>>> Coach sees handbags, footwear, outerwear as possible deal areas - report

Coach sees handbags, footwear, outerwear as possible deal areas - report
01 FEB 2017
Coach Inc [NYSE:COH] CEO Victor Luis considers handbags, outerwear and footwear to be areas where the fashion firm may pursue acquisitions, Women's Wear Daily reported on Tuesday (January 31)
In an interview with the publication after Coach reported second-quarter financial results, Luis would not comment on reports that the company may seek a deal for the Kate Spade NYSE:KATE] brand.
As previously reported, Coach and apparel and accessories maker Michael Kors Holdings [NYSE:KORS] are believed to be weighing potential offers for Kate Spade.
Outerwear and footwear present the "next most significant" growth and value-creating opportunities for Coach, which is seeking "great brands," Luis said. Outerwear, footwear and handbags all could offer deal prospects, he said.
On a conference call with analysts earlier in the day, Luis said Coach wasn't interested in turnaround deals, WWD reported. On the same call, interim CFO Andrea Resnick said no deals were imminent.

FT : Charles Dunstone moves to retake control of TalkTalk

Charles Dunstone moves to retake control of TalkTalk
Reshuffle follows Dido Harding’s departure after seven years as chief executive

Sir Charles Dunstone has moved to retake control of TalkTalk, in which he owns a 31 per cent stake, after chief executive Dido Harding stood down following seven years in the job.

Sir Charles will revert to his position as executive chairman of the telecoms provider and stand down from the same role at Dixons Carphone, the retailer he founded in 1989 as Carphone Warehouse. TalkTalk was demerged from the group in 2010.

Tristia Harrison, commercial director of TalkTalk and a former marketing director at Carphone Warehouse, has been promoted to chief executive while Charles Bligh is moving to the role of chief operating officer from managing director.

Ms Harrison is a member of the inner circle of ex-Carphone Warehouse executives that have risen alongside Sir Charles. She is also the wife of Andrew Harrison, deputy chief executive of Dixons Carphone and one of Sir Charles’s most trusted lieutenants.

TalkTalk shares were trading 6 per cent higher at 166 pence after the news. They have been under pressure recently, dropping 32 per cent in the past six months and underperforming the wider telecoms sector by 15 per cent.

A poor performance in the third quarter, also published on Wednesday, with revenue growth off almost 5 per cent, was overshadowed by the management changes and a promise to grow in the fourth quarter.

Baroness Harding, a Conservative peer, is to leave TalkTalk in May and said she would focus more on her “activities in public service”.

“After seven extraordinary and fulfilling years, during which we have transformed TalkTalk’s customer experience and laid the foundations for long-term growth, I’ve decided it’s time for me to start handing over the reins at TalkTalk.”

Sir Charles will pass the chairmanship of Dixons Carphone to Ian Livingston, the former BT chief executive, who was named deputy chairman of the retailer in 2015. Lord Livingston, also a Conservative peer, made his name at Dixons where he was appointed finance director aged just 32.

Sir Charles said Dixons Carphone remained “a very important part” of his life.

“It is now three years since we agreed the merger with Dixons and I am delighted with the way both companies have performed since,” he said. “We have built a very strong management team and I have great confidence in their ability, so I know that the company has an exciting future.”

The management shuffle at TalkTalk comes as the industry has become confused over its strategy. It announced in October that it would start to move away from its roots as a budget provider of broadband after its market share receded to 13 per cent from 23 per cent. Yet this week, the company said it would reverse that move and reduce prices.

The company has also struggled to recover from a high-profile cyber attack in October 2015 that affected 156,000 customers, dented the company’s profits and attracted criticism from politicians, regulators and consumer groups.

The telecoms group was later hit by a record £400,000 fine from the Information Commissioner’s Office, which said TalkTalk “should and could have done more to safeguard its customer information”.

Baroness Harding has since insisted that the group had bounced back from the attack, and last June donated her annual £220,000 bonus to charity.

>>> European Pre-Market Indications

BofAML EMEA Indications
VOLVO - Very strong with EBIT 16% ahead, truck orders a 13% beat (121.3).+7-10%
SANDVIK - Very strong. 2% sales beat & 11% EBIT beat. Short int: 5% (122).+3-4%
SIEMENS - Raising guidance by 6-7% at EPS & 50bps at margin level (120.8)...+3%
FERRAGAMO - Strong. Sales +1% cFX v -2.5% cons due to China and US (25.2)...+3%
LOW & BONAR - Reads well. V much a niche biz now with £230m mkt cap (71)..+2-3%
CENTAMIN - FY16 fins beat on lower costs, div surprises to upside (161)...+2-3%
TALK TALK - Short term impact on Q3 net perf as exp.Harding steps down (160)+2%
BBVA - High quality beat with 4Q net EU678m vs est of EU520m (6.4)..........+2%
MICHELIN - Michelin North Am announces broad price increases of +8% (101).+1-2%
KPN - Revs 0.3% below & EBITDA 1.2% beat.Sees EBITDA inline with '16 (2.7)+1-2%
SEB - 1% NII beat. Strong quarter to support continued re-rating (99.25)....+1%
SKF - Positive read across from Siemens, Volvo & Paccar o/n & today (178)...+1%
MINERS - Copper +0.2%,IO closed,Gold -0.4%; BHP OZ +1.65%,RIO OZ +0.54%...+0.5%
DIPLOMA - CMD is today. No trading statement out along with it (1020).....+0.5%
DIXONS - Non impacting. Sir Charles Dunstone stepping down as Chairman (316)u/c
LUNDIN - Inline with EBITDA US$318mn v US$307mn. No new guidance (188.6)...u/c
MONDI - CEO retires and current CEO Europe & Intl biz takes over (1751) ....u/c
AKZO - Negative. Huntsman has had a fire at a TIO2 plant Pori Pori (62.1)...-1%
ROCHE - H2 sales flat v cons, op profit -2.4% & EPS -2% v cons (230.67).....-1%
NESTE - We reinstate with an Underperform rating & a PO of EUR 27 (31.9)....-1%
ELUX - 4% EBIT miss & more or less unch outlook will read negatively (228)..-2%

MF
*ROCHE-FY Sales 50.6b(50.7),Div 8.2(8.5),2017 Sales Low-To-MSD.........-0.25%
*SIEMENS-2017 EPS Raised to 7.2-7.7(6.8-7.2),Margins Raised............+4% 
*SEB-NI 4.24b(4.1),NII 4.8b(4.74),Fee Inc 4.61b(4.34),Prov down........+2%
*KPN-Q4 Rev 1.7b(1.7),Ebitda 606m(596),Sees '17 Ebitda flat............U/C
*BBVA-Q4 Net 678m(520),Div 13c,CET1 Fully Loaded 10.9%.................+2% 
*FERRAGAMO-FY Sales 1.44b(1.42),Asia Pac,NA & Europe all good..........+2% 
*BOUYGUES-Cellnex to buy 3,000 Towers for €800m says Expansion.........+0.5% 
*VOLVO-Sales 82.6b(78),FY Div 3.25(3),Order intake +10%................+4% 
*LONZA-ABB of 5m shares,priced at 173,raising CHF865m..................-2% 
*AXEL SPRINGER-ABB 1.84m shares,priced at 47.65,oversubscribed.........-2% 
*BAER-FY Op Inc 2.85b(2.79),Pft 706m(675),AuM 336b(222),Div 1.2........+1.5% 
*TRELLEBORG-OP 841m(881.9),Net Sales 7.43b(7.46),Rev Grth -4%..........-0.5%
*SILTRONIC-Q4 Prelim Rev 246m(232.4),Ebitda 50m(37.7),Margin better....+2% 
*WACKER CHEMIE-Q4 Sales 1.35b(1.4),Ebitda 270m(237),Margin 20%(16.9)...-0.4% 
*SUEDZUCKER-Offers 1.32m shares in Agrana at €100 vs cls €119.3........U/C
*ELECTROLUX-Q4 OP 1.62b(1.75),Sales 32.1b(33.3),Div 7.5,ORG -3%........-1%
*SANDVIK-Q4 Rev 21.8b(21.3),OP 3.28b(3.04),Orders 22b(20.4),Div 2.75...+2% 
*EDF-To cut more jobs than planned to 2019 says Le Figaro..............+1%

CS
AMS +1-2% Positive read from Apple numbers, +2.5% post market
BBVA +1-2% 4Q net EU678M est EU520M, capital down 10bps to 10.9%
Cellnex +3% Agreement with Bouygues for 3,000 Towers
Daimler +1-2% Positive read from Volvo numbers
Dialog Semi +1-2% Positive read from Apple numbers, +2.5% post market
Electrolux -3-4% Q4 net sales 4% miss, op profit 7.5% miss
Ferragamo +2-3% 2016 sales 1% beat, retail sales inline, wholesale better
Imagine Tech +1-2% Positive read from Apple numbers, +2.5% post market
Julius Baer +2% adjusted net profit 2% ahead, AUM increased to CHF336bn
KPN +1% 4Q Adj. EBITDA beats ests, revenue matches views
Lundin +1-2% Revs 385.9m cons 380.4m, continue to see prod increasing
Miners +0.5% Copper +0.30%, Brent -1.60%, Iron Ore CLOSED, China CLOSED
Novozymes +2-3% CS DOUBLE UPGRADE to OUTPERFORM (Risk reward)
Rieter -2% FY Revenue 0.5% ahead, order intake 5% light
Roche UNCH FY Sales CHF 50.6bln est CHF 50.7bln
Sandvik +4% 8% op profit beat, SMS orders return to growth
SEB +2-3% Head-line profit beat consensus by 6%, trading driven
Siemens +4-5% Lifts FY outlook on solid Q1, driven by Renewables/Digital
Siltronic +3-5% Q4 sales 7.5% ahead, EBITDA 25% ahead
Swedbank -2% Negative article discuss ING potential fine of SEK4bn
Talktalk +7-10% Reiterated FY EBITDA range, CEO to step down
Trelleborg -1% Q4 sales SK7.43b vs cons SK7.46b
Volvo +7-10% Q4 net sales 6% beat, Q4 orders 13% beat
Volkswagen +1-2% Positive read from Volvo numbers
Wacker Chem UNCH Q4 clean EBITDA inline. 257m CSe 260m

Shore
AG BARR - H2 strengthened,LfL's seen +1.5%,margins in line,to meet FY expec.+1%
TALKTALK - Reiterating strong Ebitda growth.Short term hit on Q3 as expec...-1%
32RED - Yr net gaming rev+28%.Strong current trading +21%...................+2%
TELFORD - Buys building on Cambridge Heath road for 30.2m...................+2%
LOW&BONAR - Fy rev 400m.Div +7.9%.Confident business outlook................+1%
CENTAMIN - FY production above revised guidance.............................+3%
EPWIN - grp profits in line,strong cash generation,input costs rising.......-1%
MENZIES - reaches agreement with the CMA completes acquisition of ASIG....+0.5%
ZOOPLA - issues 20.9m shares (5% share capital) at 365p.....................MKT
PHARMA - Trump pledges to cut length of time for regulatory approval........+2%

FT : Trump’s top trade adviser accuses Germany of currency exploitation

Trump’s top trade adviser accuses Germany of currency exploitation
Berlin is using a ‘grossly undervalued’ euro to gain advantage over trading partners, says Navarro

Germany is using a “grossly undervalued” euro to “exploit” the US and its EU partners, Donald Trump’s top trade adviser has said in comments likely to trigger alarm in Europe’s largest economy.

Peter Navarro, the head of Mr Trump’s new National Trade Council, told the Financial Times the euro was like an “implicit Deutsche Mark” whose low valuation gave Germany an advantage over its main trading partners. His views suggest the new administration is focusing on currency as part of its hard-charging approach on trade ties.
In a departure from past US policy, Mr Navarro also called Germany one of the main hurdles to a US trade deal with the EU and declared talks with the bloc over a US-EU agreement, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, dead.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, responded to Mr Navarro’s allegations, saying Germany could not influence the euro. At a press conference in Stockholm with Stefan Lofven, Sweden’s prime minister, Ms Merkel said Germany has always “supported an independent European Central Bank”.
The Trump administration has denounced alleged currency manipulation by its trading partners. At a meeting with pharmaceutical bosses on Tuesday, Mr Trump accused Japan and China of using monetary policy to pursue “devaluation” in the past to gain a trading advantage over the US.
“They play the money market, they play the devaluation market, while we sit here like a bunch of dummies,” Mr Trump said.
The new president says he prefers bilateral trade deals rather than the broad multilateral accords pursued by Barack Obama, his predecessor. Mr Trump last week also withdrew from a 12-country Pacific Rim deal negotiated by Mr Obama.
“A big obstacle to viewing TTIP as a bilateral deal is Germany, which continues to exploit other countries in the EU as well as the US with an ‘implicit Deutsche Mark’ that is grossly undervalued,” Mr Navarro said. “The German structural imbalance in trade with the rest of the EU and the US underscores the economic heterogeneity [diversity] within the EU — ergo, this is a multilateral deal in bilateral dress.”
Germany’s large trade surplus with the US and much of the eurozone has been a point of friction in Brussels and Washington for several years, with both capitals calling for Berlin to stimulate domestic demand to rebalance its economy.
Critics have argued Berlin has disproportionally benefited from weakness in the rest of the eurozone, which has held the euro lower than other regional currencies, like the Swiss Franc, making German exports cheaper in overseas markets like China and the US.
Despite those differences, most debate over German economic policy during the Obama administration was cloaked in diplomatic language; Mr Navarro’s comments highlight a growing willingness by the Trump administration to antagonise EU leaders and particularly the German chancellor.
Besides publicly supporting the British government in its negotiations with the EU over the terms of its exit, Mr Trump called the EU a vehicle for Germany, and Nato an obsolete alliance.
Mr Navarro’s intervention follows a visit to Washington last week by Theresa May, the British prime minister, in which she and Mr Trump discussed ways to launch negotiations for a US-UK trade deal. Mr Navarro said the Brexit vote marked the death knell of a US-EU deal; Britain had been one of the pact’s leading advocates.
“Brexit killed TTIP on both sides of the Atlantic even before the election of Donald Trump. I personally view TTIP as a multilateral deal with many countries under one ‘roof’,” Mr Navarro wrote in emailed responses to FT questions.
Although criticisms of German economic policy have been a staple of Group of 20 gathering since the height of the eurozone crisis, the view Berlin is intentionally advocating a weak euro to its own economic benefit is not widely shared.
The euro has weakened against the dollar over the past two years as the paths of the central banks of the two currency zones have split. The European Central Bank’s mass bond-buying programme has weakened the single currency, while rate hikes by the US Fed has strengthened the dollar.
But Berlin has been a leading critic of the ECB’s strategy. The Bundesbank has called for an end to bond buying, while lawmakers have pushed for higher rates — both measures which would strengthen the euro.
Mr Navarro said one of the administration’s trade priorities was unwinding and repatriating the international supply chains on which many US multinational companies rely, taking aim at one of the pillars of the modern global economy.
“It does the American economy no long-term good to only keep the big box factories where we are now assembling ‘American’ products that are composed primarily of foreign components,” he said. “We need to manufacture those components in a robust domestic supply chain that will spur job and wage growth.”
Mr Navarro, who served as an adviser to the Trump campaign, all but endorsed an import tax plan pushed by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives that has split the US business community. The proposal would eliminate companies’ ability to deduct import costs from their taxable revenues while making any export revenues tax-free. It drew attention last week when the White House pointed to it as one way in which it could pay for a wall on the Mexican border.
Exporters such as General Electric have hailed the switch to a “border adjustable” system as putting them on an equal footing with international competitors that are able to claim value added tax refunds on their exports. Retailers such as Walmart and other import-dependent businesses, however, say that what would amount to 20 per cent tax on imports would raise consumer prices and hurt their businesses.
“The unequal treatment of the US income tax system under biased WTO [World Trade Organisation] rules is a grossly unfair subsidy to foreigners exporting to the US and a backdoor tariff on American exports to the world that kills American jobs and drives American factories offshore,” Mr Navarro said. “President Trump promised during the campaign he would put an end to this unfair treatment of our income tax, and the House border adjustable proposal offers one possible option among several.”
Mr Navarro rejected the argument that US consumers would end up paying the cost of such a tax change. That was “an old and tired argument the globalist wing of the offshoring lobby has used for years to put Americans out of work and depress wages by shipping our jobs offshore”.
“We prefer paychecks to welfare checks for the American people and a robust middle class with rising wages,” he said.
Proponents argue that at least some of the impact on consumers would be absorbed by a one-time appreciation in the dollar. That in turn, they concede, could also impact on US export competitiveness and lead to a widening of the US trade deficit with the world, which the Trump administration has vowed to reduce.
Mr Navarro, however, said he was not concerned about the possibility of a stronger dollar and its impact on US exports.
“I worry about the actual impact America’s trade deficit in goods is having on our rates of economic growth and income growth.”

(TechCrunch) Instagram Stories is stealing Snapchat’s users

Instagram Stories is stealing Snapchat’s users



Good enough and convenient. That’s proved a winning strategy for Instagram’s clone, according to a dozen analytics providers, social media celebrities, and talent managers who told TechCrunch they’ve seen a decline in Snapchat Stories usage since Instagram Stories launched on August 2nd.

Most reported declines in Snapchat Stories view counts ranging from 15 to 40 percent, and a reduction in how often they or those they monitor post to Snapchat Stories. Meanwhile, our sources report rapidly growing view counts on Instagram Stories, and engagement-to-follower rates one social influencer talent agent called “Insanely f*cking high”.
The success of Instagram Stories, the decline in Snapchat usage we’ve heard from a wide array of sources, and Facebook’s relentless drive to compete with the startup could spell trouble for Snapchat’s IPO on the NYSE market that’s expected in March. Snap Inc declined to comment for this story.
Here’s how the social media content industry sees the impact of Instagram Stories on Snapchat.

Instagram Vs Snapchat

“Everyone is posting way less. Some are not posting at all anymore” on Snapchat, says the CEO of a social content production studio about the dozen social media stars they represent.
Several sources refused to be named in print for fear of retaliation from Snapchat or because they weren’t authorized to disclose client data. But across the social content production firm’s stars, the CEO says there’s been an average decline in Snapchat Stories views of 20 to 30 percent from August until mid-January.
In the 25 weeks since launch, Instagram Stories has reached 150 million daily users. That’s the same number of users that Snapchat’s whole app reportedly hit around June 2016, after seeing swift growth from 110 million daily users in December 2015, Bloomberg reported. Snapchat hasn’t announced a higher number since, nor has one leaked, despite it trying to impress potential investors during its current pre-IPO roadshow.
Snapchat is expected to publicly file to IPO this week, and that might include some larger stats. But the consensus from our sources is that they’d be higher if not for Instagram Stories, and Snapchat’s long-term growth, especially internationally, will be hindered by the competition.
Analytics Provider Shows Widespread Snapchat Decline
“Overall, from August to November 2016, the average unique viewers per Snapchat Story has decreased about 40%” says Nick Cicero, CEO of creative studio and social video analytics platform Delmondo. His company analyzed 21,500 Snapchat Stories to discover the steep decline.
Delmondo saw roughly a 40 percent decline in unique viewers across 21,500 Snapchat Stories analyzed from July (100%), before Instagram launched Stories, through November. Graph updated with Y-axis.

Meanwhile, influencer marketing platform TheAmplify’s CEO Justin Rezvani says “On average our influencer community is seeing 28 percent higher open rate on Instagram than Snapchat”, referring to view count.
As for downloads, App Annie shows Snapchat saw a big drop right when Instagram Stories launched at the beginning of August. It fell to its lowest ranking all year, #11, after hovering in the top 3 for the first half of 2016. It’s unclear why it bounced back at the end of October, but it’s begun to slip again. [Update: Instagram experienced a dip in August download ranks too, which we’re investigating.]
App Annie shows a steep decline in downloads for Snapchat when Instagram Stories launched at the start of August
Removing Auto-Advance Added Friction To Snapchat
Without Auto-Advance, you have to manually select Snapchat Stories to watch in a Story Playlist
One thing that’s important to know as we review these reports is that Snapchat removed its Auto-Advance feature on October 7th, so users could no longer instantly watch every Story in their list in a row. Instead they had to manually select Stories to load as an ad hoc Story Playlist (pictured here), though there’s a little-known way to select all Stories with by tapping the triangular dot button.
This change should have directly caused some drop in views since Snapchat users aren’t being shown Stories they’re less interested in, which they might have fast-forwarded through while still triggering view counts. Snapchat marketing and analytics company Mish Guru’s CEO Thomas Harding says that in October when Snapchat removed Auto-Advance, a selection of its client accounts that have been posting consistently saw an immediate 9.64% drop in views.
You could argue that the remaining views are more intentional and therefore more valuable. But the change also made it less convenient to lean back and watch a day’s worth of Snapchat the way you used to on Snapchat and can on Instagram thanks to its Auto-Advance feature. And several sources think that’s leading some users to open Snapchat less overall.
Stars See Snapchat Views Down 15 to 30 Percent
Social talent agent Charlie Buffin who represents some former Vine stars says one of his top creators was averaging 330,000 views per day on Snapchat in late 2015 until June 2016. But by December, they were receiving 205,000 to 250,000 views per day.
“It is clear to us that regular users’ Snapchat usage/engagement have gone down significantly since the release of Instagram Stories” writes Buffin. He also noted that “Snapchat removing the Auto-Advance feature has affected the natural ‘binge-watching experience’ for consumers, which is really cutting into views for creators.” But Snap Inc doesn’t seem to care. “Snapchat has always remained distant from its creator community, which is not a strong move for the company” Buffin concluded.
Snapchat shows ads between people in your Stories Playlist, so its revenue for this ad product depends on large numbers of viewers

One star, Hannah Stocking, saw her Snapchat Stories views fall from 150,000 on August 16th to 90,000 on January 17th. That’s despite massive growth on other platforms like YouTube, and Instagram where she rose from 1.2 million to 4.3 million followers in the same time frame. “Her Instagram Story numbers are growing faster than anything right now” says John Shahidi, founder Shots Studios, the Justin Bieber-backed selfie app and video creation startup that represents Stocking.
Media marketing and business development agency Fighter Interactive’s CEO Kwasi Asare tells me “Snapchat opens have gone down a minimum of 15 percent for some big social media stars.” He sees the removal of Auto-Advance as mistake, saying “Snapchat messed up by letting people choose whose stories they view individually. Instagram has more of a flow where it allows you to watch the stories of everyone you’re following.

Asare also believes Instagram’s clone has quickly risen to equal status with teens, noting that “Most kids are starting to post on Instagram or Snapchat, and then post on the one they didn’t post on first.”
Influencers Crave Instagram’s Reach
Social talent media company Galore’s CEO Mike Albanese says “Influencers that were late to build an audience on Snapchat pretty much abandoned the platform because it was so much easier for them to reach more people through their existing audience on Instagram Stories.”
Snapchat doesn’t have an Explore tab to promote social stars the way Instagram does here
That said, he was the only source we asked who said that they’d seen growth in Snapchat views, though that was for “top Snapchat influencers” like models Val Mercado and Sahara Ray, and actress Ava Allen who he says pour a ton of effort into Snapchat and heavily promote their account through their other social presences. But he believes “there are less Snapchat Stories being published on a daily basis overall versus August of last year.”
A leading social media talent company’s co-founder tells me that amongst the stars they work with, “Almost all of them are down about 20 to 25 percent on Snapchat” since August.” One of their creators was seeing 75,000 opens per Story in August, and only 50,000 now. Another went from 50,000 to 30,000. Meanwhile, the stars are seeing 6 to 10 percent of their Instagram followers opening their Instagram Stories each day, which the co-founder called “really f*cking high”.
“Marketers are dedicating more resources to Instagram because you can’t grow on Snapchat. Now there’s a lot of campaigns we don’t even need to do on Snapchat.”, they say. “The only way to grow is from [cross-promoting on] YouTube or Instagram. Snapchat is making some of the same mistakes as Vine. They aren’t embracing creators. They want to be private messaging.” In contrast, Instagram promotes social media stars and helps them grow their Stories views by featuring them on its Explore tab that Snapchat lacks.
Then they gave perhaps the most damning quote we heard. “Everyone has forgotten that Instagram Stories is a Snapchat clone.”
Raining on Snapchat’s IPO Parade

These industry reports build on a mountain of anecdotal evidence about Instagram stealing Snapchat users that I’ve heard online and from my network, and seen in my own usage and view counts.
It seems Facebook has finally found way to challenge Snapchat after multiple failed attempts since it turned down the social giant’s first acquisition offer in 2012. Poke, Slingshot, Bolt, and Flash all flopped as standalone apps, while baking Snapchat’s best features deep inside Facebook seemed to have little effect.
But by putting a Snapchat clone front and center atop Instagram’s feed, the Facebook family of apps discovered a way to make its version more convenient to use than the original. And emboldened by Instagram’s success, now Facebook is testing similarly designed Snapchat clones in its main app as Facebook Stories, and its chat apps as Messenger Day and WhatsApp Status.
Snapchat lovers are exporting and syndicating their Stories to Instagram for extra reach. Those who’d only recently gotten into posting Snapchat Stories are finding it easier to watch and share on Instagram where they already spend time and have built a social graph. And people who’d never tried Snapchat but were intrigued by Stories are finding Instagram is good enough that there’s no need to sign-up for Snapchat.
It’s that last one that might be most threatening to Snap Inc’s IPO. We’re already seeing how Instagram is eating up Snapchat usage, reducing the Stories views it depends on to drive ad revenue. Yet what matters to Wall Street is growth potential. Ad-driven social networks need massive scale, which usually comes from international domination.
That can’t happen if Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp deliver the Stories feature to foreign countries where Snapchat hasn’t gained traction already. Around 80 percent of Instagram’s 600 million monthly users are international. And if Instagram Stories continues on this trajectory, it could prove bigger than the app it copied.
As I wrote a week after the launch, Instagram Stories castrated Snapchat, even if it can’t kill it. Snapchat will continue to have a lively user base, though Instagram may inhibit its continued expansion.
Snap Inc tries to reposition as “a camera company” with a Spectacles pop-up store in NYC

Reports from social media celebrity managers and analytics companies that work with big accounts may present a more dire outlook than what’s going on with average teens on Snapchat. Kids under 25 in the US who are completely immersed in Snapchat might not stray. But Instagram may be convincing the 25 to 35-year olds who came of age on its app to stick around, while it’s swooping on international teens before Snapchat gets popular in their market. Plus, vanity dictates that people will share where they get the most views, and many people have spent years longer building their Instagram audience.
Going Public With A Different Story
With its future in broadcast social media under fire, Snap Inc may need to tell a different story for its IPO. At the least, it might have to concentrate on touting its average revenue per user rather than its scale.
It has spent the past quarter repositioning itself as “a camera company” that makes hardware like its Spectacles camera-sunglasses. It’s also tried to double-down on the app’s first feature, disappearing private messaging, by adding a groups feature and improved navigation. But scrounging together hardware profits and monetizing chat directly can be quite challenging.
In six months, the game has changed for Snapchat, and not in its favor. Once the undisputed king of cool amongst Western teenagers with the potential to disrupt the world’s biggest social network, it’s now in danger of becoming just one of several popular apps for ephemeral storytelling.

Reuters - Warren Buffett: I bought $12 billion of stock after Trump won

The failure of Warren Buffett's favored candidate to capture the White House has not dimmed the billionaire's appetite for stocks.

Buffett revealed that he has bought $12 billion of stock for his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) since the Republican Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.

In an interview with talk show host Charlie Rose that aired on Friday night, Buffett suggested that Berkshire's post-election stock purchases overall were even higher, reflecting stocks that his deputies Todd Combs and Ted Weschler bought.

"We've, net, bought $12 billion of common stocks since the election," Buffett said. "The guys that work with me, the two fellows, they probably bought a little bit or sold a little bit too."


Editor's pick: Kelly: "This is not a ban on Muslims"

The speed with which Berkshire is buying stocks is unusual. It has spent in fewer than three months roughly half what it spent on equities in the three years ending Sept. 30, 2016.

Buffett demurred on whether Berkshire has added to its stakes in the four largest U.S. airlines: American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O), Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N), Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) and United Continental Holdings Inc (UAL.N).

Berkshire revealed those stakes in mid-November, surprising many given Buffett's long aversion to the sector.

Asked why Berkshire dove in, Buffett said: "It was in large part my decision."

>>> What to look at today - 1st of February 2017

Dow -0.54% S&P -0.09% Nasdaq +0.02% Russell +0.70%
US market closed mix with big cap lower & tech higher. The health care sector assumed a leadership position in today's market, underpinned by the outperformance of the drug and biotech stocks. Those issues rallied on the other side of a meeting President Trump had with industry executives. While the president pressed his case for lowering drug prices, market participants were heartened by his added belief that regulations should be reduced and that the drug approval process should be sped up. IBB +2.8%. WTI +0,3% at $52.81/bbl. countercyclical spaces and Treasuries thrived on wary investors' actions; all five defensive spaces finished higher while the benchmark 10-yr yield closed five basis points lower at 2.44%. The utilities sector (+1.6%) was the day's top performer, while telecom services (+0.1%) eked out a small gain. US After Hours AAPL +3%, AMD +3%, ALGN +2.5% on earnings/guidance, Apple suppliers/tech names higher... MANH -2.5%, ILMN -1.5% following earnings/guidance. Asian indices are cautiously higher as US immigration policy-driven selling subsides, even though the focus on Washington remains close after today's volatility in FX markets following claims by Trump's advisor that Germany benefits from undervalued Euro. PMI data across Asia-Pacific have been mixed - China's manufacturing remained in expansion but slid to a 3-month low, as closely watched Input Price component fell to 64.5 from 69.6. Conversely, New Export Orders rose to 50.3 v 50.1 m/m and Employment rose to 49.2 v 48.9 m/m. Separately, Japan's manuf PMI was confirmed at the highest level in nearly 3 years, while Korea's PMI continued to retreat with 6th straight month of contraction.

Nikkei +0.56% Hang Seng -0.58% CSI Closed Shanghai +0.31%

Eur$ 1.0778 CNH 6.8366 CNY 6.8840 JPY 113.31 GBP 1.2555 CHF 0.9912 RUB 60.2754 WTI$ 52.74 -0.13%

S&P +0.26% EuroStoxx +0.62% Dax +0.55% SMI +0.54% FTSE +0.41%

Macro :
- Yellen Urged to Halt Talks on Global Bank Rules for Trump Review

Keep an eye on :
- ABI BB : AB InBev Investor Bevco Lux Buys Extra EU78.7m of Brewer’s Stock
- ATLN VX : J&J Says Uptravi News Was Publicly Known Before Deal Announced
- ALV GY : QBE Insurance could pursue divestitures rather than full company sale, could divest underperforming units
- SPR GY : General Atlantic Sells 1.84m Axel Springer Shares: Terms
- BBVA SM : BBVA 4Q Net EU678M, Exceeds EU520M Estimate
- EN FP : Bouygues, Cellnex Sign EU854M Agreement for 3,000 Phone Towers
- DAI GY : Daimler to operate self-driving cars on Uber’s network - TechCrunch - http://tcrn.ch/2kOQpii
- AM FP : Dassault Aviation Wants Worktime Cut; Weak Falcon Orders: Echos
- EDF FP : EDF to Cut More Jobs Than Planned to 2019, Le Figaro Says
- SFER IM : Ferragamo 2016 Sales EU1.44b; Est. EU1.42b --> Sales Update Positive, Beats in All Regions: MainFirst
- FGA FP : Figeac Aero 3Q Rev Climbs 35%, Boosted by Airbus A350 Program
- G IM : Generali May Name Goldman Sachs as Adviser: Repubblica
- GIVN VX : Givaudan interested in value-adding acquisitions - Finanz und Wirtschaft
- ITV LN : ITV Most Often Mentioned Target in 2017 Europe M&A Desk Survey
- KPN NA : KPN 4Q Adj. Ebitda Beats Ests., Revenue Matches Views
- LONN VX : Lonza Group Offering Revises Price Guidance to CHF172-174: Terms -->Lonza Shares Placed at CHF173/Share, Mid-Point of Revised Range
- MDT US : Medtronic Said to Prepare Sale of Medical-Supplies Business
- PSG SM : Prosegur 2016 Net Falls to EU134 Million
- ROG VX : Roche Said to Consider Options for Diabetes Unit Including Sale --> Roche Says It’s ‘Committed’ to Diabetes Care Unit
- SAN FP : Sanofi’s Xyzal Allergy 24hr Approved Over-the-Counter in US
- SAN FP : Regeneron, Sanofi Report Approval of Kevzara by Health Canada
- SDRL NO : Seadrill CEO Says Still Good Dialog in Restructuring Talks: DN
- SIE GY : Siemens 1Q Sales Miss, Industrial Business Profit Beats Ests, Siemens Raises Earnings Outlook for FY 2017, Margin Outcome Better Than Expected, Morgan Stanley Says
- TRELB SS : Trelleborg 4Q Sales Miss Est.; Sees Slightly Improved Demand
- SIE GY : Siemens Proposes Snabe as Cromme Successor at Supervisory Board
- UA US : Under Armour May Trade as Low as $8 in Bear-Case Scenario: Cowen
- VOLVB SS : Volvo 4Q Net Sales Beat Highest Est.; Truck Orders Up 10%
- VOLVB SS : Volvo Says Europe Truck Demand Remains at High Levels
- WCH GY : Wacker Chemie Raises 4Q Sales, Ebitda as Silicon Volumes Grow
- ZPLA LN : Zoopla to Buy Hometrack for GBP120m; Will Sell Shares

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 1st of February 201

>>> Up
*Alfa Laval Raised to Neutral at Citi, PT SEK165
*Alfa Laval Raised to Hold at DNB Markets, PT SEK165
*Alfa Laval Raised to Reduce at AlphaValue
*Barry Callebaut Raised to Hold at Berenberg, PT CHF1150
*DIA Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley, PT EU5.50
*Ferrexpo Raised to Hold at Eavex Capital, PT GBP1.50
*H&M Raised to Neutral at Macquarie
*Heidelberger Druck Raised to Buy at LBBW, PT EU2.90
*Novozymes Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse, PT DKK300
*Red Electrica Raised to Buy at BPI, PT EU19.15
*Swatch Raised to Neutral at Macquarie
*Vestas Raised to Overweight at Barclays

>>> Down
*Close Brothers Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays, PT GBP14.30
*CRH Cut to Underweight at Morgan Stanley
*Deutz Cut to Hold at HSBC, PT EU6.50
*DIS IM Cut to Reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux
*Metro Cut to Hold at Jefferies, PT EU33
*PCAS Cut to Reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux, PT EU12.50
*Sulzer Cut to Reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux, PT CHF100
*UBS Cut to Hold at LBBW, PT CHF15.50
*Valmet Cut to Hold at DNB Markets, PT EU15

>>> PT Change


>>> Initiation
*Fonciere des Regions Reinstated Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
*HeidelbergCement Resumed Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
*TechnipFMC Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays, PT EU35

>>> Call
>> Stock
*LAFARGEHOLCIM ADDED TO HSBC EUROPE SUPER 10; WARTSILA EXITS
*SALESFORCE.COM EXITS CONVICTION LIST AT GOLDMAN; STILL BUY

>>> Asian Update

Asia Mid-Session Market Update: China manufacturing PMI still expanding but at 3-month low; NZ unemployment rises as participation rate hits record high

***US Session Highlights***
- (US) Presidential trade adviser Navarro: Germany is benefiting from grossly undervalued euro - financial press
- German Chancellor Merkel: Do not want to influence Euro exchange rate; has always called upon ECB to have independent policy
- (US) Q4 EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX (ECI): 0.5% V 0.6%E
- (US) NOV S&P/CASE-SHILLER 20-CITY M/M: 0.88% V 0.65%E; Y/Y: 5.27% V 5.03%E; HOUSE PRICE INDEX (HPI): 192.14 V 191.77 PRIOR
- (US) President Trump: On Medicare and Medicaid, we need prices way down; prices have been astronomical - meeting with industry executives
- (US) JAN CHICAGO PURCHASING MANAGER: 50.3 V 55.0E (lowest since May 2016); new orders 49.1 v 56.5
- (US) JAN CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 111.8 V 112.8E; 1-year consumer inflation expectation: 4.9% v 4.5% in Dec

***US markets on close: Dow -0.5%, S&P500 -0.1%, Nasdaq flat***
- Best Sector in S&P500: Utilities
- Worst Sector in S&P500: Industrials
- Biggest gainers: TMO +6.4%, MNK +4.9%, MYL +4.7%, DHR +4.4%, ABC +4.4%
- Biggest losers: UA -23.4%, UPS -6.8%, VLO -3.6%, PNR -3.5%, NUE -3.3%
- At the close: VIX 12.0 (+0.1pts); Treasuries: 2-yr 1.22% (+2bps), 10-yr 2.45% (-3bps), 30-yr 3.05% (-3bps)

***US movers afterhours***
- AMD: Reports Q4 -$0.01 v -$0.02e, R$1.11B v $1.07Be; Guides initial FY17 Rev " to grow" % y/y, GM to "increase"; +3.6% afterhours
- AAPL: Reports Q1 $3.36 v $3.22e, R$78.4B v $77Be; iPhone shipments 78.3M v 74.8M y/y (v 77Me); +3.0% afterhours
- CB: Reports Q4 $2.72 v $2.43e, Net premiums written $6.94B v $7.21B y/y; +1.1% afterhours
- EA: Reports Q3 $0.00 v -$0.14 y/y, net Rev $1.15B v $1.07B y/y; -1.1% afterhours
- X: Reports Q4 $0.27 (ex $0.88 in charges, unclear if comp) v $0.01e, R$2.65B v $2.67Be; guides initial FY17 adjusted EBITDA $1.3B v $510M y/y; -0.6% afterhours
- ILMN: Reports Q4 $0.85 v $0.81e, R$619M v $614Me; -1.5% afterhours

***Asia Key economic data:***
- (CN) CHINA JAN MANUFACTURING PMI (GOVT OFFICIAL): 51.3 (6th consecutive month of expansion, 3-month low) V 51.2E; Non-manufacturing PMI: 54.6 v 54.5 prior
- (JP) JAPAN JAN FINAL PMI MANUFACTURING: 52.7 V 52.8 PRELIM (5th month of expansion, confirms highest level since Mar 2014)
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JAN AIG MANUFACTURING INDEX: 51.2 V 55.4 PRIOR (4th straight month of expansion, 3-month low)
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JAN CORELOGIC RPDATA HOUSE PRICES M/M: 0.7% V 1.4% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.2% (3-quarter high) V 4.8%E; EMPLOYMENT CHANGE Q/Q: 0.8% (5-quarter low) V 0.7%E; Y/Y: 5.8% V 6.1%E;
Participation rate 70.5% v 70.2%e (record high)
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN PMI MANUFACTURING: 49.0 V 49.4 PRIOR (6th consecutive contraction)
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN TRADE BALANCE: $3.2B V $5.3BE; Exports Y/Y: 11.2% v 9.0%e; Imports Y/Y: 18.6% v 10.1%e

***Asia Session Notable Observations, Speakers and Press***
- Asian indices are cautiously higher as US immigration policy-driven selling subsides, even though the focus on Washington remains close after today's volatility in FX markets following claims by Trump's advisor that Germany benefits from undervalued Euro. Germany's Merkel defended EMU's monetary policy and Germany's independence from the ECB, while Japanese officials also stepped up their defensive rhetoric against claims that Japan is manipulating FX. Separately from the currency markets, Trump has nominated Colorado's Neil Gorsuch (age 49) for US Supreme Court seat, as speculated earlier.
- PMI data across Asia-Pacific have been mixed - China's manufacturing remained in expansion but slid to a 3-month low, as closely watched Input Price component fell to 64.5 from 69.6. Conversely, New Export Orders rose to 50.3 v 50.1 m/m and Employment rose to 49.2 v 48.9 m/m. Separately, Japan's manuf PMI was confirmed at the highest level in nearly 3 years, while Korea's PMI continued to retreat with 6th straight month of contraction.
- NZD was volatile earlier in the session as Q4 unemployment rate rose to a 3-quarter high, however economists were quick to point out that the jump was cushioned by participation rate hitting a record high thanks to strong arrivals.

China
- (CN) China State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC): Debt risks of SOEs are controllable - China Daily
- (CN) China Stats Bureau: Coal production in 2016 fell 9.4% y/y to 3.36B tons - China Daily

Japan:
- (JP) Japan PM Abe: Will tell Trump, Japan will contribute to US jobs and infrastructure
- (JP) Japan PM Abe adviser Hamada: Trump's one sided arguments on border tax and currencies are destructive to Japan and world economy
- (JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Suga: Not setting exchange rate target, follows G7 on policy; watching fx closely with a sense of urgency
- (JP) Japan Vice Fin Min of International Affairs (currency chief) Asakawa: Japan's monetary policy is aimed at beating deflation, not FX market - press
- (JP) Former BOJ exec Momma: BoJ's next move will likely be to raise 10-yr bond yield target, could start discussions within BOJ on this later this year

Australia/New Zealand:
- (AU) Morgan Stanley economist: Australia consumer companies to face more pressure in 2017 "as leading housing indicators soften, the savings rate is lower YoY and income growth remains weak" - press
- (NZ) Citigroup: Latest employment data show labor demand and supply are containing wage growth; Gives RBNZ some time before considering rate hike - press
- (NZ) New Zealand PM English calls for Sept 23 national elections - press

***Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:00ET)***
- Nikkei +0.6%, Hang Seng -0.7%, Shanghai Composite closed, ASX200 +0.5%, Kospi +0.5%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq +0.4%; Dax flat%; FTSE100 +0.1%

***FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:00ET)***
- EUR 1.0785-1.0805; JPY 112.65-113.25; AUD 0.7550-0.7585; NZD 0.7260-0.7340
- Apr Gold -0.1% at $1,211/oz; Mar Crude Oil -0.2% at $52.73/brl; Mar Copper -0.2% at $2.72/lb
- (US) Weekly API Oil Inventories: Crude: +5.8M v +2.9M prior; Biggest build since Nov 1st
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$800M in 2.75% 2027 Bonds; avg yield: 2.7841%; bid-to-cover: 3.24x

***Asia equities / Notables / movers by sector***
- Consumer discretionary: FXJ.AU Fairfax Media +6.1% (buyer interest report); 028150.KR GS Home Shopping +4.2%; 7419.JP Nojima Corp +9.7% (9-month result); 2802.JP Ajinomoto Co +3.2% (9-month result); ANN.AU Ansell -5.6% (JPMorgan cuts rating); SEA.AU Sundance Energy Australia -20.0% (guidance)
- Financials: CYB.AU CYBG -3.1% (Q1 trading update); OFX.AU OzForex Group -24.9% (guidance; CEO resigns); 8411.JP Mizuho Financial Group -1.1% (9-month result)
- Industrials: GUD.AU GUD Holdings +4.0% (H1 result); 5411.JP JFE Holdings +4.3% (9-month result); 5333.JP NGK Insulators +5.2% (9-month result); 7211.JP Mitsubishi Motors +12.7% (9-month result); 1911.JP Sumitomo Forestry +5.6% (raises guidance)
- Technology: 7974.JP Nintendo Co. -3.0% (guidance); 6502.JP Toshiba Corporation +0.8% (press speculates about exit nuclear construction); 6967.JP Shinko Electric Industries -17.5% (9-month result); YPB.AU YPB Group Ltd -13.6% (Q4 result); GBT.AU GBST Holdings -16.9% (guidance); 4902.JP Konica Minolta -8.5% (9-month result)
- Materials: 6988.JP Nitto Denko Corp +5.7% (9-month result); 581.HK China Oriental Group +51.7%; 5471.JP Daido Steel Co +12.9% (9-month result); ILU.AU Iluka -4.8% (JPMorgan cuts rating)
- Energy: 639.HK Shougang Fushan Resources Group -2.0%; SXY.AU Senex Energy +6.1% (affirms capital raising); 9532.JP Osaka Gas +2.9% (9-month result); 9506.JP Tohoku Electric +3.0% (9-month result); 9503.JP Kansai Electric Power +2.1% (9-month result)
- Healthcare: SRX.AU Sirtex Medical -1.0% (received draft claim alleging it misled market); 7459.JP Mediceo Paltac Holdings -0.9% (9-month result)
- Utilities: 9501.JPTokyo Electric Power Co +1.6% (9-month result)