TheChek News Flow

Huge deal: chip giant Intel Intel Graphs for Intel Gate Change Finance site Autonomous vehicle enters and acquires Israel's Mobileye's largest acquisition ever by an Israeli company. Mobileye Mobileye Graphs for Mobileye Gate Change Finance site Has a market cap of $ 10.5 billion, according to market estimates, the transaction is expected to reflect Lmobilaii value of 14-15 billion dollars. The two companies are expected to announce the deal in the coming hours. The two companies did not respond.

Mobileye inhabitants of Jerusalem, was founded in 1999 by Prof. Amnon fun, CTO and CEO Ziv Aviram. The company is developing driver assistance systems, and on the basis of which developing autonomous vehicle technology. The company's developments are installed in traditional car manufacturers, which compete with technology giants like Google, Apple and Tesla.

Last June, the company began to cooperate with Intel and BMW, and three declared autonomous vehicle that opens up to 2021. In addition, Intel has joined a few months ago for further cooperation of society, this time with the British Delphi. The three keys to a system that can integrate other manufacturers' cars, not to develop their own autonomous car.

Intel is the largest employer in Israel, with about 10,000 employees. Now attach the company several hundred more workers to come Mmobilaii. Intel has a market cap of $ 170 billion, and it is very significant for a deal. Its cash has about $ 17 billion, and the company has a debt of 25 billion dollars. In the past year, Intel shares rose 15%, but the last five years increased in total by 30%.

Even before the autonomous car, Lmobilaii have a strong and profitable activity operators driver assistance systems. Its revenues grew from $ 40 million in 2012 revenues of $ 358 million in 2016. According to analysts' estimates, the Company's revenues will grow in 2017 by 40% and will total $ 500 million - a jump of 12.5 times in five years or 65% per year. The rapid growth has led the company to the value of $ 10.5 billion, a jump of 85% over the IPO share price in July 2014.

Adjusted net income (non-GAAP) totaled $ 173 million, compared with $ 113 million in 2015. Accounting profit (GAAP) Annual stood at $ 108 million, compared to $ 68 million a year earlier. The difference between adjusted income stems mainly from accounting for stock-based compensation.

The company sells systems for both car manufacturers (77% of revenues), as well as used vehicles (other income). Sales in the used car market is growing at a faster rate, but limited potential, as more new vehicles has been rising on the road with the driver assistance systems.

The portfolio comprises a long-standing and reputable client base of more than 20,000 merchants, e.g. in Airlines/ travel, financial services, luxury goods, retail as well as technology and telecommunications. 

Asian equity markets are tracking the optimism on Wall St on Friday, where a robust NFP print was solid enough to confirm healthy labor market and solidify expectations of a Fed hike this week but not too great that would magnify the case for more than 3 hikes this year. In FX, USD/JPY has retreated in line with US Treasury yields after NFP did not produce the blowout seen in the AFP report earlier. EUR/USD however has maintained its momentum toward 1-month high of 1.07 in the wake of more hawkish ECB sentiment last week. GBP traded with a softer tone after press reports that PM May could trigger Article 50 as soon as Tues, March 14th, but also that UK is drawing up contingency plans for the unlikely event it has to walk away from talks with the European Union without a deal.

Nikkei +0.15% Hang Seng +1.13% CSI +0.81% Shanghai +0.67%

Eur$ 1.0704 CNH 6.8928 CNY 6.9063 JPY 114.61 GBP 1.2212 CHF 1.0069 RUB 59.1750 WTI$ 48.28 -0.43%

S&P -0.02% EuroStoxx -0.12% Dax +0.02% FTSE +0.03% SMI +0.20%

*Accell Raised to Add at Bank Degroof Petercam, PT EU27

The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.0699 EUR=, after rising as high as $1.0701, its highest level since Feb. 9.

Some members of the ECB's Governing Council discussed the possibility of higher interest rates at last week's policy meeting, but talk on the issue was brief and did not receive broad support, said two sources familiar with the discussion.

The euro's gains were limited by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would decide to raise interest rates at its two-day policy meeting ending on Wednesday, after U.S. employers hired workers at a robust pace in February.

The headline figure surpassed expectations and wages also rose, though by less than some economists expected. Overall, the non-farm payrolls report reinforced market expectations that the Fed will hike interest rates this week despite slowing economic growth.

Wage growth rose 0.2 percent, falling short of an expected 0.3 percent increase, which caused U.S. Treasury yields to recede from last week's 12-week highs.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. yield US10YT=RR was last at 2.580 percent in Asian trading, compared to its U.S. close on Friday of 2.582 percent. It was well below Friday's high of 2.624 percent, which was its highest since December.

Fed fund futures prices showed investors pricing in more than a 90 percent chance of an increase in U.S. overnight interest rates, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

With a rate increase so broadly priced in to market expectations, investors have moved on to the next question of whether the Fed will be able to sustain its pace of hikes and also increase rates in its June and September meetings.

"Everyone wants to see the economic projections of FOMC members, to gauge whether they will indeed stick to a path of raising interest rates in both June and September," said Ayako Sera, market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in Tokyo.

A Reuters poll of 23 primary dealers showed a dozen of them expected the Fed to raise rates to 1.00 to 1.25 percent by its June meeting, while 10 of them expected a rate increase by its September meeting.

As market participants ponder the outlook for future monetary policy moves, day-to-day trading this year has vexed some investors.

"It's hard to pick one specific theme in a market like this," said Bart Wakabayashi, branch manager for State Street Bank and Trust in Tokyo.

"It's hard to find trends, so I think people are mostly just playing ranges, technicals and momentum," he said.

The dollar edged down 0.2 percent against its Japanese counterpart to 114.66 yen JPY=, below Friday's high of 115.50 yen, which was the highest since Jan. 19.

Speculators had boosted bullish bets on the U.S. dollar in the week through March 7, lifting net longs to their highest level since early February, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday and calculations by Reuters. [IMM/FX]

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, slipped 0.1 percent to 101.13 .DXY, its lowest since Feb. 28.

Sterling added 0.2 percent to $1.2189 GBP=, moving away from last week's eight-week lows.

The pound lost almost 1 percent against the euro on Friday after the ECB news. The single currency was last up 0.1 percent at 87.83 pence EURGBP=D3 after rising as high as 87.86 pence, its loftiest peak since Jan. 17.