>>> Activision Blizzard to Acquire King Digital

Activision Blizzard to Acquire King Digital Entertainment in $5.9 Billion Deal
Videogame company Activision Blizzard has agreed to acquire "Candy Crush Saga" owner King Digital Entertainment in a deal with a total equity value of $5.9 billion.

Under the deal, ABS Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard, will buy all of King's outstanding shares for $18 each in cash.

FT : Pfizer spurned by GSK before Allergan talks

Pfizer spurned by GSK before Allergan talks http://on.ft.com/1Rqr7NN

Pfizer approached GlaxoSmithKline about a possible takeover in recent weeks but was rebuffed before confirming its talks about a possible bid for Allergan last week.
Three people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that Pfizer had looked seriously at GSK as a potential target, but the US group’s overtures received a cool reception from GSK and the talks are now dead.

Ian Read, Pfizer chief executive, has since decided to focus on a deal with Dublin-based Allergan as he seeks a large “inversion” deal to lower the company’s tax rate through a foreign acquisition.
Pfizer and Allergan announced last week that they were in “preliminary friendly discussions” about a combination which would create the world’s biggest pharmaceuticals group with a market capitalisation over $300bn.
An acquisition of GSK, with a market capitalisation of about $105bn, would have been on a similar scale to the potential combination with Allergan, which has an equity value of $121bn.
Two people said the talks with GSK did not get far enough for a price to be discussed. GSK’s share price closed at £13.97 on Monday.
GSK and Pfizer both declined to comment.
The US group’s interest in GSK, the UK’s biggest drugmaker by sales and market capitalisation, came 18 months after it failed in a £69.4bn hostile bid for the number two UK group, AstraZeneca. That deal faced heavy opposition from British politicians fearful of the impact on jobs and investment and it was widely agreed that any further attempt by Pfizer to buy a big UK drugmaker would need to be on a friendly basis to soothe domestic concerns.

A takeover of either GSK or Allergan would create controversy in Washington because of Pfizer’s desire to move its official headquarters overseas to reduce exposure to high US corporate tax rates. Allergan paid an effective tax rate of 4.8 per cent last year versus 25.5 per cent for Pfizer.
However, GSK would have presented additional political complications in the UK and the reluctance of its board to engage with Pfizer hardened the US group’s view that a deal with Allergan was more achievable.
For its part, GSK felt emboldened to resist Pfizer’s advances as its performance shows tentative signs of stabilising after a torrid two years of declining sales and a damaging corruption scandal in China. Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive, last week said a recovery was under way when he announced better than expected third-quarter results.
GSK is due to brief investors on the outlook for its research and development pipeline in New York on Tuesday, with Sir Andrew promising details on 40 experimental medicines as evidence that the UK group can overcome decline in its best-selling but ageing respiratory drug, Advair.
Sir Philip Hampton has been on a listening tour of investors since taking over as GSK chairman in May. While he has been left in no doubt about their disgruntlement over the company’s recent underperformance, people familiar with the meetings say he is confident that investors are willing to give GSK time to make its turnround work after a $20bn asset swap with Novartis of Switzerland last year reshaped the group.
Other obstacles to a deal cited by people familiar with GSK included a perceived cultural mismatch with Pfizer and an unwillingness to consider a large volume of the US company’s shares as part of any offer.

>>> US Close Dow+0.93% S&P+1.19% Nasdaq+1.45% Russell+2.09%

Closing Market Summary: Energy and Health Care Lead Stocks Higher

The stock market charged higher to begin November with the Nasdaq Composite setting the pace. The tech-heavy index surged 1.5% while the S&P 500 (+1.2%) followed right behind.

Equity indices started the trading day on an inconspicuous note after the overnight session featured some mixed economic data. In China, October Manufacturing PMI missed expectations (49.8; expected 50.0) while final Caixin PMI improved to 48.3 from 47.6, but remained below 50.0, indicating continued contraction. Asian markets ended the day on a broadly lower note, but the investor sentiment improved after European participants joined the fray and the market was treated to mostly better than expected PMI readings from regional economies. The eurozone Manufacturing PMI improved to 52.3 from 52.0 (expected 52.0), helping lift European markets off their opening lows.

Once the U.S. session got going, an opening trot higher turned into a daylong charge paced by energy and biotechnology as both groups built on their October gains. Biotech names wasted no time, rallying from the opening bell to send the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 338.06, +12.60) higher by 3.9%. For its part, the health care sector spiked 2.1%, but the group was overtaken by the energy sector (+2.4%) during the afternoon.

The energy sector charged higher with the likes of Chevron (CVX 94.96, +4.08) and ExxonMobil (XOM 85.28, +2.54) extending their post-earnings gains even as crude oil lost 1.0%, sliding to $46.12/bbl, despite little change in the Dollar Index.

While the final standing did not suggest any underlying weakness, most sectors did not fare nearly as well as energy and health care. To be fair, financials (+1.5%) and industrials (+1.2%) also displayed relative strength, but technology (+0.9%), consumer discretionary (+0.5%), and consumer staples (+0.6%) lagged.

The consumer staples sector was pressured by beverage names while Sysco (SYY 41.04, -0.21) lost 0.5% despite reporting a one-cent beat. Over on the discretionary side, apparel retailers struggled in the morning, but largely recovered during the afternoon. On a separate note, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG 624.00, -16.23) fell 2.5% amid news of an E. coli scare that prompted the closure of 43 stores in Oregon and Washington.

Unlike stocks, Treasuries slipped in the morning and maintained their losses into the afternoon. The 10-yr note settled on its low with the benchmark yield rising four basis points to 2.19%.

Today's participation was roughly in-line with average as more than 845 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to Construction Spending and ISM:

  • September construction spending jumped 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.09 billion while the consensus expected an increase of 0.4%
    • The uptick in total spending flowed from a 0.6% increase in private construction and a 0.7% increase in public construction spending
  • The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the October ISM Index registered a 50.1 reading versus 50.2 in September while the consensus expected a downtick to 50.0
    • This was the lowest reading since May 2013, but there was some expansionary activity below the surface with new orders increasing to 52.9 from 50.1 while the production index rose to 52.9 from 51.8

Tomorrow's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the Factory Orders report for September (consensus -0.9%).

  • Nasdaq Composite +8.3% YTD
  • S&P 500 +2.2% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.0% YTD
  • Russell 2000 -1.5% YTD

WSJ : EPA Notifies Volkswagen of Added Emissions Violations

EPA Notifies Volkswagen of Added Emissions Violations
VW, Audi, Porsche 2014-16 diesel models used defeat devices during testing, regulator says

Volkswagen AG installed defeat devices aimed at manipulating U.S. emissions tests on thousands of additional diesel-powered vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency said, widening a scandal at the German auto maker that has prompted widespread investigations and cost the chief executive his job.

Volkswagen AG installed defeat devices aimed at manipulating U.S. emissions tests on thousands of additional diesel-powered vehicles, the Environmental Protection Agency said, widening a scandal at the German auto maker that has prompted widespread investigations and cost the chief executive his job.

Newer Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche vehicles with model years between 2014 and 2016 contain the devices, the EPA said Monday, allowing nitrogen-oxide emissions up to nine times the agency’s standard. The agency sent Volkswagen a notice of violation pertaining to the vehicles, all equipped with 3.0 liter diesel engines sold since the 2014 model year, the EPA said.

The EPA’s notice, the second to Volkswagen since the agency revealed its initial findings in September, covers roughly 10,000 diesel passenger cars already sold in the U.S. since the 2014 model year. There are an unknown number of 2016 models covered by the notice, the EPA said.

The EPA and California Air Resources Board have both opened probes into the newly-disclosed allegations. California regulators on Sept. 25 sent a letter to all auto makers alerting them that they would be screening for possible defeat devices. The EPA, along with regulators in California and Canada, since then tested additional diesel-powered cars and sport-utility vehicles, leading to Monday’s allegations.

The September notice from the EPA to Volkswagen affected nearly a half million cars sold since 2008. The defeat devices detect when vehicles are undergoing tests, showing them to emit less than they do in normal driving conditions. Like the vehicles referenced in September, the EPA said Volkswagen’s defeat devices on the models detailed on Monday violated the federal Clean Air Act.

“VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans,” said Cynthia Giles, the EPA’s associate administrator of enforcement and compliance assurance, in a call with reporters.

Volkswagen had no immediate comment. It remained unclear whether Volkswagen planned to halt sales of the affected models as it did with the 482,000 diesel-powered vehicles that were revealed in September to contain defeat devices. EPA officials declined to comment on Volkswagen’s plans or their discussions with the auto maker.

The EPA and California Air Resources Board have both opened probes into the newly-disclosed allegations. California regulators on Sept. 25 sent a letter to all auto makers alerting them that they would be screening for possible defeat devices. The EPA, along with regulators in California and Canada, since then tested additional diesel-powered cars and sport-utility vehicles, leading to Monday’s allegations.

Regulators said they uncovered the additional defeat devices after they started testing additional vehicles in the wake of the earlier discoveries.

The vehicles affected by the newly-disclosed violations are the 2014 VW Touareg; 2015 Porsche Cayenne; and 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L, and Q5.

>>> EPA Says Volkswagen Also Programmed Larger Diesel Cars to Cheat on Emissions

*DJ Affected Vehicles: 2014 VW Touareg; 2015 Porsche Cayenne; 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L, and Q5
*DJ VW Violations on 2014-16 Diesel Models Uncovered in EPA Testing -- EPA
*DJ VW, Porsche, Audi Diesel Vehicles with 3.0 Liter Engines Have Defeat Devices -- EPA
*DJ EPA, Calif. Regulators Both Open Probes on New VW Violations -- EPA
*DJ VW Emissions Violations Cover 10,000 Vehicles -- EPA
*DJ VW, Audi Porsche Excess Nitrogen Oxide Emissions Up to Nine Times EPA Standard -- EPA