(BFW) Orange to Exercise Right to Buy Jazztel Holdouts Aug. 13


BN 07/01 15:45 *ORANGE TO EXERCISE RIGHT TO BUY JAZZTEL HOLDOUTS AUG. 13

Orange to Exercise Right to Buy Jazztel Holdouts Aug. 13
2015-07-01 15:49:27.369 GMT


By Ben Sills
(Bloomberg) -- Orange to buy 5.25% of Jazztel shares from
investors that declined to accept takeover bid for EU13, co.
says in regulatory filing.

* Orange asks regulatory to suspend Jazztel shares on Aug. 4


Link to Company News:{JAZ SM <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ORA FP <Equity> CN <GO>}

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To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Ben Sills at +34-91-700-9603 or
bsills@bloomberg.net

Reuters - LVMH's Donna Karan quits as designer of own name brand


Donna Karan has resigned as chief designer of the fashion brand she founded and sold to French luxury goods owner LVMH (LVMH.PA) as the group opts to concentrate on its more accessible DKNY line.

Parent company Donna Karan International (DKI) said it planned to suspend fashion shows and designer collections "for a period of time" but would continue to support its significant license business for products such as watches and eyewear.

"DKI will also reorganize its teams and restructure in order to substantially increase its focus on the DKNY brand," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

New-York born Karan, 66, said that after "much soul-searching" she had decided to spend more time on her separate Urban Zen brand.

Fashion experts had long been saying that her mainline Donna Karan New York label lost appeal among consumers after becoming too zany with designs featuring tribal prints.

The move is part of a wider clean-up at LVMH's fashion and leather brands under the stewardship of division chief Pierre-Yves Roussel.
In April, the company hired Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, founders of the New York-based and award-winning brand Public School, as designers for DKNY, a more street-smart and less expensive label than the high-end Donna Karan brand.

Analysts estimate DKI made just over 400 million euros ($444 million) in 2014 with more than 90 percent of revenue coming from the DKNY brand.

The two brands together have over 275 retail stores and more than 80 in-store outlets across 41 countries.
When Donna Karan sold her brand to LVMH in 2001, the group was looking to gain a stronger presence in the US market.

At the time, she had obtained from LVMH the right to exploit the Urban Zen brand she had also created, a move that surprised many industry observers since it was a rival brand to her own.

DKI said Donna Karan would remain an adviser to the company.
Earlier this year, LVMH decided to restructure the underperforming Marc by Marc Jacobs line and fold it into the main Marc Jacobs collection which is also being streamlined.

Marc Jacobs also been closing shops including a flagship one on the plush Place du Palais Royal in Paris.

In 2013, Marc Jacobs left the creative helm of Louis Vuitton, LVMH's biggest luxury brand, to focus on his eponymous brand and its planned initial public offering expected to take place in the next few years.

(CNP) Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal vows to donate $32 billion for

I'm in.

Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal vows to donate $32 billion fortune in coming years
2015-07-01 14:43:11.81 GMT


Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal vows to donate $32
billion fortune in coming years

(Associated Press) -- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Saudi
Arabia's billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the
world's richest people, has announced he will donate all of his
wealth to charity over the coming years.
The Saudi prince said in a statement that he will donate
$32 billion to his organization called Alwaleed Philanthropies
to work in the fields of "intercultural understanding" and
supporting communities in need. Programs will include promoting
health, eradicating disease, bringing electricity to remote
villages, building orphanages and schools, as well as
"empowering women."
The prince, who is chairman of investment firm Kingdom
Holding Company, says he has already donated $3.5 billion to the
charitable organization.
Alwaleed joins other billionaires who have made similar
pledges in recent years, such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates,
Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Bloomberg.


-0- Jul/01/2015 14:43 GMT

>>> Wynn Resorts leading Macau stocks higher following June gaming data that rem

Wynn Resorts leading Macau stocks higher following June gaming data that remains very weak but was slightly better than feared 


WYNN +7%, MPEL +5.5%, LVS +4%, MGM +2%.

Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reports June gross gaming rev (GGR) -36.2% YoY at 17.4 bln patacas ($2.13 bln), slightly better than feared as data leaks on a weekly basis, vs. -3.7% in June 2014 and -37.1% last month.
  • Macau GGR is down 37% YTD, which is ~unchanged over the last four months.
  • Macau gross gaming rev has declined year-over-year for the thirteenth straight month following increased regulation:
    • Officials cracked down on the illicit funds flowing through the region via junket operators running the VIP gaming market; a smoking ban in the casinos and macro headwinds are creating additional headwinds.
  • GGR fell 2.6% in 2014 after rising 12.6% in the first half of the year as declines accelerated into year end; GGR grew 18.6% in 2013 and 13.5% in 2012.
  • GGR hit its lowest level since November 2010.
  • Sentiment on Macau stocks is in flux as declines in GGR persist but some analysts anticipate a bottom.
  • Comps will now start to ease as we lap the declines in 2H14.

(BN) Goldman Sachs Cuts S&P 500 Earnings Estimate on Economy, Dollar

Zero Hedge was quoting it this morning, I have sent you the article

Goldman Sachs Cuts S&P 500 Earnings Estimate on Economy, Dollar
2015-07-01 12:55:50.575 GMT


By Inyoung Hwang
(Bloomberg) -- Slower economic growth, a stronger U.S.
dollar and a collapse in earnings at energy producers spurred
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to cut its estimate for U.S. profits by
6.6 percent.
The New York-based firm now sees 2015 earnings by Standard
& Poor’s 500 Index companies at $114 a share, after predicting
$122 in October. Goldman Sachs maintained its forecast for the
benchmark gauge ending the year at 2,100, up 1.8 percent from
Tuesday’s close, according to a note dated June 30.
Sales will fall in 2015 for the first time in five years as
margins slip and revenue by energy companies declines, Goldman
Sachs predicts. At the same time, the bank expects the Federal
Reserve to delay an interest-rate increase until December rather
than September, helping prop up equity valuations.
“S&P 500 P/E, which is historically rich, will stay
elevated through the remainder of 2015, but will compress when
the Fed starts its tightening cycle in December,” a Goldman
Sachs team led by strategists Amanda Sneider and David Kostin
wrote in the report.
The firm noted that S&P 500’s price-earnings multiple
declined by 8 percent on average in the three months after the
last three initial rate increases.
Speculation about higher interest rates and Greek turmoil
sent the S&P 500 2.1 percent lower in June, the biggest monthly
drop since January. The gauge trades at 17.5 times estimate
profits, near the high reached in April.

More Conservative

Sneider and Kostin are more conservative in their stock
forecasts than other Wall Street strategists. The S&P 500 will
finish the year at 2,232, according to average estimates by 21
analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
The dollar has strengthened more than the Goldman Sachs
team anticipated, according to the note. As central banks in
Europe and Japan continue to ease policy while the Fed prepares
to boost rates for the first time since 2006, the U.S. currency
may jump 11 percent this year, making the nation’s exporters
less competitive, according to the note. About 33 percent of
sales at S&P 500 members are generated overseas, the bank said.
Earnings at S&P 500 companies will climb 11 percent to $126
a share next year and 7 percent to $134 in 2017, according to
Goldman Sachs. Dividends will rise 9 percent this year, it said.
Sales in the energy sector will shrink by 32 percent this
year, dragging down overall revenue for the S&P 500, according
to Goldman Sachs. The firm also trimmed its forecast for energy-
company earnings to $5 a share from $13.
Goldman Sachs also cut its profit projection for technology
companies by $2 a share, citing lower economic growth and
currency risk. For those, the percentage of sales that come from
abroad is almost double that of the broader S&P 500, according
to the bank.

For Related News and Information:
Strategists’ S&P 500 Index Estimates for Year-End 2015 (Table)
Developed Markets View: DMMV <GO>
World Stock Indexes: WEI <GO>
Stoxx 600 Market Map: SXXP <Index> IMAP <GO>
Top Stories on Stocks: TOP STK <GO>
Equity Screening: EQS <GO>
Graphing: GRAPH <GO>
Feature Stories on Stocks: TNI STK GREET <GO>

--With assistance from Gaurav Panchal in London.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Inyoung Hwang in London at +44-20-3525-2394 or
ihwang7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Cecile Vannucci at +44-20-3525-7032 or
cvannucci1@bloomberg.net
Alan Soughley

(BFW) Slowing Global Economy Is ’Elephant in the Room’, SocGen Says


Slowing Global Economy Is ’Elephant in the Room’, SocGen Says
2015-07-01 12:49:01.826 GMT


By Blaise Robinson
(Bloomberg) -- Greek debt crisis distracting investors from
various signals about slowdown in global economic growth,
Societe Generale quantitative strategists write in note.

* Say MSCI World profits falling ~5% per annum, consensus for
EPS growth ex-financial for 2015 currently forecast to be
flat
* U.S. pro-forma profits now down 5% from peak, GAAP profits
down 20%
* Says evidence showing insiders “rushing for the exits”
includes:
* Buyout firms conducted more stock offerings in 2Q than
in any previous quarter
* Over $220b of IPOs announced during 2Q, more than any
quarter in past 10 years
* NOTE: Expected FY 2015 earnings growth for S&P 500 index is
1.2%, and 6.5% for Stoxx 600 index, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg
* Earlier: Private-equity firms dump stakes at a record clip


For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Blaise Robinson in Paris at +33-1-5365-5008 or
brobinson58@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Ludden at +44-20-3525-2645 or
jludden@bloomberg.net

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance
: GBX -1.8%, MKC -1.1%

Select China related names showing weakness: JMEI -3.4%, JRJC -2%, SFUN -1.9%, CEA -1.9%, CMCM -0.7%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower: HMY -1.5%, NEM -1.1%, GOLD -1.1%, SLV -0.9%, RIO -0.8%


Other news: XENE -35% (Xenon Pharmaceuticals and Teva (TEVA) Provide Update on TV-45070 Phase 2b Study in Osteoarthritis Pain; TV-45070 4% and 8% did not demonstrate statistically significant difference from placebo in efficacy endpoints in Phase 2b study in pain due to osteoarthritis of the knee), BLDP -16.7% (prices its offering of 8,125,000 common shares at $1.60 per share), ACUR -11.4% (announces a private placement of 9.79 mln shares of common stock at $0.78/share), AXPW -2.3% (disclosed its 35-1 reverse split will be effective on July 14, 2015), WFD -0.9% (disclosed entry into an agreement to repurchase up to 711,733 shares of its common stock pursuant to its stock repurchase program)

Analyst comments: N/
A