>>> US Close : Dow+0,47% S&P+0,76% Nasdaq+0,86%

Closing Market Summary: Stocks Climb While Yen Slides

After enduring a broad-based selloff on Monday, the stock market rebounded, erasing roughly a third of yesterday's losses. The Nasdaq led the way, rising 0.9% while the S&P 500 gained 0.8%. For its part, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, but was unable to reclaim its 200-day moving average (15474).

Equities rallied steadily throughout the session in the absence of yen strength, which has been a headwind to the market since the start of the year. In fact, the yen began retreating overnight, and continued its slide into the close. Dollar/yen finished near 101.65 after starting its rally from just below the 101.00 level. Meanwhile yen futures lost 0.8%, trimming their 2014 gain to 3.6%.

Nine of ten sectors ended in the green with the discretionary space in the lead. The sector added 1.2% after Michael Kors (KORS 89.91, +13.24) and Yum! Brands (YUM 72.06, +5.06) reported above-consensus earnings. KORS surged 17.3% and YUM jumped 8.9% while also providing support to their respective industry groups. Despite today's relative strength, the discretionary sector remains the weakest performer of the year, down 7.4%.

Other influential groups like health care (+1.0%) and financials (+1.0%) also finished ahead of the broader market while technology (+0.5%) and industrials (+0.6%) lagged.

The largest S&P 500 sector, technology, struggled to keep pace with the market even with its top component, Apple (AAPL 508.79, +7.26), advancing 1.5%. Another large sector member, Microsoft (MSFT 36.35, -0.13), ended little changed after announcing Satya Nadella will replace the outgoing Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.

Elsewhere, the industrial sector lagged as the underperformance of Boeing (BA 122.04, -1.04) and United Technologies (UTX 109.10, -1.06) overshadowed the broad gains among transports. The Dow Jones Transportation Average advanced 1.2% as all but one component ended in the green. Con-way (CNW 37.19, -0.66) was the lone decliner, falling 1.7%.

Treasuries ended near their lows with the 10-yr yield up four basis points at 2.62%.

Participation was above average as 820 million shares changed hands at the NYSE.

Today's economic data was limited to the December factory orders report:
Factory orders declined 1.5% after increasing a downwardly revised 1.5% (from 1.8%) in November. The consensus expected factory orders to decline 1.7%. The durable goods data were revised slightly higher, but still left a lot to be desired. Orders fell 4.2%, which was slightly above the 4.3% decline reported in the advance release. A large portion of the decline was a result of a sharp drop in transportation demand (-9.7%), which was mostly the result of a 16.9% decline in defense and nondefense aircraft.
Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while the ADP Employment Change report for January will be released at 8:15 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the 10:00 ET release of January ISM Services.
Nasdaq Composite -3.5% YTD
S&P 500 -5.0% YTD
Russell 2000 -5.1% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -6.8% YTD

FT : Russian oligarchs take battle to NY court

The 2013 purchase by two tycoons was the third-biggest oil acquisition of all time. Now another oligarch is demanding a piece of the profits.
Russian billionaire Leonid Lebedev has filed a $2bn lawsuit against Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, alleging that he was a secret shareholder in an oil venture that became part of TNK-BP and later Rosneft through a $55bn deal last year.

To acquire TNK-BP, Rosneft bought out BP as well as its four Soviet-born billionaire partners: Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, Mr Vekselberg and Mr Blavatnik – with the latter two netting $7bn apiece from the March 2013 deal.
The legal case, which was filed in a New York state court, is set to be the biggest oligarch legal battle in the US – a departure from previous years when a stream of Russians aired their grievances in London’s High Court, incurring millions of pounds in legal fees.
Representatives for Mr Vekselberg and Mr Blavatnik did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit, filed on Tuesday. In a statement, Mr Lebedev said: “It is with regret that I resort to the courts to resolve a dispute with my former partners, with whom I shared so many achievements through a lengthy collaboration. I have been deprived of the full value of my ownership interest” in TNK-BP.
Mr Lebedev, who made his fortune in the Russian oil sector in the 1990s, went on to become a senator and then one of Russia’s leading independent film producers.
The dispute dates back to a 1997 joint-venture struck between the oil moguls that evolved to eventually include stakes in TNK-BP. Mr Lebedev alleges he contributed $25m cash and transferred his equity stake in TNK and a Russian production company, to Mr Blavatnik and Mr Vekselberg to help them buy control of TNK.
Russian oligarchs NY court battle

Mr Lebedev alleges that his business partners never transferred the stock to him.
To mollify the dispute, the three men met several times in New York in 2001 – at private residences and a stroll through Central Park – to hammer out a deal, he claims.
In the following decade, Mr Vekselberg went on to become a shareholder of the world’s largest aluminium group Rusal, in addition to TNK-BP. In recent years he has focused on the utilities sector and Skolkovo, a Kremlin-sponsored tech project akin to Silicon Valley.
Mr Blavatnik is a US citizen and has moved from natural resources to the music and media industries over the years. He now owns Warner Music as well as Dr Dre’s Beats Electronics.
According to the lawsuit, Mr Lebedev was paid $600m in dividends through an arrangement struck in 2003, but he is suing over his share of the $13.8bn in profits that their joint venture allegedly made from the sale to Rosneft, plus damages.

WSJ : Michael Kors to Expand in Menswear

Michael Kors to Expand in Menswear

Accessories Maker's Profit Leaps 77%; Full-Year Forecast Is Raised

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. KORS +17.96% reported a big jump in its third quarter profit and said it plans to expand men's clothing and accessories into a $1 billion business, a move that could further dent rival Coach Inc. COH -1.84%

The handbag maker and retailer said net income increased 77% in its fiscal third quarter, running counter to a number of gloomy numbers from lower-end retailers after a competitive holiday discounting season. The company also raised its earnings and revenue guidance for the year, a sign that its popular styles like the Selma handbag and oversize watches at affordable prices are continuing to resonate with consumers.

Chief Executive John Idol said over the next 24 months the company will make "a significant push in the men's business."

As part of that effort, Michael Kors will announce a new president to lead the men's business within the next 30 days. In the fall, the company will launch a new men's fragrance accompanied by "significant" advertising and make a big "push" on watches.

Its shares surged 18% in midday trading on the better-than-expected results.

In pursuing men, Michael Kors is plowing into an increasingly crowded field. Companies ranging from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA MC.FR +0.42% to Coach. have courted men as they try to offset a slowdown in more established women's categories.

LVMH is spending roughly $135 million to develop Berluti, a small maker of pricey men's shoes, into an apparel and accessories house. Coach says its men's business is on track to have $700 million in sales this year, up from $100 million in 2010.

Men's is still a small part of Michael Kors's overall business, representing slightly less than 5% of sales, or about $150 million, according to Paul Lejuez, an analyst for Wells Fargo Securities.

Mr. Lejuez said men's has been a rare bright spot for Coach, helping to offset lost share of women's handbags to Michael Kors, an advantage that might be eroded as Kors beefs up its men's offerings.

"We've seen Kors take share from Coach in most other categories," Mr. Lejuez said. "To the extent Kors pays more attention to men's, it would probably be a negative for Coach."

Coach spokeswoman Andrea Resnick said the men's premium bag and accessory market is large and growing and that Coach has the benefit of a 70-plus year heritage to draw from.

For now, the bulk of Michael Kors's business still comes from selling handbags, watches and accessories to women. Demand for these items has so far shown few signs of abating.

For the quarter ended Dec. 28, Michael Kors said net income climbed to $229.6 million from $130 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 59% to $1.01 billion, while sales excluding newly opened or closed stores jumped 28% compared with the same period a year ago.

Retail sales increased 51% to $503.4 million, fueled by rapid store openings. As of Dec. 28, 2013, the company operated 395 retail stores, including concessions, compared with 297 for the same period a year ago. Wholesale revenue rose 68% to $461.4 million.

North American sales excluding newly opened or closed stores increased 24%, while so-called same-store sales in Europe increased 73%.

Michael Kors said it now expects to earn $3.07 to $3.09 per share for the fiscal year ending in March on revenue of $3.18 billion to $3.19 billion. That is up from guidance given in November of earnings per-share of $2.77 to $2.81 on revenue of $2.9 billion to $3 billion.

Carson Block Says He’s Short Blinkx Plc Shares

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BN 02/04 13:42 *CARSON BLOCK SAYS HE'S SHORT BLINKX PLC SHARES BN 02/04 13:42 *CARSON BLOCK OF MUDDY WATERS SPEAKS ON BLOOMBERG TELEVISION

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Carson Block Says He’s Short Blinkx Plc Shares 2014-02-04 13:44:49.585 GMT

By Joshua Fineman Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) --

Link to Company News:{BLNX LN <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: Joshua Fineman at +1-212-617-8953 or jfineman@bloomberg.net

(BFW) Royal Mail Inclusion Very Likely at Next MSCI Review, Exane Says

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Royal Mail Inclusion Very Likely at Next MSCI Review, Exane Says 2014-02-04 15:34:49.854 GMT

By Gaurav Panchal Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Mail has full mkt cap, free float mkt cap large enough to allow fast inclusion in Feb. in the Standard Index, Exane’s Christophe Wakim writes. * Asos was largest Small Cap constituent on all of 10 last trading days of Jan., full mkt cap just above threshold for automatic inclusion on Jan. 21/22: Wakim * Asos should be added to Standard Index, MSCI may decide differently: Exane * In the absence of a retrospective change, Metall Zug would move to the Small Cap, no current constituent would be removed: Exane * Deletion of CGG would take place if snapshot was on Jan. 21/22, if MSCI adjusts index parameters: Exane * NOTE: MSCI Quarterly Index Review results due Feb. 12, effective date March 3

Link to Company News:{RMG LN <Equity> CN <GO>} Link to Company News:{ASC LN <Equity> CN <GO>} Link to Company News:{METN SW <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: Gaurav Panchal in London at +44-20-7392-0511 or gpanchal2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brian Lysaght at +44-20-7330-7908 or blysaght@bloomberg.net

>>> Fitch comments on Brazil fiscal program, will be supportive of the BBB ratin

Fitch comments on Brazil fiscal program, will be supportive of the BBB rating
- Fitch: A tightening of fiscal policy would enhance the credibility of Brazil's overall macroeconomic policy framework and help in placing the government's debt dynamics on stronger footing, according to Fitch Ratings. This would be supportive of Brazil's 'BBB' sovereign rating.

- Fiscal tightening could help improve investor confidence and benefit the outlook for inflation as well, thereby supporting the sovereign's credit profile. Inflation has remained elevated despite a slow economic recovery and a monetary tightening of 325 bps since last year. IPCA inflation reached close to 6% in December 2013, which is above the midpoint of the 4.5%+/-2% inflation target
- Fitch last affirmed Brazil's foreign and local currency IDRs of 'BBB', with a Stable Outlook, in July 2013.