(BFW) Chanel to Cut Leather-Goods Prices in China, Le Monde Says

--> -ve for MC. UHR
BN 03/17 08:56 *LE MONDE CITES CHANEL'S BRUNO PAVLOVSKI ON CHINA PRICE CUTS
BN 03/17 08:55 *CHANEL TO CUT PRICES IN CHINA, LE MONDE SAYS
Chanel to Cut Leather-Goods Prices in China, Le Monde Says
2015-03-17 09:01:47.624 GMT


By David Whitehouse
(Bloomberg) -- Perfume prices not affected, Le Monde says,
citing Bruno Pavlovski, Chanel’s head of leather goods and
clothes.
* Chinese prices should not exceed euro prices by more than
5%, and should be no more than 10% more than those in the
rest of the world: Le Monde
* Price difference for bags between Paris and China has become
a brand issue, Le Monde cites Pavlovski as saying.


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(BFW) Publicis Buys 2,406,873 of Own Shrs From Badinter Family

ONE 03/17 08:08 Publicis Groupe: Share Buyback
BN 03/17 08:09 *PUBLICIS BUYS SHARES AT PRICE OF 73.03 EU/SHR
BN 03/17 08:09 *PUBLICIS BUYS 2,406,873 OF OWN SHRS FROM BADINTER FAMILY
BN 03/17 08:08 *PUBLICIS GROUPE: SHR BUYBACK
Publicis Buys 2,406,873 of Own Shrs From Badinter Family
2015-03-17 08:21:48.632 GMT


By Angeline Benoit
(Bloomberg) -- Publicis Groupe buy-back amounts to EU176m
at a price of EU73.03 per share, co. says in e-mailed statement
today.
* Transaction is part of buy-back program approved by the
General Shareholders Meeting held on May 28, 2014
* Elisabeth Badinter remains the first shareholder in the
company; family group holding at 7.58% of share capital and
13.88% of voting rights following sale
* Share buy-back financed by Publicis Groupe’s available cash
resources

Link to Statement:Link
Link to Company News:{PUB FP <Equity> CN <GO>}

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To contact the reporter on this story:
Angeline Benoit in Paris at +33-15365-5073 or
abenoit4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Angeline Benoit at +33-15365-5073 or
abenoit4@bloomberg.net

>>> What to look at today - 17th of March 2015

Dow +1.29% S&P +1.35% Nasdaq +1.19% Russell +0.62% VIX @ 15.61 -2.44%
Market rebound above its 50d MA, Unperturbed by disappointing economic data, equity indices rallied out of the gate and registered the bulk of their gains during the first hour of action. Countercyclical health care (+2.2%) and utilities (+1.7%) held the lead throughout the session, but most other sectors also posted solid gains. Material sector was the only sector in nthe red (DD -4.3%), another commodity-linked sector—energy—began the day in negative territory, but rebounded to end higher by 1.4% even as crude oil dropped to a new low for the year. The energy component settled lower by 2.1% at $43.94/bbl after testing the $43.00/bbl level this morning. industrial sector (+1.6%) outperformed with help from transport stocks. The Dow Jones Transportation Average jumped 1.7% with 19 of its 20 components posting gains...Volume were in line with average @ 740mil shares...US After HoursARTX +10.8%, BDE +7.5%, JMEI +6.3%, MCP -18.9%, BOOM -12%, CALL -9.4% following earnings/guidance...BOJ policy statement was largely a reiteration of the prior month, maintaining annual rate of monetary base increase at ¥80T, and reiterating economic assessment of economy continuing moderate recovery trend. Board member Kiuchi remained the lone dissenter in favor of a more protracted timeframe for inflation target. The only change in the statement related to inflation, where the BOJ scaled back its current CPI view to 0.0-0.5% from around 0.5% and the outlook for inflation to also be around 0% vs prior "slow for time being". USD/JPY fell about 20pips below 121.30 on the release with little indication that further policy easing may be in the works for April. Separately, Fin Min Aso spoke of risks to Japan economy from the slowdown in China, and also acknowledged that it will take longer to exit deflationary mindset than 1-2 years after some 20 years of negative price trends. In China, PBoC injected another CNY20B via 7-day reverse repos in the system but also lowered its offering yield by another 10bps to 3.65%. This follows a similar 10bps reduction in the offering yield made one week ago. Also of note on the mainland, China February FDI slowed dramatically, and Commerce Ministry spokesperson attributed the strong rise in February exports to seasonality of the holidays and US recovery. In a sign of Beijing's increasing discomfort with FX volatility, MOFCOM's Shen said weaker EUR increases pressure on exports along with creating opportunities for Europe acquisitions.

Nikkei +0.99% Hang Seng -0.35% Shanghai +0.91%

RUB $62.0675 WTI $43.78 (-0.23%) Brent $54.06(+0.2%) EURCHF 1.06697 CHF 1.0075

EUR$ 1.0593 S&P -0.10% EuroStoxx -0.16% Dax -0.04% SMI +0.02%


Macro :
- Falling Euro Provides More Chances for China Asset Acquisitions
- Greece Deserves ‘Love’ as It Tries to Heed Aid Pledges: Juncker
- Moscovici Says Germany Needs to Do More Now to Support Demand
- Italy looking at several options to address solving its bad loans issue as soon as the summer - Italian Press

Keep an eye on :
- ABI BB : AB InBev Director Van Damme Sells EU2.8m of Brewer’s Stock
- BA/ LN : BAE Systems Outlook Revised to Negative by S&P
- BOSS GY : Permira Completes Sale of 8.4m Hugo Boss Shrs at EU113/Shr
- BOSS GY :
- RF FP : Eurazeo 2014 Net Loss EU89m Vs Profit of EU561m
- HSBA LN : HSBC Closing Jersey Accounts for Customers Living in U.K.: BBC
- IPR LN : Impresa 2014 Net Rises 66.8% to EU11m Y/y
- KUNN SW : Kuoni Sees 2017 Revenue Rising Amid Negative Impact From CHF
- MC FP : LVMH to Open More Hotels in Next 12-24 Months: Ravi Thakran
- MC IM : Bulgari CEO Babin Says 2015 Performance Above Targets So Far
- NOVN X : Novartis Wins EU Approval for Jakavi to Treat Rare Blood Cancer
- ORA FP : Orange Seeks to Triple Data Speeds on ~EU15b Investments by 2018
- ORA FP : Orange Sees Low-Point in Sales in 2016, Finance Chief Says
- RNO FP : Nissan to Halt Russia Output for 16 Days on Weak Sales: Reuters
- SIK VX : Sika Agrees to Buy Axson Technologies
- SPSN SW : Swiss Prime Site Plans Div. CHF3.7/Share; BDVD Forecast CHF3.6
- SYNN VX: Syngenta Gets Vietnam Approval for Bt11 x GA21 Stacked Corn Seed
- STL NO : Statoil Finds Cracks Under Gudrun Helicopter Pad: Offshore.no
- TIT IM : Tel. Italia to Report 2014 Net Income Over EU100m: Messaggero
- WCH GY :Wacker Chemie Sees Higher Sales, Adj. Ebitda for This Year

>>> Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 17th of March of 2015

>>> Up
*KUMBA IRON ORE RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS UNDERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*LONMIN RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT CITI
*NYRSTAR RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
*SANOFI RAISED TO OUTPERFORM VS MARKET PERFORM AT LEERINK
*SDL RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT NUMIS
*STRAUMANN RAISED TO NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN

>>> Down
*BANK OF GEORGIA CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT UBS
*DAIMLER CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT UBS
*DEUTSCHE POST CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT UBS
*LINDE CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT CITI
*HEINEKEN CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT GOLDMAN
*HENNES & MAURITZ CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT CITI

>>> PT Change
*TUI RATED NEW BUY AT UBS, PT 1,310P

>>> Initiation
*HSS HIRE GROUP RATED NEW OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN

>>> Call

>>> US After Hours Summary: ARTX +10.8%, BDE +7.5%, JMEI +6.3%, MCP -1


After Hours Summary: ARTX +10.8%, BDE +7.5%, JMEI +6.3%, MCP -18.9%, BOOM -12%, CALL -9.4% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: ARTX +10.8%, BDE +7.5%, JMEI +6.3%, KVHI +6%, NES +5.8%, QUNR +3.1%, LJPC +3.1%, CUI +1.6%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: IMNP +9.0% (to develop a novel topical nanoparticle formulation of AmiKet), BDE +7.5% (announced that it has engaged the financial advisory firms Rothschild Inc. and Robert W. Baird & Co. to lead the exploration of a full range of strategic alternatives for each of its brands; co also reported earnings), FISI +7.3% (filed for $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering), KIN +4.1% (announced positive results of pilot field study of KIND-012 for the control of fever in horses; Randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study meets its primary endpoint), AAL +3.6% (to replace AGN in the S&P 500), AMRN +3.2% (announced the presentation of findings from a new in vitro study showing that pretreatment with eicosapentaenoic acid reduced oxidation of small dense LDL and resulted in improved endothelial function), NUS +2.3% (received approval from China's Ministry of Commerce for the company to commence direct selling activities in Shaoxing City in Zhejiang Province) NXTD +1.6% (announced it has shipped Wocket smart wallets today)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: MCP -18.9%, BOOM -12%, CALL -9.4%, XONE -9.2%, EGY -7.4%, STEM -6.5%, WYY -4.8%, NOAH -4.7%, OMER -3.7%, FXEN -3.3%, BDSI -2.3%, ANW -0.7%, WGBS -0.4%, SGYP -0.3%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: CRZO -4.8% (announced public offering of 4.5 mln shares of common stock), ABIO -3.7% (provided GENETIC-AF clinical trial update; Protocol amended to broaden trial population and increase enrollment rate, Phase 2B of GENETIC-AF anticipated to complete enrollment by year-end 2016), JMBA -3.3% (filed to delay Form 10-K), MYE -2.5% (filed to delay Form 10-K; co has recently uncovered what appear to be errors in the accounting for inventory and possibly fraudulent activities at its Brazilian operations), WD -2.0% (announced the commencement of a public secondary offering of 8,246,534 shares of common stock held by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG); In addition, co will repurchase from the Underwriter 3 mln of those shares), KCAP -1.9% (filed to delay Form 10-K), RTRX -1.6% (co offering to sell 5.1 mln shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering) 

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: BOJ maintains policy settings, scales back inflation outlook


***Economic Data***
- (CN) China Feb FDI Y/Y: 0.9% v 29.4% prior
- (SG) SINGAPORE FEB ELECTRONIC EXPORTS Y/Y: -12.5% V -7.7%E; NON-OIL DOMESTIC EXPORTS M/M: -9.4% V -1.6%E; Y/Y: -9.7% V -0.9%E
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 110.8 v 110.3 prior

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +0.9%, S&P/ASX +1.0%, Kospi +1.5%, Shanghai Composite +0.8%, Hang Seng +0.1%, Jun S&P500 flat at 2,066

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold +0.1% at $1,155, Apr crude oil -0.2% at $43.74/brl
- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1585 v 6.1615 prior setting (strongest Yuan setting since Mar 10th)
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos (6th consecutive injection)

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Volatility in FX space remains minimal ahead of Wednesday's FOMC with EUR/USD in a 30pip range above 1.0550, USD/JPY in a 20pip range below 121.50, and AUD/USD supported above 0.76. BOJ policy statement and RBA meeting minutes were the key risk events, and the initial declines in thee USD/JPY and AUD/USD pairs were quickly pared. In equities, Shanghai Composite extended overnight gains to rise above 3,480 - the highest level since mid-2008 - while Tokyo, Sydney, and Seoul markets were also firm, tracking a strong session of gains in the US hours.

- BOJ policy statement was largely a reiteration of the prior month, maintaining annual rate of monetary base increase at ¥80T, and reiterating economic assessment of economy continuing moderate recovery trend. Board member Kiuchi remained the lone dissenter in favor of a more protracted timeframe for inflation target. The only change in the statement related to inflation, where the BOJ scaled back its current CPI view to 0.0-0.5% from around 0.5% and the outlook for inflation to also be around 0% vs prior "slow for time being". USD/JPY fell about 20pips below 121.30 on the release with little indication that further policy easing may be in the works for April. Separately, Fin Min Aso spoke of risks to Japan economy from the slowdown in China, and also acknowledged that it will take longer to exit deflationary mindset than 1-2 years after some 20 years of negative price trends.

- RBA board minutes paved the way to potential additional easing after this month's surprise rate hold against the expected 2nd consecutive rate cut. Minutes said a new cut may become appropriate, the economy is operating with spare capacity, and non-mining investment is subdued for longer than expected, while also noting the risks of a property market bubble, preferring to allow the markets to digest the February rate cut before moving again. On exchange rate, RBA reiterated AUD is still above most estimates of fundamental value. AUD/USD fell about 30pips to 0.7610 on the release.

- In China, PBoC injected another CNY20B via 7-day reverse repos in the system but also lowered its offering yield by another 10bps to 3.65%. This follows a similar 10bps reduction in the offering yield made one week ago. Also of note on the mainland, China February FDI slowed dramatically, and Commerce Ministry spokesperson attributed the strong rise in February exports to seasonality of the holidays and US recovery. In a sign of Beijing's increasing discomfort with FX volatility, MOFCOM's Shen said weaker EUR increases pressure on exports along with creating opportunities for Europe acquisitions.

***Equities***
US markets:
- AAL: To replace Allergan in S&P 500 after the close of trading on March 20; +4.2% afterhours
- NUS: Receives Direct Selling Authorization For Additional City In Mainland China; +2.3% afterhours
- FL: Announces Updated Strategic Growth Initiatives And Elevated Long-Term Financial Objectives; -0.2% afterhours
- ANW: Reports Q4 $0.22 (adj) v $0.22e, R$1.44B v $1.59Be; -0.7% afterhours
- CALL: Reports Q4 $0.15 (adj) v $0.14e (1 est), R$25.7M v $38.2M y/y; -10.7% afterhours
- BOOM: Reports Q4 $0.06 v $0.17e; R$52.0M v $51.6Me; -12.0% afterhours

- AAPL: Said to be in talks to launch a bundled online TV service by this fall; Would be availabe on devices such as Apple TV - financial press

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Dulux Group DLX.AU +1.9% (announces supply chain investments); Panasonic Corporation 6752.JP +1.7% (announces acquisition)
- Financials: Poly Real Estate 600048.CN +1.7% (FY14 results)
- Materials: Iluka Resources ILU.AU +1.2% (signs for copper-gold project); BHP Billiton Ltd BHP.AU +1.2% (to demerge South32)
- Energy: Tokyo Gas 9531.JP +2.2% (may announce repurchase)
- Industrials: Hitachi Ltd 6501.JP +3.9%, Mitsubishi Heavy 6501.JP +2.4% (Hitachi, Mitsubishi Heavy aim to raise ROE to above 10%)

>>> US Close

Closing Market Summary: S&P 500 Reclaims 50-Day Average

The stock market rebounded from last week's decline with a Monday rally that sent the S&P 500 (+1.3%) back above its 50-day moving average (2,060). The benchmark index narrowed its March loss to 1.1% while the Nasdaq (+1.2%) and Russell 2000 (+0.6%) underperformed, but still logged solid gains to start the week.

Unperturbed by disappointing economic data, equity indices rallied out of the gate and registered the bulk of their gains during the first hour of action. Countercyclical health care (+2.2%) and utilities (+1.7%) held the lead throughout the session, but most other sectors also posted solid gains.

The only group that couldn't make it out of the red was the materials sector (-0.1%) as Dow component DuPont (DD 77.07, -3.43) weighed after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to ‘Underperform' from ‘Buy.' DuPont lost 4.3% while steelmakers also pressured the sector with Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 30.91, -0.06) sliding 0.2%.

Meanwhile, another commodity-linked sector—energy—began the day in negative territory, but rebounded to end higher by 1.4% even as crude oil dropped to a new low for the year. The energy component settled lower by 2.1% at $43.94/bbl after testing the $43.00/bbl level this morning.

Crude oil spent the day in the red after OPEC's monthly oil market report indicated that global demand growth is unlikely to increase from the previous month's 1.17 million barrels/day. Furthermore, a pullback in the Dollar Index (99.71, -0.63) failed to provide support. The Dollar Index lost 0.6% with the greenback giving up 0.7% to the euro, which tested the 1.0600 level.

Today's relative weakness in the dollar combined with the lack of a negative response to disappointing economic data suggests that participants were not all that concerned with the possibility that the Fed will strike a hawkish tone in Wednesday's policy statement. There was no strong demand for volatility protection today with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 15.61, -0.39) falling 2.4%.

As mentioned earlier, the health care sector ended in the lead. Biotechnology supported the advance step-for-step with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 353.97, +8.64) climbing 2.5% to a new record high.

In turn, the relative strength within the biotech group was not enough to keep the Nasdaq in-line with the broader market. The tech-heavy index underperformed slightly as Facebook (FB 78.07, +0.02) and Intel (INTC 30.83, -0.10) spent the day in negative territory. Intel shed 0.3%, but that had little impact on its peers as the broader PHLX Semiconductor Index gained 1.5%.

Elsewhere among cyclical groups, the industrial sector (+1.6%) outperformed with help from transport stocks. The Dow Jones Transportation Average jumped 1.7% with 19 of its 20 components posting gains while Matson (MATX 40.73, -0.42) lost 1.0%.

Treasuries registered modest gains with the 10-yr yield slipping three basis points to 2.09%.

Today's participation was in-line with recent averages as 740 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included Empire Manufacturing Index, Industrial Production, and NAHB Housing Market Index:
  • The Empire Manufacturing Survey for March registered a reading of 6.9, which was below the prior month's reading of 7.8 and below the consensus estimate, which was pegged at 8.8 
  • Industrial production increased 0.1% in February after declining a negatively revised 0.3% (from +0.2%) while the consensus expected an increase of 0.3% 
    • Manufacturing production declined 0.2% in February after declining 0.3% in January, representing the third consecutive monthly contraction 
    • Capacity utilization declined to 78.9% from 79.1% (consensus 79.5%) 
  • The NAHB Housing Market Index for March fell to 53 from 55 while the consensus expected an increase to 56 
Tomorrow's economic data will be limited to the 8:30 ET release of February Housing Starts consensus 1.041 million) and Building Permits (consensus 1.07 million).
  • Nasdaq Composite +4.1% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 +2.9% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +1.1% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.9% YTD