(BofA-ML) Greece: The moment of truth

* Negotiations ahead and the good and bad equilibria
The Greek government has been more confrontational than markets had
expected. Their plea has not found much sympathy abroad, but has been very
popular domestically. However, some signs of a possible compromise have also
emerged. We expect negotiations in the weeks ahead to focus more on the
roadmap for the way forward and less on the substance of policies.

* We expect the actual policy negotiations to be very difficult. The economic
situation has deteriorated. Greece will need a new official program. In our view, any
agreement is likely to include both more austerity in Greece and losses for the rest
of the Eurozone.

* Greece does not have to re-discover the wheel. The Greek government could
pre-commit to fiscal targets based on objective IMF analysis of best past practices,
as opposed to targets that make the government debt look sustainable on paper.
The government could also seek IMF advice on tax reform and OECD advice on
structural reforms. Such an approach would both strengthen the government’s
credibility abroad and force the Eurozone authorities to have to argue against
sounds analysis.

* A bad equilibrium, in our view, begins with brinksmanship, leading to a
collision. One can consider many versions, most of them including a bank run and
capital controls in Greece, eventually leading to Euro exit if there were no
agreement. Such scenarios are not in our baseline, but the longer policy
negotiations are delayed, the higher the likelihood of such scenarios.

>>> What to look at today - 10th of February 2015

Dow-0,53% S&P-0,42% Nasdaq-0,39% Russell-0,80% VIX +7,29% @ 18,55
US Market started the week on sleepy note, Greece & concerns on Eurozone following A.Tsipras comments reiterating to push against austerity measures, Athens General -4,8%, Greek 10Y @ 10,75% +64bps...Nine sectors registered losses with countercyclical health care (-1.1%) and utilities (-0.9%) ending at the bottom of the leaderboard. The utilities sector widened its February loss to 4.6% while health care lagged even as biotechnology names displayed intraday strength....the energy sector surrendered the bulk of its intraday gain during the final hour, but still ended ahead of others with crude oil underpinning the relative strength. The energy component gained 2.6% and finished the pit session at $52.99/bbl. On a related note, the Baltic Dry Index fell to a new all-time low, sliding below its worst level from August 1986...US After Hours ARO +21.2%, AMKR +12.1%, URBN +6.6%, COUP -28%, CSC -7.9%, GPS -0.8% following earnings/guidance...Renewed uncertainty regarding the impact of a potential Grexit has wounded risk-on sentiment, translating into losses in the Asia region Indices. Shanghai Composite is the standout performer, but only because a 5-year low in CPI and the biggest drop since 2009 in PPI has further stoked expectations of continued easing by the PBoC. China Stats Bureau noted the decline in CPI is mainly due to lower food prices, however food CPI y/y was still up 1.1%, while non-food was up a meager 0.6%...a Nikkei report projected the govt would likely miss its goal of 2020 budget surplus, noting that even under the most favorable scenario of nominal GDP of 3% and real growth in 2% range, along with expected consumption tax hike in 2017, budget deficit would hit ¥9.4T.
Nikkei +0.60% Shanghai -0.07% Hang Seng -0.33%

RUB $65.32 WTI $52.11 () EURCHF 1.0466-1.42%

Eur$ 1.1330 S&P +0.10% EuroStoxx Unch. Dax +0.02% SMI +0.09%

Macro :
- China Jan. Auto Sales Rise 10.4% on Year
- China Jan. Consumer Prices Rise 0.8% Y/y; Est. 1% Gain

Keep an eye on :
- ABG SM : Abengoa Sees 2015 Ebitda in EU1.4b-EU1.45b Range
- AENA SM : Aena IPO Price Set at EU58/Shr, Top of Range, El Pais Says
- AENA SM : TCI to Hold 6.5% of Aena After IPO, Expansion Reports
- BP IM : Banco Popolare may merge with BPER and another listed bank (Creval or B.Pop. di Sondrio) -Milano Finanza daily edition
- BMW GY : BMW Plans to Create 5,000 Jobs in Germany This Year: Merkur
- BOSS GY : Permira Plans to Sell 10.4% Hugo Boss Stake in Listing (7,35m shares)
- CRF IM : Banca Marche sees Fonspa team up with Elliot in takeover bid - Il Messagero
- DAI GY : Daimler Targets 2015 China Sales of 300,000 Units: Troska
- DELB BB : Delhaize Trims Belgian Job Cuts to 1,800 in Union Pact: De Tijd
- DRX LN : Drax rumoured to be eyed for 550p-per-share bid by GDF Suez or RWE - the Times
- ECONB BB : Econocom Buys 45% Stake in Helis
- GTO NA : Gemalto Agrees to Buy Trueb’s Secure Document Business
- GLJ GY : Grenkeleasing 2014 Net Profit Up 41%; Div. Misses BDVD Forecast
- HEI GY : HeidelbergCement 4Q Sales Rise
- HSBA LN : HSBC Faces U.K. Parliament Probe Into Secret Swiss Accounts
- ITX SM : Cotton Jumps to 3mthd high on lower forecsr for US plantings
- KRA1V FH : Kemira 4Q Ebitda Exceeds Ests., EPS Misses; Keeps Dividend
- MB IM : Mediobanca 2Q Net Income EU100.6m, Estimate EU95m
- MEO GY : Metro 1Q Ebit Ex-Items In Line With Ests., Confirms FY Outlook
- ML FP : Michelin 2014 Profit Misses Est.; Targets Higher 2015 Income
- QSC GY : QSC CEO Says He Made Mistakes, May Cut Jobs: Boersen-Zeitung
- SAABB SS : Saab 4Q Net of SEK579m Tops Est. SEK528m From 4 Analysts
- TIT IM : Blarock boosts telecom italia stake to 6%
- TSCO LN : Tesco Said to Eye Majority Stake Sale of Dunnhumby Unit: Reuters
- TUI1 GY :TUI 1Q Underlying Ebita Loss Narrows, Confirms Outlook
- UBSN VX : UBS 4Q Net Income CHF963m; Dividend Plan Misses BDVD Forecast

>>> Brokers Upgrade & Downgrade - 10th of February 2015

>>> Up
*ACRON RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS NEUTRAL AT HSBC
*CRH RAISED TO ADD VS HOLD AT NUMIS
*ILLOVO SUGAR RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT UBS
*ITV RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*LENTA RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN
*MARKS & SPENCER RAISED TO OUTPERFORM VS SECTORPERFORM AT RBC
*MICRO FOCUS RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT CITI
*NEXT RAISED TO SECTORPERFORM VS UNDERPERFORM AT RBC, PT 7,400P
*YARA RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS UNDERWEIGHT AT HSBC

>>> Down
*ALPHA BANK CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*AURUBIS CUT TO SELL VS BUY AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*EUROBANK CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT VS OVERWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*KONECRANES CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT HSBC
*RANDGOLD CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT DEUTSCHE BANK
*SAPPI CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT UBS
*SPORTS DIRECT CUT TO UNDERPERFORM VS SECTORPERFORM AT RBC
*TELEFONICA DEUTSCHLAND CUT TO SELL VS HOLD AT SOCGEN
*TUPRAS CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT JPMORGAN
*UMICORE CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT UBS
*YANDEX CUT TO EQUALWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY

>>> PT change
*RECTICEL PT CUT TO EU5 FROM EU6.50 AT ING

>>> Initiation


>>> Call
>> Stock
*L’OREAL REMOVED FROM JPMORGAN ANALYST FOCUS LIST

>>> Drax rumoured to be eyed for 550p-per-share bid by GDF Suez or RWE - report

Drax rumoured to be eyed for 550p-per-share bid by GDF Suez or RWE 

Drax Group, the London-listed electricity producer, is rumoured to be under consideration for a takeover by two European energy groups, The Times reported. GDF Suez of France and Germany-based RWE, are said to be mulling offers pitched at around 550p (USD 8.38) per share, the newspaper’s market report said, pointing out that such an offer appears possibly too generous.

Drax shares were trading at 390p by yesterday’s close, the 10 February report noted. The company has a GBP 1.566bn market cap.

The Times

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: China inflation falls to 5-year lows

***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA JAN CPI Y/Y: 0.8% V 1.0%E (5-year low)
- (CN) CHINA JAN PPI Y/Y: -4.3% V -3.8%E (35TH STRAIGHT MONTH OF DECLINE; biggest decline in 5 years)
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JAN NAB BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: 3 (3-month high) V 2 PRIOR; CONDITIONS: 2 (4-month low) V 2 PRIOR
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 HOUSE PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 1.9% V 1.8%E; Y/Y: 6.8% V 7.1%E (6-quarter low)
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 111.7 v 112.4 prior
- (NZ) New Zealand Jan ANZ Heavy Truckometer: 0.9% v 3.4% prior
- (JP) JAPAN Q4 HOUSING LOANS Y/Y: 2.5% V 2.8% PRIOR
- (JP) JAPAN DEC TERTIARY INDUSTRY INDEX M/M: -0.3% V 0.0%E
- (JP) JAPAN JAN M2 MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 3.4% V 3.6%E (3-month low); M3 MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 2.8% V 2.9%E
- (KR) South Korea Jan department store sales -9.7% y/y (biggest drop on record) v -0.9% prior, discount store sales -20.7% y/y (worst decline since Feb 2014) v -3.8% prior
- (UK) UK JAN BRC SALES LFL Y/Y: 0.2% V 0.5%E

***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.8%, S&P/ASX -0.5%, Kospi -0.3%, Shanghai Composite +0.8%, Hang Seng -0.1%, Mar S&P500 +0.1% at 2,044

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold +0.1% at $1,243, Mar crude oil -0.1% at $52.19/brl
- IEA: Oil market is rebalancing and price recovery is inevitable
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY55B in 21-day reverse repos and CNY25B in 14-day reserve repos (6th consecutive injection)

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Renewed uncertainty regarding the impact of a potential Grexit has wounded risk-on sentiment, translating into losses in US indices as well as most of the Asia region. Shanghai Composite is the standout performer, but only because a 5-year low in CPI and the biggest drop since 2009 in PPI has further stoked expectations of continued easing by the PBoC. China Stats Bureau noted the decline in CPI is mainly due to lower food prices, however food CPI y/y was still up 1.1%, while non-food was up a meager 0.6%. Following the inflation figures, ANZ economists said PBoC is now likely to lower deposit rates by another 25bps in Q1, followed by RRR cut of 50bps in Q2. Earlier, Chinese press report citing State Information Center think tank forecasted 2015 GDP at 7.1%, down from 7.4% in 2014.

- AUD/USD was up as much as 50pips at $0.7840 high following China CPI, even though NAB Business conditions/confidence figures were mixed. NAB chief economist remarked sentiment "remains very weak in mining, consistent with lower commodity prices... Fundamentally, we still see the need for another cut to counter lower commodity prices and other domestic headwinds." Separately, Q4 housing price index y/y slowed to a 6-quarter low rate of growth. Recall in the most recent decision, RBA was notably less worried about the possibility of a property market bubble.

- USD/JPY traded in a narrow 25pip range around 118.40 amid further consolidation of post-NFP gains on Friday. Earlier, a Nikkei report projected the govt would likely miss its goal of 2020 budget surplus, noting that even under the most favorable scenario of nominal GDP of 3% and real growth in 2% range, along with expected consumption tax hike in 2017, budget deficit would hit ¥9.4T.

***Equities***
US markets:
- ARO: Raises Q4 guidance to -$0.06 to -$0.01 v -$0.30e, R$595M v $575Me; Appoints new CFO; +23.9% afterhours
- URBN: Reports Q4 R$1.01B v $992Me; +7.0% afterhours
- QCOM: Guides FY15 higher to $4.85-5.05 v $4.97e, R$26.3-28B v $27.2Be; Announces resolution with China NDRC ($4.75-5.05, R$26-28B prior); +2.8% afterhours
- NTES: Reports Q4 $1.56 v $1.58e, R$593.7M v $520Me; +2.6% afterhours
- MOH: Reports Q4 $0.69 v $0.60e, R$2.80B v $2.82Be; +1.0% afterhours
- GPS: Reports prelim Q4 $0.73-0.74 v $0.68e, Reports Jan SSS -3% v -1%e; +0.5% afterhours
- COUP: Reports Q4 -$0.02 v $0.04e, R$60.0M v $63.5Me; approves $50M buyback program (4.3% of market cap); -28.3% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Slater & Gordon SGH.AU +5.0% (H1 results)
- Financials: China Merchants Properties 000024.CN +2.4% (despite weak Jan sales result); New World China Land 917.HK -4.2% (issues profit warning)
- Materials: Syrah Resources SYR.AU +6.5% (enters sales & purchase agreement)
- Industrials: Bradken Ltd BKN.AU -21.9% (H1 results); Daikin Industries 6367.JP -5.3% (9-month results); Nissan Motor 7201.JP +3.3% (9-month results)

WSJ : Oil-Price Rebound Predicted


Oil-Price Rebound Predicted
IEA Adds to Chorus of Voices Saying Glut Will Abate

In the latest sign that the seven-month selloff in crude-oil prices may be nearing a bottom, an energy watchdog said that a recovery seems “inevitable” and the glut that has driven down prices by more than 50% since June could start to ease as soon as the second half.

A wave of spending cuts by oil producers and a sharp decline in the number of rigs drilling for crude in the U.S. likely will slow the nation’s oil-output growth, spurring a rebound in prices, the International Energy Agency said in a report released Tuesday U.K. time. The benchmark U.S. oil price rose 2.3% to $52.86 a barrel on Monday and is up 19% from a nearly six-year low hit last month.

The IEA, which coordinates energy policy among industrialized countries, is adding its voice to the chorus of experts who say that the global glut is abating.


Stabilization in oil prices would spell relief across financial markets, which have been rocked by concerns that oil’s plunge signaled softness in global growth. The plunge has pummeled share prices of oil producers and currencies of oil-dependent economies.

If sustained, rising oil prices would curb the boon U.S. consumers have reaped from lower gasoline prices. A spike in crude prices could also create headwinds for a global economy already struggling with fragile growth in some corners. The average price of regular gasoline at the pump was $2.18 a gallon on Monday, according to motor club AAA. While that is up from the nearly six-year low of $2.03 a gallon reached on Jan. 26, it is below the $3.28 seen this time last year.

“You do have evidence that future production will be curtailed,” said Keith Hembre, chief economist and portfolio manager at Nuveen Asset Management LLC in Minneapolis who oversees $800 million across four funds.

Oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Chevron Corp., BP PLC and Norway’s Statoil AS A have slashed their investment programs by billions of dollars, moves that analysts say eventually will damp production growth.

The forecast slowdown in U.S. oil output appears to be coming at the benefit of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, analysts said. In a separate report, released Monday, OPEC said demand for the group’s oil would rise in 2015, reversing an earlier estimate that predicted a decline.

The conclusions drawn from the IEA and the OPEC reports indicate that OPEC’s strategy to protect market share by keeping the spigots open is showing early signs of success. Led by Saudi Arabia, OPEC in November surprised markets when it maintained its production levels, a move that some observers said was aimed at weakening U.S. shale-oil producers.

The earnings of big oil companies have been battered by the decline in oil prices, but many investors expect these firms to persevere through the slump. The speed and size of the decline, though, have raised questions about how smaller, independent oil producers will survive in an environment of low oil prices.

Oil from newly tapped U.S. shale fields is more expensive to produce than crude in much of the rest of the world, so output is harder to sustain when prices are low.

An OPEC official from the Persian Gulf said the cartel’s report reflects views held by Saudi Arabia’s oil ministry.

“There are strong indications that U.S. shale producers are taking a hit, and by the second half of this year a lot of marginal barrels will disappear from the market and demand will rise for OPEC members,” he said.

OPEC’s new forecast doesn’t necessarily mean oil prices will bounce back to their previous levels. Its own production remains nearly one million barrels a day above the amount markets need.

The IEA concurs, saying that any rebound in oil prices will be capped. In its analysis, the coming price increases will likely be tempered by a rebound in U.S. oil output. From 2017, the organization expects U.S. shale-oil output to surge again, stimulated by a recovery in prices. It forecasts supply will rise to about 5.2 million barrels a day in 2020, compared with 3.6 million barrels a day in 2014.

“The price correction will cause the North American supply ‘party’ to mark a pause; it will not bring it to an end,” the IEA said.

Although U.S. shale output will remain a major source of new oil supply at the end of the decade, demand for OPEC’s oil will also increase as other sources of non-OPEC supply take longer to recover from lower prices.

The IEA forecasts demand for OPEC’s oil will start rising in 2016 and reach 32.1 million barrels a day by 2020, 2.7 million barrels a day above demand in 2014.

OPEC also sees American motorists as an ally. The cartel increased its forecast for North American oil consumption by 15,000 barrels a day, a shift that translates into an increase of 20,000 barrels a day in forecast demand growth world-wide.

“Gasoline, in particular, remains a key driver behind the growth in U.S. oil demand, largely a result of lower oil prices,” OPEC said. Overall, oil consumption is expected to increase by 1.17 million barrels a day to 92.32 million barrels a day.

>>> US After Hours : ARO +21.2%, AMKR +12.1%, URBN +6.6%, COUP

After Hours Summary: ARO +21.2%, AMKR +12.1%, URBN +6.6%, COUP -28%, CSC -7.9%, GPS -0.8% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: ARO +21.2%, AMKR +12.1%, RLD +7%, CMP +6.9%, URBN +6.6%, TDW +5.3%, NEWP +4.8%, QLYS +4.7%, GIG +3.4%, CSCD +2.8%, QCOM +2.5%, YDLE +2.4%, MCC +2.1%, CRK +1.5%, NGL +1.1%, MOH +1%, DNB +0.9%, AMAG +0.6%, LBMH +0.6%, NTES +0.5%, ICUI +0.5%, BCRH +0.3%, SSNI +0.3%, PINC +0.2%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: RLD +7.0% (announced it has engaged Moelis & Company LLC as its financial advisor to assist in its evaluation of potential strategic alternatives; co also reported earnings), QCOM +2.5% (reached a resolution with China's National Development and Reform Commission regarding its investigation of Qualcomm under China's Anti-Monopoly Law; co was fined $975 mln and raised the low end of its FY15 guidance), AMRI +0.7% (hired Jimmy Wang as Chief Information Officer to replace retiring Carl Neumann, effective immediately), IEP +0.6% (entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Uni-Select, an automotive parts distributor; terms not disclosed)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: COUP -28%, CSC -7.9%, ALSN -7.7%, AOI -5.8%, KS -3.1%, IPHI -2.5%, GPS -0.8%, UNIS -0.8%, ARWR -0.5%, AMRK -0.1%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: RDHL -10.3% (announced a proposed public offering of its American Depository shares), REN -9.2% (received continued listing standard notice from NYSE), IDRA -8.6% (announced proposed public offering of common stock to sell up to $75 mln of shares of its common stock), RRMS -4.5% (announced the commencement of an underwritten public offering of 2 mln common units representing limited partner interests), ATRA -1.6% (announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 3 mln shares of its common stock) 

WSJ : Cotton Jumps on Lower Forecast for U.S. Plantings

Cotton Jumps on Lower Forecast for U.S. Plantings
Prices Rose to a Nearly Three-Month High on Expectations of a Drop in U.S. Supply

NEW YORK—Cotton prices rose to a nearly three-month high on Monday on expectations of a drop in U.S. supply.

The National Cotton Council said over the weekend that it expects the number of U.S. acres planted with cotton in the spring to fall by 15% from 2014 to the lowest level in six years.

The drop in acreage “reflects cotton’s poor price versus that of corn, soybeans or grain sorghum,” which is prompting farmers to switch away from the fiber toward those crops, said Sharon Johnson, senior cotton specialist and introducing broker for Wedbush Securities, in a note.

The March cotton contract gained 1.2% to 62.30 cents a pound, the highest price since Nov. 11, while the May contract rose 1.8% to 62.73 cents a pound.

Traders are also waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, slated for release on Tuesday. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the USDA to raise its forecast for cotton exports to 10.6 million bales from 10 million bales in its previous report, based on strong weekly export sales in January.

Also on Monday, cocoa prices jumped to a nearly two-week high on concerns that dry weather could crimp the crop in major producer Ghana.

The most actively traded May cocoa contract rose 3% to $2,866 a ton, the highest price since Jan. 20. Prices rose for the fifth straight session and posted the largest one-day percentage gain since Oct. 13, 2014.

The March contract rose 3.3% to $2,867 a ton.

Cocoa futures slumped to the lowest price in more than a year last week as weak demand for the key chocolate ingredient weighed on the market.

But traders are now focused on the Harmattan, a dry, dusty wind that blows through the region at this time of year. It can rob cocoa trees of moisture and block out sunlight, reducing the number of pods the trees produce.

Ghana is the second-largest cocoa producer in the world, after Ivory Coast.

Cocoa “looked like it was on sale here this past week,” said James Cordier, principal at OptionSellers.com, who expects prices to rise further. “We think that demand is probably better than a lot of perception has been the last few weeks.”

In other markets, the March contract for frozen concentrated orange juice rose 3.2% to $1.4070 a pound.

The March raw-sugar contract gained 2.1% to 14.82 cents a pound, while March arabica coffee rose 0.5% to $1.6760 a pound.

>>> US Close Dow-0,53% S&P-0,42% Nasdaq-0,39% Russell-0,80%

Closing Market Summary: Countercyclical Sectors Lead Stocks Lower

The stock market kicked off the new week on a sleepy note with the S&P 500 (-0.4%) spending the day in a 15-point range. The benchmark index settled ahead of the Dow (-0.5%), but that was a small victory considering the S&P 500 finished near its session low. Above all, today's trading volume was well below average with just 760 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Equity indices faced some pressure at the start, brought on by lingering concerns about the eurozone. Yesterday, Greek Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras spoke in front of parliament, reiterating his intention to push back against eurozone's austerity measures. The continued defiance towards requests of the troika has led to increased chatter about a forced Greek exit from the single currency bloc. Meanwhile, Germany's Economic Affairs Minister Sigmar Gabriel called the tone of Mr. Tsipras' speech ‘regrettable.' Greece's Athens General Index tumbled 4.8% in response while the Greek 10-yr note sold off to send its yield higher by 64 basis points to 10.75%.

The concerns contributed to a lower start, but the S&P 500 did not go down without a fight. The index tried to reclaim its flat line, and was able to do so briefly on the third attempt; however, the third time was hardly the charm as a slide to a fresh session low followed. Nine sectors registered losses with countercyclical health care (-1.1%) and utilities (-0.9%) ending at the bottom of the leaderboard. The utilities sector widened its February loss to 4.6% while health care lagged even as biotechnology names displayed intraday strength. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 313.35, -2.24) spent the bulk of the day in the green, but slumped during afternoon action to end lower by 0.7%.

Elsewhere, another countercyclical group—consumer staples (-0.7%)—also finished behind the broader market while the six cyclical groups settled in-line with or ahead of the S&P 500.

Most notably, the energy sector surrendered the bulk of its intraday gain during the final hour, but still ended ahead of others with crude oil underpinning the relative strength. The energy component gained 2.6% and finished the pit session at $52.99/bbl. On a related note, the Baltic Dry Index fell to a new all-time low, sliding below its worst level from August 1986.

Similar to energy, the technology sector (-0.2%) settled near its flat line. The largest sector by weight enjoyed support from a handful of influential components like Apple (AAPL 119.70, +0.77), Oracle (ORCL 43.40, +0.42), and Qualcomm (QCOM 67.11, +0.76) while chipmakers struggled, evidenced by a 1.1% decline in the PHLX Semiconductor Index.

Treasuries ended the day with slim gains after a daylong slide from overnight highs. The 10-yr yield slipped one basis point to 1.95%.

Tomorrow, the Wholesale Inventories report for December (consensus 0.2%) and December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey will be reported at 10:00 ET.
  • Nasdaq Composite -0.2% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.5% YTD 
  • S&P 500 -0.6% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 -0.7% YTD

(BFW) Permira Plans to Sell 10.4% Hugo Boss Stake in Listing

MORE: Permira Plans to Sell 10.4% Hugo Boss Stake in Listing
2015-02-09 20:26:35.727 GMT


By Alex Webb
(Bloomberg) -- Permira holding company Red & Black Lux has
already started bookbuilding.
* Free float to rise to least 54m shares, or 76% of share
capital
* Permira holding to decline to 14% or less
* Stake is valued at about EU806m based on today’s closing
price, on top of sale of about EU500m stake to Marzotto
family
* Earlier: Red & Black to Place at Least 7.35m Shrs Hugo Boss
Link

Link to Statement:Link
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Link to Company News:{727032Z LN <Equity> CN <GO>}

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Alex Webb at +49-89-24447-8802 or
awebb25@bloomberg.net