M&A: a bigger priority in 2017?
M&A remained a priority for most, with many highlighting big pipelines. Most were not afraid to think big – with equity funding not ruled out for the right opportunity. Croda and Kerry appeared most likely to make a material acquisition in 2017.
Saudi Arabia said to have told OPEC it won't attend talks with non-OPEC producers on Monday - press
- Saudi Arabia said to want to see a deal between OPEC producers first before meeting with outside groups
- OPEC Official: OPEC will convene a technical meeting on Monday
Biogen: What does the solanezumab miss mean for aducanumab?; readthrough to aducanumab is limited, as they have always argued -- H.C. Wainwright
H.C. Wainwright notes on Wednesday morning, Lilly (LLY; not rated) announced that solanezumab missed on its primary endpoint of slowing cognitive decline as measured by the ADAS-Cog14. While the news was certainly disappointing, firm does not find it to be surprising by any measure. They have always regarded the solanezumab story as a high-risk high-reward one that lacked two crucial scientific building blocks: evidence of target engagement and mechanism of action of Abeta clearance. The primary endpoint miss despite the overpowering of the study demonstrates to them, at least at first glance, that the field's skepticism surrounding the controversial target engagement data and proposed MOA of Abeta clearance (potentially peripheral sink mechanism?) were both relevant here. If that is true, these are two important factors to consider when thinking about the read-through potential of solanezumab to aducanumab (they believe it is limited). In contrast to solanezumab, aducanumab has both clear evidence of target engagement and clear clearance of Abeta from the CNS, and is additionally differentiated by a different patient population, prodromal rather than mild AD patients. These important distinctions are not left unnoticed by certain investors judging from the attenuated stock reactions by Wednesday close alone (LLY down by ~10.5%, BIIB down by only ~3.5%). Despite the knee-jerk hit on the AD sphere across the board, firm remains optimistic on the prospects of aducanumab and maintain their Buy rating and $360 PT.
For hedge fund portfolio managers, the difference between working at a top-performing fund and one that is a bottom-dweller is a cool $6 million, recently released data reveals.
Cream of the crop portfolio managers can expect total compensation of $6.8 million in 2016, according to data compiled by Glocap Search, a New York-based financial recruiting firm.
Their less successful peers aren’t even expected to crack $1 million, raking in only $740,000, Glocap found.
So-so managers can expect to take home $2.2 million.
The data applies to hedge funds with assets of $4 billion-plus.
Although differences in performance-based compensation are to be expected, the gap widened this year, as did the performance gap.
Funds that were among the best performers through Sept. 30 were up an average 15 percent, while the poorest funds kept getting poorer, falling an average of 7 percent — a difference of 22 percentage points.
Last year, that gap was 20.3 percentage points.
“Performance caused an increased disparity in pay with the highest-tertile performing funds paying as much as nearly seven times as much as the lowest-tertile performing funds for the same level investment professional,” Adam Zoia, chief executive and founder of Glocap, said in a statement.
This year, the best senior analysts, a rung below portfolio managers, are expected to make $1.5 million, roughly three times as much as their weaker counterparts. The top performers in 2015 earned 1.5 times more than those on the second rung.
*GALAPAGOS CEO WOULD NOT RECOMMEND POSSIBLE GILEAD TAKEOVER BID
*GALAPAGOS CEO COMMENTS AT INVESTOR FAIR IN AMSTERDAM
Italian referendum
All you need to know ahead of the vote
* On 4 December, Italy will hold its constitutional referendum
* Renzi's premiership could be on the line, particularly if the "no" vote wins by a wide margin…
* …but the immediate implications for domestic politics and reforms are not as great as the markets seem to believe
On 4 December, Italy will hold a constitutional referendum on whether to reduce the
role of the upper house of parliament. Voting will take place between 6am and 10pm
(GMT). The result should be known by the early hours on Monday (Table 1). The final
polls (polls are not allowed in the two weeks running up to the vote) have implied a 5-
7ppt lead for "no", but 20-25% of the population still appears to be undecided (Chart 2).
The referendum might not have been so important from a political and market
perspective had Prime Minister Matteo Renzi not decided to put his political future at
stake at the beginning of the year, pledging to resign if "no" won. His move shifted
the focus of the referendum from the reform on to his government, pushing all
opposition parties to campaign for a "no" vote. Mr Renzi has attempted to backtrack
on this pledge, but has not managed to separate himself from the referendum. His
premiership could still be on the line, particularly if "no" wins by a wide margin. But
our central scenario is that Mr Renzi will remain Prime Minister.
In this note, we dispel three main market misconceptions. We argue:
A "yes" vote would not mark the beginning of a new era of reforms and political
stability, at least not in 2017, with elections taking place in early 2018 anyway
A "no" vote is unlikely to lead to immediate elections, as the President would be
reluctant to call elections without a new electoral law for the upper house
A "no" vote would not necessarily increase the chances of populist party, Five
Star Movement (5SM), coming to power. If anything, a "yes" vote might
This does not mean the referendum doesn't matter. We still think that passing the
reform could yield benefits in the medium term, ie after the 2018 election.
The markets seem to be pricing in a "no" vote (betting odds are 75%). However,
markets could fall further if "no" wins, particularly if Mr Renzi resigns (which might not
necessarily happen overnight), and the banking sector could take the biggest hit.
US MArket Closed for Thanksgiving.
Oil retreats slightly despite reports that Saudi Arabia is pushing for OPEC production cuts, USD/JPY approaching fresh 8-month highs of ¥114. China Vice Premier: Plan to strengthen economic cooperation with EU; Hopeful EU will fulfill WTO rules. Gold prices tracking firmer greenback with a fall below $1,180 as gold mining stocks suffer.
Nikkei +0.26% Hang Seng +0.52% CSI +0.64% Shanghai +0.37%
Eur$ 1.0580 CNH 6.9404 CNY 6.9153 GBP 1.2456 CHF 1.0153 RUB 64.7724 WTI$ 47.37 -1.23%
S&P +0.16% EuroStoxx +0.23% FTSE -0.01% Dax +0.13% SMI +0.27%
Macro :
- Japan GPIF Names Toyota, Apple, Microsoft as Top Stock Holdings
- Uber’s Rival Ola Said to Be Seeking Funds at 40% Lower Valuation
- Brexit May Take Decade So Give the Pound a Rest, Investors Say
Keep an eye on :
- ATLN VX : J&J Said to Make Takeover Approach for Swiss Drugmaker Actelion
- Alain Afflelou Delays IPO Until 2017, Les Echos Says
- BLT LN : BHP Says to Provide $115m Facility to Samarco Joint Venture
- BMPS IM : Monte Paschi Shareholders Approve EU5b Capital Increase Plan
- BMPS IM : Morelli Aims to Close Paschi Capital Increase Before Christmas, Paschi Sets Maximum Conversion Price at EU24.9 as Part of Recap
- BPOST BB : Bpost Hires 290 Extra Full-Time Equivalents for Delivery: Belga
- CDA FP : Permira May Take 15% Stake in Compagnie Des Alpes, Figaro Says
- EDF FP : EDF Files Legal Case in Response to Claims Made By Greenpeace
- LPE FP : Laurent-Perrier Says Outlook Calls for Caution as Net Falls
- LHA GY : Lufthansa Pilots May Extend Strikes Beyond Saturday, Focus Says
- NOVOB DC : Novo CEO Says Easier to Surprise Positively, Berlingske Reports
- RIO LN : Rio Tinto Has Room for $2b Buyback Next Year, Deutsche Bank Says
- LOCAL FP : Solocal Delays 2018 Plan, Cites Financial Restructuring
- FP FP : Total CEO Says OPEC Will Probably Reach Accord in Vienna Meeting
>>> Up
*ArcelorMittal Raised to Outperform at RBC, PT EU8.20
*Flughafen Wien Raised to Buy at Citi
*Generali Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan, PT EU14
*Mediclinic Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley, PT 825p
*Remy Cointreau Raised to Hold at Berenberg
*Royal Unibrew Raised to Buy at ABG Sundal, PT DKK320
*Sulzer Raised to Buy at Baader-Helvea, PT CHF120
*Telenor Raised to Sector Perform at RBC, PT NOK138
>>> Down
*Daily Mail Cut to Underweight at Barclays, PT 705p
*SSAB Cut to Sell at Nordea Securities, PT SEK29
*TUI Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley, PT EU12.70
*Voestalpine Cut to Sector Perform at RBC, PT EU38
>>> PT Change
>>> Initiation
*Repsol Resumed Market Perform at Raymond James
>>> Call