U.S. Probes Nike Payments Under Brazil Deal
Sponsorship was a crucial win; Brazilian auditor also questioned payments years ago
U.S. authorities are examining payments made by Nike Inc. under a groundbreaking 1996 soccer sponsorship with Brazil for possible evidence of any wrongdoing by the company in addition to its counterparts in the deal, people familiar with the matter said.
U.S. authorities are examining payments made by Nike under a groundbreaking 1996 soccer sponsorship with Brazil. ENLARGE
U.S. authorities are examining payments made by Nike under a groundbreaking 1996 soccer sponsorship with Brazil. PHOTO: PHILIP OLDHAM/ZUMA PRESS
The examination indicates the company is still of interest as the Justice Department pursues its wide-ranging probe of corruption in the global soccer business.
Allegations of corruption around Nike’s 10-year, $160 million agreement to sponsor Brazil’s national team are discussed in barely veiled terms in the Justice Department’s 161-page indictment of officials in and around soccer’s governing body, FIFA.
The indictment describes a multinational U.S. sportswear company that struck a deal to sponsor the Brazilian federation, and then cut a side deal with a sports-marketing middleman, who allegedly used payments from the company for bribes and kickbacks. The people familiar with the matter confirmed the company is Nike.
Nike said the indictment doesn’t allege that the company or its employees engaged in criminal activity and said it is committed to ethical behavior.
“We have been cooperating, and will continue to cooperate, with the authorities,” the company said in an email.
Nike’s negotiating counterparts at the Brazilian soccer federation CBF and the middleman, Traffic, are described in the indictment as unindicted co-conspirators. The indictment doesn’t discuss Nike or any of its employees by name.
The inquiry by U.S. prosecutors has raised questions about a deal that was a crucial win for Nike. At the time, the company was widely seen as out of the race in soccer. But it pushed boldly into Brazil in an effort to sign the reigning world champions and gain clout in the sport. The Brazilian contract helped drive Nike’s revenue and sponsorship heft in soccer to where it is today: neck-and-neck with rival Adidas AG.
People involved the sports-marketing business at the time said in recent interviews that Nike rushed into the top echelon of a sport and into a country that it didn’t understand very well.
Questions about the deal began long before U.S. authorities began their probe. The Brazilian Federal Accounting Office audited CBF’s accounts around the turn of the millennium and found anomalies with payments made by Nike to the Brazilian federation, according to the records of a Brazilian parliamentary commission that held an inquiry into the deal at that time.
The agreement called for Nike to make scheduled payments directly to the CBF via its account at Banco Real, according to a translation of a copy of the agreement in the commission’s records.
But the audit found that Nike sometimes routed payments via different accounts, according to a translation of the audit report included in the committee’s records.
“There were several banking transactions that weren’t done directly to that account, instead going through a triangulation through banks, whose goal should be better explained,” the translation of the audit report copy says.
The report doesn’t include an explanation of the transactions. According to the contract, Nike could send the money via other accounts if instructed to do so by CBF. It’s unclear to whom Nike made the payments, which according to the schedule set forth in the contract were due in annual installments of between $5 million and $20 million over 10 years.
The Brazilian parliamentary inquiry in particular questioned whether the terms of the contract were overly favorable to Nike in terms of control over exhibition matches and appearances by players. It also questioned why the contract was done through an intermediary.
Reynaldo “Ingo” Ostrovsky, who served as Nike’s communications manager in Brazil after the contract was signed, testified in 2001 that Nike originally approached Traffic when it became interested in sponsoring the Brazilian national team knowing the sports-marketing firm held the marketing rights.
In the testimony, Mr. Ostrovsky was asked by the Brazilian lawmakers how much Nike had to pay Traffic for the rights to CBF.
“The contract makes it quite clear that Nike did not make any payments to Traffic,” Mr. Ostrovsky said, according to a translation of the transcript. “The contract says the financial settlement, if any, it will be done between the CBF and the Traffic. We do not, have not made any financial or monetary settlement with Traffic.”
Mr. Ostrovsky declined to comment.
Translated language from a copy of the contract included with the commission report says that Nike agreed to make payments directly to CBF, which would then make any payments due to Traffic.
U.S. authorities, however, allege that three days after the deal between the sportswear company and CBF was signed, a representative from the company and a representative from Traffic signed a separate, one-page agreement whereby Traffic was permitted to invoice Nike directly for additional marketing fees. A statement on the Traffic Group website said that the firm continues to operate normally and news reports alleging wrongdoing are based on incomplete information.
A spokesman for Nike, Reggie Borges, said Mr. Ostrovsky was referring in his testimony to the contract between Nike and CBF, and not the one-page agreement signed between Nike and a Traffic affiliate.
The indictment alleges Traffic eventually invoiced the company for $30 million and that the middleman then used the funds in part to pay bribes and kickbacks.
The indictment refers to the company’s negotiating counterparts at the CBF and the middleman, called Traffic Group, as co-conspirators. The Traffic representative, founder José Hawilla, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the probe. He has admitted to crimes including money laundering and fraud related to the broad soccer probe. Mr. Hawilla’s lawyer said his client is cooperating with the investigation.
Tsipras seeks debt relief as Greeks take offer to Brussels
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was willing to accept unpalatable compromises to secure a deal with international creditors, provided he gets debt relief in return, something that Germany refuses to countenance.
With Greece heading towards possible default and bankruptcy, he told his negotiating team before it took a counter-proposal to Brussels that without debt relief he would say "no" to any settlement with the EU and IMF that isolate his country from the rest of Europe.
In little more than a fortnight, Athens must repay 1.6 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund with money it does not have
Greek ministers arrived in Brussels on Saturday to resume negotiations with international creditors on a cash-for-reforms deal that ended in stalemate on Thursday.
The counter-proposal offering concessions on budget issues is designed to break the deadlock that is threatening Greece's future in the euro zone.
Tsipras, who was elected in January on promises to end austerity, made it clear he was willing to give ground but with strings attached that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is highly unlikely to accept.
"If we have a sustainable solution, regardless of how difficult the compromise is, we will bear the burden because the only criteria are exiting the crisis and the bailouts," a government official quoted Tsipras as telling the ministers on Friday night before they headed to Brussels.
Tsipras used the term "sustainable solution" to refer to a long-standing demand for large parts of Greece's mountainous debts to be written off - something he believes is vital if the Greek economy is to start getting back on its feet after a five-year depression.
Much of that debt is owed to Germany, the biggest contributor to Greece's 240 billion euro bailouts. Any acceptance by Merkel that the money might never be paid back would almost certainly create uproar among the country's politicians and taxpayers.
Tsipras also signaled that without debt relief, he would reject any deal which isolated his country from the rest of Europe, such as the creditors' demands for curbs on the right of Greek workers to bargain collectively on pay - something that union members elsewhere take for granted.
"If Europe desires the split and the continuation of subjugation, we will make the big decision to say 'no' and fight the battle for the dignity of the people and our national sovereignty," he said.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURE
Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis gave more details on the negotiating stand, such as on the primary surplus, a budget balance that excludes debt repayments, and the creditors' demands for yet more of the austerity that has already radically reduced Greeks' living standards.
"The government seeks a solution which will include a debt relief, low primary surpluses, no wage and pension cuts, an investment package and restarting the economy," he told Agora newspaper.
"Debt relief is not an ideological obsession or a symbolic move, but a necessary condition to relieve people and jumpstart the economy," he added.
On Friday, EU officials said representatives of euro zone member states had formally discussed a series of scenarios, including for the first time one which involved a possible Greek default on the repayment to the International Monetary Fund due by the end of this month.
Athens, which attended a meeting of the official-level Euro Working Group on Thursday, has denied that any such scenario had come up.
Defaulting on a repayment to the IMF, the lender of last resort under the post-World War Two global financial system, would have profound consequences. The European Central Bank would probably have to halt emergency lending that supports Greek banks, which have suffered huge withdrawals by anxious savers.
Athens would then probably have to respond with capital controls, curbing deposit withdrawals and payments abroad in a series of events that would put Greece's future in the euro in grave danger.
But Sakellaridis dismissed such a scenario. "The Greek banking system is steady and solvent, which is being proven every day. Any other theories are just part of the negotiation, a form of (mainly psychological) pressure."
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, a former academic economist, played down any possibility of Greece being forced out of the euro.
"As a former statistician, I will never consent to the notion that there is a zero probability event," he told BBC radio. "It is also possible that a comet will hit planet Earth ... (but) I don’t believe that any sensible European bureaucrat or politician will go down that road.”
Varoufakis, who has been sidelined from the negotiations since falling out with some of his euro zone colleagues, said he believed Merkel would not "even begin to contemplate an exit of Greece from the euro zone".
Asked if the EU and IMF were bluffing, he said: "I hope they are."
Eurozone Raises Specter of Default as Pressure Mounts in Greek Bailout Talks
Discussion came same day IMF halted talks with Athens
Senior officials from all 19 eurozone countries have jointly discussed the possibility of a Greek default and exit from the euro for the first time, in a sign of mounting pressure on Athens as it drafts new proposals to unlock desperately needed bailout funds.
At a dinner Thursday in Bratislava, Slovakia, aimed at preparing a meeting of eurozone finance chiefs this coming week, senior officials from the ministries sketched out three outcomes for Greece, according to two officials familiar with the discussions.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pictured during a speech in Berlin on Friday, has called on all parties to return to the negotiating table for bailout negotiations with Greece. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
The International Monetary Fund had just called off its talks with Greece, frustrated with five months of negotiations that have failed to yield an agreement on exactly what policy overhauls and spending cuts Athens must agree to make in exchange for sustained financial aid.
One outcome, which eurozone officials considered less likely, foresaw a deal being struck between Greece, the IMF and the eurozone, and Athens actually implementing all the necessary economic measures before its bailout expires at the end of June.
The second outcome, seen by officials as more likely, would involve a technical extension to Greece’s bailout program until the end of the year or early 2016 to allow more time for Athens to implement the measures.
While the Greek government has signaled it would be on board with such an extension, officials cautioned that it would still require Athens to agree on specific measures this month. “There is a question mark over whether the Greek side is ready to reach such an agreement,” an official familiar with the discussions said.
But the most striking outcome was the third one, described as “plan B,” which saw no deal being reached. This outcome would lead to “a very high probability of default” for the government in Athens, an official said.
The official said it was the first time there was a discussion among all 19 eurozone members about such an option. He added, however, that the discussion was very brief, signaling that it could have also been intended as an attempt to pressure the Greek government to present credible proposals.
An attempt by Slovenia, Slovakia and Lithuania to start a discussion on the idea in April was shot down by the chairman of the group of eurozone finance ministers, officials present at the meeting said.
The eurozone portion of Greece’s €245 billion ($276 billion) bailout expires June 30, the same day Athens has to pay back €1.6 billion in loans to the IMF—a payment it won’t be able to make without a new aid transfer.
With time running out, large differences persist over a set of measures creditors say are key for Greece’s economy to recover, but that Athens says would further push it into recession.
In a sign that the pressure was being felt in Athens, a senior Greek government official said Friday that Greece was ready to present counterproposals to its creditors.
A delegation of Greek officials, including ministers and technical experts, would travel to Brussels on Saturday, the official said, to meet representatives of the institutions and discuss the government’s updated plans.
The Greek government is expected to present its counterproposals in person.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on all parties to return to the negotiatingtable. “Where there is a will, there is a way, but the will must come from all sides,” she said.
Ms. Merkel also offered words of support for the European Central Bank’s current low interest-rate policies in her speech at an event Friday for family enterprises.
Saying it is the job of the central bank to ensure “that we don’t enter into a deflationary cycle,” Ms. Merkel called for understanding for low interest rates in the eurozone given the plight of countries with high unemployment such as Spain, Portugal and Ireland.
Those countries have carried out economic reforms yet are competing on the global stage, she said, “in which naturally a very strong euro means that it is difficult for them to reap the gains of reform in exports, for instance.”
S&P warns of UK downgrade amid ‘Brexit’ fears
Standard & Poor’s cut short David Cameron’s post-election honeymoon on Friday, casting doubt over Britain’s ability to maintain its top-notch credit rating in light of the decision to hold a referendum on EU membership.
If Britain appears likely to leave the EU, the credit rating agency warned that it might respond with a large drop in the nation’s ratings on fears of difficulties with funding the deficit and bad trade relationships with Europe. In citing the wider dangers of the UK flirting with “Brexit”, S&P has become the most vocal business organisation yet to worry about the dangers of the referendum and comes in the same week that President Barack Obama said he was “looking forward” to Britain remaining part of the EU.
S&P waited until markets had closed on Friday to publish its report, suggesting that the decision to hold a referendum before the end of 2017 risked economic policy becoming “more exposed to party politics than we had previously anticipated”.
The agency said that the referendum would undermine the predictability of UK economic policy and that this “could negatively affect sustainable public finances, balanced economic growth, and the response to economic or political shocks”.
It retained the UK’s triple A rating, but downgraded the outlook from “stable” to “negative”, saying that “there is at least a one-in-three probability of a downgrade over the next two years”.
Even before the referendum, if the UK appeared to be set to leave the EU, it said “we could lower the rating by potentially more than one notch, depending on the circumstances, such as the expected future relations with the EU”. Departure from the union would raise questions about the financing of Britain’s large deficits on the public finances and on trade, it added.
The Treasury declined to respond directly to S&P’s comments. But it defended the decision to hold a referendum, saying that it would resolve “the uncertainty around Britain’s relationship with the EU”.
“In doing this, we are seeking economic reforms that will deliver long term prosperity for the working people of Britain and the rest of Europe,” it said.
One of S&P’s fears over Brexit is that it would lead to a messy break-up of the UK, with Scotland becoming independent, raising further doubts about the ease of financing the UK’s debt levels.
S&P has been the rating agency most supportive of the coalition government and the Tories in recent years and the only one not to remove the top-notch triple A rating. In late 2012, it also gave the UK a negative outlook, but restored the highest rating in August last year.
Moody’s said earlier this week that an early EU referendum increased the chances of a downgrade because it reduced the chances of a successful renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the union.
S&P warned that the UK attracted a disproportionate amount of foreign direct investment into the country, partly because of its EU membership, “solidifying its role as a global financial centre”.
These features of the UK economy had allowed the rating agency to maintain the UK’s highest credit rating even though its public-sector debt level is the highest of any other country that has its cherished triple A rating.
Moody’s and Fitch, the other two large credit rating agencies, removed the UK’s top rating in the aftermath of the crisis and have not yet restored them.
China’s A-Shares To Be Included in Indexes
The two largest emerging markets indexes, FTSE and MSCI, have announced they’re preparing to include China’s hard-to-get A-Shares. But that doesn’t mean your fund will own them.
China is the most populous nation on the planet and the world’s second-largest economy, yet it’s barely represented in global index funds. That’s because, historically, Beijing limited how much foreign money could be invested in Chinese companies. But that’s now changing: China has loosened its capital constraints, and its stocks are about to move into the broad indexes. Soon, the average U.S. investor will own greater amounts of mainland Chinese stocks—though most aren’t likely to notice.
ETFs by Category
There are two big, rival exchange-traded funds that track emerging markets. Together, the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (ticker: VWO) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) hold $78 billion. Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange represent roughly one-quarter of each portfolio, the largest country allocation. But neither ETF owns any of the $10 trillion in the so-called A-shares that trade in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Investors have reason to lament the omission: This year alone, the Shanghai Composite Index has climbed nearly 60%, while the Shenzhen Composite Index, home to smaller Chinese stocks, has more than doubled in value. In part, these gains have come in anticipation of wider inclusion into global stock indexes.
Last month, FTSE Russell took its first steps toward including A-shares, and its partner, Vanguard Group, announced it will begin to include A-shares in its Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF at the end of the year. Just because an index includes A-shares, though, doesn’t mean your fund will: Each fund company must negotiate with Chinese regulators for the right to buy portions of A-shares. Charles Schwab, for instance, also has an ETF that uses the FTSE benchmark, but doesn’t yet have the capability to own A-shares.
That’s why the much-larger index creator MSCI (MSCI), which has $1.5 trillion following its emerging-markets index, announced last week that it’s on course to add A-shares once the Chinese government resolves a handful of logistical concerns, including the broadening of ownership allowances to foreign investors.
By the end of 2016, Vanguard’s emerging-markets fund will have about 6% of its assets in mainland China shares; that number will eventually ratchet up to 32%, contingent on capacity, FTSE says. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF is on pace to have as much as 40% of its assets China in the years ahead, including Hong Kong shares.
THAT WORRIES Patricia Oey, a senior analyst at Morningstar. She’s skeptical that these changes are good news for ordinary investors. Chinese stocks are notoriously volatile, she points out. Such a large weighting could be justified if stocks were rising because of improving corporate fundamentals, she says, but the recent moves in China appear to be “moving purely on momentum.” That means large index funds, including Vanguard’s, will begin buying well into the rally’s later innings. That could benefit existing A-share owners. Also, investors willing to risk a bet that A-Shares will keep rising, driven by index funds, can opt for a dedicated A-Shares ETF, such as the $1.6 billion Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares (ASHR), which has been on the market since 2013 and is up 149% in the past year. A handful of others have followed.
Ultimately, though, including A-shares in an emerging-markets index will likely have a minor impact on most investors, who typically dedicate only slivers of their portfolio to emerging markets. A 10% allocation to the Vanguard FTSE fund would mean A-shares will start at just 0.56% of a total portfolio.
Ericsson CEO does not rule out M&A
Ericsson, the Swedish telecom network equipment manufacturer, has not ruled out mergers and acquisitions, according to Helsingin Sanomat. The Finnish language piece interviewed the company’s Chief Executive Hans Vestberg, who said that the news published recently about the company’s possible acquisition after its Finnish rival Nokia acquired the French Alcatel-Lucent, is speculation.
However, he added that the company could not rule out mergers and acquisitions.
Helsingin Sanomat
BN 06/12 14:35 *CNBC'S FABER REPORTS SOURCES SAY 'NOTHING GOING ON' W/ GM, FIAT
BFW 06/12 14:35 *CNBC’S FABER SAYS MORGAN STANLEY RESTRICTED GM, FIAT COVERAGE
BN 06/12 14:35 *CNBC'S FABER SAYS MORGAN STANLEY RESTRICTED GM, FIAT COVERAGE
BN 06/12 14:16 *CNBC INTERVIEW WITH TWITTER'S COSTOLO, DORSEY CONCLUDES
BN 06/12 14:15 *TWTR'S DORSEY DOESN'T SEE GAPS IN LEADERSHIP TEAM AT TWTR: CNBC
BN 06/12 14:13 *TWTR'S DORSEY HAS 'A LOT OF CONFIDENCE' IN SVP/PRODUCT WEIL
BN 06/12 14:10 *TWTR COSTOLO ON CNBC: WILL FULFILL FIDUCIARY DUTY TO MAX. VALUE
BN 06/12 14:09 *TWTR'S COSTOLO HAD SPOKEN TO BOARD LAST YR ON TRANSITION: CNBC
BN 06/12 14:07 *TWITTER'S JACK DORSEY COMMENTS ON CNBC
BN 06/12 14:06 *TWTR'S DORSEY NOT EVEN CONSIDERING IF HE WOULD BE PERMANENT CEO
BN 06/12 14:04 *TWTR'S COSTOLO STAYING ON BOARD BECAUSE HE LOVES THE CO.: CNBC
BN 06/12 14:03 *TWTR'S DORSEY ON CNBC: BEEN MOMENTUM IN CREATING NEW SERVICES
BFW 06/12 14:35 *CNBC’S FABER SAYS MORGAN STANLEY RESTRICTED GM, FIAT COVERAGE
BN 06/12 14:35 *CNBC'S FABER SAYS MORGAN STANLEY RESTRICTED GM, FIAT COVERAGE
BN 06/12 14:16 *CNBC INTERVIEW WITH TWITTER'S COSTOLO, DORSEY CONCLUDES
BN 06/12 14:15 *TWTR'S DORSEY DOESN'T SEE GAPS IN LEADERSHIP TEAM AT TWTR: CNBC
BN 06/12 14:13 *TWTR'S DORSEY HAS 'A LOT OF CONFIDENCE' IN SVP/PRODUCT WEIL
BN 06/12 14:10 *TWTR COSTOLO ON CNBC: WILL FULFILL FIDUCIARY DUTY TO MAX. VALUE
BN 06/12 14:09 *TWTR'S COSTOLO HAD SPOKEN TO BOARD LAST YR ON TRANSITION: CNBC
BN 06/12 14:07 *TWITTER'S JACK DORSEY COMMENTS ON CNBC
BN 06/12 14:06 *TWTR'S DORSEY NOT EVEN CONSIDERING IF HE WOULD BE PERMANENT CEO
BN 06/12 14:04 *TWTR'S COSTOLO STAYING ON BOARD BECAUSE HE LOVES THE CO.: CNBC
BN 06/12 14:03 *TWTR'S DORSEY ON CNBC: BEEN MOMENTUM IN CREATING NEW SERVICES
CNBC’s Faber Says Morgan Stanley Restricted GM, Fiat Coverage
2015-06-12 14:38:07.800 GMT
By Libby Sallaberry McGowan
(Bloomberg) -- CNBC’s David Faber reports “nothing going
on” w/ GM, Fiat, citing sources.
* NOTE: Yday, Marchionne Said to Mull Alternatives as GM Deal
Chance Fades
For Related News and Information:
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To contact the reporter on this story:
Libby Sallaberry McGowan in New York at +1-212-617-8044 or
lsallaberry@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Brad Skillman at +1-212-617-2763 or
bskillman1@bloomberg.net
Libby Sallaberry McGowan
2015-06-12 14:38:07.800 GMT
By Libby Sallaberry McGowan
(Bloomberg) -- CNBC’s David Faber reports “nothing going
on” w/ GM, Fiat, citing sources.
* NOTE: Yday, Marchionne Said to Mull Alternatives as GM Deal
Chance Fades
For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Libby Sallaberry McGowan in New York at +1-212-617-8044 or
lsallaberry@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Brad Skillman at +1-212-617-2763 or
bskillman1@bloomberg.net
Libby Sallaberry McGowan
Gross Suggests China Short; Cohen Likes GM: Barron’s Roundtable
2015-06-13 14:23:08.599 GMT
By Mina Kawai
(Bloomberg) -- Ten mkt experts at Barron’s mid-yr
roundtable discussion see 5% gain “at most” for S&P 500 Index
toward yr-end as economy grows at modest pace of 2% in ’15 and
investors play waiting games for Fed rate increase. Individual
stock picking may be “best path” to make money, Barron’s said
in story in June 15 edition.
* Bill Gross of Janus Capital says China’s Shenzhen index
“bubbling up” like Nasdaq 500 in ’99; suggests shorting
ASHR ETF as yuan devaluation “at some point” could trigger
mkt selloff; Gross would be buyer of peso as Mexico remains
“best-positioned bond market in the world”; recommends
shorting 10-yr German bunds
* Abby Joseph Cohen of Goldman Sachs sees S&P 500 climbing to
2,200 by yr-end; says mkt may do better than GS chief U.S.
equity strategist David Kostin’s est. of 2,125-2,150; GM,
TIF and MJN are among Cohen’s stock picks
* Mario Gabelli of Gamco Investors sees Fed rate increase “no
later than September” as economy improves; S&P 500 may end
’15 at about same level today, while Fed rate move could
cause quick 10% selloff; his picks inc. SSP, XYL, HON, CST
and ENR spinoff Edgewell Personal Care
* Scott Black of Delphi Management doesn’t see Janet Yellen
taking “away the punch bowl” this yr; sticks with his Jan.
est. of S&P 500 returning 8%-10% including 2% div. yield; he
recommends buying SMCI, ACT
* David Herro of Harris Associates see Europe and Japan as
“two pockets of value” as they recover from economic
struggles as well as getting boost from stronger dollar;
Herro likes Credit Suisse, Toyota Motor and Samsung
Electronics
For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST <GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW <GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mina Kawai in New York at +1-212-617-8525 or
minkawai@bloomberg.net
2015-06-13 14:23:08.599 GMT
By Mina Kawai
(Bloomberg) -- Ten mkt experts at Barron’s mid-yr
roundtable discussion see 5% gain “at most” for S&P 500 Index
toward yr-end as economy grows at modest pace of 2% in ’15 and
investors play waiting games for Fed rate increase. Individual
stock picking may be “best path” to make money, Barron’s said
in story in June 15 edition.
* Bill Gross of Janus Capital says China’s Shenzhen index
“bubbling up” like Nasdaq 500 in ’99; suggests shorting
ASHR ETF as yuan devaluation “at some point” could trigger
mkt selloff; Gross would be buyer of peso as Mexico remains
“best-positioned bond market in the world”; recommends
shorting 10-yr German bunds
* Abby Joseph Cohen of Goldman Sachs sees S&P 500 climbing to
2,200 by yr-end; says mkt may do better than GS chief U.S.
equity strategist David Kostin’s est. of 2,125-2,150; GM,
TIF and MJN are among Cohen’s stock picks
* Mario Gabelli of Gamco Investors sees Fed rate increase “no
later than September” as economy improves; S&P 500 may end
’15 at about same level today, while Fed rate move could
cause quick 10% selloff; his picks inc. SSP, XYL, HON, CST
and ENR spinoff Edgewell Personal Care
* Scott Black of Delphi Management doesn’t see Janet Yellen
taking “away the punch bowl” this yr; sticks with his Jan.
est. of S&P 500 returning 8%-10% including 2% div. yield; he
recommends buying SMCI, ACT
* David Herro of Harris Associates see Europe and Japan as
“two pockets of value” as they recover from economic
struggles as well as getting boost from stronger dollar;
Herro likes Credit Suisse, Toyota Motor and Samsung
Electronics
For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST <GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW <GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mina Kawai in New York at +1-212-617-8525 or
minkawai@bloomberg.net
Greece Won’t Hold Referendum or Snap Elections: Govt Official
2015-06-13 11:15:21.832 GMT
By Marcus Bensasson
(Bloomberg) -- Greek PM Alexis Tsipras told a meeting of
colleagues on Friday that if country reaches sustainable
agreement with creditors, govt will carry it through itself, no
matter how difficult, according to e-mailed statement from govt
official who asked not to be named.
* Govt’s only criteria is exit from crisis, failed memorandums
* If Europe insists on division and submission, govt itself
will make the decision to refuse deal
* NOTE: June 13, Tsipras Sends Plans to Brussels as EU Warns
Greece on Brink
For Related News and Information:
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To contact the reporter on this story:
Marcus Bensasson in Athens at +30-210-741-9077 or
mbensasson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Fergal O’Brien at +44-20-3525-7152 or
fobrien@bloomberg.net
Zoe Schneeweiss
2015-06-13 11:15:21.832 GMT
By Marcus Bensasson
(Bloomberg) -- Greek PM Alexis Tsipras told a meeting of
colleagues on Friday that if country reaches sustainable
agreement with creditors, govt will carry it through itself, no
matter how difficult, according to e-mailed statement from govt
official who asked not to be named.
* Govt’s only criteria is exit from crisis, failed memorandums
* If Europe insists on division and submission, govt itself
will make the decision to refuse deal
* NOTE: June 13, Tsipras Sends Plans to Brussels as EU Warns
Greece on Brink
For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Marcus Bensasson in Athens at +30-210-741-9077 or
mbensasson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Fergal O’Brien at +44-20-3525-7152 or
fobrien@bloomberg.net
Zoe Schneeweiss