(BFW) Hedge Funds Most Bullish WTI Since July as Drillers Plan Return


Hedge Funds Most Bullish WTI Since July as Drillers Plan Return
2015-05-10 23:01:00.6 GMT


By David Marino
(Bloomberg) -- Money managers’ net-long position up 10,032
contracts of futures, options to 268,183 in wk ended May 5,
highest since July 29, according to CFTC data.
* EOG plans to increase drilling once prices stabilize
~$65/bbl, PXD to use more rigs as early as July
* RBOB net-longs down 700 to 24,969
* ULSD net-shorts down 5,188 to 8,426
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WSJ : IMF Works With Bank Regulators on Contingency Plans for Greek Default

IMF Works With Bank Regulators on Contingency Plans for Greek Default
Discussions with authorities in southeastern Europe aimed at girding for potential failure of bailout talks

BRUSSELS—The International Monetary Fund is working with national authorities in southeastern Europe on contingency plans for a Greek default, a senior fund official said—a rare public admission that regulators are preparing for the potential failure to agree on continued aid for Athens.

Greek banks are big players in some of its neighbors’ financial systems. In Bulgaria, subsidiaries of National Bank of Greece SA, Alpha Bank SA, Piraeus Bank SA and Eurobank Ergasias SA own around 22% of banking assets, roughly the same as Greek banks own in Macedonia. Greek banks are also active in Romania, Albania and Serbia.

“We are in a dialogue with all of these countries,” said Jörg Decressin, deputy director of the IMF’s Europe department. “We are talking with them about the contingency plans they have, what measures they can take.”

As part of the discussions, the IMF has asked national supervisors to ensure that subsidiaries of Greek banks have enough assets that they can exchange for emergency financing at their own central banks—in case financing from their parent institutions is suddenly cut off—and that deposit-insurance funds are at sufficient levels, Mr. Decressin said.

Negotiations between Greece and its international creditors—the other eurozone countries and the IMF—have been advancing slowly, despite warnings from Greek officials that the government is close to running out of money.

“It would be foolish for anyone in the policy world not to be worried at this stage,” Mr. Decressin said.

European officials expect no breakthroughs at a meeting of the currency union’s finance ministers on Monday. That means Greek lenders will remain under pressure, dependent on relatively expensive liquidity from the Greek central bank and at risk of bank runs in case doubts emerge over their ability to pay out deposits.

Overall, the IMF believes that subsidiaries of Greek banks in southeastern Europe should be able to withstand the failure of their parent companies. “Our assessment of the Greek banks in that region is that they are fairly liquid; we have not seen major deposit outflow,” Mr. Decressin said.

Because they are subsidiaries, rather than branches, the lenders have to hold their own capital buffers and can refinance themselves at national central banks. That would make it easier to split them off from their parent banks if necessary.

The IMF has nevertheless urged national supervisors and governments to keep a close eye on the situation. “There is high-frequency monitoring going on at the level of the authorities and our advice is that this needs to continue,” Mr. Decressin said.

One scenario that the IMF is concerned about is what could happen if panic over Greece’s finances pushes savers in the region to pull their money out of Greek-owned banks. “These banks…may be totally fine, but there could still be in the population a perception, these are Greek banks and they are not fine, and people would turn up and try to withdraw their deposits. That is something you cannot model,” Mr. Decressin said.

National safety nets have in the past been vulnerable to rumor-fueled bank runs. In June last year, the Bulgarian government had to take over Corporate Commercial Bank, after depositors pulled out their savings amid negative news reports about the lender’s main shareholder. It took the government six months to compensate the bank’s depositors, far longer than the 25 days mandated under European Union law.

Since then, the Bulgarian government has taken steps to bolster its deposit-insurance fund. The Bulgarian central bank, which supervises the country’s banks, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

>>> What to look at this week end - 9th & 10th of May 2015

Global equities lost altitude through Thursday as the parade of poor economic data and bond market choppiness continued. Early in the week, the ADP jobs report raised real worries that the US would see another anemic payrolls number for April, while Chinese trade data was concerning. There was no breakthrough on Greece, with both sides seemingly committed to forcing negotiations down to the wire. The global bond market rout continued apace this week and the surge in yields kept pressure on stocks worldwide, nudged further by Fed Chair Yellen weighing in on equity valuations. The stampede out of stocks and bonds sent European indexes to their lowest levels in two months. Note that the UST 10-year yield peaked just below 2.3% on Wednesday and then headed back below 2.12%, while the 10-year Bund peaked around 0.777% on Thursday and quickly dropped below 0.540% by Friday. The surprise landslide victory by the Conservative government in UK elections and Friday's not-too-hot, not-too-cold US jobs report helped equities recoup their losses for the week, with DJIA gaining 0.9%, the S&P500 adding 0.4% and the Nasdaq ending just above flat.


Macro :
- China Cuts 1-Year Interest Rates by 0.25 Percentage Point
- China Adds Stimulus With Third Interest-Rate Cut in Six Months
- Greece Cuts 2015 Growth Forecast, Reuters Reports
- Iran Can Raise Oil Exports by 500,000 Bpd Once Sanctions Lifted
- China April Consumer Prices Rise 1.5% Y/Y; Est. 1.6% Gain
- Greek Deal With Creditors to Unlock 7 Projects: Kathimerini
- German Fin Min Schaeuble: concerned about potential for surprise default in Greece; Germany will do everything to keep Greece in the eurozone 
- Norway Christian Democrats to Seek More Oil Fund Exclusions
- Merkel Pressed to Give Up on Greece as Germans Urge Strong Euro

Keep an eye on :
- ABBN VX : ABB CEO Tells SRF He Plans No Big Restructurings, Wants to Build
- AH NA : Ahold, Delahize Decline to Comment on Merger Talks Report
- AIR FP : Airbus A400M Crash, First Ever, Leaves 4 Dead, 2 Injured
- AIR FP : Airbus Says Test Flights of A400M Aircraft to Proceed: Reuters
- ATL IM : Atlantia 1Q Ebitda Misses; Italy Traffic +0.9%
- BARC LN : U.K. Banks May Get GBP4b Windfall From Visa Deal, Sky Reports
- BMPS IM : Monte Paschi Sees Possible Merger With Cooperative Banks: Sole
- BMW GY : BMW CEO Faces Investor Opposition to Chairmanship Move: FAS
- BP/ LN : US appeals court finds the company can appeal damages awards from oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (Deepwater Horizon) - financial press - Court finds existing rules of settlement that gave the claims fund administrator full discretion on paying claims violated BP's rights by not providing it with acceptable methods to for it to appeal decisions.
- CA FP : Carrefour Brazil shareholder Diniz negotiating BRL 1bn raise from Qatari fund to boost stake 
- DPW GY : Deutsche Post Faces Strikes After Wage Talks Collapse: Ver.di
- GIL GY : DMG Mori Seiki AG to Be Renamed DMG Mori AG, CEO Says at AGM
- EXO IM : Exor Said to Weigh PartnerRe Bid Raise at Tues. Meeting: Reuters
- MB IM : Mediobanca confirms plans to sell stakes in Telecom Italia and other companies - Il Sole 24 ore
- PFV GY : Pfeiffer Vacuum may make large acquisitions- http://bit.ly/1ElK8JV
- SGO FP : Saint-Gobain Remains Open for Talks With Sika Board, CEO Says
- SCYR SM : Blackstone, Merlin Among Bidders for Sacyr’s Testa: Expansion
- SIE GY : EU Regulators Said Set to Unconditionally Clear SI/DRC: Reuters http://reut.rs/1Qwp9Ma
- SYNN VX : Syngenta trading higher in NYC on report of Shareholders backing a $50b deal
- SYNN VX : Monsanto to Pursue Syngenta Takeover After Bid Rejected: Reuters
- TEVA IT : Mylan chairman tells investors he would consider buying Teva http://reut.rs/1H5lW1F
- UBER IPO : Uber Fund-Raising Points to $50 Billion Valuation - NYT
- V US : Said to be in early stage talks to buy Visa Europe for as much as $20B

>>> Carrefour Brazil shareholder Diniz negotiating BRL 1bn raise from Qatari fun

Carrefour Brazil shareholder Diniz negotiating BRL 1bn raise from Qatari fund to boost stake 

Abilio Diniz is in advanced negotiations to obtain about BRL 1bn (USD 336m) from a sovereign wealth fund in Qatar to raise his stake in retailer Carrefour Brazil, Veja reported.

The large circulation Portuguese-language newsweekly did not give a source for the information in the story in its Radar column in the current edition of the magazine.

Diniz, the former chairman of Cia. Brasileira de Distribuicao (Bovespa: PCAR4), Brazil’s second-largest retailer, known as Pao de Acucar, raised his stake in the parent company, French retailer Carrefour to 5.1% from 2.4%, Valor Economico reported on 9 April, becoming the fourth-largest shareholder in Carrefour. The Sao Paulo-based business daily cited a statement from Peninsula Participacoes, the company that manages the Diniz family's fortune, in the item last month.

Diniz has acquired 10% of Carrefour Brazil in recent years, this news service reported in early April.

Carrefour regained the position of largest supermarket chain in Brazil in 2014, surpassing Pao de Acucar, business magazine IstoE Dinheiro reported in its edition dated 6 May 2015. The weekly magazine cited a trade association known by the Portuguese acronym Abras for the information.

Casino Guichard Perrachon [CO FP], the listed French retailer, has controlled Pao de Acucar since June 2012.

The original article (Veja) appeared in print, Page 44

The original article (IstoE Dinheiro) appeared in print, Page 38
Veja, IstoE Dinheiro

>>> Delhaize and Ahold in preliminary merger talks

Delhaize and Ahold in preliminary merger talks 

Belgian supermarket group Delhaize and its Dutch competitor Ahold are in preliminary merger talks, Belgian daily De Tijd reports, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation.

The report said talks are not yet nearing an official agreement.

If the two were to merge they could take over the market leading position in Belgium from supermarket chain Colruyt. Neither Delhaize nor Ahold gave a reaction following the news.

The two supermarket groups have already been in talks in 2006-2007, but despite negotiations being in an advanced stage, the deal did not go through. The two parties failed to reach agreement on the structure of the deal.

The families holding Delhaize are not controlling the company as much as ten years ago, the report said. They now hold about 20%, while institutional investors have increased their holdings in Delhaize in recent years. Both groups have received investments from large institutional investors including Norges Bank, JPMorgan, Vanguard, ING and BNP Paribas.

Ahold has a turnover of EUR 33bn and operates 30 Albert Heijn shops in Belgium. Delhaize reported a EUR 21bn turnover in 2014. Ahold's profitability is higher than Delhaize's, a report in Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad said following the news.

De Tijd, Financieele Dagblad

>>> Mediobanca confirms plans to sell stakes in Telecom Italia and other compani

Mediobanca confirms plans to sell stakes in Telecom Italia and other companies

Mediobanca, the listed Italian investment bank, has confirmed plans to sell its 1.16% stake in Telecom Italia, Italian language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel said the sale of the stake in TI and a 4.1% stake in listed Italian tyre maker Pirelli is slated for 3Q15.

Nagel also said that Mediobanca would reduce its stake in listed Italian insurer Generali from 13% to 10%, most likely in 1Q16, the report added. He further noted the shares could be used to make a buy in asset management, the article added.

Nagel also confirmed that Mediobanca planned to sell its 6% stake in listed Italian media group RCS but the timing of the sale would depend on the value of RCS' shares.

The report also cited Nagel as welcoming the entry of Vivendi into TI as “great news,” as Vivendi would act as a stable shareholder.

Telecom Italia has a market cap of EUR 19.46bn.


The original article appeared in print; Page 21

Il Sole 24 Ore

(BFW) Teva CFO speaks at Oppenheimer Israel conference - Globes



http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-tevas-desheh-copaxone-has-a-long-life-ahead-of-it-1001034852
 As for the proposed deal to buy Mylan, Desheh said, "Teva is a very focused company. It continually improves. We are focused on that even while we deal with the next matter (buying Mylan). Huge quantities of words have poured forth in the international and Israeli press and media. I shan't say anything new on the subject. Teva told Mylan that it was interested in buying it. It was done in a correct, orderly and respectful way, and received the response you have all seen. This response received a respectful and orderly response from us that talked about substance. We believe that the deal will create consolidation in the generics industry, that it's the right deal, for Teva, Mylan and the shareholders. It's that rare kind of deal that can generate value for the shareholders of both companies. "For anyone who doesn't remember, we work for our shareholders, and not the other way around. Creating value for the shareholders is one of the main goals. There are other goals: the workers are important, as are the customers, but the people who pay our salaries are the shareholders. Analysts who have looked and analyzed, people who cover the industry, say that this is a deal that can generate significant value, at a low level of risk."


Teva CFO Says Recent Acquisitions Can Replace Copaxone Sales
2015-05-10 08:41:18.392 GMT


By David Wainer
(Bloomberg) -- Eyal Desheh tells Tel Aviv conference co.
offering significant premium for Mylan, remains committed to
bid.
* Teva-Mylan deal “better” than Mylan-Perrigo merger: Desheh
* Deal will create “significant” value
* Teva working on raising financing
* NOTE: Teva Said to Seek $25 Billion in Financing for Mylan
Deal (2)
* NOTE: Teva Completes Acquisition of Auspex Pharmaceuticals


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(BFW) Saint-Gobain Remains Open for Talks With Sika Board, CEO Says


Saint-Gobain Remains Open for Talks With Sika Board, CEO Says
2015-05-10 12:46:34.67 GMT


By Jan-Henrik Förster
(Bloomberg) -- Saint-Gobain is still open to discuss future
governance of Sika with co.’s board, CEO Pierre-Andre de
Chalendar says in letter to Sika investors, employees and other
stakeholders.
* Says he has no doubt on legality of transaction between
Burkard family and Saint Gobain
* Says the longer it takes to realize industrial logic of
deal, the longer it takes to create value for holders
* Repeats that no restructuring is planned due to purchase
* NOTE: Sika Board Signals Open for Talks to Ease Takeover
Deadlock


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(BFW) China Still Has Room for Cuts to Interest Rates, RRR: BoCom


BN 05/10 11:24 *CHINA STILL HAS ROOM FOR INTEREST RATES, RRR CUTS: BOCOM
China Still Has Room for Cuts to Interest Rates, RRR: BoCom
2015-05-10 11:49:56.190 GMT


By Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- PBOC cuts interest rates mainly to reduce
financing costs, according to a BoCom research report written by
analysts led by chief economist Lian Ping.
* Banks are unlikely to raise deposit rates to the ceiling as
they haven’t done that before today’s ceiling change: report
* The change could be seen as almost a completion of interest
rate liberalization: report
* China may cut reserve requirement ratio by 0.5-1 percentage
point within this yr: report


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(BFW) Monte Paschi Sees Possible Merger With Cooperative Banks: Sole


Monte Paschi Sees Possible Merger With Cooperative Banks: Sole
2015-05-10 08:42:48.284 GMT


By John Follain
(Bloomberg) -- Merger “makes a lot of sense from an
industrial point of view,” Fabrizio Viola, CEO of Monte Paschi,
says in interview with newspaper Sole 24 Ore.
* Viola reiterates share sale may start end-May, timing
depends on green light from ECB
* NOTE: On Friday, Monte Paschi Swings to Quarterly Profit on
Lower Bailout Costs NSN NO1P1N6VDKHT<GO>

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