>>> What to look at today - 20th of March 2015

Dow-0,65% S&P-0,49% Nasdaq+0,19% Russell+0,21% VIX @ 14.07 +0.72%
US Market Closed Mixed with major Index lower and Tech higher,dovish FOMC policy statement pressured the greenback, but the Dollar Index (99.23, +0.67) wasted no time, stringing together a swift comeback. The index added 0.7% today and returned to Tuesday's low. Notably, the euro retraced the bulk of yesterday's move, returning below 1.0650 versus the dollar, the dollar strength weighed on crude oil, sending the energy component lower by 2.5% to $45.50/bbl. In turn, this kept the energy sector (-1.7%) near the bottom of the barrel while the other commodity-related sector—materials (-1.7%)—finished just behind energy. Steelmakers kept the sector pressured after Nucor (NUE 46.11, -3.16) cut its guidance well below analyst estimates. Shares of NUE tumbled 6.4%, among cyclical sectors, industrials (-0.7%) and financials (-1.0%) struggled while consumer discretionary (-0.2%) and technology (-0.2%) displayed relative strength. volume were light @715mil shares. US After Hours ENVI +31.2%, CTRP +8.5%, MFRM +5%, NKE +4.5%, AKS -6.9% following earnings/guidance PRTA +39.4% on +ve Phase 1...In Japan, BOJ Gov Kuroda reiterated CPI will likely reach 2% in or around FY15, even though the central bank further scaled back its inflation outlook in its policy meeting earlier this week. Meeting minutes for last month saw board members holding a similar opinion, even though the MOF representative on the board stopped urging that the time-based inflation objective is maintained. Some members noted an increase in volatility in the JGB market, and a few questioned sustainability of JGB purchases at current pace. Separately, a Nikkei report in late US session speculated that the cabinet office (govt) will raise its monthly economic assessment for the first time since July 2014 when the report is published on Monday. Japan has held assessment unchanged since November, when it was lowered following another round of QE by the central bank. EU leaders and Greece PM Tsipras held last-ditch talks to find common ground related to Greek reforms-for-aid plans amid a notable deterioration of good will on both sides and also a decline in investors confidence over a positive outcome for Athens in recent days. Both sides appear to have been pleased with today's talks - PM Tsipas said the relief process is back on track after today's meeting, as all sides agreed to restore financing of Greek economy; Germany's Merkel noted the basis of reforms is still grounded in the Feb 20th decision, Greece will present a more detailed and adequate list of reforms planned in the next few days, and that no funds will be paid to Athens until the review of Greek reforms has been concluded. EUR/USD rose to session highs just shy of the $1.07 handle following the EU statement.
Nikkei +0.43% Hang Seng -0.24% Shanghai +0.77%

RUB $60.1270 WTI $43.65 (-0.71%) Brent $54.30 (-0.70%) EURCHF 1.0556 CHF 0.9895

EUR$ 1.0669 S&P +0.18% EurosToxx +0.19% Dax +0.26% SMI +0.27%

Macro
- Greece’s Tsipras Says Talks With Euro Area Back on Track
- Carlyle Group Raises $2.5 Billion for International Energy Deals
- EU Says Russia Sanctions Duration Should Be Linked to Minsk Deal

Keep an eye on :
- ATC NA : Altice could sell Oni next month to facilitate its PT Portugal acquisition - Diario Economico
- BPI IM : BPI May Make Non-Binding Proposal for Novo Banco Today: Diario
- CRG IM : Banca Carige Raises Maximum Shr Sale Size to EU850m
- CU FP : Fosun Eyes Deals in North America After Thomas Cook, Club Med
- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank Shareholders Urging Sale of Postbank: FT
- EDF FP : France Wants Better Cost Control at EDF, Les Echos Says
- FCC SM : FCC Drops EU1.6B Algeria Contracts, El Confidencial Says
- GSK LN : GSK/THRX’s Breo Needs Post-Marketing Safety Study: Panel
- HAV FP : Havas 2014 Net EU140m vs Est. EU144m
- LG FP : Lafarge, Holcim Agree New Deal Ratio of 9 Shares for 10 Lafarge
- LHA GY : Lufthansa Pilots Union to Extend Strike to Saturday, Union Says
- ORA FP : Orange to Invest EU500m in Romania by 2018, ZF Reports
- PHIA NA : KKR, CVC Said to Near Deal for Philips Lighting Component Unit
- PC IM : Pirelli in advanced talks with China Chemical Corporation over stake sale
- RIG VX : *TRANSOCEAN CUT TO JUNK BY S&P
- RYA LN : Ryanair Says It Hasn’t Considered Any Transatlantic Project
- SAL IM : Salini Impregilo 2014 Net EU93.8m vs EU104.8m Y/y
- SKB GY : Koenig & Bauer Returns to Net Profit in 2014; Plans no Dividend
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia to Offer Up to EU2b in Equity-Linked Bonds
- UHR VX : Swatch’s Certina Sees Single-Digit Sales Growth This Year: AWP
- ZC FP : Zodiac Sees 1H Current Oper. Income Hurt by Seats Problems

>>> Altice could sell Oni next month to facilitate its PT Portugal acquisition

Altice could sell Oni next month to facilitate its PT Portugal acquisition

Altice could divest Portuguese telco Oni in April to speed up its acquisition of PT Portugal, reported Diario Economico. The Lusophone publication cited Altice CEO Dexter Goei as saying Oni could be sold next month to avoid potential regulatory hurdles to the French telco's acquisition of PT Portugal.

Altice has already indicated it will sell Cabovisao, the Portuguese cable operator, to avoid an investigation by the AdC Portuguese Competition Authority into the deal.

Diario Economico

>>> Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 20th of March 2015

>>> Up
*DSM RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN
*ENEL RAISED TO BUY VS ADD AT INVESTEC
*EVONIK INDUSTRIES RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
*MICHAEL PAGE UPPED TO OVERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT: MORGAN STANLEY
*PUMA RAISED TO HOLD VS SELL AT BERENBERG
*SHIRE RAISED TO OUTPERFORM AT SANFORD BERNSTEIN
*STMICRO RAISED TO EQUALWEIGHT VS UNDERWEIGHT: MORGAN STANLEY
*WILLIAM HILL RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

>>> Down
*BANCA POPOLARE DI MILANO CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT NOMURA
*BOUYGUES CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT BOFAML
*DELTA LLOYD CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS NEUTRAL AT HSBC
*ELECTROLUX CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
*ERICSSON CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
*FORTUM CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT BERENBERG
*HENNES & MAURITZ CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OUTPERFORM: CREDIT SUISSE
*O’KEY GROUP CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT UBS
*STANDARD CHARTERED CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT INVESTEC
*ZODIAC AEROSPACE CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

>>> PT changes


>>> Initiation
*FORTUM CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT BERENBERG

>>> Call

(BFW) Norway’s Domestic Pension Fund Says Oil Bonds Now Pay for Risk

Norway’s Domestic Pension Fund Says Oil Bonds Now Pay for Risk
2015-03-20 02:10:00.679 GMT


By Jonas Cho Walsgard
(Bloomberg) -- Government Pension Fund Norway, the domestic
counterpart to the country’s $850b wealth fund, said bonds
issued by oil-related companies now provide compensation for the
risk of credit losses.
* The bonds, which are mostly high-yield, have been pummeled
as oil prices slumped last year, driving the yield spread
investors demand versus benchmarks wider; now, some
investors are coming back, and the DNB High Yield Norway
Total Return Index has risen 5% from a 15-month low in
February
* Link to full story


For Related News and Information:
Top Nordic Stories: TOP NORD<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonas Cho Walsgard in Oslo at +47-22-00-8212 or
jchowalsgard@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Veronica Ek at +46-8-610-0722 or
vek@bloomberg.net
Stephen Treloar

(BFW) Lafarge, Holcim Agree New Deal Ratio of 9 Shares for 10 Lafarge

BN 03/20 06:03 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM SEE FINALIZATION IN JULY
BN 03/20 06:03 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM: SOME SHAREHOLDERS HAVE BACKED NEW TERMS
BN 03/20 06:02 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM TO GIVE 1 NEW SHARE FOR 20 HELD IN STOCK DIV
BN 03/20 06:02 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM PLAN DIVIDEND TO BE PAID IN STOCK
BN 03/20 06:01 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM: REITZLE, LAFONT TO BE NON-EXEC CO-CHAIRMEN
BFW 03/20 06:01 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM AGREE NEW MERGER TERMS
BN 03/20 06:01 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM AGREE NEW RATIO: 9 SHARES FOR 10 LAFARGE
BN 03/20 06:00 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM AGREE NEW RATIO: 9 SHARES FOR 10 LAFARGE
BN 03/20 06:00 *LAFARGE, HOLCIM AGREE NEW MERGER TERMS
Lafarge, Holcim Agree New Deal Ratio of 9 Shares for 10 Lafarge
2015-03-20 06:08:41.465 GMT


By Cormac Mullen
(Bloomberg) -- Lafarge, Holcim say new CEO will be proposed
with appointment expected to be communicated in due course.
* Say Wolfgang Reitzle and Bruno Lafont will be non-executive
Co-Chairmen of the Board
* Say new company will announce a post-closing scrip dividend
of 1 new LafargeHolcim share for each 20 existing shares
* Say certain key shareholders of both companies have
confirmed their support for the revised merger terms
* Say Holcim shareholder resolutions required to implement
combination to be presented at shareholder meeting on or
about May 7
* Expect transaction to close in July

Link to Company News:{HOLN VX <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{LG FP <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CRH ID <Equity> CN <GO>}

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Cormac Mullen at +353-1-523-9526 or
cmullen9@bloomberg.net

>>> US After Hours : ENVI +31.2%, CTRP +8.5%, MFRM +5%, NKE +4.

After Hours Summary: ENVI +31.2%, CTRP +8.5%, MFRM +5%, NKE +4.5%, AKS -6.9% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: ENVI +31.2%, CTRP +8.5%, MFRM +5%, NKE +4.5%, MBLX +3.8%, NWY +3.1%, EXA +2.5%, RALY +2.3%, ISNS +1.1%, GMAN +0.9%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: PRTA +39.4% (announced positive results from a Phase 1 single ascending dose study of PRX002, a monoclonal antibody for the potential treatment of Parkinson's disease and other related synucleinopathies), EXA +2.5% (Soros Fund discloses 9.15% passive stake in 13G filing), AVEO +2.0% (regained compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid listing rule)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: AKS -6.9%, ZFGN -0.9%, CERU -0.2%, JYNT -0.1%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: BIOD -8.7% (filed for $30 mln offering of common stock), ACUR -2.9% (disclosed that it was afforded an additional 180 calendar day period to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share 

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: EU leaders, Tsipras exit meeting more optimistic; BOJ minutes show rising concern over JGB volatility; RBA's Stevens leaves door open for more cuts


***Economic Data***
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND FEB CREDIT CARD SPENDING M/M: -0.1% V 2.0% PRIOR; Y/Y: 5.8% V 6.2% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAR ANZ CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: 124.6 v 124.0 PRIOR; M/M: +0.5% V -3.8% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND FEB ANZ JOB ADVERTISEMENTS M/M: +0.7% V -1.1% PRIOR
- (NZ) New Zealand Feb Net Migration: 4.8K v 5.5K prior
- (US) NORTH AMERICA FEB SEMI BOOK/BILL RATIO: 1.02 V 1.04 PRIOR; 2nd month above parity

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +0.1%, S&P/ASX +0.2%, Kospi -0.3%, Shanghai Composite +0.2%, Hang Seng -0.2%, Jun S&P500 +0.2% at 2,084

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold -0.1% at $1,169, May crude oil flat at $45.64/brl
- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥1.5T in T-bills
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$700M in 3.25% bonds due 2018; Avg yield 1.8195%; Bid-to-cover: 4.74x
- (US) Weekly Fed Balance Sheet Total Assets for week ending Mar 18th: $4.50T v $4.49T prior; M1 y/y change: 9.4% v 9.5% w/w; M2 y/y change: 6.1% v 6.0% w/w

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- EU leaders and Greece PM Tsipras held last-ditch talks to find common ground related to Greek reforms-for-aid plans amid a notable deterioration of good will on both sides and also a decline in investors confidence over a positive outcome for Athens in recent days. Both sides appear to have been pleased with today's talks - PM Tsipas said the relief process is back on track after today's meeting, as all sides agreed to restore financing of Greek economy; Germany's Merkel noted the basis of reforms is still grounded in the Feb 20th decision, Greece will present a more detailed and adequate list of reforms planned in the next few days, and that no funds will be paid to Athens until the review of Greek reforms has been concluded. EUR/USD rose to session highs just shy of the $1.07 handle following the EU statement.

- Trading in other major USD pairs remains subdued. Among the most notable, AUD/USD is up about 40pips above $0.7680 and NZD/USD up nearly 50pips as high as $0.7450. AUD rally was briefly contained by comments from RBA Gov Stevens delivering an address at the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia luncheon. Stevens left the door open to further policy easing, adding the decline in the exchange rate is probably not yet finished. He also acknowledged declining cofindence among companies and households but talked down worries of a potential budget crisis looming for Australia.

- In Japan, BOJ Gov Kuroda reiterated CPI will likely reach 2% in or around FY15, even though the central bank further scaled back its inflation outlook in its policy meeting earlier this week. Meeting minutes for last month saw board members holding a similar opinion, even though the MOF representative on the board stopped urging that the time-based inflation objective is maintained. Some members noted an increase in volatility in the JGB market, and a few questioned sustainability of JGB purchases at current pace. Separately, a Nikkei report in late US session speculated that the cabinet office (govt) will raise its monthly economic assessment for the first time since July 2014 when the report is published on Monday. Japan has held assessment unchanged since November, when it was lowered following another round of QE by the central bank. USD/JPY was little changed in today's session, trading in a 25pip range above 120.60.

***Equities***
US markets/ADRs:
- PRTA: Reports Phase 1 Trials Shows Robust Reduction of Free Serum Alpha-Synuclein of up to 96% After Single Dose of PRX002, a Novel Protein Immunotherapy for Parkinson's Disease; +40.3% afterhours
- CTRP: Reports Q4 -$0.11 (adj) v -$0.31e, R$326M v $308Me; Names COO Jie Sun as co-President; +8.4% afterhours
- NKE: Reports Q3 $0.89 v $0.84e, R$7.46B v $7.64Be; +4.5% afterhours
- MFRM: Reports Q4 $0.41 (adj) v $0.47e, R$598.3M v $566Me; +3.1% afterhours
- NWY: Reports Q4 -$0.01 v $0.00e, R$267.4M v $267Me; +3.1% afterhours
- AMZN: FAA awards Amazon experimental airworthiness certificate for drones; +0.1% afterhours
- AKS: Guides Q1 -$0.23 to -$0.28 v +$0.03e, citing lower than expected spot steel prices; -9.5% afterhours

- BHI: Halliburton & Baker Hughes planning to sell at least 4 businesses in Apr, total valued at $10B - financial press

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Li & Fung Ltd 494.HK -6.1% (FY14 results); VST Holdings 856.HK +6.9% (FY14 results)
- Financials: Ping An Insurance 601318.CN +3.6% (FY14 results)
- Materials: Beijing New Building Material 000786.CN +3.7% (FY14 results)
- Energy: Karoon Gas Australia KAR.AU -17.8% (issues progress report on exploration well)
- Technology: BlueFocus Communication Group 300058.CN +6.0% (FY14 results); Rakuten Inc 4755.JP +2.3% (acquisition); Toshiba Corporation 6502.JP +3.1% (starts image sensor production); FIH Mobile 2038.HK +8.0% (prelim FY14 results)
- Telecom: China Mobile 941.HK -1.5% (FY14 results)

(BN) Holcim, Lafarge Said to Reach Agreement to Salvage Merger (1)


Holcim, Lafarge Said to Reach Agreement to Salvage Merger (1)
2015-03-20 00:37:26.730 GMT


(Updates with no comment from Lafarge in sixth paragraph.)

By Aaron Kirchfeld, Francois de Beaupuy and Jacqueline Simmons
(Bloomberg) -- Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge SA reached an
agreement to salvage their $40 billion merger to form the
world’s biggest cement company, two people with knowledge of the
matter said.
An announcement could come as soon as Friday morning, said
the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private
information. The two companies revised the exchange ratio so
that Switzerland-based Holcim will give about 0.90 of a share in
return for one share of Paris-based Lafarge, instead of the
original one-to-one ratio, the people said.
Holcim questioned the ability of Lafarge Chief Executive
Officer Bruno Lafont to reach savings targets for a combined
company after it outperformed its French partner on everything
from sales to profit. Lafont and Holcim managers also clashed
over issues including leadership style and strategy, people
familiar with the situation have said.
The companies reached an understanding to make Lafont co-
chairman of the new entity alongside Holcim Chairman Wolfgang
Reitzle following resistance to Lafont becoming CEO of the
merged company, people familiar have said.
A Lafarge candidate for CEO has been identified but will
not be announced or finalized Friday, the people familiar with
the latest developments said. There could still be a surprise
delay or turn in events.
Holcim couldn’t immediately be reached for comment outside
of regular business hours and a representative for Lafarge
declined to comment.

Personality Clash

Lafarge dropped less than 1 percent in Paris Thursday,
giving it a value of 18 billion euros ($19 billion), while
Holcim gained 1.1 percent in Zurich, lifting the market value to
25 billion Swiss francs.
The dispute over leadership by the 58-year-old Frenchman
Lafont shows how a clash of personalities can become the biggest
liability in mergers. The gum-chewing, cigar smoking Lafont and
soft-spoken Holcim CEO Bernard Fontana, who was due to remain in
his post until the merger completion, have disagreed on key
issues from the start, a person familiar with the matter said
earlier this week.
Holcim and Lafarge have predicted the merger will lead to
cost savings of 1.4 billion euros annually, giving them an
advantage over rivals as a global recession eroded demand for
building materials and forced some kilns to run at a loss.
If the terms of the deal change to a 0.90 to 1 ratio, it
would turn the deal value positive in 2014 and 6.8 percent more
earnings accretive in 2015, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Shareholders of Ireland’s CRH Plc, which agreed to buy 6.5
billion euros ($6.9 billion) in assets that Holcim and Lafarge
need to sell for regulatory approval, Thursday approved the
purchase.

For Related News and Information:
Lafarge-Holcim Said to Mull Lafont as Co-Chairman for Merger
Lafarge Forecasts 2015 Profit Gains as Cement Markets Revive
CRH Buys Cement Assets From Holcim-Lafarge for $7.3 Billion
Holcim earnings graph: HOLN VX <Equity> FA ISBAR <GO>
Holcim enterprise value: HOLN VX <Equity> EV <GO>
Top Swiss stories: TOPS <GO>
Bloomberg Intelligence building-materials: BI BMATG <GO>
Top deal news: DTOP <GO>
Real M&A columns: NI REALMNA <GO>
Top Stories:TOP<GO>

To contact the reporters on this story:
Aaron Kirchfeld in London at +44-20-3525-8830 or
akirchfeld@bloomberg.net;
Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at +33-1-5365-5051 or
fdebeaupuy@bloomberg.net;
Jacqueline Simmons in Paris at +33-1-5365-5055 or
jackiem@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mohammed Hadi at +1-212-617-2914 or
mhadi1@bloomberg.net
Elizabeth Wollman, Dan Reichl

>>> US Close Dow-0,65% S&P-0,49% Nasdaq+0,19% Russell+0,21%

Closing Market Summary: Stocks End Mixed Amid Dollar Rebound

The stock market ended the Thursday session on a mixed note. The S&P 500 lost 0.5% after spending the entire session in negative territory while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq extended this week's gain to 2.5% while the S&P 500 will enter the Friday session up 1.7% for the week.

Yesterday's dovish FOMC policy statement pressured the greenback, but the Dollar Index (99.23, +0.67) wasted no time, stringing together a swift comeback. The index added 0.7% today and returned to Tuesday's low. Notably, the euro retraced the bulk of yesterday's move, returning below 1.0650 versus the dollar.

Likewise, the dollar strength weighed on crude oil, sending the energy component lower by 2.5% to $45.50/bbl. In turn, this kept the energy sector (-1.7%) near the bottom of the barrel while the other commodity-related sector—materials (-1.7%)—finished just behind energy. Steelmakers kept the sector pressured after Nucor (NUE 46.11, -3.16) cut its guidance well below analyst estimates. Shares of NUE tumbled 6.4% while Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 31.07, -1.10) fell 3.4%.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, industrials (-0.7%) and financials (-1.0%) struggled while consumer discretionary (-0.2%) and technology (-0.2%) displayed relative strength.

The largest sector by
weight—technology—spent
the day near its flat line as heavyweights like
Apple (AAPL 127.50, -0.97), Google (GOOGL 563.67, -2.49), and Facebook (FB 82.75, +1.84)traded in mixed fashion while chipmakers outperformed with the PHLX Semiconductor Index adding 0.2%.

Conversely, the relative strength gave a boost to the Nasdaq, but the index also received significant support from biotechnology. Biogen Idec (BIIB 433.65, +5.72) jumped 1.3% after Credit Suisse raised its price target for the stock to $500 from $400 while the broader iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 365.25, +7.11) spiked 2.0%, logging its sixth consecutive advance.

In addition to boosting the Nasdaq, biotechnology helped the health care sector (+0.5%) finish well ahead of other groups. The countercyclical sector extended its week-to-date gain to 3.7%, overtaking the utilities sector (-1.0%), which narrowed its weekly gain to 3.3%.

Treasuries retraced a portion of yesterday's advance with the 10-yr yield spiking five basis points to 1.97%.

Today's participation was a bit light with roughly 715 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included Initial Claims, Current Account Balance, Leading Indicators, and Philadelphia Fed Survey:
  • The initial claims level increased to 291,000 from an upwardly revised 290,000 (from 289,000) while the consensus expected an increase to 293,000 
    • There were no special factors impacting this week's claims reading 
  • The current account deficit for the fourth quarter totaled $113.50 billion while the consensus expected the deficit to hit $105.00 billion 
    • The third quarter deficit was revised to $98.90 billion from $100.30 billion 
  • The Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Survey dropped slightly to 5.0 in March from 5.2 in February while the consensus expected an increase to 6.9 
    • While the overall index was virtually unchanged from a month ago, the underlying details showed that a stark weakness developed over the past few weeks 
      • Shipments—or production—moved into a deep contraction in March as the related index dropped to -7.8 from +8.1 in February. 
      • New orders growth slowed as that index fell to 3.9 in March from 5.4 in February. Unfilled orders entered an even larger contraction, dropping from +7.3 in February to -13.8 in March. 
  • The Leading Indicators report for February was up 0.2%, which is what the consensus expected 
There is no economic data on tomorrow's schedule.
  • Nasdaq Composite +5.4% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 +4.1% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +1.5% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.8% ytd

WSJ Fracking Rules Expected to Be Unveiled by Obama Administration Friday

Fracking Rules Expected to Be Unveiled by Obama Administration Friday
Rules set standards for wells, disposal of wastewater

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration on Friday is expected to issue long-awaited regulations setting new standards for hydraulic fracturing in the oil and natural-gas industries, people familiar with the matter said.

The drilling technology has been key to unlocking vast reserves of oil and gas across the U.S., but qualms about its environmental impact have made it controversial.

The regulations will set standards for wells and disposal of wastewater—and also require companies to disclose chemicals used, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said on Tuesday in remarks discussing the rules.

“The rule will include measures to protect our nation’s groundwater—requiring operators to construct sound wells, to disclose the chemicals they use, and to safely recover and handle fluids used in the process,” Ms. Jewell said at a Washington speech. “Some have already labeled these baseline, proven standards as overly burdensome to industry; I think most Americans would call them common sense.”

The regulations, in the works since 2012, apply only to drilling on federal land, which account for 11% of the natural gas and 5% of the oil the U.S. consumes, according to Interior Department data. Other drilling is on private or state-owned lands and won’t be subject to the regulations.

The rules are significant because they set a standard that will be weighed by state regulators and private companies.

“The responsibility for developing this energy safely must now be taken up in state capitals, engineering labs, and board rooms all across the country,” Ms. Jewell said.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a drilling technique of injecting water and chemicals deep into shale rock formations to crack open pockets of natural gas and oil. Companies have done it decades, but the practice has come under scrutiny in recent years as its use skyrocketed and triggered the U.S. oil and gas boom. Roughly 90% of new land-based wells are drilled using the technology, the government said.

The government, in a May 2013 draft proposal, said it expects the rules to cost between $12 million and $20 million a year. Some analysts said the rules won’t be overly burdensome. “We expect the direct effect will be minimal on the industry, as the associated cost increases will likely represent [less than] 0.5% of average well costs,” said a Wednesday research note by investment bank FBR Capital Markets.

The regulations represent one of the first steps by the Obama administration on fracking, which some environmental groups say is unsafe and should be banned. Administration officials say it can be done safely.

Thanks in large part to the combination of fracking and horizontal drilling, U.S. oil and natural gas production has surged in recent years. Oil production has risen 85% since 2008, to reach 9.4 million barrels of oil a day in February, and natural gas production has risen more than 30% over that same time period, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.