>>> US Close Dow+1,84% S&P +1,79% Nasdaq +1,84% Russell +1,71%

Closing Market Summary: Stocks Erase January Losses

The S&P 500 spiked 1.7% on Thursday, continuing its rebound that began on Wednesday when the index found support at its 100-day moving average (2005). Today, the benchmark index surged past its 50-day moving average (2044) and returned to unchanged for the year. The Nasdaq Composite had an even better showing, surging 1.8%.

Equity indices didn't waste any time after yesterday's rebound, extending higher in the futures market in reaction to evening comments made by Chicago Fed President, and more importantly, 2015 FOMC voting member Charles Evans. Presenting at the University of Chicago, Mr. Evans reiterated his belief that due to low inflation, the Fed should not rush to raise rates, adding for good measure that such move would be a "catastrophe."

Interestingly, Fed insider Jon Hilsenrath of the Wall Street Journal wrote this morning that the Fed could indeed raise rates soon if it is believed that low yields at the long end of the curve reflect an influx of capital into dollar-denominated assets, which could spark a surge in prices. Mr. Hilsenrath added that this was the view espoused by NY Fed President and this year's voting member William Dudley, who argued a similar situation presented itself in 2000s, leading to the housing bubble.

The signs of an impending tug-of-war at the Fed over when to pull away the punchbowl did not stop the stock market from spiking out of the gate and adding to its advance in afternoon action. Meanwhile, Treasuries retreated, sending the 10-yr yield higher by six basis points to 2.01%.

All ten sectors finished the day in positive territory with cyclical groups pacing the rally. The materials sector (+2.4%) ended atop the leaderboard, but more notably, the technology sector, which is roughly six times the size of materials, jumped 2.2%.

The largest sector by weight enjoyed broad-based support. Apple (AAPL 111.89, +4.14) spiked 3.8%, buoyed by reports of strong sales in China. Other influential sector members also posted impressive gains with Facebook (FB 78.18, +2.02), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 40.68, +0.95), and Microsoft (MSFT 47.59, +1.36) soaring between 2.4% and 2.9%. Even Google (GOOGL 506.91, +1.76) was able to end in the green after being down as much as 1.5% after Stifel downgraded the stock to ‘Hold.' However, the relative strength was not isolated to large names. Chipmakers rallied across the board with the PHLX Semiconductor Index advancing 2.9%.

The combination of unwavering strength among technology stocks of all sorts helped the Nasdaq Composite finish ahead of the S&P 500 even though biotechnology struggled to stay in the green. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 314.44, +2.44) gave up most of its opening gain during the first hour and flirted with its flat line, but still ended higher by 0.8%. For its part, the health care sector (+1.7%) settled in-line with the S&P 500.

Like health care, the remaining countercyclical sectors finished in-line with or just behind the broader market. Consumer staples (+1.5%) and telecom services (+1.7%) spent the day just behind the S&P 500 while utilities (+0.7%) underperformed amid the increase in Treasury yields.

Elsewhere, the energy sector (+2.2%) was able to finish among the leaders even though crude oil remained on slippery footing. The energy component crept above the $49.50/bbl level overnight, but was beaten back to its flat line. The commodity was down in excess of 1.0% intraday, but fought back to a slim gain of 0.2% at $48.80/bbl.

Today's participation was in-line with average with 830 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to Initial Claims and Consumer Credit:
  • Initial claims decreased to 294,000 from an unrevised 298,000 while the consensus expected a decline to 290,000 
    • Anecdotal reports of increased layoff activities in the energy sector due to low oil prices have not led to changes in unemployment insurance trends so far. That being said, we could see an uptick in claims in the coming weeks if fracking becomes unprofitable and energy companies continue slashing capital expenditure budgets. 
    • The continuing claims level increased to 2.452 million from a downwardly revised 2.351 million (from 2.353 million) while the consensus expected an increase to 2.365 million 
  • Consumer credit increased by $14.10 billion in November, down from an upwardly revised $16.00 billion (from $13.20 billion) in October. The consensus expected an increase of $15.0 billion 
    • For the last 12 months, consumer credit has increased by at least $10.00 billion per month 
Tomorrow, the Nonfarm Payrolls report for December (consensus 245K) will be released at 8:30 ET while November Wholesale Inventories (consensus 0.3%) will be reported at 10:00 ET.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.5% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +0.2% YTD 
  • Nasdaq Composite UNCH YTD 
  • Russell 2000 -0.7% YTD

** Banco Santander S.A. ABO ***LAUNCH***


** Banco Santander S.A. ABO ***LAUNCH***
Primary Accelerated Bookbuild Offering by
Banco Santander S.A. of Approximately €7,500m

Not for distribution into the USA, Japan, Australia & Canada

This communication is being distributed solely to investment professionals outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and in the United States to certain Qualified Institutional Buyers, as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act. If you are not an investment professional, any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is not available to you, and will not be engaged in with you, and you may not rely on this communication. This material is for your information only, is not intended to be used by anyone other than you and may not be forwarded to any other person. This information is subject to change.


Issuer: Banco Santander S.A. (“Santander”, the “Company” or the “Issuer”)
Joint Bookrunners: Goldman Sachs International, UBS Limited
Securities Offered: Ordinary Shares (100% Primary)
Offering Type: Accelerated Bookbuild Offering
Offering Size: approx. €7,500m
Use of proceeds: Frontload organic capital generation to (i) accelerate organic growth opportunities in core markets given improving outlook, (ii) accelerate normalisation of the dividend policy
to a cash pay-out of 30-40% and (iii) Achieve best in class capital standards
Distribution: Private placement to international investors outside the US under Reg S and to certain Qualified Institutional Buyers in the US
Lock-up: Subject to customary exceptions, no sales by the Issuer for 90 days, without the consent of the Goldman Sachs International and UBS Limited
Launch Date: January 8, 2015
Expected Pricing Date: January 9, 2015
Expected Allocation Date: January 9, 2015
Expected Trade Booking Date:January 12, 2015
Expected Start of Trading: January 13, 2015
Expected Settlement Date: January 15, 2015 (T+3)
Listing: Mercado Continuo (Spanish Stock Exchange - BME)
Ticker: Bloomberg: SAN SM
ISIN: ES0113900J37

>>> AAPL+2.4% - Reports FY14 app store sales $15B, +50% y/y Apple announced that

Reports FY14 app store sales $15B, +50% y/y 

Apple announced that the first week of January set a new record for billings from the App Store with customers around the world spending nearly half a billion dollars on apps and in-app purchases, and New Years Day 2015 marked the single biggest day ever in App Store sales history. These milestones follow a record-breaking 2014, in which billings rose 50 percent and apps generated over $10 billion in revenue for developers. To date, App Store developers have earned a cumulative $25 billion from the sale of apps and games. The introduction of iOS 8, the most significant iOS update ever, gave developers the ability to create amazing new apps and offers innovative features which proved wildly popular with App Store customers around the world.

Since its October release, Apple Pay has been a favorite of customers, merchants and app developers. More banks and credit unions continue to add support for Apple Pay, now representing about 90 percent of credit card purchase volume in the US. Leading merchants including Bloomingdales, Disney Store, Duane Reade and Walgreens are letting their customers enjoy the ease of use, security and privacy of Apple Pay. Some of the most popular apps including HotelTonight, OpenTable, Target and Ticketmaster are also enjoying the convenience and privacy of Apple Pay, making it even easier for users to make secure purchases.

Fwd:FT : Scientists hail antibiotic to foil resistance

--> could impact the all sector, mostly named involved in antiobiotic market, antiobiotic is a $40b to $50bil market...MRK made a big move on the antibio market with the Cubist acquisition, could be seen as -ve

NovaBiotic Pharmaceuticals develops new antibiotic, Teixobactin, to fight highly resistant MRSA infections (update) The new compound successfully destroyed MRSA and drug-resistant TB in cell cultures and in mice, and did so without any signs that the bacteria might become resistant to it. Teixobactin is still several years away from human trials and at least four years away from approval


From: LAURENT CHEKROUN (MAKOR SECURITIES LLP) At: Jan 8 2015 06:07:59
To: LAURENT CHEKROUN (MAKOR SECURITIES LLP)
Subject: Fwd:FT : Scientists hail antibiotic to foil resistance


Scientists hail antibiotic to foil resistance


An international public-private collaboration has come up with a promising antibiotic, to which bacteria are unlikely to become resistant for several decades. The drug, called teixobactin, quickly cleared infections in animal tests without side effects.
Although it is at least two years from clinical trials and five years from commercial availability, microbiologists hailed teixobactin as an exciting discovery at a time when politicians and public health leaders worldwide are flagging up the urgent need for drugs to tackle the problem of antibiotic resistance. Details are published in the journal Nature.
Teixobactin comes from a research partnership involving Northeastern University in Boston, the University of Bonn and NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, one of several US biotechnology companies developing antibiotics.

“We estimate that the evolution of resistance [to teixobactin] will take more than 30 years,” said Kim Lewis of Northeastern, the project leader. “It rapidly clears infection, so we will not need a lengthy regimen of treatment, and it shows excellent activity against hard-to-treat bugs.”
Most antibiotics are derived from soil bacteria, which make the chemicals to kill competing microbes. NovoBiotic has extended this approach with technology that enables researchers to grow species that would not survive in traditional laboratory cultures.
The scientists used a special “diffusion chamber” within the soil to culture microbes that would not grow in normal lab conditions. Screening of these rare species identified a previously unknown species, Elephtheria terrae, which makes teixobactin.
Teixobactin quickly kills Gram-positive bacteria, which are prominent in discussions of antibiotic resistance, including Clostridium difficile, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Staphylococcus aureus.
Neil Woodford, head of the antimicrobial resistance unit at Public Health England, commented:
“The rise in antibiotic resistance is a threat to modern healthcare as we know it, so this discovery could potentially help to bridge the ever increasing gap between infections and the medicines we have available to treat them.”
But Prof Woodford added: “Although it is a step forward, this new discovery would not be suitable for treating infections caused by E. coli, Klebsiella or other Gram-negative bacteria.”
Teixobactin kills bacteria by breaking down their cell walls, a mode of action similar to vancomycin, which doctors sometimes use as an antibiotic of last resort to treat drug-resistant infections.

They hope that their original approach to bacterial cultivation and screening will soon yield other promising antibiotics, including ones active against Gram-negative bacteria.
“The screening tool developed by these researchers could be a ‘game changer’ for discovering new antibiotics as it allows compounds to be isolated from soil-producing micro-organisms that do not grow under normal laboratory conditions,” commented Laura Piddock, microbiology professor at the University of Birmingham.
Gerard Wright, an antibiotics researcher at McMaster University in Canada, added: “In a field dominated by doom and gloom [the NovoBiotic collaboration] offers hope that innovation and creativity can combine to solve the antibiotics crisis.”

>>> YHOO - Holder Starboard issues letter with regard to media reports on potent

Holder Starboard issues letter with regard to media reports on potential large scale acquisition; reiterates call for Yahoo to explore combination with AOL 

- However, we have recently become increasingly concerned due to the growing number of media reports indicating Yahoo's interest in doing large-scale acquisitions. The latest reports speculate that Yahoo may be considering an acquisition of cable assets including Scripps Networks Interactive and Time Warner's CNN. Our concerns that these media reports may have some truth are exacerbated as it has now been more than sixty days since the IPO of Alibaba, and Yahoo is now free to disclose its intentions with regard to its shares of Alibaba. However, to date, no announcement has been made regarding Yahoo's plans for a tax-efficient separation of its non-core minority equity interests. 

- On a related note, within the past week, new speculation has emerged that Yahoo is considering a cash-rich split-off as a structure to separate its non-core minority equity interests. The resurfacing of rumors about a cash rich split-off at this juncture is particularly troubling given your acknowledgment at our meeting with you on October 27th that this option would be clearly inferior to a spin-off structure or other available alternatives to unlock the full value of the stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. As we have repeatedly explained, we believe a cash-rich split-off to separate Yahoo's non-core minority equity interests has serious shortcomings

- Further, we continue to believe that Yahoo must significantly reduce costs to improve profitability in its core business and should be considering a combination with AOL. A combination with AOL, structured properly, could accomplish all of these goals by allowing for: (i) a tax-efficient separation of the non-core minority equity investments; (ii) tremendous cost synergies of between $1 billion and $1.5 billion; and (iii) a strong growth platform given AOL's progress in mobile and video advertising.

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance/SSS: MG +16%, EXFO +9.1%, (also announces issuer bid to purchase for cancellation up to 7,142,857 subordinate voting shares for an aggregate purchase price not to exceed C$30,000,000), PIR +8.5%, CONN +7.6%, RECN +6.8%, URBN +6%, GPN +5.8%, SMRT +5%, ISIS +4.5%, ZUMZ +3.3%, (reports Dec same store sales +8.0% vs +3.9% Retail Metrics consensus; raises Q4 EPS and revs guidance), CATO +2.8%, GALE +2%, PCRX +1.5%, COST +0.5%

Select oil/gas related names showing strength: PBR +3.1%, SDRL +2.3%, TOT +1.9%, BP +1.7%, STO +1.3%, RIG +1.1%, HAL +0.9%

Other news: BIND +49.5% (provides clinical update for BIND-014 and 2015 Strategic Overview; Achieved development milestone as part of the Pfizer collaboration), BIOD +42.1% ( announces positive preliminary results from Study 3-151; data demonstrate That BIOD-531 provides superior glucose control compared to Humalog Mix 75/25 and Humulin(R) R U-500), ACUR +23.2% (partners with Egalet (EGLT) to commercialize immediate release oxycodone product utilizing acura's aversion), CYRN +19.8% (announced that Reliable Networks is the latest UK reseller under distributor VCW Security to offer the cloud-based CYREN WebSecurity solution), NRX +16.7% (has received positive Scientific Advice from the EMA regarding its Phase 3 program with Pyridorin in diabetic nephropathy that has been accepted by the FDA under a Special Protocol Assessment ), STXS +16.3% (co and and Tucson Medical Center announced that they have teamed up to bring the first Stereotaxis Vdrive robotic navigation system with V-Loop variable loop catheter manipulator to the U.S.), VLCCF +14.5% (announced entry into an agreement with RWE Supply & Trading for chartering out a total of 15 Capesize vessels on long term contracts), PLX +9.6% (reports positive interim data from Phase I/II clinical trial of PRX-102 for the treatment of fabry disease), FOLD +8.7% (announces positive Phase 3 data on cardiac endpoints from Fabry Monotherapy study 011 and long term extension study), MNKD +6.2% (earns $50 mln in milestone payments from Sanofi (SNY) ), S +4.7% (reports key preliminary customer results for Q3 including total net additions of nearly 1 mln ), COSI +4.2% (cont strenght follow yday's run up, positive Dec comps), HABT +4.1% ( announces international franchise agreement with Food Quest), RARE +4.1% ( announces license of intellectual property related to the treatment of Huntington's Disease with Triheptanoin ),MERU +3.1% (Vertex Special Opportunities Fund files amended 13D; Believe retention of Deutsche Bank was a step in the right direction), KNDI +2.5% (eer Geely reported sales update; Dec sales volume reached 54,962 units, sales volume down 10% yoy), NVS +2.1% (announces robust Phase III results for QVA149 and NVA237 and submits regulatory applications to FDA), GSK +2.1% (may be trading higher in sympathy with peers), BIIB +2.1% ( postive top-line results from Phase 2 Anti-LINGO-1 trial in people with acute optic neuritis), HRB +1.9% (favorable commentary on Wednesday's Mad Money), SUNE +1.9% (purchases new turbines that will enable it to develop up to 1.6 gigawatts of incremental wind energy projects which qualify for the U.S. federal production tax credit), BALT +1.4% (enters into new $148 mln credit facility; Co has taken delivery of the Baltic Wasp)

Analyst comments: WEN +2.4% (upgraded to Equal-Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley), BSX +2.1% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Leerink Partners), ALU +1.8% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse), GBX +1.6% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel), CMI +1.5% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill ), ZU +1.4% (initiated with a Buy at Stifel), OCR +1.3% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays), BAC +1.1% (initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse), JPM +0.9% (initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse), WFC +0.8% (initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse), RIO +0.7% (upgraded to Sector Perform at CIBC)

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: PODD -7.9%, APOL -5.8%, WDFC -5.7%, BWEN -4.4%, PKE -3%, SIG -1.9%, LB -1.4%, FDO -0.5%

Other news: INFI -11.2% (reports topline results from Phase 2 study of Duvelisib in rheumatoid arthritis; study did not meet primary endpoint), GWPH -7.8% (and Otsuka announce results in first of three Sativex Phase 3 cancer pain trials; primary endpoint did not show a statistically significant difference for Sativex compared with placebo in reducing pain), NBG -6.2% (still checking),AFSI -4.6% (announces the commencement of public offering of 3 mln shares common stock), STML -4.3% (in-licenses novel oral small molecule nuclear transport inhibitor targeting XPO1; Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock; size not disclosed), ALXN -3.7% (reports results from its randomized, open-label, multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of eculizumab in the prevention of antibody mediated rejection), PT -3.5% (still checking), MPW -3.4% (commenced an offering to sell 30 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering ), ARNA -3.1% (modest pullback following yday's 65% gain), SAN -2.5% (Bloomberg TV reporting sources believe Spanish bank considering adding capital, potentially in the multi-billion range), CTRP -1.5% (still checking but may be related to peers PCLN and TRIP dg's), CEMP -0.9% (prices 5.25 shares of common stock at $24.50 per share.

Analyst comments: GPRO -1.9% (cautious tone from Oppenheimer post CES), SAP -1.4% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS), PCLN -0.9% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel), NGD -0.8% (downgraded to Sell at ROTH Capital ), COG -0.6% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup), LDOS -0.6% (downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan ), BJRI -0.5% (downgraded to Underweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
)