FT : Johnson plan to lift tax burden to 70-year high

Johnson plan to lift tax burden to 70-year high
PM to ask MPs to endorse £12bn revenue-raising plan, Taliban-led government faces crises and El Salvador’s bitcoin debut stumble

Boris Johnson will challenge rebel Tory MPs to vote down his manifesto-breaking £12bn tax-raising plan to fund health and social care today, as he pushed Britain’s tax burden to the highest level since 1950.

The UK prime minister will ask MPs to endorse a strategy that shreds traditional Tory claims to be a low-tax party. One Conservative rebel said he expected only “a handful” to defy Johnson.

Johnson’s plan will move his party into Labour territory. “We are the party of the NHS,” he declared yesterday. The social care reform proposals would cap people’s costs and safeguard their assets: here’s how they would work.

Brokers, however, have described the plans to raise taxes on company dividend payments as a “kick in the teeth” to savers and shareholders.

Helen Thomas argues that there’s irony in that complexity is part of the appeal of national insurance as a tax: it’s hard to see who ultimately pays.

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 8th of September 20

>>> Up
* ASML PT Raised to 845 euros from 670 euros at Berenberg
* Erste Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 42 euros
* Pirelli Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT 6.30 euros

>>> Down
* Catena Cut to Hold at Handelsbanken; PT 560 kronor
* Hellenic Telecom Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT 18.60 euros
* NOS Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT 3.90 euros
* Platzer Cut to Sell at Handelsbanken; PT 150 kronor
* Siemens Energy Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 29 euros
* Siemens Gamesa Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 26 euros
* Schindler Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 310 Swiss francs
* Stendorren Fastigheter Cut to Hold at Handelsbanken
* Vantage Towers Cut to Hold at Berenberg; PT 33 euros

>>> Initiation
* Almirall Rated New Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 18 euros
* BT Reinstated Market Perform at Bernstein; PT 170 pence
* Cellnex Rated New Outperform at Bernstein; PT 68 euros
* Deutsche Telekom Reinstated Outperform at Bernstein
* Forward Partners Group Rated New Buy at Liberum; PT 132 pence
* IronRidge Resources Rated New Buy at Liberum; PT 32 pence
* Orange Reinstated Market Perform at Bernstein; PT 10.80 euros
* Philips Reinstated Buy at Jefferies; PT 55 euros
* Philips ADRs Rated New Buy at Jefferies; PT $66
* Siemens Healthineers ADRs Rated New Hold at Jefferies; PT $33
* Siemens Healthineers Reinstated Hold at Jefferies; PT 53 euros
* Sparebank 1 Oestlandet Rated New Buy at Arctic Securities
* Telefonica Reinstated Market Perform at Bernstein; PT 4.60 euros
* Telia Rated New Market Perform at Bernstein; PT 41.70 kronor
* Vodafone Reinstated Outperform at Bernstein; PT 155 pence

>>> Call
* Almirall Overweight at Morgan Stanley on Growth Uplift Potential
* Bernstein Positive on Telco Infrastructure, Cellnex Outperform
* Gamesa Cut on Earnings Risk, Siemens Energy Downgraded: JPMorgan
* Infineon, ASML Well-Positioned for China Semi Growth: Berenberg
* Philips a Buy on Overdone Selloff, Healthineers Hold: Jefferies
* Pirelli Raised at HSBC With Concerns Addressed, Michelin Key Buy
* Ferragamo 2Q Strong Margin Development Likely to Reassure: Citi
* U.S. Stocks Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley on Higher Risk

>>> What to look at today - 8th of September 2021

Asian stocks Wednesday snapped an eight-day winning streak as a rally in Japan moderated and traders evaluated the risk of a slower recovery from the pandemic due to the delta virus variant.
Shares fell in Hong Kong and China, where the mouthpiece of China’s Communist Party ran an editorial seeking to ease concern that President Xi Jinping’s regulatory crackdown will hurt foreign investors. Equities climbed modestly in Japan, supported by hopes for economic stimulus from the next prime minister. U.S. futureswere steady but European contracts retreated. A selloff across bond markets has intensified in part due to a flood of debt sales. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield remained around 1.37%. Australian and New Zealand yields climbed. The dollar held a rally. The prospect of a slower economic reopening and an eventual reduction in Federal Reserve and European Central Bank pandemic stimulus support is leading to some investor wariness. At the same time, global shares remain near all-time highs, indicating the jitters are relatively contained. Elsewhere, Bitcoin nursed losses in the wake of El Salvador’s rocky implementation of a law that makes the cryptocurrency legal tender. In commodity markets, crude oil steadied after a two-day decline, while uranium added to a surge.
US After Hours COUP +5%, AGX +4% higher on earnings; PATH -8.2%, SMAR -3.3%, CASY -1% fall on earnings

Nikkei +0.70% Hang Seng -0.23% CSI -0.64% Shanghai -0.32% Shenzen -0.25%

Eur$ 1.1836 CNH 6.4605 CNY 6.4637 JPY 11039 GBP 1.3770 CHF 0.9201 RUB 73.2816 TRY 8.3471 WTI$68.65 +0.44% Gold 1,797.30 +0.17% BTC 46,400 -425 ETH 3,430+14

S&P +0.07% Nasdaq +0.02% EuroStoxx -0.07% FTSE -0.36% Dax -0.01% SMI

Macro :
- Get Ready for More Pain Before a Healthier Economy: China Today
- Citadel Flagship Fund Wellington Up Nearly 10% on Year: Insider

Keep an eye on :
- ADEN SW : Adecco Offering of Up to 5.1m Shares Prices at CHF49.6/Share
- AIR FP : Airbus Posts Best Month for Jet Sales Since Start of Pandemic
- AAPL US : Apple to Hold Sept. 14 Event for New IPhone Line, Other Devices
- ARAMI FP : Aramis Ups FY Organic Rev. View on Refurbished Cars Sales Growth
- MT NA : Germany to Provide EU55m for Arcelormittal’s Hydrogen DRI Plant
- ASC LN : Shareholder to Sell 3m Asos Shares via Goldman Sachs
- CS FP : Axa Grants Staff 2 Exceptional Covid Fatigue Days Off: Les Echos
- BGN IM : Banca Generali Aug. Net Inflows EU563M
- BKW SW : BKW 1H Ebit CHF225M Vs. CHF219M Y/y
- CCL LN : Carnival to Cancel Glory’s Cruise Scheduled to Depart Sept. 12
- CLASB SS : Clas Ohlson 1Q Operating Profit SEK147M Vs. SEK166M Y/y
- COFB BB : Cofinimmo Spends EU13m on Valencia Project for Vivalto’s Solimar
- COTY US : Coty Falls After KKR Rainbow Aggregator Offers 50m Shares
- DNO NO : DNO Gets $63.2m Net From Kurdistan Regional Government
- EDP PL : EDP Gets 15-Year Power Purchase Agreement for Project in Chile
- EQT SS : EQT Holders Complete Sale of 63.1m Shares at SEK370/Share
- EXO IM : Exor 1H Net Income EU838M Vs. Loss EU1.32B Y/y
- ENX FP : *NO CHANGES IN DUTCH AEX INDEX COMPOSITION AT QUARTERLY REVIEW
- FORTUM FH : Rosatom, Fortum to Bid to Build Wind Farms in Russia: Kommersant
- GSK LN : Japan May Approve Glaxo’s Covid Drug Sotrovimab This Month: NHK
- HUBN SW : Huber+Suhner Holder Metrohm Sells Its 10.6% Stake
- INCH LN : Inchcape Holder Offers 7.5m Shares via Goldman Sachs: Terms
- ITP FP : Interparfums Sees FY Operating Margin About 15%
- INPST NA : InPost 2Q Sales 857.6M Zloty Vs. 659.9M Zloty Y/y
- LDO IM : Italy Mulls Picking Telecom Italia, Leonardo for Cloud Hub
- MMT FP : TF1, M6 Merger Plan is “Natural”, “Understandable”: AFP
- NESTE FH : Top Green Diesel Maker Widens Used Grease Quest With Latest Deal
- HBR LN : Neptune Is Said to Consider Merger With Rival Harbour Energy
- SAN FP : Sanofi to Buy Kadmon for $9.50 per Share in Cash: M&A Snapshot
- SCR FP : Scor to Unveil Strategic Plan in March 2022: Presentation
- SFER IM : Salvatore Ferragamo 1H Net Income Beats Estimates
- STLA IM : Dongfeng Motor Seeks About EU600m From Stellantis Share Sale
- SWON SW : SoftwareONE: Holders Place 8.6m Shrs in Market, Free Float ~66%
- TFI FP : TF1, M6 Merger Plan is “Natural”, “Understandable”: AFP
- TIETO FH : TietoEVRY Holder Apax Partners Offers Up to 9.1m Shares
- TIT IM : Italy Mulls Picking Telecom Italia, Leonardo for Cloud Hub
- VETN SW : Vetropack Offering by Cornaz AG-Holding Prices at CHF59/Share
- VOW3 GY : VW Plans $355 Million Venture Capital Fund for Decarbonization
- WBD IM : Webuild-led Group Wins Over EU1b Contract for Bridge in Norway

CNBC : Peter Thiel files plans to build luxury lodge, private home and meditatio

Peter Thiel files plans to build luxury lodge, private home and meditation pod on New Zealand estate

  • Peter Thiel filed plans with the Queenstown Lakes District Council to build a private residential building and larger luxury lodge with enough space for 24 people.
  • There’s also a separate meditation pod, several water features and a yet-to-be-designed back-of-house building.
  • Thiel has citizenship in New Zealand and has previously called the isolated island country his version of “utopia.”

Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire who co-founded PayPal and Palantir and backed Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has filed plans to build a large complex on a 193-hectare (477-acre) estate that he owns on the South Island of New Zealand.

Thiel, an early investor in Facebook who sits on its board, bought the estate in 2015 for a reported $13.5 million through an Auckland-headquartered company he owns called Second Star Limited.

Plans for the complex, which were filed to Queenstown Lakes District Council and published by the council on Tuesday, show several inconspicuous buildings that blend into the landscape on the shores of the picturesque Lake Wanaka.

The images in the plans, designed by Tokyo Olympic Stadium architect Kengo Kuma and Associates, show a private residential building built into a hillside as well as a larger luxury lodge with enough space for 24 people. There’s also a separate meditation pod, several water features and a yet-to-be-designed back-of-house building.

Kengo Kuma and Associates said the objective was to “design an organic architecture that fuses into the landscape” and respects the indigenous nature.

Spas and theaters
The so-called owner’s cabin has a spa, a pool, theater lounge, office and three bedrooms, while the guest cabin has its own spa and pool, as well as a library, and 10 guest bedrooms with uninterrupted north-facing views toward Lake Wanaka and the Southern Alps.

“The architecture of the proposed lodge is unique,” said Jo Fyfe, senior planner at John Edmonds and Associates, who carried out an assessment of the environmental effects of the complex.

“The careful design and placement of buildings into the landscape is thoughtful and recognizes the landscape setting. The sympathetic design will use a green roof that will employ the same naturally rustic planting palette of the hillocks that they will be located within.”

Up to 15 staff would work on the site at peak times, but none of them would reside there, according to planning documents. It’s unclear when the lodge could be operational or how much it would cost to stay there.

Kiwi property portfolio
In 2017, it emerged that Thiel had been granted citizenship by the New Zealand government.

Located in relative isolation from the largest population centers of the world, New Zealand has become a popular destination with high net-worth individuals in recent years. Billionaire Google co-founder Larry Page was granted residency at the start of the year.

Home to around 5 million people, the country has become synonymous with “preppers” — those who try to prepare for catastrophic events that may pose a threat to humanity. Today, there’s even a website dedicated to people wanting to prep their families for “survival” in New Zealand.

Reports had suggested that Thiel was planning to build some sort of apocalypse-proof bunker on his estate, which is currently used as a working farm. While some of the buildings appear to be built into hillsides, it’s unclear if any of them are intended to serve as a bunker. A representative for Thiel did not respond to a request for comment.

A computer-generated image of the luxury lodge and the house.
The prepper craze was first put under the spotlight in January 2017, when an article in The New Yorker titled “Doomsday prep for the super-rich” revealed how New Zealand is essentially like a mecca for wealthy preppers. It’s remote, geopolitically stable, and sparsely populated. Importantly, it could also become completely self-sufficient in terms of water, food, and energy if it ever needed to.

A year earlier, Sam Altman, former president of the prestigious Y-Combinator accelerator program, told the magazine that he planned to fly to Thiel’s house in New Zealand in the event of a pandemic.

It’s unclear which house Altman was referring to, as Thiel has owned a number of properties in New Zealand over the years, albeit on significantly smaller plots. That includes a four-bedroom home in neighboring Queenstown, which he bought in 2011 for $4.8 million and subsequently built out with a panic room after a fire. He has also owned property in Auckland.

Thiel’s love for Aotearoa
Thiel’s love for Aotearoa (the Maori name for the country) goes a long way back.

The serial entrepreneur first visited New Zealand in 1995 when he was 28, according to an in-depth investigation by The New Zealand Herald.

He’s also a huge fan of “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy, which was filmed in New Zealand. At least five of his businesses have names inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. Palantir, for example, is named after the seven seeing-stones in “The Lord of the Rings” that can be used to communicate with others, while his VC firm Mithril Ventures is named after a metal in the fantasy series that can “protect” and be “transformative.”

When it comes to prepping, Thiel said he’s been influenced by a 1997 book “The Sovereign Individual: How to Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State,” according to The Guardian.

“New Zealand is already utopia,” Thiel told Business Insider in 2011. In his citizenship application, he said he’d found “no other country that aligns more with my view of the future than New Zealand.”

WSJ : Elliott Management Has a More Than $1 Billion Stake in Citrix Systems

Elliott Management Has a More Than $1 Billion Stake in Citrix Systems
Activist hedge fund wants the software company to take steps to boost its valuation

Activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. has a more than $1 billion stake in Citrix Systems Inc. CTXS 0.73% and wants the software company to take action to boost its lagging stock price, according to people familiar with the matter.

Elliott recently informed Citrix it has a stake of more than 10% in the company and would like to work with it to improve its valuation, the people said. A stake of that size would be valued at around $1.3 billion, based on Citrix’s market value of nearly $13 billion as of Tuesday.

Citrix makes software that allows users to virtually access desktops as well as other cloud-computing capabilities. Elliott previously took a stake in Citrix in 2015 and held a seat on its board until last spring.

Citrix, like many legacy software companies, has had a rocky transition to a subscription-based model for its core virtual-desktop services. But it has benefited as the pandemic stokes demand for remote-work services, a trend that appears poised to continue.

Still, Citrix’s modest size compared with that of peers such as VMware Inc. and spotty results over the years have made it the subject of takeover speculation. Indeed, it has drawn the attention of private-equity firms and industry players in the past, though no deal has as yet been struck.

Citrix shares closed Tuesday at $103.50 after sagging following two worse-than-expected earnings reports that included guidance cuts. The April 29 and July 29 reports sent its shares down more than 7% and more than 13%, respectively.

Citrix Chief Executive David Henshall said in a letter to investors accompanying second-quarter results that after a slower-than-expected pace at the beginning of the pandemic, the subscription transition “has since gained momentum and is now progressing well.” He also said the company plans to provide more detail on its strategy and business model with its third-quarter earnings.

While Elliott’s exact demands couldn’t be learned, it previously called for Citrix to focus on its core offerings and better allocate capital when the investor built a stake of more than 7% in June 2015. Jesse Cohn, Elliott’s managing partner who oversees its U.S. activist investing, joined Citrix’s board the following month as part of a settlement agreement.

In April 2020, the company announced Mr. Cohn wouldn’t stand for re-election to the board that spring. At the time, its shares were trading at around $147 apiece after the company had boosted its margins and shed noncore assets including its GoTo online meeting and communications products, sold to LogMeIn Inc. for around $1.8 billion. Elliott’s private-equity arm later took the combined company private with a partner.

Citrix in March closed a $2.3 billion deal to buy project-management-software maker Wrike Inc.

Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, manages roughly $48 billion in assets and has been one of the most visible activist investors in recent years, challenging companies including AT&T Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that it also holds a sizable stake in Dropbox Inc., another cloud-computing company. It called for changes at F5 Networks Inc. last year.

FT : PayPal to acquire ‘buy now, pay later’ provider Paidy for $2.7bn

PayPal to acquire ‘buy now, pay later’ provider Paidy for $2.7bn
Japanese fintech ‘unicorn’ that pioneered zero-interest payments was expected to seek IPO this year

PayPal, the US online payments company, has agreed to acquire Paidy, a Tokyo-based “buy now, pay later” group, for ¥300bn ($2.7bn) in the latest shake-up in the industry.

The deal announced late on Tuesday, which will be paid for principally in cash, deepens PayPal’s push into the crowded BNPL sector, in which consumers spread the cost of goods over a small number of payments, typically without interest and often without requiring a credit check.

Last month, Square, the payments company led by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, acquired BNPL group Afterpay for $29bn, in the largest takeover in Australian history.

Shares in San Francisco-based Affirm, another BNPL company, soared last month after it announced a partnership with Amazon allowing shoppers who spend more than $50 to make payments in monthly instalments.

Paidy, founded in 2008, is one of Japan’s few “unicorns”, or start-ups worth more than $1bn. The company launched the country’s first zero-interest post-payment service last year.

While the global BNPL market has exploded in popularity owing to the pandemic-driven boom in online shopping, the trend is only starting to catch on in Japan, where consumers still depend heavily on cash payments.

Paidy allows its 6m registered users to split the cost of goods into three equal instalments with no interest. Users can pay off their balance using cash at convenience stores or bank transfers.

According to Yano Research Institute, the volume of transactions made through post-payment services in Japan is expected to more than double from an estimated ¥882bn in fiscal 2020 to ¥1.88tn by fiscal 2024.

Paidy was valued at $1.3bn when it raised $120m in March, and was expected to list its shares in Tokyo later this year. It has been backed by trading house Itochu, Goldman Sachs and Soros Capital Management along with PayPal.

Russell Cummer, the Japanese fintech’s founder, recently told the Financial Times that a public listing “made sense” — though no firm timetable had been established. Instead, the company is now expected to become part of PayPal by the fourth quarter of this year.

“Paidy pioneered ‘buy now, pay later’ solutions tailored to the Japanese market and quickly grew to become the leading service, developing a sizeable two-sided platform of consumers and merchants,” said Peter Kenevan, PayPal’s vice-president and head of business in Japan.

“Combining Paidy’s brand, capabilities and talented team with PayPal’s expertise, resources and global scale will create a strong foundation to accelerate our momentum in this strategically important market.”

PayPal said Paidy would “continue to operating its existing business, maintain its brand and support a wide variety of consumer wallets and marketplaces”. Cummer and Riku Sugie, Paidy’s president and chief executive, will continue to lead the company, according to a statement.

“Paidy is just at the beginning of our journey and joining PayPal will accelerate our plans to expand beyond ecommerce and build unique services as the new shopping standard,” said Sugie. “PayPal was a founding partner for Paidy Link and we look forward to working together to create even more value.”

The acquisition comes as PayPal rolls out its broader strategy to become a “super app” — incorporating payments, cryptocurrency investments and savings — drawing inspiration from under-one-roof Chinese apps such as WeChat.

>>> US After Hours Summary: COUP +5%, AGX +4% higher on earnings; PATH -8.2%, SM

After Hours Summary: COUP +5%, AGX +4% higher on earnings; PATH -8.2%, SMAR -3.3%, CASY -1% fall on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: COUP +5%, AGX +4%, MLNK +1.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: NNDM +5.2% (announces collaboration with Fraunhofer Institute to develop 3D printing systems), LNG +2.6% (announces long-term capital allocation plan; initiates quarterly dividend of $0.33/sh), ASPS +1.9% (considering potential sale of its origination business, according to Bloomberg), BLUE +1.3% (names new CFO), TBPH +1% (Point72 Asset Mgmt discloses 7.0% stake), EDIT +0.8% (to present initial clinical data from BRILLIANCE trial), CCO +0.8% (partners with Foursquare to make in-flight ad optimization possible), CASH +0.4% (CEO to retire; also authorizes 6 mln share repurchase program), OLED +0.3% (announces new laboratory expansion to support its R&D pipeline), BHF +0.3% (files mixed securities shelf offering)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: PATH -8.2%, SMAR -3.3%, CASY -1%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: COTY -8.6% (stock offering), MGNX -7.5% (presents data for SOPHIA study of MARGENZA, did not demonstrate statistically significant advantage over trastuzumab), INMB -6.6% (stock offering), IMPL -5.4% (stock offering), RADI -4.5% (convertible notes offering), OCDX -3.3% (stock offering), MCFE -3.3% (stock offering), NIO -3% (announces at-the-market offering of up to US$2.0 bln of its ADSs), HLNE -2.8% (stock offering), GLBE -2.1% (stock offering), AGL -2% (stock offering), OPCH -2% (stock offering), RKDA -0.4% (CEO to step down when successor named), RYI -0.2% (acquires Specialty Metals Processing), GENI -0.2% (expands partnership with WynnBET), CODI -0.1% (files mixed securities shelf offering), JBLU -0.1% (names new CFO), CVX -0.1% (to sell test batch of sustainable aviation fuel to DAL)