*ROCHE, FITBIT AND SAMSUNG ALSO AMONG NINE COMPANIES FDA PICKED
Arrests Expected in Probe of Alleged Bribery, Kickbacks at College Basketball Programs
Probe focuses on whether coaches were paid to pressure players to associate with outside entities
Federal law-enforcement officials are expected to arrest at least a half-dozen people and unseal charges Tuesday as part of a wide-ranging investigation into alleged bribery and kickback schemes at several of the country’s top-tier college basketball programs, people familiar with the matter said.
Investigators have been looking at whether coaches at these schools have been paid by outside entities—such as financial advisers, agents, and apparel companies—in exchange for pressuring players to associate with those entities, people familiar with the investigation said. Executives at at least one apparel company are expected to be among those arrested, a person familiar with the matter said.
The investigation is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office.
Broadly, the investigation has shed light on the highly competitive recruiting pipeline that brings elite high-school basketball players through Division I college programs and into the professional leagues, and the role played by assistant coaches in that process, the people said.
Uncertainties for iPhone X production over 3-D sensor issues
Investors cool to the launch of Apple's iPhone 8 rang
TAIPEI - Apple is facing problems with the production of 3-D sensors for facial recognition for its premium iPhone X that is slated for shipping early November, although it is yet unclear the impact on supply.
Apple introduced facial recognition to unlock phones and for users to authenticate payments on their handsets for the first time with iPhone X. The new function is not available on the lower-priced iPhone 8 range.
However, iPhone X has been plagued by a number of production issues and its shipment date of Nov. 3 is much later than those of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus, which are already in the market having been launched earlier this month.
Two executives working for iPhone suppliers told Nikkei Asian Review that 3-D sensor part makers are still struggling to reach a satisfactory level of output, and to boost their yield rate. This rate measures the number of usable or saleable units from a batch of components or final products produced. A low yield rate is likely to hurt a company's margins and bottom line.
Both sources were unable to offer clarity on whether Apple could meet large orders after iPhone X's launch. One of the sources said that iPhone X was being churned out in small quantities, around some tens of thousands daily.
Jeff Pu, an analyst at Taipei-based Yuanta Investment Consulting, also identified 3-D sensors as the only major issue left in the production of iPhone X.
He said that he expected mass production of iPhone X in the second week of October and that handsets would begin to leave China for global distribution a week later.
iPhone X is exclusively assembled by Hon Hai Precision Industry, or Foxconn Technology Group, at its factory in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou.
According to Pu's estimate, Foxconn churned out 2 million units of iPhone X in September, and in October that number should rise to 10 million. He said that Foxconn would have assembled a total of 40 million iPhone X handsets by year-end, lower than his estimate of 45 million earlier this year.
"Supply will still be tight after Nov. 3," Pu said.
iPhone 8 suffers
With iPhone X still more than one month away from reaching consumers, initial appetite for iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus appears to be weak. The iPhone 8 range still sports liquid crystal display like previous Apple handsets, while iPhone X adopts an organic light-emitting diode screen that offers sharper color contrast.
Some recent reports suggest that the delayed shipment of the premium handset may have dampened demand as well.
One of the industry sources said that demand for iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus appears to be weaker than that of their predecessors, but did not provide figures.
Amid muted reaction to the iPhone 8 range, shares of Apple and its suppliers have been hit in recent days.
Apple stock fell about 6% to close at $150.55 by Monday since it unveiled the new iPhones on Sep 12. Hon Hai, meanwhile, has lost some 11% since then and its smaller rival Pegatron has shed about 17%.
Both Apple and Foxconn declined to comment.
China has given sector executives a proposal that would allow the foreign companies to manufacture electric cars in FTZ without Chinese partners, although import tariffs would still apply if the cars are sold in China - financial press
Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:
- FTK -2.8%, (Flotek Industries provides Q3 update - estimates revs will be approx $5.0 mln less than previously expected and incremental costs will increase by less than $1.0 mln; activity delays are largely expected to be made up for in Q4)
- DRI -2.6%, INFO -0.5%, CIFS -0.5%
Other news:
- AXON -70.6% (announces negative topline results of Intepirdine Phase 3 MINDSET Trial)
- GNCA -59.5% ( announces strategic shift to immuno-oncology/development of neoantigen cancer vaccines; corporate restructuring and exploration of strategic alternatives for GEN-003 )
- KDMN -21.1% (announces proposed public offering of common stock and warrants)
- TXMD -10.1% (prices offering of 12.4 mln shares of common stock at $5.65 per share)
- QEP -7.7% (closes Pinedale divestiture; reduced 2017 oil production guidance to midpoint of 19.75 MMbbl, natural gas production to midpoint of 167.5 Bcf and NGL production to midpoint of 5.5 MMbbl )
- SBRA -6.4% (prices offering of 16 mln shares of common stock at $21.00 per share)
- CSGP -1.8% (files mixed securities shelf offering; commenced public offering of $750.0 million of common stock)
Analyst comments:
- AFL -1.7% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup)
- LEA -1.3% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research)
- CAKE -1% (downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush)
- SHAK -0.9% (downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush)
- TCO -0.8% (downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan)
- INT -0.7% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill)
- JPM -0.5% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank)
Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:
- ASNA +17.5%, SNX +9.9%, RHT +4.8%
M&A news:
- ACTA +38.8% (Actua to sell its three majority-owned businesses for an aggregate of $549 million in cash; intends to distribute substantially all net proceeds to Actua stockholders)
Other news:
- IZEA +32.2% (reports Q3 contract wins including a seven-figure contract renewal with a Fortune 500 financial services company for custom content and influencer marketing services)
- CDXC +16% (announces that initial results of its second human clinical study of NIAGEN)
- GHL +12.5% ( plans leveraged recapitalization with major share repurchase; to borrow $300 mln and shortly launch contingent tender offer to repurchase up to 9 mln shares at $17/share )
- PRQR +10.1% ( announces 'positive' top-line results from Phase 1b safety and tolerability clinical trial of QR-010, a novel investigational RNA therapeutic in subjects with cystic fibrosis )
- ITUS +6.5% (continued strength)
- NDRO +5.7% (announced a special cash distribution)
- CBIO +4.3% (FDA has granted orphan drug designation for CB 2679d/ISU304 for treatment of hemophilia b)
- SFLY +3.8% (confirmed integration with the Apple Photos app for macOS High Sierra )
- XLRN +3.1% (10% owner Celgene (CELG) discloses the purchase of 745,592 shares at $37 per share)
- AMPH +3% (receives FDA approval for Neostigmine Methylsulfate Injection)
- NVDA +2.9% (reports of deal to supply GPU hardware to Chinese tech giants including BABA, BIDU and TCEHY)
- BEAT +1.4% (Aeterna Zentaris appointed Jeffrey Whitnell as Interim CFO effective today - served as Vice-President, Finance & Controller of Lifewatch Services - was acquired by BioTelemetry)
- APRI +1.2% (files for 3,311,752 share common stock offering by holders and separately filed to withdraw Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed August 22, 2017)
- BABA +1% (to increase stake in Cainiao Network to 51% with $807 mln investment)
- CLDR +0.8% (Cloudera proposes to sell 3 mln shares of common stock and selling stockholders to sell 9 mln shares)
- WDC +0.7% (reports that KKR is urging Apple to agree to terms of Toshiba deal that includes WDC in jv role)
Analyst comments:
- DISCA +2% (upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS)
- RH +2% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank)
- LB +1.8% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Atlantic Equities)
- TMO +1.7% (resumed on the Conviction Buy List at Goldman)
- GGP +1.3% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan)
PARIS (AFN) - Les rumeurs concernant une possible acquisition de la chaîne française de supermarchés Carrefour par l'Amazonie américaine basée sur le Web stimulent le fantasme des investisseurs mardi. Ils ont augmenté la part de plus de 2 pour cent, ce qui en fait l'impulsion la plus forte pour les principaux fonds de la Bourse de Paris.
Cliquez ici pour plus d'informations sur les prix et les actualités sur Ahold Delhaize Koninklijke
Selon le magazine métier Valeurs Actuelles, les marchés financiers ont chuchoté depuis l'été que Amazon cherche une prise de contrôle de Carrefour comme une opportunité pour obtenir un pied plus ferme en Europe. Un tel déménagement ne serait pas illogique, selon les experts qui ont demandé à la revue.
Amazon a déjà attendu avec intérêt la chaîne de vente au détail Whole Foods dans son propre pays et réduit directement les prix de nombreux produits. Cela a causé beaucoup de bruit dans le commerce de détail américain, qui était déjà soumis à une grave concurrence. Ahold Delhaize prend la part du lion de ses ventes aux États-Unis.