TheChek News Flow

* AB InBev Upgraded to Hold at Jefferies; PT 85 Euros

* Basilea Upgraded to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 60 Francs

* Fuchs Petrolub Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 39 Euros

* Gerresheimer Upgraded to Buy at HSBC; PT 85 Euros

* IAG Upgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 4.60 Pounds

* Iberdrola Upgraded to Buy at Goldman; PT 9.90 Euros

China’s yuan fell past 7 per dollar, a level that had long been a focus for investors as a line in the sand for the country’s policy makers. The move escalated concerns about the U.S.-China trade war, spurring the biggest sell-off in Asian stocks since October.

The Japanese yen jumped along with U.S. Treasuries as traders bought haven assets. Shares slumped as much as 3.1% in Hong Kong, which is also seeing turmoil from rising political tensions. Japanese and Korean equities slid more than 2% and S&P 500 Index futures tumbled more than 1%. European futures declined. Stocks took another leg lower after Bloomberg reported that China has asked state purchasers to halt imports of American agricultural products. Gold advanced.

Macro :

- Switzerland Hopes EU Agreement ‘Easier’ With New Commission: SB

Keep an eye on :

- AAL LN : Anglo American Buys Shares at $0.54945/Share as Part of Buyback

- ABN NA : ABN Amro Bank Files Registration Statement for ADS Offering

- AB FP : AB Science to Halt Masitinib Development in Metastatic Melanoma

- SPR GY : Axel Springer Offer by KKR Accepted

- BABA US : Alibaba to Open Series of Flagship Stores in China, Nikkei Says

- COB LN : Cobham family calls for ministers to block £4bn takeover

- COB LN : Cobham Seeking Alternatives to Advent Offer, Chairman Tells FT

- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank Sets Aside EU1B for Offloading Derivatives: Rtrs

- FAGR BB : Fagron First Half Adjusted Ebitda Margin 21.8% Vs. 21.1% Y/y (1)

- GBLB BB : GBL to Buy Up to 61% of Webhelp as Management, Founders Reinvest

- RF FP : Eurazeo to Acquire Elemica, Will Invest About $250M

- ICAD FP : Icade to Sell 49% of Eqho Tower for EU365M

- IF IM : Elliott’s Credito Fondiario and Banca IFIS Study NPL Partnership

- IMB LN : Imperial Brands to Take Offers for Cigar Business: Confidencial

- KAHL SS : Kappahl Picks SEB, Roschier as Advisers on Mellby Gard Takeover

- LHA GY : Swiss Plans More Zurich Flights as Lugano Airport at Risk: SZ

- OCDO LN : Ocado Says M&S’s Melanie Smith Appointed CEO of Ocado Retail

- OASM SS : Oasmia to Delist in U.S. to Reduce Complexity, Costs

- PSM GY : ProSiebenSat.1 Wants to Remain Independent, Sueddeutsche Says

- RAL FP : Natixis, Credit Agricole Lead French Banks Roiled by Rallye Debt

- RNO FP : Renault Discusses Cutting Nissan Stake to Revive Fiat Deal: WSJ

- STM GY : Stabilus Cuts 2019 Revenue Forecast, Cites Market Challenges

- G24 GY : Elliott Holds Over 7% Scout24 Stake; Urges Steps to Drive Value

- TELIA SS : Telia CEO Johan Dennelind Will Leave His Position in 2020

- TSLA US : Tesla Says New Model S, X Orders Will Come With Free Supercharge

- FP FP : Total Sells 30% of Trapil Pipeline Network to Pisto for EU260m

- JE/ LN : Takeaway.com, Just Eat Agree Terms on All-Share Merger (1)

- UN01 GY : Netherlands Snubs Uniper Compensation Call for Coal Plant: FAZ

- VOW GY : German Regulator’s Letters Confirm Defeat Devices at VW: HB (1)

- WINE LN : Naked Wines May Seek Nasdaq Listing After Majestic Sale: Times

* AB InBev Upgraded to Hold at Jefferies; PT 85 Euros

* Fuchs Petrolub Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 39 Euros

* Gerresheimer Upgraded to Buy at HSBC; PT 85 Euros

* IAG Upgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 4.60 Pounds

* Iberdrola Upgraded to Buy at Goldman; PT 9.90 Euros

Bluetooth product comes as group criticised for high take-up among teenagers

Juul, the US start-up, launched the first in a series of bluetooth-connected e-cigarettes that can monitor users’ vaping and track their device as it seeks to stamp out fears around take-up of the activity among teenagers.

The Juul C1, as the device is known, started selling in the UK this week after a successful pilot in Canada.

Dan Thomson, managing director of Juul’s UK business, said that in order to use the device, which is linked to an app on users’ smartphones, customers had to go through stringent age verification checks that included facial recognition and two-step background check with third-party databases.

Juul has come under fire in the US for its high take-up among teenagers, which has prompted a crackdown on vaping by the US Food and Drug Administration. Last year the organisation said the problem had reached “epidemic” levels.

Retailers are required by a Juul policy to ID check anyone who looks younger than 25. It is illegal to own a vape in the UK under the age of 18.

In June, San Francisco, where Juul is based, became the first US city to ban e-cigarettes in a bid to curb youth uptake.

Juul’s C1 device will allow users to monitor how many puffs they take a day, as well as locate their vape if they lose it. It also has an auto-lock option that means the ecigarette can be locked when out of the phone’s range in order to prevent others using it.

Roxy Wacyk, director of product management at Juul, said the company had a “regular cadence of app updates” planned and that they were looking at features that allowed users to limit their vaping, and geofencing against usage in public areas such as schools.

However, privacy experts have raised concerns about the gathering of data required to develop the device.

“Data about the machine that goes back to the manufacturer can tell you a lot about the user and who that user is,” said Martin Garner, chief operating officer of the technology consultancy CCS Insight.

“The main risk is if that data gets out . . . you could identify the person from it . . . and that it could be health-related information, which is a super sensitive area in GDPR,” he added.

“The objective of us designing this product was not for us to collect data per se. It was to be able to give data to customers,” said Mr Thomson.

Juul said it had “no plans at this time” to sell any data to other organisations.

“Usage data will never be shared or sold to third parties without a person’s explicit permission,” it said.

Juul, whose original parent company Pax Labs has developed a connected cannabis vaporiser, said it was the first one to market a nicotine vape “at scale”.

However, it will be competing with British American Tobacco, which launched its app-controlled vaping product Vype iSwitch in the UK in December.

BAT said it had sold more than 2,000 of these connected e-cigarettes but was still assessing the viability of the product.

Letter to defence secretary warns US private equity move against ‘national interest’

The family of the founder of Cobham, the aerospace and defence group, has urged the government to intervene in a £4bn takeover by a US private equity group, arguing it is not in Britain’s “national interest”.

Nadine Cobham, whose late husband Michael Cobham ran the FTSE 250 group and who was the son of the founder Alan Cobham, wrote to defence secretary Ben Wallace and business secretary Andrea Leadsom at the weekend asking them to intercede.

Cobham, a pioneer in air-to-air refuelling technology that is used on every western fast jet and which also works for the Ministry of Defence, last month agreed a £4bn takeover by Advent International.

Cobham’s board, led by chairman Jamie Pike, recommended the all-cash offer of 165p which has been criticised by its largest shareholder as undervaluing the company.

Speaking to the Financial Times on Sunday, Lady Cobham, whose family owns 1.5 per cent in the group, said it had only “just been turned around” under chief executive David Lockwood and that Advent had been “opportunist”.

The private equity group, she said, would reap the benefit of years of investment into Cobham’s refuelling technology.

“[Cobham] has been working on this and perfecting it for years and no one has been able to match us,” she told the FT.

“There is also the employment issue,” she added. “There is a lot of finance in Britain but not many people are producing things any more.”

In her letter dated August 3, a copy of which has been seen by the FT, Lady Cobham wrote that “this acquisition is absolutely not in our national interest”.

She warned that “there are real risks in the takeover to UK security and to important hi tech jobs”.

She highlighted the recent decision by GKN Aerospace to close a factory after the British group was bought by Melrose Industries last year. “I am concerned that assurances given by private equity companies are not worth the paper it is written on, as the recent closure of GKN’s manufacturing plants by Melrose testifies,” she wrote.

Advent has promised to maintain investment in Cobham’s research and development as well as its production sites. Cobham employs 10,000 people around the world, including 1,700 in the UK. The company generates more than 50 per cent of its revenues in the US. The MoD represents less than 5 per cent of its business.

Cobham chief executive David Lockwood rejected any threat to Britain’s interests from the deal. “We don’t see a national interest issue and we don’t see a job threat to the operating assets of the company,” he said.

“I have personal sympathy for a shareholder who has an emotional link as well as an economic link.”

The MoD declined to comment. The existence of the letter was first reported by The Sunday Times.