>>> Tronox beats by $0.10, beats on revs; announces extension to Cristal TiO2 ac

Tronox beats by $0.10, beats on revs; announces extension to Cristal TiO2 acquisition agreement
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.12 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.02; revenues rose 31.8% year/year to $464 mln vs the $428.22 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • "The fourth quarter provided a strong finish to a very successful year for us strategically, financially and operationally. We continued to build on the momentum generated in earlier quarters -- momentum that we see continuing in 2018. Our TiO2 business delivered robust performance in the quarter, posting revenue growth of 32%."
  • Co also announces the parties have agreed to an extension of the previously announced agreement to acquire the titanium dioxide (TiO2) business of Cristal, a privately held chemical and mining company headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The parties agreed to extend the end date for the transaction from May 21, 2018 to June 30, 2018 with automatic three-month extensions until March 31, 2019, if necessary.

>>> Barnes & Noble Education reports Q3 (Jan) results, beats on revs; reaffirms

Barnes & Noble Education reports Q3 (Jan) results, beats on revs; reaffirms FY18 revs guidance, raises Adj-EBITDA guidance, lowers BNC comps outlook
  • Reports Q3 (Jan) loss of $6.04 per share, not comparable to the two analyst estimate of $0.07; revenues rose 15.7% year/year to $603.39 mln vs the $595.83 mln two analyst estimate.
  • Comparable store sales at BNC decreased 6.2% for the quarter representing approximately $31.3 million in revenue. Consistent with prior years, the Spring Rush period extended beyond the quarter due to later school openings and the continued pattern of students buying course materials later in the semester. Factoring in the month of February, comparable store sales at BNC decreased 4.2% on a year to date basis.
  • In the third quarter, the Company completed its annual goodwill impairment test required by GAAP, and determined that the carrying amount of goodwill at BNC exceeded its estimated fair value, due to the reduction in BNED's market capitalization. As a result, the Company recorded a pre-tax goodwill non-cash impairment charge of $313.1 million at BNC or $302.9 million on a net tax basis.
  • Co reaffirms guidance for FY18, sees FY18 revs of $2.25-2.35 bln vs. $2.18 bln two analyst estimate.
    • For fiscal year 2018, the Company continues to expect sales at BNC to be relatively flat, while BNC comparable store sales are now projected to decline in the mid-single digit percentage point range year over year (Previously guided for decline in the low-to mid-single digit percentage point range).
    • The Company is raising its consolidated Adjusted EBITDA guidance, and now expects to achieve consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of $115 million to $125 million for fiscal year 2018, up from the previous range of $105 million to $120 million. Capital expenditures are now expected to be approximately $45 million (down from prior guidance of $50 million), which represents an increase from fiscal 2017 due to new store growth at BNC

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers
Gapping up:
  • NVAX +26.3%, DDD +12.6%, HIIQ +9.8%, QEP +9.3%, TWNK +8.3%, ECR +8.1%, HABT+7.5%, ILG +6.1%, GDP +6%, FLY +5.9%, NWL +5.9%, BLDR +5.4%, BBY +4.6%, BUD+4.2%, CVEO +4.2%, CRM +3.7%, MMSI +3.3%, UHS +3.3%, BID +2.9%, HGV +2.5%,RTIX +2.4%, SQM +2.2%, KSS +2.2%, AMC +1.7%, AXGN +1%, ITRI +1%
Gapping down:
  • CLNS -19.7%, PTLA -17.8%, BOX -14.2%, WPP -12.7%, CCRN -8.7%, PDCO -7.7%, LB-7.3%, MNST -7%, ATRA -6.6%, HLIT -5.8%, EPR -5.6%, SFUN -4.5%, HK -4.1%, CODI-3.9%, RVNC -3.9%, CORI -3.1%, MYL -3.1%, ITCI -3.1%, LOXO -2.9%, PEGI -2.5%, SC-2.4%, PEIX -2.4%, AST -2.3%, CPG -2.1%, AMBC -1.9%, CCI -1.6%, BLDP -1.6%,GDDY -1.4%, FCAU -1.3%, HLNE -1.3%, BGNE -1.3%, IPXL -1.2%, CBPO -1.1%, GEF-1%, KTOS -0.9%

NYT : Spotify Is Getting Paid to Save the Music Industry: DealBook Briefing

Spotify Is Getting Paid to Save the Music Industry: DealBook Briefing

Good Wednesday. Here’s what we’re watching:
• Spotify files to go public.
• Dick’s Sporting Goods will stop selling assault-style rifles.
• The end of an era for Ackman; the start for another one?
• What to make of Wall Street’s response to Mr. Powell?
• The Federal Reserve is walking a monetary tightrope.
• And is Jared Kushner’s weakness his family business?

Spotify is certainly getting paid to be the music industry’s savior.
Perhaps more than any other streaming service, Spotify has revived the fortunes of recording artists. It is funneling billions of dollars from its subscribers to music companies, which, for the most part, faced a bleak future. But a charity Spotify is not. The company appears to be taking a bigger and bigger cut of the revenue it receives from listeners, according to numbers first made public on Wednesday.
The numbers are included in Spotify’s financial filing with Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of listing its shares on the United States stock market. They strongly suggest that Spotify has successfully flexed its muscle as it negotiates the price it pays record companies for music. This shows up starkly in the filing’s discussion of an expense item called cost of revenues, which, the filing says, “consists predominately of royalty and distribution costs related to content streaming.”
The filing says Spotify had €3.67 billion of premium streaming revenue last year. The cost of that revenue last year was €2.87 billion. The difference between those numbers, the gross profit on streaming revenue, was equivalent to 22 percent of that revenue. That is well up from 16 percent in 2016 and 15 percent in 2015. And how did Spotify bolster its margins? A big factor: It signed more advantageous licensing agreements with music companies. “This decrease in cost of revenue as a percentage of premium revenue was driven largely by a reduction in content costs pursuant to new licensing agreements,” the filing said.
But can Spotify keep turning the screw? The music companies might be willing to compromise on price because the overall amount of dollars they receive is going up, making life easier for the first time in years. But, with Apple, Amazon and others adding subscribers, competition is intensifying. The music industry might be able to exploit that.
— Peter Eavis
Spotify’s cash flow mystery
Accounting nerds delving into Spotify’s filing will have stumbled on an odd discrepancy.
Two metrics that attempt to capture how much cash a company is taking in had very different totals for 2017. Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, was negative to the tune of €324 million last year. But net cash flows from operations totaled €179 million in 2017. Both totals benefited from adding back large noncash financing costs. So what items bolstered operating cash flows but not Ebitda?
It looks like operating cash flows did better in part because Spotify waited to pay some of its bills. Such items make up what is often called working capital. Spotify wrung €439 million of cash out of working capital in 2017. The question for investors is whether the company can do that every year.

Spotify files to go public.
The streaming music service filed its prospectus for a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, an unusual route that bypasses the traditional initial public offering process.
Direct listings essentially move trading in a company’s stock from private markets to public ones, with new investors buying shares on the open market.
Wall Street and Silicon Valley will watch Spotify’s listing closely. If it goes well, it could spur other high profile start-ups to pursue a direct listing. Wall Street bankers are unlikely to cheer such a development. Direct listings generate lower fees than the typical I.P.O.
Spotify won’t embark on its roadshow, a series of meetings with investor ahead of the listing, for at least 15 days.
Here’s a look at the details:
Ticker symbol: SPOT
Price range for private shares in 2017: $37.50-$125.00
Price range for private shares this year: $90.00-$132.50
Valuation range in 2017: $6.3 billion to $20.9 billion
Valuation range this year: $15.9 billion to $23.4 billion
Valuation based on the midpoint of its 2018 price range: $19.7 billion
Loss: €1.2 billion in 2017, up from €225 million in 2015
Operating loss: €378 million, compared with €235 million in 2015.
Revenue: €4.1 billion last year, up from €1.9 billion in 2015.
Free cash flow: €109 million in 2017
Ebitda: -€324 million in 2017
Monthly average users: 159 million last year, up from 91 million in 2015
Premium subscribers: 71 million, up from 28 million in 2015
Share of global streaming music market: 42 percent
The amount Spotify has paid in royalties to record labels since its inception: More than $8 billion
Percent of total voting power controlled by co-founder and chief executive, Daniel Ek: 37.3 percent
Percent of total voting power controlled by co-founder, Martin Lorentzon: 43.1 percent
Risks of a direct listing: “Our ability to sell your ordinary shares at or above the price you bought them for due to (i) our listing not having the same safeguards as an underwritten initial public offering, which may result in the public price of our ordinary shares being volatile and declining significantly upon listing, or (ii) the failure of an active, liquid, and orderly market for our ordinary shares to develop or be sustained.”

>>> Renault : Alliance accelerates convergence in key functions to support and d

Press release
March 01, 2018
Alliance accelerates convergence in key functions to support and deliver mid-term plan
Project leaders appointed to drive increased cooperation and new synergy opportunities as part of Alliance 2022.
Highlights of the new project initiative include: ¾
Extended convergence in Purchasing, Engineering and Manufacturing & Supply Chain ¾
Two new converged functions in Quality & Total Customer Satisfaction as well as Aftersales ¾
Alliance organization strengthened with the creation of a Business Development function

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi today announced the launch of multiple projects to accelerate convergence in key operational areas including Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Quality & Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS), Aftersales and Business Development at the world’s largest automotive alliance.

The initiative comes four years after Renault and Nissan – the founding members of the Alliance – converged their activities in areas such as Engineering, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management (SCM). It follows the announcement, in September 2017, of the Alliance 2022 mid-term plan targeting increased annual synergies of more than €10 billion by the end of the plan, up from €5 billion in 2016. Additionally, the Alliance member companies are forecasting sales of 14 million units by the end of the plan, compared to 10.6 million units in 2017.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of the Alliance, said:
“We are accelerating convergence to support our member companies with rising synergies. The Alliance will turbo-charge the performance and growth of its member companies, while preserving the autonomy and distinct strategies of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.”
Alliance project leaders have been appointed to identify new synergies and reinforce convergence. They will focus on optimizing revenues and global spending, maximizing areas of commonality; sharing technologies and resources, and simplifying decision-making processes to accelerate growth.

The projects are expected to lead to a new organizational structure to be reviewed and finalized following consultations with the appropriate employee representatives. Detailed project recommendations will then be submitted to the corporate decision-making bodies of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. This process is expected to lead to the implementation of the convergence plan beginning April 1st, 2018.

Upon conclusion of the projects, it is expected that Mitsubishi Motors will join the Alliance Purchasing, Business Development, Quality & TCS organizations in April 2018. Mitsubishi will then gradually move towards full participation in Engineering, Manufacturing & SCM and Aftersales starting in 2019.

Project leaders have been appointed to monitor and coordinate the project initiatives in connection with the following functions:
Engineering:Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi , Alliance executive vice-president (EVP), will oversee increased convergence in engineering across the Alliance. For four years, we have developed common technologies, common platforms and powertrains. The Alliance will seek larger-scale cooperation including all engineering activities, especially all product development, under a single head to ensure effective execution of the respective companies’ mid-term plans. Single Alliance executives would be responsible for product development for member companies on their respective segment.

Manufacturing & Supply Chain:John Martin , Alliance EVP, will lead the Alliance Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management (SCM) convergence project. He will be responsible for maximizing synergies through delivery and efficiency improvement, full utilization of Alliance assets and by optimizing the management of capital expenditures and the manufacturing footprint of our member companies.

Purchasing:Véronique Sarlat Depotte , Alliance EVP, will take leadership of the Purchasing convergence project focused mainly on integrating Mitsubishi Motors. Building on a 17-year history, the project will drive purchasing synergies, leverage activities of R&D, Manufacturing and other functions and help to deliver greater economies of scale for the Alliance member companies and their suppliers globally.

Quality & TCS:Christian Vandenhende , Alliance EVP, will be the Quality & TCS convergence project leader. The new Alliance Quality & TCS project will develop a common Quality Strategy, recommending measures to harmonize the processes for quality assurance in projects developed by Alliance engineering.

Aftersales:Kent O’Hara , Alliance senior vice-president (SVP), will lead the Alliance Aftersales convergence project. As part of Alliance 2022, the member companies are targeting increased synergies and cooperation in aftersales activities such as accessories, parts, engineering, purchasing and connected services. Areas of convergence are expected to include the adoption of common data-management systems, customer-relationship management best practices and economies of scale in parts logistics, inventories and purchasing.

Business Development:Hadi Zablit , Alliance SVP, will focus on future activities and breakthrough innovation including the development of the Common Module Family A-segment platform, partnerships with OEMs, Alliance Connected Mobility Services, new technology and product planning synchronization and Alliance Ventures. Additionally, we will seek convergence in other activities including information management and digitalization as well as customer experience.

Increasing convergence in these areas will contribute to the goals of Alliance 2022. Under the six-year plan, the Alliance member companies will increase their use of shared vehicle architectures, with nine million units expected to be derived from four common platforms, up from two million vehicles on two platforms in 2016. The plan will extend the use of common powertrains from one third in 2016 to three quarters of total volumes by the end of the plan.

Alongside continued commonality in areas such as manufacturing, quality and engineering, Alliance 2022 will also see increased convergence in new technologies and mobility services. This will include the launch of 12 new pure electric models by 2022, which will utilize new common electric vehicle platforms and components for multiple segments. During the plan, 40 vehicles will be introduced with different levels of autonomy, leading to fully autonomous capabilities that will enable the Alliance to offer new mobility services including robo-vehicle ride-hailing operations.

Mr. Ghosn concluded:
“I am confident that these projects to strengthen and accelerate convergence in key functions will sustainably boost the growth and profitability of our member companies. With Alliance 2022 we will grow with three companies, or more, performing increasingly as one.”

About Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi:
Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold more than 10.6 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2017. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.
www.alliance-2022.com
www.media.renault.com
www.nissan-newsroom.com
www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsrelease/

Media Contacts
Jonathan Adashek
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi
+81 80 9694 5344
jadashek@mail.nissan.co.jp

Parul Bajaj
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi
+1 615 917 8172
Parul.bajaj@nissan-usa.com

Caroline Sasia
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi
+33 (0) 1 76 84 30 24
+33 (0) 6 11 30 36 71
caroline.sasia-lallier@alliance-rnm.com
Contact:
Caroline SASIA
Alliance Manager Communications
+33 (0)1 76 84 30 24
GROUPE RENAULT
PRESS OFFICE
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 76 84 63 36


Follow us on Twitter : @Groupe_Renault

WSJ : WPP Shares Plunge on Worst Results in Years

WPP Shares Plunge on Worst Results in Years
Ad giant, facing its slowest revenue growth since the financial crisis, says it is simplifying its structure

WPP WPP -0.08% PLC shares tumbled 12% Thursday after the company logged its worst year since the financial crisis and forecast no growth for 2018, a further sign of the heavy toll of advertising’s digital revolution.

The world’s largest ad company said it is setting budgets this year on the assumption that both revenue and net sales will be flat. For 2017, net sales were down 0.9% on a like-for-like basis, against a forecast they would be “broadly flat.”

The company said it is simplifying its unwieldy structure, accelerating its development from a group of individual companies to a “cohesive global team.”

Like other big ad firms, WPP is grappling with the slowest revenue growth since the financial crisis as previously big spending consumer-good companies keep a tight lid on marketing budgets. That slowdown in growth has pressured agency holding companies to revamp an organizational structure that has gone out of style.

“There are two things going on: technological change, and the second is short term pressures, whether it be zero-based budgeting, activists or private equity,” Mr. Sorrell said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

“We’re clear on the destination,” Mr. Sorrell said. “The changes that are taking place are pushing us to do it faster.”

Big ad firms built their businesses over the years by acquiring different specialists with their own ways of working and separate finances. Now there has been a move across the industry to align the different agencies closer together to allow clients to better access resources across their groups and cut costs. WPP executives often refer to its approach as “horizontality.”

The company, which owns creative and media agencies such as J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, reported a 1.3% decline in fourth-quarter organic net sales, a closely watched metric in the industry that excludes currency effects and acquisitions. That growth rate was below analysts’ expectations of a roughly 0.7% rise.

In the fourth quarter, organic net sales were down 3.4% in North America, declined 2.6% in Western Continental Europe and dropped 3% in Asia Pacific. The bright spot was the U.K., which rose 9.1%.

WPP’s closest competitors have been facing similar headwinds. France’s Publicis Groupe SA posted organic growth of just 0.8% last year, while Omnicom Group Inc. posted lackluster fourth-quarter revenue, blaming a pullback by marketers on project work, losses at some independent-branded agencies and softness in its programmatic business.

Omnicom’s longtime CEO, John Wren, said he expects the company to post softer organic growth this year compared with 2017 because of challenges in the marketplace like changes in technology, shareholder activism and new competitors.

The overall outlook for Madison Avenue remains cloudy. Ad companies are dealing with major slowdowns in industries that they have long relied upon for growth, such as consumers-goods giants and retailers. Those sectors are putting additional pressure on ad firms to reduce the fees they pay for services.


The slowdown in advertising spend has affected agency sector organic growth, which has slowed from 4.5% in 2015 to 1.9% in 2016 and to an expected 1.1% in 2017, UBS analysts wrote in a note this week.

In their note, the analysts cited a long list of challenges that the sector is facing, including marketers experiencing slower growth, companies continuing to cut the fees they pay agencies, and growing competition from consulting firms. Another challenge has been brands cracking down on nontransparent practices in the ad-buying sector, which industry observers say has squeezed holding company margins.

WSJ : SEC Launches Cryptocurrency Probe

SEC Launches Cryptocurrency Probe
Regulator issues subpoenas to parties engaged in booming market for initial coin offerings

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued dozens of subpoenas and information requests to technology companies and advisers involved in the red-hot market for cryptocurrencies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sweeping probe significantly ratchets up the regulatory pressure on the multibillion-dollar U.S. market for raising funds in cryptocurrencies. It follows a series of warning shots from the top U.S. securities regulator suggesting that many token sales, or initial coin offerings, may be violating securities laws.

The wave of subpoenas includes demands for information about the structure for sales and pre-sales of the ICOs, which aren’t bound by the same rigorous rules that govern public offerings, according to the people familiar with the matter. Companies use coin offerings to raise money for everything from file-sharing technology to pet passports.

A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment.

U.S. regulators have repeatedly put cryptocurrency companies and their advisers on notice in recent months about what officials say are widespread violations of securities rules designed to protect investors.

“Many promoters of ICOs and cryptocurrencies are not complying with our securities laws,” SEC chairman Jay Clayton said earlier this year. In another speech he said he has instructed his staff to be “on high alert for approaches to ICOs that may be contrary to the spirit” of those laws.

Such warnings have failed to chill the booming market for digital tokens. Coin offerings have already raised about $1.66 billion this year and are on pace to top last year’s $6.5 billion tally, according to research and data firm Token Report.

“We’re seeing the tip of the iceberg … there is going to be a ton of enforcement activity,” said Dan Gallagher, an SEC commissioner from 2011 to 2015 who now sits on the board of blockchain company Symbiont. Mr. Gallagher told an SEC conference in Washington last week that the largely unregulated token offerings are “the freaking Wild West—it is ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ on steroids.”

Many of the coin offerings happen outside the regulatory framework designed to protect investors. Hype around last year’s bitcoin bubble led to many cryptocurrency offerings for startup projects. Some of them had little, if any, basis in proven technologies or products, and many were being run outside the U.S. In some cases, investors caught up in schemes that turn out to be fraudulent may have little hope of recovering their money.

A soon-to-be published Massachusetts Institute of Technology study of the ICO market estimates that $270 million to $317 million of the money raised by coin offerings has “likely gone to fraud or scams,” said Christian Catalini, an MIT professor.


The SEC has so far brought only a handful of cases alleging cryptocurrency frauds, as officials have raced to keep pace with token sales in the last 18 months.

In January, for instance, the SEC halted the coin offering of Dallas-based AriseBank, accusing the company and its executives of conducting a scam and misleading investors with claims it was buying a federally insured bank. The group claimed to have raised $600 million.

A lawyer representing AriseBank didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Robert Cohen, head of the SEC’s cyberenforcement unit, last week said at least a dozen companies have put their offerings on hold after the agency raised questions.

Many of the cryptocurrency-related subpoenas were issued in recent weeks, likely paving the way for what lawyers and industry insiders expect to be a dramatic upturn in enforcement activity.

The SEC scrutiny is focused in part on “simple agreements for future tokens,” or SAFTs, which are used in some of the most prominent crypto-fundraisings, according to the people familiar with the matter.

The agreements allow big investors and relatively well-off individuals to buy rights to tokens ahead of their sale. The rights can be traded, or flipped for profits, even before the sale begins.

The SEC is concerned that such agreements are potentially being used to trade like securities without conforming to the strict rules that apply to securities.

Telegram, a popular messaging app, used such an agreements earlier this year to raise an astounding $850 million from 81 investors, according to an SEC filing by the company. It isn’t clear if the SEC has issued any information requests or subpoenas related to the Telegram fundraising.

A Telegram representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Cardozo Law School in New York issued a report last year saying simple agreements for future tokens could increase the risk that certain coin offerings violate securities laws, as well as potentially damaging smaller investors.

Some venture capitalists and lawyers are concerned a growing secondary market in presold tokens like Telegram may be damaging the cryptocurrency sector.

“This feels like Wall St. It’s gross. It’s shady. It’s not what blockchain technology or ICOs were supposed to be about,” Jeremy Gardner, a co-founder of hedge fund Ausum Ventures, said in a tweet in February.

>>> Disney CEO says acquisition of Fox assets not compromised by Comcast bid for

Disney CEO says acquisition of Fox assets not compromised by Comcast bid for Sky
01 MAR 2018
The Walt Disney Company’s [NYSE:DIS] Chief Executive and Chairman Bob Iger has said Comcast’s [NASDAQ:CMCSA] proposed takeover of the FTSE-100 satellite broadcaster Sky [LON:SKY] has not compromised Disney’s agreed acquisition of most of Twenty First Century Fox's [NASDAQ:FOXA] assets, The Times reported.
Disney announced in December 2017 that it had agreed to acquire Fox after a spin-off of certain businesses for USD 52.4bn (EUR 42.98bn) in stock. Fox's 39.1% stake in Sky is among the assets that Disney has agreed to acquire.
Iger’s comment appeared at the end of a report in The Times on stakebuilding in Sky by Elliott Capital Advisors. The report cited the French newspaper Le Figaro for Iger’s comment.
Iger also said he had yet to examine Comcast’s proposal in depth, The Times reported.
Disney, a San Francisco, California-based media group, has yet to comment formally, the item added.

>>> What to look at todat - 1st of March 2018

Asian stocks started March on a weak footing after U.S. shares tumbled in afternoon trading Wednesday. Treasuries and the dollar steadied as traders awaited a second appearance from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whose comments riled markets earlier this week.
Shares in Japan and Australia fell with materials and health-care stocks faring worst. Hong Kong and Chinese shares outperformed after the Caixin manufacturing gauge came in above expectations. Futures on the S&P 500 Index declined after the U.S. measure closed out its worst month in two years. 

Nikkei -1.56% Hang Seng +0.26% CSI +0.63% Shanghai +0.44% Shenzen +1.23%

Eur$ 1.2209 CNH 6.3425 CNY 6.3401 JPY 106.77 GBP 1.3759 CHF 0.94444 RUB 56.4821 WTI 61.76 +0.21%

S&P +0.19% EuroStoxx -0.32% FTSE -0.33% Dax -0.35% SMI -0.33%

Macro :
- French New Car Registrations up 4.34% in Feb.: CCFA
- Swiss GDP Expands 0.6% Q/q in 4Q; Est. Expands 0.5% Q/q

Keep an eye on :
- ABI BB : AB InBev Fourth Quarter Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- ANA SM : Acciona Says Supreme Court Rejected Atll Appeal
- ACS SM : ACS Full Year Net Income Beats Highest Estimate
- ADEN SW : Adecco Fourth Quarter Revenue Meets Estimates
- ARW LN : Arrow Global Full Year Revenue 1.7% Above Estimates
- ASM NA : ASMI Fourth Quarter Net Sales Beat Highest Estimate
- ATEB BB : Atenor Starts Redevelopment Project in Warsaw Buying Two Offices
- BALTA BB : Balta Full Year Adjusted Ebitda 1.4% Below Estimates
- BBA LN : BBA Aviation Full Year Revenue Beats Highest Estimate
- BEI GY : Beiersdorf Sees Sales Rising 4% as Profitability Stalls
- BCART BB : Biocartis Full Year Revenue Beats Estimates
- BP/ LN : BP Interested in Buying More LNG From Producers for Portfolio
- BVS LN : Bovis Homes Full Year Revenue Beats Highest Estimate
- BVI FP : Bureau Veritas FY Adj. Op. Margin 15.9%; Sets Div. at EU0.56/Shr
- CAI AV : CA Immo Sees Full Year FFO I At Least EU115 Mln
- CPR LN : Carpetright Says Trading Still Difficult, in Talks With Lenders
- CA FP : Carrefour Posts FY Loss After EU1.3b of Non-Recurring Charges
- CABK SM : ECB Said to Ask CaixaBank to Exit From Angola: Confidencial
- CINE LN : Cineworld Re-initiated at Investec With Buy; PT 3.15 Pounds
- CLNX SM : La Caixa Studies Increasing Stake in Cellnex: Cinco Dias
- COB LN : Cobham Full Year Revenue 2.0% Above Estimates
- COST LN : Costain Full Year Revenue Misses Lowest Estimate
- CRH LN : CRH Says Sees Further Progress in 2018
- DAI GY : Daimler Buys Remaining 25% Stake in Car2Go Europe from Europcar
- DIREN FP : Direct Energie Full Year Revenue Misses Lowest Estimate
- DIE BB : D’Ieteren to Pay Extraordinary Dividend After Belron Stake Sale
- ZIL2 GY : ElringKlinger Full Year Adjusted Ebit 2.9% Below Estimates
- EUCAR FP : Europcar Full Year Revenue 1.3% Above Estimates
- EVR LN : Evraz Full Year Ebitda 4.4% Above Estimates
- FGR FP : Eiffage Full Year Revenue Beats Highest Estimate
- FGR FP : Eiffage FY Solid, Orders Support Positive Outlook: JPMorgan
- ENEL IM : Enel 4Q Net Production Falls 2% To 65,406 GWh
- ERICB SS : Ericsson CFO Doesn’t Rule Out Acquisitions in Core Business: BZ
- EI FP : Essilor Full Year Revenue Meets Estimates
- FER SM : Ferrovial Proposes 2018 Shareholder Remuneration of EU0.714/Shr
- FTNT GY : Freenet Full Year Dividend Per Share Matches Estimates
- GAM SW : GAM Holding FY Underlying Pretax Profit Beats Highest Est.
- HSTG LN : Hastings Full Year Net Revenue Meets Estimates
- HIS SM : Hispania Exercises Options, Buy Eight Hotels
- IMPN SW : Implenia Full Year Ebitda CHF174 Mln
- IPS FP : Ipsos Full Year Revenue Meets Estimates
- IPN FP : Ipsen Rated New Overweight at Barclays; PT 150 Euros
- JMT PL : J. Martins Fourth Quarter Net Income Misses Lowest Estimate
- KGX GY : Kion Full Year Revenue Meets Estimates
- LRD LN : Laird Full Year Revenue Meets Estimates
- LRD LN : Advent to Buy Laird for 200p in Cash, Values Co ~GBP1B
- LEHTO FH : Lehto Group Holders Said to Offer Shares
- MAIL LI : Mail.ru Group Fourth Quarter Ebitda $6.45 Bln
- MERL LN : Merlin Full Year Revenue Matches Estimates
- MERL LN : Merlin Says FX Swings Could ‘Materially Affect’ 2018 Results
- NEX LN : National Express Full Year Revenue GBP2.32 Bln
- NHH SM : NH Hotel Full Year Recurring Net Income Misses Estimates
- NHY NO : Norsk Hydro: Court Orders Alunorte to Cut Production by 50%
- UG FP : PSA 2017 Recurring Op. Income EU3.99B, Est. 3.44B; Div. 0.53/shr
- PFC LN : Petrofac Full Year Ebitda $730.0 Mln
- PFC LN : Petrofac’s Suspended COO Is Said to Return Temporarily: Sky
- PHM SM : Pharma Mar Full Year Loss Wider Than Estimates
- RTO LN : Rentokil Full Year Revenue 2.1% Above Estimates
- REP SM : Repsol Is Said Working W/BofA to Sell North Sea Fields: Reuters
- RHM GY : Rheinmetall Full Year Sales Miss Lowest Estimate
- RWA LN : Robert Walters Full Year Revenue 1.6% Below Estimates
- RMG LN : FTSE Russell Confirms Royal Mail to Join FTSE 100
- BSAN SW : Safra Sarasin AUM increase 14.5% to CHF 170 Billion
- SDR LN : Schroders FY Adjusted Pretax Profit Beats Highest Est.
- SK FP : SEB Full Year Operating Profit Misses Lowest Estimate
- SCYR SM : Sacyr Full Year Net Income Misses Estimates
- SIOE BB : Sioen Full Year Adjusted Ebitda Beats Highest Estimate
- SNH GY : Steinhoff Investment’s Preference Shares Suspended by JSE
- SUBC NO : Subsea 7 Buys Siem Offshore Contractors and 2 Vessels
- SEV FP : Suez 2017 Net Income EU302 Million; Co. Plans Added Cost Cuts
- SEV FP : Suez to Slash Costs By EU200 Million/Year Through 2020, CEO Says
- SEV FP : Suez Is Said to Re-Organize Executive Committee: L’Agefi
- SYNT LN : Synthomer Sees ‘Solid Progress’ in 2018 After Jump in Profit
- SPSN SW : Swiss Prime Full Year Vacancy Rate 5.2%
- RCF FP : Teleperformance 2017 Net Jumps 46%; Lifts Dividend/Share by 42%
- VOW3 GY : Scania CEO Says Rising Demand Trend Has Continued in 1Q: DI
- WOL AV : Fosun Close to Buy Wolford Majority in Luxury Bid, Kurier Says
- WPP LN : WPP 2017 Like-for-Like Rev. Drops 0.3%; Says Slow Start to 2018
- ZAL GY : Zalando Targets 20%-25% Rev. Growth in 2018

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 1st of March 2018

>>> Up
* Aena Upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank
* Ahold Delhaize Upgraded to Buy at HSBC; PT 21 Euros
* BASF Upgraded to Buy at Independent Research; PT 102 Euros
* BioMerieux Downgraded to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 68 Euros
* Devro Upgraded to Hold at Berenberg
* DSV Upgraded to Buy at Stifel; PT 544 Kroner
* Elementis Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies
* Kering Upgraded to Outperform at Credit Suisse; PT 460 Euros
* LEG Immobilien Upgraded to Buy at Bankhaus Lampe
* Sandvik Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies
* SFS Raised to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux; Price Target 115 Francs
* Sky Upgraded to Reduce at AlphaValue
* Smith & Nephew Upgraded to Add at AlphaValue
* Terna Upgraded to Hold at HSBC; Price Target 4.50 Euros

>>> Down
* Gerry Weber Downgraded to Sell at DZ Bank; PT 6.90 Euros
* Hikma Downgraded to Underweight at Barclays; PT 8 Pounds
* ITV Downgraded to Equal-weight at Barclays; PT 1.80 Pounds
* ITV Downgraded to Hold at HSBC; PT 1.80 Pounds
* Salvatore Ferragamo Downgraded to Hold at Deutsche Bank
* Siili Solutions Downgraded to Reduce at Inderes; PT 12.50 Euros

>>> Initiation
* Card Factory Rated New Hold at Berenberg; PT 2 Pounds
* Genmab Rated New Overweight at Barclays; PT 1,475 Kroner
* Metso Rated New Hold at Jefferies; PT 27 Euros
* Outotec Rated New Underperform at Jefferies; PT 6 Euros

>>> Call