>>> Exxon Mobil beats by $0.34, beats on revs

Exxon Mobil beats by $0.34, beats on revs

Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.17 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.34 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.83; revenues fell 36.4% year/year to $67.62 bln vs the $63.68 bln consensus.
  • During the quarter, ExxonMobil produced 4.2 mln oil-equivalent barrels per day, an increase of 97,000 barrels per day over the first quarter of 2014. Volumes were up 2.3%, benefiting from new developments in Papua New Guinea, Canada, Angola, Indonesia, and U.S. onshore liquids plays. Field decline and maintenance impacts were mostly offset by higher entitlement volumes
Upstream earnings were $2.9 bln in the first quarter of 2015, down $4.9 bln from the first quarter of 2014. Lower liquids and gas realizations decreased earnings by $5.5 bln. Higher volumes and mix effects increased earnings by $340 mln, reflecting growth from new developments. All other items, including favorable tax effects, increased earnings by $250 mln.
  • The U.S. Upstream operations recorded a loss of $52 million, down $1.3 billion from the first quarter of 2014. Non-U.S. Upstream earnings were $2.9 billion, down $3.6 billion from the prior year.
  • On an oil-equivalent basis, production increased 2.3 percent from the first quarter of 2014. Liquids production totaled 2.3 mln barrels per day, up 129,000 barrels per day, while natural gas production was 11.8 bln cubic feet per day, down 188 mln cubic feet per day from 2014. Project ramp-up and entitlement effects were partly offset by field decline and maintenance activities.
Downstream earnings were $1.7 bln, up $854 mln from the first quarter of 2014. Stronger margins increased earnings by $1 bln. Volume and mix effects increased earnings by $70 mln. All other items, primarily higher maintenance expense, decreased earnings by $260 mln. Petroleum product sales of 5.8 mln barrels per day were flat with the prior year's first quarter. Downstream earnings were $1.7 billion, up $854 million from the first quarter of 2014. Stronger margins increased earnings by $1 billion.

NY POst : Over 250,000 Tinder prowlers paid for right to unswipe

Undoing a swipe on Tinder is a privilege worth paying for.
That’s what more than 250,000 prowlers across the global dating scene have already decided since the red-hot hookup app launched a paid version of its service last month, according to numbers released this week.
Billionaire Barry Diller’s IAC Interactive Corp., whose Match Group unit owns Tinder as well as dating sites like Match.com and OKCupid, said the ranks of paying subscribers to its dating sites topped 4 million in the most recent quarter.
That’s an increase of more than 500,000 subscribers in the quarter, more than twice the gain many analysts had expected.
“Payment and renewal rates (for Tinder) came in solidly against expectations,” Match Group chairman Greg Blatt said.
More than half of that bigger-than-expected gain came from new subscriptions to Tinder Plus, execs said. Cowen & Co. reckons 276,000 Tinder Plus subscriptions have been sold since the March 2 launch, generating about $3 million in revenue.
That’s less than 1 percent of Tinder’s global base of about 32 million monthly active users, Cowen analyst John Blackledge noted.
“Over time we believe Tinder could achieve similar or higher free to paid penetration levels to OkCupid,” Blackledge wrote, estimating that OkCupid’s paying subscribers are a high-single-digit percentage of the whole.
Launched in early March, the new service gives users the ability to undo “swipes” and past profiles that may have been made in haste. The service also has a “Passport” feature that allows a larger search area.
“We think [Tinder] has reached unmatched global scale in terms of its user base,” Barclays analyst Chris Merwin said, estimating that the app has the potential to generate between $10 million and $12 million a quarter.

(BFW) Malaysia Air Exploring ‘Various Options’ for Airbus A380

--> +ve for AIrbus, stock traded on its 50d MA...still abuy here...

BN 04/30 09:48 *MALAYSIA AIR ISSUES E-MAIL STATEMENT ON FLEET RESTRUCTURING
BN 04/30 09:47 *MMALAYSIA AIR HAS HELD PRELIMINARY TALKS WITH `SEVERAL PARTIES'
BN 04/30 09:47 *MALAYSIA AIR EXPLORING `VARIOUS OPTIONS' FOR AIRBUS A380
BN 04/30 09:47 *MALAYSIA AIRLINES STILL FINALIZING NETWORK, FLEET PLAN
Malaysia Air Exploring ‘Various Options’ for Airbus A380
2015-04-30 09:51:35.696 GMT


By Elffie Chew
(Bloomberg) -- Co. issues e-mailed statement to Bloomberg
News on fleet restructuring, plans for A380.
* Malaysia Airlines has held “preliminary discussions” with
several parties as part of options for A380
Note: Turkish Air Said to Consider Leasing A380s From Malaysia
Air: Link
--With assistance from Kyunghee Park in Singapore.

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To contact the reporter on this story:
Elffie Chew in Kuala Lumpur at +60-3-2302-7857 or
echew16@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Anand Krishnamoorthy at +65-6212-1165 or
anandk@bloomberg.net

(BFW) GE Said to Face EU List of Concerns Over Alstom Bid Next Month

GE Said to Face EU List of Concerns Over Alstom Bid Next Month
2015-04-30 09:34:18.17 GMT


By Gaspard Sebag
(Bloomberg) -- General Electric faces a statement of
objections as soon as next month cataloging the European
Commission’s concerns over its bid to buy most of France’s
Alstom’s energy business, three people familiar with the matter
say.
* Statements of objections are “standard practice” in such
complex cases where no concessions have been made, says
Christian Filippitsch, a lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
in Brussels, not involved in review
* “Unconditional clearance is still possible also after the
statement of objections, provided that GE sufficiently shows
that there remains credible competition,” Filippitsch says
* “Alternatively, the remainder of the review period will
focus on whether GE will be able to propose suitable
remedies to eliminate the commission’s allegations,” he
says
* The timing of the statement of objections would give GE and
Alstom, based in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, at
least two months to reach a compromise with the EU ahead of
its Aug. 6 deadline to rule on the deal
* NOTE: Firms that get an SO can request an oral hearing to
argue their case
* “We have a constructive dialog with the commission and we
continue to work toward a positive outcome,” Seth Martin, a
GE spokesman, says by e-mail; European Commission declines
to comment
* The EU has previously said the purchase may leave only
Siemens as GE’s main rival in Europe, probably stifling
innovation in the region and leading to price rises.
* While the companies will seek to address EU concerns
relating to the sale and servicing of heavy-duty gas
turbines, GE has said it disagrees with the regulators’
initial assessment
* SEE: Feb. 23: GE’s Alstom Deal Gets Full EU Probe on
Competition Concerns

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Gaspard Sebag in Brussels at +32-2-285-4317 or
gsebag@bloomberg.net
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Peter Chapman

>>> Moody's: Impact of Greek exit from euro area should not be underestimated -

Moody's: Impact of Greek exit from euro area should not be underestimated 
- Moody's expects Greece (Caa2, Negative Outlook) to reach an agreement with its creditors and avoid default. However, lack of progress so far means the probability of a default, and of exit, is rising.
- Default would not necessarily lead to Greece's exit from the euro area; more immediate threat could be a shock to confidence that damaged the functioning of euro area government bond markets. The risk of that happening is lower than in 2012, in part because the euro area financial system and economy are in a stronger position than three years ago; Policymakers' response to exit would determine the extent of any contagion. 
- Should such a confidence shock occur, it would be particularly negative for periphery countries with high and rising debt burdens and ongoing fiscal consolidation challenges.

(Telegraph) Sell in May and go away? It only works 34pc of the time

Sell in May and go away? It only works 34pc of the time
Chart: Data going back to 1986 shows investors who follow the "sell in May" tactic make less money

Sell in May? 29 years of data shows investors are better off staying invested rather than trying to time the market

Does it really pay to follow the popular investing maxim that tells investors to: "sell in May and go away; don't come back till St Leger Day"?
The idea is that as stock market traders treat themselves to a leisurely summer "season", attending sporting events such as Henley, Wimbledon and Ascot, share prices dip because there are fewer people buying.
Once the St Leger Day horse race has taken place (this year falling on September 9) investors should return to the stock market, according to the old adage.
This causes "thin" trading volumes, which in the past has been blamed on exaggerating sharp sell-offs in the summer months.
But the old adage has its sceptics and seems far-fetched in today's globalised markets, where much trading is undertaken by overseas investors or automated programmes.

Data also casts doubt on whether the investment strategy lives up to its billing.
Analysis by Tilney Bestinvest, the broker, looked back at how the FTSE All Share has performed between the period of May 1 and the second week of September each year since 1986, the year when the ‘big bang’ reforms that deregulated financial markets took place.
It found the FTSE All Share delivered positive returns in 19 out of the past 29 years. In other words investors would have made money 66pc of the time by staying invested over the summer months.
Those that sold and reinvested in the second week of September would have missed out these gain, with the tactic only working 34pc of the time.
For a larger version of the chart click here
Overall, Bestinvest said investors who follow the strategy will have made less money, returning 9.8pc on average each year, while those who stayed the course would have made 10.9pc a year.
But there have been some summer months when the stock market fell heavily, conforming to the old City adage.
Steep sell-offs took place in 1992, 1998, 2001, 2002 , 2008 and 2011.
Jason Hollands, of Bestinvest, said: “These days if a City professional is off on summer holiday, they’re almost sure to be forever checking news from the markets on a mobile phone or tablet, as information is now incredibly accessible and the boundaries between working hours and personal time have eroded.
“Over this 29-year period, there is not a convincing case that it makes sense to generally exit the market between May and mid-September.”

Will 2015 be different in a general election year?
Stock markets hate uncertainty and in an election year when the outcome is too close to call a ‘choppy’ period is widely predicted.
But pre-election the UK stock market has been calm. The FTSE All Share is up 9pc since the start of the year, while the FTSE 100 yesterday is trading around the 7,000 mark.
Professional investors are divided over how to play the election.
Some including Richard Buxton, who runs the Old Mutual UK Alphafund, will “buy on weakness” in the event of stock markets taking a dive.
While others, such as Robin Geffen, manager of the Neptune Global Equity and Neptune Global Alpha funds, has sold all his UK-listed shares.
Mr Hollands pointed out it is “time in the market, rather than timing the market” which ultimately counts thanks to compounding effect of reinvesting dividends.
“Long-term investors should not lose sight of the fact that bouts of market weakness – whatever the time of year – are buying opportunities, not a time to sell,” Mr Hollands said.

(BFW) *TULLOW OIL CEO SAYS LOOKING FOR ACQUISITIONS IN AFRICA

BN 04/30 07:48 *TULLOW CEO BULLISH ON OIL PRICE, SEES $90/BARREL WITHIN 2 YRS
BN 04/30 07:48 *TULLOW CEO: IT'S BUYER'S MARKET FOR AFRICA EXPLORATION ASSETS
BN 04/30 07:48 *TULLOW OIL CEO SAYS LOOKING FOR ACQUISITIONS IN AFRICA
*TULLOW OIL CEO SAYS LOOKING FOR ACQUISITIONS IN AFRICA
2015-04-30 07:49:06.40 GMT

--CORMAC MULLEN

-0- Apr/30/2015 07:49 GMT