TheChek News Flow

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SDAX:

Oil prices crashed, equities plunged and currencies and bonds saw wild moves as panic appeared to grip financial markets in the aftermath of a full-blown price war in crude.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index fell about 5%, triggering trading curbs. Japanese stocks sank 6% and futures on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index tumbled over 6%. Exchange rates including the yen and Australian dollar saw sudden moves that showed traders struggling to establish where new trading ranges might be. Sovereign bond yields plumbed fresh lows, on mammoth moves including a tumble of more than a quarter percentage point for 10-year U.S. yields.

Nikkei -5.07% Hang Seng -3.5% CSI -3.21% Shanghai -2.80% Shenzen -3.45%

Eur$ 1.1408 CNH 6.9442 CNY 6.9425 JPY 102.66 GBP 1.3060 CHF 0.9259 RUB 73.06 (-6.2%) TRY 6.16 WTI$29.40 -28.75%

S&P -4.90% (Limit down) NAsdaq -4..82% EuroStoxx -7.% FTSE -6.52% Dax -6.85%

Macro :

- EU’s Breton Urges Banks to Lend to Businesses Amid Outbreak

- ECB Allows Greek Banks to Buy More of Country’s Sovereign Debt

- VIX Options Bought Near 50 Cents Paying Off With Massive Gains

- Senior Saudi Arabian Princes Detained and Accused of Treason

- Saudi Prince’s $2 Trillion Aramco Vision Fades on Oil-Price War

- Putin Dumps MBS to Start a War on America’s Shale Oil Industry

- JPMorgan Sees ‘Early Signs’ of Stress on Credit and Funding

Keep an eye on :

- AIR FP : Why Did Boeing’s Warning on 737 Max Fail to Stop Second Crash

- AMS SW : AMS Maintains First Quarter Adjusted Ebit Margin 19% To 21%

- AAPL US : Apple Says Some iPad Air Devices Facing Blank Screen Issues

- AAPL US : Reportedly the release of 5G iPhone could be delayed by a month to Oct due to coronavirus outbreaks worldwide - Global Times

- ATL IM : Atlantia Postpones Board Meeting on FY Results to April 28

- BAYN GY : Bayer Investor Sues Top Officials for ‘Disastrous’ Monsanto Deal

- BBVA SM : BBVA May Increase Payouts to Shareholders, Chairman Tells ABC

- BEAN SW : Belimo Full Year Dividend Per Share CHF150.00

- CA FP : Barron's +ve article : Carrefour’s Hypermarkets Shook Up Retailing. Now It Has to Play Defense. - Link : http://bit.ly/32Z14Kv

- CO FP : Casino Is Still in Talks to Sell French Discounter Leader Price

- CRBN NA : Corbion Sets Targets for 2020-2025; Dividend in 2019 EU0.56/Sh

- CSGN SW : Finma Appoints Thomas Werlen as Credit Suisse Investigator: NZZ

- DIS US : Shanghai Disney Resort Resumes Part of Operations on Monday

- EZJ LN : Easyjet Suspends Flights to Northern Italy After Government Imposes Lockdown

- ENX FP : Euronext Feb. Total Cash Market Transaction Value M/M +24.8%

- HYQ GY : Hypoport Full Year Ebit Misses Lowest Estimate

- ISP IM : Intesa to Proceed With UBI Deal With 50.1% Adherence: Corriere

- KNIN SW : Kuehne + Nagel Sells Part of U.K. Contract Logistics Ops to XPO

- LEO SS : LeoVegas Shares Have 35% Upside, Dagens Industri Says

- LSE LN : LSE Shares Fall as Citi Flags Weaker Outlook For Refinitiv

- OR FP : Bubble bursts for US make-up market - FT - https://on.ft.com/38vD7f1 --> -ve for L'Oreal

- LHA GY : Lufthansa Raises Liquidity, Discusses Concessions From EU: DJ

- LHA GY : Lufthansa Mulls Seeking Government Aid Amid Coronavirus Hit

- MC FP : LVMH Stalls on Bid to Buy Ritz Hotel, Mail On Sunday Reports

- MC FP : City AM: British fashion giant Stella McCartney swings to £11m loss

- MITRA BB : Mithra Pharma Full Year Oper Profit From Cont Ops EU26.0 Mln

- NXI FP : Nexity Buys 65% of Pantera to Enter German Market

- COX FP : Nicox’s Partner Secures Extra Approval for Vyzulta in Taiwan

- NMC LN : NMC Health Delays Paying February Salaries to Staff: Reuters

- NOVN SW : FDA Approves Isturisa for Adults With Cushing’s Disease

- OMV AV : OMV Eyes $4.7 Billion Borealis Deal in Shift to Petrochemicals

- PRU LN : Prudential Plc Prepares to Split Off U.S. Business: Telegraph

- REC IM : FDA Approves Isturisa for Adults With Cushing’s Disease

- SBUX US : Starbucks Closes Seattle Store After Confirming Coronavirus Case

- SAA LN : Hedge Funds, Private Equity Eye M&C Saatchi, Sunday Times Says

- WAF GY : Siltronic Sees Possible Major Coronavirus Impact on 2020 View

- STAN LN : Stanchart Says CEO Winters to Remain at Bank: Reuters

- UHR SW : Swatch CEO Doesn’t See Crisis for Swiss Watch Industry, SZ Says

- TSCO LN : CP All to Buy Up to 40% of Tesco Thai, Malaysia Business for $3B

- TIT IM : Italy Fines Telecom Italia EU116m for Hindering Fiber Rollout

- URW NA : Unibail-Rodamco Reaches Pact on Credit Agricole, Francaise JV

- UHR SW : Veraison Buys Swatch Stake Below 3% Reporting Threshold: FuW

- YAR NO : Qatar Petroleum to Pay $1 Billion for Yara Fertilizer Stake (1)

- YPSN SW : Ypsomed Sees Full Year Ebit CHF9 Mln

Decision follows failure to pay millions in legal fees in fight with regulators

A New York judge has frozen assets belonging to hedge fund manager Philip Falcone and his Harbinger Offshore fund after he failed to pay millions in legal fees to a Manhattan law firm that defended him in high-stakes litigation against US regulators.

Judge Arthur Engoron ordered the freeze last week following recent allegations that Mr Falcone, who had an estimated net worth of $1bn in 2014, has reneged on his debts and sold some of the underlying collateral, which included famous art works by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.

In his ruling, Judge Engoron upheld a decision handed down by an arbitrator earlier this year in which Mr Falcone and Harbinger were ordered to pay $13.6m in legal fees to Dontzin Nagy & Fleissig for work going back almost eight years. 

The New York-based law firm represented Mr Falcone in a 2013 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that the investor had borrowed $113m from his hedge fund to pay his personal taxes and had secretly favoured certain clients when it came to redemption requests. 

Under the settlement, Mr Falcone and Harbinger admitted to “multiple acts of misconduct” that hurt investors and interfered with the normal functioning of the securities markets. The investor and his hedge fund were ordered to pay $18m in fines. 

In a document made public as evidence in court, arbitrator Caroline Antonacci said DNF had negotiated a settlement with the SEC which was “highly lucrative” for Mr Falcone as it allowed him “to continue to oversee his substantial LightSquared investment, remain CEO of a public company, manage his hedge fund, and immediately resume earning enormous sums”.

Mr Falcone was surprised at the result, a person familiar with the situation said.

DNF later also agreed a settlement with the New York attorney-general on behalf of Harbinger for tax evasion, in which the company was forced to pay $30m in fines. Harbert Management Corporation, the Alabama-based investment management company that sponsored Mr Falcone’s hedge fund, received a $40m fine. 

Arbitration documents show that DNF provided legal services to Mr Falcone and his firm for six years in various capacities. DNF lawyers negotiated a termination agreement for Mr Falcone’s general counsel, Robin Roger, who resigned after the investor allegedly failed to pay her millions of dollars in compensation, and a dispute involving the investor’s interest in Minnesota Wild, a National Hockey League team. 

As lawyers’ bills piled up, Mr Falcone told DNF that he was having “liquidity” issues and that he was “trying everything under the sun” to resolve them, according to the arbitration documents.

In a stark reversal of fortune, Mr Falcone has been left nursing heavy debts and in 2019 sold his New York townhouse for a record $77m.

Mr Falcone, chief executive of HC2, has also found himself in the crosshairs of activist investor MG Capital. The firm has flagged concerns over the ex-hedge fund manager’s regulatory issues and is pushing to oust Mr Falcone from the company’s board. 

“We are concerned about the appropriateness and legitimacy of the services that HC2 may be receiving from Mr Falcone and his affiliates, especially given past infractions,” the firm wrote in a letter to shareholders last month.

“Mr Falcone and the incumbent board have taken another series of brazen steps to entrench themselves at the expense of independent stockholders and corporate democracy,” it added. 

In arbitration, Mr Falcone accused DNF of malpractice and argued that the firm’s fees were “excessive” and “unreasonable”. Those allegations were dismissed by the arbitrator.

Harbinger declined to comment.