>>> POTUS daily twitter.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
now
We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!

>>> Amarin sees Q1 revs below guidance, reiterates FY18 outlook (2.93)

Amarin sees Q1 revs below guidance, reiterates FY18 outlook (2.93)
  • Based on lower than expected orders from Amarin's wholesaler customers attributed to seasonal factors related primarily to patients' beginning of the new year insurance policy deductible amounts, Amarin estimates that net product revenue for its first fiscal quarter, the quarter ended March 31, 2018, is likely to be approximately $43 million (Prior $45-48 mln) vs $45.65 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • With respect to full year 2018 net product revenue expectations, Amarin continues to believe that it is on track to achieve product revenue of at least $230 million vs $235.53 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, with such guidance planned to be updated after REDUCE-IT results.
  • Amarin reported that greater than 97% of patients who are alive and active in the REDUCE-IT study have either completed their final visit or are scheduled to complete their final visit in the coming weeks with work ongoing to schedule the remaining patients for their final study-related visits. This progress is consistent with the company's objective of reporting top-line results from this important study before the end of Q3 2018.
  • As separately reported today, Amarin estimates that the onset of the 1,612th primary major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) has occurred in the REDUCE-IT study and anticipates that MACE from the study will be adjudicated through Q2 2018. This timing is also consistent with reporting top-line results before the end of Q3 2018.

WSJ : WPP Is Looking at CEO Martin Sorrell’s Possible Misuse of Assets and Alleg

WPP Is Looking at CEO Martin Sorrell’s Possible Misuse of Assets and Allegations of Improper Behavior​
Questions come as advertising giant is facing cost-cutting pressures from clients and stepped-up competition from Google, Facebook

The board of advertising giant WPP WPP 0.36% PLC is looking into whether longtime Chief Executive Martin Sorrell misused company assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

In addition, the board is also looking into allegations of improper personal behavior by Mr. Sorrell, one of the people said.

A WPP spokesman on Tuesday confirmed in a statement that it has appointed an independent counsel to probe “an allegation of personal misconduct” against Mr. Sorrell. He said the amounts involved weren’t material to the company.

In an internal memo to top WPP executives, the company said it isn’t in a position to share further details about the ongoing probe. “The message for our people and clients is one of business as usual within our operating companies and client teams. Our work for clients is unaffected and continues uninterrupted,” the memo said.

The questions come at a difficult moment for WPP, the world’s largest advertising company. Increased competition from new rivals and pressure from big marketing clients to cut costs have taken a toll on financial results. The company’s recent lackluster performance has contributed to tensions between Mr. Sorrell—a towering figure at WPP—and the board, people familiar with the matter said.


In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Sorrell denied financial impropriety. “I reject the allegation unreservedly but recognize that the company has to investigate it. I understand that this process will be completed shortly. Obviously, I shall play no part in the management of the investigation under way.”

Shares in the company opened 2.8% lower in London on Wednesday morning.

Mr. Sorrell, 73 years old, has been at the helm of WPP since 1986, helping to transform a little-known U.K. manufacturer of wire shopping carts called Wire & Plastic Products that he had acquired into a global advertising empire.

Today, WPP is a massive advertising holding company whose units include blue-chip creative agencies like J. Walter Thompson and Young & Rubicam as well as powerhouse media-buyer GroupM. WPP, based in London, works for some of the world’s biggest marketers, from Ford Motor Co. to Unilever NV.

Long-regarded as an oracle of the ad industry, Mr. Sorrell, a graduate of Cambridge University and Harvard Business School, used his finance background to build scale and centralize key functions like ad buying—a winning strategy that was emulated by others in the business.

In recent years, though, traditional ad-industry players have come under considerable pressure from companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc., which dominate the roughly $230 billion global digital advertising market. The tech giants have the ability to work directly with advertisers, cutting out agencies. And they have tightly guarded their data on performance of ad campaigns, frustrating agency executives who aren’t able to follow through in the way their marketing clients demand.

WPP has tried to address its problems by streamlining its complicated organization and coming up with ways for clients to work more efficiently with agency staffers. The going has been tough. In its most recent quarter, WPP logged its worst performance since the financial crisis, as net sales fell slightly compared with a year earlier, spooking investors who had been expecting signs of a recovery. The firm said it is setting budgets for 2018 on the assumption of no growth in revenue and net sales. As a result, WPP’s stock has been underperforming. It has fallen about 35% over the past 12 months.

Mr. Sorrell’s pay too has been a flashpoint, putting pressure on the board to reduce his compensation after a series of pay revolts by shareholders. Mr. Sorrell received a long-term bonus of £10 million ($14 million) in company shares for 2017, a significant drop from the £41.6 million in shares that he was awarded a year before. The share award makes up most of Mr. Sorrell’s compensation, but his total pay will also include his salary, a short-term bonus, pension payments and other benefits.


WPP has never publicly disclosed succession plans, leading investors to demand more clarity on who would lead the company if Mr. Sorrell were to leave. Analysts have speculated that internal contenders for the role include Wunderman’s global CEO Mark Read, Kantar boss Eric Salama and WPP chief transformation officer Lindsay Pattison.

>>> Lagardere preparing piecemeal sale of Lagardere Active media and internet as

Lagardere preparing piecemeal sale of Lagardere Active media and internet assets

Lagardere [EPA: MMB], the French media and entertainment group, is understood to be preparing a piecemeal sale of the media and internet assets of its Lagardere Active subsidiary, French daily Le Figaro reported. The report referred to an internal message from Denis Olivennes, head of Lagardere Active, announcing that the company will be reorganised into five “autonomous” divisions that can operate individually. The report cited a labour union source as claiming that the group will create nine independent companies with the aim of selling the businesses separately.
The assets up for sale include the international radios and the children TV businesses Tiji and Gulli. The report named French groups M6 [EPA: MMT], TF1 [EPA: TFI], Vivendi's Canal Plus, and Mediawan [EPA: MDW] as potential buyers.
The publishing assets that Lagardere could group together with a view of selling them include the Ici Paris, Public, France Dimanche, Tele 7 Jours, Version Femina, Art & Decoration, and Elle magazines. Those assets generate operating profits of EUR 20m annually, the report said.
According to the report, the project to merge Lagardere’s publishing assets with those of Mondadori France has been ruled out at the moment.
Finally, Lagardere could also decide to sell its internet businesses separately, such as consumer-orientated BilletReduc and Doctissimo, as well as BtoB companies Plurimedia and Newsweb.
According to the report, the total proceeds from the sales could amount to between EUR 400m and EUR 700m, with the Lagardere group focusing on its travel retail and book publishing activities.
The publishing assets could be worth between EUR 30m and EUR 60m, the internet assets between EUR 50m and EUR 100m, EUR 50-EUR 100m for the international radios, the TV assets between EUR 150m and EUR 200m, and EUR 120-EUR 300m for the publishing licenses.

(EXANE) on the road with Vivendi.


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(EXANE) TELECOM OPERATORS.


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This email and all files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. As this email may contain confidential or privileged information, if you are not the named addressee, or the person responsible for delivering the message to the named addressee, please contact the sender and delete this email from your system without copying it. Any use, dissemination, or reproduction of this email is strictly prohibited.
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