>>> Pirelli bidder ChemChina seeks to convince hedge funds it will not boost pub

Pirelli bidder ChemChina seeks to convince hedge funds it will not boost public offer - report (translated)
ChemChina is seeking to convince hedge funds that there is no prospect it will increase its EUR 15 per share offer for Pirelli [BIT:PC], the listed Italian tyre manufacturer, Italian language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

The unsourced report said the funds which are believed to hold 15%-20% of Pirelli's stock and seek to have the public offer increased to EUR 15.2-15.3 per share.

However, the item said ChemChina is indicating that rather than increasing the offer, it will opt for keeping Pirelli listed if subscription to its public offer fails to reach the 90% threshold.

The report noted ChemChina is understood to have hired Intermonte to get its view on the matter across.

The hedge fund Paulson holds 6.046%, while funds Farallon and Fortress Capital hold stakes as well, the article added.

Pirelli has a market cap of EUR 7.4bn.

The original article appeared in print; Page 28

Source Il Sole 24 Ore

>>> InterContinental Hotels Group shares gain on bid hopes – market report

InterContinental Hotels Group shares gain on bid hopes – market report
S
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) shares gained 2.9% yesterday, 1 July on hopes of a bid for the UK-based hotels operator, the Daily Express reported. The newspaper’s market report section did not cite a source for the speculation.

IHG’s share price closed 75p up at 2641p in London yesterday, valuing the company at GBP 6.23bn (EUR 8.78bn).

The report appeared on page 54 of the Daily Express on 2 July.


Source Daily Express

(BUS) PayPal to Acquire Xoom

BFW 07/01 21:39 PayPal to Buy Xoom for $25/Shr Cash
BN 07/01 21:36 *PAYPAL: DEAL IS 32% PREM ON XOOM’S 3-M VOL-WEIGHTED AVGE PRICE
BN 07/01 21:33 *PAYPAL SAYS XOOM WILL OPERATE AS A SEPARATE SERVICE
BN 07/01 21:33 *PAYPAL: HOLDERS OF ABOUT 18% OF XOOM SHRS IN SUPPORT PACTS
BN 07/01 21:33 *PAYPAL TO FUND TRANSACTION WITH CASH ON BALANCE SHEET
BN 07/01 21:32 *PAYPAL SEES DEAL SLIGHTLY DILUTIVE TO ADJ EPS FOR FY '16
BN 07/01 21:32 *PAYPAL SEES DEAL SLIGHTLY HURTING ADJ. FY16 EPS
BN 07/01 21:32 *PAYPAL DEAL PREMIUM OF 32% OVER 3-MONTH VOL.-WEIGHTED AVG PRICE
BFW 07/01 21:32 *PAYPAL TO BUY XOOM FOR $25/SHR IN CASH OR $890M ENTERPRISE
BN 07/01 21:32 *PAYPAL TO BUY XOOM FOR $25/SHR IN CASH OR $890M ENTERPRISE
BN 07/01 21:32 *PAYPAL TO BUY XOOM FOR $25/SHR IN CASH
BN 07/01 21:32 *PAYPAL TO BUY XOOM
PayPal to Acquire Xoom
2015-07-01 21:32:00.107 GMT

PayPal to Acquire Xoom

Entry into $600 Billion International Money Transfer Market^1 with Leading
Technology Solution

Expands Services for PayPal’s Customers and Accelerates Time-to-Market in Key
International Markets

Business Wire

SAN JOSE, Calif. & SAN FRANCISCO -- July 1, 2015

PayPal, Inc. and Xoom Corporation (NASDAQ:XOOM), a digital money transfer
provider, today announced a definitive agreement under which PayPal will
acquire Xoom for $25 per share in cash or an approximate $890 million
enterprise value. The transaction represents a premium of 32% over Xoom’s
three-month volume-weighted average price and was unanimously approved by the
Boards of Directors of both companies, as well as the Board of eBay Inc.,
PayPal’s parent company.

Xoom is a leader in international remittances enabling customers in the United
States to send money to, and pay bills for, family and friends around the
world in a secure, fast and cost-effective way, using their mobile phones,
tablets or computers.

Dan Schulman, President of PayPal, said, “Expanding into international money
transfer and remittances aligns with our strategic vision to democratize the
movement and management of money. Acquiring Xoom allows PayPal to offer a
broader range of services to our global customer base, increase customer
engagement and enter an important and growing adjacent marketplace. Xoom’s
presence in 37 countries – in particular, Mexico, India, the Philippines,
China and Brazil – will help us accelerate our expansion in these important
markets.”

John Kunze, President and Chief Executive Officer of Xoom, remarked, “Becoming
part of PayPal represents an exciting new chapter for Xoom, which will help
accelerate our time-to-market in unserved geographies and expand the ways we
can innovate for customers. Being part of a larger, global organization will
help us deliver the best possible experience to our customers, while
maximizing value for our shareholders.”

Expected Strategic Benefits of the Xoom Acquisition

* Extends PayPal’s offering to its customers: Broadens PayPal’s consumer
offering to its 68 million active U.S. customers by cross-selling Xoom’s
services.
* Accelerates time-to-market: Xoom’s proprietary and fast “funds-out”
network enables PayPal to enter this growing marketplace with a leading
technology solution with strong presence in key international markets.
* Enables expansion into new markets: Allows Xoom to expand its portfolio of
send-markets by leveraging PayPal’s wider international network.
* Delivers a strong technology platform: Xoom’s compelling and reliable
technology platform and consumer experience are coupled with its excellent
customer service.

Financial Highlights of Acquisition

Due to anticipated one-time integration costs, the completion of the
transaction is expected to be slightly dilutive to PayPal’s non-GAAP earnings
per share for FY 2016. PayPal intends to fund the transaction with cash on its
balance sheet.

Upon closing of the acquisition, Xoom will operate as a separate service
within PayPal. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of
2015, subject to customary closing conditions, including Xoom stockholder
approval, the expiration or early termination of the applicable pre-merger
waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976
and the receipt of certain consents relating to Xoom’s money transmitter
licenses.

Holders of approximately 18% of Xoom's outstanding shares, including all
executive officers and directors of Xoom and certain entities affiliated with
Sequoia Capital, have entered into voting and support agreements with PayPal
pursuant to which they have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is acting as financial adviser to PayPal, while
Sidley Austin LLP is acting as its legal adviser with regard to the
transaction. Qatalyst Partners is acting as financial adviser to Xoom, while
Goodwin Procter LLP is acting as its legal adviser.

About PayPal

At PayPal, we put people at the center of everything we do. Founded in 1998,
we continue to be at the forefront of the digital payments revolution,
processing almost 12.5 million payments for our customers per day. PayPal
gives people better ways to connect to their money and to each other, helping
them send money without sharing financial information and with the flexibility
to pay using their PayPal account balances, bank accounts, PayPal Credit and
credit cards. With our 165 million active customer accounts, we have created
an open and secure payments ecosystem people and businesses choose to securely
transact with each other online, in stores and on mobile devices. PayPal is a
truly global payments platform that is available to people in 203 markets,
allowing customers to get paid in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds to
their bank accounts in 57 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal
accounts in 26 currencies.

PayPal is in the process of being separated from eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY). Upon
completion of the separation, which is expected to occur on July 17, 2015,
PayPal will be an independent, publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ
Stock Market under the ticker “PYPL.” More information about PayPal can be
found at www.paypal.com and www.paypal-corp.com. More information about the
planned separation of eBay and PayPal can be found at update.ebayinc.com.

About Xoom

Xoom is a leading digital money transfer provider that enables consumers to
send money, pay bills and send mobile reloads to family and friends around the
world in a secure, fast and cost-effective way, using their mobile phone,
tablet or computer. During the 12 months ended March 31, 2015, Xoom’s more
than 1.3 million active customers sent approximately $7.0 billion with Xoom.
The company is headquartered in San Francisco and can be found online at
www.xoom.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, including statements
about the expected impact of this transaction on PayPal’s and Xoom’s financial
and operating results and business, the operation and management of Xoom after
the acquisition, the anticipated funding for the transaction, and the timing
of the closing of the acquisition. Although PayPal and Xoom believe that the
assumptions upon which their respective forward-looking statements are based
are reasonable, these statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual
results could differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause
or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the receipt
and timing of regulatory approvals for the transaction, the possibility that
the transaction may not close, the reaction to the transaction of Xoom’s
customers and business partners, the reaction of competitors to the
transaction, the retention of Xoom employees, PayPal’s plans for Xoom,
economic conditions in the global markets in which PayPal and Xoom operate,
the future growth of Xoom’s and PayPal’s businesses and the possibility that
integration following the transaction may be more difficult than expected.

More information about these and other factors can be found in PayPal
Holdings, Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form 10, as amended from time to
time, and its future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”), and Xoom’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the SEC.
Neither PayPal nor Xoom accept any responsibility for any financial or
operational information contained in this press release relating to the
business, results of operations or financial condition of the other. Each of
PayPal and Xoom expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect any change in the expectations with regard thereto
or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such
statement is based.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed merger transaction
involving PayPal and Xoom. This communication does not constitute an offer to
sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or the solicitation
of any vote or approval. The proposed merger will be submitted to Xoom
stockholders for their consideration. In connection therewith, Xoom intends to
file relevant materials with the SEC, including a proxy statement on Schedule
14A. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR ANY INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND
SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT REGARDING THE PROPOSED
TRANSACTION AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE
SEC, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY
WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors
and security holders may obtain copies of the proxy statement, any amendments
or supplements thereto, and other documents containing important information
about Xoom, once such documents are filed with the SEC, free of charge at the
SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and security
holders may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Xoom on
Xoom’s investor relations website at https://ir.xoom.com or by contacting Xoom
investor relations at IR@xoom.com.

Participants in Solicitation

Xoom and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants
in the solicitation of proxies of Xoom stockholders in connection with the
proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers
of Xoom is set forth in Xoom’s definitive proxy statement for its 2015 annual
meeting of stockholders filed with the SEC on April 14, 2015 and in subsequent
documents to be filed with the SEC, each of which can be obtained free of
charge from the sources indicated above. Other information regarding Xoom’s
participants in the solicitation and a description of their direct and
indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in
the proxy statement relating to the proposed transaction and other relevant
materials to be filed by Xoom with the SEC when they become available.

^1 The World Bank Global Remittances 2016 estimate

View source version on businesswire.com:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150701006690/en/

Contact:

For PayPal
Investors:
Tracey Ford,
Senior Director, Investor Relations
tford@paypal.com
Media:
Martha Cass, 416-860-6213
Director, Corporate Communications
mcass@paypal.com
or
For Xoom
Investors:
Sharrifah Al-Salem,
Director, Investor Relations
sharrifah.alsalem@xoom.com
Media:
Theresa Pasinosky,
Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing
theresa.pasinosky@xoom.com

-0- Jul/01/2015 21:32 GMT

(LesEchos)Menace d’écran noir pour les abonnés de Numericable

Menace d’écran noir pour les abonnés de Numericable

L’opérateur télécom conteste une augmentation de la redevance qu’il verse à la Ville de Paris pour l’utilisation de ses locaux. Celle-ci menace de priver tous ses clients de télévision et d’internet.
Numericable est une nouvelle fois au centre d’une polémique. Cette fois-ci c’est la ville de Paris qui est en conflit avec le groupe du désormais très médiatique Patrick Drahi . Pour un différend concernant le paiement de redevances par Numericable à la ville de Paris, pour l’utilisation de locaux. L’affaire prend une telle ampleur que Paris menace désormais de couper la télé et l’internet aux abonnés de Numericable !
L’histoire remonte à 2009 : Numericable refuse alors de signer la convention qui fixe les augmentations de tarifs pour l’utilisation de locaux de la ville de Paris dans lesquels les opérateurs télécom déploient leurs infrastructures techniques pour distribuer la télévision et internet. L’augmentation pour Numericable se chiffre à 62.772 euros annuels en moyenne. Mais l’opérateur s’y oppose.
« Nous avons un désaccord sur le métrage. Nous ne voulons payer que ce que nous utilisons comme espace. Or la Ville de Paris nous impose de payer toute la surface », explique Jérôme Yomtov, directeur délégué de Numericable-SFR. « On a beaucoup investi dans Paris et on va continuer à le faire », ajoute-t-il. Pas question pour Paris de pratiquer des tarifs préférentiels ou de changer l’assiette de calcul. Comme elle est obligée d’appliquer le même régime à tous les opérateurs télécoms au nom du principe d’équité, cela signifierait, si elle devait céder à Numericable aujourd’hui, qu’elle devrait restituer des montants déjà perçus aux seize autres opérateurs télécom, qui, eux, ont tous signé la convention de 2009.
L’addition atteint 8,37 millions d’euros
Puisqu’une convention avait été conclue en 2005 entre Numericable et la ville de Paris, c’est celle-ci qui s’appliquait jusqu’ici. Sauf qu’elle est arrivée à échéance le 10 février dernier et que depuis, Numericable se trouve donc être un « occupant sans droit ni titre » des locaux de la ville de Paris. Celle-ci a par ailleurs constaté des irrégularités (paiement partiels) entre 2008 et 2013, de la part de Numericable. Au total, le montant de l’addition atteint 8,37 millions d’euros (dont 1,97 million dus au nom de Completel, la filiale de Numericable).
Depuis plusieurs mois, Paris a envoyé plusieurs mises en demeure et déposé des recours. De son côté, Numericable a aussi engagé plusieurs recours contre la ville de Paris, pour contester les montants à régler. Mais le 26 juin dernier, la tension est montée d’un cran. Paris a en effet carrément mis en demeure Numericable de retirer toutes ses installations, au plus tard le 10 août prochain. La conséquence serait majeure pour les clients de l’opérateur, qui se retrouveraient privés de télévision et d’internet. Dans son courrier à l’opérateur, dont « Les Echos » ont eu connaissance, la Ville Paris précise bien que dans l’hypothèse où Numericable ne s’exécuterait pas « il pourra être procédé d’office au retrait des installations et à la remise en état des lieux ».
Télé et internet coupés
Les réseaux telecom nationaux des opérateurs s’interconnectant à Paris, ce sont tous les abonnés de Numericable sur le territoire français (1,7 million) qui seraient menacés et aussi les 2,4 millions de clients de Bouygues Telecom, qui loue le réseau de Numericable. Pour la télévision, ce sont surtout les parisiens qui sont menacés. Beaucoup d’immeubles collectifs de la capitale ne disposant pas de râteaux ou de parabole, ils ne reçoivent la télé que par le câble, donc par Numericable.
D’autres collectivités ont eu maille à partir avec Numericable, parmi lesquelles Sarreguemines et Saint-Quentin en Yvelines. Ou encore les Hauts-de-Seine , qui réclament près de 100 millions d’euros à l’opérateur. Ironie du sort, le conflit avec la Ville de Paris est rendu public alors que Numericable a publié, ce matin, un sondage Harris Interactive témoignant de l’importance qu’accordent les français à la qualité de connexion internet. Celle-ci est considérée pour 93 % des Français interrogés, comme une « force importante des territoires pour attirer de nouveaux arrivants », et pour 95 %, pour faire venir de nouveaux investisseurs...

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: NZD moves below $0.67 on expectation of more RBNZ easing; Australia deficit tops consensus

***Economic Data***- (AU) AUSTRALIA MAY TRADE BALANCE: -A$2.7B V -A$2.2BE; 14th straight deficit - (JP) JAPAN JUN MONETARY BASE Y/Y: 34.2% (2-year low) V 35.6% PRIOR; MONETARY BASE END OF PERIOD: ¥325T V ¥307.4T PRIOR - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND JUN QV HOUSE PRICES Y/Y: 9.3% V 9.0% PRIOR - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND JUN ANZ COMMODITY PRICE M/M: -3.1% V -4.9% PRIOR; 3rd straight decline - (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAY CURRENT ACCOUNT: $8.7B V $8.1B PRIOR

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

***- Nikkei225 +1.1%, S&P/ASX +1.3%, Kospi +0.3%, Shanghai Composite -0.7%, Hang Seng +0.5%, Sept S&P500 -0.1% at 2,068

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Aug gold -0.2% at $1,166/oz, Aug crude oil +0.2% at $57.08/brl, Sept copper +0.2% at $2.63/lb
- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1171 v 6.1149 prior setting (weakest Yuan setting since Jun 10th)
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY35B in 7-day reverse repos (3rd consecutive injection); Injects net CNY50B this week v injected CNY35B prior (2nd week of injection)
- (JP) Japan investors sell net ¥45.2B in foreign bonds V sold ¥893T in prior week; Foreign investors buy net ¥298B in Japan stocks v sold ¥254B in prior week
- JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.18T in 0.4% (0.4% prior) 10-yr notes; Avg Yield: 0.513% v 0.450% prior; bid-to-cover: 2.62x v 2.71x prior

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Asian indices are trading mixed ahead of a key US non-farm payrolls report following Wednesday's 6-month high in ADP jobs earlier, along with marginal improvement in US ISM manufacturing. Shanghai Composite was once again the notable decliner, falling as much as 3% before a rebound, all in spite of more pronounced gains on Wall St and some positive China developments. Chinese press reported Shanghai Exchange could allow real estate to be used as collateral in margin calls, while CSRC was also said to have loosened some rules on margin trading, including allowing some flexibility on minimum deposits when receiving a margin call. The measures are intended to reduce the frequency of margin calls that has exacerbated volatility in equities, though it could potentially backfire by artificially propping up sour investments. Separately, another local press report suggested China govt could announce new fiscal stabilizing measures based on economic conditions.
- In Japan, BOJ Q2 Tankan survey for CPI saw expectations for 1-year remaining at 1.4%, 3-year was lowered to 1.5% from 1.6% and 5-year unchanged at 1.6%. Note that these forecasts are still well below the 2% target anticipated to be achieved by H1 of 2016. Japan monetary base expansion also slowed to a 2-year low, though still well above 30% y/y.
- Trading in AUD and NZD was fairly active in the wake of some key regional developments. Australia trade balance marked its 14th deficit and was wider than expected, even though imports fell 4% vs prior rise of 4% and export decline slowed to 1% from 6%. China shipments were surprisingly strong, rising to A$6.75B v A$5.85B prior, a 5-month high, and both iron ore and coal shipments showed marginal improvements from last month's lows. AUD/USD fell to its session lows on the release below $0.7630. In New Zealand, the latest Fonterra auction prices fell for the 8th time to their lowest level in 6 years. Both ANZ and ASB cut their expectations of RBNZ rate expectations to 2.50%, implying 75bps in further cuts, sending NZD/USD to 5-year lows below $0.67.

- Greek PM Tsipras has been widely admonished for conflicting messages, expressing more willingness to negotiate with creditors but then defending the anti-austerity position to electorate ahead of the Sunday referendum which is now set to proceed. IMF's Lagarde said she was hopeful the voting will bring more clarity, and it is increasingly evident that creditors are clamoring for referedum to weaken Syriza with the likely YES vote and potentially bring about a change in govt toward a more pro-austerity one. Greek press polls saw expectations for the YES vote at 47.1% vs 43.2% for a NO vote. Moody's also cut Greek sovereign by one notch to CAA3 and placed it on review for a further downgrade.

***Equities***
US equities / ADRs:
- HNSN: Announces FDA Clearance of the Magellan(TM) 10Fr Robotic Catheter; +22.1% afterhours
- XOOM: PayPal to Acquire Xoom for $25/shr cash or $890M enterprise value; +21.3% afterhours
- PRGS: Reports Q2 $0.35 v $0.31e, R$101M v $98.9Me; +7.3% afterhoursNotable

movers by sector:
- Consumer discretionary: Wynn Macau 1128.HK +13.5%, Sands China 1928.HK +14.2%, MGM China 2282.HK +14.4%, Galaxy Entertainment 27.HK +11.2% (speculation that China approves to increase stay lengths for tourist); Pacific Brands PBG.AU +30.8% (raises FY15 guidance); ABC-MART 2670.JP +1.7% (Q1 result speculation)
- Financials: Evergrande Real Estate Group 3333.HK -1.1% (plans to list football jv); Bank of Communications 601328.CN +2.7% (approval to acquire brokerage); CITIC Securities 600030.CN +3.4%, Haitong Securities 600837.CN +4.0%, GF Securities 000776.CN +2.8%, HTSC 601688.CN +6.9% (CSRC and exchanges positive announcements); Challenger Financial Services Group CGF.AU +1.9% (sales of interest in Kapstream Capital)
- Industrials: China Railway Group 601390.CN +2.5% (awarded contracts); Bradken Ltd BKN.AU -0.7% (likely become takeover target); Mazda Motor Corp 7261.JP +2.3% (June US sales); Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd 7270.JP +0.9% (June US sales); Hyundai Motor Co 005380.KR -1.5% (June sales); Nissan Motor Co Ltd 7201.JP +2.6% (June US sales)
-Technology: Pax Global 327.HK +9.0% (H1 guidance); Inspur Electronic Information Industry Co 000977.CN +2.0% (H1 guidance); Alibaba Health Information Technology 241.HK +0.5% (FY14/15 result); Leshi Internet Info & Tech Co Beijing 300104.CN +7.3% (unveils new smartphone)
- Materials: Beadell Resources Ltd BDR.AU -2.7% (Q2 prelim result
- Energy: Sinopec 386.HK -1.4% (China to ease natural gas price limit

>>> US After Hours Summary: PRGS +6.6%, FC -0.3%, FDO -0.2% following


After Hours Summary: PRGS +6.6%, FC -0.3%, FDO -0.2% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: PRGS +6.6%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: XOOM +21.3% (to be acquired by Paypal (PYPL) for $25/share, or ~$890 mln), HNSN +12.8% (received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Magellan 10Fr Robotic Catheter for use in the peripheral vasculature), GRBK +7.5% (Form 4 filings indicate Third Point, Greenlight Capital, and company directors bought shares in 17 mln share offering of common stock at $10 per share announced on June 22), MBI +6.5% (strength on further reports regarding Puerto Rico successfully paying $1.9 bln in debt obligations today, OFG also higher by 3.7%), PKY +5.4% (Bloomberg reporting that co is considering strategic options including a potential sale), BDSI +4.7% (Point72 Asset Management discloses 5.5% passive stake in 13G filing), GTLS +2.8% (to replace IGTE in the S&P SmallCap 600), QUNR +1.5% (confirmed final judgment in dispute with eLong (LONG)), NSM +1.1% (Point72 Asset Management disclosed 5.2% passive stake in 13G filing)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: FC -0.3%, FDO -0.2%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: WPCS -31.8% (announced completion of a series of transactions resulting in the elimination of all of its $1,703,000 principal amount of Unsecured Promissory Notes; holders of ~$1.3 mln of notes converted them into 8,435 shares of a new series of preferred stock), ANR -4.6% (co's subsidiary Pennsylvania Services Corporation acquired an additional 50% interest in Pennsylvania Land Resources Holding Company for $126 mln), BTU -1.1% (appointed Amy Schwetz to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; replaces Michael Crews, who has announced plans to step down to take the top financial position at a major industrial firm), EPRS -1.1% (filed for $125 mln mixed securities shelf offering)

>>> US Close Dow+0.79% S&P+0.70% Nasdaq+0.53% Russell+0.21% VIX 16.11

Closing Market Summary: Financial Sector Leads Stocks Higher Amid M&A Activity

The major averages spent the Wednesday session in a slow retreat from their opening highs, but they were able to keep more than half of their opening gains. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%) underperformed.

Equities surged out of the gate amid reports from Europe indicating Greece is now ready to accept all conditions in order to secure a bailout. The report sparked a rush to risk assets, but the Greek offer was met with a cool reception from Eurozone leaders. Most notably, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated that talks will not resume until after Sunday's referendum, adding that "a compromise at any price" is not worthwhile. Similarly, Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said he does not see the need for a resumption of talks ahead of Sunday's referendum.

Despite charging at the start, stocks began inching away from their highs about 30 minutes into the session after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reiterated his call for a ‘no' vote during Sunday's referendum. A small pullback ensued as Mr. Tsipras' comments cast doubt on earlier speculation that the referendum could be cancelled altogether.

Nine sectors were able to end the day with gains while energy (-1.3%) struggled amid daylong weakness in crude oil that sent the energy component to levels not seen since late May. WTI crude settled lower by 4.2% at $56.94/bbl with greenback strength contributing to the move as the Dollar Index (96.25, +0.76) rose 0.8%.

Today's plunge in crude oil failed to boost airlines as the industry group was hit with broad-based selling interest after the Department of Justice confirmed a probe into potential collusion in the industry. Delta Air Lines (DAL 40.27, -0.81) and JetBlue (JBLU 20.04, -0.71) lost 2.0% and 3.4%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average eked out a slim gain of 0.2% thanks to gains among shipping and railroad names.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, consumer discretionary (+1.0%) and financials (+1.3%) outperformed throughout the session. The financial sector held the lead into the close with Chubb (CB 119.99, +24.85) soaring 26.1% after agreeing to be acquired by ACE Limited (ACE 102.49, +0.81) for roughly $124.13/share in cash and stock. The acquisition boosted other insurers with Dow component Travelers (TRV 99.30, +2.64) jumping 2.7%.

Also of note, the technology sector (+0.6%) was among the early leaders, but the top-weighted group slipped behind the broader market during afternoon action. The retreat from early highs was paced by chipmakers with the PHLX Semiconductor Index narrowing its gain to 0.2% after being up 1.5% at the start.

Treasuries ended the day not far above their lows with the 10-yr yield climbing six basis points to 2.42%.

Today's participation was ahead of average as more than 840 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included ADP Employment, ISM Index, Construction Spending, and MBA Mortgage Index:
  • The ADP National Employment Report revealed that employment in the nonfarm private business sector rose by 237K in June, which was above the increase of 200K expected by the consensus 
    • The May reading was revised up to 203,000 from 201,000 
  • The ISM Manufacturing Index increased to 53.5 in June from 52.8 in May while the consensus expected an increase to 53.2 
    • A small acceleration in new orders growth (56.0 from 55.8) was not enough to keep the Production Activities index from falling to 54.0 in June from 54.5 in May 
  • Construction spending increased 0.8% in May after a downwardly revised 2.1% (from 2.2%) increase in April while the consensus expected an increase of 0.3% 
    • Typically, construction spending naturally pulls back after an outsized 2.0% monthly gain. Not only did construction spending remain on a positive track, but it easily topped what we considered to be inflated expectations. 
  • The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 4.7% to follow last week's 1.6% increase 
Tomorrow, weekly Initial Claims (consensus 273K) and June Nonfarm Payrolls (consensus 230K) will both be reported at 8:30 ET while the Factory Orders report for May (consensus -0.5%) will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.
  • Nasdaq Composite +5.9% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 +4.4% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +0.9% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.4% YTD

(Le Monde) Numericable : le torchon brûle avec la ville de Paris


La Ville de Paris menace de couper téléphone et télévision aux abonnés Numericable
Le Monde.fr | 01.07.2015 à 19h12 • Mis à jour le 01.07.2015 à 21h17
Le torchon brûle entre la maire de Paris, Anne Hidalgo, et Numericable-SFR. Selon nos informations, la Ville de Paris a transmis en date du 26 juin un courrier à l’opérateur télécoms lui enjoignant de démonter ses installations dans la capitale et de remettre en état les locaux occupés par le groupe, et ce, d’ici le 10 août. Ce qui ne serait pas sans conséquences pour les abonnés parisiens de l’opérateur, que ce soit pour le téléphone ou pour la télévision.

Derrière le ton comminatoire, un différend entre la ville de Paris et Numericable-SFR sur l’appréciation des sommes à acquitter par l’opérateur au titre des loyers pour l’occupation de locaux utilisés afin de déployer son réseau parisien. L’affaire remonte à 2009 et au refus de Numericable de signer, au contraire des autres opérateurs présents à Paris, une convention qui revoyait à la hausse les tarifs de ces redevances. Selon les chiffres communiqués par la Ville de Paris, les loyers acquittés par Numericable auraient dû augmenter en moyenne de 62 772 euros par an, ce qui n’a pas été le cas.

UN OCCUPANT SANS DROIT NI TITRE
La Ville de Paris et Numericable étant liés par une convention signée en 2005, c’est celle-ci qui a été appliquée jusqu’à son échéance le 10 février dernier. Et le groupe occupe donc actuellement des lieux sans droit ni titre. Si Numericable-SFR refuse de signer la convention de 2009, c’est que le groupe est en désaccord avec le mode de calcul proposé par la ville. « Nous souhaitons payer le juste prix, c’est-à-dire pour la surface que nous utilisons réellement », explique Jérôme Yomtov. Le secrétaire général de Numericable-SFR rappelle également que son groupe a investi « massivement à Paris et va continuer à le faire, dans la fibre comme dans la 4G ».

Au lieu des 871,99 euros par mètre carré pour 2014 pour la surface totale des locaux mis à disposition définis dans la convention, le groupe souhaiterait bénéficier d’un tarif préférentiel et d’une assiette de calcul différente, explique la Ville de Paris. Un traitement que les services de la capitale ne semblent pas prêt à consentir, au nom du principe d’équité imposé réglementairement à la Ville envers tous les opérateurs. La collectivité ne peut accéder à cette demande sans également faire bénéficier de ce tarif les 17 autres opérateurs télécoms et risquer, ainsi, de voir les contentieux se multiplier et de devoir restituer des montants déjà perçus, explique-t-on dans l’entourage d’Anne Hidalgo.

A ce premier différend s’en ajoute un autre relatif à des impayés constatés par la Ville de Paris et portant sur une période courant de 2008 à 2013. L’addition se monterait, selon la municipalité, à 8,37 millions d’euros et elle concernerait aussi bien Numericable que Completel, la filiale services aux professionnels de l’opérateur.

INTERCONNEXIONS
Selon des estimations de la Ville de Paris, la dépose des installations de Numericable pourrait affecter plusieurs millions de foyers. Ainsi pour le téléphone, l’ensemble des réseaux télécoms nationaux des opérateurs s’interconnectant à Paris, c’est la totalité des abonnés de Numericable qui pourraient être concernés, soit 1,7 million de clients, souligne la Ville de Paris. Laquelle fait également valoir que Bouygues Telecom louant le réseau de Numericable, ses clients – 2,4 millions d’abonnés – pourraient également être touchés. Au total, 4,1 millions d’abonnés seraient donc potentiellement concernés. Pour la télévision, ce sont les Parisiens vivant dans les immeubles collectifs qui seraient principalement affectés car la télévision y arrive majoritairement par le réseau câblé, lequel est historiquement celui de Numericable.

Dans le cas où Numericable continuerait à refuser de régulariser sa situation – en acquittant les impayés et en ratifiant la convention de 2009 –, ce bras de fer pourrait se traduire pour des millions de Français par un écran noir et des téléphones muets. La Ville de Paris se déclare en effet prête à procéder elle-même au retrait des installations à partir du 11 août prochain. Une menace tout de même bien difficile à mettre en œuvre, tant elle serait impopulaire.

Re/code.net : YouTube Beware: Facebook Will Start Sharing Ad Revenue With Video

YouTube Beware: Facebook Will Start Sharing Ad Revenue With Video Creators

YouTube finally has some serious competition.

Facebook is offering video creators like the NBA, Fox Sports and Funny or Die a revenue split from ads sold alongside their videos beginning this fall. It’s the first time Facebook has done any kind of revenue share around video, and the pitch to content creators is pretty transparent: Share your content with us and we’ll share some of the money we make back with you.

The move is a full-on attack against YouTube, which has dominated the digital video market for the better half of a decade. Facebook has been able to attract content creators because of its massive reach, but now it’s offering them the one thing YouTube has offered for years: Money. YouTube also uses a revenue split to entice content creators — the same revenue split, actually — with 55 percent going to the video creator and the remaining 45 percent staying with the platform.

But Facebook’s argument is that it can get more eyeballs for your video. People don’t have to hunt to find your video — Facebook will show it to them. And those people don’t need to be following your Facebook Page, either.

“A lot of [our partners] have said this will be a big motivation to start publishing a lot more video content to Facebook,” Dan Rose, Facebook’s VP of partnerships, told Re/code about the new revenue model. “That’s exactly what we’re hoping for.”

It’s not quite that simple, though. The revenue share on Facebook doesn’t apply to all videos in News Feed. Instead, the company is rolling out a new feature called Suggested Videos, a News Feed of sorts that’s exclusively video content. For example, if you click on a video in your News Feed about snowboarding, you’ll be taken to the Suggested Videos feed where you can watch that video, then scroll down to see others that are similar.

This “suggested” videos feed will use an algorithm to find the related content. If you click on a video of your college friend, you’ll probably see more videos from that person. But if you click on a video from a larger brand or publisher, you’ll primarily see videos from bigger content partners, like those listed above, explained Rose.

There will also be ads in this stream — standalone, autoplay ads like you might find in News Feed — and this is where the revenue share comes into play.

Again, though, it’s not that simple. Because it’s essentially a video version of News Feed, you may watch three videos and see just one video ad. In that instance, Facebook will divide that 55 percent among the three video creators based on how much time you spent watching each video. Facebook still gets its 45 percent.

The new format all but confirms Facebook’s push to make video a top priority. It also offers a new revenue stream the company wasn’t getting before. The video ad business is typically based around pre-roll ads, which Facebook doesn’t offer, and there’s also a limit to how many video ads it can cram into News Feed before turning people away.

Essentially, Facebook isn’t taking full advantage of its potential video ad business, which is a bummer for Facebook considering video ads are typically the most lucrative.

Suggested Videos gives Facebook another feed to show off ads that autoplay with sound. As a bonus, the new model provides incentive for big-time content producers to share more video on Facebook at the same time. Facebook gets a new ad stream and more video content in one fell swoop.

The social network has done other things as well to help make video a priority over the past year and a half. It tweaked its algorithm to show more video and started autoplaying video in News Feed to capture people’s attention. As a result, daily video views on Facebook have jumped from one billion back in the fall to four billion in April.

There are still a number of wrinkles to be worked out with Suggested Videos. For example, Facebook hasn’t decided how it will charge advertisers. The company currently offers two methods with video ads — pay by impression (a view is counted as soon as the video starts playing) or pay for views (a view is counted after 10 seconds).

It will test the Suggested Videos product for “a few months” while giving advertisers “bonus impressions” before deciding how to charge them.

It’s also unclear how many video creators will be able to take advantage of the revenue share element. Rose says the company will start with a “few dozen” partners and will add others along the way. But all content creators who want a paycheck from Facebook have to become official partners with the company.

Facebook is rolling the feature out on iOS over the coming weeks, and plans to launch it on Android and the Web in the coming months.