>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 15th of July 2026 V3(++)

>>> Up
* Ackermans Raised to Buy at KBC Securities; PT 320 euros (+)
* Ericsson Raised to Buy at Danske Bank Markets; PT 115 kronor (++)
* Imperial Brands Raised to Buy at BofA; PT 3,200 pence (+)
* Indra Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 70 euros
* LDA SM Raised to Buy at Bestinver; PT 1.40 euros (+)
* Mycronic Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 385 kronor
* NCC Raised to Buy at SB1 Markets; PT 220 kronor
* Norion Bank Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 62 kronor
* Oerlikon Raised to Buy at UBS; PT 5.70 Swiss francs (++)
* Tenaris ADRs Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT $65 (++)
* Wartsila Raised to Reduce at Inderes; PT 32.50 euros

>>> Down
* BBVA Cut to Neutral at BofA; PT 25 euros (++)
* Evotec Cut to Hold at TD Cowen; PT 4 euros
* Evotec ADRs Cut to Hold at TD Cowen; PT $2
* Glanbia Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 24 euros
* Nokian Renkaat Cut to Sell at Inderes; PT 10.50 euros
* Unicaja downgrade to Underweight from EqualWeight at BArclays
* Unicaja Cut to Underperform at BofA; PT 3 euros (++)
* Wulff-Group Cut to Reduce at Inderes; PT 4.40 euros

>>> Initiation
* Adyen Rated New Hold at Loop Capital; PT 900 euros
* Befesa Reinstated Buy at Stifel; PT 40 euros
* Boeing Rated New Neutral at Banco BTG Pactual; PT $260
* Burkhalter Rated New Hold at Berenberg; PT 145 Swiss francs
* D'Ieteren Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 230 euros
* Gjensidige Reinstated Underweight at Morgan Stanley
* James Cropper Rated New Buy at Singer Capital Markets (++)
* Pentixapharm Holding Rated New Buy at NuWays; PT 7.20 euros (+)
* Savills Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 1,375 pence
* Vusion Rated New Sell at AlphaValue/Baader; PT 71 euros (++)

>>> Call
* Barclays’ Cau Says European Profit Revisions Narrow Gap With US (+)
* D’Ieteren Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank on Belron Optimism (+)
* Glanbia Drops After Oddo BHF Cuts to Neutral on Limited Upside (++)
* Storebrand Delivers Strong and Broad-Based Beat, Says Jefferies (+)
* TomTom Shares Drop as Oddo BHF Says Results Show a Weak Quarter (++)

FT : Patrick Drahis Altice International accused of defaulting on €2bn of debt

Patrick Drahis Altice International accused of defaulting on €2bn of debt

Creditors say transactions that moved assets out of their reach breached borrowing terms

Creditors of Patrick Drahi’s Altice telecoms empire have accused part of the billionaire’s business of defaulting on more than €2bn of debt, claiming that a series of transactions breached key terms of its borrowing agreements.

A group of creditors owning about €8bn of top-ranking debt at Altice International sent a notice of default on Tuesday to the company, which controls Drahi’s Portuguese, Dominican and Israeli telecoms assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The creditors were likely to send similar notices relating to the rest of the company’s debt pile, the people said.


The move may trigger a lengthy legal battle between Drahi and his creditors, which could culminate in the lenders demanding immediate repayment of the principal owed to them.

Drahi, a Franco-Israeli telecoms mogul whose sprawling group borrowed more than $60bn of debt in an era of cheap money, has for years been in heated negotiations with creditors across his business empire as he attempts to renegotiate his borrowings.

The notice accuses Altice International of defaulting on more than €2bn of debt due in 2028 and takes aim at a number of transactions that have stripped assets away from Altice International to its lenders’ detriment, including a “drop-down” that took place at the end of last year, which creditors are seeking to overturn.

The “drop-down” transaction removed Altice International’s Portuguese and Dominican assets from the pool of assets available to creditors if debt is not repaid.


Those assets, Altice Portugal SA and Altice Caribbean Sarl, account for about 80 per cent of Altice International’s earnings. Until the end of 2025 they had been pledged as security to the creditors. The price of Altice International’s bonds plummeted the morning after it announced the manoeuvre, before partially recovering.

The creditors’ claim also focuses on about €5bn in inter-company loans that removed value from the group, according to people familiar with the matter.

Alongside the notice of default, Altice International’s secured creditors — including London-based credit funds Sona Asset Management and Arini Capital Management — will enter into a new co-operation agreement that is set to run until at least January 2028. The agreement can be extended to August 2029, which would align with the maturity dates of debt instruments held by the creditor group.

In a move similar to that at Altice International, Drahi’s indebted US cable company last month shifted its most valuable pay-TV and broadband assets outside the reach of creditors, aggravating tensions with some of Wall Street’s biggest asset managers.

The manoeuvre escalated a battle between the billionaire’s US vehicle Optimum Communications, formerly Altice USA, and creditors including Apollo, Ares, Oaktree and BlackRock. Optimum, which has its own $25bn debt pile, said the transfers were intended to hasten a settlement with creditors.

Last year, Optimum sued some of its largest creditors, alleging they were operating a “classic illegal cartel” by banding together to prevent it striking deals with individual creditors.

Altice France also angered bondholders in 2024 by raising the prospect of aggressively shifting assets away from them.

Drahi eventually struck an amicable €24bn restructuring deal with creditors of his French business last year. The deal involved handing a 45 per cent stake in the company to creditors in exchange for a substantial debt writedown to €15.5bn.

The creditor group declined to comment.

Altice International declined to comment.

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 15th of July 2026 V2(+)

>>> Up
* Ackermans Raised to Buy at KBC Securities; PT 320 euros (+)
* Imperial Brands Raised to Buy at BofA; PT 3,200 pence (+)
* Indra Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 70 euros
* LDA SM Raised to Buy at Bestinver; PT 1.40 euros (+)
* Mycronic Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 385 kronor
* NCC Raised to Buy at SB1 Markets; PT 220 kronor
* Norion Bank Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 62 kronor
* Wartsila Raised to Reduce at Inderes; PT 32.50 euros

>>> Down
* Evotec Cut to Hold at TD Cowen; PT 4 euros
* Evotec ADRs Cut to Hold at TD Cowen; PT $2
* Glanbia Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 24 euros
* Nokian Renkaat Cut to Sell at Inderes; PT 10.50 euros
* Unicaja downgrade to Underweight from EqualWeight at BArclays
* Wulff-Group Cut to Reduce at Inderes; PT 4.40 euros

>>> Initiation
* Adyen Rated New Hold at Loop Capital; PT 900 euros
* Befesa Reinstated Buy at Stifel; PT 40 euros
* Boeing Rated New Neutral at Banco BTG Pactual; PT $260
* Burkhalter Rated New Hold at Berenberg; PT 145 Swiss francs
* D'Ieteren Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 230 euros
* Gjensidige Reinstated Underweight at Morgan Stanley
* Pentixapharm Holding Rated New Buy at NuWays; PT 7.20 euros (+)
* Savills Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 1,375 pence

>>> Call
* Barclays’ Cau Says European Profit Revisions Narrow Gap With US (+)
* D’Ieteren Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank on Belron Optimism (+)
* Storebrand Delivers Strong and Broad-Based Beat, Says Jefferies (+)

FT : Thames Water says it can survive for another year British utility warns of

Thames Water says it can survive for another year
British utility warns of ‘material uncertainty’ over its ability to secure enough liquidity

Thames Water has said it can survive for another 12 months but warned of “material uncertainty” over its long-term future as it seeks to avoid renationalisation.

The UK’s biggest water and sewerage company on Wednesday said that “it is reasonable to assume” Thames Water will have “adequate resources” to continue its operations for the next 12 months.

But in its annual report, Thames Water’s directors cautioned that there was “material uncertainty” over the company’s ability to secure enough liquidity to see it through to a successful recapitalisation.

Thames Water, which serves 16mn customers, has been teetering on the brink of collapse, weighed down by huge debts and in effect in the hands of creditors since shareholders walked away in 2024.

The arrival of Andy Burnham in Downing Street next week has cast further doubt over Thames Water’s future.

Burnham, who is set to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday, has said there should be greater “public control” of utilities, without spelling out what that could mean for Thames Water.

This is a developing story

>>> What to look at today - 15th of July 2026

Asian shares rose as traders trimmed bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes following cooler-than-expected US inflation data, while the artificial intelligence trade gathered fresh momentum. Oil gained. MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities gauge climbed 2.3% — set for the biggest advance in a month — with technology shares among the best performers. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 8.2%, regaining the top spot as the world’s best-performing major stock benchmark this year. SK Hynix Inc. shares rose 13% after its American depositary receipts surged 27%. Equity-index futures pointed to gains in Europe and the US, extending the rally from Asia. Treasuries steadied after a rally sent yields sharply lower Tuesday as traders unwound bets that the Fed would begin raising rates as soon as this month. Sovereign debt gained in Japan and Australia. A sense of caution, however, lingered as oil climbed for a third day after President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran. Earlier, the US resumed its blockade on the Islamic Republic’s shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Global benchmark Brent advanced 1% to $85.55 a barrel after surging 11% in the previous two sessions. Tuesday’s weak US inflation numbers and a strong start to the earnings season have revived the AI trade, boosting technology stocks after a recent bout of volatility. While the data gives the Fed more room to keep rates on hold, escalating tensions in the Middle East continue to cloud the inflation outlook by threatening higher energy prices. Attention in Asia was once again focused on the chips sector after a volatile session on Tuesday. As sentiment improved, SK Hynix’s US-listed shares soared, pushing the premium of its ADRs over the Seoul-listed stock above 50% just three days after their trading debut. An Asian benchmark of semiconductor shares added 3.5% on Wednesday. Volatility “has died down and we’re seeing some repurchasing in the chip sector,” said Kazuhiro Sasaki, head of research at Phillip Securities Japan. “But rather than a full-blown return to tech, we’re seeing sector rotation continue — banks are attractive, especially after strong earnings in the US.” In other corners of the market, the dollar weakened against most of its Group-of-10 peers. Gold, which typically benefits when rates aren’t increased, gave up some of Tuesday’s gains and edged 0.6% lower to about $4,030 an ounce. Shares in mainland China were little changed after retail sales unexpectedly grew 1% after a 0.6% drop in May. Industrial production beat forecasts to rise 5.3%. The surveyed urban jobless rate eased to 5% from 5.1% in May. Even so, the country’s GDP growth slowed.  In oil, traders are paying close attention to refined products. Fuel markets in the US and Europe are flashing record tightness as tensions flare up in the Middle East, threatening more pain for consumers already strained with high prices at the pump. Also, Russia is struggling to deliver all of the crude it’s being forced to ship overseas in the face of escalating Ukrainian drone strikes on its refineries. “The continuing conflict in the Middle East remains the main constraint on a broader improvement in risk sentiment,” said Rajeev De Mello, global macro portfolio manager at GAMA Asset Management. Elsewhere, in testimony before US lawmakers, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said central bank officials have no tolerance for high inflation, reiterating a vow to tame price growth. Warsh said the June inflation reading was better than expected, but has a long way to go. US After Hours PNR -14.6% sharply reduces guidance; AEHR +28.6%, SHMD +14.2% higher on earnings/guidance; LION +8.7% higher on Reuters report that co is considering buyout; KRMN +5.7% to join S&P SmallCap 600.

Nikkei +1.12% Hang Seng +1.51% CSI +0.47% Kospi +6.99% Shanghai +0.08% Shenzen +0.04%

Eur$ 1.1438 CNH 6.7694 CNY 6.7689 JPY 162.20 GBP 1.3403 CHF 0.8091 RUB 77.4539 TRY 47.0308 WTI$ 79.86 +0.61% Gold 4,031 -0.72% BTC 64,764 +0.39% ETH 1,877 +0.18%

S&P +0.20% Nasdaq +0.68% EuroStoxx +0.08% FTSE -0.33% Dax -0.35% SMI -0.07%

Macro :
- China’s GDP Growth Unexpectedly Dips Below Official Target Range
- China Party Mouthpiece Warns Against ‘Iron Curtain’ in World AI
- Japan Mulls Lifting Ban on US Potato Imports, Nikkei Says
- *AI POWER DEMAND SWELLS TOP US GRID COSTS BY 60%, WATCHDOG SAYS
- Largest US Grid Misses Power Supply Target Amid AI Surge
- Ukraine to Buy Drone Parts From China Using EU Defense Loan: FT
- Handful of Vessels Crossing Hormuz as US Blockade Takes Effect

Keep an eye on :
- AFRY SS : AFRY 2Q Net Sales Match Estimates
- AAF LN : Airtel Africa Hires More Bankers for Unit’s London IPO: FT
- AKRBP NO : Aker BP 2Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- ANTO LN : Antofagasta 2Q Copper Production Misses Estimates
- ASML NA : ASML 3Q Net Sales Forecast Beats Estimates, ASML Boosts FY Net Sales Forecast, Beats Estimates
- AXFP SS : Axfood 2Q Operating Profit Misses Estimates
- BAR BB : Barco 1H Ebitda Misses Estimates
- CAMX SS : Camurus 2Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- CAST SS : Castellum 2Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- CLAB SS : Cloetta 2Q Net Sales Meet Estimates
- COOR SS : Coor 2Q Ebit Meets Estimates
- 1COV GY : Covestro, BYD Set Long-Term Strategic Partnership
- CREDIA GA : CrediaBank Holder Thrivest Holding Offers Shares: Terms, Credia Bank Says Thrivest Sold 16.7% Stake in Lender
- DHER GY : Delivery Hero Confirms Advanced Takeover Talks With Uber
- DOCM SS : DocMorris Reports Prelim. 2Q External Revenue Growth of 15.2%
- ELANB SS : Elanders 2Q Sales Beat Estimates
- ELISA FH : Elisa 2Q Revenue Misses Estimates
- ELIS FP : Elis Holder CPPIB Offers About 19.3m Shares, Terms Show, Elis Offering by Holder Prices at EU24.60/Share
- ENEA SS : Enea Reports 2Q Revenue of SEK 218 Million, Compared With FactSet Estimates of SEK 219 Million (2 Est.)
- ENGI FP : Engie Brasil Said to Price Shares at BRL30.50 Each in Follow-on
- SHBA SS : Handelsbanken 2Q Net Interest Income Misses Estimates
- HTRO SS : Hexatronic 2Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- INWI SS : Inwido 2Q Net Sales Beat Estimates
- KTN GY : Kontron Gets Order Worth Nearly €100m From Railway Operator
- LION US : Lionsgate Said to Explore Sale Amid M&A Wave, Reuters Reports
- LCID US : LCID: Lucid weighs bankruptcy filing or going private, EV blog reports
- MOWI NO : Mowi 2Q Harvest Beats Estimates
- NA9 GY : Nagarro’s ‘22 Financial Report Inaccurate, German Regulator Says
- NEL NO : Nel 2Q Total Revenue NOK182M
- NETIB SS : Net Insight Reports 2Q Loss/Shr of SEK 0.09
- NDX1 GY : Nordex Orders Build, 10-12% Margin Target in View: 2Q Preview
- Open AI : OpenAI’s First Device Will Be Speaker Built as AI Companion
- PNDXB SS : Pandox 2Q Ebitda Beats Estimates
- PYPL US : Stripe, Advent Offer to Buy PayPal for $60.50/Share: Reuters
- PNR US : Pentair sharply lowers Q2 and FY26 guidance; cites a decline in Pool sales largely attributed to a more pronounced inventory realignment and worsening business conditions / -16% in After Hours
- PCG US : PG&E Says Power Shutoffs Likely Wednesday on Wildfire Risk
- PST IM : Poste Italiane Gets Bank of Italy OK for TIMFin Holding Deal
- CFR SW : Richemont 1Q Sales at Constant Exchange Rates Beat Estimates
- RIO LN : Rio Tinto Cuts FY Copper C1 Unit Cost/LB Forecast
- ROP SW : Roche to Test Brainshuttle Therapy in Bid to Prevent Alzheimer’s
- ROP SW : Roche: FDA Grants Priority Review to Gazyva/Gazyvaro
- SEBA SS : SEB 2Q Net Interest Income Beats Estimates
- SHOT SS : Scandic 2Q Net Sales Miss Estimates
- SONO US : OpenAI’s First Device Will Be Home Speaker Built as AI Companion
- STB NO : Storebrand 2Q Operating Profit Beats Estimates, Storebrand 2Q Solvency II Misses Estimates
- SVEDB SS : Svedbergs 2Q Sales Miss Estimates
- MSTR US : Strategy’s CEO Aims to Boost Preferred Shares, Buy More Bitcoin
- UBSG SW : UBS’ Aaron Nordvik Leaves Bank to Rejoin Moore Capital

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 15th of July 2026

>>> Up
* Indra Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 70 euros
* Mycronic Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 385 kronor
* NCC Raised to Buy at SB1 Markets; PT 220 kronor
* Norion Bank Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 62 kronor
* Wartsila Raised to Reduce at Inderes; PT 32.50 euros

>>> Down
* Evotec Cut to Hold at TD Cowen; PT 4 euros
* Evotec ADRs Cut to Hold at TD Cowen; PT $2
* Glanbia Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 24 euros
* Nokian Renkaat Cut to Sell at Inderes; PT 10.50 euros
* Unicaja downgrade to Underweight from EqualWeight at BArclays
* Wulff-Group Cut to Reduce at Inderes; PT 4.40 euros

>>> Initiation
* Adyen Rated New Hold at Loop Capital; PT 900 euros
* Befesa Reinstated Buy at Stifel; PT 40 euros
* Boeing Rated New Neutral at Banco BTG Pactual; PT $260
* Burkhalter Rated New Hold at Berenberg; PT 145 Swiss francs
* D'Ieteren Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 230 euros
* Gjensidige Reinstated Underweight at Morgan Stanley
* Savills Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 1,375 pence

>>> Call

>>> Stoxx 600 Pre-Market Indications

  • ASML (ASME TH) +3.4%
    • ASML Sees AI Driving 75% Jump in Memory-Related Sales: TOPLive
  • Aixtron (AIXA TH) +3%
  • Prosus (1TY TH) +2%
  • BE Semiconductor (BSI TH) +1.8%
  • LVMH (MOH TH) +1.7%
  • AT&S (AUS TH) +1.6%
  • Infineon (IFX TH) +1.4%
  • Nokia (NOA3 TH) +1.2%
  • Adyen (1N8 TH) +1.1%
  • Hermes (HMI TH) +0.9%
  • E.On (EOAN TH) -0.7%
  • Delivery Hero (DHER TH) -0.8%
  • Intesa Sanpaolo (IES TH) -0.8%
  • Heidelberg Materials (HEI TH) -0.8%
  • Deutsche Post (DHL TH) -0.8%
  • Deutsche Bank (DBK TH) -0.9%
  • BBVA (BOY TH) -0.9%
  • Commerzbank (CBK TH) -1%
  • RENK Group (R3NK TH) -1%
  • HSBC (HBC1 TH) -1.5%

>>> TradeGate Pre-Market Indications

DAX:
  • Infineon (IFX TH) +1.5%
  • E.On (EOAN TH) -0.8%
  • Commerzbank (CBK TH) -0.9%
MDAX:
  • Aixtron (AIXA TH) +2.9%
  • Jenoptik (JEN TH) +2.5%
  • SUSS MicroTec (SMHN TH) +2.3%
  • Siltronic (WAF TH) +1.4%
  • Lufthansa (LHA TH) -0.9%
SDAX:
  • Friedrich Vorwerk Group SE (VH2 TH) +2.1%
  • Befesa (BFSA TH) +1.5%
    • Befesa Reinstated Buy at Stifel; PT 40 euros
  • Evotec (EVT TH) -0.3%
    • Evotec Cut to Hold at TD Cowen; PT 4 euros
  • SMA Solar (S92 TH) -1.3%
  • Deutsche PBB (PBB TH) -1.3%
  • Nagarro SE (NA9 TH) -4%
    • Nagarro’s ‘22 Financial Report Inaccurate, German Regulator Says

TechCrunch : Apple opens its new Siri AI to everyone with the iOS 27 public beta

Apple opens its new Siri AI to everyone with the iOS 27 public beta

Apple is opening up its biggest-ever Siri overhaul to a broader audience with the release of the iOS 27 public beta, giving everyday users the chance to try out the new AI assistant ahead of its broader launch later this fall.

The public beta marks the first time Apple has made its AI-powered Siri widely available beyond developers. With some 2.5 billion active devices worldwide, even if only a fraction of users install the public beta, it will still represent the largest test of Apple’s redesigned AI assistant and its answer to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others.


The Siri AI update, which was officially announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June, turns Apple’s aging voice assistant into a more capable, AI-powered tool that can access information on a user’s device, including emails, photos, and messages, as well as respond to what’s on the screen and ground its answers in world knowledge, similar to any modern-day AI chatbot.

It’s also more deeply integrated across the operating system. It can be accessed by saying “Hey Siri” or by pressing the side button, as before, as well as by swiping down from the Dynamic Island (the black bar at the top of the screen). Plus, it’s integrated into the iPhone’s built-in search engine tool, Spotlight, making it more powerful than before because it can search for answers to almost any question.

Apple's Siri AI use cases at WWDC 2026
Image Credits:Apple
For the first time, Siri has also been given its own stand-alone app, a user experience that people already comfortable with chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini may prefer. However, because Siri is so deeply integrated throughout the iPhone, accessing it via an app seems somewhat unnecessary.

In addition to iOS 27 on iPhone, the upgraded Siri is available across all other Apple products, including iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay, AirPods, Apple TV, and Vision Pro.

Under the hood, Siri AI leverages Apple Intelligence, including Apple’s new Foundation Models that run on the device and use its Private Cloud Compute. Apple built its Foundation Models in collaboration with Google and its Gemini model, but these models are not just some rebranded version of Gemini. Instead, Apple’s models were built specifically for its Apple Silicon using proprietary data, and distilled Google’s Gemini — a process that uses Gemini to create smaller, highly efficient models built into iOS and other Apple software. Meanwhile, Private Cloud Compute ensures that users’ personal data isn’t stored or accessible to Apple.

In early tests of the developer version of Siri AI, the assistant was able to better handle basic tasks on the phone, like finding certain photos in your Photo Library, summarizing group texts, adding an appointment sent via text to your calendar, and looking up nutritional information about what’s in your camera view. It was also better at responding to questions you would normally have to search the web to answer, such as when an upcoming local event is happening, or what’s happening in the news.

In the developer beta, Siri sometimes threw error messages or got confused. (For instance, I once asked Siri for the latest news about Iran, and it searched my contacts for someone with that name.)

However, it’s easy to see Siri becoming a bigger part of your everyday digital life, especially because it doesn’t require you to open an app to use it.
Overall, the developer betas this year have been fairly stable, which makes the public beta much easier to recommend this time around. Of course, installing a beta should always be approached with caution; if your device must run perfectly smoothly and never experience errors, then you may want to hold off until the public launch of iOS 27, which is expected in September.