(BFW) *S&P SEES FRANCE NOMINAL GDP GROWTH AVG. 2.4% IN 2015-2018


BN 04/10 17:12 *S&P SEES FRANCE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT AT ABOUT 1% GDP '15-'18
BN 04/10 17:12 *S&P SEES FRANCE SHR OF GEN GOV EXPENDITURE 54.9% OF GDP IN 2018
BFW 04/10 17:11 *S&P SEES FRANCE NOMINAL GDP GROWTH AVG. 2.4% IN 2015-2018
BN 04/10 17:11 *S&P SEES FRANCE NOMINAL GDP GROWTH AVG. 2.4% IN 2015-2018
BFW 04/10 17:09 *S&P AFFIRMS FRANCE AT ’AA/A-1+’; OUTLOOK STILL NEGATIVE
BN 04/10 17:09 *S&P AFFIRMS FRANCE AT 'AA/A-1+'; OUTLOOK STILL NEGATIVE
France AA/A-1+ Ratings Affirmed, Outlook Negative by S&P
2015-04-10 17:14:51.537 GMT


By Ben Livesey
(Bloomberg) -- France’s institutions and economy remain
strong, government likely to stay the course on incremental
economic reforms and its fiscal agenda, although implementation
risks seen, S&P says.
* Long-term rating could be cut this year or next if France
negatively deviates from fiscal path that S&P forecasts
* AA/A-1+ ratings affirmed, outlook still negative
* Fiscal stance will reduce general government deficits to
about 3% of GDP by the end of 2017.

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(BFW) France AA/A-1+ Ratings Affirmed, Outlook Negative by S&P


BN 04/10 17:12 *S&P SEES FRANCE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT AT ABOUT 1% GDP '15-'18
BN 04/10 17:12 *S&P SEES FRANCE SHR OF GEN GOV EXPENDITURE 54.9% OF GDP IN 2018
BFW 04/10 17:11 *S&P SEES FRANCE NOMINAL GDP GROWTH AVG. 2.4% IN 2015-2018
BN 04/10 17:11 *S&P SEES FRANCE NOMINAL GDP GROWTH AVG. 2.4% IN 2015-2018
BFW 04/10 17:09 *S&P AFFIRMS FRANCE AT ’AA/A-1+’; OUTLOOK STILL NEGATIVE
BN 04/10 17:09 *S&P AFFIRMS FRANCE AT 'AA/A-1+'; OUTLOOK STILL NEGATIVE
France AA/A-1+ Ratings Affirmed, Outlook Negative by S&P
2015-04-10 17:14:51.537 GMT


By Ben Livesey
(Bloomberg) -- France’s institutions and economy remain
strong, government likely to stay the course on incremental
economic reforms and its fiscal agenda, although implementation
risks seen, S&P says.
* Long-term rating could be cut this year or next if France
negatively deviates from fiscal path that S&P forecasts
* AA/A-1+ ratings affirmed, outlook still negative
* Fiscal stance will reduce general government deficits to
about 3% of GDP by the end of 2017.

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blivesey@bloomberg.net

(BFW) *S&P SEES SPANISH ECONOMY GROWING OVER 3% NEXT YR NOMINAL TERMS


BN 04/10 17:05 *S&P SEES SPAIN NET GEN GOV DEBT PEAKING JUST OVER 93% GDP '17
BFW 04/10 17:05 *S&P SEES SPANISH ECONOMY GROWING OVER 3% NEXT YR NOMINAL TERMS
BN 04/10 17:04 *S&P SEES SPANISH ECONOMY GROWING OVER 3% NEXT YR NOMINAL TERMS
BN 04/10 17:04 *S&P SEES SPAIN AVG. ANNUAL GROWTH '15-'17 2.2%, SAW 1.9%
BFW 04/10 17:02 *S&P AFFIRMS ’BBB/A-2’ RATINGS ON SPAIN; OUTLOOK STABLE
BN 04/10 17:02 *S&P AFFIRMS 'BBB/A-2' RATINGS ON SPAIN; OUTLOOK STABLE
Spain’s BBB/A-2 Ratings Affirmed, Outlook Stable by S&P
2015-04-10 17:06:14.903 GMT


By Ben Livesey
(Bloomberg) -- Reforms passed since 2010 have put Spain in
a favorable position to benefit from weaker oil prices, the
depreciated euro, and the European Central Bank’s accommodative
monetary stance, S&P says.
* 2015-2017 average annual GDP projection raised by 0.3
percentage point to 2.2%, with upside potential, S&P says
* BBB/A-2 ratings affirmed.



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NY Post : TPG nabs Bono and Ashton Kutcher as special advisers

U2 front man Bono now has a legit second career: tech investor.
The 54-year-old rocker is a special adviser to a new growth fund being raised by private equity mogul David Bonderman’s TPG Capital, The Post has learned.
Bono has invested about $3 million of his own cash in TPG Growth-owned car-pooling service Ride, two sources said.el
The Irish singer-songwriter is also an investor in the fund TPG Growth is presently raising that has a $3 billion target, and which it is expected to close soon, the sources said.
Bono sits on the board of Fender Musical Instruments, which is also owned by TPG Growth.
The entrepreneurial musician views TPG Growth as a fresh start in venture capital investing.
“For Bono, TPG is the replacement of Elevation Partners,” a source said.
Bono was one of San Francisco-based Elevation’s co-founders..
Bonderman, famous for palling around with entertainment heavyweights, is also leaning on actor Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary, who manages the careers of Bono and Madonna, to uncover tech investment.
Both Bono and Kutcher have quietly agreed to help invest TPG Growth’s new fund, sources familiar with the situation said Thursday.
Kutcher and Oseary announced last month at the SXSW tech conference that they had formed a new investment firm called Sound Ventures.
What they did not reveal is that Sound Ventures co-invests with TPG Growth. As part of the relationship between the two firms, whenever Sound Ventures invests more than $10 million in any company, it will also show the investment to TPG Growth, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.
“Ashton will bring deals to TPG and TPG brings deals to them,” a second source familiar with the situation said.
“There is a strong working relationship, although it is not a formal relationship.”
Last month, the mobile cleaning and home-repair booking service Handy raised $15 million in a funding round led by TPG Growth and Sound Ventures.
Partnering with TPG will allow Kutcher to graduate from the $1 million to $2 million investments made by A-Grade Investments — the firm he and Oseary founded — to $10 million deals, a source said.
Bono’s Elevation Partners now seems to be winding down after raising its only fund in 2005.
Mediocre investments in mobile phone company Palm and Forbes Media Holdings have dogged Elevation Partners, which has invested practically all its $1.95 billion and as of September 2014 generated an 11.4 percent annual return, according to available public records.
“Bono was sold because of TPG’s investment in Uber,” a source said, and his long friendship with TPG Growth head Bill McGlashan.
TPG Growth invested roughly $100 million in Uber in 2013 when it was valued at $2.7 billion, and today Uber on paper is worth $40 billion, sources said.
TPG declined comment. Bono and Kutcher did not return calls.

(BFW) *NOKIA SAID TO WEIGH SALE OF MAPS BUSINESS TO FOCUS ON NETWORKS

BN 04/10 14:31 *NOKIA VALUES MAPS BUSINESS AT ABOUT EU2B IN FINANCIAL REPORT
BN 04/10 14:31 *NOKIA MAPS BUSINESS SAID TO ATTRACT COMPANIES, BUYOUT FIRMS
BN 04/10 14:31 *BIDS FOR NOKIA MAPS UNIT, KNOWN AS 'HERE', SAID EXPECTED SOON
*NOKIA SAID TO WEIGH SALE OF MAPS BUSINESS TO FOCUS ON NETWORKS
2015-04-10 14:31:32.714 GMT

--AARON KIRCHFELD

-0- Apr/10/2015 14:31 GMT