Beiersdorf Raises 2013 Sales, Ebit Forecasts

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

Beiersdorf Raises 2013 Sales, Ebit Forecasts 2013-11-04 21:37:56.935 GMT

By John Simpson Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Sees sales growth of 6%-7% for group and consumer, tesa business segments, co. says in statement. * Previously forecast 5%-6% for group and consumer, and 4%-5% for tesa business * Expects Ebit margin of ~13% for group, previously 12%-13%; sees consumer >12% and tesa business ~16% * 9-mo. group sales increased by 7.3% y/y to EU4.68b, with Ebit margin increasing to 13.9%

Link to Statement:NSN MVRCDT3PR6RK <GO> Link to Company News:BEI GR <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: John Simpson at +1-416-203-5726 or jsimpson12@bloomberg.net

FT : Scientists predict 20bn Earth-like worlds

Scientists predict 20bn Earth-like worlds

Our Milky Way galaxy contains more than 20bn Earth-like planets with temperatures that could sustain life, according to the most comprehensive survey to date of habitable planets beyond the solar system. Statistical analysis of observations by Kepler, Nasa’s planet-hunting satellite, over three years suggests that 22 per cent of stars have Earth-sized planets in the "Goldilocks zone" that is neither too hot nor too cold for biological processes. "What this means is, when you look up at the thousands of stars in the night sky, the nearest Sun-like star with an Earth-size planet in its habitable zone is probably only 12 light years away and can be seen with the naked eye. That is amazing," said Erik Petigura of the University of California, Berkeley. "I feel tingly inside – this is such a special moment," added Geoffrey Marcy, a UC Berkeley astronomy professor who has been involved in the search for "extrasolar planets" or exoplanets, since the first one was detected in 1995. "The discovery is a great leap towards the possibility of life, perhaps intelligent life, existing elsewhere." Telescopes are not yet sensitive enough to image Earth-like planets elsewhere in the galaxy. Instead, the Kepler space observatory detects them from a minute diminution in the brightness of their parent star – typically by one part in 10,000 – as they transit in front of it. The smaller the planet and the further out from the star, the harder it is to spot, so the vast majority of the 1,000 or so exoplanets detected so far have been much heavier and much hotter than Earth. Only 10 are a terrestrial size and the right temperature for liquid water to exist on the surface. The UC Berkeley team, working with Nasa scientists, used a statistical technique to extrapolate from these 10 planets – based on the number of stars sampled by Kepler and the small chance that a planet is geometrically aligned to transit as seen from Earth – to reach their remarkable conclusion. Their paper appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. However, the researchers warned that not all 20bn Earth-like planets would be suitable homes for life. "Some may have thick atmospheres, making it so hot at the surface that DNA-like molecules would not survive. Others may have rocky surfaces that could harbour liquid water suitable for living organisms," Prof Marcy said. "We don’t know what range of planet types and their environments are suitable for life." There may be something exceptional about the geometry of the solar system, for instance the almost circular orbits of the planets, the position of Jupiter and the existence of the moon, that has allowed life to evolve on Earth for almost 4bn years. Kepler, launched in 2009, stopped working in May but there is a huge trove of data still to be analysed over the next two or three years, said Natalie Batalha, mission scientist of Nasa Ames Research Centre. Meanwhile, Nasa and the European Space Agency are planning future planet-hunting observatories sensitive enough to make direct observations of Earth-like bodies around distant stars.

>>>US Close Dow+0,15% S&P+0,36% Nasdaq+0,37%

Closing Market Summary: Small Caps Lead Stocks Higher

VIX @ 12,93 -2,64%

The major averages kicked off the new trading week with modest gains as the S&P 500 added 0.4%. The Russell 2000 (+1.1%) outperformed, but its relative strength came after the small cap index struggled to keep pace with the last week's advance in the broader market. Outside of the notable outperformance among small caps, today's session unfolded in an uneventful fashion. Overseas markets did little to upset the state of affairs as Japan's Nikkei was closed for Culture Day while China's Shanghai Composite ended flat despite its Non-Manufacturing PMI rising to a 14-month high of 56.3 from 55.4. All ten sectors ended in the green, but only energy (+1.3%) and telecom services (+0.8%) posted gains in excess of 0.4%. Energy was responsible for pacing much of the advance as the sector rallied throughout the session. Meanwhile, crude oil ended little changed at $94.59 per barrel.

The other commodity-linked sector, materials (+0.4%), displayed relative strength as steelmakers rallied in reaction to a Goldman Sachs upgrade of AK Steel (AKS 5.00, +0.40) and U.S. Steel (X 26.91, +1.13). The broader Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 49.68, +1.18) ended higher by 2.4%.

Elsewhere, industrials (+0.3%) settled essentially in-line with the broader market, but the underperformance of top sector components like Boeing (BA 132.79, -0.24) and General Electric (GE 26.43, -0.11) overshadowed the strength of transports. The Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 1.2% as 19 of 20 components registered gains. Norfolk Southern (NSC 86.84, -0.16) was the lone decliner, shedding 0.2%. Although the S&P was able to finish at its session high, it did so without the participation of financials as the sector ended near its flat line.

Three of four countercyclical groups (consumer staples, health care, and utilities) trailed the broader market with staples lagging even after Kellogg (K 62.72, +0.43) reported a bottom-line beat on in-line revenue. In addition,the company announced plans to cut 7.0% of its workforce to reflect a challenging environment. Treasuries held modest gains throughout the session as the 10-yr yield shed two basis points to 2.60%. Trading volume was well below average as less than 600 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Due to the partial government shutdown, the Census Bureau released the factory orders reports for August and September at the same time. Orders increased 1.7% in September after declining 0.1% in August. July factory orders were revised down from -2.4% to -2.8%. The consensus expected factory orders to increase 1.8% in September and 0.3% in August.

The recent volatility in factory orders was a result of significant, up-and-down monthly moves in aircraft orders. Nondefense aircraft orders increased 57.7% in September after a 5.4% increase in August and a 58.9% decrease in July. Tomorrow, the October ISM Services report will be released at 10:00 ET.

(Cowen) BlackBerry: Go-private agreement fails; $1 bln raise signals likely stra

BlackBerry: Go-private agreement fails; $1 bln raise signals likely strategic shif

Cowen notes, shares of BBRY are trading lower today after plans for a Fairfax Financial Holdings-led consortium to acquire the co and take it private failed to materialize during the allotted due diligence period. Firm's price target is currently under review, given: 1) BBRY is likely to consume additional cash and assets during its current restructuring 2) co has had mixed success in driving adoption of its BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES 10) and its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service on alternative mobile platforms, 3) the relative value of its patent portfolio continues to decline, and 4) as a public company, BBRY stock is likely to continue to trade at a discount to a declining tangible book value despite the $1B raise until a go-forward operational plan and strategy is articulated by the new mgmt team (potentially including the break-up and/or sale of parts of co, given the significant number of reported suitors).

(BFW) *LVMH NAMES GHESQUIERE VUITTON ARTISTIC DIR. WOMENSWEAR

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

BN 11/04 15:14 *LVMH SPOKESMAN CONFIRMS APPOINTMENT BY PHONE BN 11/04 15:14 *LVMH NAMES GHESQUIERE VUITTON ARTISTIC DIR. WOMENSWEAR

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

*LVMH NAMES GHESQUIERE VUITTON ARTISTIC DIR. WOMENSWEAR 2013-11-04 15:17:45.168 GMT

--BENJAMIN DOW

-0- Nov/04/2013 15:17 GMT

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: CSIQ +5.7% (sees shipments ahead of original guidance; sees revs below consensus), TA +5.6%, RLGY +5.1% (light volume), NTE +3.8%, (light volume), HBC +2.6%, SYY +1.0%.

M&A related: MHGC +11.4% (Yucaipa Companies issues letter to Board, makes proposal to acquire the company for $8 per share ), BRY +7.7%, LINE +0.6% (Linn Energy, LinnCo and Berry Petroleum Amend Merger Agreement; Exchange Ratio Increased to 1.68; Transaction Valued at $4.9 Bln), BBRY +3% (ongoing takeover speculation; FairFax is struggling to raise funding for BBRY bid).

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: RIO +2%, VALE +1.3%, AUY +1.3%, BBL +1%, GDX +0.9%, BHP +0.8%, MT +0.5%, GLD +0.3%, AU +-0.9%.

Select solar related names showing strength: JKS +5.1%, TSL +4.4%, YGE +4.4%, CSUN +3.8%, SOL +3.1%, SCTY +2.6% (SolarCity subsidiary, SolarCity LMC Series I, intends to offer in a private placement $54.425 mln aggregate principal amount of Solar Asset Backed Notes, Series 2013-1 with a scheduled maturity date of Dec 2026), HSOL +2.2%, FSLR +1.3%.

Other news: ACHN +10.7% (Achillion Pharma's Uridine-Analog Nucleotide Prodrug, ACH-3422, shows compelling preclinical profile; RA Capital Management disclosed 16.4% active stake in 13G filing out Friday after the close; acquired the shares of Common Stock reported herein for investment purposes and not with an intent, purpose or effect of changing control of the Issuer), AFFX +9.4% (still checking), SFY +6.5% (following positive Mad Money mention), DRYS +4.9% (still checking), ARIA +4.7% (still checking), SANM +4.4% ( to join the S&P SmallCap 600), PSTI +4.3% (reports safety of PLX Cells demonstrated in pre-clinical pregnancy model), MRCY +3.8% ( Soros Fund Management disclosed 5.0.2% passive stake in 13G filing out Friday after the close), DDD +3.2% (positive mention on MadMoney), TMUS +2.2% (T-Mobile US ticking higher following positive mention in Barron's), JCP +2% (still checking), AIG +1.1% (despite Barron's profiles cautious view on AIG), DAL +1.1% (Delta Air Lines modestly higher following positive MadMoney comments), NOK +1% (still checking), TSLA +0.9% (NYPost discusses that several higher class buyers are choosing Tesla's (TSLA) over some other luxury cars).

Analyst comments: AKS +3.7% (upgraded to Buy from Sell at Goldman), X +2.4% (upgraded to Buy from Sell at Goldman), ANF +0.8% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust), OXY +0.6% (upgraded to Overweight at Barclays), TWC +0.4% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank ), OMC +0.3% (Omnicom upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital), BP +0.1% (BP upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley).

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down

In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: RYAAY -12.8%, ZGNX -7.5% (also intends to offer and sell $60 mln of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering).

M&A news: BBRY -16.3% ( Globe and Mail suggesting Fairfax deal is dead).

Select financial names lower: UBS -3.2% and CS -3.1% (UBS AG and Credit Suisse (CS) lower in European trading amid concerns about raised capital requirements), RBS -1.8% ( in discussions to cancel out B shares, according to reports ), DB -1.1%

Other news: VELT -65.5% (to sell mobile Marketing Businesses in US, UK, and India to affiliates of GSO Capital Partners; unit Mobclix ceases all operations; files voluntary Chapter 7 petition), ALU -4.9% (announced launch of capital increase for an amount of EUR955 mln, intent to launch $750 mln high yields bond offering and execution of commitment letter for implementation of EUR500 mln new syndicated revolving credit facility), JMI -0.8% (files for $750 mln mixed securities shelf offering).

Analyst comments: TEVA -0.7% (downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan), AFL -0.3% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup)