to its target, a top ECB official said, rebutting concerns that the central bank is running out of tools or is unwilling to use them. "If our mandate is at risk we are going to take all the measures that we think we should take to fulfill that mandate. That's a very clear signal," ECB executive board member Peter Praet said in an interview Tuesday with The Wall Street Journal. Annual inflation in the euro zone slowed to 0.7% in October, far below the central bank's target of just below 2% over the medium term. He didn't rule out what some analysts see as the strongest, and most controversial, option: purchases of assets from banks to reduce borrowing costs in the private sector. "The balance-sheet capacity of the central bank can also be used," said Mr. Praet, whose views carry added weight as he also heads the ECB's powerful economics division. "This includes outright purchases that any central bank can do." Additional stimulus from the ECB isn't needed right now, Mr. Praet signaled, noting that inflation risks for the euro zone as a whole are balanced after last week's unexpected ECB interest-rate cut. On Thursday the central bank reduced its key lending rate to 0.25%, a record low. The move came days after the October inflation report fanned fears that the euro zone may slip into a period of excessively low inflation or, in parts of the currency bloc, persistent consumer-price declines known as deflation. This cripples economic activity by damping wages and profits and hampering efforts by the private sector and governments to reduce debt. Countries hit hardest by the euro debt crisis including Ireland, Greece, Cyprus and Spain have inflation rates of zero or lower. The ECB could do more if necessary, Mr. Praet said. "On standard measures, interest rates, we still have room and that would also include the deposit facility," he said. The central bank's deposit rate has been set at zero for several months. Making it negative would effectively levy a fee on commercial banks that park funds at the ECB. That would be aimed at spurring bank lending to the private sector, boosting growth and inflation. However, one risk is that a negative deposit rate would weigh on bank profits. Another option is to make more cash available to financial institutions, as it has in the past with cheap, long-term loans, known as LTROs, Mr. Praet said. The ECB has so far resisted large-scale asset purchases as a means to boost growth. The Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan 8301.TO -2.68% have used this tool, known as quantitative easing, aggressively to spur lending and keep inflation from falling too low, buying large swaths of government and private debt. The ECB purchased safe bank bonds and government bonds at the height of the global financial crisis and the euro debt crisis, but in small amounts compared with other major central banks. The policy is deeply unpopular in Germany, where long-standing fears of inflation spur doubts about easy-money policies. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann opposed the ECB's decision last year to create a government bond-purchase program even though the facility, which hasn't even been used, has been widely credited with helping resolve the bloc's debt crisis. The ECB's charter forbids it from financing governments. The ECB must respect its legal constraints, Mr. Praet said, however its rules "do not exclude that you intervene in the markets outright." Mr. Weidmann was in the minority of ECB officials who opposed last week's rate reduction, preferring to wait another month to gain more information on the inflation outlook. This has led to some concern that if the ECB can't unanimously agree on a cut to its key lending rate, reaching consensus on more outside-the-box monetary policies will prove tricky. "For some decisions it's easier than others" to gain consensus, Mr. Praet said. "One thing is clear: the governing council has been able to decide. That's really the message." The need for more aggressive stimulus is increasingly being debated by economists and investors. Economists at BNP Paribas BNP.FR -1.20% argue the ECB should buy €50 billion ($67.18 billion) per month of government bonds of euro-zone countries and start doing so "the sooner the better." Still it places the odds at under 50-50 "probably by a wide margin" in part because of likely resistance from the ECB's conservative wing. Mr. Praet rejected fears, particularly in Germany, that low ECB interest rates harm savers by reducing the interest rate they earn on deposits. Low interest rates tend to favor borrowers over savers. "Creditors and debtors always have an interest in a stable anchor, which is price stability in the medium term," Mr. Praet said. "The action to reduce uncertainty is good for the climate for savers."

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Teva Merger of Equals May Offer ‘Back-Up’ Option: Bernstein 2013-11-13 14:16:45.324 GMT

By Sasha Damouni and Clyde Eltzroth Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Teva may see merger of equals as offering “further upside or back-up option” if co. unable to create value itself, Bernstein analyst Aaron Gal said in note. * Teva isn’t easy co. to buy given EV ($44b), home-country concerns, lack of interest in sale; co. still has low interest rates, lack of permanent mgmt, unhappy shareholders base * “Substantial synergies” to be achieved, especially if acquirer is another generic co. * TEVA 13 buys, 12 holds, 4 sells, avg PT $44: Bloomberg data * NOTE: Oct. 30, Teva CEO Jeremy Levin to Step Down

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

--Editor: Stefanie Batcho-Lino

To contact the reporters on this story: Sasha Damouni in New York at +1-212-617-7787 or sdamouni2@bloomberg.net; Clyde Eltzroth in New York at +1-212-617-1879 or celtzroth1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joanna Ossinger at +1-212-617-7789 or jossinger@bloomberg.net

Gapping down

In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: YRCW -23.9%, PERY -15.3% (light volume), OXGN -15.2%, SUPN -13%, (light volume), CLNT -11.7%, TELK -9.7%, INTX -7.6%, (thinly traded), GILT -7.5%, CDXS -7%, (light volume), DIOD -5.9%, TEAR -5.8%, PRKR -5.4%, (light volume), MDVN -1.5%.

Financial related names showing weakness: BCS -2.3%, DB -1.3%, HBC -1%, JPM -0.8%.

Metals/mining stocks trading lower: MT -3.4%, RIO -1.7%, VALE -1.3%, BBL -1.2%, GOLD -0.2%.

Other news: XGTI -12.5% ( prices 5.715 mln shares of common stock at $1.75), CHTP -9.9% ( announces public offering of common stock, size not disclosed), SB -9.2% (announces public offering and concurrent private placement of common stock), SNTA -6.1% ( announces proposed public offering of common stock; size not disclosed), BALT -6.1% (announces common stock offering; size not disclosed ), BAGL -5.7% ( announces 2.5 mln share secondary offering by funds and accounts managed by Greenlight Capital, Inc. and its affiliates), BBEP -4.5% (commences public offering of 15 mln common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership), BNNY -1.8% (announced a public secondary offering of 2,537,096 shares of common stock by Solera Partners, L.P. and SCI Partners), XONE -1.5% (appoints Brian Smith as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer), PBR -1.4% (PetroChina acquires Petrobras assets in Peru for ~ $2.6 bln ), EQIX -1.2% (discloses that it completed its evaluation installation fees ), SBUX -1.2% (concludes packaged coffee dispute with Kraft (KRFT); Kraft entitled to $2.23 bln in damages plus $527 mln in prejudgment interest and attorney's fees).

Analyst comments: MT -3.4% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Exane BNP Paribas ), AZN -0.6% (downgraded to Sell from Hold at Panmure)