>>> ESL (Eddie Lampert) amends 13D disclosing non-b


Sears Holdings: ESL (Eddie Lampert) amends 13D disclosing non-binding proposal for the acquisition of Kenmore and SHIP (1.83   +0.04)

  • On August 14, 2018, ESL delivered a letter to the Special Committee pursuant to which it submitted a non-binding proposal for the acquisition of Kenmore and SHIP (the "Bid Proposal") and to update the Special Committee regarding its plans with respect to Parts Direct and certain other transactions, as well as to re-emphasize its firm belief that these transactions should be undertaken together with tender and exchange offers designed to allow Holdings to reduce its debt, extend its maturity profile and alleviate its liquidity challenges. The Bid Proposal indicates that ESL is proposing to acquire Kenmore in a cash acquisition based on a cash-free, debt-free enterprise value of $400 million, subject to adjustment in respect of the working capital and assets and liabilities of the Kenmore business at closing. The Bid Proposal notes that ESL has been discussing with potential partners their participation in the acquisition of Kenmore, and that the transaction would be conditioned on ESL's receipt of equity financing from a potential partner on terms acceptable to it.
  • The Bid Proposal also indicates that ESL is proposing to acquire SHIP in a cash acquisition based on a cash-free, debt-free enterprise value of $70 million, subject to adjustment in respect of the working capital and assets and liabilities of the SHIP business at closing. In addition, the Bid Proposal contemplates an additional contingent payment of $10 million if the 2018 stand-alone EBITDA of the SHIP business achieves 85% of the SHIP management projections (inclusive of stand-alone adjustments).

>>> Glenview Capital (Larry Robbins and Mark Horowitz) discloses up


Glenview Capital (Larry Robbins and Mark Horowitz) discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New FBHS MSFT positions, Closed out TMUS RLGY CAH CMCSA

Highlights from 2018 Q2 filing as compared to 2018 Q1 filing:
  • New positions in: NVT (~6.37 mln shares-- PNR spin off), FBHS (~1.63 mln), MSFT (~1.24 mln), HOLX (~1.23 mln)
  • Increased positions in: ESRX (to ~6.98 mln shares from ~4.64 mln shares), ARMK (to ~5.06 mln from ~4.42 mln), CNDT (to ~1.74 mln from ~1.23 mln), CHTR (to ~0.53 mln from ~0.18 mln), AGN (to ~1.77 mln from ~1.53 mln) MCK (to ~4.71 mln from ~4.4 mln), FDC (to ~26.7 mln from ~25.47 mln) FLEX (to ~33.07 mln from ~32.66 mln), AET (to ~3.1 mln from ~2.83 mln),
    • THC (~17.9 mln shares), EBAY (~11.94 mln shares), DXC (~5.28 mln shares)
  • Closed positions in: TMUS (from ~4.5 mln shares), RLGY (from ~3.56 mln), CAH (from ~3.02 mln), CMCSA (from ~2.21 mln), V (from ~0.4 mln), FB (from ~0.21 mln), HUM (from ~0.15 mln)
  • Decreased positions in: HCA (to ~5.33 mln shares from ~11.86 mln shares), BKD (to ~10.35 mln from ~16.77 mln), NWL (to ~20 mln from ~25.97 mln), VER (to ~11.81 mln from ~15.46 mln), CVS (to ~5.42 mln from ~7.79 mln), CAR (to ~3.86 mln from ~6.19 mln), FMC (to ~8.02 mln from ~10.21 mln), CBS (to ~4.76 mln from ~6.57 mln), IQV (to ~5.96 mln from ~7.72 mln), DWDP (to ~11.55 mln from ~13.01 mln)

>>> ValueAct Holdings (Jeffrey Ubben and Bradley Singer) discloses


ValueAct Holdings (Jeffrey Ubben and Bradley Singer) discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New LIND AES positions ; Increases SLM C holdings

Highlights from 2018 Q2 filing as compared to 2018 Q1 filing:
  • New positions in: LIND (~1.69 mln shares), AES (~1.53 mln), UFI (~0.93 mln-- as previously disclosed), EVA (~0.69 mln), STRA (~0.19 mln)
  • Increased positions in: SLM (to ~37.61 mln shares from ~7.4 mln shares), C (to ~25.18 mln from ~16.2 mln), STX (to ~22.4 mln from ~21.46 mln) ADS (to ~6.08 mln from ~5.88 mln) MS (to ~18.71 mln from ~17.96 mln)
  • Maintained positions in: KKR (~49.7 mln shares), TRN (~21.41 mln shares), CBRE (~19.92 mln shares), BHC (~18.03 mln shares), AWI (~6.85 mln shares)
  • Decreased positions in: FOX (to ~28.63 mln shares from ~53.33 mln shares)

>>> Soros Fund Management (George Soros) discloses updated portfoli


Soros Fund Management (George Soros) discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New P T SPOT positions

Highlights from 2018 Q2 filing as compared to 2018 Q1 filing:
  • New positions in: P (~7.12 mln shares), T (~2 mln), SPOT (~0.73 mln), DVN (~0.7 mln), COLD (~0.55 mln), COUP (~0.5 mln), ASB (~0.38 mln), IYR (~0.26 mln), FHN (~0.25 mln), NRG (~0.24 mln)
  • Increased positions in: CVE (to ~1.75 mln shares from ~0.5 mln shares), MGY (to ~0.5 mln from ~0.25 mln), XL (to ~1.28 mln from ~0.71 mln), I (to ~1.81 mln from ~1.37 mln), NYCB (to ~0.71 mln from ~0.28 mln), AMD (to ~0.75 mln from ~0.39 mln), LPLA (to ~0.57 mln from ~0.28 mln) MRVL (to ~1.5 mln from ~1.24 mln), ETFC (to ~0.42 mln from ~0.25 mln), RF (to ~0.65 mln from ~0.5 mln)
  • Maintained positions in: CZR (~34.5 mln shares), VICI (~21.5 mln shares), LBRDK (~7.34 mln shares), AABA (~2.7 mln shares)
  • Closed positions in: KW (from ~5.91 mln shares), AMLP (from ~4.66 mln), ZAYO (from ~1.28 mln), COTY (from ~1.11 mln), CTL (from ~0.85 mln), NOMD (from ~0.73 mln), BAX (from ~0.67 mln), AVYA (from ~0.6 mln), GM (from ~0.6 mln), SEDG (from ~0.59 mln)
  • Decreased positions in: FG (to ~0.51 mln shares from ~3.31 mln shares), DISCA (to ~0.85 mln from ~1.55 mln), WMB (to ~0.13 mln from ~0.68 mln), CRC (to ~0.05 mln from ~0.5 mln), EQT (to ~0.6 mln from ~1.03 mln), BAC (to ~2.15 mln from ~2.42 mln), SGRY (to ~0.13 mln from ~0.38 mln), KS (to ~0.1 mln from ~0.34 mln), WFC (to ~0.95 mln from ~1.13 mln), D (to ~0.05 mln from ~0.23 mln)

>>> Corvex Management (Keith Meister) discloses updated portfolio p


Corvex Management (Keith Meister) discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New MGM LCA MDB positions

 Highlights from 2018 Q2 filing as compared to 2018 Q1 filing:
  • New positions in: MGM (~3.14 mln shares), LCA (~1.23 mln), MDB (~0.78 mln), T (~0.6 mln), VNO (~0.53 mln), FOXA (~0.24 mln), MHK (~0.13 mln), CHTR (~0.09 mln), PAGP (~0.02 mln)
  • Increased positions in: JBLU (to ~4.36 mln shares from ~2.95 mln shares), TMUS (to ~2.05 mln from ~0.91 mln), BAC (to ~4.54 mln from ~3.55 mln), NXPI (to ~0.5 mln from ~0.13 mln), MSFT (to ~1.25 mln from ~1.19 mln)
  • Closed positions in: EVHC (from ~0.34 mln shares), IQ (from ~0.15 mln), BABA (from ~0.08 mln), AABA (from ~0.05 mln)
  • Decreased positions in: FG (to ~1.63 mln shares from ~4.67 mln shares), EGN (to ~7.71 mln from ~9.71 mln), MDCO (to ~0.86 mln from ~1.99 mln), CRM (to ~0.26 mln from ~0.63 mln), ICE (to ~1.36 mln from ~1.53 mln), NOW (to ~0.65 mln from ~0.82 mln), FB (to ~0.68 mln from ~0.79 mln), GOOGL (to ~0.06 mln from ~0.1 mln)

>>> Elliott Management (Paul Singer) discloses updated portfolio po


Elliott Management (Paul Singer) discloses updated portfolio positions in 13F filing: New DVN FOX SRE positions; Increased AABA holding; Closed out MOND VICI CZR TER EGN

Highlights from 2018 Q2 filing as compared to 2018 Q1 filing:
  • New positions in: DVN (~3.02 mln shares), FOX (~2.08 mln), SRE (~0.75 mln)
  • Increased positions in: AABA (to ~22.15 mln shares from ~1.47 mln shares), MFGP (to ~6.25 mln from ~4.23 mln), DISH (to ~2.99 mln from ~1.02 mln), EQT (to ~2.23 mln from ~1.5 mln), QQQ (to ~1.19 mln from ~0.98 mln) ATHN (to ~0.58 mln from ~0.38 mln), HES (to ~21.95 mln from ~21.42 mln) NXPI (to ~17.24 mln from ~16.44 mln), DVMT (to ~8.64 mln from ~8.13 mln),
  • Maintained positions in: ARNC (~51.9 mln shares), BTU (~35.34 mln) ORIG (~18.49 mln shares) CTXS (~7.09 mln shares)
  • Closed positions in: NOMD (from ~9.44 mln shares), VICI (from ~7.22 mln), CZR (from ~4.56 mln), TER (from ~4 mln), EGN (from ~2.98 mln)
  • Decreased positions in: CDK (to ~4.6 mln shares from ~8.11 mln shares), ISBC (to ~7.22 mln from ~9.03 mln), WIT (to ~1.12 mln from ~1.86 mln)

>>> US Close Dow +0,45% S&P +0,64% Nasdaq +0,65% Russell +1,03%

Closing Market Summary: S&P Ends Losing Streak As Lira Rebounds

The S&P 500 rebounded on Tuesday, ending its four-session losing streak with a gain of 0.6%. The Nasdaq and the Dow also advanced, adding 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. The major averages quickly extended modest opening gains, but then trended sideways for the final five hours of trading, ending near their session highs.

Tuesday's rebound on Wall Street coincided with a rebound in the Turkish lira, which had plunged nearly 25% against the U.S. dollar in the prior two sessions. The lira added about 8% against the greenback on Tuesday, helping to ease concerns over the financial health of lenders with heavy exposure to Turkey.

However, the dollar finished higher overall, evidenced by a 0.4% increase in the U.S. Dollar Index, which finished at a more than one-year high (96.56). That strength weighed on the dollar-denominated WTI crude futures, which were up as much as 1.7%, but finished lower by 0.3% at $67.05/bbl.

All 11 S&P sectors advanced on Tuesday, with financials (+0.9%) and consumer discretionary (+1.0%) leading the charge. The top-weighted information technology sector (+0.6%) got off to a slow start, slipping into negative territory shortly after the opening bell, but eventually strengthened to finish in line with the broader market. Utilities was the worst-performing sector, but still added 0.2%.

Home Depot (HD 193.10, -1.04) and Advance Auto (AAP 156.13, +11.29) kicked off a retail-heavy earnings week by reporting better-than-expected results on Tuesday morning, but the reaction was mixed; Home Depot lost 0.5%, while Advance Auto spiked 7.8%. Retailers finished higher overall though, evidenced by a 2.3% increase in the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 51.86, +1.15).

Meanwhile, in the bond market, U.S. Treasuries sold off on Tuesday, pushing yields higher across the curve. The yield on the benchmark 10-yr Treasury note advanced two basis points to 2.90%, while the yield on the Fed-sensitive 2-yr Treasury note climbed three basis points to 2.63%.

Reviewing Tuesday's economic data, which included July Import/Export Prices and the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for July:

  • Import prices were flat in July after declining a revised 0.1% in June (from -0.4%). Excluding oil, import prices slid 0.3% in July after slipping an unrevised 0.3% in June. Export prices decreased 0.5% in July after rising a revised 0.2% in June (from +0.3%). Excluding agriculture, export prices were flat in July after rising an unrevised 0.4% in June.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that it seemingly reflects some of the effects of a stronger dollar as nonfuel import prices declined month-over-month in both June and July.
  • The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for July came in at 107.9, which is above the unrevised June reading of 107.2.

Looking ahead, investors will receive a big batch of data on Wednesday that includes the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index, July Retail Sales, the preliminary reading for Q2 Productivity and Unit Labor Costs, the Empire Manufacturing Index for August, Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for July, Business Inventories for June, and the NAHB Housing Market Index for August.

  • Nasdaq Composite +14.0% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +10.2% YTD
  • S&P 500 +6.2% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +2.4% YTD