- Citigroup is pleased: Obama signs $1.1 trillion government spending bill (Reuters)
- Oil holds below $60 as OPEC, Russia keep pumping (Reuters)
- 5 Things to watch at the December Fed Meeting (WSJ)
- Russia Tries Emergency Steps for 2nd Day to Stem Ruble Rout (BBG)
- Ruble crisis could shake Putin’s grip on power (Reuters)
- Apple Curbs Russia Sales as McDonald’s Lifts Prices (BBG)
- Traders Betting Russia’s Next Move Will Be to Sell Gold (BBG)
- China Warms to a More Flexible Yuan (WSJ)
- FX platforms halt ruble trade as banks wary of capital controls (Reuters)
- Russia Crisis Hits Pimco Fund, Wipes Out Options (BBG)
- Uber CEO Says Company Wants to Make Rides Safer (WSJ)
- New York premiere of North Korea comedy canceled after threats (Reuters)
- Chinese Investors Bet This Time Is Different as Stocks Surge (BBG)
- Sears Bets Big on Technology, but at the Expense of Its Stores (WSJ)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* Jeb Bush will “actively explore the possibility of running for president” in 2016, according to an announcement the former Florida governor posted to his Facebook page. (http://on.wsj.com/1uRii2k)
* Sony Pictures executives were telling theaters they wouldn’t object if theaters decided not to show its comedy “The Interview” after new terrorist threats surfaced on Tuesday, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. (http://on.wsj.com/1vXUABM)
* The failure of Sears Holdings’s Mygofer strategy – where customers ordered from computers and picked up goods out back – shows the retailer’s struggle to reinvent its stores. (http://on.wsj.com/1uRii2k)
* The plunging rouble, driven by sanctions and dropping oil prices, is reawakening fears of the kind of financial crises Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to put behind his country. (http://on.wsj.com/1GrPkym)
* U.S. prosecutors are close to a deal with Alstom that would require the French engineering giant to pay about $700 million, more than any past deal, to settle a foreign bribery probe. (http://on.wsj.com/1syMJKP)
* Ford Motor Co is cutting about 20 percent from the cost of swapping aluminum for steel in F-150 body panels by sorting, cleaning and returning scrap to the same mills that supply it with metal sheets. (http://on.wsj.com/1wJ9CiM)
* A jury ruled in favor of Apple Inc on Tuesday in a class-action lawsuit that accused the technology giant of violating antitrust laws by suppressing competition for its iPod music players. (http://on.wsj.com/1GOkM8v)
* Congress ended the year Tuesday night without extending a federal terrorism insurance program slated to expire later this month. With lawmakers from both chambers gone until January, the program is expected to lapse. (http://on.wsj.com/1BWLMnY)
FT
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has promised to make banks undergo stress tests on their emerging market exposures as he warned of newer financial stability risks that were brewing overseas.
Spain’s Repsol SA has agreed to buy Canada’s Talisman Energy for $8.3 bln saying the acquisition will boost its oil and gas output by 76 pct and would transform it into “one of the world’s most significant players”.
U.S. private equity firm Cerberus has agreed to buy 1.2 billion pound ($1.89 billion) worth of commercial property loans fron National Australia Bank and 1.1 billion pound worth of Irish commercial real estate loans from the Royal Bank of Scotland.
European aerospace and defence company Airbus has made changes to its top team to keep a tab on its supply chain. Tom Williams will succeed Gunter Butschek as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Didier Evrard will succeed Williams as head of aircraft programmes.
NYT
* With Russia already staggering under the weight of one of its worst financial crises in years, the United States signaled that it would further increase the economic pressure with a new raft of sanctions targeting the Russian defense, energy and banking industries. (http://nyti.ms/1zq87YR)
* Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, theater owners and competing film studios scrambled to deal with a threat of terrorism against movie theaters that show Sony’s “The Interview,” a raunchy comedy about the assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. (http://nyti.ms/1GrLxRQ)
* The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first system that could be used by blood banks to destroy viruses and bacteria in donated blood plasma, potentially making transfusions safer. (http://nyti.ms/1uRaTAf)
* The Commerce Department began closing a chapter in a protracted trade conflict with China over solar equipment, approving a collection of steep tariffs on imports from China and Taiwan. (http://nyti.ms/1BWDYmf)
* In a class-action case that kicked around courts for 10 years, a jury rejected claims that Apple Inc acted to secure a monopoly over digital music. (http://nyti.ms/13wmXRI)
* On Deck Capital Inc, which makes loans to small businesses, raised about $200 million from its initial public offering, valuing the firm at about $1.3 billion. (http://nyti.ms/1A99Qlw)
* Adyen, an Amsterdam-based payments processing company, has announced $250 million in new fundraising that valued the company at $1.5 billion. (http://nyti.ms/13wpj33)
* The magazine publisher Time Inc is teaming up with Coinbase and will accept Bitcoin payments for subscriptions of Fortune, Health, This Old House and Travel + Leisure. (http://nyti.ms/1xraGuw)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Economists are fast revising their forecasts for Canada’s economy, and those of its provinces, amid the spectacular collapse in oil prices. BMO Nesbitt Burns, for example, has lowered its outlook for economic growth next year to just 2.2 percent. (http://bit.ly/1qZiamc)
** Justice Minister Peter MacKay has appointed two of the country’s most conservative law professors as judges in Ont
ario, one of whom has publicly criticized the court he is about to join. (http://bit.ly/1wEUVP0)
NATIONAL POST
** Despite Talisman Energy Inc chief Hal Kvisle’s intention to re-retire at the end of this month, he will stay on the job a little longer, after his company’s much-rumored deal with Spanish energy company Repsol SA was finally done. (http://bit.ly/1zv9CUq)
** Wind Mobile SA, the mobile-service provider trying to expand across Canada, doesn’t expect wireless prices to drop drastically, even after the country has four competing carriers. Instead, Chief Executive Pietro Cordova said prices will likely fall slowly once Toronto-based Wind strengthens its coverage across the country. (http://bit.ly/1BWy3eh)
** After more than a decade of talks among governments, food regulators and the industry, new rules are being adopted across North America to ensure consumers have a better idea of what kind of maple syrup they’re buying. The changes, which will come into effect over the next two years, will harmonize the grading system for maple syrup produced in Canada and the United States. (http://bit.ly/13b9LRi)
China
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
– Regulators are revising commercial banks laws which may see them cancel the enforcement of loan-to-deposit ratios, sources familiar with the matter told the newspaper.
– Yunnan Yuntianhua Co Ltd said it plans to issue a total of 199 million shares through private placements to set up a joint venture with Israel Chemicals Ltd.
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
– The China Insurance Regulatory Commission is seeking to implement three health insurance policies which include providing incentives to encourage the purchase of personal commercial health insurance, the newspaper reported, citing sources.
CHINA DAILY
– State-owned oil refiner Sinopec Group plans to increase the number of executives in its top management team who are aged below 45 to more than 10 percent next year, a spokesman for the firm told the newspaper.
Britain
The Times
BANKS STAND UP TO STRESS TESTS BUT A FRESH CRASH WOULD WIPE OUT PROFITS
Profits at Britain’s leading banks would collapse by 91 billion pounds in the event of a new financial crisis, forcing the country’s largest lenders to slash shareholder payouts and implement swingeing cost cuts, according to the Bank of England’s latest industry stress tests. (http://thetim.es/1DJ8q5d)
INVESTORS CHEERED BY BT TAKEOVER European investors have backed BT Group Plc’s proposed 12.5 billion pounds takeover of the mobile operator EE, driving the share prices of all interested parties higher 24 hours after the deal was announced. That was despite growing speculation that the merger is likely to be the subject of full-blown scrutiny by regulators on the Continent and by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK. (http://thetim.es/1z0ROmq) The Guardian
BANK STRESS TESTS: CO-OP FAILS AS LLOYDS AND RBS SCRAPE THROUGH
A severe economic shock would exhaust the Co-operative Bank’s capital and force Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland to bolster their financial strength, the Bank of England has found after exposing the banking sector to tests designed to measure its resilience. (http://bit.ly/1vV3tw1) LASTMINUTE.COM SOLD FOR FRACTION OF ITS 2005 PRICE
Lastminute.com, the travel site that became one of the best-known names of the dotcom era, has been sold for a fraction of the price it fetched almost a decade ago. Bravofly Rumbo Group, a European online travel agent, will pay 76 million pounds ($119.68 million) to Sabre Corp, the US owner of Travelocity, which paid 577 million pounds for Lastminute in 2005. (http://bit.ly/1ztRdYc)
The Telegraph
OIL PRICE COLLAPSE IS GOOD NEWS FOR BRITISH PEOPLE, SAYS GEORGE OSBORNE
The collapse in world oil prices is “overall a very good thing” for Britain, the US and Western economies, George Osborne has said. The Chancellor called the fall in oil prices this year a “net positive” that would also put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his oil-dependent economy. (http://bit.ly/1ztZL16)
RBS RAISES 2 BLN STG TO PASS BANK OF ENGLAND STRESS TEST
The Royal Bank of Scotland has been forced to go to investors for 2 billion pounds to placate the Bank of England, it emerged on Tuesday, as the regulator said the taxpayer-owned bank was one of three major lenders at risk in a financial crisis. (http://bit.ly/1zp1tCq)
Sky News GOOGLE SHUTS DOWN SPANISH NEWS SERVICE
Google Inc has gone ahead with its threat to shut down its news service, Google News in Spain, before a Spanish intellectual property law comes into effect in January. The service, which provided aggregated news content, has been replaced by a message from Google saying it is ‘incredibly sad’ to announce the removal of Spanish publishers from the site, as well as the closure of Google News in Spain. (http://bit.ly/1BVRI0y)
WPP PICKS QUARTA TO SUCCEED LADER AS CHAIRMAN WPP Plc, the marketing services giant, will this week end a year-long search for a new chairman when it names Roberto Quarta, a respected industrialist, to the role. (http://bit.ly/16pP0n3)
The Independent
BRENT OIL PRICES PLUNGE BELOW $59 A BARREL Oil extended losses on Tuesday, falling below $59 a barrel for the first time since July 2009 and heaping further pressure on oil exporters. Not only have billions been wiped off the value of London-listed companies like BP in recent weeks, analysts fear that spending across the industry could be cut by up to $1 trillion and thousands of jobs lost in the UK. (http://ind.pn/1BVSoD5)
Fly On The Wall Pre-Market Buzz
ECONOMIC REPORTS
Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Consumer Price Index for November at 8:30–consensus down 0.1%
Current account balance for Q3 at 8:30–consensus deficit $97.5B
FOMC meeting announcement to be released at 14:00
ANALYST RESEARCH
Upgrades
Aaron’s (AAN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at KeyBanc
Approach Resources (AREX) upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at Global Hunter
Calpine (CPN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank
Check Point (CHKP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank
Columbia Sportswear (COLM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Dakota Plains Holdings (DAKP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord
Saba (SABA) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley
Stillwater Mining (SWC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
SunCoke Energy (SXC) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
Taylor Morrison (TMHC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Evercore ISI
Teck Resources (TCK) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
VeriFone (PAY) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays
Xoom (XOOM) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Evercore ISI
Downgrades
Allergan (AGN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS
CVR Refining (CVRR) downgraded to Underperfo
rm from Neutral at Credit Suisse
Consolidated Edison (ED) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank
Covanta (CVA) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at RW Baird
Cubist (CBST) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS
Cyclacel downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities
Fifth Street Asset (FSAM) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan
JP Energy (JPEP) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital
PG&E (PCG) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
Portland General Electric (POR) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
Sierra Wireless (SWIR) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital
Symantec (SYMC) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair
Talisman Energy (TLM) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital
Tumi (TUMI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Verizon (VZ) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Initiations
Anacor (ANAC) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman
Barracuda Networks (CUDA) initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital
CDK Global (CDK) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer
Crown Crafts (crws) initiated with a Buy at Wunderlich
Dorel Industries initiated with a Buy at Wunderlich
Earthstone Energy (ESTE) initiated with an Accumulate at Global Hunter
KLX Inc (KLXI) initiated with a Buy at Sterne Agee
Laclede (LG) initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse
LendingClub (LC) initiated with a Sell at Compass Point
Liberty Global (LBTYA) resumed with an Overweight at JPMorgan
Materialise (MTLS) initiated with an Outperform at Pacific Crest
Navios Maritime Midstream (NAP) initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse
NorthWestern (NWE) initiated with a Neutral at Credit Suisse
PerkinElmer (PKI) initiated with a Buy at KeyBanc
Rocket Fuel (FUEL) initiated with a Buy at Janney Capital
Stantec (STN) initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital
Summer Infant (SUMR) initiated with a Buy at Wunderlich
Thermo Fisher (TMO) initiated with a Buy at KeyBanc
Tremor Video (TRMR) initiated with a Neutral at Janney Capital
Vital Therapies (VTL) at undefinedinitiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Waters (WAT) initiated with a Hold at KeyBanc
YuMe (YUME) initiated with a Neutral at Janney Capital
COMPANY NEWS
Philips (PHG) said it would acquire Volcano (VOLC) for $18 per share, or a total equity purchase price of $1B
American Apparel (APP) terminated former President and CEO Dov Charney for cause, named Paula Schneider as CEO, effective January 5
SeaWorld (SEAS) cut 300 jobs, postponed Q4 dividend, announced $12M in pre-tax restructuring charges
Cerus (CERS) confirmed FDA approval of INTERCEPT Blood System for plasma
Dave & Busters (PLAY) forecast FY14 SSS up 5.5%-6%
EARNINGS
Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
Joy Global (JOY), HEICO (HEI), Darden (DRI), Dave & Busters (PLAY)
Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
Upland Software (UPLD)
Joy Global (JOY) sees FY15 EPS ex-items $3.10-$3.50, consensus $3.57
Darden (DRI) narrows FY15 EPS view to $2.25-$2.30 from $2.22-$2.30, consensus $2.26
NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES
Baidu (BIDU) to take stake in Uber, Reuters reports
The Pantry (PTRY) close to deal to be sold, WSJ says
Sony (SNE) hackers threaten ‘The Interview’ attendees, WSJ reports
Honda (HMC) to add additional $168M to FY14 expenses from airbag recall, Nikkei reports
U.S. announces tariffs on Chinese, Taiwanese solar companies, NY Times reports
Lions Gate (LGF) tried to discuss merger with Sony (SNE), Reuters reports
SYNDICATE
Axion Power (AXPW) files $7.6M mixed securities shelf
Bovie Medical (BVX) files $25M mixed securities shelf
CounterPath (CPAH) files $50M mixed securities shelf
NRG Yield (NYLD) intends to file Form S-3 on or about January 16, 2015
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1wFgXkB Tyler Durden