>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 12th of Sept. 2017

>>> Up
* Alibaba Raised to Buy at Haitong Intl, PT $210
* Credit Suisse Raised to Buy at SocGen
* Deutsche Bank Raised to Outperform at KBW, PT EU19
* Deutsche Pfandbriefbank Raised to Buy at HSBC, PT EU14
* Kroger Raised to Buy at Pivotal, PT $25
* Norsk Hydro Raised to Add at AlphaValue
* SFR Group Raised to Hold at Berenberg
* SGS Raised to Hold at Jefferies, PT CHF2,100
* Smurfit Kappa Raised to Buy at Goldman
* Sodexo Raised to Buy at Citi
* Vale Raised to Buy at Santander, PT $13.50
* Zurich Ins. Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan, PT CHF304

>>> Down
* Aker BP Cut to Neutral at Macquarie, PT NOK156
* Bauer Cut to Hold at Bankhaus Lampe
* DNA Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley, PT EU16
* Gestamp Cut to Hold at SocGen, PT EU6.30
* IAG Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley
* Liberty Global Cut to Underperform at Exane
* SCA Cut to Sell at Goldman
* SSP Cut to Neutral at Citi
* Whitbread Cut to Sell at Citi

>>> Initiation
* Apple New Buy at Citic Securities, PT $200
* Coach New Outperform at Bernstein, PT $51
* L Brands New Outperform at Bernstein, PT $57
* Lululemon New Market Perform at Bernstein, PT $66
* Michael Kors New Underperform at Bernstein, PT $37
* Nike New Outperform at Bernstein, PT $69
* PVH New Market Perform at Bernstein, PT $142
* Rallye New Hold at HSBC, PT EU17
* Under Armour New Underperform at Bernstein, PT $14
* Wizz Air New Neutral at Citi, PT GBP30.60

>>> Call
>> Stock
* OSRAM, ZALANDO REMOVED FROM BANKHAUS LAMPE ALPHA LIST
* THYSSENKRUPP, HEIDELBERGCEMENT ADDED TO LAMPE’S ALPHA LIST

>>> Asian Update

Asia Mid-Session Market Update: UN Security Council passes N. Korea sanctions; USD continues to strengthen across the board

***Asia Summary***
- Asian equity markets opened higher tracking the strength in the US session. Where the USD continued its relief rally after north Korea failed to launch as missile over the weekend and Hurricane Irma impact was less than expected in the US. Some analysts have also pointed towards increasingly stronger China data and rising inflation as another trigger to spur the buying along. The PBOC weakened the yuan reference rate by 0.4% to 6.5277, the first time in 12 sessions. Offshore yuan fell to a 6-month low on the weaker setting. PBOC did again skip open market operations for the 4th consecutive session, has not happened since early January.

- The UN Security Council voted unanimously to implement stronger sanctions against North Korea. New measures will ban all textile exports, however are softer than US’s initial proposal. USD/KRW was little changed in the session and North Korea failed to comment. In the UK Lawmakers voted against opposition labor party attempt to block EU withdrawal bill; vote 326-290, Brexit bill to move to next stage. The Sterling showed muted gains on the news.

***Key economic data***
- (AU) AUSTRALIA AUG NAB BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: 5 V 12 PRIOR; CONDITIONS: 15 V 14 PRIOR (highest level since early 2008)
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 109.8 v 114.1 prior
- (PH) Philippines Jul Trade Balance: -$1.65B v -$2.4Be
- (KR) South Korea Jul M2 Money Supply M/M: -0.2% v 0.4% prior; L Money Supply M/M: 0.9% v 0.3% prior

***Speakers and Press***
China/Hong Kong
- (CN) PBoC Vice Gov Yin Yong: financial risks are on the rise while anti money-laundering efforts face challenges
- (HK) Hong Kong Financial Sec Chan: HK's economy has been "very positive" in recent two months after better-than-expected growth in Q2
- (CN) China Premier Li: China is resolute about opening up; Reiterates to continue proactive Fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy - press

Korea
- (KR) UN SECURITY COUNCIL VOTES IN FAVOR OF INCREASING SANCTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA
- (KR) South Korea: N. Korea is technically ready for a nuclear test
- (US) US launches missile tracking plane from Kadena airbase - Japan press

Japan
- (JP) Japan PM Abe Cabinet approval rating rises to 50%, up 8 pct points in poll taken Sept 8-10 – Yomiuri

Other
- (UK) Lawmakers votes against opposition labor party attempt to block EU withdrawal bill; vote 326-290, Brexit bill to move to next stage
- (US) US Senate Majority Leader McConnell said the debt limit will not have to be increased until 'well into 2018' 'amid the availability of extraordinary measures' - NYT Interview

***Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:00ET)***
- Nikkei 1.0%, Hang Seng 0.0%; Shanghai Composite +0.1%, ASX200 +0.7%, Kospi +0.1%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.0%; Nasdaq100 +0.0%, Dax -0.1%, FTSE100 -0.1%

***FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:00ET)***
- EUR 1.1964-1.1946; JPY 109.58-109.24; AUD 0.8034-0.7998; NZD 0.7267-0.7226
- Dec Gold -0.4% at $1,329/oz; Oct Crude Oil -0.1% at $48.02/brl; Sept Copper -0.6% at $3.05/lb
- GLD SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings +0.1% to 835.7 metric tonnes
- (AU) Australia sells A$150M 2022 Indexed Bonds; avg yield 0.4025%; bid-to-cover 3.98x
- (CN) PBOC SKIPS OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS (OMO) V SKIPPED PRIOR (4th consecutive skip, most since early Jan)
- USD/CNY (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT: 6.5277 V 6.4997 PRIOR (1st weaker setting in 12 sessions)
- JGB (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.78T in 5-yr JGBS; avg yield -0.110%; bid-to-cover 4.07x

***Equities notable movers***
Australia/New Zealand
- SGH.AU nnounces cost cutting measures, to cut 7% of employees in Australia; +3%
- RAP.AU Developing the world’s first clinically-tested, regulatory-cleared respiratory disease diagnostic test and management tools for smartphones - Investor presentation; +16%

Hong Kong/China
- 1222.HK To sell 60% stake in site in Hong Kong for HK$2.44B; +4.3%

Japan
- 6502.JP Toshiba reportedly to sell chip unit to Western Digital-led consortium - Japanese press; +0.3%

>>> US After Hours Summary: LMNR -11% following earnings/guidance, HII


After Hours Summary: LMNR -11% following earnings/guidance, HIIQ -19% sell-off continues despite mgmt hosting call

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: LAYN +4.8% (light volume), PPHM +3.4%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: WDC +3.5% (seeing after hours strength on reports of winning bid for Toshiba [TOSBF] chip unit), TEVA +1.5% (Teva Pharma enters into a definitive agreement under which CooperSurgical will acquire PARAGARD), MRNS +1% and  TTD +0.7% (continued strength), AMGN +0.5% (announces results from the Phase 3 ARCH study)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: PSDV -12.4%, LMNR -11.2%, ADXS -1% (light volume)

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: HIIQ -18.9% (continued weakness following management update conference call after the close), BCRX -8% (to sell $80 mln of common stock in public offering), BIP -4.2% (Brookfield Infrastructure to issue 16,628,000 L.P. units on a bought deal basis to a syndicate of underwriters at $42.10 per L.P. unit), PTLA -2.9% (plans to offer $300 mln of its common stock in an underwritten public offering ), FDC -2.7% (confirms that New Omaha Holdings intends to offer for sale in an underwritten secondary offering 85 mln shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the registration statement), CPT -1.4% (is offering 4,750,000 common shares in underwritten public offering), EFX -0.4% (continued weakness)

>>> US Close Dow +1.19% S&P +1.08% Nasdaq +1.13% Russell +1.10%

Closing Market Summary: Rolling to New Record Highs

The U.S. equity market kicked off the week with a solid bounce-back performance that reclaimed all of last week's decline and sent the S&P 500 (+1.1%) to a new all-time high. Investors happily dialed back their estimates for damages related to Hurricane Irma--which was downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday morning--and cheered a show of restraint from North Korea. The Nasdaq (+1.1%), the Dow (+1.2%), and the small-cap Russell 2000 (+1.1%) settled roughly in line with the benchmark index.

Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys on Sunday morning as a Category 4 hurricane, but the once historically powerful storm quickly petered out, falling to a Category 2 storm by the mid-afternoon. Millions of Florida residents are still without power and Jacksonville--Florida's most populous city--is experiencing substantial flooding, but the storm ultimately did far less damage than forecasts were predicting.

The prospect of fewer-than-expected hurricane related claims underpinned insurers like Travelers (TRV 122.56, +2.80) on Monday, helping the heavily-weighted financial sector (+1.7%) finish at the top of the sector standings. Meanwhile, home-improvement retailers like Home Depot (HD 158.37, -1.29) struggled, leaving the consumer discretionary sector (+0.5%) near the bottom of the sector standings, as investors curtailed their expectations for home-repair demand.

A tempering of geopolitical concerns related to North Korea also fed into Monday's bullish bias after the hermit nation proved analysts wrong over the weekend, deciding to celebrate the 69th anniversary of its founding without another long-range missile launch. The tranquility may prove to be short-lived, however, as the U.N. is expected to vote on further sanctions against Pyongyang on Monday evening.

Each of the eleven sectors settled Monday's session in the green, but gains varied pretty widely. In addition to financials, the technology (+1.5%) and materials (+1.4%) sectors outperformed. Within the tech group, Apple (AAPL 161.50, +2.87) showed relative strength, climbing 1.8%, ahead of Tuesday's product event, in which the company is expected to unveil its latest iPhone lineup, including the high-end iPhone X--which is reportedly the much-anticipated tenth anniversary edition that's been generating buzz for months.

Chipmakers also had a solid showing on Monday, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index higher by 2.0% and into positive territory for the month (+0.1%).

Most other sectors finished with gains between 0.7% and 1.0%, but the lightly-weighted telecom services space underperformed, climbing higher by just 0.4%. Following today's relatively disappointing performance, the telecom services space now holds a month-to-date loss of 4.1% and trades at the very bottom of the 2017 sector standings with a year-to-date loss of 14.9%. The energy sector is the only other space trading in the red for the year (-14.1%).

Biotechnology stocks also struggled on Monday, evidenced by the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 334.41, +0.31), which settled just a tick above its flat line. However, the influential health care sector, which houses biotech names, held up relatively well (+0.8%), extending its month-to-date gain to 2.3%.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries sold off across the curve, pushing yields above the multi-month lows that they hit last week. The benchmark 10-yr climbed six basis points to 2.12% after falling to its lowest level since November on Thursday.

Meanwhile, U.S. dollar climbed 1.5% against the Japanese yen (109.47), which is considered a safe-haven asset, and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 10.81, -1.31) tumbled 10.8%.

Investors didn't receive any economic data on Monday. Tuesday's lone economic report--the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for July--will be released at 10:00 ET.

(Challenges) Airbus Thales : avis de turbulences dans le secteur spatial



Les ordres de grandeur sont connus. Dans le secteur spatial, une année à 25 commandes de satellites télécoms est considérée comme bonne. A 15 contrats, comme en 2016, elle est mauvaise. Ces chiffres en tête, 2017 ne s’annonce clairement pas sous les meilleures auspices. Alors que s’ouvre à Paris la World Satellite Business Week (11 au 14 septembre), le grand raout annuel du secteur, les opérateurs satellites n’ont commandé aux industriels du secteur que 5 satellites depuis le 1er janvier. Un chiffre très bas qui laisse présager, même si le second semestre est traditionnellement plus dynamique que le premier, une année exécrable pour les fabricants de satellites, Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, Loral et Boeing en tête.

De fait, sur le segment stratégique des satellites télécoms dédiés à l’orbite géostationnaire (GEO, 36.000 km de la Terre), la récolte est maigre. Boeing n’a vendu qu’un satellite, au japonais JSat. Thales Alenia Space se contente aussi d’un contrat (Inmarsat). L’américain Loral plafonne également à une commande, de son compatriote Hugues. Quant à Airbus, il court toujours derrière son premier contrat de l’année... "Il y a, à l’évidence, un ralentissement du marché, reconnaît Nicolas Chamussy, patron d’Airbus Space Systems. D'abord, il y a sans doute un petit embouteillage sur le segment des lancements. Surtout, les opérateurs s’interrogent sur leurs projets : quelle taille de satellites choisir ? Faut-il commander tout de suite, ou attendre des satellites encore plus puissants et plus flexibles ?"


Loral dégraisse

Dans ce marché en plein doute, il faut donc faire le dos rond. Les industriels européens, qui ont réalisé de belles performances commerciales ces dernières années, espèrent limiter les dégâts. "Nous avons 12 satellites à différents stades d’assemblage", rappelle Nicolas Chamussy. Le groupe européen peut aussi compter sur soin activité de satellites d’observation, qui compense un peu la morosité sur le secteur télécoms, et sur l'énorme charge de travail liée au contrat OneWeb, pour lequel le groupe doit assembler près de 900 petits satellites.

Même stratégie pour Thales Alenia Space, l’autre européen de la place. Le groupe franco-italien peut amortir la crise avec son activité de satellites d’observation, et ses positions fortes sur le segment des constellations de satellites en orbite basse (Iridium, Globastar, O3B)… même si Boeing vient de lui griller la politesse en décrochant une commande de 7 satellites O3B par l’opérateur luxembourgeois SES. L’embarras est plus grand chez l’américain Loral, qui a besoin de six à sept contrats par an pour faire tourner ses usines. Faute de commandes, le leader du marché a dû supprimer 200 postes sur son site californien au printemps, selon Space News.

Arianespace pas - encore ? - touché

Pour l’instant, cette atonie du marché des satellites télécoms n’a pas encore atteint le marché des lanceurs. Arianespace, qui commercialise les lancements d’Ariane 5, du lanceur russe Soyouz et de la petite fusée Vega, affiche toujours un carnet de commandes très fourni : 53 lancements à effectuer (17 d’Ariane 5, 27 de Soyouz et 7 de Vega), soit 4,7 milliards d’euros au prix catalogue. "Nous avons bénéficié d’un relais de croissance exceptionnel avec la commande de OneWeb [21 lancements de Soyouz ], qui nous a permis de moins accuser le coup, souligne Stéphane Israël, PDG d’Arianespace. Mais nous ne sommes pas hors contexte : il y a un certain attentisme du marché."

Les industriels se veulent malgré tout confiants sur le potentiel du marché à moyen terme. "Le besoin de diffusion d'images et de connectivité n'a jamais été aussi grand", assure Nicolas Chamussy, chez Airbus. "Il va se passer pas mal de choses sur le marché à partir de 2021, notamment avec les nouvelles constellations de satellites, abonde Stéphane Israël. J’ai le sentiment que le marché sera bien orienté sur la prochaine décennie, après un petit temps de latence." Un optimisme partagé par le cabinet Euroconsult, spécialiste du spatial, qui organise la World Satellite Business Week : le cabinet prévoit le lancement de 300 satellites commerciaux en orbite géostationnaire ces dix prochaines années.

>>> Trasngen (TNG FP) - Receives FDA IND Approval to begin a clinical trial with

Receives FDA IND Approval to begin a clinical trial with TG4010 + Nivolumab + Chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of Lung Cancer (NSCLC) 

Announces that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Transgene Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance to proceed with a Phase 2 clinical trial of TG4010 in combination with Opdivo (nivolumab) and chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the USA.The Phase 2 clinical trial will explore the potential of combining Transgene’s TG4010, an investigational therapeutic vaccine, in association with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s immune checkpoint inhibitor, nivolumab, which acts by overcoming immune suppression. Both therapies will be combined with standard chemotherapy in first-line NSCLC patients, whose tumors express low and undetectable levels of PD-L1.Transgene is the sponsor of this international trial. Transgene has signed a clinical collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb, which will provide nivolumab for the study (see press release dated April 25, 2017).

The Phase 2 trial will evaluate objective tumor responses and disease control. The study will also assess the safety and tolerability of the regimen together with other efficacy parameters. This multi-center single-arm trial will enroll patients both in the USA and Europe.

The first patient is expected to be included into this Phase 2 study at the end of 2017.

>>> EXCLUSIVE-EU regulators to voice concerns about Luxottica, Essilor deal - so

EXCLUSIVE-EU regulators to voice concerns about Luxottica, Essilor deal - source - Reuters News

11-Sep-2017 17:12:26

BRUSSELS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will meet Luxottica LUX.MI and Essilor ESSI.PA this week to express concerns about their 46-billion-euro ($55.12 billion) merger, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The move shows that the European Commission wants concessions to address their concerns and that they are prepared to open an in-depth investigation if these are not given, or seen as insufficient.