- Apple CEO Cook Goes From Record Sales to IPhone Stumbles (BBG)
- Deal With Saudis Paved Way for Syrian Airstrikes (WSJ)
- Drone delivery: DHL ‘parcelcopter’ flies to German isle (Reuters)
- Tory Burch Hires Ralph Lauren Veteran as Co-CEO (WSJ)
- Apple releases iOS 8 workaround to fix dropped cell service (Reuters)
- Ukraine Probes Ex-Minister Over $3 Billion Russian Bond (BBG)
- Goldman Sachs-Led Group Near Deal to Buy Messaging Startup Perzo (WSJ)
- U.K. Seeks to Criminalize Manipulation of 7 Benchmarks (BBG)
- New ‘Bash’ software bug may pose bigger threat than ‘Heartbleed’ (Reuters)
- Ukraine Urges No Russia Sanctions End Until Land Regained (BBG)
- Larry Ellison Boosts Oracle Credit Line to $9.9 Billion (BBG)
- Islamist fighters advance in Syria despite U.S. strikes (Reuters)
- Rothschild Makes Comeback With London Cab App to Rival Uber (BBG)
- Rosneft may back out of Morgan Stanley oil unit deal (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* Chinese leaders are discussing replacing the central bank chief, Zhou Xiaochuan, amid disagreements over the direction of financial policy, raising questions over how quickly and deeply Beijing wants to remake the economy amid slowing growth. (http://on.wsj.com/1pdYzrM)
* Tory Burch, the maker of logo-emblazoned bags and ballet flats, has hired Ralph Lauren veteran Roger Farah as co-CEO to help build the billion-dollar apparel and accessories business into a global fashion empire. (http://on.wsj.com/1rnvjDE)
* Wall Street firms led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc are close to acquiring messaging startup Perzo Inc to create an instant-messaging service to rival that of Bloomberg LP. (http://on.wsj.com/1uoR2xc)
* Comcast Corp and Time Warner Cable Inc fired back at critics of their proposed $45 billion merger, accusing them of engaging in “extortion” to extract business concessions and win their support for the deal. In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission late Tuesday night, the companies took shots at streaming-video juggernaut Netflix Inc, cable channel-owner Discovery Communications Inc and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, among others. (http://on.wsj.com/1yrK5hJ)
* European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has again said the ECB could use additional unconventional policy measures if it felt that its inflation target was under threat. (http://on.wsj.com/1CkUkTv)
* General Motors Co continued dribbling out details of its revival plan for the struggling Cadillac luxury brand on Wednesday, saying it will begin renaming the lineup’s vehicles after the launch of a new large sedan called the CT6 next year. (http://on.wsj.com/Ze3fZ3)
* Two of China’s biggest state-run lenders are encouraging their branches to step up mortgage lending as the country’s property market continues to slump. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd said Thursday that it would step up lending to the housing sector with a priority toward demand from home buyers. (http://on.wsj.com/1mX5Lxd)
* Federal security agencies warned retailers on Wednesday that a previously unseen malicious software program they are calling Mozart was used in the attack on Home Depot earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said. (http://on.wsj.com/1u0yu52)
FT
A High Court judge has found that Barclays Plc “misused” confidential deal information in its acquisition of Tricorona for which the British bank was sued by financial advisory firm CF Partners in a 82 million pound ($133.82 million) lawsuit.
Cookies and snacks maker United Biscuits Ltd <IPO-UNI.L> has shortlisted three potential buyers including Kellogg Co, while its private equity owners Blackstone LP and PAI Partners consider a deal that could value the snacks maker at about 2 billion pounds, people close to the matter said.
German ecommerce investor Rocket Internet said its planned 1.5 billion euro ($1.92 billion) initial public offering is already fully subscribed. The company set a price range on Tuesday of 35.50 to 42.50 euros, valuing the business at 6.2 billion euros at the midpoint of this range. A group of over 1,000 authors is planning to call for an antitrust inquiry into Amazon Inc by the U.S. Department of Justice, hoping that the ecommerce company will drop its tactics in a dispute with French publisher Hachette.
Danish container shipping company Maersk Line, owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk, is lining up its first orders of new vessels in three years to maintain its position as the world’s largest container shipping company. (1 US dollar = 0.6127 British pound) (1 US dollar = 0.7827 euro)
NYT
* As Harvard named a new management chief in its bid to improve the returns on its huge portfolio, Yale University reported on Wednesday that its fund had earned a 20.2 percent return for the fiscal year, a big payoff for a strategy that was criticized in the wake of the financial crisis. (http://nyti.ms/1DxY85a)
* Top executives at General Motors Co and Ally Financial Inc, both of which received bailouts from the United States Treasury Department in 2009, were paid excessively even as taxpayers lost money, according to a special inspector general report. (http://nyti.ms/1vj9kNy)
* At a hearing in a Federal District Court in New Orleans, Judge Carl J. Barbier ruled that oil giant BP Plc cannot recoup hundreds of millions of dollars it claims to have overpaid victims of the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill. (http://nyti.ms/1wLZN2s)
* Three days of strikes by union members at five of Amazon Inc’s warehouses in Germany ended on Wednesday without the company agreeing to wage talks or reporting any serious disruption to scheduled deliveries. (http://nyti.ms/1uIaJwC)
* China plans to connect the Shanghai stock exchange to its counterpart in Hong Kong over the next month as part of an initiative announced by Premier Li Keqiang this year to open China’s markets to foreign investors who have been largely shut out. (http://nyti.ms/1rve7fz)
* Comcast Corp accused its business partners and rivals of “extortion,” lashing out against opposition to its proposed $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc . In documents submitted late Tuesday to the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast said many of the media and tech companies that have urged regulators to block or add conditions to
the deal were doing so out of their own business interests. (http://nyti.ms/1ss04JM)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** With a decision imminent on the Site C hydroelectric project in northeastern British Columbia, area First Nations have delivered a message to the provincial government: You can have the dam or you can have liquefied natural gas, but you will not get both. The C$8-billion dam would lie in the heart of British Columbia’s nascent LNG industry. (http://bit.ly/1qxlduF)
** Switzerland’s Bank Gutenberg AG has agreed to pay C$850,000 to settle accusations that it allowed British Columbia’s residents to open accounts and trade more than C$300 million worth of securities without being registered in the province. (http://bit.ly/1v2trBk)
** New Brunswick’s premier-designate, Brian Gallant, who publicly declared his pro-choice stand in a province that restricts women’s access to abortion, is moving quickly to remove those barriers. (http://bit.ly/1rvqcBB)
NATIONAL POST
** Hundreds of Ontario residents who might have contracted tuberculosis from undiagnosed, active-TB patients at a local hospital have won a C$1.7-million settlement in an unusual class-action lawsuit. (http://bit.ly/1urGT30)
** In a marketing deal that critics are alleging is a tad ill-timed, one of Toronto’s newest public plazas, Maple Leaf Square, is soon set to be redubbed Ford Square. The rebranding – which has nothing to do with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford – is part of a major sponsorship deal between the Ford Motor Co and square owners Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. (http://bit.ly/1v2uAIY)
** A judge has suspended exploratory drilling for the TransCanada oil terminal in eastern Quebec after objections by environmentalists. The decision by Quebec Superior Court Justice Claudine Roy to grant a temporary injunction on Tuesday stops the Alberta-based company from conducting seismic surveys in Cacouna until Oct. 15. (http://bit.ly/1sZerQ5)
China
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
– The quality of China’s banking assets is within a stable range and the risks are controllable, said Shang Fulin, Chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission.
– China National Development Regulatory Commission told the newspaper that it plans to start four projects that will produce 1,000 gigawatts of nuclear power in the coastal areas.
21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD
– Alibaba is looking to take a stake in Shanghai Media Group’s soon-to-be merged Bestv and Shanghai Oriental Pearl units for about 1 billion yuan ($163.01 million), the newspaper said citing a source close to the matter.
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
– The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it would continue to expand its team and improve its technology to clamp down on insider trading.
– Guangdong’s supervisory body for state-owned companies plans to invite private investors to inject about 78 billion yuan into 188 projects later this month, as part of a wider government effort to promote mixed-ownership reform.
CHINA DAILY
– The Suzhou branch of property developer Vanke is crowd funding a 100 square metre apartment, saying investors can get a return of 40 percent once the flat is sold.
Britain
The Times
TESCO’S ‘BULLYING’ AT HEART OF ACCOUNTING SCANDAL
A deeply ingrained pattern of bullying behaviour towards suppliers is said to lie at the heart of Tesco’s 250 million pound ($408.28 million) accounting scandal as managers under pressure at the supermarket chain adopt increasingly outlandish tactics to sustain profits. (http://thetim.es/1sYhVCp)
PILOTS BAIL OUT FROM RYANAIR FOR RIVAL AIRLINES, CLAIMS UNION Ryanair has been warned that it is facing a pilot manning crisis that could be puncturing the airline’s much-vaunted punctuality record. (http://thetim.es/ZMY4z1) The Guardian TESCO DIRECTOR KEPT OUT OF MONITORING BY ACCOUNTANCY WATCHDOG, SAYS FRC
British accountancy watchdog the Financial Reporting Council confirmed on Wednesday it was monitoring the situation at Tesco Plc and stressed that the non-executive director of the troubled supermarket business who also sits on the FRC board would not participate in any discussions relating to the 250 million pound shortfall in the accounts. (http://bit.ly/1xh4LY8)
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND CHAIRMAN TO MOVE TO GLAXOSMITHKLINE Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc , is to quit his role at the helm of the bailed-out bank to take on the same position at the embattled pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (http://bit.ly/1raaTz1)
BRITAIN’S TOBACCO FIRMS PROTEST AT LABOUR PLAN TO TAX THEM MORE TO PAY FOR NHS
Britain’s tobacco industry reacted with fury to the plan by the Labour party leader, Ed Miliband, to tax British cigarette companies to pay for NHS spending, branding the move anti-business and unjust. (http://bit.ly/1xdRS18)
The Telegraph
PRESSURE BUILDS ON TESCO AS MAJOR INVESTOR SELLS SHARES
The pressure on Tesco Corp and its beleaguered Chairman Richard Broadbent has piled up after BlackRock, a major investor, dumped a 150 million pound collection of its shares and the company was forced to admit that it has had no dedicated finance director for the last five months. (http://bit.ly/1vhTFy3)
VODAFONE BRACED FOR BT ATTACK ON MOBILE MARKET
Vodafone Group Plc has admitted it will delay a decision on whether to introduce its own home broadband and television services until BT launches its attack on the consumer mobile market. (http://bit.ly/1ruPxLW)
The Independent
FORMER JJB BOSS IN COURT ACCUSED OF 1 MLN POUND FRAUD
Christopher Ronnie, former chief executive of JJB Sports Plc , allegedly orchestrated a massive fraud when he was 11 million pounds in debt to an Icelandic bank, a court heard on Tuesday. (http://ind.pn/1v1fq6N)
Fly On The Wall Pre-Market Buzz
ECONOMIC REPORTS
Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Jobless claims for week of September 20 at 8:30–consensus 296K
Durable goods orders for August at 8:30–consensus down 18.0%
Markit services PMI for September at 9:45–consensus 59.2
Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity for September at 11:00–consensus 6
ANALYST RESEARCH
Upgrades
Barrick Gold (ABX) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC
Comerica (CMA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Wunderlich
Schlumberger (SLB) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at Iberia
Thompson Creek (TC) upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at Scotia Capital
Downgrades
Chemtura (CHMT) downgraded to Hold from Buy at KeyBanc
Danone (DANOY) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
KB Home (KBH) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform
at RBC Capital
Initiations
Korn/Ferry (KFY) initiated with a Neutral at Piper Jaffray
Manpower (MAN) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray
On Assignment (ASGN) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray
Robert Half (RHI) initiated with a Neutral at Piper Jaffray
Towers Watson (TW) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray
COMPANY NEWS
BioMarin (BMRN) submits Paragraph IV notice letter for Kuvan tablets to the FDA
Boeing (BA) delivers first 777-300ER to China Eastern Airlines
CSR (CSRE) extends deadline for Microchip takeover talks
Echo (ECTE) cut 70% of workforce, may see added cost from job cuts, bankruptcy possible
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) names Philip Hampton Non-Executive Director
JAT Capital raises stake in Madison Square Garden (MSG) to 9.36% from 7.75%
MannKind (MNKD) announces closing of global licensing agreement with Sanofi (SNY)
Marchex (MCHX) received notice of termination from Allstate
Novartis (NVS) AIN457 meets primary endpoint in two Phase III studies
Pacira Pharmaceuticals (PCRX) receives FDA warning letter
Regado Biosciences (RGDO) announces 60% workforce reduction, exploring alternatives
Rexahn (RNN) confirms receipt of FDA orphan drug designation for RX-3117
Shire (SHPG) reaches final agreement with U.S. government over sales and marketing of certain drugs
Yahoo (YHOO) in one year lock-up agreement for shares of Alibaba
EARNINGS
Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
Radiant Logistics (RLGT), Jabil Circuit (JBL)
Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
H.B. Fuller (FUL)
Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Worthington (WOR)
NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES
Amazon’s (AMZN) head of digital music and video to leave, WSJ says
Apple (AAPL) knew early of security hole in iCloud, The Daily Dot reports
Authors group to ask DoJ to investigate Amazon, WSJ says
Ex-Telstra CEO aiming for $9.6B offer for Telecom Italia (TI) share, Bloomberg says
GE set to increase industrial battery sales in Japan, Nikkei says
Global tablet sales momentum to slow down in 2015, DigiTimes reports
Odds of Colgate-Palmolive (CL) takeover rise amid slew of megamergers, Bloomberg says
Tim Cook, others sold $142.76M in Apple (AAPL) stock, Barron’s says
SYNDICATE
CONE Midstream (CNNX) 17.5M share IPO priced at $22.00
Travelport (TVPT) 30M share IPO priced at $16.00
W.P. Carey (WPC) 4M share secondary priced at $64.00
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/ZQ2tRL Tyler Durden