(BN) Brevan Said to Start Fund Run by Ex-Deutsche Bank Team (1)

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Brevan Said to Start Fund Run by Ex-Deutsche Bank Team (1) 2013-10-11 10:29:39.804 GMT

(Updates with details on Brevan Howard trades in ninth paragraph, hedge-fund performance in 10th graph.)

By Jesse Westbrook Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Brevan Howard Capital Management LP has started an investment fund run by a team of former Deutsche Bank AG market strategists in New York, as Europe’s second- biggest hedge-fund firm expands its presence in the U.S. The Brevan Howard Strategic Macro Fund is managed by Vinay Pande, a former chief investment adviser at Deutsche Bank who joined the firm a year ago, said two people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the hedge fund isn’t yet raising money from clients. It seeks to combine Pande’s research of what assets should outperform with Jersey- based Brevan Howard’s ability to structure trades and manage risk, according to the people. Regulatory filings show Brevan Howard, which manages about $40 billion, has boosted staff at its U.S. unit to 28 people from two in June 2012. It has also been adding new hedge funds after the main fund, which has underperformed its historical returns over the past 21 months, restricted client investments. “You need to come up with new products if you want to keep growing the business,” said Jacob Schmidt, founder of London- based Schmidt Research Partners Ltd., which assesses hedge funds for investors. “The big firms also have big sales staffs that they want to keep happy by giving them new things to sell.”

JPMorgan, Goldman

Max Hilton, a spokesman for Brevan Howard at Peregrine Communications in London, declined to comment on the new fund, while Pande, 56, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment. Pande is a partner at Brevan Howard’s U.S. unit, a senior trader at the firm and the co-manager of the Strategic fund, according to biographies posted online earlier this year for speaking engagements at conferences. He worked at Caxton Associates LLC, a New York-based hedge-fund firm, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. before joining Deutsche Bank, the biographies show. His team on the Brevan Howard fund includes Gerald Lucas, a former Deutsche Bank senior investment strategist, Yang Tang and Miguel Costa, who also worked at the Frankfurt-based bank, the people said. The fund’s investments will include stocks, credit, interest rates, foreign exchange and commodities, according to the people. Lucas, Costa and Tang declined to comment.

Master Fund

The fund is trading with capital provided by Brevan Howard’s $27.9 billion Master fund, which primarily makes bets on derivatives tied to interest rates and currencies based on global macro-economic trends. The Master fund gained less than 2 percent in the nine months through September after rising 3.9 percent in 2012, trailing the average annual return of about 11.4 percent since it started trading in April 2003, according to company reports obtained by Bloomberg News. The Master fund made profits this year betting Japanese equities would rise on policy makers’ championing of monetary stimulus, according to a Brevan Howard statement released in August. Brevan Howard suffered losses wagering that the European Central Bank would cut interest rates, a trade that went against the firm when U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke triggered a rise in global bond yields by signaling in May that the Fed may start curtailing its fixed-income purchases. Macro funds fell 2.1 percent in the first nine months of 2013, while hedge funds broadly rose 5.6 percent, according to data compiled by Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. Alan Howard, 50, who’s based in Geneva, started Brevan Howard in 2002 with four-other members of a proprietary fixed- income trading desk at Credit Suisse.

‘Ideal Portfolio’

At Deutsche Bank, Pande’s duties included advising clients on the “ideal portfolio” in research reports the bank published at the start of a given year. He recommended buying emerging-market stocks and bonds, gold and commodities at the beginning of 2012. Emerging-market equities outperformed U.S. stocks last year, while gold rose 7 percent and commodities, as tracked by the S&P GSCI Spot Index, gained 0.3 percent. Brevan Howard started a hedge fund managed out of New York in 2012 that invests in mortgage-backed securities and other securitized debt, while locking up client funds for as long as two years. The firm formed a separate fund last year with backing from the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System that buys commercial-mortgage backed securities issued before a real estate collapse last decade.

For Related News and Information: Brevan Howard Hires Former Goldman Sachs Partner Piplani NSN MUCQSQ6JIJVJ <GO> Top hedge-fund news: TNI HEDGE WWTOP <GO> Hedge-fund news: HEDN <GO> Hedge-fund Web pages: HGFD <GO> Bloomberg Active Indexes for Funds: BAIF <GO> Top hedge-fund news: TNI HEDGE WWTOP <GO> Hedge-fund news: HEDN <GO>

-- Editors: Simone Meier, Jon Menon

To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Westbrook in London at +44-20-3525-0426 or jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at +44-20-3525-3190 or eevans3@bloomberg.net

(BFW) Uralkali Erases Decline as Lukashenko Proposes Cartel Return

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Uralkali Erases Decline as Lukashenko Proposes Cartel Return 2013-10-11 10:42:37.512 GMT

By Ksenia Galouchko Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Shrs trade up 0.1% by 2:23pm in Moscow, after dropping as much as 1.6% in earlier trading today. * NOTE: Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko proposed Russia return to potash partnership * NOTE: Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner arrested in Belarus Aug. 26 and charged with abuse of office after traveling to Minsk on Belarus PM Myasnikovich’s invitation to discuss potash issues

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

--Editor: Ash Kumar

To contact the reporter on this story: Ksenia Galouchko in Moscow at +7-499-271-3359 or kgalouchko1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Wojciech Moskwa at +48-22-433-4475 or wmoskwa@bloomberg.net

>>> K+S 2H Potash Volume Drop May Be Bigger Than Estimated: Warburg

Warburg says K+S volume drop to probably be more pronounced than originally estimated, cites comments by Potash Corp., temporary shutdown of K+S’s site. • Lowers 2H volumes assumptions for K+S’s Potash & Magnesium Products business to reflect lower demand in Northern, Southern hemispheres, shutdown of Unterbreizbach mine o Says 3Q demand for potash “lackluster” according to comments by North American producers • Sticks to its “conservative” scenario of avg potash price of of $300/t in all mkts in 2014, 2015 (sell, PT EU15) • Earlier: Potash Corp. cuts forecast citing mkt uncertainty • Yday: K+S said potash production halted at Unterbreizbach site • 3Q due Nov. 14 • Shrs -46% YTD vs STOXX Europe 600 Chemicals +4.4% • Rated 8 buys, 8 holds, 22 sells; avg PT EU17.46 or 7% downside: Bloomberg data

(The Economist) The gated globe

The gated globe

Governments are putting up impediments to globalisation. It is time for a fresh wave of liberalisation

IMAGINE discovering a one-shot boost for the world’s economy. It would revitalise firms, increasing sales and productivity. It would ease access to credit and it would increase the range and quality of goods in the shops while keeping their prices low. What economic energy drink can possibly deliver all these benefits? Globalisation can. Yet in recent years the trend to greater openness has been replaced by an enthusiasm for building barriers—mostly to the world’s detriment.

The worst did not happen… Not so long ago, the twin forces of technology and economic liberalisation seemed destined to drive ever greater volumes of capital, goods and people across borders. When the global financial crisis erupted in 2008, that hubris was replaced by fears of a replay of the 1930s. They were not realised, at least in part because the world had learnt from that dreadful decade the lesson that protectionism makes a bad situation worse. Yet a subtler change took place: unfettered globalisation has been replaced by a more selective brand. As our special report shows, policymakers have become choosier about whom they trade with, how much access they grant foreign investors and banks, and what sort of capital they admit. They have not built impermeable walls, but they are erecting gates. That is most obvious in capital markets. Global capital flows fell from $11 trillion in 2007 to a third of that last year. The decline has happened partly for cyclical reasons, but also because regulators in America and Europe who saw banks’ foreign adventures end in disaster have sought to ring-fence their financial systems. Capital controls have found respectability in the emerging world because they helped insulate countries such as Brazil from destabilising inflows of hot money. Sparingly used, capital controls can make financial systems less vulnerable to contagion, and crises less damaging. But governments must not forget the benefits of financial openness. Competition from foreign banks forces domestic ones to compete harder. Ring-fencing banks and imposing capital controls protects from contagion, but also traps savings in countries with little use for them. Trade protectionism cannot claim the justifications that capital controls sometimes can. Fortunately, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the trade watchdog, prevents most ostentatious protectionism, but governments have developed sneaky methods of avoiding its ire. New impediments—subsidies to domestic firms, for instance, local content requirements, bogus health-and-safety requirements—have gained popularity. According to Global Trade Alert, a monitoring service, at least 400 new protectionist measures have been put in place each year since 2009, and the trend is on the increase. Big emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China have displayed a more interventionist approach to globalisation that relies on industrial policy and government-directed lending to give domestic sellers a leg-up. Industrial policy enjoys more respectability than tariffs and quotas, but it raises costs for consumers and puts more efficient foreign firms at a disadvantage. The Peterson Institute reckons local-content requirements cost the world $93 billion in lost trade in 2010. Attempts to restore the momentum of free trade at a global level foundered with the Doha round of trade talks. Instead, governments are trying to do so through regional free-trade agreements. The idea is that smaller trade clubs make it easier to confront politically divisive issues. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that America, Japan and ten others hope to conclude this year aims to set rules for intellectual-property protection, investment, state-owned enterprises and services. Regional free-trade deals are a mixed blessing. Designed well, they can boost liberalisation, both by cutting barriers in new areas and by spurring action in multilateral talks. Done badly, they may divert rather than expand trade. Today’s big deals are probably a net positive, but they may not live up to their promise: in the rush to sign a deal, TPP participants look likely to accept carve-outs for tobacco, sugar, textiles and dairy products, diminishing the final deal. …but it could be so much better Gate-building does not cause much outrage. Yet it is worth remembering what opportunities are being lost. In 2013 the value of goods-and-services exports will run to 31.7% of global GDP. Some big economies trade far less: Brazil’s total exports are just 12.5% of GDP. Increasing that ratio would deliver a shot in the arm to productivity. Trade in services is far lower than in goods; and even in goods, embarrassing levels of protectionism survive. America tacks a 127% tariff on to Chinese paper clips; Japan puts a 778% tariff on rice. Protection is worse in the emerging world. Brazil’s tariffs are, on average, four times higher than America’s, China’s three times. In the past year the cost of impediments to trade has become clearer. Few countries have put up more gates than Russia, India and Brazil; growth in all three has disappointed. The latter two have suffered sharp falls in their currencies. Some countries have counted the cost and are opening up. China’s new leaders are tiptoeing towards looser rules for foreign capital and getting behind a push for a modest global trade deal. Mexico plans to readmit foreign investors to its oil industry in an effort to boost output. Japan hopes that the TPP will shake up its inefficient sectors, complementing fiscal and monetary stimulus. But the fate of globalisation depends most on America. Over the past 70 years it has used its clout to push the world to open up. Now that clout is threatened by China’s growing influence and America’s domestic divisions. Barack Obama’s decision to skip an Asia-Pacific leaders’ summit in Bali to battle the government shutdown at home was ripe with symbolism: China’s and Russia’s presidents managed to attend. Mr Obama must reassert America’s economic leadership by concluding a TPP, even one with imperfections, and force it through Congress. The moribund world economy needs some of the magic that globalisation can deliver.

(BN) *SAMSUNG SAYS FINGERPRINT STATEMENT IS `NOT TRUE'

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BN 10/11 08:59 *SAMSUNG SPOKESWOMAN CHENNY KIM COMMENTS IN TEXT MSG BFW 10/11 08:59 *SAMSUNG SAYS FINGERPRINT STATEMENT IS ‘NOT TRUE’

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*SAMSUNG SAYS FINGERPRINT STATEMENT IS `NOT TRUE' 2013-10-11 08:59:10.669 GMT

--SHINHYE KANG

-0- Oct/11/2013 08:59 GMT

>>> Samsung Electronics To acquire Fingerprint Cards AB for $650M in cash

Samsung Electronics To acquire Fingerprint Cards AB for $650M in cash - Announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Samsung will acquire Fingerprint Cards, the leading fingerprint verification company, for $650 million in cash. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Fingerprint Cards and Samsung. - The acquisition will increase the accessibility of swipe sensor technology. The combination will extend Fingerprint Cards world class technology. - Fingerprint Cards CEO Johan Carlstrm will assume the title of president of the Samsung Fingerprint Cards Division, reporting directly to Kwon Oh-hyun.

Galaxy with fingerprints soon...

(BN) Potash Corp. Cuts Profit Forecast Amid ‘Market Uncertainty’ (1)

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Potash Corp. Cuts Profit Forecast Amid ‘Market Uncertainty’ (1) 2013-10-11 07:49:36.234 GMT

(Adds analyst recommendations in fifth paragraph.)

By Simon Casey Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc., North America’s largest producer, cut its profit forecast after customers deferred purchases amid predictions that prices for its main product will slump. Its shares dropped 2.1 percent in after-market trading. The global potash market was shaken at the end of July after OAO Uralkali, the world’s biggest producer, exited a trading joint venture with its Belarusian rival. The Russian company said it would boost output, a move that sent shares of fertilizer companies plunging around the world. Third-quarter earnings will be about 41 cents a share, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp. said yesterday in a statement. In July, it predicted profit of 45 cents to 60 cents. The average of 27 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for 47 cents, excluding one-time items. “The change primarily reflects lower-than-forecasted potash sales volumes late in the quarter as buyers continued to defer significant purchases amidst near-term market uncertainty,” the company said in the statement. Potash Corp. fell to $31.10 in after-market trading. It has dropped 22 percent this year in regular trading. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Oct. 2. Eight analysts recommend buying Potash Corp., 18 rate it a hold and five recommend selling the stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Strengthen Roots

Uralkali Chief Executive Officer Vladislav Baumgertner said in July that the price of potash, which helps strengthen plant roots and improve resistance to drought, may fall to less than $300 a metric ton as his company moves to full production to gain market share. The last reported potash supply agreement between the Uralkali-Belarusian venture and China was at $400 a ton. Uralkali and former partner Belaruskali had controlled 40 percent of the global potash market through their Belarusian Potash Co. trading venture. The $20 billion market for the crop nutrient was “paralyzed” by Uralkali’s withdrawal from BPC, Potash Corp. Chief Financial Officer Wayne Brownlee said Sept. 18. The Russian company has ramped up to maximum output since quitting BPC, having run at an average 70 percent in 2012. Uralkali’s Baumgertner was arrested in Minsk on Aug. 26 following a meeting with the Belarusian prime minister. He was held in a Belarus KGB cell for a month before being moved to house arrest in a rented apartment, where he remains. Uralkali’s billionaire shareholder Suleiman Kerimov, who controls 33 percent of the Berezniki-based potash producer with two business partners, has held talks on selling his stake since Baumgertner’s detention. China gained a 12.5 percent stake in Uralkali last month after a unit of sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. exchanged bonds for shares in the potash producer.

For Related News and Information: Potash Rift Seen Lasting as Asia Sales Said to Rile Uralkali NSN MRXWG76VDKI4 <GO> Potash Corp. Says Uralkali Dispute With Belarus Won’t Last NSN MR7X886S9728 <GO> Potash Shake-Up Takes Toll as Agrium Warns of 30% Sales Drop NSN MTNE186TTDSX <GO> Potash Corp. news: POT CN <Equity> CN <GO> Top commodity stories: CTOP <GO>

--Editors: Madelene Pearson, John Viljoen

To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Casey in New York at +1-212-617-3143 or scasey4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Simon Casey at +1-212-617-3143 or scasey4@bloomberg.net