Morning @ Cantor
Morning
@ Cantor 7/19
Today’s
Stories From Cantor Fitzgerald
Sal
Catrini (908) 517-5067
CONTENTS: All
Headings Are Functioning Links
Sector News: Energy, Industrials, Transports, TMT, Materials, Autos, Fins, Real Estate, Consumer, Gaming/Lodging, HC, Europe
Trading Wrap, Asia Trading
Wrap
Investment Banking Wrap: M&A, Money Raising
·
US
Stock Futures SPs at highs at 7am et , up 6, Europe stock up 0.8%
at highs
o
More
M&A: ATC Technology enters into definitive agreement to
be acquired by Genco Distribution System (private) for $25.00 per share in cash
o
Rates tick up this am…
o Libor
falls again…3-month: Dollar: 0.518% vs prior 0.521%
o Markets look past Moody's sovereign downgrade
of Ireland as Moody's catches up to other rating agencies on Ireland after it
cut the sovereign rating by a notch
o And look past mixed
earnings..like this mornings, Electrolux dn as much as 10% after
reporting
o This
week in focus: The Federal Reserve chairman’s testimony to
Congress, in which he is expected to air his concerns over the strength of the
US recovery, is likely to dominate the week’s economic announcements
§ European
banking sector stress tests
will be a key focus this week. Due on Friday.
o Gold
ticks dn $2 today after shellacking late last week …
Spot gold was down $15 on Friday
o Crude
Oil Falls a Fourth Day on U.S. Economic
Recovery Concerns
o copper up 1% for last week: copper was down 8.5%, this
morning, copper up 1%
o EUR near
highs…up .0031 to 1.2962
o Traders
are now betting against the dollar now per latest data …dollar macro negative story – BBG
o Sovereign
risk raises its Head in Ireland and Hungary today
o
Stocks in Europe look past Irish downgrade
o
Irish
stocks only down 0.5% at 7am et
o
the
spread of Irish 10 year over Germany
widend by 6 bps to 288bps.
o
Hungary Budapest stock exchange underperforms
dn 2.6%, and Hungarian traded index is dn almost 5%
o
Hungary
stocks off lows, dn 2%: The Hungarian
forint weakened the most in six weeks against the euro after the International
Monetary Fund and European Union ended talks with the government without
endorsing Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s plans to control the budget deficit The
currency depreciated as much as 2.8 percent against the euro and was trading
2.5 percent lower at 289.24 at 7:42 a.m. in Budapest compared with 282.10 at
the close on July 16. The forint is at its weakest since June 7 when comments
by local politicians comparing Hungary to Greece roiled world markets.
o EU stress
tests this week..alot of positive press over the weekend
o
Don't
Stress Out About Banks from Barron's
§ Stress-test results on 91 European banks are unlikely
either to cause a big bank failure or to spark a sustained rally in the
sector's shares.
o
Belgian Banks Dexia, KBC Pass Europe Stress Tests (AFP)--Belgian banks Dexia and KBC have passed
"stress tests" on the European banking system's ability to withstand
a new financial crisis, a newspaper reported Saturday. The Belgian
financial daily L'Echo, citing unidentified sources, said Dexia and KBC had
passed the tests and had enough capital to face a new economicstorm
o
Spain's
cajas face no stress test shocks: association from Reuters
§ MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's banks or cajas will get no
nasty surprises with the release of stress tests later this week, the director
general of the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks (CECA) said in a
newspaper interview on Sunday.
o
Greek
Banks Likely To Pass Stress Tests - Central Banker
§
-Greece's leading banks are likely to pass an
upcoming review of their financial strength that is due to be released next
week, the country's central bank governor said, but he added that local banks
should consolidate anyway in order to better face Greece's economic challenges.
§
"My feeling is that things will go
smoothly for the six Greek banks who make up the sample," Bank of Greece
Governor George Provopoulos said in a newspaper interview citing their
relatively high capital ratios.
§
His remarks, in the Saturday edition
of financial daily Imerisia, Newspaper website: www.imerisia.gr
o
Bankers worried over European
bank stress tests from
Reuters
§
(Reuters) - Senior bankers and regulators
across Europe are worried that markets could misinterpret the outcome of a test
of how resilient European banks are to economic shocks, the Financial Times
said on Monday.
o
According
to some analysts mentioned in today's Guardian, banks in Spain, Greece and Germany may have to raise an additional
€78.6B following stress test results.
o More EU Good news: German
economic growth was likely much stronger in the second quarter of 2010 than in
the first quarter, the Economics Ministry said Sunday.
After the winter months, "the German economy saw strong growth in
spring," the ministry said in a press statement. DJ
o China's Wen Supports
Euro – WSJ link
§ China will continue to invest its forex reserves in
Europe, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said after meeting with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel.
o
China vs US: China should cut U.S. Treasury holdings:
economist Reuters link
§ China should cut its holdings of U.S. Treasury securities
when market demand is strong, a prominent economist said in remarks published
on Monday.
§ diversify risks of “sharp depreciation,” Yu Yongding, a
former adviser to the central bank, wrote in a commentary in the China
Securities Journal.
o China buying Japan bonds
to offset weakness of euro - Asahi.com:
§ http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z2990377575&z=950243446
§ China has expanded its purchases of Japanese government
bonds this year to record levels, shoring up its foreign currency reserves amid
concerns about the European fiscal crisis.
o
Transaction
tax may cool China housing: PBOC adviser from Reuters
§ BEIJING (Reuters) - Higher taxes on property transactions
would do more than a property tax to curb speculation, an influential Chinese
policy maker said in an editorial published on Saturday, in which he advocated
maintaining current cooling measures in the second half
o Global
rates:
§ BOE's Sentance:
'Gradual' Rate Rise Will Support Recovery
·
Bank
of England policy maker Andrew Sentance said a gradual interest rate increase
from a record low to fight inflation will help support the economic recovery,
Bloomberg news reported.
·
"We certainly don't want to snuff out the
recovery, but we want to keep a check on inflation," Sentance said in an
interview with BBC Radio 4's "Money Box" program, according to the
report posted Saturday on the Bloomberg Businessweek website.
§ BOJ May Consider Easing If Dollar Stays
Around Y85 - DJ
·
The BOJ's view is
that as long as the yen doesn't rise much from its current levels Japan's
economy should remain on the recovery track
o
Overseas Action
§ Asia:
Nikkei (closed); Hang Seng (0.79%); Shanghai Composite +2.11%
§ Europe
up 0.4% at 7am et
·
Cyclical
stocks lead the way higher as mining is up by 1.14%, Steel +0.99%
§ Data:
·
Euro
Zone May Current Account : -€5.8B v -€5.6B prior
·
PBOC
Vice Gov Du Jinfu: Inflation pressure in China has eased, still confident of
reaching 3% 2010 target
o Economics today :
§
Jun
NAHB Index at 10:00 ET
o Earnings:
§
Companies
due to report before the bell include: HAL, HAS
§
Companies
due to report after the closing bell include: IBM, TXN, ZION
§
CALL
VocalTec to host conference call on merger with YMAX at 11:00 ET ($1.89)
·
877-375-9147
(North America), +1-253-237-1148 (international),
o
Senate
expected to vote soon on jobless benefits from MarketWatch.com
§ More than 2 million jobless workers who have been cut off
from unemployment benefits could start to see those payouts again if lawmakers
act this week.
o
Airbus
and Boeing to bare teeth at Farnborough from Reuters
§ Large Boeing jets and short-haul plane orders from Airbus
look set to dominate the opening of the Farnborough Airshow on Monday in a test
of fledgling economic recovery.
o
Ex-Gov. Blagojevich likely to testify this
week from
USATODAY.com
·
Top
M&A
o ATC
Technology enters into definitive agreement to be acquired by Genco Distribution
System (private) for $25.00 per share in cash
§ premium
of 43.4% to
§ Conference
call at 9 ET: 877.879.6201.
o Motorola sale Motorola Inc. is
near a deal to sell its wire less-network equip ment business to Nokia Siemens Networks for more than
$1.3 billion, in deal that may be an nounced as early as today – NYP
o Hynix Shares Rise on Report LG Asked to Run, Take Over Company
o Indian energy major Reliance Industries is
in talks with Texas-based Quicksilver
Resources , including for a possible buyout of the U.S. firm that develops
shale gas and coal-bed methane, the Daily News & Analysis reported on
Monday.
o Shares
of International Power advance as
much as 11% Monday after its discloses deal talks with France’s GDF Suez. MW
o British engineering company Tomkins saw
its shares jump by 35% this morning after it received a takeover approach from
a Canadian consortium that would value it at nearly Ł2.9bn. guardian say
consortium made up of private equity group Onex Corporation and the Canada
Pension Plan Investment Board had made an offer at 325p in cash
o
Healthscope (HSP.AU) soared 10% on the
board’s recommending a takeover offer from Carlyle and TPG
·
Top $
Raising
o RealD, Qlik Gain More Than 20% On IPO Debuts
§ Two
technology IPOs made gains of more than 20% on their first day of
trading Friday, ending the week on a high note
o
A
surge in IPOs by private equity-owned companies has
produced limited investor profits. The news comes as several buy-out owners
prepare to list - FT
§
http://link.ft.com/r/H60H77/5CDJFA/HQN0N/UUACST/26A1K7/CM/h
·
Earnings
: S&P 500 Members' 2Q Profit Seen
Rising - Thomson
o
Earnings for members of the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index are now expected to increase 28% from a year earlier while
revenue is seen rising 9%, according to Thomson Reuters.
o
The
earnings expectations increased slightly after the second-quarter reporting
season kicked off this week, partially because of better-than-expected results
from banking giant Bank of America (BAC), conglomerate General Electric (GE) and Intel (INTC)
o
Through
Friday, 48 companies in the S&P 500 had reported second-quarter results,
with three-quarters posting earnings that topped analysts' expectations, 13%
matching them and 13% posting lower results. In a typical quarter,
62% beat estimates, 18% match and 20% miss. All together, companies reported
earnings 16% above the estimates, compared with the long-term average surprise
factor of 2%.
o
For revenue,
71% beat analysts' estimates and 29% missed. Together, companies reported
revenue equal to estimates.
o
This
week is the first of the "peak weeks" of earnings season, with
two-fifths of the Dow Jones Industrial Average components and nearly one-quarter
of the S&P 500 companies reporting results.
·
Dow's Earnings-Season
Rally Fizzles – WSJ link
o
The Dow rally at the start of earnings season
last week was quickly snuffed out as worries about the U.S. economy took hold,
despite positive profit numbers so far.
o
In the past five earnings seasons, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average rose on average seven of the first 10 days of the first
reporting month before heading south. The pattern seems to be holding this
month, with stocks rising on seven of July's first 10 trading sessions before
nose-diving Friday.
·
Jobs: Macro
positive: US Companies Step Up Hiring Plans - NABE Survey
o
Nearly a third of U.S. companies are back in
hiring mode, a survey by an influential business group showed Monday, though
the labor market revival is expected to be tempered by the weak economy
o
The
latest National Association for Business Economics survey of 84 companies found
that 31% took on additional employees in the second quarter, up from 22% in the
previous survey.
o
The latest figure is the highest since the
second quarter of 2007, on the eve of the financial crisis. The survey results mark a near reversal from
a year ago, when only 6% of companies were hiring and 36% were cutting
staff. DJ
·
Jobs: After Job Training, Many Still Scrambling for
Employment – CNBC link
·
Credit
Markets: CFOs Pick Dollar Bonds as Faith
in Euro Wanes
o
European borrowers are selling more of their
bonds in dollars than at any time since the euro’s record low in 2000 as
issuers lose faith in the common currency
o
Companies in Western Europe sold $162.8
billion of bonds in dollars this year, 24 percent of their total issuance and
up from 16 percent in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
o
Euro-denominated sales fell to 63 percent
from 68 percent, the lowest share since 2007 and below the average of the past
decade
·
Credit Markets:
Municipal Bond Defaults at Triple the Typical Rate, Lehmann Says
o
Thirty-five municipal bond issues totaling $1.5
billion defaulted in the first six months of 2010, the Miami Lakes,
Florida-based Distressed Debt Securities Newsletter reported in its July
edition. That annualized $3 billion pace is triple the rate of $1 billion or
less a year going back to 1983, Richard Lehmann, publisher of the newsletter,
said in a phone interview today.
o
“I wouldn’t start celebrating just yet,” said
Lehmann.
o
“I wouldn’t think things are getting better.
A lot of issuers are on the brink.” BBG
·
Let Inflation Run Wild? Some Say
Bring It On – WSJ links
o
Economists React: How
Big a Threat Is Deflation?
·
Soros Says U.S. Shouldn’t Cut Stimulus as Inflation
Contained
o
“I think the timing is wrong with withdrawing
the stimulus,” Soros said at the Hamptons Institute in East Hampton, New York
on July 16. “Cutting employment benefits, cutting aid to states that are losing
tax revenue, these are counterproductive because you can only grow your way
out” of the financial crisis, said Soros, who turns 80 next month
o
Soros
noted that there are no signs of inflation in the U.S., where 10-year Treasury
notes are now trading below 3 percent, the lowest level so far this year – BBG
·
Soros says US financial reform too early from Business Spectator
·
Commodity Manipulation May Be Easier to Prove After
Overhaul - BBG
o
traders will face new rules aimed at making
it easier for regulators to prove manipulation in markets for commodities such
as oil, wheat and natural gas under the financial overhaul awaiting President
Barack Obama’s signature
o
The regulations, written in part by Senator
Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, attempt to relieve the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the burden of proving a trader intended
to manipulate prices.
o
Instead, the CFTC will have to show the trading was
“reckless.”
·
Treasury Bids Rise 18% as Investors Surpass Dealers
o
For the first time since the government
started collecting the data, central
banks, mutual funds and U.S. banks are buying more government securities at
Treasury auctions than Wall Street’s bond dealers.
o
Foreign and domestic investors bidding
directly at note and bond auctions bought 57 percent of the $1.26 trillion in
Treasuries sold by the government this year, up from 45 percent during the same
period in 2009 and as little as 32 percent for all of 2008, according to
government data compiled by Bloomberg
o
Bids compared with the amount of debt sold,
the bid-to-cover ratio, rose 18 percent from last year’s 14-year high,
according to data that Treasury started collecting in 1994.
·
Experts
call for 'Tobin tax' on forex trades - guardian.co.uk
o Levy of 0.005% on $1m foreign exchange deal would be $50
o Billions of
transactions a year would raise about $33bn
·
BA
and Airbus in focus this week:
§ Large Boeing jets and short-haul plane orders from Airbus
look set to dominate the opening of the Farnborough Airshow on Monday in a test
of fledgling economic recovery.
·
HAS Hasbro reports better first blush: Q2 EPS $0.29 vs Reuters $0.24 ($39.50)
§ Company reports revenues of $737.8M vs Reuters
$750.4M.
·
BP dn 3% - off lows
§ BP shares lead FTSE 100 lower on new
spill worries
§
BP:
Oil Spill Costs Almost $4B – guardian link
·
Oil
Rig's Final Hours Under Investigation
o Federal authorities investigating BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
are focusing on bad decisions, missed warnings and worker disagreements in the
hours before the April 20 inferno aboard the Deepwater Horizon.
·
Philips declined after the Ductch electronics giant said
revenue growth would slow in H2 2010
§ "After the strong rebound in the first half of the
year, we expect comparable sales growth in the remainder of the year to
moderate towards mid-single-digit level," the company said in a statement.
"This reflects continued but slow recovery in the U.S. and Europe,
different seasonality for our television business following soccer's World Cup,
and the improved sales performance in the second half of 2009."
·
Electrolux trades dn 10% today !!
§ Electrolux
Profit Beats Estimates on North America Recovery
§ The world’s second-biggest home appliances
maker, posted a slightly smaller-than-expected core profit and repeated its
outlook for demand to grow this year in its main markets
·
ZenithOptimedia
lifts ad forecast on US, Europe recovery from Business Spectator
o Leading media buyer ZenithOptimedia raised its 2010
global advertising growth forecast for the third time following a
faster-than-expected recovery in the United States and Western Europe.
·
A bid and a double-dip warning from Tomkins
o Lift off was triggered by news that the company had
opened its books to a Canadian consortium led by Onex Corporation
o US-focused engineering company, which makes everything
from whirlpools, baths and windows to electronic tyre sensors and power
transmission systems for cars, has seen signs of slowing demand.
o Whilst the first half of 2010 has seen strong
performance, albeit against a particularly weak comparable period, there are some signs in recent weeks
that some of our markets are softening. Sales in early July in
certain of our industrial and construction businesses have been weaker than
expected.
·
UAE bank
earnings may be hit by Dubai World - analysts from Arabianbusiness.com
o
UAE banks being hurt as crisis weakens
lending and investment banking activity._files/image001.gif)
·
IMF
aims to boost lending resources by $250 billion: report from Reuters
o
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants
to boost its lending resources to $1 trillion from $750 billion in order to
prevent future financial crises, the Financial Times said on Monday
·
German
industrialists attack China from Financial Times
o Two of Germany’s most prominent industrialists have attacked
the business and investment climate in China during a meeting with Wen Jiabao,
the Chinese premier. The criticism comes amid rising discontent among foreign
businesses operating in China
·
Chinese
Premier:China's Investment Environment Worsen Untrue-Xinhua
o
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said it's untrue
to say that the investment environment in China is worsening, amid complaints
from foreign complaints about an upsurge in economic nationalism, the
state-controlled Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday
o
Foreign investment will not pour into a
country where the investment environment is worsening," Wen said.
·
In
tossup House races, Dems show cash advantage from USATODAY.com
o Republican fundraising is surging, but the party's
candidates don't have the cash advantage in many of the most-competitive races
·
GOP
Sees Path to Win Senate from WSJ link
o Democrats
for the first time are acknowledging that Republicans could retake the Senate
this November, less than two years after Democrats captured a daunting 60-seat
majority.
·
McConnell:
Offset Job Benefits With Spending Cuts –CNN
o U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.)
insisted Sunday that any extension of unemployment benefits be offset with
spending cuts
o Remaining defiant after President Barack Obama accused
the Republican leadership Saturday of obstructionism, McConnell told CNN that
the administration needs to end its "incredible spending spree."
o "We're all for extending unemployment
insurance, the question is, when are we going to get serious...about the
debt," McConnell said on CNN's "State of the Nation."
·
Vice President Biden: Pullout in Afghanistan may start
small
o
said U.S. troops will begin leaving in July
2011.
·
Talk
persists of Bloomberg presidential run from Reuters
o Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the richest men in
America, says his views are too polarizing for him to become president of the
United States.
·
Drug
hitmen kill 17 at party in Mexico
o Drug hitmen
stormed a birthday party and killed 17 people in the northern Mexican city of
Torreon on Sunday in one of the deadliest attacks in Mexico's drug war that came days after a lethal car bomb. Reuters
·
U.S.
to send stern message to North Korea from Reuters
o
President Barack Obama's top diplomat and
defense chief head to Seoul this week to discuss ways to respond to North Korea
and deter it from any future attack after the sinking of a South Korean
warship.
·
China on track to aim 2,000 missiles at Taiwan: report
o
Reuters) - China will have 2,000 missiles
aimed at its rival Taiwan by the end of the year, several hundred more than the
current number, despite fast-warming trade ties between the two sides, an
island defense study said.
·
WP To Publish Top Secret US Contractors
o
From Foreign Policy : State Department
warns employees about new website highlighting Top Secret facilities Posted By
Josh Rogin Friday, July 16, 2010 The State Department is
bracing for a potentially explosive new feature on the Washington Post
website that would publish the names and locations of agencies and firms
conducting Top Secret work on behalf of the U.S. government, according to the
copy of an email obtained by The Cable
·
Iran
Scientist Says U.S. Wanted "Spy" Swap For Detained Hikers – AFP
o
An Iranian scientist, who returned home last
week charging he had been held by U.S. agents for more than a year, has said
that they had pressed him to agree to be exchanged in a "spy" swap
for three U.S. hikers in custody in Tehran
o
In a
lengthy interview aired by state television late Saturday, Shahram Amiri
claimed that the U.S. agents had acknowledged that the three Americans,
detained on the Iran-Iraq border in July last year, were indeed "spies".
·
Equity Recap
o it
was a quiet week and Friday.., it was still an ugly day and you sense
they are running out of bullets/excuses to take stocks higher.
o The
indexes for the week were Dow -1%, S&P 500 -1.2%, Nasdaq -00.7% and Russell
-3%
o They
topped off the Goldman fluff going out Thursday with a horrible Michigan
sentiment number which came in at 66 when estimates were looking for 74. All I
have to say is what would have happened this week if earnings were good? CSX
INTC BAC GE C (which on the financial guys, all beat but revs were light and
the feeling was there was no growth as opposed to cost cutting). All of
the reactions were anticlimactic. Even gold gave back 1% on the back of a trade
that was unwound where people had been long gold and short the euro/ gbp and
yen. The action amongst our accounts has been heavy selling up near 1097-1100
and some guys by week’s end were pressing their shorts and in between, quant’s
were on both sides but for the most part it still seems to be the only ones
with cash are looking for s&p 800. I sent out the trim tabs piece Thursday
where more money went into bond funds and etf funds since January of 09 then
the tech bubble. It scares me to think what will become of this market once the
fed takes off the suspenders and this Obama led rally that has been one of the
few things that have tried to make him look good better where he’s pinned rates
at zero and people have been chasing yield.
o Technically,
we had broken 1,080 on the sp 500 and the next area of support of 1,070,
so next up 1,000 psychologically, yet as we got towards 1097-1100
the selling was heavy with real sellers not afraid to let them go
o Billy Clark and Team
- Rates
Commentary
o The Treasury rallied continued today after
the tame CPI report .2% MoM, 1.1% MoM ex food and energy followed later in the
morning by the significantly worse than expected University of Michigan
confidence coming at 66.5 versus an expected 74.00. Treasuries as the
case was yesterday were almost a straight line higher throughout the mid and
late morning hours with the belly leading the market (2s and 30s significantly
lagged throughout the day). The Treasury market settled in
for much of the afternoon trading a rather tight range even as equities
continued their trade lower with the major US indices all closing near their
intraday lows down 2.50-3.00%. At 3PM Treasuries were all higher in price
with yields lower by ~.5bp to 5.5bps.
o With long end supply out of the way until the
August refunding, the poor US economic data continuing to stream our way (next
week an array of housing data) and the next round of Treasury supply to be
announced Thursday (we expect $39Bln 2 year notes, $37Bln 5 year notes
and $29Bln 7 year notes, all decreases of $1Bln from June) we remain positive
on the UST market with a curve flattening bias. Given the recent deflation
fears we look for the long end of the curve to approach its recent low yields
of 2.88% on 10s and 3.82% on 30s.
o Primary Dealer
_files/image002.gif)
o BP dn 3% - off
lows
§ BP shares lead FTSE 100 lower on new
spill worries
§
BP:
Oil Spill Costs Almost $4B – guardian link
·
Oil Rig's Final Hours Under Investigation
o Federal authorities investigating BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
are focusing on bad decisions, missed warnings and worker disagreements in the
hours before the April 20 inferno aboard the Deepwater Horizon.
o BP canvassing investors on possible break
up- Sunday Times
§ BP has started canvassing
shareholders about a restructuring in the wake of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill
which could include a break up of the business
§
The newspaper, citing unnamed BP insiders, said options included selling
the group's refineries and petrol stations, scaling back its U.S. operations
and ramping-up in-house engineering instead of outsourcing
§
BP,
Apache $12B Deal Could Be Done By July 27 - Sunday Times
§ BP PLC's plans to
sell up to $12 billion of assets to Apache Corp. (APA) are moving swiftly, U.K.
newspaper the Sunday Times reports.
§ Sources close to
the deal suggest it could be done by the time BP reveals its half-year earnings
July 27, the paper said.
§ According to the
report, the company is close to hiring HSBC to run the $1 billion sale of BP's
Vietnam business.
§ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE66H07220100718
o BP-APA Apache Talks on Prudhoe Bay Stake Said to
Stall- BBG
§ BP’s talks to sell half
its stake in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay oil field to Apache stalled twice over the
weekend, raising doubts about whether the deal will be completed
§ Talks between BP and
Apache faltered late in the evening on July 16 before resuming Saturday. They
hit a snag again early yesterday over issues ranging from the valuation of the
deal to how current and future legal liabilities will be addressed
o
BP Extends Tests On Oil-Well Structure As Cap Holds
§ (AFP)--Engineers monitored a newly capped BP PLC (BP,
BP.LN) oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday amid cautious optimism the
months-long spill behind one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S.
history has been finally contained.
§ The tests, which involve multiple pressure readings on
the wellbore that runs to the oil reservoir below the seabed, have provided
"valuable information" and will continue into Sunday, Coast Guard
Adm. Thad Allen said.
o
BP Mulls Big Restructure Post Oil Spill - Sunday Times
§ Directors at BP PLC (BP.LN) have begun canvassing
shareholders about plans to restructure the oil major in the wake of the Gulf
of Mexico oil spill, U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times reports.
§ Options for "Future BP" include splitting up
the group by selling its refineries and petrol stations, scaling back its
American operations and ramping up in house engineering and outsourcing, the
paper said. It could also end up focusing instead on exploration in regions
such as West Africa and Brazil, according to the report.
§ The paper quoted insiders as saying the discussions with
shareholders are at an early stage but will help set the direction of a formal
review expected to be launched by BP's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg.
§ "BP has been
a non-growth company for years, and the market has made it pay for this by
demanding a 6% to 7% dividend yield. Now that the dividend has gone, they are
starting with a blank sheet of paper and thinking about what the new BP will
look like," said one of three top 10 shareholders who spoke to the Sunday
Times.
§ Another investor
said: "BP seems to have accepted that it will be a smaller business. It is
prepared to consider anything, the paper said.
o
British Official: BP Not Involved In Lockerbie Suspect
Release
§ (AFP) -- British Foreign Secretary William Hague told his
U.S.
§ counterpart Saturday that there was no evidence linking
the release of the Lockerbie bomber last year to a BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) oil deal,
amid mounting US concern.
§ In a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Hague
confirmed that Britain's new coalition government believed it had been a
"mistake" to free Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi last August.
o
Cameron to fight BP’s corner in US
§ David Cameron will next week defend BP on a two-day visit
to Washington, insisting the group must have a “stable and strong” future for
the sake of the UK economy and the pensioners who rely on its dividends.
§ http://link.ft.com/r/73UJGG/6VY9HI/7MDUD/ZB4ZOC/RNTYEU/RF/h
o
Hedge Funds Raise Bull Oil Bets Most Since
2007
§ (Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds and other large speculators
raised bets that oil would gain by the most in more than three years just as it
began to slide, the second straight week money managers lined up on the wrong
side of the market.
o KPMG says nuclear power 'won't happen' from Telegraph Finance
§ Britain's new generation of nuclear power stations will
not be built if the Government refuses them any more support, a KPMG report
will say this week.
o
Salazar to Testify on Spill Next Week from The Washington Independent
§ Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is slated to testify next
week before the House Energy & Commerce Committee on “the role of the
Interior Department in the Deepwater Horizon Disaster.”
§ The July 20 hearing is a co-production of the Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations and the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. Look for Reps.
Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) to really go after Salazar
and the other witnesses (two former Interior Department chiefs) on the role the
former Minerals Management Service played in approving offshore drilling
projects in the Gulf.
o
CLR
Continental Resources files mixed shelf of indeterminate size
o
GPOR
Gulfport Energy files $100M mixed shelf; also registers 16.2M shares for
holders
o
VNR
Vanguard Natural Resources files $800M mixed shelf
o
FE
FirstEnergy S4 regarding deal with Alleghany Energy has been declared effective
by SEC
o
Kinder
Morgan intends to list - Bloomberg
o
KWK
Reliance Industries looking at Quicksilver Resources - Daily News &
Analysis
o
Airbus
and Boeing to bare teeth at Farnborough from Reuters
§ Large Boeing jets and short-haul plane orders from Airbus
look set to dominate the opening of the Farnborough Airshow on Monday in a test
of fledgling economic recovery.
o
Boeing
reaffirms latest 787 delivery plan from Reuters
§ FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Boeing said its chief executive had
not altered the latest delivery guidance on the 787 Dreamliner after a
newspaper said he had expressed confidence in delivering the plane by end-year.
o Emirates to Order 30
Boeing 777s
§ Dubai's Emirates Airline will announce on Monday an order
for more than 30 Boeing 777 jetliners, with a catalog value of more than $7
billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
o
Airbus
Won't Sell Tankers Unprofitably To US -EADS CEO
§ Dow Jones)--Airbus will not sell planes unprofitably to
win a $35
billion U.S. Defense Department contract for aerial tankers, said Louis
Gallois, chief executive of its parent company, European Aeronautic Defence
& Space Co
§ EADS and U.S. rival Boeing Co. (BA) are battling
to sell the U.S. 179
refueling planes. Both recently submitted bids, and the Pentagon expects to
pick a winner by Nov. 12.
o
EADS
head hits out at WTO report delay from Financial Times
§ Louis Gallois, head of the pan-European aerospace and
defence group, critises delays in publication of a report into claims of
illegal subsidies to rival Boeing.
o
EADS M&A?? sets
course for US purchases – FT
§ Timing and size of any purchases would depend on which
opportunities arose, chief executive tells FT
§ http://link.ft.com/r/H60H77/5CDJFA/HQN0N/UUACST/26A1KZ/CM/h
o
Boeing (Reuters) - Boeing Co's new 787 Dreamliner
touched down in Britain on Sunday on its first trip outside the United States,
thrilling hordes of eager planespotters who came out to see the breakthrough
carbon-composite plane
o
ATK: WSJ: Alliant Techsystems Revs Up Commercial
Diversification Plans
§ -Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK), seeking to reduce
reliance on U.S. government rocket and missile work, increasingly is
refashioning itself into a provider of advanced composite materials for
satellites, jet fighters and Airbus airliners.
§ The Minneapolis company's accelerating diversification
drive is expected to be highlighted Monday at the Farnborough International
Airshow, with an announcement that it has started shipping structural parts as
part of a previously announced, $1-billion supply contract for the Airbus A350
program.
o
Ag stocks positive : Food
for Thought on Agricultural Stocks – WSJ
§ Will agriculture prove the hot new sector of the 21st century?
§ So far this year, agribusiness stocks are underperforming
broader indices. But investment in agriculture is unlikely to be about reaping
a quick harvest: over the longer term, the returns may look tastier
§ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704913304575370773890291224.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_markets
o
BA
Boeing expected to announce 25-30 plane deal with Emirates this week -- London
Times
o
FDX
Editorial discusses the ongoing Pentagon tanker contract fiasco, argues against
expanding the National Labor Relations Act to include FedEx.
o
RZ
Raser Technologies to offer $750K in shares to War Chest Capital at $0.449 per
share
o
R
Ryder System increases quarterly dividend by 8.0% to $0.27 from $0.25
o
WAB
Wabtec's MotivePower unit selected by MBTA to supply new passenger locomotives
o
TXT
Italy's Ministry of Defense selects AAI Corp's Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (TUAS) for Italian Army
o
LLL L-3
Communications gets FY10 order from JCA Program Office for eight C-27J JCA
aircraft
o
RADA Rada
Electronic Industries reports $3.1M of follow-on orders in Q2
o
BHP
Billiton downgraded to neutral from outperform at Credit Suisse - SA London
o
BA,
Boeing, Airbus optimistic about Farnborough Air Show - FT
o
RTN,
BA, COL Raytheon wins $55M contract to deliver TOW missiles to
Saudi Arabia; Company also receives a contract from Boeing (BA) to develop an
international system of the APY-10 surveillance radar, and forms a team with
Rockwell Collins (COL) and Honeywell (HON) to compete for JPALS Increment 2.
o The Baltic Dry is all wet from FT.com - Lex link
§ Unofficial
economic barometer is giving a false reading at the moment but it should not be
ignored longer term
o
Ryder System Inc. (R) raised its quarterly
dividend 8% to 27 cents a share,
its sixth increase in the past five years.
TECH/MEDIA/TELECOM
o
RSH: Private equity firms
still circling- Reuters
§
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1612237420100716
o
DWA As Niche Gets Crowded, Studio Watches Its
Back- NYT
§
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/business/media/19dreamworks.html
o
Hynix Shares Rise on Report
LG Asked to Run, Take Over Company- BBG
o
MOT Motorola nears unit sale to NSN Nokia Siemens
(could come as early as 7/19)- Reuters
o
GOOG Buys Metaweb to Improve
Search Results- NYT
o
INTC: Cheng Uei Denies Report
On Talks To Sell Stake To Intel- WSJ
o
TV Televisa sells 25 pct stake in airline-
Reuters
o
T, DTV: AT&T
Chief Sees ‘Industrial Logic’ in DirecTV Purchase- FT
o
Advertising: ZenithOptimedia lifts
ad forecast on US, Europe recovery- Business Spectator
o
Vivo: Telefónica Drops Vivo Bid – WSJ
o
SCLD SteelCloud withdraws
offering
o
RZ Raser Technologies to offer $750K in shares
to War Chest Capital at $0.449 per share- SA
o
CNQR Barron's says Concur Technologies is a
leading in expense management software
o
GOOG Barron's cover says Google is undervalued by
35% or more
o
INTC, MSFT, DELL, IBM, JNPR, EMC, AAPL, GOOG
Technology Trader remains positive on PC names after Intel's earnings, positive
on MSFT, DELL, IBM, JNPR, EMC; Apple (AAPL) could rally after earnings;
positive on Google for longer term investors.
o
INTC: Intel needs to build its
own iPad, iPhone says CNET
o
INTC: Intel considers
investment in Foxlink- economic Daily News
o
Facebook will hit 500 million
users next week.- Silicon Valley Insider
o
VOD Essar consider options for Vodafone Essar,
including possible IPO- Reuters
o
RSH Blackstone and TPG considering joint bid for
RadioShack- NY Post
o
DIS Walt Disney to insist expensive movies have
merchandising potential- London Times
o
DIS, TWC: Disney Battles Time
Warner Cable with New Website- WSJ
§
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704913304575371421468877504.html
o
ELMG EMS Technologies holder MMI Investments
discloses 6.2% stake in 13D filing
o
SNE Taiwan to court Hitachi, Sony, Fujitsu,
other Japanese companies for investment - China Times
o
CALL VocalTec to host conference call on merger
with YMAX at 11:00 ET; 877-375-9147 (N. A), +1-253-237-1148 (international).
o
BT BT Group angles to win rights to provide
communications network to run smart meters - Independent
o
BT BT Group raising charges - BBC
o
KT, AAPL: Korea Telecom To Delay
Sales Of IPhone4 By 1-2 Months In S Korea
o
DIS Toy Story 3 set to become Walt Disney's
highest-grossing animated film - FT
o
AAPL: Jobs calls Bloomberg
story that Apple knew of antenna issues 'total bull,' says NYT 'making
things up'- AppleInsider
o
NAND flash market suffers growth hiccup in 2Q10-
iSuppli
o
Solar: module market to reach
US$35 billion in 2010- Displaybank
o
GPS: Four out of five cell
phones to integrate GPS by end of 2011- iSuppli
o
LCDs: Global LCD monitor shipments to be flat in
2010- Digitimes
o
Panels: Taiwan small- to
medium-size panel shipments to increase 10.4% sequentially in 3Q10- Digitimes
o
VZ, MSFT: Verizon halting Kin
sales, supply getting returned to sender?- engadget
o
RIMM, AAPL: Apple
Inc appears to be deliberately distorting the issues surrounding the iPhone 4's
antenna design by asserting that RIM’s BlackBerry has similar reception
problems, RIM said.
o
Notebooks: LG aims to up 3D
notebook shipments by 30 percent- reuters
o Philips:
very strong with top line growth the main driver. Consumer Life Style helped to
drive the top line growth, and it outperformed all other sectors. Healthcare
and Lighting saw slowed growth, but order intake in HC was strong. MGMT upped
its EBITDA margin forecast, and said more details will come September 14th
o
China's
Wen soothes German concerns on rare earths from Business Spectator
§ Merkel says concerned about access to rare earth metals.
o
Tata
Steel Ltd., India’s biggest producer, began talks with lenders
including Citigroup Inc. to refinance as much as 3.5 billion pounds ($5.4
billion) in loans for its U.K. unit – BBG
o Pro-steel
lawmakers press White House on China investment deal - The Hill
o
Geithner
irks US lawmakers in China steel case from Business Spectator
o Treasury Secretary criticised for lack of investigation
into investment case.
o Commodities Corner says cotton prices are
falling because of the macroeconomic picture, weaker demand.
o WSJ is positive on agricultural stocks but
notes some risks
o ANR Alpha Natural Resources clarifies Powder
River basin production volumes
o ATC
Technology enters into definitive agreement to be acquired by Genco
Distribution System (private) for $25.00 per share in cash
§ premium
of 43.4% to
§ Conference
call at 9 ET: 877.879.6201.
o
Ford - Mulally's in overdrive from NY Post
§ Ford Motor Co. has been on a roll since CEO Alan R.
Mulally, an impish marketer with a salary bigger than the combined paychecks of
the CEOs of Toyota, Nissan and Honda, took over in 2006. e second quarter
earnings report due Tuesday will be a mixed bag --...
o
U.S.
commercial truck sales up 10% in June from Automotive News
§ Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the United
States rose 10 percent in June from a year earlier to 22,096 units.
Commercial-truck sales have risen every month this year, after almost three
years of declines
o
TTM Tata
Motors expected to increase Nano production to 25K/month by January - Economic
Times, citiing source
o
Audit slams Treasury over plan to cut
GM, Chrysler dealers from L.A. Times
link
§ It didn't properly consider the consequences of
shrinking the dealership networks quickly, says a report by a TARP watchdog
§ The Treasury Department's push to have General
Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group quickly shrink their dealership networks failed
to properly consider economic issues such as lost jobs and lost auto sales and
was based on false assumptions of cost savings, according to a report by a
federal watchdog released Sunday.
o
GM Unveils Sedan for
Chinese Market from WSJ.com
§ GM's
commercial van joint venture in China unveiled its first passenger sedan as
part of an effort to introduce a new low-cost car in China.
o
Chinese enter U.S. by acquiring U.S.
suppliers from Automotive News
§ After
years of breakneck growth at home, China's parts makers are starting to
reinvent themselves as global suppliers. No longer content with shipping parts
to North America, Chinese suppliers are acquiring U.S.
o
Fiat Wraps Up EUR4B Refinancing Ahead Of Spinoff
§
Fiat SpA (F.MI) has agreed with eight banks
to refinance EUR4 billion in loans, a measure that paves the way for the
company'splanned split into separate automobile and heavy-equipment companies,
Il Sole 24 Ore reports
§
The
fund will partly roll over expiring debt but EUR2.4 billion of the fresh cash
is structured as a bridge loan to be substituted by an eventual bond sold by
Fiat Industrial, the paper said.
§
Analysts expect Fiat Industrial,
comprising CNH Global NV (CNH) and truckmaker Iveco, to have a higher rating
than Fiat's low-margin and cash-intensive car business.
§
The refinancing loan is being provided
in equal shares by Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI), Unicredit SpA (UCG.MI),
Citigroup Inc. (C), BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR),
Societe Generale SA (SCGLY), Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR)
unit Calyon, and Barclays PLC (BCS).
o
Daimler
won't be split in two, trucks chief says from Automotive News
§ Some analysts believe the company's market valuation is
25 percent below the valuation of its operating units, raising questions over
whether the current company structure was appropriate
o
WSJ(7/17) Toyota, Tesla Look To Develop Electric SUV
§
Toyota Motor Corp. will develop an
electric RAV4 using Tesla Motors Inc. battery technology and aims to sell the
model in 2012, the companies said Friday.
o
Volkswagen AG
(VOW.XE), Europe's largest car maker, aims to sell more than
100,000 units of a new version of its best-selling Jetta sedan in the U.S. a
year, according to the interim chief of the VW brand in the country,
Bloomberg news reported Sunday.
o GOP
is prepared to fight financial overhaul from Wash Post Politics
§ The Republicans are ready
to repeal the financial regulation bill, too.
o
U.S. Treasury Devises Plan For Boards Of Weak Banks – WSJ
§ The Treasury Department is working on a system for
appointing board members to government-supported banks that have fallen behind
on dividend payments to taxpayers, as more banks are running into such problems
§ The banks whose boards are in play are participants in
the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the federal program established in 2008 to
help financial and other firms during the financial crisis
o
SEC Split Over Goldman Deal – WSJ
§ The 3-2 decision on party lines Thursday came after a
30-minute closed-door session where the SEC's two Republican commissioners
voted against settling, said people familiar with the matter. Mary Schapiro,
the SEC chairman appointed by President Obama, cast the deciding vote, the
people said
§ On Wednesday, upon learning The Wall Street Journal was
preparing an article on catch-all settlement talks, SEC enforcement chief
Robert Khuzami grew furious and blasted Goldman
§ He accused the
firm of leaking a story that suggested Goldman had bested the SEC, a person
familiar with the matter says.
o
Belgian Banks Dexia, KBC Pass Europe Stress Tests (AFP)--Belgian banks Dexia and KBC have passed
"stress tests" on the European banking system's ability to withstand
a new financial crisis, a newspaper reported Saturday. The Belgian
financial daily L'Echo, citing unidentified sources, said Dexia and KBC had
passed the tests and had enough capital to face a new economicstorm
o
BAC, banks: WSJ(7/17) BofA Sees Big Tab In Overhaul
§
Analysts were surprised at the estimate of
lost revenue uld cost it as much as $4.3 billion a year in lost revenue, plus a
one-time charge of $7 billion to $10 billion.
§
Bank of America "is laying it all out
there and, boy, I will tell you that hurts,"
o
US Regulators Close Six More Banks; 2010
Total Reaches 96
§
Officials also closed a second bank in South
Carolina. Bluffton, S.C.-based Woodlands Bank failed Friday, with its $355.3
million in total deposits and most of its $376.2 million in total assets being
acquired by Little Rock, Ark.-based Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK).
o
PE
Strikes Again in Three Bank Failures from American Banker
§ North American Financial
Holdings, a group formed by former Bank of America Vice Chairman Eugene Taylor,
sealed deals to buy 3 failed banks in the Southeast late Friday.
o
Banks' Glass Again Half Empty – WSJ
§ "The market is shifting from looking for
credit-quality improvement to wanting more growth,"
§ Citigroup
may be best positioned, despite having some of
the deepest crisis wounds of any bank. More than half of the bank's
consumer-lending revenue is already generated outside the U.S
§ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704913304575371463425627360.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_markets
o
Don't
Stress Out About Banks from Barron's
§ Stress-test results on 91 European banks are unlikely
either to cause a big bank failure or to spark a sustained rally in the
sector's shares.
o Bank Tax Poised to Return and Take a Bigger
Bite from
American Banker
§ Although
House and Senate conferees stripped a proposed bank tax from the regulatory reform
bill at the last minute, the fight over the issue is far from over.
o
A.I.G. Is Said to Be Hiring Mark Tucker to
Lead A.I.A. Unit from NYT
§ The American International Group plans to name Mark
Tucker, former head of Prudential of Britain, to lead the Asian life insurance
subsidiary known as A.I.A
o
JP Morgan may quit UK over Government's bank
levy from
Telegraph
§ JP Morgan is exploring plans to move its back office
operations out of the UK as part of a radical shake up of its European business
o
Greece banks braced for consolidation FT.com
§ Pressure on private banks to consolidate is likely to
rise over coming months, even though they are expected to breeze through the
European stress test, according to George Provopoulos, the Bank of Greece
governor
o
Greece will appoint advisers to evaluate a proposed
merger involving two state-controlled banks with
privately-owned Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR.AT), the
country's finance minister told Ethnos newspaper,adding that the government
favors consolidation in the banking sector.
o
Goldman
Sachs sets aside $9bn for pay as revenues drop from Telegraph Finance
o
Goldman
seeks to avoid SEC fund-amentalism from FT Alphaville
§ A tip-off, for any one who thinks Goldman got off lightly
in the Abacus affair.
§ The Securities and Exchange Commission’s undertaking on
the Abacus 2007 AC1 CDO ain’t over ’till it’s over — and it looks like that’s
not yet. Even though the bank opted to settle the civil
fraud suit for a fine of $550m last week, the District Court’s final judgement
could still see Goldman disqualified from some of its bread and butter fund
activities under Section 9(a) of the 1940 Investment Company Act.
o
Goldman
to pay Tourre's legal fees after its own $550m fine from The Independent
§ Goldman Sachs will pay the remaining legal costs of
Fabrice Tourre, the trader at the centre of the Securities and Exchange
Commission's (SEC) $1bn (Ł650m) fraud investigation, despite settling its own
role out-of-court
o Europe
freezes out Goldman Sachs guardian.co.uk
§ Shocked by past deals with Italy and Greece, governments
are excluding the Wall Street bank from sovereign bond sales
§ European governments are turning their backs on Goldman
Sachs, the all-conquering investment bank that has suffered a series of blows
to its reputation, capped by the biggest ever fine imposed on a Wall Street
firm.
§ According to data from Dealogic, Greece, Spain, France
and Italy have all denied the bank a lead role in their recent sovereign bond
sales
o More
bad news for Jesup and Lamont from InvestmentNews
§ After being closed for business for several weeks, Jesup
and Lamont Securities Corp. faces new allegations that could lead to further
trouble for the embattled firm.
o
Deutsche Bank Chief Wary of Talent War from WSJ.com
§ Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann warned that the war
for talent in Asia is causing a bubble in bankers' compensation that could
damage the culture in Asian financial services, even as he hired another
rainmaker to keep business flowing.
o BAC Bank of
America removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs
o
WSJ(7/17)
Basel Rules On Track
§
Regulators and central bankers,
meeting in Switzerland to discuss a set of global banking rules, said they are
on track to nail down an accord by the fall.
§
The group of policy makers from 27
countries, known as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, said it would
present a set of "concrete recommendations" this month. The package
likely will require banks world-wide to thicken capital buffers, hold more
liquid funding, and cut down on their use of leverage in a bid to fortify the
banking system and avoid a repeat of the recent financial crisis.
o
WSJ(7/17)
Blackstone Woos Big Money
§
Blackstone Group LP is offering investors who
write big checks to its latest megafund a break on fees, according to people
familiar with the situation. The New York-based firm will charge a 1%
management fee on commitments of more than $1 billion for its Blackstone
Capital Partners VI LP, versus 1.5% on commitments of less than that, these
people said. It had foreseen a 1.5% management fee on capital
commitments of up to $10 billion and a 1% fee once capital commitments exceed
$10 billion overall.
o
AIG
American International Group to replace CEO of AIA unit -- FT
o
GS - barons The Trader says the impact on Goldman
(GS) from its SEC settlement is far less than it might have been;
o
C WSJ
says Citi may have an edge when compared to Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase
o
ROMA Roma
Financial completes merger with Sterling Banks
o
OZRK Bank
of the Ozarks entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with the FDIC
related to Woodlands Bank of Bluffton, SC
o
VALU Value Line reports full year EPS
o
EFUT
eFuture announces resignation of CFO Ping Yu
o
AIG
American International Group approves terms of settlement for class action suit
o
HBC HSBC
Holdings' dividend over the next four years may double, says UBS - SA London
o
AINV
Innkeepers USA Trust to file for Chapter 11 within days - WSJ, citing people
familiar with the matter
o Approval of the U.S. reform
bill puts Europe on the back foot
§ The U.S. Senate approved late last week
legislation to overhaul financial regulation, increasing pressure on European
regulators as well as European financial institutions that conduct business in
the U.S. European policymakers and other leaders are struggling to come to
agreement on a plan for oversight of the financial industry and other measures
to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. Reuters (16 Jul.)
o
o
Office vacancies rise, rents drop in
Southland again from Los Angeles Times
§ An oversupply of space, businesses' reluctance
to add costs and landlords' eagerness to keep good tenants leads to some of the
cheapest lease rates in years. In the Inland Empire, vacancy tops 25%
§ Southern
California office landlords faced more bad news in the second quarter as
occupancy and rents in their buildings fell again.
o Fannie Mae to prohibit lenders from changing
home appraisals from L.A. Times
§ The mortgage giant addresses complaints that home sales
have been sabotaged by arbitrary reductions in appraisers' valuations
§ Picture this: You've signed a contract to sell your
house. Your buyers say they've nailed down the right mortgage. All is well. But
then the appraisal comes in low — $25,000 to $50,000 under what was agreed in
the contract.
o
Senior
House Democrat To Start Fannie, Freddie Bill In September
§
A top House Democrat said Friday that he
plans to start writing legislation to overhaul mortgage guarantee agencies
Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) in September when lawmakers return from
the August recess.
§
House
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) said in an
interview with Bloomberg Television's "Political Capital With Al
Hunt" that while he didn't believe there would be enough time to pass the
overhaul legislation before the November mid-term elections, he intended to
begin work on it in the fall.
o
REIT:
Apollo's Innkeepers USA Said To Prepare Bankruptcy Filing-
§
Innkeepers USA Trust (KPA), a hotel company
owned by Apollo Investment Corp. (AINV), is preparing to file for bankruptcy,
according to two people with knowledge of the plan, Bloomberg News reported.
§
The company, a real estate
investment trust with stakes in 73 hotels in the U.S., may file as soon as this
weekend, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the
information is private, according to the report posted on the Bloomberg
Businessweek website Saturday.
§
Steven Anreder, a spokesman for Apollo
Investment, declined to comment, Bloomberg reported. Dennis Craven, Innkeepers'
chief financial officer, didn't immediately reply to a voicemail and an email
sent outside regular business hours, the report said.
§
Full report at
o HAS Hasbro
reports better first blush: Q2 EPS $0.29 vs
Reuters $0.24 ($39.50)
§ Company reports revenues of $737.8M vs Reuters
$750.4M.
o Private equity firms still circling RSH Radioshack-
Reuters
§ Private equity firms
Blackstone Group LP (BX.N), TPG Capital [TPG.UL] and Advent International are
interested
§ Some potential suitors,
such as Bain Capital, were interested earlier but are no longer in the auction
o BNHNA Benihana shareholders' beef- NYPOST
§ Two separate sets of
Benihana Inc. shareholders yesterday fired warning shots across the bow of the
chain of Japanese steakhouses -- signaling their intent to shake up the board
of the underperforming company
§ The heirs of Benihana's
colorful founder, Rocky Aoki, say they intend to seek two seats on the
three-member board amid concerns of sagging sales and a dreary stock price. New
York hedge fund Coliseum Capital Management is seeking one seat
o
BNHNA
Benihana shareholder BOT sends nominations for election to the board
o
Pep
Boys CEO Talks Shop from TheStreet.com
§ Mike Odell, CEO of The Pep Boys, says the automotive
parts and service specialist is getting back to its roots to regain its lost
momentum
o
Big
Lots Draws Heavy Put-Buying from TheStreet.com
§ Big
Lots has been struggling to break a three-month downtrend, and one bear doubts
that it will succeed.
o
Is
Safeway in the Clear? from Barron's
·
The supermarket giant was clobbered by the
collapse of the California economy. Now, the state is showing some signs of
life, and the company is well-positioned for a recovery.
o
A
Closetful of Opportunity from Barron's
·
VF Corp. has grown into one of the largest,
most diversified and profitable apparel makers. So why are its shares on the
discount rack?
o
Office
Depot Inc. (ODP) said it decided not to bid for a new Los Angeles
County office supplies agreement because of what it called "onerous"
terms that would result in an operating loss. Shares fell 4.2% to $3.89 in
after-hours trading as the office-products company said holding the contract
under the proposed terms could hurt its profitability.
o
VFC
Barron's says VF Corp is one of the best investment bets in the apparel sector
o
SAI SAIC
awarded a maximum $241M indefinite quantity contract from US Defense Logistics
Agency
o
Michaels Stores CFO Elaine Crowley announces
resignation; effective 6-Aug
o
BECN
Beacon Roofing acquired Posi-Slope Enterprises
o
CSKI
China Sky One Medical's CFO's health issues to restrict his availability to
investors
o
UL
Unilever to sell its Italian Frozen Foods business, Findus to a company in
which Birds Eye Iglo has a significant stake for €805M - SA London
o
EDU New
Oriental Education & Technology reports Q4 EPS
o
DWA NYT
looks at DreamWorks Animation
o
UL
Unilever expected to sell Findus Italy to Birds Eye Iglo for more than €800M -
FT
o Victoria's
Secret Store in NYC Hit by Bedbugs
o
o
TEVA Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA, TEVA.TV)
said it failed to overturn a verdict against it in a patent dispute with
Pfizer, which could have freed Teva to sell a generic version of heartburn drug
Protonix. In April, a jury in federal court in New Jersey upheld Pfizer
Inc.'s (PFE) patent for the drug. Generics companies had argued the patent was
invalid because Protonix's invention was obvious.
o
MAXY
Maxygen says Cangene's option to license MAXY-G34 for acute radiation syndrome
has expired
o
TEVA Teva
Pharmaceutical updates litigation surrounding Protonix
o
AMGN FDA
has granted priority review designation to denosumab; PDUFA date 18-Nov
o
CMS proposes payment changes to Medicare home
health services for 2011
o
CMS announces final wage index changes for
the Medicare hospice benefit
o
EMIS
Emisphere Technologies engaged in ongoing discussions with potential licensee
for high dose oral Eligen B12 as a medical food for B12 deficiency
o
COV
Covidien upgraded to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan
o
SNY Sanofi-Aventis says Jevtana (cabazitaxel)
injection now available in the US
o
Changes in the latest Investor's Business
Daily 100 List. Added: ISRG, RMD, TPX,
AIXG, DTV, PTI, CISG, EC, CMCSA, PNRA, FDO, EMC, MSB, HSNI. Deleted: MEND, IPXL, ARBA, FFG, LTM, AMT, URBN,
SIRO, SKX, AOS, ROST, CVLT, FOSL, CYD.
·
Barron's
summary
o
VFC Barron's says VF Corp is one of the
best investment bets in the apparel sector
o
SWY
Barron's says Safeway is well-positioned for a recovery in California
o
CNQR
Barron's says Concur Technologies is a leading in expense management software
o
Barron's Interviews Amit Wadhwaney, portfolio
manager at Third Avenue Management
o
Positive on:
o
Daekyo: The largest provider of educational
services to school-age children that trades for less than 2x operating earnings
when you take out the cash and marketable securities.
o
Netia: The telecom deregulation in Poland is
very much in favor of a company like Netia and the business is very well
capitalized and growing rapidly.
o
Antarchile: This company is effectively a
vehicle of the Angelini Group and you can buy into the company for less than
the value of its holdings.
o
GOOG
Barron's cover says Google is undervalued by 35% or more
o
AGG,
BND, BAB, BLV and
AGZ ETF Special Report: Trading strategies for ETFs: use limit orders,
beware of tracking errors, dividend income, take advantage of volatility and
also using them to reduce volatility. Positive on 5 bond ETFs…
o
Positive on dividend ETFs. A look at money
flows for ETFs so far in 2010.
o
Other Voices discusses the ongoing Greek debt
crisis and says default is the only possible outcome unless the government
delivers on its promised tax hikes and spending cuts.
o
FDX
Editorial discusses the ongoing Pentagon tanker contract fiasco, argues against
expanding the National Labor Relations Act to include FedEx.
o
The Trader says the impact on Goldman (GS)
from its SEC settlement is far less than it might have been; special dividends
should increase this fall, they are possible at firms with large cash piles and
high insider ownership: AMZN, WYNN, SHLD, CPB, LTD, BBY, SCHW, EBAY, DELL, GPS,
TIE and MSFT; longer term investors in Weyerhaeuser (WY) may be better off
selling on Monday and buying back the shares when they go ex-dividend.
o
Asia Trader says there may be opportunity in
China's coal companies: 1088.HK, 1898.HK, 1171.HK.
o
The Striking Price considers the impact of
Dodd-Frank on options trading.
o
European Trader doubts there will be a large
impact from the bank stress tests, there could even be a short-lived relief
rally when results are announced.
o
Current Yield says the 2-yr Treasury is
pointing towards continued low rates and malaise as it hits its lowest yield
ever.
o
Commodities Corner says cotton prices are
falling because of the macroeconomic picture, weaker demand.
o
GS Up
and Down Wall Street discusses the Dood-Frank bill, earnings, Chinese economic
figures and says the Goldman (GS) settlement is actually a big loss for the
firm.
o
BP
Streetwise says BP is still cheap.
o
INTC,
MSFT, DELL, IBM, JNPR, EMC, AAPL, GOOG Technology Trader remains positive on PC
names after Intel's (INTC) earnings, positive on MSFT, DELL, IBM, JNPR, EMC;
Apple (AAPL) could rally after earnings; positive on Google for longer term
investors.
o
D.C. Current looks at life for Steven Rattner
when he was in charge of rescuing the U.S. auto industry.
o
Plugged In looks at electric car battery
company Better Place.
o
INTC,
APA Follow Up is positive on Intel (INTC), Apache (APA)
should not buy BP's assets, and notes the increasing difficulty of operating a
western business in China.
·
Stocks
mentioned on CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer - TheStreet.com
o
+ Featured AKS, PPG, SKX, CUB, CHK and VMW
o
CCG
Campus Crest Communities files amended S-11; adds underwriters and proposed
symbol of "CCG"
·
Energy
·
BP (-2%), US concerned that capped well has
possible leak, BP says pressure increasing slowly (low-6%).
·
Intl Power (+ 9.6%), GDF Suez
(+1.25%) in talks on possible bid for IPR. BBG
·
UK Coal (-6%), warns on 1H
·
Mining
·
Aquarius Platinum (-12%) tighter saftey standards at Sth African
mines.
·
Chemicals
·
Rhodia (-1%), Soc Gen “Sell” note.
o
*Japan shut-public holiday*
Hong Kong
• HSI
-0.79%; HSCEI -0.95%
• Stocks
fell after disappointing US earnings and US consumer confidence fell. Turnover
on the HSI fell to HK$18.43B from HK$19.28B last Friday
• Shippers
fell after report China exports will slow in 2H
• Commodities
producers fell after metal and oil prices fell at pipelines operate by a
PetroChina (857 HK) unit caused what may be the biggest oil spill in China seas
China
• SHCOMP
+2.11%; SZCOMP +2.43%
• Stocks
rose on prospect the government may increase investment in low-income housing
and boost domestic consumption to counter a global economic slowdown. Turnover
on the SHCOMP fell to 52.23B yuan from 60.89B yuan last Friday
• Stocks
rose across all sectors led by materials, consumer, tech and financials
• Real
estate +2.84%. Shanghai's sales of new home rose 33% WoW in the week ended Jul
18. The price for new homes fell 2% from a week earlier. Investors speculate
the government will ease on introducing tighter policy measures for the time
being
INVESTMENT
BANKING
o ATC
Technology enters into definitive agreement to be acquired by Genco
Distribution System (private) for $25.00 per share in cash
§ premium
of 43.4% to
§ Conference
call at 9 ET: 877.879.6201.
o BP canvassing investors on possible break up-
Sunday Times
o BP has started canvassing
shareholders about a restructuring in the wake of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill
which could include a break up of the business
o The newspaper, citing
unnamed BP insiders, said options included selling the group's refineries and
petrol stations, scaling back its U.S. operations and ramping-up in-house
engineering instead of outsourcing
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE66H07220100718
o BP-APA Apache Talks on Prudhoe Bay Stake Said to
Stall- BBG
o BP’s talks to sell half
its stake in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay oil field to Apache stalled twice over the
weekend, raising doubts about whether the deal will be completed
o Talks between BP and
Apache faltered late in the evening on July 16 before resuming Saturday. They
hit a snag again early yesterday over issues ranging from the valuation of the
deal to how current and future legal liabilities will be addressed
o Venture-Capital Investing Jumps to 2-Year High-
TheStreet.com
o Venture-capital investors
placed $6.5 billion in 906 deals in the second quarter, the most invested in startup
companies since the third quarter of 2008
o Investments jumped 34% in
dollar terms and 22% in deal count compared with the first quarter
o http://www.thestreet.com/story/10808973/1/venture-capital-investing-jumps-to-2-year-high.html
o Private equity firms still circling RSH Radioshack-
Reuters
o Private equity firms
Blackstone Group LP (BX.N), TPG Capital [TPG.UL] and Advent International are
interested
o Some potential suitors,
such as Bain Capital, were interested earlier but are no longer in the auction
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1612237420100716
o US Regulators Close Six More Banks; 2010 Total
Reaches 96- DJ
o U.S. regulators closed
six more banks in three states Friday evening as the continued weakness in the
economy and the after effects of the financial crisis continued to weigh on
smaller banks.
o The pace of failures this
year has nearly doubled that of 2009, when 140 banks were shuttered by
regulators
o BNHNA Benihana shareholders' beef- NYPOST
o Two separate sets of
Benihana Inc. shareholders yesterday fired warning shots across the bow of the
chain of Japanese steakhouses -- signaling their intent to shake up the board
of the underperforming company
o The heirs of Benihana's
colorful founder, Rocky Aoki, say they intend to seek two seats on the
three-member board amid concerns of sagging sales and a dreary stock price. New
York hedge fund Coliseum Capital Management is seeking one seat
o DWA As Niche Gets Crowded, Studio Watches Its Back-
NYT
o Currently, most
stand-alone movie outfits are openly for sale (MHM), looking for new money or angling for an
alliance (LGF). But Mr. Katzenberg insists that his company, with no debt and a
powerful track record, has all it needs to thrive
o In recent months, several
of Hollywood’s movers and shakers have privately described CMCSA Comcast’s
flirtations with making a run at DreamWorks Animation
o Asked about the talk, a
Comcast spokeswoman, Jennifer Khoury, strongly denied that any such deal had
been considered
o http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/business/media/19dreamworks.html?_r=1&ref=business
o Hynix Shares Rise on Report LG Asked to Run, Take
Over Company- BBG
o MOT Motorola nears unit sale to NOK Nokia Siemens-
Reuters
o Motorola is close to
selling most of its wireless-network equipment business to Nokia Siemens
Networks for $1.2 billion. Deal could be announces 7/19
o Nokia Siemens Network, a
joint venture of Finland's Nokia and Germany's Siemens AG, would buy Motorola's
network unit under the deal, which could be announced as early as Monday
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1813281220100718
o GOOG Google Buys Metaweb to Improve Search Results-
NYT
o Google said Friday that
in an effort to improve tricky types of search queries, it was buying Metaweb,
a San Francisco start-up that says it makes Web sites smarter
o http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/google-buys-metaweb-to-improve-search-results/
o Cheng Uei Denies Report On Talks To Sell Stake To
INTC Intel- WSJ
o Taiwan component maker
Cheng Uei Precision Industry said Monday it isn't in talks to sell a stake to Intel
as part of their business cooperation, denying a report in the local Economic
Daily News
o http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100718-704532.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
o Desmond frontrunner to buy TV channel Five- Sunday
Times
o Richard Desmond, owner of
the Daily Express newspaper and OK! magazine, is putting the finishing touches
to a 100 million pound ($153 million) deal to buy British TV channel Five
o The newspaper, without
citing sources, said Desmond had beaten rival interested parties including Time
Warner (TWX.N), Channel 4 and Endemol
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE66H07Z20100718
o Mexico's TV Televisa sells 25 pct stake in airline-
Reuters
o Mexican broadcaster
Televisa said on Friday it sold its 25 percent stake in local low-cost airline
Volaris for $81 million
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1611832220100716
o TPG, Carlyle win bid for Australian Healthscope at
$1.7 bln- Reuters
o Private equity firms TPG
and Carlyle have won a bid for Australian hospitals operator Healthscope at
$1.73 billion, topping an offer from KKR Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
o TPG and Carlyle's final
offer was A$6.26 a share, worth A$1.99 billion, or a 16 percent premium to
Healthscope's close on Friday,
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSYU01029420100718
o T AT&T Chief Sees ‘Industrial Logic’ in DTV
DirecTV Purchase- FT
o AT&T CEO Randall
Stephenson told the Financial Times there would be an “industrial logic” in his
company acquiring DirecTV even though he suspects regulators wouldn’t allow the
transaction
o Stephenson also said
AT&T wants to buy a mobile-phone business outside the U.S.
o EADS sets course for US purchases- FT
o EADS is ready to use an
€8b ($10.3b) cash war chest to make acquisitions in the US now it has weathered
the downturn and completed a restructuring of its businesses
o EADS has already been in
talks with Brazil’s Embraer and other smaller aerospace companies and said
Boeing had done the same
o http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9541cc20-92aa-11df-9142-00144feab49a.html
o MS Morgan Stanley sells $177 million Shanghai
property- SCMP
o Morgan Stanley has sold a
serviced apartment project in Pudong for 1.2b yuan ($177 million), making it
the second-largest residential deal in Shanghai so far this year
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66I09G20100719
o Reliance in talks to buy stake in KWK Quicksilver-
Reuters
o Indian energy major
Reliance Industries is in talks with Texas-based Quicksilver Resources,
including for a possible buyout of the U.S. firm that develops shale gas and
coal-bed methane
o The talks also include
buying a part stake or partnering Quicksilver for one of its major projects called
the Horn River Basin assets in British Columbia
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE66I03L20100719
o Daimler won't be split in two: trucks chief-
Reuters
o Daimler's (DAIGn.DE)
trucks boss Andreas Renschler said there are no plans to split the German
company into a passenger car maker and a truck maker
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66F2NW20100717
o AXA-NAB extend $11.5 billion takeover deal to Aug
31- Reuters
o The eight-month long deal
for domination of the $1 trillion and fast growing Australian wealth management
sector, the world's fourth-largest was blocked by the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in April.
o In a sign of how
uncertain the deal is, the three companies have extended the deadline for
implementation of the agreement -- shareholder and court approval -- to January
2011
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66H2I620100719
o Telefónica Drops Vivo Bid – WSJ
o Telefónica SA said
Saturday it wouldn't extend its €7.15 billion ($9.24 billion) offer for
Portugal Telecom SGPS SA's stake in Brazil's Vivo Participacoes SA, following an
extended bidding process.
o "Portugal Telecom's
board of directors didn't accept the bid within the timeframe and it is now
terminated,"
o http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704201604575372513096374710.html
o Portugal Telecom Shares Fall as Much as 4.1% in
Lisbon Trading- BBG
o Telefonica SA ended its
7.15 billion-euro offer for the Portuguese company’s stake in a venture that
controls Brazil’s largest wireless operator
o Portugal Telecom SGPS SA
shares fell as much as 4.1 percent in Lisbon trading
o South Korea KNOC still in takeover talks with
Dana:- Reuters
o Korea National Oil Corp
remains in talks with British oil and gas explorer Dana Petroleum on a takeover
that could potentially be worth over $2 billion
o Contrary to market rumors
KNOC had ended negotiations to acquire Dana, the KNOC source told Reuters:
"Negotiations with Dana are still progressing but no agreement has yet
emerged."
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66I0G020100719
o Brunei investor denies report of Club Med bid-
Reuters
o Brunei investment firm
BMB Group denied a Sunday Times report that it was considering a bid for Club
Med that would value the French-listed holiday company at about 800 million
euros ($1 billion).
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66H0P620100718
o Unilever unfreezes sale of Findus Italy- FT
o Unilever is expected to
announce the sale of its Italian frozen food business to Birds Eye Iglo in a
deal worth more than €800m.
o The purchase of Findus
Italy, which makes frozen Italian dishes such as carbonara and bolognese, is
being financed with about €500m of debt. Permira, which bought Birds Eye from
Unilever for €1.7bn four years ago, is providing €300m of equity
o http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/acc7b68a-92b8-11df-9142-00144feab49a.html
o Manila's San Miguel gets four bids for Pure Foods-
Reuters
o Philippine conglomerate
San Miguel Corp received four bids last week for the stake it is selling in
subsidiary San Miguel Pure Foods Co Inc
o Ramon Ang, also director
of Pure Foods, did not name the bidders nor give the value of the bids. But a
local newspaper said on Monday that San Miguel and its financial adviser JP
Morgan had valued Pure Foods' total capital stock at $1.3 billion
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE66I02420100719
o GDF Suez in fresh tie-up talks with Intl Power-
Reuters
o France's GDF Suez and
Britain's International Power have revived tie-up talks as GDF Suez seeks to
bolster its power production clout in emerging markets
o The deal would see GDF
transfer some of its non-European assets into International Power, which is
focused on the fast-growing markets of Asia, Australia and the Middle East, in
exchange for a majority stake
o http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE66I07L20100719
o International Power talks to test coalition stance
on foreign takeovers- The Guardian
o Under the terms of the
deal being discussed, GDF would become a majority shareholder in International
Power, which runs six power plants in Britain and produces electricity for more
than 4m households.
o Both companies would
merge their international operations outside Europe as well as certain assets
in the UK and Turkey to create an enlarged International Power that would be
listed on the LSE – a reverse takeover of International Power
o Australian Sigma gets bids for two drug arms-
Reuters
o Australia's Sigma
Pharmaceuticals has received three bids for its Herron drugs arm and three bids
for its Orphan Australia drugs business, as it seeks an improved bid from South
Africa's Aspen Pharmacare
o The company is battling
to pay off A$100 million in debt by March under pressure from its lenders after
it broke its loan covenants
o
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE66I08M20100719
o
Etisalat close to
buying 26 pct in Reliance Comm- FT
o
The two groups are also considering merging Reliance, India's No. 2
mobile operator, with Swan Telecom, the Indian company in which Etisalat holds
a 45% stake
o
An alliance between the two groups could be completed as soon as
mid-August
o
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66I0J120100719
o
Greece to seek
advisors for possible bank sale- Reuters
o
Greece's finance minister said on Saturday he would appoint consultants
to advise him on the possible sale of state-run lenders ATEbank, and Hellenic
Postbank to private Piraeus Bank
o
"We have encouraged strategic moves in the banking sector,"
Papaconstantinou said. "But let's make clear that Piraeus's offer to the
government was its own initiative. It did not follow any invitation on our
part."
o
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66G11120100717
o
Tomkins gets $4.5
billion Canadian bid approach- Reuters
o
British engineering company Tomkins has received a bid approach from a
Canadian consortium which values it at close to 2.9 billion pounds ($4.45
billion) and has opened its books to the suitors
o Tomkins saidDue diligence
was at an advanced stage, and that the
bidders reserved the right to reduce their offer price in the event that the
company's board agrees.
o
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66I10220100719
o
China's Bright
Dairy invests in NZ's Synlait- Reuters
o
China's Bright Dairy & Food is investing $58m in New Zealand milk
producer Synlait, which will use the money to lift exports of milk powder and
infant formula to China
o
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66I02320100719
o
Candover takeover
talks collapse as suitor walks away- The Independent
o
Talks to buy Candover have collapsed after its Canadian suitor failed
to agree terms with the private equity group's bondholders.
o
While the London-listed buyout group has never released the name of the
interested party, it is understood to have been in talks with the $70bn
Canadian pension fund Albert Investment Management Corporation (Aimco) since
April
$ RAISING
o Surge in private equity IPOs yields limited
returns- FT
§ A surge in initial public
offerings by private equity-owned companies this year has produced only limited
profits for investors, with many US buy-out-backed listings leaving
shareholders facing losses
§ The study by Ernst & Young, the consultancy, analysed 62 private equity-backed IPOs that
took place in the first half of 2010. It found Asia-based listings came top in
terms of performance, followed by Europe and then north and South America
§ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/96f21ea2-929c-11df-9142-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss
o Kinder Morgan readying to go public- Reuters
§ It was unclear whether
Houston-based Kinder Morgan, backed by Carlyle Group and Goldman Sachs Group’s
(GS.N) buyout fund, has already hired banks to handle the share sale
§ If Kinder Morgan does go
public, it would be the latest in a string of companies controlled by private
equity firms to do so
§ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66G19J20100717
o Essar mulling IPO of stake in VOD Vodafone Essar-
Reuters
§ Indian steel-to-shipping
conglomerate Essar Group has been in talks with banks to explore options,
including an initial public offering, for its stake in its Indian telecoms
venture with Britain's Vodafone
§ Essar holds a 33 percent
stake in Vodafone Essar, India's No. 3 mobile firm
§ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66G0JU20100717
o Deutsche Bahn IPO not on agenda: transport
minister- Reuters
§ First, the company needs
to focus on improving quality, security, cleanliness, punctuality and
reliability of its trains, Ramsauer said
§ A stock market listing of
Deutsche Bahn was shelved in 2008 due to weak markets. CEO Ruediger Grube said
in March the group still intended to pursue a partial flotation but would only
do so when it was sure it could get appropriate value for the stake
§ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66G0QI20100717
o Green Dot IPO gets valentine from Congress- Reuters
§ Green Dot Corp (GDOT.N),
a prepaid debit card company, could see strong demand for its initial public
offering next week because of the financial reform bill, which exempted prepaid
cards from its harshest restrictions
§ Green Dot is the top
player in the prepaid debit card industry, and hopes to raise about $128.98
million in its IPO
§ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66F63220100716
o RLD RealD, QLIK Qlik rally 20% on IPO debuts-
Reuters
§ Shares in RealD, whose 3D
technology was used to help make the movie "Avatar", opened more than
22 percent above their initial public offering price on Friday and shares of
business software maker Qlik Technologies opened 20 percent higher
§ Some analysts warn that
costs and competition still make these companies speculative investments, prone
to volatility.
§ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66F41E20100716
o EPOC Epocrates refiles S1 for $75M IPO thorugh
JPMorgan and Piper Jaffray- DJ
§ The company, which
provides drug reference tools to health-care providers on mobile devices,
expects its shares to be traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol
EPOC
o Ex-Pru CEO Tucker named AIA boss ahead of IPO-
Reuters
§ Bailed-out insurer AIG
named former Prudential plc Chief Executive Mark Tucker as head of its Asia
life insurance business, AIA, and said it would seek to list AIA on the Hong
Kong stock exchange
§ Tucker, who is an old
Asia hand, was the chief executive of Prudential Corporation Asia for a decade
to 2003. In this role, he propelled Prudential's rapid growth across Asia and
established a strong regional presence
§ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66H1RS20100719
o NetSpend Sets IPO as Competition in Prepaid Space
Heats Up- American Banker
§ NetSpend joins Green Dot
as the second prepaid card company planning to go public this year, potentially
setting valuation benchmarks for this maturing market
§ http://www.americanbanker.com/news/netspend-1022425-1.html
PRICINGS
o Initial
Offerings
o
CIS Camelot Information Systems
13.3m share IPO expected to price 7/20 via GS and Barclays: Price Talk $11-13
o
GDOT Gren Dot 3.9m
share IPO expected to price 7/21 via JPM and MS: Price Talk $32-35
o
SRGV Surgivision 2.5m
share IPO expected to price wk of 7/19 via Rodman & Renshaw: Price Talk
$13-14
o Secondary
Offerings
o
No offerings still on the schedule for this
week
NEWS
o
Harbinger Seeks To
Raise $400M In Debt For Wireless Venture- WSJ
§ Hedge fund manager Philip
Falcone is trying to lure in debt investors for his planned high-speed wireless
network, in a bid to keep the audacious project moving forward
o
AMI's new debt
swap- NYPOST
§ American Media, Inc. CEO
David Pecker goes on the road tomorrow to sell the company's second major
restructuring in 18 month to bankers and bondholders
§ Under terms of the new
debt-for-equity swap now before bondholders, the current debt of $850 million
is expected to drop to around $600 million
o
Energy: VNR Vanguard Natural Resources files $800M mixed shelf
o
Energy: GPOR Gulfport Energy files $100M mixed
shelf; also registers 16.2M shares for holders
o
Energy: CLR Continental Resources files mixed
shelf of indeterminate size
o
Tech: SCLD SteelCloud withdraws offering
o
Tech: RZ Raser Technologies to offer $750K in shares to War Chest Capital
at $0.449 per share- SA
CONFERENCES
Monday July 19:
o
AGORA FINANCIAL LLC Investment Symposium- Jul
19, 2010 - Jul 23, 2010
o
BNP Media Casino Marketing Conference - Jul
19, 2010 - Jul 21, 2010
o
Infocast Waste to Energy Finance &
Investment Summit - Jul 19, 2010 - Jul 21, 2010
o
Terrapinn Banking Outlook Conference - Jul
19, 2010 - Jul 23, 2010
COMPANY MEETINGS/OTHER DAILY EVENTS
o
Monday July 19:
o
Shareholder Meeetings
§
MSFT, CCBP
o
Markets are closed in Japan.
o
The International Air Show begins in
Farnborough, England.
ECONOMICS
·
Monday July 19:
o
1300 NAHB Housing Market Index
EARNINGS
o Materials
·
Monday July 19: STLD
o Industrials/Homebuilders
·
Monday July 19: CCK, PKG
o Consumer/Retail/Education
·
Monday July 19: HAS, EDU, TUP
o Financials
·
Monday July 19: BRO, RLI, STBA, ZION, FDEF,
BMRC, WFSL, VCBI, FTBK
o Tech/Telecom
·
Monday July 19: IBM, RLRN, ATHR, AZPN, DRAM,
PETS, TXN
o Healthcare
·
Monday July 19: LNCR, ICUI
o Media
·
Monday July 19: IDC
o Energy
·
Monday July 19: HAL, MMR, ALME, EPL, NE
o Transportation
·
Monday July 19: DAL
***All eco data from Bloomberg and DJ
Prepared
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investment decision, should not be considered a recommendation by Cantor or any
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