Greece will do 'whatever it can' to reach deal with EU (
Reuters)
ECB Urges Greek Political Deal as Emergency Cash Is Tight (
BBG)
Fighting rages in run-up to Ukraine ceasefire (
Reuters)
Eurozone GDP Picks Up, Thanks to Germany (
WSJ)
Two J. P. Morgan Executives Connected to Asia Hiring Probe
Pushed Out (
WSJ)
Putin's High Tolerance for Pain and Europe's Reluctance to
Inflict It (
BBG)
Indigestion Hits Top U.S. Food Firms (
WSJ)
Alibaba's Jack Ma seeks to reassure employees over U.S.
lawsuits (
Reuters)
China Credit Growth Accelerates in Boost to Economic Outlook (
BBG)
AmEx-Costco Divorce Shakes Up Card Industry (
WSJ)
Obama Order Will Help Firms Get U.S. Cyberthreat Data (
WSJ)
Anglo Writes Down $3.9 Billion of Assets as Prices Fall (
BBG)
Canberra, We Need to Talk About Debt (
BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* The leaders of France and Germany warned there was still much
to do to ensure a Ukraine cease-fire deal doesn't fall apart. (
http://on.wsj.com/1zON7M9)
* President Barack Obama on Friday will sign an executive order
that aims to make it easier for the government to share classified
cyberthreat information with companies, an effort designed to spur
collaboration and deter hackers, the White House said. (
http://on.wsj.com/1zQwUWP)
* American Express and Costco Wholesale are ending their 16-year
relationship, a surprise move that pummeled AmEx's stock price and
will trigger a major upheaval in the card industry. (
http://on.wsj.com/1KS14uv)
* Expedia and Orbitz Worldwide, which squeezed agents out of the
travel business, agreed to merge Thursday as they struggle to hang
onto the middle of a market that is now squeezing them. (
http://on.wsj.com/1DLTT71)
* Dish Network's race for wireless licenses in the government's
most recent auction involved a handful of allied bidders and an
aggressive strategy that surprised its rivals and may have helped
drive prices higher. (
http://on.wsj.com/1zQBbt6)
* General Motors Co is weighing the potential impact on its
investment grade credit rating of a large stock repurchase proposed
by activist investor Harry Wilson and four hedge funds. (
http://on.wsj.com/1CnaqKe)
FT
BT Group Plc has raised 1 billion pounds ($1.54 billion) through
a share sale to fund its acquisition of EE, UK's largest mobile
operator. The company offered 222 million shares at a price of 4.55
pounds.
Online property portal Zoopla said the number of real estate
agents advertising on its site fell by 11 percent due to the launch
of a rival website called OntheMarket. The company said a total of
16,967 agents advertised on Zoopla compared with 18,999 last
year.
Bankers accused of wrongdoing may see their bonuses and fixed
pay being clawed back, even if the offence took place 10 years ago.
Ed Balls, shadow chancellor, will unveil on Friday, new reforms
that will see the proposed clawback period being extended from
seven to 10 years.
Irene Dorner, a prominent banker who retired from HSBC last
year, will join the board of Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc as a
non-executive director. Dorner will replace John Neill, chairman of
Unipart, who has been a non-executive member since 2008.
NYT
* U.S. President Obama will meet the nation's top technologists
on a host of cyber security issues and the threats posed by
increasingly sophisticated hackers. (
http://nyti.ms/1zbTRQk)
* A private investigator in New York is expected to plead guilty
to charges of paying a so-called hacker-for-hire firm to steal
email passwords and credentials, said three people briefed on the
matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no charges
had been filed yet. The guilty plea would wrap up a nearly yearlong
investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal
prosecutors in New York. (
http://nyti.ms/1zQD8FZ)
* The number of recalled vehicles in 2014 exceeded the total for
the previous three years combined. According to the automakers,
Honda Motor Co Ltd recalled about 8.9 million vehicles last year,
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recalled about 8.8 million, Toyota Motor
Corp recalled about 6 million and Ford recalled almost 4.9 million.
(
http://nyti.ms/1yuq2cv)
* Trinity Industries turned to state attorneys general in an
attempt to refute claims that its system has a deadly design flaw.
The appeals are the latest example of how this once low-profile
company has mounted an increasingly aggressive lobbying campaign in
recent years as concerns over its guardrails have grown. (
http://nyti.ms/1ClwuqR)
* Universal has quietly put together a 2015 slate that brings an
echo of the studio's 1980s glory days, one that analysts say could
make Universal the year's No. 1 studio, at least by ticket sales. (
http://nyti.ms/1MibGpU)
* After retrieving a laptop in a strike on a Qaeda leader,
American and Afghan commandos increased secret night raids on
militants, even as the United States has declared the Afghanistan
war essentially over. (
http://nyti.ms/1ClJc6E)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Bombardier announced sweeping changes on Thursday that are
designed to calm mounting concerns over its future. The company
said Pierre Beaudoin would step down as chief executive to become
executive chairman. Bombardier also said it would scrap its
dividend, raise $600 million in shares and up to C$1.5 billion
($1.20 billion) in debt. (
http://bit.ly/1KRuYAQ)
** Sun News Network, which was launched in 2011, will go off the
air on Friday morning. The channel suffered from heavy financial
losses due to low ratings and lost C$46.7 million over one
three-year span. The closing will mean the loss of 150 full-time
jobs and affect about 200 employees and contributors. (
http://bit.ly/1DLtIgB)
** A Canadian journalist imprisoned for more than a year has
been released on bail, but there is no guarantee Mohamed Fahmy's
freedom will be long-lived. A Cairo courtroom erupted in applause
on Thursday when a judge said Fahmy, the local bureau chief for Al
Jazeera's English network, could be let go until the next court
hearing after the payment of about C$41,000. (
http://bit.ly/1EeYBYJ)
NATIONAL POST
** Home prices in Canada's oil capitals will suffer a correction
this year as plunging oil prices turn the nation's housing market
upside-down, say TD economists. Prices are on track to fall as much
as 10 percent in Calgary, Edmonton and St. John's Newfoundland over
2015 and into 2016 as the collapsing oil industry hits growth,
incomes and employment. (
http://bit.ly/1KP1Nys)
** A young British Columbia man who claims his life was ruined
by gossip about a false rape claim has won the right to sue his
accuser for defamation, in a rare case of a sexual-assault
complainant being held legally liable for her statement to police.
(
http://bit.ly/1vHSTPY)
** The federal government will appeal a court ruling allowing a
Muslim woman to wear a niqab while taking the oath of citizenship
because it is "offensive" to shield your face at the moment you are
being sworn in, the Canadian prime minister said on Thursday. (
http://bit.ly/1J7AAJO)
China
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
- Promoting stability and development are the keys to achieving
economic and social development, the Political Bureau of the
Communist Party of China Central Committee said on Thursday.
- China's investor confidence index hit 67.7 percent in January,
jumping 44.7 percent from a year earlier, China Securities
Investors Protection Fund Ltd said in a report.
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
- China's insurance sector had 140 trillion yuan ($22.42
trillion) in assets at the end of 2014, up 28.5 percent from the
previous year, the country's insurance regulator said. Sixty-eight
firms had a solvency ratio above 150 percent.
SHANGHAI DAILY
- Shanghai authorities have urged firms that manufacture or
process meat and dairy products to install surveillance cameras in
the factory following a food safety scandal at a supplier to fast
food firms such as McDonald's and Yum Brands .
CHINA DAILY
- Jiamei Medical Group, China's largest privately-owned chain of
dental clinics, plans to use a backdoor listing to go public in
2015, said Liu Jia, the company's chief executive.
Britain
The Times
Families will feel richer this year than they have for more than
a decade as spending power soars, the Bank of England declared.
Signalling an abrupt end to the six-year decline in living
standards, Governor Mark Carney predicted that households'
disposable income would rise at its fastest rate since 2001. (
http://thetim.es/1CmsRys)
Everyone avoids tax, a major Tory donor declared as he backed
down in his high-stakes row with Ed Miliband. Lord Fink, a former
Conservative party treasurer, retracted a threat to sue the Labour
leader over accusations that he avoided tax after admitting to
"vanilla" measures to reduce his liability while living in
Switzerland. (
http://thetim.es/1AtrOAd)
The Guardian
The extension of emergency funding to the Greek finance sector
by the euro zone's central bankers lifted the euro and gave
Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, a stronger hand before
meetings with senior officials at the leaders summit in Brussels. (
http://bit.ly/170Bm9y)
British household spending power fell in the first three years
of the coalition government despite millions of people being taken
out of the lowest income tax band, according to a report by the
Office for National Statistics. (
http://bit.ly/1voRxDU)
The Telegraph
David Cameron has told Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister,
that he must make peace with Germany and the euro zone or risk
damaging Britain's economic recovery. (
http://bit.ly/1J5x7vf)
Ryanair's battle to keep its stake in Aer Lingus Group Plc
suffered its ninth consecutive court defeat after the Court of
Appeal supported an earlier ruling that the airline must slash its
stake in its Irish rival. (
http://bit.ly/1CkDJPV)
Sky News
Herve Falciani, the man who exposed a tax scandal at HSBC
Holdings Plc by leaking thousands of account details from a Geneva
branch, says he first raised concerns about suspect practices at
the bank seven years ago. (
http://bit.ly/1zQ5f8q)
Ministers are poised to ignite a new row over energy prices by
launching a multi-million pound taxpayer-funded advertising splurge
less than three months before the General Election. (
http://bit.ly/1F3G0CC)
The Independent
The International Monetary Fund has granted Ukraine a new $17.5
billion bailout deal to help support economic reforms. (
http://ind.pn/1AgXOZR)
Telecom giant BT Group Plc has raised 1 billion pounds ($1.54
billion) from investors to help fund its 12.5 billion pounds
takeover of EE. (
http://ind.pn/1uJKbQq)
Fly On The Wall Pre-market Buzz
ECONOMIC REPORTS
Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Import price index for January at 8:30--consensus down 3.2%
U. of Michigan consumer sentiment index for February at
10:00--consensus 98.1
Baker Hughes rig count for week of February 13 at
13:00--prior 1456
ANALYST RESEARCH
Upgrades
Ascena Retail (ASNA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc
Cytokinetics (CYTK) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at
Piper Jaffray
Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) upgraded to Market Perform from
Underperform at Wells Fargo
Elizabeth Arden (RDEN) upgraded to Outperform from Market
Perform at BMO Capital
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) upgraded to Buy from Sell at UBS
Mallinckrodt (MNK) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at
JPMorgan
Medical Properties upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform
at RBC Capital
Orbitz (OWW) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman
Stage Stores (SSI) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne
Agee
Valero (VLO) upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at
Goldman
Downgrades
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) downgraded to Underperform from
Neutral at Credit Suisse
BorgWarner (BWA) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Cenovus Energy (CVE) downgraded to Sector Perform from
Outperform at RBC Capital
Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at
Gabelli
Gap (GPS) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit
Suisse
Gold Fields (GFI) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at
HSBC
InterXion (INXN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup
Knowles (KN) downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform
at FBR Capital
Natural Resource Partners (NRP) downgraded to Market Perform
at Wells Fargo
Northeast Utilities (NU) downgraded to Neutral from
Outperform at Credit Suisse
Pentair (PNR) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at
JPMorgan
Rio Tinto (RIO) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at
Credit Suisse
Salix (SLXP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sterne Agee
Scripps Networks (SNI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at MKM
Partners
Sun Life Financial (SLF) downgraded to Market Perform from
Outperform at BMO Capital
TNT Express (TNTEY) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at
JPMorgan
Tesoro (TSO) downgraded to Neutral from Conviction Buy at
Goldman
Tesoro (TSO) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at
RBC Capital
Total (TOT) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS
Waste Management (WM) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel
Zoetis (ZTS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at
JPMorgan
Initiations
Identiv (INVE) initiated with an Outperform at Imperial Capital
Spirit Airlines (SAVE) initiated with an Outperform at Credit
Suisse
WPX Energy (WPX) initiated with an Outperform at Raymond
James
COMPANY NEWS
AIG (AIG) authorized repurchase of up $2.5B of common stock
Kraft Foods (KRFT) said George Zoghbi, currently Vice
Chairman, Operations, R&D, Sales and Strategy, has been named
COO. The company also announced that Chris Kempczinski, who
currently leads Kraft's Canada business unit, will assume an
expanded role as Executive VP of Growth Initiatives and President
of International
Nike (NKE) said Donald Blair to retire as CFO, Andrew Campion
to succeed
ConAgra (CAG) announced Sean Connolly as new CEO
King Digital (KING) announced special dividend of 94c per
share, forecast Q1 gross bookings $575M-$600M
EARNINGS
Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last
night and today include:
WABCO (WBC), Calpine (CPN), Rocky Brands (rcky), Portland
General Electric (POR), MobileIron (MOBL), j2 Global (JCOM), Tangoe
(TNGO), Vocera (VCRA), Newpark Resources (NR), World Fuel Services
(INT), Mattson (MTSN), Ellie Mae (ELLI), Cognex (CGNX), Blucora
(BCOR), LogMeln (LOGM), Republic Services (RSG), New Relic (NEWR),
Bright Horizons (BFAM), Cinedigm (CIDM), Shutterstock (SSTK),
Web.com (WWWW), Boyd Gaming (BYD), King Digital (KING), PROS (PRO),
CyberArk (CYBR), Radiant Logistics (RLGT), Qlik Technologies
(QLIK), Regal Entertainment (RGC), Shutterfly (SFLY), Rubicon
(RBCN), Alnylam (ALNY), DaVita (DVA), Groupon (GRPN), Guidance
Software (GUID), CBS (CBS), Columbia Sportswear (COLM), American
Equity (AEL)
Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
Energen (EGN), Liberty Global (LBTYA), Mercer (MERC),
Assurant (AIZ), MoneyGram (MGI), Ironwood (IRWD), S&W Seed
(SANW), PCM, Inc. (PCMI), EMCORE (EMKR), AIG (AIG), Biodel
(BIOD)
Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Profire Energy (PFIE), Intermolecular (IMI), Hawaiian
Electric (HE), InnerWorkings (INWK), SS&C (SSNC), WageWorks
(WAGE), Zynga (ZNGA)
Campbell Soup (CPB) sees Q2 EPS 65c-66c, consensus 68c. The
company also lowered FY15 EPS outlook to $2.32-$2.38, consensus
$2.45
ConAgra (CAG) sees Q3 EPS 10c below 62c earned last year,
consensus 61c, sees 2015 EPS $2.13-$2.18, consensus $2.26
NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES
Yahoo (YHOO) expected to cut up to 200 employees, primarily
in Canada, WSJ reports
Shire (SHPG) takes initial steps towards Salix (SLXP) bid,
Reuters says
JPMorgan (JPM) Asia investment bank Vice Chairman steps down,
Financial Times says
GM (GM) worried about impact to credit rating by proposed
buyback, WSJ reports
Sumitomo Mitsui (SMFG) may look to buy Citi's (C) credit card
unit in Japan, Nikkei says
SYNDICATE
EyeGate (EYEG) 683K share IPO priced at $6.00
Groupon (GRPN) files to sell common stock for shareholders,
no amount given
Northern Dynasty (NAK) files to sell 18.8M shares for selling
stockholders
Rice Energy (RICE) files to sell 60.4M shares of common stock
for holders
