>>> Up
* Aubay Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 36 euros
* Brenntag Raised to Buy at Baader Helvea; PT 69 euros
* Entra Raised to Overweight at Barclays; PT 150 kroner
* Hargreaves Lansdown Raised to Buy at Peel Hunt; PT 1,810 pence
* Jungheinrich Raised to Buy at Commerzbank; PT 38 euros
* Jungheinrich PT Raised to 41 euros at Deutsche Bank
* Kion Raised to Buy at Commerzbank; PT 81 euros
* Kion Raised to Buy at Bankhaus Metzler; PT 88 euros (+)
* Kungsleden Raised to Buy at Pareto Securities; PT 92 kronor (+)
* Legal & General Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT 260 pence
* Logitech Raised to Add at AlphaValue
* Next Raised to Add at AlphaValue
* Norwegian Property Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 15 kroner
* Ocean Yield Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 28 kroner
* Sartorius Stedim Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 388 euros (+)
* Spar Nord Raised to Hold at ABG; PT 55 kroner
>>> Down
* Abcam Cut to Hold at Berenberg; PT 1,180 pence
* Dufry Cut to Hold at Bank Vontobel; PT 36 Swiss francs
* Inficon Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 759 Swiss francs
* Klovern Cut to Sell at Handelsbanken; PT 14 kronor
* Kuehne + Nagel Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein
* Schibsted Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 400 kroner
* Visiativ Cut to Add at Gilbert Dupont; PT 22.50 euros (+)
>>> Initiation
* Implantica GDRs Rated New Buy at Pareto Securities
* Reach Rated New Buy at Panmure Gordon; PT 310 pence
>>> Call
* Brenntag Raised to Buy on Improved Business Environment: Baader
* Electrolux Readacross From Whirlpool Positive But Expected: Citi
* Hargreaves Shares Oversold as Stockbroking Boost Continues: Peel
* Inficon Profit Under Pressure, Jefferies Cuts Rating, Estimates
* Kuehne + Nagel Is a ‘Great Story’ Now Priced In, Bernstein Cuts
* Sika 3Q Provides Confidence on Margin Targets, Jefferies Says
* Schneider Electric 3Q Sales ‘Strongly Ahead’ of Views, RBC Says (+)
* Yara PT Cut by UBS Post 3Q on Mid-Term EPS Outlook
-
Schneider Electric (SND TH) +1.4%
- Schneider Electric Boosts FY Organic Revenue View, Beats Est.
- Nokia (NOA3 TH) +1.1%
-
Unilever (UNVB TH) +0.8%
- Unilever Third Quarter Underlying Sales Beat Estimates
- BP (BPE5 TH) +0.6%
-
Unilever (UNI2 TH) +0.5%
- Unilever Third Quarter Underlying Sales Beat Estimates
- AMS (DQW1 TH) -1.8%
- Infineon (IFX TH) -1.9%
- Just Eat Takeaway (T5W TH) -1.9%
- Umicore (NVJP TH) -1.9%
- Siemens Gamesa (GTQ1 TH) -2%
- ING (INN1 TH) -2.1%
- Verbund (OEWA TH) -2.1%
- Varta (VAR1 TH) -2.5%
-
AstraZeneca (ZEG TH) -2.6%
- Warp Speed Head Says J&J, Astra Trials May Restart This Week (2)
- NEL (D7G TH) -4.7%
DAX:
- BMW (BMW TH) -1.4%
- RWE (RWE TH) -1.4%
- Daimler (DAI TH) -1.5%
- Infineon (IFX TH) -1.6%
- Continental AG (CON TH) -1.7%
- Continental AG Prelim Third Quarter Sales Meet Estimates
MDAX:
- Kion (KGX TH) +0.3%
- Kion Raised to Buy at Bankhaus Metzler; PT 88 euros
- Shop Apotheke (SAE TH) -1.3%
- Lufthansa (LHA TH) -1.4%
- HelloFresh (HFG TH) -1.7%
- Varta (VAR1 TH) -1.8%
- Fraport (FRA TH) -2%
SDAX:
- ADVA Optical (ADV TH) +6.3%
- DGAP-Adhoc: ADVA Optical Networking SE announces new guidance for full year 2020
- Traton (8TRA TH) +1.5%
- Traton SE Reports Prelim Nine Month Sales Rev Around EU15.7B
- Deutz (DEZ TH) -1.5%
- Nordex (NDX1 TH) -1.7%
- Deutsche Euroshop (DEQ TH) -1.9%
- Hamburger Hafen (HHFA TH) -2.6%
- Sixt (SIX2 TH) -2.7%
- Sixt Prelim Third Quarter Sales EU460 Mln
U.S. and European equity futures retreated with Asian shares, and the dollar edged higher, after a top American intelligence official said that Russia and Iran have attempted to interfere in next month’s presidential election.
S&P 500 contracts dropped, and shares in Hong Kong and Sydney saw modest losses. Treasury yields dipped, though remained above the 0.8% level. Earlier, U.S. shares closed lower after a volatile session amid signs that a U.S. stimulus package is unlikely to become law before the election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made progress in their latest talks and will speak again Thursday even as the odds remained long for a deal that could pass in the Senate.
Elsewhere, oil dropped below $40 a barrel in New York after an industry reportpointed to a surprise increase in American crude stockpiles.
US After Hours ALGN +25.9%, WHR +4.2%, LVS +4.1% up on earnings but CMG -3.8% trades lower on earnings
Nikkei -0.56% Hang Seng +0.07% CSI -0.44% Shanghai -0.45% shenzen -0.30%
Eur$ 1.1847 CNH 6.6535 CNY 6.6639 JPY 104.67 GBP 1.3136 CHF 0.9062 RUB 76.9990 WTI$ 39.80 -0.57%
S&P -0.52% Nasdaq -0.50% EuroStoxx -0.51% FTSE -0.39% Dax -0.60% SMI -0.85%
Macro :
- Giant Fund at Heart of Oil Storm Sees Biggest Exodus Since 2016
- European Air Traffic Less Than 40% of 2019 Level: Eurocontrol
- Fed’s Kaplan Says He Sees Economy Shrinking 2.5% This Year
- Fed’s Beige Book Shows Slight to Modest Growth, Recovery Uneven
Keep an eye on :
- ABC LN : Biotech Abcam Raises $157 Million in Nasdaq Offering: Terms
- AIR FP : World to Lose 3,200 Commercial Aircraft This Year: Aviation Week
- ALFA SS : Alfa Laval Third Quarter Adjusted Ebita Meets Estimates
- ARGX BB : Argenx 9M Operating Loss EU303.0 Mln Vs. Loss EU103.4 Mln Y/y
- AZN LN : AstraZeneca, J&J Trials to Restart This Week, Slaoui Says
- ATO FP : Atos Maintains Full Year Organic Revenue -2% to -4%
- AXFO SS : Axfood Third Quarter Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- BAYN GY : Monsanto Review Bid Rejected in California Roundup Case
- BESI NA : BE Semiconductor Third Quarter Gross Margin Beats Estimates
- BILL SS : BillerudKorsnas Third Quarter Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates
- BIM FP : BioMerieux Third Quarter Sales Beat Estimates
- BMW GY : BMW Expanding Germany-Based Production for Electric Drives
- CNHI IM : Tesla Says Semi Truck Deliveries to Begin in 2021
- CON GY : Continental AG Prelim Third Quarter Sales Meet Estimates
- CON GY : Continental Warns of Another Loss Due to Restructuring Charges
- DSY FP : Dassault Systemes Cuts Full Year Non-IFRS Revenue Forecast
- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank Plans to Sell Technology Unit With 1,400 Employees
- DBK GY : Tata Consultancy in Talks to Buy Deutsche Bank’s Technology Unit
- EDEN FP : Edenred Narrows FY Ebitda Guidance, Now Sees EU550m-EU600m
- EFGN SW : Swiss Finma Reassesses Disgorgement of BSI Profits in 1MDB Case
- ENGI FP : France Asks Engie to Delay $7B LNG Deal w/ NextDecade: Politico
- ENX FP : Euronext: Some Trades Sent Tuesday Had Wrong Direction
- ERF FP : Eurofins Scientific Boosts Full Year Free Cash Flow Forecast
- EVO SS : Evolution Third Quarter Ebitda Beats Estimates
- FGR FP : Eiffage Wins Contract From Lidl Worth Close to EU140m
- FLOW NA : Flow Traders Third Quarter Net Trading Income Misses Estimates
- FNAC FP : Fnac Darty 3Q Rev. Rises 7.3% Like-for-Like to EU1.86b
- GFC FP : Gecina Nine Month Like-for-like Rental +2.7%
- GRNG SS : Granges Third Quarter Net Sales Miss Estimates
- HUH1V FH : Huhtamaki Third Quarter Adjusted Ebit Beats Estimates
- HUBN SW : Huber + Suhner Nine Month Orders CHF571 Mln
- HYQ GY : Hypoport SE Prelim Nine Month Ebit About EU24 Mln
- ICAD FP : Icade Sets FY NCCF Target, Covid-19 Hit Less Than Expected
- ILTY IM : UniCredit: Sale of Secured Non-Performing Loans to Illimity
- INTER NA : Intertrust Third Quarter Adjusted Ebita EU44.3 Mln
- IPN FP : Ipsen Third Quarter Sales At Constant Exchange Rates +2.2%
- JUN3 GY : Jungheinrich Boosts Full Year Ebit Forecast
- LIFCOB SS : Lifco Third Quarter Ebita SEK699 Mln
- MERY FP : Mercialys Won’t Pay Ordinary Interim Div. for 2020
- NEnTB SS : NetEnt Third Quarter Adjusted Operating Profit Meets Estimates
- NSKOG NO : Norske Skog Posts Wider 3Q Loss; Plans to Close Further Capacity
- RI FP : Pernod Ricard Sees Sales Rebound in First Six Months of 2021
- POM FP : Plastic Omnium Third Quarter Revenue EU2.10 Bln
- SFER IM : Ferragamo ‘Categorically’ Denies Possible Stake Sale Report (1)
- RATOB SS : Ratos Net Cash Balance At Period End SEK1.23 Bln
- ROG SW : Atea Partners With Roche on Covid Treatment; Gets $350m Upfront
- SU FP : Schneider Electric Boosts FY Organic Revenue View, Beats Est.
- SEBA SS : SEB Third Quarter Net Income Beats Estimates
- SIKA SW : Sika Nine Month Ebit CHF797.4 Mln
- SIP BB : Sipef Nine Month Palm Oil Output 247,027 Metric Tons
- SIX2 GY : Sixt Prelim Third Quarter Sales EU460 Mln
- SLIGR NA : Sligro Third Quarter Organic Sales -9.5%
- SOI FP : Soitec Confirms FY 2021 Guidance
- SONC PL : Efanor Raises Bid for Rest of Sonae Capital Stock to EU0.77/Shr
- STM FP : STMicroelectronics 4Q Net Revenue View Beats Est.
- FTI FP : TechnipFMC Third Quarter Revenue Beats Estimates
- TRE SM : Tecnicas Reunidas Says No Cancellation of Projects in Backlog
- HO FP : Thales Expects Strong Defense Sales in 4Q, Maintains FY Targets
- TOM NO : TOMRA Third Quarter Revenue Beats Estimates
- 8TRA GY : Traton SE Reports Prelim Nine Month Sales Rev Around EU15.7B
- UBSG SW : UBS Seeks Chinese Partner for Faster Push in Millionaire Hub (1)
- UCG IM : UniCredit: Sale of Secured Non-Performing Loans to Illimity
- DG FP : Vinci Wins Contracts Worth Around EU485m in New Zealand
- VOVLB SS : Industrivarden CEO Buys Volvo Shares Worth SEK1.47 Billion
- WLN FP : Worldline: Ingenico Tender Offer Will Be Reopened From Oct. 22
>>> Up
* Aubay Raised to Buy at SocGen; PT 36 euros
* Brenntag Raised to Buy at Baader Helvea; PT 69 euros
* Entra Raised to Overweight at Barclays; PT 150 kroner
* Hargreaves Lansdown Raised to Buy at Peel Hunt; PT 1,810 pence
* Jungheinrich Raised to Buy at Commerzbank; PT 38 euros
* Jungheinrich PT Raised to 41 euros at Deutsche Bank
* Kion Raised to Buy at Commerzbank; PT 81 euros
* Legal & General Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT 260 pence
* Logitech Raised to Add at AlphaValue
* Next Raised to Add at AlphaValue
* Norwegian Property Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 15 kroner
* Ocean Yield Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 28 kroner
* Spar Nord Raised to Hold at ABG; PT 55 kroner
>>> Down
* Abcam Cut to Hold at Berenberg; PT 1,180 pence
* Dufry Cut to Hold at Bank Vontobel; PT 36 Swiss francs
* Inficon Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 759 Swiss francs
* Klovern Cut to Sell at Handelsbanken; PT 14 kronor
* Kuehne + Nagel Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein
* Schibsted Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 400 kroner
>>> Initiation
* Implantica GDRs Rated New Buy at Pareto Securities
* Reach Rated New Buy at Panmure Gordon; PT 310 pence
>>> Call
* Brenntag Raised to Buy on Improved Business Environment: Baader
* Electrolux Readacross From Whirlpool Positive But Expected: Citi
* Hargreaves Shares Oversold as Stockbroking Boost Continues: Peel
* Inficon Profit Under Pressure, Jefferies Cuts Rating, Estimates
* Kuehne + Nagel Is a ‘Great Story’ Now Priced In, Bernstein Cuts
* Sika 3Q Provides Confidence on Margin Targets, Jefferies Says
* Yara PT Cut by UBS Post 3Q on Mid-Term EPS Outlook
Asset managers in $300bn drive to build private lending funds
Investors switch credit deal focus after flood of stimulus saturated many public markets
Asset managers are seeking to raise almost $300bn to plough into private lending deals with groups such as Goldman Sachs and Oaktree hoping to lure investors away from frothy public markets.
Publicly traded debt and equity securities have surged in price this year after central banks and governments across the world unleashed trillions of dollars worth of stimulus to dull the economic blow from the pandemic.
Managers argue that private credit — including funds set up to lend directly to companies — is one area that has not yet become saturated. It has also benefited from post-financial crisis regulations that pushed banks to tamp down lending to riskier clients.
The rush into the sector has been swift. Asset managers were pitching 520 private credit funds to investors in October, up from 436 at the year’s start and just under 400 in January 2019, according to data compiled by Prequin and the Financial Times.
And managers are targeting ever larger amounts. Average fund sizes have swelled, with the combined fundraising target sitting at $292bn. That is up from $192bn in January.
“At this stage of the credit cycle, there will be private market assets that are interesting and can deliver strong returns for investors,” said Mark Dowding, chief investment officer at BlueBay Asset Management. The firm is focused on distressed debt opportunities in emerging markets and among companies.
Goldman Sachs is looking to raise $14bn for its West Street Strategic Solutions Fund I, above the $5bn to $10bn target it had first set out. Oaktree, the investment group founded by Howard Marks, is raising a $15bn fund to invest in distressed corporate credit. And other big funds, including the $9bn private credit fund recently secured by the investment group HPS, are at work to write big cheques to medium and large-sized companies.
Asset managers are already sitting on more than $2.6tn of so-called dry powder, money they have raised to invest in leveraged buyouts, private debt, real estate, infrastructure and natural resources, the Preqin data show. That figure is double the level that had been raised just six years previously.
Many investors have been pushed out of haven investments including Treasuries, as yields have collapsed to record lows this year, following the Federal Reserve’s move in March to cut US interest rates to near-zero. Some have pumped their cash into higher yielding “junk” bonds instead.
But even in that riskier corner of the market, the potential returns have dropped. Yields on junk bonds — which move inversely to prices — have slid from more than 11 per cent at the nadir of the market dive in March back towards 5 per cent, according to Ice Data Services, even as investors weigh up the viability of some lowly rated borrowers.
“We’ve been in a prolonged zero or low rate environment with 80 per cent of fixed-income assets today yielding less than 2 per cent,” said John Zito, Apollo’s co-head of global corporate credit. “So I think it’s natural that institutions, especially those managing long-term liabilities, are committing more capital to private credit to seek longer-dated excess yield.”
Still, many companies have already sold equity or borrowed through bond markets to shore up their financial reserves, providing one challenge to the new wave of private credit funds: where to put their new money.
Hanneke Smits, chief executive of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, told a conference last week that there were limits to “the amount of capital that private equity and private debt markets can absorb”. Ms Smits said that would “limit returns in the future”.
How Wirecard misled investors over KPMG’s special audit
Executives defied directions from supervisory board as forensic accountants closed in
On April 22, Wirecard’s investors and short sellers were nervously awaiting a special audit from KPMG.
Due that day, results of the accountancy firm’s forensic investigation into Wirecard were supposed to resolve once and for all the persistent questions over the payments group’s accounts, rewarding either its faithful shareholders or the sceptical hedge funds betting against the stock.
But not until 9.03pm, more than three-and-a-half hours after trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange had closed, did Wirecard say anything at all.
A statement then asserted that the company “had just been informed by KPMG” that the special audit would be delayed until April 27. That unsettling news was caveated with much more reassuring comments: “to date no substantial findings have been made” and the company’s annual results would be published as planned on April 30.
The next day, Wirecard’s shares shot up more than 11 per cent, pushing the group's market value to more than €17bn.
The relief rally did not last for long. Only two months later the company filed for insolvency after the spectacular fraud at the heart of its operations was revealed. Prosecutors are investigating fraud and embezzlement on a grand scale. Former chief executive Markus Braun and three other ex-managers are in police custody. Mr Braun and two of the men deny all wrongdoing, while a fourth suspect has become the prosecutors’ chief witness.
Although it has been overtaken by the fast-moving and sensational events, the April statement that boosted Wirecard’s share price remains an important part of the criminal investigation.
Some of the more serious allegations of fraud and embezzlement are complex and may be hard to prove in court. A key suspect — chief operating officer Jan Marsalek, who was in charge of Wirecard's fraudulent Asian business — has disappeared.
By contrast, documents seen by the FT and interviews with people with first-hand knowledge of the matter indicate there was market manipulation, which under German law is a crime that can be punished with up to five years in prison.
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share The actions of senior Wirecard staff in the run-up to the April 22 press release give a unique insight into the company's tactics of delay and deceit. They also highlight shortcomings in the German corporate governance system, where responsibility is split between management and non-executive supervisory boards.
Late on April 21, the supervisory board had supplied executives with “minimum content” that it expected to see in a statement, including the fact that KPMG had run into an “obstacle to the investigation” as well as the assessment that the auditors were “unable to rebut the allegations raised against the company with regard to [operations outsourced to external partners in Asia] during the investigation period”.
The supervisory board also said that the release needed to disclose that missing documents, grave organisational deficiencies at Wirecard and a lack of co-operation by Wirecard's outsourcing partners were to blame for the issues.
None of it made the final cut.
The board’s instructions were shared in a memo with Mr Braun and the three other members of the executive board. However, the executives totally disregarded it. Instead of disclosing the devastating preliminary results of KPMG’s special audit, the final statement suggested that no substantial findings had been made. That impression was bolstered by prior comments from chairman Thomas Eichelmann, who had told Manager Magazin in January that any problematic findings would be disclosed immediately, adding that “you can draw your conclusions from the fact that we have not yet issued an ad hoc announcement”.
The statement that did appear was misleading — not only for its omissions. Internal Wirecard documents show that — in contrast to Wirecard’s statement — KPMG was not responsible for the delayed publication of the audit results. In fact, it was Wirecard's supervisory board that unanimously decided to give KPMG auditors five additional days to conclude their work.
In addition, Wirecard’s language about the timing of the decision was false. The statement noted that Wirecard had “just” learnt about the delay. In fact, the supervisory board had decided to extend KPMG’s mandate on the evening of April 21 — some 24 hours before the delay was disclosed, the documents show.
Under German law, companies are obliged to disclose market-moving insider information as soon as possible to investors. Yet Mr Braun, who was formally responsible for Wirecard’s capital market communication, sat on the news for a full trading day.
When Wirecard eventually published the misleading statement on the evening of April 22, the supervisory board was in a meeting on another matter, according to people familiar with the matter. According to them, when they saw the language of the press release Mr Eichelmann and other directors were “shocked” and “in utter disbelief” that Mr Braun had ignored their directions.
Yet under German corporate governance rules, there was little the supervisory board could actually do. The non-executive directors did question Mr Braun and were left dissatisfied with his explanation, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by the FT. Under German law, however, the executive board is responsible for communication to capital markets — and it is not obliged to take orders from the supervisory board.
“The only real option at hand had been to fire Mr Braun,” one of the people involved in the matter told the Financial Times. Yet the majority of the supervisory board feared that this step would destabilise Wirecard even further. Moreover, employment lawyers warned that Mr Braun could successfully challenge his dismissal in court.
Eventually, the supervisory board decided to remove Mr Braun’s authority to issue communications to the market. In a management reshuffle announced on May 8, chief financial officer Alexander von Knoop was put in charge of investor relations.
Munich prosecutors and Wirecard's former chairman Mr Eichelmann declined to comment. A lawyer for Mr Braun did not answer specific questions from the Financial Times but stressed that the former CEO “is vehemently rejecting all allegations raised against him”.
After Hours Summary: ALGN +25.9%, WHR +4.2%, LVS +4.1% up on earnings but CMG -3.8% trades lower on earningsAfter Hours Gainers:
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ALGN +25.9% (also introduces Invisalign G8 with new SmartForce Aligner Activation), BCOV +12.4%, RUSHA +6.4%, UMPQ +5.6%, AXTA +5.1%, SLM +4.9%, UFPI +4.8%, DFS +4.5%, WHR +4.2%, LVS +4.1%, NTGR +3.7%, CSX +3.5% (also authorizes $5 bln share buyback), TSLA +3.2%, SLG +2.9%, VMI +2%, STC +2%, FTI +1.9%, XLNX +1.3%, FR +1.1%, WSBC +1%, CLB +0.8%, SUI +0.6%, LSTR +0.5%, TCBI +0.3%, GL +0.1%
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: NK +6.4% (doses the first patient in the Phase 1 clinical trial of hAd5-COVID-19), ALLK +5.6% (publishes results from Phase 2 study of lirentelimab), MLCO +4.7% (in sympathy with strong LVS earnings), GMAB +2.6% (announces topline results from Phase 3 CASSIOPEIA study), WYNN +2.5% (in sympathy with strong LVS earnings), CZR +2% (in sympathy with strong LVS earnings), BABA +0.1% (BABA's Ant Group announces arrangements for IPO)
After Hours Losers:
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: KALU -13.5%, CLAR -6.8% (also announces convertible notes offering), CMG -3.8%, EW -3.2%, LRCX -1.7%, CCI -1.6%, TRN -1.1%, ICLR -0.6%, MTH -0.4%, BDN -0.2%, EFX -0.2%, KMI -0.2%
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: AMSC -6% (stock offering), RXT -1.6% (new CFO), KNDI -1.3% (in sympathy with TSLA; also files for $300 mln mixed securities shelf offering), SON -0.1% (announces 8% price increase for all paperboard tubes and cores)