>>> Stryker could be prepared to offer GBP 14.50 to GBP 15 per share for Smith &

Stryker could be prepared to offer GBP 14.50 to GBP 15 per share for Smith & Nephew – 
Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK), a Kalamazoo-Michigan-based medical devices supplier, could be prepared to offer between 1450p and 1500p per share for FTSE-100 rival Smith & Nephew, The Times reported. The newspaper’s market report section did not cite a source for the renewed speculation.

Smith & Nephew’s share price closed 16p up at 1191p in London yesterday, giving the company a market capitalisation of GBP 10.64bn (EUR 14.29bn).
 


Source The Times

>>> AB InBev said to be poised to launch bid for SABMiller

AB InBev said to be poised to launch bid for SABMiller

Anheuser-Busch InBev, a listed Belgian brewing company, was said to be about to launch a takeover bid for listed UK-based rival SABMiller, The Daily Mail reported. The newspaper’s market report section did not cite source for the speculation.

Traders cited by a Financial Times market report said there was demand for SABMiller options that expire in June. The options are at 3700p per share and 4000p per share, the item said.

Speculation regarding a takeover bid by AB InBev resurfaced despite one of the company's directors selling shares, the FT report said.

SABMiller’s share price closed 158.5p up at 3594.5p in London yesterday, valuing the company at GBP 58.00bn (EUR 77.91bn).

Daily Mail, Financial Times

>>> What to look at today - 29th of January 2015

Dow -1,13%S&P-1,35% Nasdaq-0,93% Russell-1,64% VIX (20,44)+18.7%
US Market closed lower, below its 100d MA, Start of the day looks ok after AAPL (+5.7%) perf on earnings. The Fed described U.S. economic growth as ‘solid' while categorizing job growth as ‘strong.' The central bank did not spend much time discussing overseas developments, which could help explain some of the selling that developed after the statement was released. Furthermore, the FOMC showed little concern over low inflation, saying that while the price level is expected to decline in the near term, a gradual return to 2.0% should follow once the ‘transitory effects of lower energy prices and other factors dissipate.', energy prices deteriorated further with crude oil dropping 3.6% to $44.53/bbl. The energy component continued slipping in electronic trade while the energy sector plunged 3.9% to widen its January decline to 5.7%...Volume were above average @ 835mil shares...US After Hours MLNX +8.3%, NSPH +6.5%, CAVM +6.3%, CLB -13.9%, QCOM -8.1%, FB -1.6% following earnings/guidance...As central banks in Asia-Pacific continue to err on the side of accommodation, Reserve Bank of New Zealand did not disappoint in taking a more cautious stance. Samsung Electronics initially popped but then ceded those gains after posting mixed Q4 final results -1.3% now...
Nikkei -1.60% Shanghai -1.15% Hang Seng -1.06%

RUB $68.52 WTI $44.47 (+0.04%) CHF 0.9092

Eur$ 1.1284 S&P +0.10% EuroStoxx -0.96% SMI -0.78% Dax -1.13%

Macro :
- Greek Govt to Halt PPC, Hellenic Petroleum Asset Sales: Minister
- ECB Bank-Supervision Chief Says Greek Banks Will Survive Crisis
- Swedish Government Plans Bank Tax in Budget in 2016, DI Reports

Keep an eye on :
- AIR FP : Airbus Cimpa Workers on Strike Today to Protest Sale: Echos
- ANN GY : German Cartel Office Clears Deutsche Annington, Gagfah Merger
- BARC LN : Banks Including Barclays Must Face U.S. Rates-Rigging Lawsuit
- DBK GY : Deutsche Bank 4Q Net EU438m; Est. Loss EU341m
- EDF FP : EDF’s Hinkley Point Nuclear Deal to Be Delayed: FT
- GIVN VX : Givaudan 2014 Ebitda, Sales In Line W/ Est.; Repeats M/T Targets
- GWI1 GY : Gerry Weber FY14 Sales Little Changed; Ebit Up 2.9%
- IDR SM : Telefonica Said to Buy 3% Stake in Indra, Indra to Name Abril-Martorell as Chairman, Expansion Says
- IFX GY : Infineon Raises FY Rev. Growth Forecast as 1Q Sales Meet Ests.
- JEN GY : Jenoptik Sees Sales, Profit Rise in 2015 After Decline in 2014
- NOK1V FH : Nokia Proposes EU0.14/Shr Div; 4Q Sales EU3.8b vs Est. EU3.74b, Nokia Networks Margins Rise as 4Q Sales Meet Estimates
- ORI SS : Oriflame Sees Lower 4Q Margin, Higher Local Currency Sales
- POP SM : Popular Plans to Pay Part of Dividend in Cash, Cinco Dias Says
- PSH NA : Ackman Says Other Hedge Funds Driving Down Pershing Shares: WSJ
- QIA GY : Qiagen Adj. EPS Misses Ests.
- RDSA NA :
- RNK LN : Rank Group 1H Adj. Operating Profit GBP40.8m vs GBP32.7m
- RBI AV : Raiffeisen to Reduce Risk-Weighted Assets by at Least 20%
- REP SM : Repsol Hires Bank of America for EU5B Bond Sale: Expansion
- SGL GY : SGL Sees 2014 Net Loss About EU250m on Charges
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Board to Meet Feb. 5 on Brazil: Sole
- TKA GY : ThyssenKrupp in Talks to Sell VDM to Aperam or Investors
- TLSN SS : TeliaSonera 4Q Ebitda Misses Est.; Keeps Dividend at SEK3.0/Shr
- UL NA : Unibail-Rodamco 2014 Recurring Net EU1.07b vs Est. EU1.06b
- VK FP : Vallourec Says It Plans Asset Writedown of EU1.0B-EU1.2B
- WCH GY : Wacker Chemie 4Q Rev Up Almost 10%, Solid Starting Point for ’15
- WRT1V FH : Wartsila 4Q EPS Misses Ests.; Proposes EU1.15/Shr Div

>>> Brokers Upgrades & DOwngrades - 29th of January 2015

>>> Up
*DNB RAISED TO BUY AT GOLDMAN
*EASYJET RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*E.ON RAISED TO HOLD VS SELL AT BERENBERG
*HEIDELBERGCEMENT RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT BANKHAUS LAMPE
*HENDERSON RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY
*NESTLE RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT BERENBERG
*HUGO BOSS RAISED TO OUTPERFORM VS NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
*UNITED UTILITIES RAISED TO NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE

>>> Down
*ANTOFAGASTA CUT TO REDUCE VS NEUTRAL AT NOMURA
*BURBERRY CUT TO UNDERPERFORM VS NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
*ENEL GREEN POWER CUT TO HOLD VS BUY: BERENBERG
*FORTUM CUT TO HOLD VS BUY: BERENBERG
*GEA GROUP CUT TO HOLD AT DEUTSCHE BANK
*GEA GROUP CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT HSBC
*INTESA SANPAOLO CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT HSBC
*ITV CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT HSBC
*KERING CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
*MAPFRE CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT UBS
*NORD GOLD CUT TO SELL VS NEUTRAL AT CITI
*PHILIPS CUT TO HOLD VS BUY AT DEUTSCHE BANK
*PROSIEBENSAT.1 CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OVERWEIGHT AT HSBC
*SDL CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT CITI
*SEVERN TRENT CUT TO UNDERPERFORM VS NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE
*SEVERN TRENT CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS NEUTRAL AT HSBC
*SWATCH CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
*VERBUND CUT TO HOLD VS BUY: BERENBERG
*VIVENDI CUT TO HOLD AT JEFFERIES

>>> PT Changes


>>> Initiation


>>> Call
>> Stock
*ACERINOX, INTESA ADDED TO GOLDMAN EUROPE FOCUS LIST
*FIAT, POSTNL, TELECOM ITALIA ADDED TO GOLDMAN EUROPE FOCUS LIST
>> Sector
*EUROPEAN UTILITIES SECTOR CUT TO HOLD VS OVERWEIGHT: BERENBERG

(BFW) Elliott Said to Build Stake in German Toolmaker DMG Mori Seiki

Elliott Said to Build Stake in German Toolmaker DMG Mori Seiki
2015-01-28 22:39:54.268 GMT


By Robin Stringer
(Bloomberg) -- Elliott has built up a stake in DMG Mori
Seiki AG after the German machine-tool maker’s Japanese partner
made a takeover offer, people familiar tell Bloomberg’s Aaron
Kirchfeld and Alex Webb.
* Fund seeking to profit from potentially higher offer from
Japan’s DMG Mori Seiki Co., the German company’s biggest
shareholder, as well as future stock gains of a combined
company
* Elliott has become a top 5 shareholder, may disclose stake
as early as this week
* DMG Mori couldn’t be immediately reached by telephone or e-
mail outside regular business hours in Germany
* Spokesman for Elliott declined to comment

Story Link:NSN NIWRY06S972J<GO>

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

To contact the reporter on this story:
Robin Stringer in New York at +1-212-617-2526 or
rstringer7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Andrea Snyder at +1-202-624-1831 or
asnyder5@bloomberg.net

WSJ : Smartphone Sales Slipped Amid Intense Competition


Samsung Pegs Rebound Hopes on Mobile Chips, Cheaper Phones
Smartphone Sales Slipped Amid Intense Competition

SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co. offered signs Thursday that the worst was likely over for its mobile division, as the company turns to mobile chips and cheaper smartphones to spur a recovery in profit.

Samsung said its fourth-quarter profit fell to 5.35 trillion won ($4.9 billion), down 27% from a year earlier and marking a third straight quarter of decline as its mobile division’s operating profit plunged 64%.

The slide came amid intense competition. Data from researchers showed Samsung lost significant smartphone market share in key markets, including China, following rival Apple Inc. ’s launch last September of bigger-screen iPhones that have sold well globally.

Data tracker Counterpoint Technology Market Research said that Samsung fell to fifth place among mobile-phone manufacturers in China in the fourth quarter, with just 9% of smartphone sales. A year earlier, Samsung had 17% of the market, but has been surpassed by market leader Apple, as well as Chinese rivals Xiaomi Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd. and Huawei Technologies Co.

But Samsung managed to limit the damage to profit margin at the company’s mobile division, which clocked in at 7.5%. While that is a far cry from the almost 20% profit margin that the mobile division enjoyed for several years, it is a slight improvement from the previous quarter’s 7.1%.

The 27% decline in fourth-quarter net profit from a year earlier was also an improvement from the 49% year-over-year slump the company suffered in the third quarter.

Robert Yi, the company’s head of investor relations, said on a conference call with analysts that 2015 would be a year of “stability, recovery or growth” among its various businesses.

Samsung, meanwhile, lifted its 2014 dividend by 40%, its latest move to appease shareholders and government regulators who have called on South Korea’s biggest companies to loosen their grip on their cash. Executives said on the call that it was too soon to offer guidance on dividends for 2015.

The company is pinning its hopes on new phones and processing chips in smartphones to reverse its fortunes as it readies its new flagship phone for launch. Analysts expect a modest recovery in the company’s bottom line this year on demand for its memory chips and processors.

Samsung could start rolling out a successor to its Galaxy S5 model as early as March, analysts say, in a bid to bolster smartphone sales. A large number of the new phones could come equipped with an internally designed mobile processor, said a person familiar with the matter, unlike previous models that relied heavily on processors from Qualcomm Inc.

Data from researchers showed Samsung lost significant smartphone market share in key markets including China following rival Apple’s launch of bigger screen iPhones. ENLARGE
Data from researchers showed Samsung lost significant smartphone market share in key markets including China following rival Apple’s launch of bigger screen iPhones. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
The change will help Samsung lift its mobile profit—albeit modestly—and boost the chip unit that makes mobile processors, analysts say.

Samsung has been cutting costs to protect its profit margins. On Tuesday, it said it was expanding a cellphone manufacturing plant in the northern Indian city of Noida. The Indian facility will oversee production of Samsung’s new Z1 smartphone, which its first to be powered by its homegrown operating system, Tizen, an alternative to Google Inc. ’s Android platform.

The company said it sold 95 million handsets in the fourth quarter, of which 71 million to 76 million of them were smartphones. Rival Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, up 46% from a year earlier.

Fourth-quarter operating profit fell 36% to 5.3 trillion won on an 11% drop in revenue to 52.7 trillion won, Samsung said. The figures were in line with the company’s previous guidance.

>>> After Hours: MLNX +8.3%, NSPH +6.5%, CAVM +6.3%, CLB -1

After Hours Summary: MLNX +8.3%, NSPH +6.5%, CAVM +6.3%, CLB -13.9%, QCOM -8.1%, FB -1.6% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: MLNX +8.3%, NSPH +6.5%, CAVM +6.3%, FLEX +5.9%, CTXS +4.4%, EXTR +4.3%, AZPN +4.2%, CSII +4%, SHOR +3.1%, LVS +2.8%, NOW +2.7%, ISIL +1.6%, VAR +1.3%, HOLX +1.2%, FLS +0.9%, CMPR +0.9%, UMPQ +0.3%, QGEN +0.1%, CMO +0.1%, STLD +0.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: BLDP +7.8% (Co announced it won European Union funding for 21 fuel cell buses), MCD +3.2% (Announced that Don Thompson will retire as President, CEO, and as a member of the Board, effective March 1; Board has elected Steve Easterbrook to replace Thompson as President and CEO), SLXP +1.3% (provided update on Audit Committee review; aggregate impact of errors on net product revenue and net income over all previously reported periods affected by the restatements is a decrease of approximately $20.7 mln and $11.9 mln, respectively), MX +1.1% (co updated timeline for restatement; expects to file late quarterly and annual reports during the week of February 9, 2015; no later than February 13, 2015), AVP +1.0% (named James S. Scully Chief Financial Officer)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: CLB -13.9%, QCOM -8.1%, QRVO -6.4%, DWCH -5%, CRUS -3.1%, SWFT -2.4%, DHT -2.2%, VRTX -1.9%, PRXL -1.7%, FB -1.6%, ALGT -1.4%, KEX -1.3%, FTNT -1.3%, RGLD -1.0%, TSCO -0.9%, LRCX -0.4%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: GEVO -25.8% (announced that it intends to offer and sell common stock units; size not disclosed), REXR -3.8% (announced common stock offering of 10 mln shares), PRE -3.0% (announced that during the January 1, 2015 treaty renewal season it expects to write and bind approximately $2.7 billion of Non-Life treaty premium), OMER -2.7% (announced proposed public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants; amount of stock not disclosed), POST -1.1% (priced a 6.5 mln share offering of common stock at $47.50 per share) 

>>> Asian Update

Asian Mid-session Update: NZD falls to 4-year lows as RBNZ replaces tightening bias with "up or down" rate policy option; Samsung reports mixed Q4


***Economic Data***
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND CENTRAL BANK (RBNZ) LEAVES OFFICIAL CASH RATE UNCHANGED AT 3.50%, AS EXPECTED
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND DEC TRADE BALANCE (NZD): -159M V +75ME; 6th month of deficit
- (JP) JAPAN DEC RETAIL SALES M/M: -0.3% V 0.3%E (3rd consecutive decline); RETAIL TRADE Y/Y: 0.2% (6-month low) V 0.9%E
- (JP) JAPAN DEC LOANS & DISCOUNTS CORP Y/Y: 3.1% V 2.9% PRIOR
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 IMPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 0.9% V 1.4%E; EXPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 0.0% V -1.0%E
- (AU) Australia Nov Conference Board Leading Index m/m: +0.1% v -0.2% prior (1st increase in 4 months)

***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.2%, S&P/ASX +0.2%, Kospi -0.2%, Shanghai Composite -1.1%, Hang Seng -1.2%, Mar S&P500 +0.2% at 1,995

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Feb gold -0.1% at $1,281, Mar crude oil flat at $44.53/brl, Mar copper flat at $2.46/lb
- TLT: Yield on the 30-year Treasury bond falls below 2.30%; Record low
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY45B in 28-day reverse repos (3rd consecutive injection); Injects net CNY55B this week v injected CNY50B prior (2nd week of injection)
- JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.56T in 0.1% 2-yr notes, Avg Yield: 0.006% v -0.003% prior; bid to cover: 4.25x v 5.66x prior
- (NZ) RBNZ sold net NZ$16M in Dec vs bought net NZ$3M in Nov
- (JP) Japan investors net bought ¥45.6B in foreign bonds v sold ¥395.1B in prior week; Foreign investors net bought ¥466.9B in Japan stocks v sold ¥577.1B in prior week

***Market Focal Points/FX***
- US stocks fell sharply for the 2nd consecutive session despite the seemingly innocuous FOMC policy statement. As widely expected, the Fed maintained the "patient to normalize" policy stance despite the improving labor markets and prospects for growth, but also expressed some further caution about inflation, referencing the troubling message sent by the TIPS markets. The yield on the long bond fell to new record low below 2.3%, even though the greenback strengthened against the European currencies.
- Bearish sentiment has carried over from Wall Street to Asia and was most acutely felt in the mainland indices, where reports of another CSRC probe into margin trading in nearly 50 firms continued to weigh on financials. Recall last Monday, Shanghai Composite fell nearly 8% on regulators' scrutiny into leveraged trading practices. Separately in China, local press speculated 2015 lending growth would be slow - to the tune of just over CNY10T vs CNY9.78T in 2014.
- As central banks in Asia-Pacific continue to err on the side of accommodation, Reserve Bank of New Zealand did not disappoint in taking a more cautious stance. Not only did RBNZ drop its tightening bias entirely in its 4th straight pause, it also introduced the possibility of a rate cut as its next policy move. RBNZ explained that lower oil will have a significant impact on prices, traded goods inflation continues to be very weak, and headline CPI would be "below the target band through 2015, and could become negative for a period before moving back towards 2%." NZD/USD cratered about 140pips toward 0.7310 - the lowest level since early 2011 - just as RBNZ added it expects to see further significant depreciation in the exchange rate. Separately, New Zealand trade remained in deficit for the 6th month, as exports to China and overall shipments of dairy fell over 25% y/y
- Samsung Electronics initially popped but then ceded those gains after posting mixed Q4 final results. Op profit of KRW5.3T was above KRW5.2T prelim estimate but still down 36.4% y/y, while Rev came in at KRW52.7T - also up from KRW52.0T prelim and down 11.0% y/y. Mobile business struggled from intensifying competition (i.e. larger smartphones from Apple), even as profits in the chip business enjoyed a solid pace of growth. Looking ahead, Samsung forecasted CAPEX would rise in 2015 and LCD TV shipments would grow, but offered little hope for recovery in global demand as well as its IT/Mobile segment.

***Equities***
US markets:
- FLEX: Reports Q3 $0.30 v $0.26e, R$7.0B v $6.63Be; +5.6% afterhours
- CTXS: Reports Q4 $1.10 v $1.04e, R$851.5M v $845Me; +3.9% afterhours
- MCD: Board elects new CEO upon retirement of Don Thompson, effective Mar 1st; promotes CFO to CAO post; names new CFO; +3.4% afterhours
- LVS: Reports Q4 $0.92 v $0.81e, R$3.42B v $3.55Be; +3.2% afterhours
- POT: Raises dividend by 9% to $0.38 from $0.35; +0.1% afterhours
- LRCX: Reports Q2 $1.19 v $1.12e, R$1.23B v $1.23Be; -0.4% afterhours
- STLD: Reports Q4 $0.40 v $0.42e, R$2.52B v $2.60Be; -0.6% afterhours
- TSCO: Reports Q4 $0.81 v $0.76e, R$1.58B v $1.57Be; -0.9% afterhours
- FB: Reports Q4 $0.54 v $0.49e, R$3.85B v $3.79Be; -1.8% afterhours
- CRUS: Reports Q3 $0.97 v $0.77e, R$299M v $276Me; -2.7% afterhours
- QCOM: Reports Q1 $1.34 v $1.25e, R$7.1B v $6.92Be; Snapdragon 810 processor will not be in the upcoming design cycle of a large customer's flagship device; -8.3% afterhours
- CLB: Reports Q4 $1.54 v $1.53e, R$279M v $280Me; -12.4% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Ningbo Huaxiang Electronic 002048.CN -6.3% (FY14 guidance)
- Materials: Fortescue Metals FMG.AU +8.8% (Q2 results); PanAust PNA.AU +2.9% (Q4 production results); Northern Star Resources NST.AU -3.2% (Q2 production results)
- Energy: Oil Search OSH.AU -2.4% (Q4 production results)
- Industrials: Komatsu Ltd 6301.JP -7.6% (9-month results); Shenzhen Expressway 548.HK +2.0% (FY14 guidance); Guodian Nanjing Automation 600268.CN -1.4% (FY14 guidance)
- Technology: Canon Inc 7751.JP -4.6% (FY14 results); Samsung Electronics 005930.KR -0.5% (final Q4 results); FujiFilm Holdings Corp 4901.JP +4.3% (9-month results); NHN 035420.KR +0.5% (Q4 results)
- Telecom: SK Telecom 017670.KR +0.7% (Q4 results)