Tag: finance

The following remarks by John Kerry, borne out of his humiliation over the complete fiasco that was the US intervention in Syria last year and the even greater fiasco that was this year’s attempt to get all feuding parties on the table in Geneva, only to see that outcome obliterated as well, appear to be borne out of his disgust at the defunding of the US defense budget, which for Kerry, more than his gross incompetence, is the reason why the US now finds itself in a “new isolationism” leading him to conclude that the US is “beginning to act like a poor nation.” One wonders what tipped him off: the fact that the US debt just hit a record high $17,419,220,117,766.69 or that the biggest monetizers of US deficit spending are the Fed, China and just as insolvent Japan?

From Reuters:

Speaking to reporters, Kerry inveighed against what he sees as a tendency within the United States to retreat from the world even as he defended the Obama administration’s diplomatic efforts from Syria to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In comments tied to the budget that U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to present on Tuesday, Kerry suggested that tighter spending, in part at the behest of congressional Republicans, may limit U.S. clout around the world.

 

“There’s a new isolationism,” Kerry said during a nearly one-hour discussion with a small group of reporters.

 

“We are beginning to behave like a poor nation,” he added, saying some Americans do not perceive the connection between U.S. engagement abroad and the U.S. economy, their own jobs and wider U.S. interests.

Perhaps some other Americans are tired of America acting as Globocop, and as the world’s hypocritical superpower dispensing “justice” when it fits its national interests, and ignoring all other conflicts, specifically when Mid-East oil, or the growing Russian sphere of influence is not concerned?

Kerry made the case as Obama prepares to release a budget that will adhere to spending levels agreed to in a two-year bipartisan budget deal struck late last year, entailing some spending cuts the administration would have preferred to avoid.

 

The U.S. State Department budget will decline slightly in the president’s budget submission, Kerry said, saying this was a direct result of the bipartisan budget deal that cut funding further than Obama wanted.

 

“This is not a budget we want. It’s not a budget that does what we need,” he said, saying the budget deal entailed cuts demanded by the Republican-led House of Representatives. “It was the best the president could get. It’s not what he wanted.”

But hold on: wasn’t it Kerry’s own party that has been urging the defunding of the US defense budget at the expense of overfunding welfare and benefits? The people are confused.

Next, Kerry deflects his own personal failings as SecState, having had to be pulled from his yacht last summer, just as the Syrian conflict was reaching its climax:

In speaking of what he called the “new isolationism,” Kerry cited the limited support in the U.S. Congress to back Obama’s plan to launch an air strike against Syria last year because of its suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.

 

Obama, in a decision criticized by some U.S. allies in the Gulf and elsewhere, asked Congress to vote on a strike. With limited congressional backing, he ultimately abandoned a strike and pursued a deal to get Syria to give up its chemical weapons.

 

“Look at our budget. Look at our efforts to get the president’s military force decision on Syria backed up on (Capitol Hill). Look at the House of Representatives with respect to the military and the budget,” Kerry said.

 

“All of those things diminish our ability to do things,” he added.

Those… and the people who are in charge. Hence: defensive mode – activate:

Kerry took particular aim at critics of his efforts to get the Syrian government and the opposition that has sought to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for nearly a year to reach a peace agreement that would entail Assad’s departure.

 

A second round of peace talks in Geneva broke up on Saturday, with chief mediator Lakhdar Brahimi lamenting a failure to achieve much beyond agreement on an agenda for a third round.

 

“These people who say that it’s failed or that it’s a waste of time … Where is their sense of history?” Kerry said.

 

“How many years did the Vietnam talks take? How many years did Dayton take in Bosnia-Herzegovina?” he added. “These things don’t happen in one month. I mean it’s just asinine, frankly, to be making an argument that after three weeks it’s failed.”

What is most ironic about all of the above, is that hypocrisy aside, Kerry is absolutely correct: the US is starting to act like a poor nation…  because it is, and Americans indeed “do not perceive the connection between U.S. engagement abroad and the U.S. economy, their own jobs and wider U.S. interests” because all US foreign policy reflects is the interest of a select group of uber-wealthy oligrachs whose sole interests the US congress represents… and nobody else’s. As for everything else, we can’t wait to see how Kerry handles the current Ukrainian crisis. The popcorn is prepared.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1ftGi9H Tyler Durden

While the IMF is promising a massive bailout to the Ukraine, and NATO is using the harshest language it can possibly muster to halt Russia in its tracks, Putin is doing what he does best: employing brute force (as seen below), and using even harsher language, to wit: RUSSIA: WEST MUST STOP MAKING PROVOCATIVE STATEMENTS ON UKRAINE.

In photos:

 

And clips:

Source: Euronews

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Two weeks ago, Janet Yellen’s testimony to the Senate, following her remarks to the House, were delayed due to inclement weather. Now that it is no longer snowing, she is back behind the mic at the Senate Banking Committee, where she will deliver the same identical prepared remarks as she did last time, but obviously with a different Q&A. Watch it live here.

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Russian tat. And now, NATO tit.

• NATO CHIEF SAYS ACTIONS BY ARMED GROUP IN CRIMEA “DANGEROUS AND IRRESPONSIBLE”
• NATO URGES RUSSIA NOT TO DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD “ESCALATE TENSION OR CREATE MISUNDERSTANDING”

And the lie of the day:

• U.S., NATO HAVE NOT DRAWN UP ANY CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR HOW THEY WOULD RESPOND IF RUSSIA INTERVENED IN CRIMEA-NATO’S TOP MILITARY COMMANDER
• THERE IS NO REASON FOR NATO AND RUSSIA TO COMPETE OVER THE FUTURE OF UKRAINE-NATO COMMANDER

Actually, there is, which is precisely why Putin will smile when reading the latest NATO pleadings.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1cc31qo Tyler Durden

Recall how the prevailing excuse for all economic data missing in the past two months have been attributed to inclement weather which mysteriously has not been captured in seasonal adjustments? Well, something curious happened in today Durable Goods report.

As we noted previously, the reason why stocks posted a bounce when the report came out was the stronger than expected bounce in Durable Goods, and especially the Durable Goods ex transports print which rose 1.1% on expectations of a modest drop. It is here that a somewhat puzzling observation can be made. First, the Non-seasonally adjusted number in the series posted a $5 billion decline from December into January, in other words a 3.2% drop compared to the 1.1% seasonally adjusted change. But it is not the sequential data that is notable but the annual change which is where the seasonal adjustments are most obvious.

What happened in that set of data is that while the NSA Durables ex transport posted a tiny 0.4% increase, amounting to $533 million, the SA series showed a far more sizable $1.9 billion increase. This can be seen on the chart below.

Why is this curious? Because in all recent prior years, the year-over-year change was a lower increase in the SA data compared to the NSA.

 

And more to the point, here is the same chart showing just the difference between the two year over year data sets. Spot the outlier:

 

What does this mean? Simply, in January, the Department of Commerce decided to apply a far greater than historically applicable seasonal adjustment, boosting and skewing the data far more than history suggests it should, and giving the seasonally adjusted number the benefit of about $2.3 billion in extra “oomph” solely due to the discretion of the person applying a far stronger than deserve seasonal adjustment!

Sure enough, had an inline adjustment been applied, the Durable Goods ex Transports seasonally adjusted number would have been a decline sequentially, and in fact would have printed at -0.3%. Precisely in line with expectations. But that would hardly be enough to send the headline kneejerk algos into a momentum buying spree, which in a market that was threatening to drop on the overnight newsflow was not acceptable…

So much for seasonal adjustment not adjusting for the impact of the “harsh” January weather.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1eAc1zV Tyler Durden

Today’s durable goods report appears to have been liked by the momentum-igniting algos, because despite the prior month’s negative revision (nobody cares about those), the January Seasonally adjusted number posted a modest beat of expectations, with the headline number declining only -1.0% compared to the expected drop of -1.7%. This more than offsets last month’s revision from -4.3% to -5.3%, but again all that matters for kneejerk reactions is the current print. We will have more to say about this shortly.

For now the only number that matters is the capital goods orders nondefense aircraft, aka core capex. It is here that while the sequential print was a modest increase of of 1.7%, compared to expectations of a -0.2% decline, it is the annual number that is of interest. We focus on this, because as can be seen on the chart, the annual change just posted its first annual decline in a year: in the past any such decline would mark the start of a recession, except of course for in 2012 when the New Normal central planning, and the trillions in Fed liquidity injections, made the business cycle as we know it meaningless.

So much for that $1+ trillion in QE: it is good to know that it went to stock buybacks and dividends… if not so much to actually investing in future growth.

 

And some of the other “spotty” charts. First: Core Capex Shipments:

Then Durable Goods:

And Durable Goods ex transports.

We can only conclude that it has been snowing for a long time.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1fLk0yO Tyler Durden

According to the meteorologists interpreting last week’s initial claims report, it must have snowed a lot in the week ended February 22, because while no states had any numbers estimated, the initial claims for the past week jumped by 14K, to 348,000 – the highest weekly number in all of 2014, and the biggest miss of expectations of 335K in a month, with the prior week’s print revised as usual higher by 2K to 336K.

Curiously while the Oracles attribute the seasonally adjusted number to seasonal factors (the NSA print actually dropped from 321K to 311K), the DOL itself said there were no special factors in last week’s claims figures. So someone is lying. What is not lying, is that as the chart below clearly shows, the weekly claims level is now back to levels last seen in July of 2013 and is continuing to deteriorate. A lot of snow must have fallen in the past 7 months to explain this.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1cV5Km0 Tyler Durden

With just released inflation figures out of Germany coming weaker than expected, Mario Draghi’s monetary nightmare – how to spur credit creation in Europe to the private sector – just got even worse. Incidentally the topic of Draghi’s “Monetary Nightmare” is well-known to regular readers and has been covered here extensively in the past, most recently here. So while we await to see how the ongoing deflation in Europe, soon hitting its core too, spreads through the system, the most recent data out of Europe is that lending to non-financial corporations declined once again in January, this time by €11.7billion, adjusted for securitizations and sales. On an annual basis, the decline in January was -2.0%, the same as December, and worse than the -1.8% in November as reported by the ECB.

The long-term chart is an absolute disaster.

Here is what SocGen has to say about it:

Money supply growth (M3) in the euro accelerated in January, from 1.0% to 1.2% yoy, still well below the ECB’s 4.5% reference target. The flow of credit to the private sector seems to have troughed, as it dropped by 2.0% yoy (adjusted for securitization and sales), unchanged from December. The release of today’s figures is not likely to affect the outcome of the March 6 ECB meeting, at which we do not expect fresh action. In fact, the latest soft and hard data published suggest that the ECB’s  scenario of a gradual recovery (1.1% GDP growth in 2014) is taking shape.

 

The flow of credit to the private sector (adjusted for securitization and sales) stopped decreasing in January, after a cumulative €45bn fall during the previous two months. The growth rate stood at -2.0% yoy, unchanged from December. Although credit flows seem to have reached a bottom, it is hard to distinguish a material improvement here.

Indeed it is, and it also means that Draghi continues to be in a no way out, since credit destruction is not bad enough to prompt much more easing, or certainly QE, and is not nearly good enough to stimulate any economic growth except net of GDP definition revisions.

Here is the breakdown by country on a three year basis:

And the Y/Y change in outstanding levels:

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1gEufTz Tyler Durden

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,331.00, EUR 974.81 and GBP 799.88 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,340.00, EUR 975.33 and GBP 803.12 per ounce.    

Gold dropped $11.60 or 0.87% yesterday to $1,329.00/oz. Silver fell $0.62 or 2.83% at $21.24/oz.

Get a clear picture of what a bail-in actually is with Goldcore’s 11 page bail-in guide, ‘Protecting Your Savings In The Coming Bail-In Era’

Ukrainian Hryvnia in Gold, 5 Year – (Bloomberg)

Gold is marginally higher in dollars and most major currencies today. However, yesterday’s sell off means that gold is vulnerable technically to further falls and initial support is at $1,322/oz and $1,307/oz.

The political and economic crisis in Ukraine has led to a currency crisis. The Ukrainian hryvnia has fallen by 50.14% against gold in 2014 and by 28% in the last four days alone. Ukrainians who own gold have protected their savings – again showing gold’s safe haven properties.

Yesterday, gold hit a four-month high at $1,345.35 before falling almost 1%, possibly due to profit taking and technical selling.

Gold has risen more than 10% so far this year on uncertainty over the pace of the U.S. economic recovery, worries about growth in China and continuing robust global physical demand. Geopolitical tension between Russia and the western powers over Ukraine will likely support gold.

In the physical market, premiums for gold bars in Singapore slipped to 80 cents to the spot London prices from a high of $1.50 last week after a recent increase in prices spurred sales of scraps.

Premiums in Hong Kong were unchanged at $1.30 to $1.70. In Tokyo, gold bars were offered at discounts of 25 cents to the spot London prices from zero last week after rallies in yen denominated gold contracts on Tokyo Commodity Exchange.
  
In other markets, Asian shares struggled to find a solid footing on Thursday as escalating tensions over the Ukraine led to weakness into equity markets and the risk of a renewed bout of risk off.

Ukraine is seeing bank runs, as central bank reserves shrink and some 7% of bank deposits were withdrawn in just 3 days.  Bank run fears mean some financial institutions operating in Ukraine closed branches and imposed limits on cash withdrawals this week.

Italy’s Unicredit closed eight branches temporarily, while other branches reduced opening hours and imposed withdrawal limits of 1,500 hryvnias per day for Unicredit customers and 500 a day for customers of other banks.

Bail-ins are likely to be the next step taken by the authorities in Ukraine. Preparations have been or are being put in place by the international monetary and financial authorities for bail-ins. The majority of the public are unaware of these developments, the risks and the ramifications.

Get a clear picture of what a bail-in actually is with Goldcore’s 11 page bail-in guide, ‘Protecting Your Savings In The Coming Bail-In Era’

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1kc72NY GoldCore

• European Bonds Surge on Slowing German Inflation, Ukraine Tumult  (BBG)
• Ukraine tensions hit shares (Reuters)
• Debating Geithner’s Appearances in 2008 Transcripts  (Hilsenrath)
• Tensions in Asia Stoke Rising Nationalism in Japan (WSJ)
• GM Investigated Over Ignition Recall Linked to 13 Deaths (BBG)
• Smartphone wars shift from gadgetry to price (Reuters)
• Some Companies Alter the Bonus Playbook (WSJ)
• London’s Subterranean Luxury Manors Lure New Breed of Lenders (BBG)
• Japan No Country for Old Farmers as 7-Eleven Takes Plow (BBG)
• Dream of U.S. Oil Independence Slams Against Shale Costs (BBG)
• EU’s Highest Court Rules Spain Fuel Tax is Unlawful (WSJ)
• And in other news… Arizona governor vetoes bill widely criticized as anti-gay (Reuters)
• Britain’s economic recovery is rooted overseas (FT)
• Porsche Founder’s Legacy Hits Nazi Past in Czech Hometown (BBG)
• Rajan Says RBI Aims to Curb Inflation ‘Over Time,’ Not Abruptly (BBG)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

* New York’s financial regulator is probing mortgage-servicing firm Ocwen Financial Corp’s relationships with several businesses, saying that borrowers may be harmed because of the companies’ close ties.

* The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against ITT Educational Services Inc on Wednesday claiming the company engaged in predatory lending by pushing its students into high-cost private loans likely to default.

* The Obama administration has asked a special surveillance court for approval to retain records of millions of Americans’ phone calls stored by the National Security Agency – an unintended consequence of lawsuits seeking to stop the data-surveillance program.

* Verizon Communications Inc is investigating possible security breaches at two unnamed retailers that appear similar to intrusions at other merchants late last year.

* A record $14 million whistleblower award paid by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year was for a tip about an alleged Chicago-based scheme to defraud foreign investors seeking U.S. residency, according to people familiar with the payment.

* China’s central bank engineered the recent decline in the country’s currency as part of its efforts to prepare the tightly tethered yuan for wider trading, according to people familiar with the central bank’s thinking.

* Oil Search Ltd said it would raise $1.09 billion to fund the purchase of stakes in two large natural gas discoveries in Papua New Guinea, boosting its bets on an impoverished country soon to join the ranks of global gas producers.

* Data released Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp shows that the outstanding balance on loans for land acquisition, development and construction rose in the fourth quarter to $209.9 billion, compared with $206 billion in the third quarter. While that is a relatively small gain, economists note that if the overall balance is growing it means that originations of new loans are likely rising even faster. It was the third consecutive quarter of growth.

* Sales of new homes surged unexpectedly in January, easing concerns about a deeper housing-sector slowdown.

* Boeing Co filed plans this week with the Federal Communications Commission for a smartphone dubbed Boeing Black, which is designed for defense and security customers and won’t be available to average consumers.

* Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc said on Wednesday its proposed battery “Gigafactory” would cost up to $5 billion and allow it to sell as many as 500,000 vehicles a year.

 

FT

Spanish group Telefonica’s bid to takeover E-Plus, Germany’s top mobile operator, for 8.6 billion euros has been challenged by Brussels in an antitrust objection, claiming that the buyout would raise mobile tariffs by up to a third.

The Financial Conduct Authority is set to increase scrutiny of trading houses in an attempt to increase transparency in markets. In a report to be published on Thursday, the FCA will say that the rise in proportion of activity in London markets by unregulated, overseas entities poses a challenge to its market supervisions, alongside risks to market standards and integrity.

A Whitehall memo cites a U-turn by David Cameron in ensuring insurance cover to the 9,000 “newly built or high value” households, which were earlier excluded from benefiting from the Flood Re scheme.

U.S. private-equity giant Blackstone is nearing a deal to buy a 20 percent stake in Italian fashion brand Versace, according to people familiar with the talks.

Scotland’s financial services industry head has warned that an independent Scotland’s use of the British pound without the permission of the rest of the UK could endanger the stability of the nation’s financial sector.

 

NYT

* The turn to bigger screens is a sharp departure from the dominant strategy of phone makers just a few years ago, when critics often mocked devices with big screens, joking that people would never buy them.

* Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are said to have issued a grand jury subpoena to Mt. Gox, while regulators in Japan weigh how to regulate Bitcoin.

* In the wake of the implosion of the Bitcoin trading platform Mt. Gox, countries like the United States and Japan are gathering data on virtual currency.

* Senators accused Credit Suisse of helping thousands of Americans hide billions of dollars in assets from United States tax authorities.

* Mythili Raman, an acting assistant attorney general overseeing some of the biggest investigations into Wall Street misdeeds, will soon depart the Justice Department.

* JPMorgan Chase and American Express said in statements on Wednesday that they oppose an Arizona bill that would let businesses there invoke religion to refuse services to gay and lesbian customers, according to Business Insider.

* The Blackstone Group is contemplating buying a roughly 20 percent stake in Versace at a valuation of about 1 billion euros, or $1.37 billion, in the latest sign that the finance industry’s interest in high fashion shows few signs of abating.

* The investment profits generated by private equity, long a subject of debate in Washington, would be taxed at a higher rate under a proposal on Wednesday by the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* The Conservative government says it shut out opposition parties from a historic delegation to Ukraine because one leader made light of the crisis and the other “wouldn’t pick a side” at the outset of the political uprising.

* The federal government has ruled that the proposed New Prosperity copper-gold mine near Williams Lake cannot proceed, striking what could be a final nail into the project that has put the province of British Columbia at loggerheads with Ottawa.

Reports in the business section:

* Royal Bank of Canada’s latest quarterly results prove the lender can consistently make over C$2 billion ($1.80 billion). Now the country’s most profitable bank must demonstrate it can earn even more.

* One of the world’s biggest and most respected hedge funds predicts that Canada’s economy has a tough decade ahead of it. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates says the country’s economy is just beginning a tough period of rebalancing.

NATIONAL POST

* Alberta is on track to record a C$1.4 billion surplus on day-to-day spending this year, but it will be C$8.5 billion in the hole on the capital side due to borrowing for new schools and roads.

FINANCIAL POST

* Despite posting vastly lower sales than it expected in Canada, Target Corp expects its sales in this country to double this year over last, but it has a long way to go before hitting its longer-term forecast of C$6 billion.

 

China

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

– Tencent Holdings Ltd has developed insurance products to compete against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, which will be marketed using Tencent’s popular WeChat mobile messaging app.

SECURITIES TIMES

– The Shanghai Stock Exchange said it would push forward the development of the blue chip market in 2014, promoting the issuance procedures of preferred shares included, to provide strategic and emerging industries with better services.

CHINA DAILY

– Chinese aircraft manufacturer AVIC Xi’an Aircraft Industry Group has applied to ground some of its MA-60 regional commuter-class planes after a problem with the landing carriage kept an MA-60 trying to land in Shenyang circling the airport for two hours.

SHANGHAI DAILY

– Thirty-seven Chinese citizens filed suit in Beijing demanding apologies and reparations from Japan for forced labour during the World War II.

PEOPLE’S DAILY

– Constructive advice and sincere criticism is needed to activate institutional benefit through China’s democracy, an editorial said in the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party ahead of the National People’s Congress in early March.

 

Britain

The Telegraph

ANDREW BAILEY POURS DOUBT ON SALMOND’S PLANS FOR SHARED FINANCIAL REGULATOR

Andrew Bailey has told MPs that Alex Salmond’s plan for the Bank of England to continue to regulate Scottish financial institutions after independence was “not a system in place anywhere else.”

RSA SET TO ANNOUNCE 800 MLN STG RIGHTS ISSUE

RSA Group is set to announce a discounted rights issue of around 800 million pounds ($1.33 billion) to bolster its capital position as the insurer suffered a 200 million pound fraud in its Irish business in the run-up to Christmas.

The Guardian

BRITAIN SHOULD KEEP OPEN POSSIBILITY OF JOINING EURO, SAYS LABOUR FRONTBENCHER

Britain should keep open the possibility of eventual membership of the European single currency, according to a Labour frontbencher Lord Liddle who says it would be “ludicrous” for the UK to cut itself off from the EU mainstream for ideological reasons.

SCOTTISH ENGINEERING FIRM WEIR ORDERS INDEPENDENCE REPORT

One of Scotland’s biggest companies, engineering group Weir , has commissioned a report into the implications of Scottish independence on businesses after warning that “very serious questions” need to be answered.

The Times

CHANCELLOR ARRIVES ON CRUTCHES TO DEFEND THE EUROPEAN DREAM

Angela Merkel will set out the case for Britain to stay in the European Union in her address to both Houses of Parliament today, while warning that there are limits to the powers that can be won back from Brussels.

CO-OP TO SELL FARMS AND PHARMACIES IN SURVIVAL PLAN

Britain’s struggling Co-operative Group said on Wednesday it had kick started the sale of its farms and was looking at selling part or all of its pharmacy business.

Sky News

RBS Slashes Costs As Markets Chief Bows Out

Royal Bank of Scotland will unveil plans to slash billions of pounds from its cost-base on Thursday in an overhaul aimed at facilitating its eventual return to private sector ownership.

Cameron Criticised On Flood Defence Spending

The boss of the country’s biggest insurance firm, Legal & General, has told Sky News he is concerned about a lack of spending on flood defences.

 

Fly on the Wall 7:00 AM Market Snapshot

ECONOMIC REPORTS

Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Jobless Claims for the week of Feb. 22 at 8:30–consensus 335K
Durable goods orders for January at 8:30–consensus -1.6%
Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity index at 11:00–consensus 2

ANALYST RESEARCH

Upgrades

Acuity Brands (AYI) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray
Air Products (APD) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup
Baidu (BIDU) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel
CSR (CSRE) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
Care.com (CRCM) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
First Solar (FSLR) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird
ICF International (ICFI) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Wells Fargo
Nordson (NDSN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at BB&T
PetroChina (PTR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Ralph Lauren (RL) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
Sinopec (SNP) added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman
Sony (SNE) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup
Teekay (TK) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
Weatherford (WFT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
WellCare (WCG) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
Workday (WDAY) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at FBR Capital

Downgrades

AGCO (AGCO) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley
Baidu (BIDU) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley
CNOOC (CEO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Campus Crest (CCG) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at RW Baird
Cedar Realty Trust (CDR) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Wunderlich
Clean Harbors (CLH) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer
Cree (CREE) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray
Cypress Semiconductor (CY) downgraded to Sector Perform at Pacific Crest
Deutsche Bank (DB) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill
Dyax (DYAX) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Leerink
GameStop (GME) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Longbow
Globus Medical (GMED) downgraded to Hold from Buy at WallachBeth
ITT Educational (ESI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill
JAKKS Pacific (JAKK) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley
LightInTheBox (LITB) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer
Nektar (NKTR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at MKM Partners
UTi Worldwide (UTIW) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Avondale
VF Corp. (VFC) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman

Initiations

Allison Transmission (ALSN) initiated with an Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
Cummins (CMI) initiated with an Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
EP Energy (EPE) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup
Express (EXPR) initiated with a Neutral at Wedbush
Francesca’s (FRAN) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush
KaloBios (KBIO) initiated with an Outperform at JMP Securities
Manhattan Associates (MANH) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley
Microsoft (MSFT) initiated with a Neutral at B. Riley
Navistar (NAV) initiated with an Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
Oracle (ORCL) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley
PACCAR (PCAR) initiated with an Overweight at Morgan Stanley
PTC Inc. (PTC) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley
Ross Stores (ROST) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush
SAP (SAP) initiated with a Neutral at B. Riley
TIBCO (TIBX) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley
TJX (TJX) initiated with a Neutral at Wedbush
The Buckle (BKE) initiated with a Neutral at Wedbush
Trevena (TRVN) initiated with a Buy at Needham
Urban Outfitters (URBN) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush
Veeco (VECO) coverage resumed with a Neutral at Piper Jaffray
WABCO (WBC) initiated with an Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
Wabash (WNC) initiated with an Underweight at Morgan Stanley
Zumiez (ZUMZ) initiated with a Neutral at Wedbush

COMPANY NEWS

Williams Partners (WPZ) to acquire Williams’ (WMB) Canadian assets for $1.2B, sees assets immediately accretive
J.C. Penney (JCP) said the SEC was not recommending action its liquidity, cash position and debt and equity financing, as well as the company’s underwritten public offering of common stock last September
J.C. Penney (JCP) forecast FY14 SSS up mid-single digits, Q1 SSS up 3%-5%
Tesla (TSLA) announced a $1.6B convertible note offering and outlined plans for its Gigafactory
Sinovac Biotech (SVA) said its Phase III trial of its EV71 vaccine showed efficacy against hand, foot and mouth disease
IDC: Gamers spent four times as much on Google Play (GOOG) games in Q4 vs. year ago
Nordstrom (JWN) boosted dividend 10% to 33c per share
Riverbed (RVBD) board of directors member Satya Nadella stepped down to more fully devote time to his new position as Microsoft (MSFT) CEO
Bayer (BAYRY) to acquire Dihon Pharmaceutical Group in China

EARNINGS

Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
TRI Pointe Homes (TPH), Orion Marine (ORN), Assured Guaranty (AGO), Great Plains Energy (GXP), L Brands (LB), BioMarin (BMRN), Kennedy Wilson (KW), DCP Midstream (DPM), Autodesk (ADSK), Safe Bulkers (SB), Nutrisystem (NTRI), J.C. Penney (JCP)

Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
Hilton (HLT), Sears (SHLD), PetroQuest (PQ), Delek US (DK), American Water (AWK), Vanguard Natural (VNR), BioScrip (BIOS), Southwest Gas (SWX), Churchill Downs (CHDN), Darling (DAR), Baidu (BIDU), Babcock & Wilcox (BWC), Halcon Resources (HK), TiVo (TIVO)

Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Republic Airways (RJET), Transocean (RIG), Aegean Marine (ANW), ICF International (ICFI), STAAR Surgical (STAA)

NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES

Market research firm IDC predicts global smartphone growth will fall sharply this year, Reuters reports
Blackstone (BX) near deal for Versace stake, FT reports
Verizon (VZ) investigating additional retail breaches, WSJ reports
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) CEO Ross McEwan says the bank is not yet strong enough for any profitable U.K. sale, NY Times reports
Credit Suisse (CS): Tax evasion limited to a few employees, WSJ reports
Baidu (BIDU) CEO: More acquisitions coming, Reuters reports
FDA eases worries regarding certain diabetes medications (MRK, NVO, BMY), AP reports
J. Crew considering possible IPO this year, NY Post reports
Berkshire (BRK.A) expected to post record profit, Bloomberg reports
Solar (FSLR, SUNE, SCTY) brightens for investors, WSJ reports

SYNDICATE

Allete (ALE) 2.8M share Secondary priced at $49.75
Cesca Therapeutics (KOOL) files to sell 5.01M shares of common stock for holders
DCP Midstream (DPM) files to sell 12.5M common units representing limited partners
Lumenis (LMNS) 6.25M share IPO priced at $12.00
Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) 8M share Secondary priced at $17.75
Tesla (TSLA) announces $1.6B convertible notes offering
United Insurance (UIHC) files to sell $50M of common stock

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1hkJ2VU Tyler Durden