>>> Fed's Kocherlakota (non-voter, dove): Inflation is too low to raise interest

Fed's Kocherlakota (non-voter, dove): Inflation is too low to raise interest rates, tightening policy would put the Fed further away from its policy goals - financial press 
- Inflation is running substantially below the Fed's 2% target and the outlook is for more of the same
- Raising interest rates would create profound economic risks for the economy
- Tightening rates by even 0.25% would not likely have a huge direct impact on the economy, but even this small change would lead some to assume the Fed had implicitly lowered its inflation target from 2%
- If markets believe the Fed has lowered its inflation goal, all real interest rates in the US will be higher
- By setting policy in a direction opposite its stated goals, the Fed would diminish the credibility of those goals

>>> Staples reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs below


Staples reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs below consensus
Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.12 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.12; revenues fell 5.4% year/year to $4.94 bln vs the $4.96 bln consensus.
  • Total Comparable sales (includes comparable store sales and Staples.com sales): -2%
    • Comparable store sales: -3%
    • Staples.com local currency sales growth: +1%
Guidance
  • Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.33-0.36 vs. $0.35 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate
  • Co sees Q3 revs of decrease vs 3Q14 of $5.66 bln vs. $5.73 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • The company's guidance reflects a sequential increase in the unfavorable impact of the stronger U.S. dollar on sales and earnings.

>>> Lowe's misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance, r

Lowe's misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance, revs guidance; Q2 comps +4.3%

  • Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $1.20 per share, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.24; revenues rose 4.5% year/year to $17.35 bln vs the $17.28 bln consensus. Co reported Q2 comps of +4.3%.
  • Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $3.29 vs. $3.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of +4.5-5.0% to ~$58.75-59.0 bln vs. $58.82 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co sees that FY16 Comparable sales are expected to increase 4 to 4.5%. The company expects to add 15 to 20 home improvement and hardware stores.

(BFW) Moncler, LVMH Among Least Exposed to Weaker Yuan: Deutsche Bank

Moncler, LVMH Among Least Exposed to Weaker Yuan: Deutsche Bank
2015-08-19 07:21:42.970 GMT


By Marianna Aragao
(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank estimates an average negative
impact of ~4% on luxury companies’ profits as a result of yuan
devaluation.

* Analysis assumes 5% depreciation of yuan vs all currencies
* Most negatively impacted Swatch (7%), least Brunello (2%)
* Moncler, LVMH also among the least exposed to weaker yuan;
both bank’s top picks
* Sees moderate devaluation as “manageable” by cos.
* Says last week’s stock price reaction already discounting
more than actual 3% yuan depreciation
* Sees sector trading at 25% premium vs overall mkt, was ~40%
historically; current valuation ’’does not allow for bad
surprises’’
* NOTE: On Aug. 13: Luxury Declines From Yuan Devaluation Look
Overdone, Exane Says


For Related News and Information:
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To contact the reporter on this story:
Marianna Aragao in London at +44-20-3525-9199 or
mduartedeara@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Gaurav Panchal at +44-20-3525-0511 or
gpanchal2@bloomberg.net

FT : Google’s OnHub ‘smart router’ aims to boost WiFi quality


Google’s OnHub ‘smart router’ aims to boost WiFi quality

Google is attempting to put itself at the centre of domestic wireless networks with a new “smart router” that promises to improve WiFi quality and security.
OnHub’s launch comes weeks before Apple is expected to unveil its latest home technology device, with an update to its Apple TV set-top box that will act as a wireless “smart home” hub. The launch also puts Google into competition with many cable companies that offer their own home hubs for watching TV and getting online.

Thanks to the inclusion of Bluetooth and other wireless connectivity, Google’s $200 OnHub will be able to control the “internet of things” inside the home as more consumers buy connected peripherals such as wireless speakers, thermostats and security cameras.
The project has been developed over the past two years by teams who worked on the Chrome operating system and Google Access, the unit responsible for its superfast fibre optic-based network.
Google has taken an Apple-like approach to designing OnHub, concealing the antennas that usually protrude from a router inside a sleek cylinder that can be customised with a range of colours and patterns. It hopes the device will be placed out in the open, a first step towards improving signal quality, rather than hidden on the floor or in a cupboard like many of the less attractive WiFi routers available today.
But Google has made other internal improvements to regular routers that it says will make OnHub easier to manage and allow WiFi networks to run faster and over a wider area.
Its 12 antennas can regularly scan the local environment to adjust for interference from other wireless networks, based in part on analysis of data samples done in Google’s cloud. Passwords and other settings can be managed from a smartphone app for Android and iOS.
While OnHub will remain part of Google after the internet company becomes a subsidiary of new parent Alphabet, under a corporate shake-up announced by chief executive Larry Page last week, no information about browsing or viewing behaviour will be used to tailor online advertising, the company says.

Only information relating to device and network performance will be collected. Privacy of domestic WiFi networks is a sensitive area for Google after its Street View mapping cars inadvertently captured personal data including emails from unsecured networks in 30 countries between 2008 and 2010.
Google is working with China-based TP-Link, one of the world’s largest router makers, to produce the device but says it is open to working with other manufacturers on a range of OnHub devices in the future.

Unlike Google’s Nexus line of smartphones, which are targeted at a niche of tech-savvy users who want the latest version of its Android operating system, OnHub is aiming at a “very broad” customer base, according to its product manager Trond Wuellner.
“The way that people really use WiFi has evolved. There are more bandwidth-intensive services and connected devices now,” Mr Wuellner said. “We saw incredible opportunities to bring Google’s strengths and the work we’ve done in Chrome and Android to raise the bar in software quality, update mechanics and security.”
As well as WiFi, OnHub also supports Bluetooth and other wireless networks such as Zigbee or Thread, which are used by “smart home” devices, although this will not be activated at first.
“We have included the hardware that allows us to participate in the IOT ecosystem of the future,” Mr Wuellner said.
Google will begin taking pre-orders for the OnHub in the US and Canada this week, with devices shipping in the coming weeks.

FT : Battle over €1bn stake sale escalates at Spain’s El Corte Inglés

Battle over €1bn stake sale escalates at Spain’s El Corte Inglés

The boardroom battle at El Corte Inglés has intensified, after a director and minority shareholder accused the Spanish department store chain of being “opaque” and called for a broader shake-up at the retailer.
The complaint is part of an escalating internal struggle over the sale of a 10 per cent stake to a prominent Qatari investor for €1bn, by way of a convertible loan. Ceslar, a family investment vehicle that itself owns just under 10 per cent of El Corte Inglés, says the deal undervalues the group, includes highly unfavourable conditions — and is designed to cement the power of current management.

Carlota Areces, who represents Ceslar on the board, told the Financial Times: “[The stake sale] damages the group, it undervalues the group, both when you look at the current situation and when you look at the medium term.”
Ms Areces voiced particular alarm over a series of penalty clauses that she said were likely to leave the buyer with a much larger stake in the group than publicly stated.
“There is a very aggressive business plan, promising 12 per cent annual growth in ebitda [earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortisation] over the next three years. These are conditions that are impossible to meet, and there are penalty clauses. In the worst case, he will get 15.25 per cent of the company for his €1bn investment, not 10 per cent,” she said.
Ms Areces also took aim at a contentious commission paid by El Corte Inglés to an unknown company in connection with the deal. Neither the identity of the recipient nor the amount of money paid have been disclosed. According to unconfirmed reports in the Spanish media, the payment totalled €17.5m.
“The question I have is: who received this commission?” she said, pointing out that the name of the company or adviser was not provided to board members. “I asked, and I was not given an answer.”
The investor buying into El Corte Inglés is Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, a former Qatari prime minister and previous head of the Qatar Investment Authority. His foray into the Spanish retail market, agreed last month, follows similarly high-profile deals to take a €1.75bn stake in Deutsche Bank and the acquisition of Heritage Oil for £924m. Both those deals were struck last year.
Hit hard by the recent crisis in Spain, El Corte Inglés is likely to be one of the main beneficiaries of the economic recovery and bounce in consumer spending. Aside from the department stores, the group controls a chain of supermarkets and hypermarkets, travel agents and opticians. With staff numbering more than 80,000, it is one of Spain’s biggest private-sector employers.
Ms Areces said El Corte Inglés was indeed seeing an increase in sales and margins, but insisted that the group needed a broader shake-up. “This has always been a very opaque company,” she said. “We have to say adiós to the old way of doing things. We need rejuvenation. We need a change on the board.”
El Corte Inglés declined to comment.

(BN) *SOFTBANK'S ARORA TO BUY ABOUT 60B YEN OF CO.'S SHARES ON MARKET

BFW 08/19 07:04 *SOFTBANK’S ARORA TO BUY ABOUT 60B YEN OF CO.’S SHARES ON MARKET
BN 08/19 07:03 *SOFTBANK'S SON: EXPECT ARORA TO SUCCEED ME AT APPROPRIATE TIME
BN 08/19 07:02 *SOFTBANK'S SON: 'DELIGHTED' ARORA HAS CHOSEN TO 'DOUBLE DOWN'
BN 08/19 07:02 *SOFTBANK SAYS IT SUPPORTS ARORA'S DECISION TO BUY SHRS
BN 08/19 07:01 *SOFTBANK: PURCHASE TO BE CONDUCTED AS PROGRAM TRADE OVER 6 MOS.
BN 08/19 07:01 *SOFTBANK: PRESIDENT, COO ARORA BUYING SHRS IN MARKET TRADING
BN 08/19 07:00 *SOFTBANK: NIKESH ARORA BUYING ABOUT 60B YEN OF SOFTBANK SHRS
BN 08/19 07:00 *SOFTBANK GROUP CORP(9984):PURCHASE OF SHARES BY SBG’S REPRESENT
*SOFTBANK'S ARORA TO BUY ABOUT 60B YEN OF CO.'S SHARES ON MARKET
2015-08-19 07:04:45.975 GMT

--GEAROID REIDY

-0- Aug/19/2015 07:04 GMT