Month: February 2014

Last week I went to a conference in South Beach. I made reservations for our hotel a few months ago, but I did not make a reservation for the one night we needed at Key West. I did not know much about the Keys and didn’t have time to research them before the trip. I figured my brother Alex and I would find a hotel when we got there. We were traveling without our families, we are very low-maintenance men, and the hotel was our lowest priority.

We arrived in Miami, rented a car, and headed to the Keys. While Alex was driving I was researching our final destination on my iPad. It did not take me much time to realize that there is very little to see and do (other than go fishing) on the islands other than Key West, so we needed to stay overnight there. And it was four hours away – it’s the largest island and the one furthest one from Miami – so we had plenty of time to find a hotel.

I looked for hotels on Kayak, and there were plenty available in the $300-400 range, plus a few for $200 on my Hotel Tonight app (I highly recommend that app). But I wanted to enjoy the scenery, so I put hotel finding on the back burner. An hour and a half before we were to arrive in Key West, I finally got back to it; but now the Hotel Tonight app did not list any rooms at all, and Kayak showed just a few hotels, all for $600 and up. And every time I called to try to reserve a room, they were gone.

I figured maybe not all hotels are listed on Kayak. So I pulled up Google Maps and called every hotel and motel in the Key West area: every room on the island was booked (this included adjacent islands, too). I even enrolled in a local service that brokered Key West hotel rooms. There were literally no rooms, at any price, available on Key West. Period.

I have to admit that instead of worrying about it I was laughing. I looked at it as an adventure. I had this weird curiosity about how it was going to play out. The feeling was similar to the one I get when I sit down to write an article and don’t have the slightest idea what it will look like when I’m done. The potential downside was merely that Alex and I might have to drive back at night, or most likely just sleep in the car.

Back to the hotel search. There was one exception. Every time I searched there was this one hotel that showed up: New Orleans House, which was described as an “all-male” hotel that offered rooms for $200. I was not quite sure what “all-male” meant – was it maybe a refuge for men tired of their nagging wives? Or maybe it was an all-the-beer-you-can-drink hotel.

So I pulled up the hotel’s website, and in seconds it became crystal clear to me that it was a hotel for gay men. I am the least homophobic person I know, but I had never stayed in a gay hotel before. I was not quite sure what the expectations were of guests. But our options were really limited: stay in that hotel, sleep in the car, or drive at least three hours to the nearest hotel and then drive another three hours back to Key West tomorrow.

I called the hotel and tried to politely ask if there was anything else I needed to know about the hotel, other than that it was for men only. A very polite gentleman told me that I had to be at least 18 (check!) and that clothing was optional. So I asked, “Are you saying there are naked men roaming around the hotel?” I was told they were just at the pool.

Alex was hesitant, but he didn’t like our options either, so I convinced him to at least check it out. It turned out to be a very nice, quaint hotel in the center of Key West (probably in one the best locations). The room was absolutely fine, and we could walk out onto a balcony that overlooked Duval St., one of the touristiest spots in Key West – it looked a lot like New Orleans’s French Quarter.

The swimming pool, which I was not anxious to see, was somewhere in the back. Every man I encountered was fully and neatly dressed and extremely polite. If not for the odd pictures of drag queens on the wall, it would have looked just like any other hotel (if you did not visit the swimming pool). I fit in well, as I was wearing my favorite shirt that just happened to be pink.

There is a life/investment lesson in this adventure. If you think about it, Alex and I capitalized on “homophobic arbitrage.” We were not the only ones looking for a room that night. This was only hotel with a room that was showing up on Kayak or in any other search that evening. With the rooms disappearing fast, I know that there were some people who chose to drive back or sleep in the car rather than stay in that hotel.

In investing you have opportunities that open up because dogmatic investors say “I don’t do retail” (or bankruptcies, or … the list goes on). I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of that, too. But often, opportunities are created because enough people say “I don’t do that.” We are analyzing a company right now that will be delisted because it has not filed its financials for two years. Enough investors have said “I don’t do delisted companies” to create a sell-off and thus an opportunity in that stock.

In early May I am going to Omaha for Buffett’s annual meeting. I have yet to book my room. There are no good rooms available right now; most were booked ten months ago. Usually, rooms show up a few days before the event, but I’m not worried – I can always count on homophobic arbitrage.

As a person who scribbles on a semiconstant basis, I was curious about Hemingway’s writing habits. He got up in the morning and cranked out about 700 words a day. I have been getting up at 5 AM for the last month and a half to write. The only difference between Hemingway and me is that he went fishing and then drinking for the rest of the day while I drive the kids to school and then go to work. But I definitely see the benefits of writing early in the morning. Now, on weekends I can spend time with the family, ski, and read.

Then we went to see the Little White House, the place where Harry Truman spent 175 days during his presidency. It is a relatively small house, considering that a president spent a lot of his time there. It had previously been occupied by the superintendent of the navy base and was made available to the president when he wanted to get away from cold Washington, DC (this was before Camp David).

I have never been to the White House, but I imagine you might get feelings similar to those I had at the Little White House. You start imagining all the important decisions that were made there and that changed the lives of millions. Did Truman decide to drop atomic bombs on Japan while he was there? (Unlikely – that happened in August 1945, and he was in Key West only in wintertime.)

Finally, we visited the Ship Wreck Museum. This was probably the most interesting of the three. I learned that in the 1860s Key West was the wealthiest town in the US. It made money by salvaging ship wrecks. About a hundred ships sailed by Key West every day, but the island is surrounded by reefs, and a ship would wreck about once a week.

There were observation towers all over Key West. When a wreck was spotted, the watchman would call out the two words the populace of Key West most liked to hear: “Wreck Ashore!” Men would run to small boats and rush to the wreck. The first boat that got there and helped the crew off the ship would be awarded the salvage fee.

We were told a good diver could hold his breath for five minutes. They were scarce and in high demand and therefore made $700 a month – a lot of money in the 1860s. If you worked a month you could buy a house for $700. Most divers only lasted a few months, as diving through shipwrecks was extremely dangerous.

Once the cargo was salvaged it was stored in a warehouse and then auctioned – usually for about half of its original value. A judge would decide on the size of the salvage fee, which ranged between 20-50% of the cargo value. The fee would be based on how far the ship was off the coast, how difficult it was to get to the cargo and retrieve it, etc. Salvage fees ranged in the ballpark of $20-50 thousand dollars.

In the 1920s railroads started to steal market share from shipping, navigation got better, and Key West became just another resort town with a great all-male hotel.

If you believe your friends, enemies, relatives or random strangers accumulated a seven figure portfolio and will benefit from our investment services, call Theresa at (303) 796-8333 and we’ll be happy to mail them a signed copy of The Little Book of Sideways Markets.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1d14rBY Vitaliy Katsenelson

The long awated press conference has begun. Here are the highlights:

• YANUKOVICH BLAMES WEST FOR IRRESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
• YANUKOVICH CALLS FOR UKRAINE REFERENDUM ABOUT GOVERNMENT ORDER
• YANUKOVYCH SAYS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS SHOULD BE IN DECEMBER
• YANUKOVYCH SAYS CALLS FOR NORMAL LIFE IN UKRAINIAN REGIONS
• YANUKOVICH SAYS POWER IN UKRAINE WAS SEIZED BY “PRO-FASCIST” FORCES
• YANUKOVYCH SAYS TO CONTINUE FIGHT FOR UKRAINE’S FUTURE

Live webcast below:

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

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1oaTdwx williambanzai7

For a case study of a blistering rise and an absolutely epic fall of an exchange that i) was named after Magic: the Gathering and ii) transacted in a digital currency which many have speculated was conceived by the NSA nearly two decades ago and was used as a honeypot to trap the gullible, look no further than Mt.Gox which after halting withdrawals for the second (and final time) has finally done the honorable thing, and filed for bankruptcy. As the WSJ reports, “Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox said Friday it was filing for bankruptcy protection after losing almost 750,000 of its customers’ bitcoins, marking the collapse of a marketplace that once dominated trading in the virtual currency. The company said it also lost around 100,000 of its own bitcoins. Together, the lost bitcoins would be worth approximately $473 million at market prices charted by the CoinDesk bitcoin index, although the price of Mt. Gox bitcoin had fallen well below that index after it stopped bitcoin withdrawals in early February.”

The punchline: speaking to reporters at Tokyo District Court Friday after the bankruptcy filing, Mt. Gox owner Mark Karpelès said technical issues had opened the way for fraudulent withdrawals, and he apologized to customers.  

“There was some weakness in the system, and the bitcoins have disappeared. I apologize for causing trouble”

So $473 million Bitcoins disappear just like that? But you heard the man – he is sorry. So all is well – and why not: it works for the TBTF banks every day.

What is amazing is that at the time of filing Mt. Gox had outstanding debt of about ¥6.5 billion ($63.6 million), and just as amazing is that it actually had assets worth ¥3.84 billion.

Elsewhere, prices on the CoinDesk index, which tracks the Bitstamp and BTC-e bitcoin exchanges, fell slightly after the announcement but appeared to stave off a larger drop.

Mr. Karpelès, wearing a gray suit and a blue tie, appeared calm while his lawyer did most of the talking, but he appeared to have difficulty finding words when reporters asked him to send a message to his investors, just repeating his apology.

Computer geeks who were hoping to ride the momentum train to riches, and apparently had never heard of gold, were unhappy:

“It is disappointing they hid so much for so long,” said Jonathan Waller, a 30-year-old game developer who said he had had 211 bitcoin in Mt. Gox. “I hope they manage to become a fully-functioning exchange again, but their reputation is so damaged it may not be possible,” he said.

 

Over the past month, customers from as far away as the U.K. and Australia had come to air their complaints outside the company’s Tokyo offices. One of them, Londoner Kolin Burges, figured in news photos around the world holding a sign saying, “MT GOX—WHERE IS OUR MONEY.”

 

William Banks, a website developer in Australia, said he lost about 100 bitcoins in Mt. Gox. He had been using the platform since the end of 2012, when he bought some bitcoins at $40 each. Recently, he bought more at about $800 a pop as he became more confident in the virtual currency. He said he has contacted a Japan-based lawyer to look into legal action.

 

About Mt. Gox’s loss of bitcoins, he said, “That seems impossible to me. It’s just such an astronomical amount of coins to lose.”

Only when redenominated in USD. Remember: BTC is its own currency so why fret? As for the collapse of this latest Ponzi scheme: if things appear too good to be true (wink wink S&P 500), they usually are.

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1d0YoNV Tyler Durden

• Yuan suffers biggest weekly loss as PBOC punishes speculators (Reuters)
• Euro Gains as Bonds Decline With Stocks on Inflation Data (BBG)
• Biggest Sovereign Fund Forced to Sell Stocks as Mandate Breached (BBG)
• Because we don’t already have enough fried foods.. (Reuters)
• Putin: Russia to Consider Aid to Ukraine (AP)
• Wall Street Hates JPMorgan Fee for $1 Trillion Junk Loans (BBG)
• Yellen Sticks to Plan Amid Weather Doubts (WSJ)
• U.S. Retail Chains See First Profit Decline Since Recession (BBG)
• Sotheby’s Pink Diamond Buyer Defaulted on Record Purchase (BBG)
• Winter Storm Threatens New Yorkers on First Commute in March (BBG)
• New York Plaza Owner Arrested Amid $3.9 Billion Refund Probe (BBG)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

* Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said bad weather might explain the patch of soft economic data making headlines during the past few weeks, but she isn’t quite sure.

* Insurers are rushing to gather health information from the new customers they won on public marketplaces in a high-stakes outreach effort crucial to their hopes of profiting from the health-care law.

* Sandwich chain Quiznos is preparing to file for bankruptcy-court protection within weeks as it contends with unhappy franchisees and a $570 million debt load, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

* Wells Fargo said it is cutting another 700 mortgage jobs, as the U.S. home refinancing market continues to cool.

* Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc rejected Men’s Wearhouse Inc’s $1.8 billion takeover as “inadequate,” but in doing so left open the possibility of ultimately agreeing to a tie-up with its rival.

* Freddie Mac reported a record annual profit of $48.7 billion for 2013 on Thursday, powered by a strong rebound in U.S. home prices and a series of legal and accounting benefits that reversed earlier losses.

* SunTrust Banks Inc is the subject of an investigation into whether its actions may have resulted in unspecified losses to Fannie Mae the government-controlled mortgage-finance company, according to federal filings and people familiar with the matter.

* Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen defended the corporate-governance practices of the technology industry and said he recuses himself from boardroom discussions that could involve companies his firm is backing.

* Federal regulators plan to file a legal action against a unit of mortgage-servicing firm Walter Investment Management over alleged violations of consumer financial laws, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

* Teens as young as 13 are sometimes shown Facebook ads inappropriate to their age, underscoring Facebook’s challenge in policing a social network with more than a billion users and a million advertisers.

 

FT

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced an independent inquiry into letters of immunity sent to IRA suspects after an angry response to the freeing of an Irishman accused of 1982 bombing that killed four soldiers in London.

Spain’s government has started to sell some of its shares in nationalised lender Bankia with an initial offer to investors of a 7.5 percent stake in an attempt towards reprivatisation.

Europe’s largest insurer Allianz’s Chief Executive warned of interference in the operating decisions of Pimco amid pressure from investors to protect the bond fund manager brand.

Insurance and pensions heavyweight Standard Life became the first major company to warn it could move partly out of Scotland if Scots split from the United Kingdom, fuelling a political row over the financial impact of independence.

Italian fashion house Versace is selling a 20 percent stake to U.S. private equity firm Blackstone through the injection of 150 million euros of fresh capital and the purchase of 60 million euros worth of shares from the Versace family.

 

NYT

* Accounts based on documents supplied by Edward Snowden say images – many sexually explicit – were collected from Yahoo users, even those not suspected of illegal activity.

* The instant growth in the oil-by-rail business is increasing the oil supply, but also raising alarms.

* State and federal regulators are worried that Ocwen Financial Corp is mishandling some of the mortgages it services, citing examples of shoddy paperwork and faulty technology.

* SeaWorld Entertainment Inc has come under fire after a documentary criticized its practice of holding whales in captivity. Now, the company is firing back.

* Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said on Thursday that the Fed was looking closely at a recent run of disappointing economic data as it considers how quickly to retreat from its economic stimulus campaign.

* Scrambling to contain the expanding fallout from the recall of about 1.4 million small cars because of a faulty ignition switch, General Motors Co again apologized on Thursday and said that it hoped to start repairing the cars in early April.

* A British man has been charged with hacking into computer servers belonging to the United States Federal Reserve, and then widely disclosing personal information of people who use them.

* Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc said on Thursday that its board had rejected Men’s Wearhouse Inc’s latest takeover bid, worth nearly $1.8 billion, but said that it was willing to meet to try and agree on a higher price.

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

* Long-simmering tension between Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and the city’s police chief reached a new level of animosity with the mayor daring Chief Bill Blair on Thursday to “arrest me.”

* With its flagship project rejected once more, Taseko Mines Ltd is refusing to throw in the towel, saying it will not give up its bid for a federal judicial review of what the company calls a flawed environmental report.

Reports in the business section:

* Bruce Power is working to secure the commitment from its two leading shareholders – TransCanada Corp and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System – for a 15-year, C$15 billion ($13.5 billion) project to refurbish six Candu reactors at its Lake Huron site.

* Amid signs of a cooling Canadian economy and slower personal borrowing, the country’s largest lenders are reporting stellar results, reviving memories of a recent earnings season when four of the Big Six banks reported record profits.

NATIONAL POST

* At the just-concluded Liberal national policy convention, a motion called for Australian-style gun control in Canada. This would see a huge number of guns seized from their owners in exchange for monetary compensation, and then destroyed. The motion was defeated, but that didn’t stop some Tory members of parliament from warning lawful gun owners that the Liberals are out to get them.

* Quebec’s Premier Pauline Marois says she doesn’t believe Quebec’s anglophone and allophone communities are living in a climate of insecurity despite a recent poll suggesting the contrary. The EKOS poll, conducted for CBC-Radio-Canada, suggested that 51 percent of anglophones surveyed had considered leaving Quebec in the past year.

FINANCIAL POST

* WestJet Airlines Ltd could bring in wide-body aircraft for in-house flying as soon as next year, the company disclosed to its pilots in a private presentation on Thursday.

* British Columbia’s finance minister says the government is taking West Coast liquefied natural gas investment “very seriously,” even as companies such as Royal Dutch Shell push back on the province’s 7 percent additional income tax on proposed LNG projects on the West Coast.

 

China

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

– Ownership reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong is expected to attract more than 100 billion yuan ($16.32 billion) of private capital, the region’s vice governor Xu Shaohua said. The reform should be completed by 2015, he added.

– China will adopt five key measures to deal with worsening air pollution problems, including promoting natural gas supply, building new electric transmission networks and developing new energy technology, the country’s energy authorities said.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

– Asset-backed securitization is estimated to hit 200 billion yuan ($32.63 billion) this year, industry experts told the official paper.

SHANGHAI DAILY

– A police official in the southwestern province of Sichuan has been arrested for taking 31 million yuan ($5.06 million) in bribes. Authorities raided his home and office, finding close to $2 million in cash alone.

SECURITIES TIMES

– Shenzhen’s Qianhai free trade zone (FTZ), a testing ground for many policies to attract overseas investments, will help promote trade liberalization in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong, the Qianhai authority said in a document.

CHINA DAILY

– Chinese contractors earned $137 billion in revenues from operations abroad in 2013, according to the China International Contractors Association. This was up 17.6 percent from a year earlier, driven by growing demand in Europe and Latin America.

PEOPLE’S DAILY

– China needs to remember its history in order to create a bright future, the paper which acts as a Party mouthpiece said in an editorial. This comes in the wake of the country setting two new national memorial days to mark its victory in the Sino-Japanese war and the massacre of its civilians in Nanjing.

 

Britain

The Telegraph

GLAXO BONUSES HURT BY CHINA SCANDAL

Bonuses for GlaxoSmithKline’s top executives were “lower than they otherwise might have been” last year due to a major bribery scandal in China that has dogged the company since June, the company said in its annual report.

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO THREATENS LEGAL CHALLENGE TO PLAIN PACKAGING PROPOSALS

British American Tobacco has threatened to take the UK government to court over proposals to enforce plain packaging on cigarette packages.

The Guardian

STANDARD LIFE WARNS IT MAY QUIT AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND

Standard Life, the Edinburgh-based financial services group, became the largest and most influential Scottish firm yet to warn about the possible impact of independence and said it was setting up English subsidiary companies in case it decided to relocate.

BANK OF ENGLAND IDENTIFIES NEED TO SHELTER HOMEOWNERS FROM INTEREST SPIKE

The Bank of England’s base rate would peak close to 3 percent to protect mortgage payers from a big increase in monthly interest payments, a senior Bank of England official said .

The Times

RBS TO SLIM DOWN AS LOSSES HIT 8.2 BILLION POUNDS

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland slid more than 9 per cent today after the bank revealed a “sobering” £8.24 billion loss and its chief executive revealed a radical restructuring plan.

O2 BEATS VODAFONE TO 1 MILLION 4G CUSTOMERS

The Spanish-owned network maintained its position as Britain’s second-largest mobile operator after adding 222,000 customers in the fourth quarter, bringing its total customer base to 23.9 million.

Sky News

OFGEM DEMANDS BIG SIX RETURN CUSTOMER CASH

Ofgem will on Friday intensify the pressure on the big six energy companies by demanding that they hand back hundreds of millions of pounds in surplus customer funds.

DEBT MANAGEMENT FIRMS ARE ‘FAILING PUBLIC’

Indebted people who try to get out of financial trouble by using the services of consolidation firms are seeing up to four fifths of the money they pay going on fees and charges rather than their debts, a Sky News investigation has found.

 

 

Fly On The Wall 7:00 AM Market Snapshot

ECONOMIC REPORTS
Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
Q4 GDP, second read, at 8:30–consensus 2.5%
Chicago PMI for February at 9:45–consensus 56.4
U. of Michigan consumer confidence at 9:55–consensus 81.5
Pending home sales for January at 10:00–consensus up 2.3% for the month

ANALYST RESEARCH

Upgrades

American States Water (AWR) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Brean Capital
Crane (CR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup
Credit Suisse (CS) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays
Eaton Vance (EV) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee
Gap (GPS) upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at Atlantic Equities
Principal Financial (PFG) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette
RadiSys (RSYS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Needham
Taseko Mines (TGB) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill
TripAdvisor (TRIP) upgraded to Neutral from Negative at Susquehanna
WesBanco (WSBC) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette
Westlake Chemical (WLK) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan

Downgrades

Abaxis (ABAX) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill
American Assets (AAT) downgraded to Market Perform at JMP Securities
American Public (APEI) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital
American States Water (AWR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Janney Capital
Catamaran (CTRX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at ISI Group
Deckers Outdoor (DECK) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies
Eagle Rock Energy (EROC) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo
Endologix (ELGX) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer
Equity One (EQY) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
Hanesbrands (HBI) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel
InterMune (ITMN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse
Isle of Capri (ISLE) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
James Hardie NV (JHX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill
KBR (KBR) downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T
MarkWest Energy (MWE) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley
MarkWest Energy (MWE) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo
Medivation (MDVN) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies
Medivation (MDVN) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen
Pan American Silver (PAAS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
Performant Financial (PFMT) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse
ResMed (RMD) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan
Silver Standard (SSRI) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank
Solar Senior (SUNS) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at JMP Securities
The Fresh Market (TFM) downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James
Vanguard Natural (VNR) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo
Vantiv (VNTV) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies
Westar Energy (WR) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays
YuMe (YUME) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup
Zale (ZLC) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup

Initiations

Magellan Health (MGLN) initiated with a Market Perform at Leerink
Virtus Investment Partners (VRTS) initiated with a Neutral at BofA/Merrill

COMPANY NEWS

Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) rejected $63.50 tender offer, agreed to meet with Men’s Wearhouse (MW)
Pepsi (PEP) sent letter to Peltz, rejected proposal
Mattel (MAT) acquired MEGA Brands in transaction valued at about $460M
ParkerVision (PRKR) gained after Qualcomm (QCOM) dismissed counterclaims against the company in their patent infringement suit
Decker’s Outdoors (DECK) fell 14% after the UGG manufacturer reported Q4 earnings and sales that beat estimates, but forecast a Q1 loss of 16c against analysts’ expectations for a 10c profit
Nippon TV acquired Hulu service (CMCSA, DIS, FOXA) in Japan
Juniper (JNPR) entered $1.2B accelerated share repurchase agreements
Ashford Hospitality (AHT) to spin off asset management business
Aqua America (WTR) prepared to invest in strategic ventures
United Continental (UAL) forecast Q1 PRASM down 0.5%-2.5%

EARNINGS

Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
Buenaventura (BVN), Aqua America (WTR), New Gold (NGD), Howard Hughes (HHC), Universal Health (UHS), OmniVision (OVTI), Mentor Graphics (MENT), Esterline (ESL), Hyperion Therapeutics (HPTX), Deckers Outdoor (DECK), SandRidge Energy (SD), Air Lease (AL), ACADIA (ACAD), Tumi (TUMI), Salesforce.com (CRM), Gap (GPS)

Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
Tesco (TESO), Orient-Express (OEH), Atlas Resource Partners (ARP), Comfort Systems USA (FIX), Willbros Group (WG), Bio-Rad (BIO), Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA), Clovis (CLVS),  Merrimack (MACK), Einstein Noah (BAGL), Monster Beverage (MNST), Sotheby’s (BID)

Companies that matched consensus earnings expectations include:
Pactera (PACT), Sequenom (SQNM), Spectranetics (SPNC), Ross Stores (ROST)

NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES

Amazon (AMZN) negotiating Prime streaming music service, Re/code reports
U.S. judge: Gmail suit against Google (GOOG) faces significant hurdle, Reuters reports
IBM (IBM),in restructuring move, begins cutting U.S. jobs, Bloomberg reports
3M (MMM) working with Goldman (GS) to sell some electronics units, Bloomberg reports
Warner Bros. (TWX) planning Minecraft movie, CNET reports
German court dismisses patent suit against Apple (AAPL), Bloomberg reports
UBS (UBS) to trade Chinese stock futures, Bloomberg reports
GM (GM) looking to start repairing ignition switches in April, NY Times reports
Musk (TSLA) says battery swapping should be available in few months, Bloomberg reports
Nissan (NSANY) aims to rev up production in U.S., Detroit News reports

SYNDICATE

Ampio (AMPE) 8.5M share Secondary priced at $7.00
Bankrate (RATE) files to sell 14M shares of common stock for holders
Colony Financial (CLNY) files to sell 12M shares of common stock
Compugen (CGEN) files automatic ordinary share shelf
DCP Midstream (DPM) 12.5M share Secondary priced at $48.90
Enzymotec (ENZY) 4.8M share Secondary priced at $28.00
Neptune Technologies (NEPT) files to sell common stock
Prospect Global Resources (PGRX) files to sell 17M shares of common stock
Sunoco Logistics (SXL) files to sell $250M in common units
United Insurance (UIHC) 4M share Secondary priced at $12.50
Varonis (VRNS) 4.8M share IPO priced at $22.00

via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1d0WIE2 Tyler Durden