>>> What to look at today - 24th of July 2020

Stocks in Asia retreated along with U.S. and European equity futures amid concern over escalating Sino-U.S. tensions and worries the recovery in the world’s largest economy has stalled. The dollar extended this week’s slide.
Shares in China bore the brunt of losses and the offshore yuan slid as China ordered the U.S. to shut a consulate in a tit-for-tat retaliation. Equities in Hong Kong and Australia were also lower. Intel Corp.’s warning on a production delay weighed on sentiment after triggering an after-hours slump in the stock. Futures on the S&P 500 Index and Euro Stoxx 50 declined. Earlier, the Nasdaq 100 Index turned negative for the week.
US After Hours INTC -10.4% is lower on earnings and 7nm delay; SKX +9.4%, SAM +8.6%, MAT +7.5%, EW +5% are up on earnings

Nikkei -0.58% Hang Seng -2.29% CSI -3.51% Shanghai -2.84% Shenzen -3.74%

Eur$ 1.1598 CNH 7.0234 CNY 7.0176 JPY 106.40 GBP 1.2735 CHF 0.9250 RUB 71.4991 WTI$ 41.10 +0.07%

S&P -0.42% NAsdaq -0.66% EuroStoxx -1.28% FTSE -1.25% Dax -1.44% SMI -1.07%

Macro :
- Fund Flows Data Shows Investors Favor Bonds and Gold: Jefferies
- Flows Show Selling in China, U.S. Stocks, Buying Bonds: Citi
- China Asks U.S. to Close Chengdu Consulate

Keep an eye on :
- ACCEL NA : Accell First Half Ebit EU45.1 Mln, -19% Y/y
- AIR FP : Airbus Build Rates at Risk as Travel Recovery Stretches: React
- ALSN SW : Also First Half Ebitda 3.0% Above Estimates
- ATEB BB : Atenor Buys Office Development Project in Dusseldorf; No Terms
- ATL IM : Activist Hohn Seeks Autostrade ‘Fair’ Price in Italy Forced Sale
- ATL IM : Atlantia May Be Cut by Moody's
- BAS GY : BASF, Law Firm to Pay $72.5 Million in Talc-Fraud Settlement
- BMPS IM : ECB Wants Italy to Add EU700M to Paschi Capital: Repubblica
- BNR GY : Brenntag Prelim 2Q Sales About EU2.82 Bln, Est. EU2.77 Bln
- BRBY LN : Burberry, Tencent Unveil a “Social Retail’ Store in Shenzhen
- CASS IM : Cattolica Investors With 0.03% Stake Seek Capital Hike Annulment
- CLNX SM : Cellnex Placing of 13.2m Shares Related to Edizione Rights Sale
- AM FP : Dassault Aviation First Half Adjusted Net Sales Beat Estimates
- DGE LN : Diageo to Reorganize Its Indirect Shareholding in Kenyan Unit
- DIS US : Disney Delays ‘Mulan,’ ‘Star Wars’ With Virus Still Raging (2)
- RF FP : WorldStrides Wins Permission to Tap DIP Loan to Pay Refunds
- EKT SM : Euskaltel 2Q Net Jumps 49% as Targets‘Exceeded’ (1)
- GFC FP : Gecina Office-Value Rise Backs Guidance for Slim EPS Drop: React
- IBE SM : Iberdrola Closes In on Infigen Deal With Increased Stake
- ING FP : Worldline to Complete Ingenico Takeover by Start of Oct.: CEO
- KCR FH : Konecranes Second Quarter Adjusted Ebit Beats Highest Estimate
- LONN SW : Lonza First Half Core Ebitda Beats Estimates
- MCOVB SS : Medicover Second Quarter Operating Loss Narrower Than Estimates
- OBEL BB : Orange Belgium FY Adjusted Ebitda View Midpoint 1.5% Above Est.
- SCHP SW : Schindler to Cut 2000 Jobs, Sees Full Year Revenue -6% to 0%
- LIGHT NA : Signify Second Quarter Comparable Sales Beat Estimates
- PST IM : Poste Italiane Has Accord With TIM, Open Fiber on Ultrabroadband
- STCBV FH : Stockmann Second Quarter Adjusted Ebit Loss EU1.8 Mln
- SUN SW : Sulzer First Half Sales 1.9% Above Estimates
- SUN SW : Sulzer Confirms 55 Positions Eliminated in Switzerland
- TSLA US : SpaceX Said in Talks to Raise Funds at $44 Billion Value (1)
- HO FP : Thales Forecasts Lower FY Sales, Earnings After First-Half Slump
- TIETO FH : TietoEvry 2Q Adj. Profit Tops Highest Est.; Books Large Items
- UBI IM : UBI Investors Tendered 26.4% Shares in Intesa Bid: Borsa Filing
- UBI IM : UBI Says Improved Intesa Offer Doesn’t Full Reflect UBI Value
- UCB BB : UCB Says Bimekizumab Is Superior to Cosentyx in Skin Clearance
- UPONOR FH : Uponor 2Q Adjusted Operating Profit Beats Highest Est.
- VK FP : Vallourec Seeks State Aid as Capital Increase Impossible: Figaro
- WDI GY : German Finance Minister Eyes Payment-Company Law Reform, SZ Says
- WDI GY : Chanos’ Kynikos Associates Made $100m From Wirecard Short: FT
- WDI GY : EY Prepared Unqualified Audit for Wirecard in Early June: FT

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 24th of July 2020

>>> Up
* Computacenter PT Raised to 2,450 pence at Berenberg
* DSM Raised to Buy at MainFirst; PT 157 euros
* FCC Raised to Outperform at BBVA; PT 10 euros
* Hapag-Lloyd Raised to Buy at Citi; PT 68 euros
* Huhtamaki Raised to Hold at Danske Bank Markets; PT 40 euros
* PHOENIX GROUP RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
* Schweiter Raised to Buy at Baader Helvea; PT 1,300 Swiss francs

>>> Down
* Alfen Cut to Hold at Berenberg; PT 40 euros
* BW LPG Cut to Hold at Cleaves Securities; PT 36 kroner
* Hoist Finance Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 31 kronor
* Jungheinrich Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 25 euros
* JUST GROUP CUT TO EQUAL-WEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
* M&G Cut to Underweight at Barclays; PT 189 pence
* MIPS AB Cut to Hold at Handelsbanken; PT 350 kronor
* Tesla Cut to Neutral at Daiwa; PT $1,650
* Wartsila Cut to Reduce at HSBC; PT 6 euros

>>> Initiation
* Maersk Rated New Buy at Citi; PT 11,700 kroner

>>> Call
* Buy Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd Shares, Sector View ‘Upbeat’: Citi
* Jungheinrich Shares Set to ‘Take a Breather’: Morgan Stanley

FT : Activists could ‘go dark’ under new rules

Activists could ‘go dark’ under new rules
The SEC has proposed threshold for disclosing equity positions should be increased 35-fold to $3.5bn

Do companies deserve to know who their shareholders are?
Ever wonder how people seem to know which kind of stocks investing legends like Warren Buffett own? 

Well, the majority of that information comes from disclosures made to Wall Street’s top watchdog. 

At the end of every quarter, asset managers who own more than $100m in US equities have to submit something called a 13F filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s pretty much the only insight we get, at least publicly, on how big investors are positioned. 

The details are limited — there is no information on when the stock was acquired or at what price — and the disclosures are made public with a 45-day delay. But it’s something. Groups from academics, to researchers and smaller investors, rely on 13Fs and entire new industries have emerged that are based on these quarterly filings. 

Perhaps more importantly, public companies themselves use 13F disclosures to see who their shareholders are and whether any activist hedge funds — say Paul Singer’s Elliott Management or Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners — are building stakes. 

Now the majority of that information is about to disappear. The SEC, under chairman Jay Clayton, has proposed that the threshold for disclosing equity positions should be increased 35-fold to $3.5bn, the first time this would be done since 13Fs were introduced over four decades ago.

Why? The regulator gave a couple of reasons, neither of which people in the industry are really buying. One is that it would remove the burden from smaller managers and save them money. The second is to reflect how much the value of the US equity market has grown — from $1tn in 1975 to more than $35tn today.

But if the SEC wanted to do that, some have questioned why it didn’t adjust for inflation, which would have brought the threshold up to about $450m. 


When the proposal was announced earlier this month, it provoked an instant backlash from regulatory experts and lawyers. 

Allison Herren Lee, the sole Democratic commissioner on the SEC’s panel of four, told DD’s Ortenca Aliaj that the regulator should have developed a better understanding of how 13F disclosures were used, and by whom, before recommending such a drastic step. 

Others have raised concerns about how companies can be expected to interact with shareholders when they don’t know who they are. Under the proposed rules, companies will lose access to 90 per cent of investors. That includes activists who might be pushing the board to make changes. 

Perhaps the best example is, Starboard Value. The activist manages about $6bn but it has, at points, overtaken Elliott, one of the world’s best-known and most feared investors, in new campaigns. At the end of March, Starboard had $2.5bn invested in US equities, which would make it exempt from having to report its positions. 

The proposal is now open to public comments. And so far the feedback is overwhelmingly against the new rule (though, we have to take those with a pinch of salt). If adopted, legal experts say most activists will be able to “go dark”. Read the full story here. 

>>> US After Hours Summary: INTC -10.4% is lower on earnings and 7

After Hours Summary: INTC -10.4% is lower on earnings and 7nm delay; SKX +9.4%, SAM +8.6%, MAT +7.5%, EW +5% are up on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: CLFD +21.5%, SCPL +12.9%, BJRI +10.5%, SGMS +10.5%, LMAT +9.6%, SKX +9.4%, SAM +8.6%, MAT +7.5%, EW +5%, MANH +4%, KNL +3.4%, FE +3%, AUY +2.8%, MXL +2.2%, FBNC +1.9%, OZK +1.4%, SIVB +1.4%, SRCE +1.2%, VRSN +0.6%, FWRD +0.5%, ASB +0.2%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: THTX +45.8% (announces new data supporting the potential role of tesamorelin in the treatment of HIV-associated NASH), SWIR +29.6% (to divest China-based automotive embedded module product line for US$165 mln), RDUS +10.1% (announces license agreement with Menarini Group to develop/commercialize elacestrant), AMD +8.5% (sympathy play on Intel delaying its 7nm-based CPU), ADAP +2.6% (European Medicines Agency grants access to PRIME initiative for ADP-A2M4 for synovial sarcoma), ARCT +2.3% (announces binding term sheet with Israel to supply COVID-19 vaccine candidate), VSAT +1.2% (closes of $175 mln strategic common stock investment), WABC +1% (approves plan to repurchase up to 1.75 mln shares), MYOK +0.8% (receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation), DKNG +0.5% (announces platform deal with KAMBI on DKNG's planned migration to SBTech and iGaming), WBA +0.4% (S&P outlook revised to negative)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: EHTH -22.2%, INTC -10.4%, RHI -3%, SWKS -2.8%, TR -1.1%, ETFC -0.5%, EIG -0.1%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: AMAT -2.2% (semi equipment names weak on INTC report and 7nm delay), EVR -1.6% (announces strategic alliance with Seneca Evercore in Brazil), KLAC -1.1% (semi equipment names weak on INTC report and 7nm delay), LRCX -1.1% (semi equipment names weak on INTC report and 7nm delay), ASML -1.1% (semi equipment names weak on INTC report and 7nm delay), DIS -0.8% (delays several movies, according to CNBC), TARO -0.7% (resolves DOJ antitrust investigations), RPAY -0.4% (acquires cPayPlus), CPRX -0.4% (files for $200 mln mixed securities shelf offering), BMRN -0.2% (submits MAA to the EMA for vosoritide), NVAX -0.1% (co and FUJIFILM announce deal for large-scale manufacturing of vaccine candidate), ELY -0.1% (JANA Partners lowers active stake)

FT : Petropavlovsk founder calls for rival to be forced to make an offer

Petropavlovsk founder calls for rival to be forced to make an offer
London-listed Russian gold miner urges action from UK regulators in wake of UGC stakebuilding

The co-founder of Petropavlovsk has called for its biggest shareholder to be “ordered” to make an offer for the company to end a shareholder stand-off that has plunged the Russia-focused gold producer into boardroom turmoil.

Pavel Maslovskiy said he felt sure billionaire businessman Konstantin Strukov had purchased a 22 per cent stake because he wanted Petropavlovsk to merge with UGC, the rival Russian gold miner Mr Strukov controls.

“He’s officially stated it is financial investment . . . but my guess is, and it is not a difficult guess, is that he sees the possibility of a merger,” Mr Maslovskiy told the Financial Times.

He added that if Mr Strukov “is in such love with the company he needs to be persuaded or ordered by regulators to make an offer”.

Petropavlovsk was rocked last month when Mr Maslovskiy, then chief executive, and six other directors were ousted in a boardroom coup the London-listed company claims was orchestrated by UGC, one of Russia’s top five gold miners, working with three other shareholders.

The company and its second-biggest shareholder Prosperity Capital Management have asked UK takeover regulators to investigate whether UGC and the Russian investors — who controlled 39 per cent at the time of voting — were acting as a concert party and should be forced to make an offer or sell down their stake. 

UGC, which is seeking to increase its shareholding to more than 26 per cent by converting a bond, has denied acting in concert with other shareholders and trying to take control of the company by stealth.

It says it bought the stake in February because Petropavlovsk was undervalued and it saw the potential for further share price gains.

Aided by a higher gold price, Petropavlovsk, which owns a state of the art processing plant in Russia, was one of the best-performing stocks in London over the past year, climbing 260 per cent.

Its shares rose a further 16 per cent to 36p on Thursday, giving the company a valuation of £1bn.

Mr Maslovskiy acknowledged that he had discussed a merger with Mr Strukov but only in very “general” terms.

“Optically it [a merger] looks interesting because the new entity would be in a different league, producing about 1m ounces,” said Mr Maslovskiy. “[But] we don’t have any information on [UGC’s] reserves, resources nor financial information.”

Mr Maslovskiy said Mr Strukov “understood” more than a year ago that he needed to provide that information for discussions to progress and “give me a chance to understand what possible value” could be created by a merger. “[At our] last meeting June 16 [2020] he said it was still a job in process,” said Mr Maslovskiy.


Mr Maslovskiy, who agreed to take the job of interim chief operating officer while the company seeks to reconstitute its board, said he would like his old position back while he oversees a shift to a new generation of executives.

“It should be done in a smooth way and preferably the successor should have a good knowledge of the company and come from inside,” he said.

Mr Maslovskiy was speaking after Petropavlovsk issued a trading update and said it was on course to produce 620,000 to 720,000 ounces of gold this year

“It appears the underlying assets are delivering for Petropavlovsk, showing that the engines driving value are firing, despite recent board-level uncertainty,” said Sam Catalano, analyst at Canaccord Genuity.

FT : Three companies win e-scooter licences in Paris

Three companies win e-scooter licences in Paris
Lime, Tier and Dott selected to operate in Europe’s largest market

Paris has granted licences to three electric scooter companies, ending a messy free-for-all in Europe’s biggest market for the mobility devices.

The US company Lime, Germany’s Tier Mobility and France’s Dott were chosen for two-year licences out of the 16 companies that applied. Each will be allowed to operate 5,000 electric scooters in the city.

Among those that missed out were Bird Rides, the well-funded start-up that pioneered electric scooter sharing in California, Stockholm-based Voi and the Estonian start-up Bolt.

City official David Belliard said the losers would have to remove their scooters by mid-September. He also said the city would create 2,500 parking areas for scooters to “end the problems we have seen in sharing of public space”.

Paris said it judged the applicants on their environmental responsibility, the safety of users and their ability to manage and maintain their scooter fleet.

Electric scooters have spread rapidly across Europe’s capitals in recent years, fuelled by billions of euros of venture capital funding. Their fans say they are a green alternative to cars, but critics say users often park them chaotically on sidewalks and figure in accidents with pedestrians.

Before the coronavirus crisis, Paris had become the largest market in Europe, with more than 20,000 trotinettes, as they are known in French, available across the city.

Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, cracked down by restricting scooter parking, banning them from sidewalks and setting a speed limit. In June 2019, the city announced the plan to issue licences to operate, promising to “finish once and for all with the anarchy”.

But e-scooters also fit well with Ms Hidalgo’s green agenda for Paris that has seen her impose stricter limitations on cars. With Covid-19, Paris expanded cycle lanes as it lifted lockdowns, which has also facilitated the use of scooters.

Lawrence Leuschner, the co-founder of Tier Mobility, said: “We are so proud to partner with the city of Paris to bring our unique climate-neutral travel solution to the biggest e-scooter market in the world.” The company added that the concession would be worth “tens of millions of pounds”.

Henri Moissinac, the co-founder of Dott, said: “The tender process has finished, but this is just the beginning. We are very proud of this accolade and grateful to the City of Paris for its trust.”