>>> Dr Pepper Snapple beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY16 just below cons

Dr Pepper Snapple beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY16 just below consensus

  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.00 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.98; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $1.55 bln vs the $1.53 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Net sales grew on favorable product, package and segment mix, price increases and lower discounts. Reported segment operating profit (SOP) increased 6% after a 2% reduction for foreign currency translation. Contributing to this increase were net sales growth, lower commodity costs and ongoing productivity improvements, partially offset by increases in certain operating costs and a $5 million increase in marketing investments. For the quarter, BCS volume increased 1%, with carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) flat and non-carbonated beverages (NCBs) increasing 4%. By geography, U.S. and Canada volume was flat, and Mexico and the Caribbean volume increased 6%.
  • Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $4.20-4.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.33 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of +1% to ~$6.34 bln vs. $6.41 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Collectively, FX translation and transaction are expected to negatively impact net sales by ~2% and core EPS growth by ~4%, or $0.18 per share. The company expects to repurchase $650 million to $700 million of its common stock.

WSJ : Belgian Police Find Surveillance Tape of Nuclear Worker’s Home

Belgian Police Find Surveillance Tape of Nuclear Worker’s Home

10-hours-long video shows the exterior of a house of a man working in Belgium’s ‘nuclear world’

BRUSSELS—Belgian police investigating the Paris terrorist attacks have discovered an hours-long tape showing the home of a man working in Belgium’s nuclear sector, the country’s federal prosecutor said Wednesday.

The 10-hours-long video, discovered during a raid linked to the attacks, showed the exterior of a house, which investigators eventually discovered was the home of a man working in Belgium’s “nuclear world,” said Thierry Werts, a spokesman of the prosecutor’s office. He said a surveillance camera had been installed in front of the man’s home, but declined to give more information on the man’s identity and profession.

“There is no element that says that this was to perpetrate an attack,” said Mr. Werts.

Belgian daily De Standaard reported that the man was a top official at the Belgian Nuclear Research Center in Mol in northern Belgium. The research center, which operates under the auspices of the Belgian energy ministry, didn’t immediately have a comment on the report. It conducts research into peaceful applications of radioactivity, including in energy, industry and medicine.

Mr. Werts declined to say when the video had been discovered, saying only that it was “a while ago” during a raid linked to the Paris attacks. He said several people were detained during that raid, but declined to say whether any of them were among the 11 men that Belgium has charged in relation to the Nov. 13 attacks.

The Paris attackers killed 130 people using assault rifles and suicide bombs.

Authorities around the globe have long feared that terrorists could gain access to nuclear material or launch an attack on a nuclear power plant.

Belgium’s Federal Agency for Nuclear Control, known as FANC, stepped up security at all of the country’s nuclear facilities--nuclear-energy plants and industrial sites using radioactive materials--in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

“We were informed about the existence of the video as soon as the investigators discovered it,” said Nele Scheerlinck, a spokeswoman for FANC. But the additional security measures weren’t directly linked to the video, she said.

Ms. Scheerlinck said the security measures for the country’s nuclear facilities are continuously being reinforced. “We keep track of this as closely as possible,” she said.

CNBC : Young Saudis see cushy jobs vanish along with nation’s oil wealth



In pressed white robes and clutching crisp résumés, young Saudi men packed a massive hall at a university in the capital city this month to wait in long lines to pitch themselves to employers.

It was one of three job fairs in Riyadh in two weeks, and the high attendance was fueled in part by fear among the younger generation of what a future of cheap oil will mean in a country where oil is everything.

For decades, the royal family has used the kingdom's immense oil wealth to lavish benefits on its people, including free education and medical care, generous energy subsidies and well-paid (and often undemanding) government jobs. No one paid taxes, and if political rights were not part of the equation, that was fine with most people.
But the drop in oil prices to below $30 a barrel from more than $100 a barrel in June 2014 means that the old math no longer works. Low oil prices have knocked a chunk out of the government budget and now pose a threat to the unwritten social contract that has long underpinned life in the kingdom, the Arab world's largest economy and a key American ally.
The shift is already echoing through the economy, with government projects delayed, spending limits imposed on ministries and high-level discussions about measures long considered impossible, like imposing taxes and selling shares of Saudi Aramco, the state-run oil giant that is estimated to be the world's most valuable company.

The proposal announced on Tuesday by the oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela to freeze output levels is one attempt to stabilize world oil prices, but it remained uncertain how effective it would be if other countries, like Iran and Iraq, declined to follow suit.
For younger Saudis — 70 percent of the population is under 30 — the oil shock has meant a lowering of expectations as they face the likelihood that they will have to work harder than their parents, enjoy less job security and receive fewer perks.
"For the older generation, it was easier," said Abdulrahman Alkhelaifi, 20, during a break from his job at McDonald's. "They'd get out of university and get a government job. Now you need an advanced degree."
Of his generation, he said, "The weight is on our necks."

In pressed white robes and clutching crisp résumés, young Saudi men packed a massive hall at a university in the capital city this month to wait in long lines to pitch themselves to employers.

It was one of three job fairs in Riyadh in two weeks, and the high attendance was fueled in part by fear among the younger generation of what a future of cheap oil will mean in a country where oil is everything.


Fayez Nureldine | AFP | Getty Images
For decades, the royal family has used the kingdom's immense oil wealth to lavish benefits on its people, including free education and medical care, generous energy subsidies and well-paid (and often undemanding) government jobs. No one paid taxes, and if political rights were not part of the equation, that was fine with most people.
But the drop in oil prices to below $30 a barrel from more than $100 a barrel in June 2014 means that the old math no longer works. Low oil prices have knocked a chunk out of the government budget and now pose a threat to the unwritten social contract that has long underpinned life in the kingdom, the Arab world's largest economy and a key American ally.
The shift is already echoing through the economy, with government projects delayed, spending limits imposed on ministries and high-level discussions about measures long considered impossible, like imposing taxes and selling shares of Saudi Aramco, the state-run oil giant that is estimated to be the world's most valuable company.
More from The New York Times
Oil Prices: What's Behind the Drop? Simple Economics
How the U.S. and OPEC Drive Oil Prices
Gulf States Guarding Their Interests in Saudi-Iran Rift
The proposal announced on Tuesday by the oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela to freeze output levels is one attempt to stabilize world oil prices, but it remained uncertain how effective it would be if other countries, like Iran and Iraq, declined to follow suit.
For younger Saudis — 70 percent of the population is under 30 — the oil shock has meant a lowering of expectations as they face the likelihood that they will have to work harder than their parents, enjoy less job security and receive fewer perks.
"For the older generation, it was easier," said Abdulrahman Alkhelaifi, 20, during a break from his job at McDonald's. "They'd get out of university and get a government job. Now you need an advanced degree."
Of his generation, he said, "The weight is on our necks."


It is hard to overstate the importance of oil in the development of modern Saudi Arabia. In decades, it rocketed a poor, mostly rural country to affluence, with most of its 21 million citizens now living in cities festooned with skyscrapers and streets filled with S.U.V.s.

Oil wealth also allowed the ruling Al Saud family to maintain its grip on power, wield clout abroad through checkbook diplomacy and invest billions of dollars in promoting an austere interpretation of Islam around the world.

The oil boom over the past decade helped all of this, and was good for Saudis at home. Household incomes rose, and the number of men and women pursuing higher education multiplied.

But the fat years left the economy poorly structured, economists say: 90 percent of government revenues are from oil; 70 percent of working Saudis are employed by the government; and even the private sector remains heavily dependent on government spending.

Nor did advances in education create a large professional class or inculcate a culture of hard work. Most of the country's engineers and health care workers are foreign, and many government employees vacate their offices midafternoon, or earlier.

But with oil revenues crashing and the numbers of young people reaching the work force growing by the day, those jobs have become harder to get as the government cuts costs and pushes Saudis toward the private sector, where job security and salaries are lower on average.
"There is an issue with the sustainability of the economic model in Saudi Arabia, and the oil price can be seen as a wake-up call," said Fahad Alturki, chief economist at Jadwa Investment in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia still has room to maneuver, he said, thanks to large cash reserves, low public debt and lots of new infrastructure that can aid economic growth.

But the generational differences are clear.

One woman who recently earned a Ph.D. in a medicine-related field in the United States said that her father had been tracked into the military, where he got training abroad, free housing, medical care and schooling for his children. When her mother finished her degree in Arabic, she immediately got a job near her house — and a cash bonus from the state, just for graduating.
Their daughter has struggled to find work, despite being better educated and fluent in English. Her husband, also educated in the United States, is also unemployed, and they live with her family.
"My parents had great opportunities," she said, requesting anonymity so as not to hinder her job search. "They provided well and we had a comfortable life, so I always thought it would be the same for us."
These economic stresses come at a time of chaos in the Middle East and of generational change in the royal family.
Spearheading economic policy is Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose father, King Salman, passed over older and more experienced princes to put the 30-year-old in charge of many of the country's most important affairs, stirring private anger among some other royals.
Prince Mohammed, who is also the defense minister and second in line to the throne, has launched a costly war in Yemen and talks about radical changes to the economy, like raising fuel prices, imposing taxes on undeveloped land and some consumer goods, and privatizing state-run companies.
But details on implementation are scarce, causing uncertainty over many issues like what it will cost to fill a gas tank or power a factory in five years. That has made it hard for businesses to plan for the future, which further undermines the sputtering economy

At the same time, Saudis are not accustomed to the government taking bold, fast action. Change tends to be introduced incrementally. That cultural trait is now complicating the need to move fast to meet the economic and demographic challenges.
A Saudi executive in the construction industry said that change was needed, but that moving too fast could hurt businesses.
"It has to be done and I am with it, but you can't change decades' worth of problems in a few years," he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his business interests. "No way."
Economists say that at least 250,000 young Saudis enter the job market every year, and that making them effective members of the work force is a major challenge.
The glut of graduates was clear at the job fair, where most applicants had come from large public universities that often fail to give students the language and technical skills employers want. Most of those interviewed had never had a job before and said their fathers worked for the government. While some thought private companies offered better experience, many wanted the perks of a government job.
"It's a good experience, but there is no rest and no job security," said Ali al-Ariyani, 24, who worked at a private hospital and wanted a change. "The days are long and you can't even go out to smoke."
At a separate location for women, many applicants complained that their degrees had not given them the skills, like fluency with computers, that employers want. One group of women had earned degrees in microbiology only to learn that they lacked the required licenses for hospital jobs.

"Our main issue is that our university did not prepare us for the job market," said Khuloud al-Khateeb, 23, adding that many hospitals preferred to hire foreigners for lower salaries.
In recent years, the government has pushed for greater Saudi employment, penalizing companies with few Saudi employees. Many employers hate the program, saying it forces them to swell their payrolls with people who contribute little.
Even companies that have hired lots of Saudis have often had to rely on significant social engineering to get them working.
Saudis made up one-third of the crew at a Riyadh McDonald's on a recent morning, manning the drive-up window and cash register and making fries.
"Is this spicy?" one yelled to a colleague. "One large fries, please!"

While they do the same work as foreigners, they earn much more. Salaries for foreign crew start at $320 a month, while Saudis get $1,460, part of which is subsidized by the government.
The company also gives Saudis more flexibility and has created fast-track programs to move them into management.
Four Saudi workers gathered in a break room said they liked their jobs but worried that they would not be as successful as their fathers, all of whom worked for the government. They knew the government had less money to employ citizens, which meant their generation would have to work harder.
"The government is good, but our generation is spoiled," said Ahmed Mohammed, 21. "Everyone wants a government job."
His colleagues agreed. "Everyone wants to sit at home and get paid," Mr. Alkhelaifi said.

>>> Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers
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>> Noble Energy beats by $0.47 ex-items, misses on revs; reaffirms FY16 cap-ex d

Noble Energy beats by $0.47 ex-items, misses on revs; reaffirms FY16 cap-ex down 50%
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, excluding $5.17 in unfavorable items (GAAP EPS -$4.73), $0.47 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.03); revenues fell 20.9% year/year to $846 mln vs the $1.06 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
    • Total Company volumes for Q4 increased to 422 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), up more than eight percent versus the third quarter of 2015 and the fourth quarter of 2014 (pro-forma for the Rosetta Resources merger).
    • Co raised volume to 405-415 on Dec 9.
  • As previously indicated, capital expenditures, including capitalized interest, for 2016 are expected to total $1.5 billion (-50% YoY pro forma Rosetta) and
  • Average sales volumes for the year are projected to be ~390 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), up 10% YoY reported and flat pro froma for Rosetta merger. At the midpoint of the Company's volume guidance, existing hedge positions cover 38 percent of global crude oil and condensate production and 26 percent of U.S. natural gas production
  • Estimated reserves at year-end 2015 were 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent, up one percent from 2014 year-end. Excluding acquisitions and commodity price revisions, the Company had total additions of 191 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe) versus production of 130 MMBoe during the year. Organic reserve replacement, excluding price-related revisions, was 147 percent.
  • Co cut its dividend on Jan 26.