>>> Clovis Oncology announces publication of data from the Phase 3 ARIEL3 study

Clovis Oncology announces publication of data from the Phase 3 ARIEL3 study of rucaparib for maintenance treatment of advanced ovarian cancer in The Lancet
The ARIEL3 study successfully achieved its primary and key secondary endpoints - improved progression-free survival (PFS) by both investigator review and blinded independent central review (BICR), respectively - in each of the three populations studied, as well as its exploratory endpoints.
  • Based on the ARIEL3 findings, Clovis Oncology plans to submit a sNDA to the FDA for a second line or later maintenance treatment indication in ovarian cancer by the end of October 2017.
  • In early 2018, the Company plans to file an MAA in Europe for the maintenance treatment indication upon receipt of a potential approval for the treatment indication.

NY Post : Netflix will keep spending big despite mounting losses

Netflix is expected to lose more than $2 billion this year — and its financial chief is totally OK with that.

Despite the company’s debt load of more than $20 billion, Netflix CFO David Wells signaled Tuesday that big spending on pricey productions like “House of Cards,” “Daredevil” and “Orange Is the New Black” has only just begun.

“It’s going to be that way for many years to come,” Wells said at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia media conference. “And the more successful we are, the more it’s going to be pushed out.”

Netflix, which plans to spend more than $7 billion on content this year alone, is confident it will continue to crank out hits because of the data it gathers from its 100 million global subscribers.

Netflix’s data on viewer habits and preferences “helps us put some boundaries around the projects we do,” said Wells, who claimed the biggest check writer in all of TV-and-film production has even “walked away from some things.”

That’s understandable, given the entry of deep-pocketed players like Apple and Amazon into the streaming business, which have vowed to spend billions on productions and acquisitions of their own.

Wells admitted the increased competition was making the market more like the sports business — where top athletes command salaries once unimaginable — but called it useful for accelerating the “shift into internet entertainment.”

The competition isn’t so much over screen time, Wells explained, but “winning that moment of truth when [customers] sit down with some free time.”

Given the stakes, Wells considered a $20 million budget for just an hour’s TV show possible — “if we have enough people to watch it.”

NY Post : Want to use the new Apple Watch as a cell phone? It will cost you

The new Apple Watch has a cellular connection that will allow it to work without an iPhone, but that freedom will come with a monthly cost.

At a Tuesday event, Apple Inc. unveiled its new Series 3 smartwatch with cellular connectivity, along with new iPhones and upgraded Apple TV. Unlike previous iterations of the Apple Watch, this smartwatch no longer needs to be within the approximately 330 feet Bluetooth radius of a user’s iPhone for much functionality, like receiving texts or phone calls.

But that functionality comes at a price, and not just the $399 cost for the watch itself.

Major mobile carriers AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon each said Tuesday they will charge customers $10 a month on top of their usual cellphone bill for the Apple Watch’s new cellular feature. Sprint did not return a request for comment.

Some mobile carriers are offering deals on the watch. Verizon and T-Mobile, for example, are offering members three months of connectivity free, and Verizon is also waiving its activation fee and upgrade fee.

During the keynote presentation, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said last quarter Apple Watch sales grew 50% year-over-year, and that Apple Watch overtook Rolex to become the No. 1 selling watch in the world.

The aluminum-encased Apple Watch Series 3 is $329 without the cellular feature, and $399 with cellular included. A stainless steel version of the watch with a sports band will run $599 and one with a Milanese band is $699, unless you want to spend $749 to get it in black. Apple added new ceramic cased watches, and will continue to carry Hermès watch options priced at more than $1,000.

The new Apple Watch is available for preorder on Sept. 15 and ships Sept. 22.

Apple shares fell slightly after the event, finishing the session down 0.4%, following news that sales of the much-anticipated new iPhone X won’t occur until the next fiscal year. So far this year, Apple shares are up nearly 39%, while the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have gained close to 12%.

Seadrill Ltd confirms comprehensive restructuring plan to be implemented with pr

Seadrill Ltd confirms comprehensive restructuring plan to be implemented with prearranged Chapter 11 Cases (0.23 +0.03)
  • Co has entered into a restructuring agreement with more than 97 percent of its secured bank lenders, approximately 40 percent of its bondholders and a consortium of investors led by its largest shareholder, Hemen Holding Ltd.
  • The agreement delivers $1.06 billion of new capital comprised of $860 million of secured notes and $200 million of equity. The Company's secured lending banks have agreed to defer maturities of all secured credit facilities, totaling $5.7 billion, by approximately five years with no amortization payments until 2020 and significant covenant relief. Additionally, assuming unsecured creditors support the plan, the Company's $2.3 billion of unsecured bonds and other unsecured claims will be converted into approximately 15% of the post- restructured equity with participation rights in both the new secured notes and equity, and holders of Seadrill common stock will receive approximately 2% of the post-restructured equity.
  • Seadrill has today filed prearranged chapter 11 cases in the Southern District of Texas together with the agreed restructuring plan. Company expects it will pay all suppliers and vendors in full under normal terms for goods and services provided during the chapter 11 cases. At the point of filing, Seadrill has over $1 billion in cash and does not require debtor-in-possession financing. The restructuring agreement contemplates a balance sheet restructuring that is not intended to affect the operations.
  • North Atlantic Drilling (NADL), a majority owned subsidiary of Seadrill Limited, entered into a restructuring agreement with more than 97 percent of the Group's secured bank lenders, approximately 40 percent of the Group's bondholders and a consortium of investors, led by Seadrill's largest shareholder, Hemen Holding Ltd.

>>> Premarkets so far

ML

* COVESTRO - Bayer sells $1.4b for EU63.25/shr; Barclays & Citi on the deal....

* ERAMET - Holders sell $220m at EU57/shr; BNP/IMI and UCG on the placing......

SEADRILL - Files for bankruptcy to shrink offshore Driller's debt..............

RICHEMONT - 5m sales +12% cFX v +10% cons. We DOUBLE upgrade to BUY (90)..+1-2%

ASR - Small +ve. Has acquired dutch ops from Generali for EUR143m (34.2)....+1%

ASML - New iPhones all start at 64GB storage space, no 32GB model now(135)+0.5%

BAYER - Reduces Covestro stake to 31.5% from 40.9%, raise EUR1.2bn (112)..+0.5%

SANOFI - Names Guillaume Leory as chairman for France from Oct 1st (82.04)..u/c

SOCO - Broadly inline nos with production averaging 8.6kboe/d in H1 (118.5).u/c

MINERS - Brent unch, Copper -0.3% with miners in OZ: BHP +0.8%, RIO +1.3..-0.5%

INDITEX - We DOWNGRADE to Neutral on slowing LFL and FX headwinds (31.73)...-1%

DIALOG - Travel & arrive, later delivery on the iPhone will weigh (39.9)....-2%

 

MainFirst Pre Mkt Indications

  

*RICHEMONT-5m Sales 12%(10),Euro 3%(11),APAC 23%(11),NA 9%(9).......-2% *VOESTALPINE-Says it was raided yesterday by German Antitrust.......-1% *ADP-Paris Airports Traffic +3.8%,9.84mln passengers................+0.25%      *ROCHE-Study shows Esbriet/Nintedanib combo well tolerated..........+0.25% *GENERALI-Agrees sale of Dutch bizz to ASR Nederland for €143m......U/C *CLARIANT-Enters partnership with Tiangang in China.................+0.25%      *COVESTRO-ABB of €1.2b,stake from Bayer,via Citi/Barcap,€63.25......-2% *ERAMET-ABB of 2.97m shs,stakes from Intesa & Unicredit,at €57......-8% *AMS/DIALOG-Iphone launch the X version will 3/11(delayed)..........-2% *SILTRONIC-Lock up expires today,last placing €55.85(€85.56)........-1% *ORANGE-Govt must stop rmrs on sale of stake say Unions(13.39%).....U/C

 

Shore

BALFOUR BEATTY - Sale of Blackpool Airport for 4.25m.........................+1% GALLIFORD TRY - Fy ptp 58.7m.Divi 64p.Outlook remains positive...............+1% DUNELM - Fy sales 955.6m(Est955m).sales in first 2 months started positively.+3% JUST GROUP - H1 op pft 100.6m.Divi 1.17p.Outlook remains favourable..........+1% HALFORDS - Appointment of Graham Stapleton as CEO...........................UNCH

EPWIN - H1 revs +4.6%,PBT -27.9%,rising input costs a challenge to pass on...-5% ADV MEDICAL - grp revs +17%,LiquiBand sales strong,PBT +27%,sees FY in line.UNCH BAGIR - sales levels have been slightly slower than forecast...............-tive WILMINGTON - revs +14%,PBT +5%,slow start to first 2 months of of new year...-2% GLENCORE/RIO - speculation in the FT the merger plan might be revived........+1% SOCO - H1 losses narrow to $6.7m,maintains FY production g'dance.............+1%

 

RBC:
*AIR FRANCE:       +1% group analyst dinner feedback, positive on Q3 & Q4 pricing & volume.

*BALFOUR:            0% sale of Blackpool Aiport for £4.25M.

*BMW:                 -1% negative presentation @ Frankfurt Motor Show.

*CLARIANT:           0% enters partnership with Tiangang in China.

*COVESTRO:         -3% Bayer sells Covestro stake @ €63.25 per share.

*DUNELM:             -2% FY numbers in line, UK consumer outlook tough.

*EASYJET:            +1% launches "Worldwide by EasyJet", global airline service.

*EUROTUNNEL:        0% August traffic solid, passenger shuttles +3% & truck shuttles +1%.

*JUST GROUP:       +3% H1 numbers strong, FY outlook remains favourable.

*RICHEMONT:          0% 5-month sales +12% versus +10% consensus, strong into numbers.

*SOCO:                  0% H1'17 numbers in line, capex reduced as expected, cash beat.

*VOESTAPLINE:       -1% raided by German Antitrust Regulator.


Investec:
UK                                                                              
* ADV.MED.SOLS-H1.Mixed but in line, sml U/G to FY17 EPS. Travel & arrive...-1%

* BALFOUR BEATTY-Sale of Blackpool Airport for £4.25m cash.................unch

* DUNELM-H1.PTP sml miss, EPS ahead. Encouraging start to yr................+1%

* GALIFORD TRY-FY.#'s in line. Upbeat outlook across all business's.......+1-2%

* GLENCORE/RIO-Merger plan may be revived (FT).............................unch

* HALFORDS-Graham Stapleton appointed new Cheif Exec.(from Jan '18).......+1-2%

* JUST GRP-H1.#'s in line, outlook remains 'favourable' for key business...unch

* QUANTUM PHARM-Rec offer from CLIN LN,82p(cash&shares)Closed 66.375p......+15%

* SOCO INTL-H1.Trading in line reits FY guidance...........................unch

* U&I GRP-Realises £4.9m profit through 2 project disposals................unch

                                                                             
EURO                                                                           
* APPLE SUPPLIERS-phone launch seen +ive for STM FP,AIXA GY,AMS SW etc......+1%
* CLARIANT-enters production partnership with Tiangang in China.............+1%

* COVESTRO-sale last night by BAYER of further stake, priced €63.25.........-3%

* ERAMET-Intesa and Unicredit sell stakes via abb, 11.2%, priced €57........-5%

* EUROTUNNEL-Aug passengers +3% YoY, trucks +1%.............................+1%

* GENERALI-sells Dutch ops for €143m........................................U/C

* ORANGE-Govt must stop rmrs of stake sale says Union.......................+1%

* RICHEMONT-5m sales +12% vs est +10%. APAC offset weak EU..................+2%


CS:
AMS          -3-5%   Delay in iPhone X shipping, from 3rd November

ASR Ned       +1%    ASR Buys Generali’s Dutch Operations for EU143m

Dialog Semi   -2%    Delay in iPhone X shipping, from 3rd November

Dunelm       +2-3%   Sales £955.6m vs cons £955m, dividend slightly better

Galliford     +1%    FY revs inline, strong performance across all 3 businesses

Glencore      UNCH   Rio Merger plan spec commentary in the FT

Just Group   +1-2%   New business ahead, op profit beat, guiding margins higher

Miners        UNCH   Copper -0.20%, Brent -0.35%, Iron Ore -2.30%, China -0.20%

Oils         -0.5%   US API showed a build of 6.2m barrels vs 2.79m last week

Richemont     -1%    5m trading update - Sales +12% vs exp +10%

Rio           UNCH   Glencore Merger plan spec commentary in the FT

Swatch        -2%    Negative read from the new Apple watch


Commerz:
1COV  -2.6%    Bayer places c. 9% @ €63.25, reducing direct stake to 31.9%

AIXA  -3.0%    Morgan Stanley cuts to Underweight (Overweight)

COM   -0.5%    Activist Investor Petrus attacks Commerzbank on its COM holding

DLG   -2.8%    we up adj EBIT by c 8% for 2018 + 19, on richer IPhone content

KCO   +2.0%    HSBC starts with Buy, PT €12

KGX   +0.6%    Goldman Sachs rates new Neutral, PT €79

MRK   +0.2%    Berenberg raised to Buy (Hold), PT €116

UN01  -0.2%    Nord/LB cuts to Sell (Buy), PT €19


Citi:
EURO
*Clas Ohlson -Starts strategic review to expand business. u/c
*Generali -Sells Dutch ops to ASR for 143m. u/c
*ASR -Buys Generali's Dutch ops for 143m. +1%
*ADP -Paris Airports august traffic rises 3.8. u/c
*Eramet -Intesa, Unicredit to sell 11.176% in Eramet at €57-bookbuild.-7%
*Richemont -5mnth sales +12% vs est +10%. APAC sales +23% vs est +11%. -1%
*STM -ADR's -1.5% after Apples new product launch -2%


Numis:
* ALLIANCE PHARMA u/c interims all in line with recent TU

* BALFOUR BEATTY Mkt: Announced sale of Blackpool Airport for £4.25m cash, in line with Group strategy.

* CLINIGEN bid terms announced for QUANTUM PHARMA 37p + 0.0405 = 82p vs CLIN closed @ 1111p yday vs QP close 67p

* DUNELM: -1%, trading to remain challenging however a decent start to new financial year

* GALLIFORD TRY Mkt: FY figs PBT £58.7m (NSe £56.5m), cautious on outlook but cite strong performance across all 3 businesses.

* HAMMERSON: Mkt, early redemption of £250m of bonds

* JUST GROUP +2% New business margins have continued to improve to 8.9% (5.0% H1 16) , Adjusted operating profit rose by 39% to £67.2m from £48.4m in H1 2016

* SOCO INTERNATIONAL: -2%, H1 production and revenues light. Roger Cagle to retire.

* SQS SOFTWARE MKT Interims in line; shares have performed well since the July update, we move to ADD from BUY

* TEN ENTERTAINMENT: +2/3%, Current trading strong as YTD lfl sale +3.6% and interim div 3.0p over double expected DPS.

* WILMINGTON: -2%, slight miss to numbers and increased costs added to 2018, also FD exits next year

(CS) Euro-Semi : Apple Read Across

EU SEMI: Last night, Apple launched a number of devices including iPhone 8, 8 Plus and highly anticipated iPhone X (with OLED screen and 3D sensing), along with newer versions of Apple Watch and TV. In our EU coverage, we have been flagging ams (3D a multi-year trend), STM (Apple 3D to drive half of 2018 growth) and Dialog (2 chips vs. 1 in new iPhones.) as beneficiaries driven by rising content in the new iPhone models.

Full note attached

FT : JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon calls bitcoin ‘a fraud’, ‘worse than tulip bulbs’

JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon calls bitcoin ‘a fraud’, ‘worse than tulip bulbs’

JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon issued a sharp condemnation of cyrpto-currency bitcoin, declaring that it was a “fraud” that should only be invested in by murderers, drug dealers and people living in North Korea, Ecuador and Venezuela.

“If we had a trader who traded bitcoin I’d fire him in a second for two reasons. One, it’s against our rules. Two, it’s stupid,” the bank boss told the Barclays’ financial conference in New York on Tuesday.

“You can’t have a business where people are going to invent a currency out of thin air,” he added. “It won’t end well… someone is going to get killed and then the government is going to come down on it.”

The value of a single bitcoin is around $4,200. The crypto-currency, which can be manufactured using computing power and is then stored on servers, was valued at less than $250 per unit at the end of 2015.

“Don’t ask me to short it, it could be at $20,000 before this happens but it will eventually blow up. It’s a fraud and honestly I’m just shocked anyone can’t see it for what it is,” Mr Dimon said, describing bitcoin as “worse than tulip bulbs”.

“The only good argument I’ve ever heard … is that if you were in Venezuela or Ecuador or North Korea.. or if you were a drug dealer, a murderer, stuff like that, you are better off dealing in bitcoin than in US dollars, you are better off bypassing the system of your country even if what I just said is true. There may be a market for that but it’s a limited market. “

>>> Eataly plans to float 33% stake; Unicredit to act as global coordinator - re

Eataly plans to float 33% stake; Unicredit to act as global coordinator
Eataly, the private Italian food group, will float a 33% stake in its forthcoming IPO, according to Italian-language newspaper Milano Finanza. The report cited financial sources who said that the Eataly board is expected to draw up the details of the operation in the second half of October.
The report added that Unicredit will act as the global coordinator.
The item said that the IPO will consist entirely of a sale of existing shares with no capital increase taking place.
The report added that the IPO is expected to take place in 1H18
The report added that Eataly is controlled by the Farinetti family with a 57.94% stake held via the Eainvest holding. Tamburi Investment Partners [BIT: TIP] holding a 19.74% stake via Clubitaly.
The Group posted EUR 390m revenues in 2016, up 15% over 2015, 38% of which was generated in the US. The report said that the turnover this year is expected to be EUR 500m, while EBITDA is likely to be EUR 25m-EUR 30m.
The report said that preliminary estimates give Eataly an enterprise value of at least EUR 2bn.

>>> Akzo Nobel to decide early next year on sale or IPO of specialty chemicals d

Akzo Nobel to decide early next year on sale or IPO of specialty chemicals division
Dutch chemicals business Akzo Nobel [AMS:AKZA] will decide in early 2018 whether it will sell its special chemicals division in a private deal or through a listing, the company's new CEO said in De Telegraaf.
At present the company does not have a preference between the 2 options, Thierry Vanlancker said.
There is significant interest for the unit, the CEO remarked, both from private equity groups as well as strategic players.