>>> What to look at today - 16th of March 2017

Dow +0.54% S&P +0.84% Nasdaq +0.74% Russell +1,50%
US Market closed higher after FOMC decision. As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise the fed funds target range by 25 basis points to 0.75%-1.00%, the Fed still believes that three rate hikes are appropriate for 2017, relieving investors' fears that the central bank could begin setting the groundwork for a fourth hike. Crude oil set today's bullish tone in pre-market action after the API reported encouraging inventory data on Tuesday evening. The EIA validated those positive numbers this morning, showing a draw of 200,000 barrels (+3.7 million barrels consensus). The reading prompted WTI crude to finish the day 2.1% higher at $48.71/bbl. energy sector (+2.1%), rate-sensitive utilities (+1.6%) and real estate (+1.9%). US After Hours GPRO +12%, ORCL+3%, rise on upbeat guidance; Guess (GES) -12% on light Q4 and underwhelming guidance. In Asia, New Zealand Q4 GDP missed expectations, as consumption and capital formation growth slowed markedly from Q3, Australia's employment figures fared poorly, with the first negative print in 5-months. PBOC also eased off the monetary accommodation in the wake of the Fed decision, raising rates on its reverse repo operations by 10bps. China central bank said the steps do not represent a shift in policy, but rather reflect changes in markets, firmer domestic economy, and strong credit expansion. PBoC also strengthened Yuan in its daily fix by the biggest margin since mid-January.

Nikkei +0.07% Hang Seng +1.48% CSI +0.31% Shanghai +0.70%

Eur$ 1.0734 CNH 6.8644 CNY 6.8905 JPY 113.28 GBP 1.2276 CHF 0.9990 RUB 58.4810 WTI$ 49.13 +0.55%

S&P +0.21% EuroStoxx +0.70% Dax +0.60% SMI +0.32% FTSE +0.58%

Macro :
- Yellen: There’s Some Scope for Wages to Increase Further
- VIX Three-Way Spread Trade Is Bullish on Volatility
- Banks Drop As Fed Maintains Hike Forecasts for 2017, 2018
- Fed Fund Futures Pricing Only One More Rate Hike, Sept. 2017
- Trump to Propose Spinning Off U.S. Air-Traffic Control from FAA

Keep an eye on :
- AIR FP : Boeing Gets $3.28b Modification to Saudi Arabia Contract
- AZA IM : Alitalia Plans to Return to Profit by End 2019 in New Plan
- ATC NA : Altice Refinances $4.3b of Debt to Extend Maturity, Cut Costs
- BOI FP : Boiron FY Net Climbs 5.1%; Co. Cautious About 2017 Sales Outlook
- BMPS IM : Monte Dei Paschi Says It Issued State-Guaranteed Bond for EU4b
- GOOS CN : Canada Goose IPO Prices 20m Shares at C$17: IPO Boutique
- COH US : Coach Call Volume Highest Since January
- CDA FP : Cie Des Alpes CEO Marcel Sees Real Rebound in Tourist Business
- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank Said to Weigh Sale of Indian Retail Business
- DEZ GY : Deutz FY Rev. Matches Est.
- EDF FP : EDF Tries New Fixes to Restart 4 Nuclear Reactors: Reuters
- FCA IM : Fiat Chrysler CEO Says ‘Zero Interest’ in Volkswagen Deal: Rtrs
- FUR NA : Kiltearn Partners Reports Higher Fugro Stake of 10.25%: Filing
- G IM : Generali 2016 Net +2.5%, COR 92.5%; Accelerates on Cost Cuts
- GWI1 GY : Gerry Weber 1Q Rev. EU209.2m
- HEI GY : HeidelbergCement Sees Growth in FY17 on U.S, Canada, Europe
- ISN SW : Intershop Looking for a Buyer, CEO Wiechen Tells Boersen-Zeitung
- ISP IM :Intesa Raised EU100m in Sale of PIR Products Since Feb 27
- SDF GY : K+S FY EBIT I EU229m, Rev. EU3.5b Cuts Dividend to EU0.30
- KORI FP : Korian FY Ebitda Jumps 24%; Co. Sees 2017 Ebitda Margin Stable
- LDO IM : Leonardo CEO Says He Should Be Reappointed Based on Co. Results, Leonardo offers first dividend for 6 years
- LHA GY : Lufthansa 2016 Adj. Ebit Falls 3.6% to EU1.75b on Strike Costs
- M US : Starboard Value Said to Sell Its Stake in Macy’s: Reuters
- EGL PL : Mota-Engil Says Full-Year 2016 Sales Fall 9% Y/y to EU2.2b
- RNO FP : Renault Reiterates Earlier Comments on Emission Probe
- RNO FP : Nissan Falls Most in Four Months After Renault Emission Report --> Nissan (7201) -1.73%
- SHP LN : Shire Gets European Approval for Label Extension of Cinryze
- UHR VX : Swatch Says First Months of 2017 are Encouraging, Cuts CEO Pay, Sees ‘Healthy Growth’ in U.S., European Markets in 2017
- TSLA US : Tesla to Offer $250m Shares, $750m Convertible Notes --> Raised to $1.15bil pricing on the 16th
- VOD LN : Vodafone, Liberty Global Said Not in Active Talks, FT Says

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 16th of March 2017

>>> Up
*Air France-KLM Raised to Buy at AlphaValue
*Cape Raised to Outperform at Macquarie, PT 240p
*DBV Tech Raised to Buy at SocGen, PT EU82
*Intertek Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank, PT 4150p
*KAZ Minerals Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan, PT 580p
*Maire Tecnimont Raised to Overweight at Barclays
*Norsk Hydro Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan, PT NOK58

>>> Down
*Boliden Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan, PT SEK285
*BowLeven Cut to Underweight at Barclays
*Geberit Cut to Hold at SocGen, PT CHF473
*GN Cut to Sell at DNB Markets, PT DKK160
*Hikma Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan, PT 2400p
*Merlin Cut to Sell at Berenberg, PT 375p
*Royal Unibrew Cut to Hold at ABG Sundal, PT DKK315

>>> Initiation
*Adler Real Estate Rated New Buy at Bankhaus Lampe, PT EU16.50
*Low & Bonar Rated New Buy at Berenberg, PT 112p
*Management Consulting Group Resumed Hold at Peel Hunt, PT 8p
*Nordic Nanovector Rated New Buy at Jefferies, PT NOK125
*Premier Oil Rated New Buy at Peel Hunt, PT 90p

>>> Call

FT : UK builders' suppliers cautiously upbeat as demand returns

UK builders' suppliers cautiously upbeat as demand returns

Groups boosted by improved housing activity and mild winter

UK builders' merchants and suppliers are sounding notes of cautious optimism, as they benefit from pent up post-recession demand for housing and a mild winter helping British construction.

Two companies have in the past week reported profit growth, driven by a pick-up in activity towards the end of 2016.

Paving and concrete maker Marshalls said on Wednesday that pre-tax profits rose by 31 per cent to £46m last year.

Sales to UK households were particularly strong, which Martyn Coffey, Marshalls’ chief executive, attributed to property owners investing in their homes with funds they can now access through pension equity release.

Despite the Brexit related uncertainty, Mr Coffey said the company had seen “no change” in the daily rate of orders it received — although he added the second half of 2016 had improved on the first.

The company said sales and orders had been “strong in the first couple of months of 2017”.

Analysts at Panmure Gordon and Canaccord Genuity said they were raising estimates for Marshalls’ 2017 full-year earnings to £49m.

Home improvement also boosted Grafton, a builders’ merchant and DIY purveyor. The £1.5bn market capitalisation group last week reported adjusted profit before tax — before one-off acquisition and other costs — up 14 per cent to £136.2m for 2016.

Grafton said the final months of 2016 were strong, although the second and third quarters were weaker amid “subdued activity in the housing market”.

The group said its Selco brand, which sells to builders, was boosted by residential demand for repair and maintenance services. It opened seven UK Selco branches last year and plans to open 10 more in 2017.

John Newcomb, managing director of the Builders Merchants Federation, said the merchants sector “had a reasonably good year, with growth anywhere between 5 and 6 per cent”. He cited clement weather conditions and pent up demand for housing from previous years.

Members of the federation had positive expectations for the first quarter of 2017, with 41 per cent of general merchants saying they anticipated more than 5 per cent sales growth.

Mr Newcomb added that 2017 had started well — although Brexit is “a bit of a sword of Damocles hanging over us”.

Repair and maintenance revenues are closely linked to house purchases, as homeowners do up new properties or refresh them for the market. The Office for National Statistics reported that UK housing transactions hit a 10-year high in March 2016.

However a fiercely competitive plumbing and heating sector challenged companies last year, with Grafton closing 47 branches across its UK plumbing and heating contracts businesses, incurring a £19.7m exceptional charge

Travis Perkins, which fell out of the FTSE 100 in December and this month reported that 2016’s pre-tax profit was down 0.3 per cent, had to restructure its plumbing and heating business after “unsatisfactory performance”.

It was not the only merchant wounded in 2016. Building supplies company SIG appointed Meinie Oldersma as its new chief executive on Tuesday, after a torrid year in which the company warned on profits and suffered a share price fall of almost a quarter.

FT : What you need to know after FOMC meeting

What you need to know after FOMC meeting

Dollar falls as Fed signals just 2 further increases likely in 2017

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https://www.ft.com/content/8f256ac6-09aa-11e7-ac5a-903b21361b43

Key points 
● Treasury yields have fallen, with the 10-year yield lower by 12 basis points to 2.48 per cent 
● Market expectations for at least four Federal Reserve rate increases this year dipped to less than one-in-five 
● US dollar falls. Dollar index down as much as 1 per cent while euro hits five-week high at $1.0745 
● Emerging market currencies rise, Mexican peso reaches best level since Trump was elected at 19.19 pesos 
● Asian equities struggle to match Wall Street rally. Gainers led by the energy sector 
● Wall Street rallied. The S&P 500 ended 0.8 per cent higher at 2,385 — just 0.4 per cent short of its record close 
● Commodities rally as focus turns to growth — copper, oil and gold all higher


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Financial markets reacted swiftly after the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday tightened policy and signalled just two further rate increases are likely for 2017.


When Fed doves raise rates


While the Fed quickened the pace of easing with a quarter-point just three months after the last one, it left its median forecasts for a total of three rate rises in 2017 unchanged.

Leading up to the meeting, a string of upbeat economic data and hawkish remarks from a handful of Fed speakers had prompted some to expect the Fed’s “dot plot” of interest-rate projections could be revised to reflect four rate rises in 2017, up from its previous estimates of three moves.

The median implies that rates will rise to 1.375 per cent by the end of this year, with a three-quarter percentage point increase to follow in 2018.

Here’s a look at the dot plot in March:

>>> Asian Update

Asia Mid-Session Market Update: BOJ maintains policy stance with more upbeat view of longer-run inflation; Australia employment, New Zealand GDP miss expectations

***US Session Highlights***
- (US) MAR EMPIRE MANUFACTURING: 16.4 V 15.0E; new orders 21.3 v 13.5 prior
- (US) FEB ADVANCE RETAIL SALES M/M: 0.1% V 0.1%E; RETAIL SALES EX AUTO M/M: 0.2% V 0.1%E; Control Group revised higher from 0.4% to 0.8%
- (US) FEB CPI M/M: 0.1% V 0.0%E; CPI EX FOOD AND ENERGY M/M: 0.2% V 0.2%E; CPI INDEX NSA: 243.603 V 243.416E
- (US) MAR NAHB HOUSING MARKET INDEX: 71 V 65E (highest since June 2005)
- (US) JAN BUSINESS INVENTORIES: 0.3% V 0.3%E
- (US) FOMC RAISES FED FUNDS TARGET RANGE 25BPS TO 0.75-1.00% (AS EXPECTED); ECONOMIC CONDITIONS WILL EVOLVE IN WAY THAT WARRANTS GRADUAL INCREASES

***US markets on close: Dow +0.5%, S&P500 +0.8%, Nasdaq +0.7%***
- Best Sector in S&P500: Energy
- Worst Sector in S&P500: Financials
- Biggest gainers: SWN +5.8%, NEM +5.3%, FCX +5.1%, HOG +4.7%, RIG +4.6%
- Biggest losers: M -2.0%, COF -2.0%, AZO -1.7%, ORLY -1.7%, DFS -1.6%
- At the close: VIX 11.6 (-0.7 pts); Treasuries: 2-yr 1.31% (-7bps), 10-yr 2.51% (-9bps), 30-yr 3.11% (-7bps)

***US movers afterhours***
- ALRM: Reports Q4 $0.19 adj v $0.13e, R$69.8M v $64.0Me; +9.0% afterhours
- GPRO: Affirms Q1 revs at upper end of $190-210M v $199Me; +8.8% afterhours
- FRSH: Reports Q4 $0.09 (*incl benefit) v $0.01e, R$35.5M v $39.2Me; Guides initial FY17 SSS flat to +2%; +8.7% afterhours
- ORCL: Reports Q3 $0.69 v $0.62e, R$9.21B v $9.24Be; Raises dividend 27% to $0.19/shr (implied yield 1.8%); +5.9% afterhours
- KCG: Confirmed that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Virtu Financial for $18.50-20.00/shr in cash; +4.7% afterhours
- WSM: Reports Q4 $1.55 v $1.50e, R$1.58B v $1.61Be; Increases dividend 5% to $0.39/shr (implied yield 3.2%); +3.4% afterhours
- TSLA: Announces offerings of $250M Common Stock (0.6% of market cap) and $750M Convertible Senior Notes (1.8% of market cap); CEO Musk to purchase $25M of common stock; +2.1% afterhours
- JBL: Reports Q2 $0.48 v $0.45e, R$4.45B v $4.36Be; -1.8% afterhours
- GES: Reports Q4 $0.41 v $0.45e, R$679M v $689Me; Guides Q1 -$0.33 to -$0.30 v +$0.16e; -12.5% afterhours

***Politics***
- (US) Hawaii judge blocks President Trump's second travel ban saying likely a violation of First Amendment protections
- (US) House Speaker Ryan: Working on improving and refining the Republican healthcare bill - press
- (US) Pres Trump's proposed budget plan said to cut EPA funds by 31% and State Dept by 28% - NY Times
- (US) Trump Administration say it plans to rescind the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Fracking rule on public lands with US Circuit Court of Appeals in 10th district - press
- (NL) Netherlands election results (1st exit poll): PM Rutte's VVD party wins the most seats with 31 out of 150 in the lower house; Wilders' PVV wins 19 seats - Ipsos

***Asia Key economic data:***
- (JP) BOJ LEAVES INTEREST RATE ON EXCESS RESERVES (IOER) UNCHANGED AT -0.10%; AS EXPECTED; Maintains 10-yr JGB yield target around 0%
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: -6.4K (first decline in 5 months) V +16.0KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.9% (13-month high) V 5.7%E
- (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 4.0% V 4.1% PRIOR (3-month low)
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 GDP Q/Q: 0.4% V 0.7%E; Y/Y: 2.7% V 3.2%E

***Asia Session Notable Observations, Speakers and Press***
- FOMC raised Fed Funds target range by 25bps as had been widely expected, but the outlook of the accompanying statement and Fed Chair Yellen press conference were perceived to be less hawkish. Median forecast for this year remained at 1.375%, implying 2 more hikes and reversing hints of markets anticipating a potential 4th hike. 2018 median forecast was also left unchanged with 3 more hikes, as the Fed judgednear-term outlook as "roughly balanced" and market-based inflation compensation remaining low. In the Q/A, Fed Chair Yellen said current policy setting is still below the current 'neutral' rate, but it's not that far below it.
- Bonds rallied on the statement, with benchmark 10-year falling to 1-week low around 2.5%. USD was also weaker across the board, particularly in USD/JPY as it fell as much as 140pips below 113.20. EUR/USD rose about 50pips above 1.0740, also helped by weaker showing for euroskeptic party in the Dutch elections, where PM Rutte's party took 31 seats vs populist Wilders' 19 seats.
- New Zealand Q4 GDP missed expectations, as consumption and capital formation growth slowed markedly from Q3 levels to 0.4% v 1.6% prior and 0.7% v 2.5% prior respectively. Analysts noted the undershoot in growth has pushed back OIS probability of the first RBNZ hike to early 2018 from late 2017. NZD/USD also fell some 40pips to $0.70 on the release.
- Australia's employment figures fared poorly, with the first negative print in 5-months. Unemployment also rose to reach 13-month highs as participation rate remained unchanged. Aussie 3-year bond yield was down a whopping 10bps in the wake of US bond rally and soft employment data, while AUD/USD pared its post-FOMC spike to 0.7720 to fall back to 0.7680.
- PBOC also eased off the monetary accommodation in the wake of the Fed decision, raising rates on its reverse repo operations by 10bps while also conducting 6-mo and 1-yr MLF operation at yields 10bps above prior. China central bank said the steps do not represent a shift in policy, but rather reflect changes in markets, firmer domestic economy, and strong credit expansion. PBoC also strengthened Yuan in its daily fix by the biggest margin since mid-January.
- Last risk event of the session - the BOJ decision - was perhaps the least volatile. Bank of Japan held its IOER rate at -0.1%, maintained the slope in the Yield Curve Control with 10-yr target of 0%, kepts its JGB buying target unchanged at about ¥80T per year, and maintained its overall assessment of economy continuing moderate recovery trend. The most notable changes was a downgrade to Housing investment component of its assessment (flat vs picking up) and a more hawkish view of medium-term inflation rising toward 2% as "output gap improves and inflation expectations rise." USD/JPY saw a brief ripple with a 15pip rise to 113.50 on the release but quickly erased those gains.

China
- (CN) China CBRC Chairman Guo Shuqing: China needs to crack down on debt evasion

Japan
- (JP) Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) sees FY17 Japan auto demand at 5M units, -0.8% y/y
- (JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Suga: To monitor interest rates in US after today's Fed decision; Rate hike is not bad for Japan and global economy
- (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: have to have free trade; will explain Abenomics 3 arrows at G20

Australia
- (AU) UBS: Australia bonds are attractive even if AAA rating is cut - press
- (NZ) Swaps markets have pushed back odd-on timeframe for RBNZ rate hike to Jan 2018 from Dec 2017 following lower than expected Q4 GDP - press

Korea
- (KR) South Korea Defense Ministry Official: THAAD system is for self defense only against threat from North Korea - press
- (KR) Bank of Korea (BOK) Will stabilize markets on excessive movements; closely monitoring financial market movement after the Fed
- (KR) South Korea vice Fin Min Choi: To continue to monitor markets; Prepared to take action to stabilize markets if needed - press

***Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:15ET)***
- Nikkei -0.2%, Hang Seng +1.3%, Shanghai Composite +0.7%, ASX200 +0.2%, Kospi +0.5%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.2%; Nasdaq +0.2%; Dax +0.6%; FTSE100 +0.2%

***FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:15ET)***
- EUR 1.0720-1.0745 JPY 113.15-113.55; AUD 0.7680-0.7715; NZD 0.6990-0.7045
- Apr Gold +2.0% at $1,225/oz; Apr Crude Oil +0.6% at $49.14/brl; May Copper +0.3% at $2.68/lb
- SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 4.4 tonnes to 839.4 tonnes; 3rd straight increase; highest since Mar 3rd
- (CN) PBoC conducts CNY303B 1-yr Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) at 3.2% (prior 3.1%)
- (CN) PBOC to inject combined CNY80B v CNY60B prior in 7,14, and 28-day reverse repos; raises all offer yields by 10bps
- (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN MID POINT AT 6.8862 V 6.9115 PRIOR; Biggest CNY increase since Jan 18th; Strongest Yuan setting since Mar 6th
- (AU) Australia 3-yr govt bond yield extending decline to 2.00% following employment data; 1-week low
- (NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$200M 2025 bond, bid-to-cover ratio: 7.12x

***Asia equities / Notables / movers by sector***
- Consumer discretionary: 1910.HK Samsonite +4.7% (FY16 result); 670.HK China Eastern Airlines +2.0% (Feb result); MYR.AU Myer -4.7% (H2 sales )
- Consumer staples: 2218.HK Yantai North Andre Juice Co +0.7% (FY16 result)
- Financials: 993.HK Huarong International Financial Holdings -1.4%
- Industrials: 3369.HK Qinhuangdao Port -0.5% (FY16 result); 1812.JP Kajima Corp +1.5% (raises guidance)
- Technology: 268.HK Kingdee International Software Group -2.2% (FY16 result); 005930.KR Samsung Electronics +1.5% (iPhone 8 OLED screen made by Samsung speculation); 066570.KR LG Electronics -0.6% (BNP Paribas raises rating); 6502.JP Toshiba Corporation -2.5% (offers chip unit share as loan collateral); 6773.JP Pioneer Corp -2.0% (Deutsche Bank cuts rating)
- Materials: Newcrest Mining NCM.AU +0.9%, St Barbara SBM.AU +6.5%, Evolution Mining EVN.AU +4.9% (gold price rises); 338.HK Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co 3.0% (FY16 result); TAW.AU Tawana Resources +5.9% (Metallurgical Test Work results)
- Energy: 991.HK Datang International Power Generation -0.9% (FY16 result), STO.AU Santos +4.8% (Credit Suisse raises rating)
- Telecom: 762.HK China Unicom +4.3% (FY16 result)

>>> US After Hours Summary: GoPro (GPRO), Oracle (ORCL), rise on upbea


After Hours Summary: GoPro (GPRO), Oracle (ORCL), rise on upbeat guidance; Guess (GES) -12% on light Q4 and underwhelming guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: GALE +12.8%, SKLN +12.5%, ALRM +9.8%, FRSH +8.7%, GPRO +8.7%, CLRB +7.8%, IDRA +6.6%, GV +5.8%, ORCL +5.5%, CPRX +5.2%, YRD +4.5%, WSM +3.9%, RMTI +3.6%, SYNC +3.2%, CVRS +2.2%, CALL +1.9%.

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: KCG +4.4% (Confirms that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Virtu Financial (VIRT) for $18.50-$20.00 per share in cash), GBT +2.6% (Initiated with an Overweight at Cantor), DO +2.3% (Updates on injunction vs. Petrobras (PBR) regarding the Ocean Valor), TSLA +2.1% (Announces offerings of $250 mln of common stock and $750 mln aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due in 2022 in concurrent underwritten registered public offerings), TDG +1.8% (Insider buying), BKS +1.7% (Board authorizes new stock repurchase program of up to $50 mln of its common shares), SPWR +1.7% (Enters into a Project Supply Agreement with Next Era Energy Resources), EQC +1.2% (Board adds $150 mln to buyback program).

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ARTX -18.2%, GES -12.2%, CNAT -6.3%, INO -5.4%, SAEX -4.1%, TROV -2.9%.

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: IPI -9.9% (Commences underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock), AVID -8.4% (Postpones conference call to discuss Q4 financial results), PEN -4.1% (Commences an underwritten public offering of 1.3 mln shares of its common stock), ELF -1.3% (Files for $175 mln offering of common stock by selling stockholders), M -1% (Reuters reporting Activist Starboard has sold its stake).

FT Lex : Hikma Pharmaceuticals: Amman with a plan Premium

Hikma Pharmaceuticals: Amman with a plan Premium
Middle Eastern group’s prospects rest on generic asthma drug in US

Asked to name a large Middle Eastern company whose share price has risen eightfold since its London debut, the average punter might respond that it had something to do with oil. Hikma Pharmaceuticals hopes to bust such stereotyping — but its future growth depends on a key drug in the US.

Hikma, which on Tuesday raised its dividend for the fifth consecutive year, tells a compelling story. The Jordanian-managed group has grown from a regional generics distributor to deriving nearly two-thirds of sales from the US. It has responded to the rise of low-cost Indian manufacturers by specialising in more sophisticated injectables, which account for two-fifths of sales, rather than lower-margin pills. Sales grew 18 per cent annually from 2005 to 2015. The shares peaked at 750 per cent over their offer price.

For the past two years, however, the company has confronted the familiar low-growth conundrum faced by maturing pharma companies. A $2.6bn cash and stock takeover of Roxane (since renamed West-Ward Columbus) the US generic drugs unit of Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim, was meant to change that. Initially, it did the opposite. Lower than expected sales growth at Roxane saw the company dumped from the FTSE 100.

Since then, Hikma has benefited from encouraging signals by the Trump administration about expediting generic approvals. WWC has a pipeline of potentially higher value products with greater barriers to competition. These include a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s best-selling Advair asthma drug. A decision indicating approval is expected in May — although rival Mylan is also seeking approval for its own version.

The WWC pipeline is important because some other parts of the group are struggling. Strip out the injectibles division and operating profits fell last year. But Hikma’s investors remain faithful. If Advair is approved, they stand to be rewarded.

>>> Oracle beats by $0.07, reports revs in-line; raises dividend 27% (43.05 +0.

--> ORCL +3% in after hours...

Oracle beats by $0.07, reports revs in-line; raises dividend 27%
  • Reports Q3 (Feb) earnings of $0.69 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.62; revenues rose 2.9% year/year to $9.27 bln vs the $9.25 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Cloud software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) revenues were $1.0 billion, up 73% in U.S. dollars and up 74% in constant currency.
  • Non-GAAP SaaS and PaaS revenues were $1.1 billion, up 85% in U.S. dollars and up 86% in constant currency. Total Cloud Revenues, including infrastructure as a service (IaaS), were $1.2 billion, up 62% in U.S. dollars and up 63% in constant currency. Total Cloud and On-Premise Software Revenues were $7.4 billion, up 4% in U.S. dollars and up 5% in constant currency.
  • "Our new, large, fast growing, high-margin cloud businesses are driving Oracle's total revenue and earnings up and improving nearly every important non-GAAP business metric you care to inspect; total revenue is up, margins are up, operating income is up, net income is up, EPS is up. Take a look. Q3 was a very strong quarter."
  • "Over the last year, we sold more new SaaS and PaaS than Salesforce.com [CRM], and we're growing more than 3 times faster," said Oracle CEO, Mark Hurd. "If these trends continue, where we are selling more SaaS and PaaS in absolute dollars AND growing dramatically faster, it's just a matter of when we catch and pass Salesforce.com in total cloud revenue."
  • "Both our SaaS and PaaS businesses are doing great, but I'm even more excited about our second generation IaaS business," said Oracle Chairman and CTO, Larry Ellison. "Our new Gen2 IaaS is both faster and lower cost than Amazon Web Services. And now our biggest customers can run their largest and most demanding Oracle database workloads in the Oracle Cloud -- something that is absolutely impossible to do in the Amazon Cloud."
  • Oracle announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share of outstanding common stock, reflecting a 27% increase over the current quarterly dividend of $0.15.

-->Oracle: Guides Q4 revenue in line, EPS above
  • Expects more currency headwinds;expect to see currency headwinds of 2% on revenue and two cents negative impact on EPS.
  • Q3 bookings were strong.
  • EPS expected in the range of $0.78-0.82; Q4 Capital IQ EPS consensus $0.78;
  • Revenue is expected to fall in the range of -1% to +2% (Approx $10.48-10.82 bln); Q4 Capital IQ Revenue consensus $10.61 bln.
  • SaaS and PaaS revenue, including last week, is expected to grow 69% to 73%, effectively raising full-year guidance from 80% to 81% for the year.
  • IAS is expected to grow 25% to 29%.
  • Software and cloud revenue including SaaS, PaaS, and IAS, new software license, and software support is expected to grow 1% to 3%.

FT : Tesla taps Wall Street for $1bn cash injection

Tesla taps Wall Street for $1bn cash injection
Pressure on shares eases as capital-raising less severe than expected

Tesla turned to Wall Street for another $1bn cash injection on Wednesday as it sought a bigger financial cushion for the planned launch of its mass-market Model 3 this summer.

Elon Musk, chief executive of the US electric car maker, signalled last month that the company’s ambitious launch plans would push its finances “close to the edge”, and indicated he was thinking of raising more money.

His comments at the time wiped 10 per cent from Tesla’s stock price, as investors anticipated another round of dilution to their holdings after a steady flow of capital raising in recent years. Tesla has raised around $9bn in the past five years, after netting out its repayments of convertible debt and a US government loan.

But news of the latest capital raising was less severe than Wall Street had been expecting, helping to ease pressure on its shares. The amount was below what many analysts had forecast, and Tesla said it would put hedges in place to limit eventual dilution from the convertible bonds. Its shares edged up more than 2 per cent in after-market trading.

Demand for Tesla’s shares has been one of Mr Musk’s main weapons in recent years, enabling him to race faster up an expensive production curve designed to take the company from small-scale maker of electric roadsters to a mass-market producer.

A strong share price rally that set in during December opened the way to the latest fundraising. It added 55 per cent to the company’s stock and pushed its value to $47bn by late February, when Mr Musk revealed he was thinking of raising more cash.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Tesla said it was planning to issue around $250m of stock and $750m of convertible debt. An overallotment provision will allow the underwriters, led by Goldman Sachs, to sell an extra 15 per cent of the securities if demand is strong.