logo-loader

EUROPEAN EQUITY OPENING HEADLINES INCLUDING: Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment could be subject to a takeover bid from the US

Last updated: 09:38 11 Sep 2012 BST, First published: 08:38 11 Sep 2012 BST

no_picture_pai

Asia

Nikkei share average closed lower by 0.7% as uncertainty shook confidence ahead of the key European risk events due later in the week, aswell as the FOMC rate decision on Thursday. Panasonic were one of the poorer performers, after being cut by Moody's, and Toyota underperformed after Japanese vehicle sales to China slowed amid political tensions between the countries. (RANsquawk)

Best Performing Sectors in the Nikkei 225: Consumer Services (+0.14%), Health Care (-0.04%), Telecommunications (-0.17%)

Best Performing Stocks in the Nikkei 225: Unitika Ltd (+5.26%), Nisshin Steel Co (+5.00%), Sharp Corp (+2.97%)

Worst Performing Sectors in the Nikkei 225: Oil & Gas (-1.44%), Financials (-1.29%), Industrials (-1.22%)

Worst Performing Stocks in the Nikkei 225: Sumco Corp (-7.40%), Toyobo Co (-4.60%), Shinsei Bank Ltd (-4.26%)

FTSE

Glencore/Xstrata - Qatar Holding have said they have made no decision as yet on the revised proposal issued by Glencore yesterday. Qatar Holding added that they will make a decision in due course after giving careful consideration to the implications. (Newswires) 

UK Banks - Moody's have said the UK banking system's outlook remains negative due to uncertain economic prospects and downside risks for asset-quality. The agency added that UK banks still suffer from pressure on profitability due to net interest margin pressure. (Newswires)

Barclays - Co. is planning to cut back its tax structuring business as part of a drive to improve the Co.'s reputation, bolster profits and reduce costs. (FT-More)

BHP Billiton - Co. has said it is to review the impact of Queensland's coal royalties, adding that the Co. is disappointed in the royalty's jump. (Newswires)

Vedanta Resources – The state of Goa in India has ordered a temporary suspension of all iron ore mines in the state effective today, and will not allow mines to resume until they have been inspected, according to a government statement. Elsewhere, the Co. have submitted enhanced offers for the Government of India's residual holding in Balco and Hindustan Zinc at USD 550mln and USD 3.3bln respectively, according to unidentified sources. (Financial Express/Newswires)

Burberry - Co. have said they see FY adjusted pretax at the lower-end of market expectations, with Q2 retail sales growth at constant FX of 6%. (Newswires) 

Ashmore - Co. reported annual revenue of GBP 333mln, with pretax profit of GBP 243.2mln. Co. added FY basic EPS at GBP 0.268 with a final dividend of GBP 0.1075 and AUM of USD 63.7bln. Co. sees strong growth in assets from emerging market clients. (Newswires) 

OTHER UK COMPANIES

IG Group - Co. reported Q1 revenues in line with expectations at GBP 81.5mln, down 18% on the prior year. Co. said Q1 performance was reasonably consistent, however continues to face tough comparatives. Co. concluded that revenue this year is to be weighted towards the second half, and is well positioned for further growth. (Newswires) 

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment - Co. could be subject to a takeover bid from the US, with both Microsoft and Google among the names tipped in the bidding process. (Daily Mail)

Companies paying dividend: Fresnillo (USD 0.1722)

DAX

Siemens - Co. has issued EUR 2.7bln in bonds at the lowest interest rates ever obtained on the European bond market. The bond issuance will be used to fund the Co.'s share buyback program. Co. intends to repurchase EUR 3bln in shares by the end of 2012, and has conducted EUR 1.1bln of buybacks so far. (Newswires) 

Bayer - Co. has said their Regorafenib cancer drug has been given fast-track status by Japanese regulators. (Newswires)

Deutsche Bank - Co. are to unveil their latest operational strategy today at 1000BST/0400CDT. (Newswires)

ThyssenKrupp - Co. have said the sale of their Steel Europe's construction activities to Kingspan have closed. (Newswires) 

CAC

Sanofi - The Lancet's clinical study results for the Co.'s Dengue Fever vaccine have shown the efficacy at 61.2% against virus type 1, 81.9% against virus type 3, 90% against virus type 4 and ineffective against virus type 2. Co. has said the analysis is ongoing in order to understand the lack of protection against virus type 2. (Newswires)

EADS - Austrian Airlines is to add seven of the co.’s Airbus A320 aircraft. Elsewhere, Airbus' chief Bregier has said Airbus will have trouble achieving the sales target for its A380 superjumbo due to wing crack issues. The unit's sales target stands at 30. (Newswires) 

L'Oreal - Co. is planning to open a 100% owned unit in Myanmar in 2013, and is awaiting the signing of a decree by Myanmar's President, according to unsourced reports. Elsewhere, Co. is seeking to boost sales in India by a factor of 4 to EUR 1bln by 2020 as the Co. expands capacity in Mumbai and Bangalore. (Le Figaro/Les Echos)

French Companies - The French government is considering cutting payroll taxation paid by companies if they increase their levels of investment, according to sources close to the matter. The tax cuts would be partly funded by an increase in CSG tax (social contribution tax). (Le Figaro)

Pan-European

Intesa Sanpaolo – Co.’s CEO said the co.’s private equity division, IMI Fondi Chiusi, could be among the first assets to be sold in case the co. needs to increase its capital reserves. (Newswires)

Dutch Pension Funds - The Dutch Actuarial Association has raised its life expectancy forecast, which could raise pension funds' obligations by 1%, and lower their coverage ratio by 1%. (Newswires) 

Philips - Co. has said it plans to cut an additional 2,200 jobs, increasing planned savings to EUR 1.1bln from EUR 800mln as part of the Co.'s Accelerate! program. (Newswires)

Nokia Siemens Networks - Co. is expecting to attain second place in the sector's global market for the FY 2013, displacing Huawei Technologies, according to a Co. executive. (Newswires) 

Dexia - Co. is planning to ask Brussels for a four-month extension to its temporary state guarantee worth EUR 55bln, which is currently supposed to run until 30th September. (Newswires) 

Finmeccanica - Avio's main shareholders, of which the Co. holds 14%, are to meet today to discuss Avio's IPO. An agreement was reached in May, and 25% of Avio is to be placed up for sale, with state-owned FSI to buy 15% of the company. (Newswires) 

Enagas - A group of banks are selling a 5% stake in the Co. as part of a private placement for Sagane Inversiones. (Newswires)

H&M - Co. has held joint venture talks with three fashion chains in India in order to break into the country's market, according to sources. A Co. representative declined to comment. (Business Standard)

DNO International - Co. have announced that their Benenan-3 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq has encountered movable oil in the Bekhme formation at a depth of around 2,000 metres. (Newswires)

SMI

Transocean - Co. is in discussions with the US Department of Justice to pay USD 1.5bln to resolve crIMInal and civil claims related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, according to a Co. statement. The payment could be transferred over a number of years. (Newswires)

Actelion - Co. has implemented a cost-savings initiative announced in July and have reduced the maximum number of redundancies to 40, down from the expected 70 at their headquarters. Co. added that the initiative will result in a restructuring charge that will be booked in Q3 2012, but will not be included in their core earnings. (Newswires) 

Broker Recommendations

BURBERRY CUT TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT NOMURA

UK PHARMACEUTICALS CUT TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT UBS

EUROPEAN PHARMACEUTICALS CUT TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT AT UBS

EUROPEAN BANKS RAISED TO NEUTRAL AT Morgan Stanley

EUROPEAN UTILITIES RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT AT Morgan Stanley

UNICREDIT DOWNGRADED TO HOLD FROM BUY AT SOCGEN

INTESA SANPAOLO CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT Barclays

MONTE PASCHI CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT Barclays

ING CUT TO NEUTRAL VS OUTPERFORM AT MACQUARIE

ZURICH RAISED TO BUY AT CANACCORD

US

US equities finished in the red yesterday, nine out of ten sectors finishing in negative territory with Technology stocks the worst performing. Intel (-3.9%) were the worst performing DJIA stock as weakness continued in the name after they cut their forecast on Friday. Telecommunication stocks Verizon (+1.1%) and Sprint (+2.6%) were two bright spots, as the firms proved resilient to the broader market weakness, as Nomura upgraded both the stocks in a pre-market broker move. Finally, the DJIA finished down 0.40% at 13253.91, the S&P 500 finished down 0.61% at 1429.11 and the Nasdaq 100 finished down 1.30% at 2788.35. (RANsquawk)

Best Performing Sectors in the S&P 500:Telecommunications (+0.45%) Utilities (-0.19%) Consumer Goods (-0.23%)

Worst Performing Sectors in the S&P 500: Technology (-1.44%) Financials (-0.86%) Industrials (-0.64%)

AIG - The US Treasury have said it is to sell USD 18bln in Co.'s shares at USD 32.50 per share, making the government a minority shareholder for the first time since it bailed out the Co. in September 2008. (Newswires) Of note, Co.'s shares closed yesterday at USD 33.30. 

Morgan Stanley - Co.'s Smith Barney unit has been valued at below USD 15bln by Perella Weinberg consultants with sources close to the matter saying the estimate is nearer to USD 9bln originally put forward by Morgan Stanley. (New York Times) 

You can now follow real-time news headlines on the move with the new RANsquawk app available to download for free at ransquawk.com/mobile_app for Apple iPhone, Blackberry and Android users.

Caledonia Mining tackles 2023 challenges with optimism for 2024 as it...

Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM:CMCL, NYSE-A:CMCL) chief executive Mark Learmonth tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion the company faced a challenging 2023, primarily due to poor production in the first half of the year at its core asset, the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, and an underperformance...

3 minutes ago