TheChek News Flow

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ENRC May Sell African Mining Division, Sunday Times Says 2013-11-24 08:38:48.313 GMT

By Allison Connolly Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- ENRC may also sell its South American assets, the newspaper reports, without saying where it obtained the information. * Co. has lined up VTB Capital to look for buyers: report * NOTE: Co. is under investigation by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office over allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption at its operations in Kazakhstan and Africa NSN MLTKH60YHQ0X <GO>

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To contact the reporter on this story: Allison Connolly in London at +44-20-3525-7043 or aconnolly4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at +33-1-5530-6277 or pserafino@bloomberg.net

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BFW 11/24 12:04 Swiss Reject 1:12 Initative on CEO Pay Limits: SRF Projection

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Swiss Voters Reject 1:12 Initative on CEO Pay Limits, Govt Says 2013-11-24 15:45:56.918 GMT

By Catherine Bosley Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss voters rejected limiting manager pay to 12 times a company’s least-paid employee in referendum today, according to Swiss government. * NOTE: Projection in line with latest poll, which predicted 54% rejection * NOTE: Switzerland’s Young Socialists campaigned for 1:12 law, companies have lobbied against the proposed limit: NSN MWK8TN6K50Y9 <GO> * NOTE: 1:12 referendum comes after success of Thomas Minder’s “fat cat” initiative that in March enacted some of world’s toughest rules on executive pay: NSN MJ50RR6S973C <GO> * NOTE: For more on Swiss initiative system: NSN MWM2431ANZ8Y <GO>

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--Editor: Zoe Schneeweiss

To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Bosley in Zurich at +41-44-2244134 or cbosley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at +44-20-7673-2841 or cstirling1@bloomberg.net

Daimler AG CEO: Would welcome investment from China after taking a stake in Beijing Automotive Group - financial press - Says: "We would welcome Chinese investment, although we're not desperately looking for that, because it's better for us when China is interested in our fate... The reason is certainly not to look for more equity. We rather have the opposite problem of very high equity in our company."

Court awards ex-wife £20m in Young divorce case

A self-declared bankrupt, who was a former fixer for oligarchs, has been ordered to pay his ex-wife £20m – a fraction of the amount she had hoped for – by an English divorce court. Scot Young, who made his fortune in property and technology investments before the financial crisis, must pay Michelle, his former wife, a lump sum representing half his available assets, Mr Justice Moor ruled on Friday, in the culmination of an “extraordinary” case where “extremely serious allegations have been bandied around like confetti”.

The case has already cost Ms Young, 49, millions of pounds in legal and forensic-accounting fees, and Mr Young his freedom. He was jailed for six months for contempt of court because he did not obey court orders to provide details of his finances to his ex-wife. Ms Young, who obtained more than £4m in “litigation funding” – where investors provide finance to bring a case, in return for a slice of any award – maintained her ex-husband was worth “a few billion at least”. Mr Young, 51, says he is insolvent. The pair were married for 11 years and lived together for six years before that. They have two daughters. Ms Young said in evidence that they lived in “vast estates with staff” and that Mr Young bought her £1m of Graff diamonds for her 40th birthday, while Mr Young contested the lavish image, the judgment noted. “I have to be highly critical of the way in which the case has been conducted at various times by both parties. In many respects, this is about as bad an example of how not to litigate as any I have ever encountered,” Mr Justice Moor’s judgment reads. “I feel nothing but sympathy for the two children of these parties.” Legal experts said the case showed English divorce courts were willing to be much more robust in their examination of assets in contested proceedings, even though the courts rely on voluntary submissions from individuals. “The family courts are showing that they are prepared to investigate every element of a spouse’s financial affairs and are not afraid to try to unravel complex webs of assets to ensure that court orders are adhered to and the other party receives the payments awarded to them,” said Fiona Turner, a lawyer from Irwin Mitchell, a firm that was not involved in the case.

Fine dining for Dimon at the Palace raises concerns of commercialisation

It must have been a welcome spot of light relief for Jamie Dimon. Only days after he finally agreed to a $13bn settlement with US mortgage regulators, the boss of JPMorgan – and dozens of his corporate clients - were sitting back amid the splendour of Buckingham Palace, enjoying a fine dinner and performances by the Royal Philharmonic and the English National Ballet. The event, hosted by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, reflects growing enthusiasm by the Royal Family to use its premises to promote business interests. But it also risks stoking criticism over its apparent commercialisation and its intimacy with business.

One senior participant said the bank paid nothing for the evening but the Palace said the bank paid an undisclosed fee for food, drink and the venue. The bank said it also made charitable donations to the orchestra and ballet company. According to the Palace, the Duke of York is involved in efforts to support British business, and the event was an opportunity to “engage” with international chief executives about what Britain has to offer. Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee, said the arrangement threatened to undermine the cachet of the royal palaces and even the security of the royal family. He compared it to controversial plans to open up the House of Commons to businesses, telling the Financial Times: “It could be that a company perhaps is not blue chip but may look it. We could take their money and only afterwards find out it is not an appropriate company to book a room in Buckingham Palace.” He added: “There is also the fact that this should be a special place. This is the home of the Queen. Where is it all going to end?” The JPMorgan event on October 30, had a guestlist that included up to 100 corporate and political heavyweights, ranging from Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general, to Indian industrialist Ratan Tata. Also present was Tony Blair, the former prime minister who chairs JPMorgan’s “international council” of senior advisers. There is also the fact that this should be a special place. This is the home of the Queen. Where is it all going to end? - Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the home affairs select committee Key to organising the night was David Mayhew, the veteran City dealmaker who agreed a decade ago to sell to JPMorgan the Cazenove brokerage he led for many years. Mr Mayhew, still an adviser to JPMorgan, is a close personal friend of Prince Andrew. Paul Flynn, a republican Labour MP, said renting out Buckingham Palace to US investment banks should be only the start in making the royal family less dependent on the taxpayer. “I think they could raise about £100m a year by renting out rooms to tourists on a timeshare basis - they’ve got about 600 rooms,” he said. Prince Andrew has a mixed record in promoting British business. He stepped down two years ago as the UK’s trade envoy following a string of controversies over his business links, most notably his close friendship with US tycoon Jeffrey Epstein who was jailed for sex offences.

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Peugeot Seeks No. 2 Executive, Tavares May Be Candidate: Figaro 2013-11-22 23:58:50.970 GMT

By Jim Silver Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Peugeot is using head-hunter firm to find an executive to support CEO Philippe Varin, Le Figaro reports, citing unidentified people. * Interviews may have already started, and Renault ex-COO Carlos Tavares, 55, is discussed as possible candidate, Figaro says * Changes in governance, including planning for CEO succession, may take place next yr; meanwhile Varin, 61, is focused on reaching agreement to sell shrs to Dongfeng Motor and French state: Figaro * NOTE: Nov. 20, Peugeot Talks Said to Hit Snag on Smaller Dongfeng Holding * NOTE: Aug. 29, Renault COO Tavares to Quit After Publicly Seeking GM Post

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To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Silver in New York at +1-212-617-7342 or jsilver@bloomberg.net

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Weekly Market Update: Markets Grind Higher as December Taper Looks Unlikely

- The DJIA and S&P closed out a seventh consecutive week of gains and both ended the week at all-time highs. The FOMC minutes from the October meeting suggested the taper could begin in two or three months, but very dovish comments in speeches from Yellen and Bernanke seemed to take a December taper off the table, further aiding gains among risk assets. There was some decent US data out this week: the initial jobless claims slipped back to lows last seen in September and the November Markit manufacturing PMI survey rose to 54.3, its highest level since March. In Europe, German data, including manufacturing PMI and IFO survey data, were strong. China's flash HSBC/Markit PMI stumbled, while the Japan trade deficit spiked to its highest level on record for October, with imports up 26% y/y. The Senate Banking Committee approved Janet Yellen's nomination to become the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, sending it to the full Senate for a final vote, due in December. The DJIA rose 0.6% on the week, closing out Friday above 16000, while the S&P500 gained 0.4%, closing above 1800 for the first time. The Nasdaq added 0.1% on the week.

- In FOMC minutes, members highlighted improving economic data, and "some" indicated that "if economic conditions warranted, the FOMC could reduce the pace of purchases at one of its next few meetings." How to keep short-term yields low as tapering gets underway was a major subject. Some economists think the Fed should lower the 6.5% unemployment threshold to provide more support to the job market, but there wasn't a great deal of support for such a move. Most participants thought a reduction in interest rate on excess reserves (IOER) might be worth considering, although the benefits were seen as small except as a signal of policy intentions. Establishing a lower bound on inflation got some support, but the benefits of adding it were viewed as uncertain and modest, with big communication challenges.

- Both the headline and core October retail sales data were a bit stronger than expected (+0.4% v +0.1%e) despite the government shutdown. However growth in sales remains very muted, while the ex-autos figure was even weaker. In comments at an industry conference, executives from Coach said that the consumer situation is volatile and fragile, with mall traffic seeing a sharp decline in November.

- Retail earnings reports out this week reflected this weak prognosis. Target disclosed weak third quarter results, with revenue less than expected and comps up less than 1% - with strong parallels to Walmart's report, out last week. Mall retailers Abercrombie and Limited Brands sustained decent numbers in the third quarter, but also offered weak Q4 guidance. Despite another quarter of losses and negative comps, shares of JC Penney advanced as the company promised more progress in Q4. Gap had tepid results and flat comps.

- Home Depot and Lowes continue to be notable exceptions to the gloominess in the retail sector. Both firms continue to beat expectations and rack up good y/y growth thanks to the sustained housing recovery. In their third quarters, both HD and LOW beat expectations, raised FY13 guidance and saw decent comp store sales gains.

- Coming into the week, the euro continued its gradual float higher, although EUR/USD seemed to encounter upside resistance at the 1.3550-1.3560 areas several times this week. On Wednesday morning, EUR/USD dropped sharply from 1.3545 after press reports emerged suggesting the ECB was considering a negative deposit rate. Numerous ECB officials have indicated over recent months that the council was considering negative rates, and President Draghi said at his last several press conferences that the bank was "technically prepared" for a negative deposit rate. Draghi responded to the report the next morning, warning in a speech in Berlin that markets should not assume that implementing them was a done deal. Draghi's comments and the strong November Germany IFO survey on Friday morning helped force EUR/USD back toward the highs of the week.

- USD/JPY moved back above parity mid-week after Japan pension fund GFIF's advisory panel recommended the world's largest pension fund review its domestic bond-focused portfolio and diversify investments. USD/JPY later pushed out to four-month highs above 101.30 after BoJ chief Kuroda said the bank had scope for more easing and would not hesitate ease further, if necessary. EUR/JPY closed out the week around four-year highs thanks to Kuroda's remarks

- In China, the PBoC fleshed out further the currency and financial market reforms that were disclosed following the Third Plenum. The PBoC will "basically end" normal intervention in the currency market and broaden the yuan's daily trading limit in an orderly manner, although no specific time frame was provided. Investment caps for both domestic and foreign investors will be phased out, and a ceiling on deposit rates offered by local banks will be gradually removed as well.

It wasn't the most thrilling ride on Friday, yet the stock market maintained its bullish bias and ended the week on a winning note. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 registered new record highs. Additionally, the S&P 500 logged its seventh consecutive winning week.

There was a modicum of profit-taking interest early on after Intel (INTC 23.87, -1.36) issued a warning that its revenue in FY14 is expected to be flat, but it didn't take long at all for the broader market to regain its footing.

Participants just stayed with the trade that got them here, buying the dip and keeping sellers at bay. They also appeared to draw support from the reminder out of Atlanta Fed President Lockhart before the open that monetary policy is likely to be accommodative for many more years.

Strikingly, there wasn't a lot of conviction behind today's trading. Volume at the NYSE totaled just 607 mln shares, which was the lowest all week and well below recent averages. Even so, today's trading was notable more for the lack of selling interest than buying interest.

Following a 9.0% gain in the last three months, there simply wasn't any rush to take profits. The buying interest seen was fairly broad-based. Advancers outlegged decliners at the NYSE and Nasdaq by roughly a 3-to-2 margin and seven out of ten sectors ended the day higher.

The health care sector (+1.2%) led the way, fueled by a huge jump in Biogen-Idec (BIIB 285.58, +33.15), which surged 13% after EU regulators approved its treatment for multiple sclerosis. Buying efforts were more restrained elsewhere as the gains in other sectors ranged from 0.5-0.8%.

The only laggards today were the utilities (-0.04%), telecom services (-0.1%), and technology (-0.2%) sectors, but even their losses were fairly negligible.

Within the Dow, 23 of the 30 components finished higher. Boeing (BA 135.97, +3.04) had the biggest gain and also some outsized influence on the price-weighted average. Some of its gain was offset by IBM (IBM 181.24, 2.89), which famous money Stanley Druckenmiller said was a stock to sell short for the company's lack of innovation.

Despite the weakness in IBM and Intel, the Dow and the other major averages closed at, or very near, their best levels of the day. The same can be said for longer-dated Treasury instruments. The benchmark 10-yr note added ten ticks, lowering its yield to 2.75%, while the 30-yr bond gained nearly a point and saw its yield come down to 3.84%.

If the market is concerned about the Fed tapering its asset purchases soon, it certainly didn't show it on Friday.

SAC’s Steinberg went bad as income plunged: prosecutors

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SAC’s Steinberg went bad as income plunged: prosecutors

Getting by on just $2.1 million a year must’ve been tough for SAC Capital money manager Michael Steinberg. As Steinberg’s total pay sank to that level in 2008 from about $5 million the prior year, the 41-year-old hedgie started using illegal insider tips to score some very profitable trades, a federal court jury was told Thursday. Steinberg used illegal tips on Dell in 2008, supplied by his analyst Jon Horvath, to score huge profits, the government has charged. SAC’s CFO Dan Berkowitz told the jury in Manhattan federal court that Steinberg’s total pay took a hit in 2008 as Wall Street reeled from the financial crash. Steinberg was one of the top earners at Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital. Steinberg is on trial for conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He is the eighth SAC employee to face insider-trading charges. The highest-ranking SAC employee nabbed in US Attorney Preet Bharara’s Wall Street probe of insider-trading, Steinberg has denied the charges. The trial is expected to last up to four weeks. Prosecutors are expected to lean heavily on the testimony of Jon Horvath and his “corrupt circle of friends.” Horvath will be the star witness in the case against his boss. Another so-called friend is Jesse Tortora, a research analyst at now-defunct hedge fund Diamondback Capital. Tortora was on the stand for most of the day Thursday. Tortora explained how the circle traded inside tips on Dell through sources inside the company who gave them illegal information. Tortora told the jury he passed the illicit tips to others, including Horvath. Horvath has said that he passed the illegal information on to Steinberg, who traded on it. The government has to prove that Steinberg knew the tips were not kosher — a point the money manager’s legal team is expected to deny. On the stand, Berkowitz detailed some of the inner workings of SAC Capital Advisors, including how Steinberg, who joined SAC in 1996, was so highly regarded at the hedge fund that he was given more money to trade than most of his colleagues. Steinberg was entrusted with $300 million to trade at the beginning of 2008 and was given wider latitude than others. Steinberg was able to sink 15 percent in one trade until the financial crisis forced SAC to rein in its traders later that year, the jury was told. In testimony that started a little after 11 a.m. and lasted the rest of the day, Tortora began the government’s task of laying the foundation of the conspiracy, much of it through emails and instant messages among members of the group. After Tortora had passed on inside information on Dell that led to profitable short trades on Aug. 28, 2008, he wrote in an email to Horvath: “r u there on Dell,” Horvath replied, “Nice man” and “u nailed it.” Tortora then replied “should be lower” and “shorting more.” SAC had total assets of between $10 billion and $17 billion between 2007 and 2009, with about 100 other money managers in the same role as Steinberg, according to Berkowitz.

Brussels to launch antitrust probe into sales of pay-TV rights

Brussels is poised to launch a formal antitrust probe into sales of pay-TV rights to screen premium sports and Hollywood blockbusters, in a groundbreaking move that builds on a test case brought by a British pub landlady. A formal European Commission investigation could smash open the country-by-country licensing that has dominated the sales of exclusive pay-TV content such as live football and newly-released movies, said people familiar with the case.

The regulatory attack on restrictions that carve the EU market into national patches follows a European Court of Justice ruling in 2011 regarding Karen Murphy, a publican from Portsmouth who had been fined for showing football to customers using a satellite card from Greece. While Ms Murphy secured only a partial victory – the judges upheld the right of consumers to buy a TV decoder card in any EU country – a decision that is forcing sports bodies and movie studios to rethink and possibly overhaul how rights packages are sold. Joaquín Almunia, the EU competition commissioner, last year sanctioned a “fact finding” effort in light of the ruling to see whether barriers to cross-border access merited antitrust scrutiny and possible enforcement action. Some investigators are now poised to step up their inquiries into whether “absolute territorial protection clauses” break competition law. These stop licensees from selling to other countries or accepting unsolicited demands from overseas customers to pay to access the content. Full details of the probe remain unclear. But it will potentially have ramifications for football competitions such as the Premier League and Hollywood studios such as Sony Pictures Entertainment and 21st Century Fox. A Commission spokesperson declined to comment. Such investigations typically stretch for several years before charges are brought against groups. If it identifies illegal practices, the commission can levy fines of up to 10 per cent of a group’s turnover. Big football competitions and Hollywood studios have long maintained a lucrative relationship with the pay-TV industry, which bought exclusive content to attract subscribers. While the investigation could potentially bring down EU barriers, it touches on highly sensitive political debates over the rights to audiovisual content and could have serious implications for the industry. “This is a major look at the TV market in Europe,” said a person familiar with the probe. Maurits Dolmans, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb, said the 2011 Premier League case concerned satellite sports broadcasting and the court left open whether it could be applied at all to other distribution channels and other forms of content. “The Commission will have to take into account different economic factors,” he said. “Forcing EU-wide licensing may be attractive for consumers in richer countries, who may pay less, but not necessarily for consumers in poorer countries, who might be forced to pay more.” Brussels mentioned its preliminary interest in the pay-TV market in a little noticed paragraph in the commission’s competition policy report in May. “Following the Premier League judgment, the commission conducted a fact-finding investigation to examine whether licensing agreements for premium pay-TV content contain absolute territorial protection clauses which may restrict competition, hinder the completion of the single market and prevent consumers from cross-border access to premium sports and film content,” the report said. The 2011 Premier League judgment found that granting a territorially exclusive license was not necessarily against competition law. But the judges said rights holders must demonstrate that the restrictions are pro-competitive.