Dell

The run to 1500 for the S&P 500 is over, and these three tech companies are either complete no growth dogs, or over-priced retailers! 

• Doubt Greets Bank of Japan's Easing Shift (WSJ)
• Japan hits back at currency critics (FT)
• Japan upgrades economic view for first time in eight months (Australian) - only to lower them in a few months again
• GOP critics get opportunity to grill Secretary Clinton on Benghazi (Hill)
• Global economy set for ‘slow recovery’ (FT)
• Obama to back short debt limit extension (FT)
• Unfinished Luxury Tower Is Stark Reminder of Las Vegas’s Economic Reversal (NYT)
• Draghi Says ‘Darkest Clouds’ Over Europe Have Subsided (BBG)
• High-Speed Dustup Hits a Clubby Corner (WSJ)
• U.S. Budget Discord Is Top Threat to Global Economy in Poll (BBG)
• Sir Mervyn King says abandoning inflation target would be 'irresponsible' (Telegraph)
• Spain Says It May Cover 13% of 2013 Funding in January (BBG)

• Geithner allegations beg Fed reform (Reuters)
• BOJ Adopts Abe’s 2% Target in Commitment to End Deflation (BBG)
• Bundesbank Head Cautions Japan (WSJ)
• In speech, Obama pushes activist government and takes on far right (Reuters)
• Atari’s U.S. Operations File for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (BBG)
• Israel goes to polls, set to re-elect Netanyahu (Reuters)
• Apple May Face First Profit Drop in Decade as IPhone Slows (BBG)
• EU states get blessing for financial trading tax (Reuters)
• Indian Jeweler Becomes Billionaire as Gold Price Surges (BBG)
• Europe Stocks Fall; Deutsche Bank Drops on Bafin Request (BBG)
• Algeria vows to fight Qaeda after 38 workers killed (Reuters)
• GS Yuasa Searched After Boeing 787s Are Grounded (BBG)
• Slumping pigment demand eats into DuPont's profit (Reuters)

• With array of challenges, Obama kicks off second term at public inauguration (Reuters)
• Uneasy in the Political Climate, Mickelson Talks Like Someone Ready to Step Away (NYT)
• BOJ Should Slow Easing If Yen Weakens Too Much, Hamada Says (BBG)
• Spain Recession Scars Exposed as Jobless Seen at 6 Mln (BBG)
• Davos Doom Loses to Merkel-Draghi as Euro Defies Roubini (BBG)
• Algeria finds dead Canadian militants as siege toll rises (Reuters)
• Beijing tries to clean up its act (FT)
• Investigators probe Boeing 787 battery maker (Reuters)
• Netanyahu Gets Landslide in Markets Masking No Peace Process (BBG)
• Google aims to replace passwords with ID ring (Telegraph)
• Kim Dotcom launches new upload site (FT)
• Dell Said to Hire Evercore to Seek Higher Bids After Buyout (BBG)
• Hostess Bakers Union Hires Investment Bank Gordian in Asset Sale (BBG)

• Foreign Hostages Die in Algeria’s Battle With Terrorists (Bloomberg)
• The latest bank to soon join the currency wars: McCafferty Says BOE Must Keep Open Mind on New Policy Tools (Bloomberg)
• US debt talks complicated by timing (FT)
• BOJ eyes open-ended asset buying, agrees new inflation goal (Reuters)
• AmEx Says U.S. Card Income Fell 42% as Loss Provisions Increased (BBG)
• Call to raise age for US’s Medicare (FT)
• Obama Promise to Raise Middle Class Living Already Seen in Peril (BBG)
• China Exits Slowdown as Quarterly Growth Tops Forecasts (BBG) - actually, as new Politburo says to make it appear that way
• Britain to drift out of European Union without reforms (Reuters)
• Republicans weigh interim debt-limit hike (FT)
• Abe's aide says Japan shouldn't fret if yen falls to 100 vs dlr (Reuters) ... and it was 90 just a few days ago
• PBOC May Seek More Liquidity Operations (Dow Jones)

With the Dell LBO potentially heralding the renaissance of re-leveraging risk transfer from equity-holders to credit-holders, Goldman's screen among investment grade and high-yield companies attempts to uncover the names most likely to engage in shareholder-friendly (or more specifically bond-holder unfriendly) events. From quantitative screens on cashflow, leverage, and cash to stock 'cheapness', industry suitablity, and management reputation, the following 47 names warrant further attention (in both CDS and equity markets).

As we anxiously await the titanic announcement about to spew forth from Menlo Park, we thought a look at 2013's +20% performance was worthwhile. We would expect to hear a plethora of 'monetizing mobile' and a cajillion eyeballs must mean something. Will the Facebook phone replace the Obama-phone? Will being 'liked' provide external stimulus? Will they be merging with Dell (or Radioshack?) Feeling bullish? Be wary, implied vol is at its most expensivce to realized vol in 7 months... Rest assured, we will bring the critical headlines as they break...

*FACEBOOK SAYS IT'S A PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT                :FB US
*FACEBOOK ANNOUNCES GRAPH SEARCH                          :FB US

FB stumbling now -1.7%

• White House delays 2014 budget after "fiscal cliff" standoff (Reuters) - And Senate will pass this... never?
• Amari Signals Limits to Abe’s Campaign to Weaken Yen (BBG)
• Draghi’s Bond Rally Masks Debt Doom Loop Trapping Spain (BBG)
• Obama backs gun limits, concedes tough fight ahead (AP)
• Bernanke to Weigh QE Costs as Fed Assets Approach Record (BBG)
• Japan to Sell Debt Worth 7.8 Trillion Yen to Pay for Stimulus (BBG)
• France more than doubles forces in Mali (FT) and yet...
• Malian Rebels Take Town and Vow to Avenge French Attack (NYT)
• China’s Li Calls for Patience as Government Works to Reduce Smog (BBG)
• EU berates China over steel subsidies (BBG)
• Number of working poor families grows as wealth gap widens (Reuters)

And so the consequences for Europe of accommodating the US, and the rest of the world, in having the EUR soar following ECB intervention while everyone else's currency is diluted to death, comes to the fore, following today's announcement of German 2012 GDP which came below expectations of 0.8%, printing at 0.7%, with government adding a substantial 1.0% to this number, while plant and machinery investment tumbled by a whopping -4.4%. And while the specific Q4 data was not actually broken out, a subsequent report by the German stat office indicated that Q4 GDP likely shrank by 0.5% in Q4. All that is needed is one more quarter of sub zero GDP, which will almost certainly happen in Q1 absent a massive surge in government spending which however will not happen in tapped out Germany, whose resources are focused on keeping the periphery afloat, and thus the EURUSD high, and Germany's exports weak. Confirming this was a Bild report which stated that the government now sees 2013 GDP growth of a paltry 0.4%, which assumes growth in H2. One wonders just how much longer Germany will opt for a currency regime that punishes its primary GDP-driver: net exports, at the expense of nothing beneficial but making tourist trips to Greece far more expensive than under the Drachma.

Just like Friday, there was virtually nothing notable to speak of in today's trading. The one catalyst that pushed stocks higher: all stocks, not just the one that may or may not be in play, was the DELL LBO rumor, that prevented the DJIA from going red on the day and pushed the 30 stock average well above the red, even if the S&P500 was not quite so lucky. As for what really mattered today, it is summarized in two words: "AAPL" and "$500." After breaching $500 briefly in the early trading session, the end of trading saw a concerted selling effort in the one stock most heavily owned by the hedge fund community, yet no matter how close it got to breaching $500, and sending the company into who knows what stop loss tailspin, someone kept buying just above $500  thereby preventing the uber levered hedge funds from having to start liquidating holdings to meet margin calls.

At precisely 14:04:08 a flashing red Bloomberg headline hit that "DELL IS SAID TO BE IN TALKS TO GO PRIVATE." Moments later the stock slammed higher by 10% triggering a circuit breaker. Whether or not there is an actual deal behind this is unknown: considering the "two sources" used by Bloomberg gave virtually no details on who the buyers are, or what the vision for the pro forma private company will be, we are inclined to assume this is nothing but a big, and successful, fishing expedition by a party that sought to make a quick buck. What we do know, is something completely unrelated. Courtesy of Nanex, who have broken down the trades from the pre-headline prices of $10.90 to the halt price of just under $12.00, it appears that today's robotic algo brains take no more and no less than 4 seconds to fully process flashing red headlines. This is how long it took to send the stock in a straight line from the bottom of the range to the top, because all along the ride there were offers, until finally the offer stack was exhausted at the circuit breaker price. To anyone who blinked and missed the move: condolences - just get a collocated algo and any future LBO announcements - real or fake - will be far more lucrative courtesy of an electronic trigger finger located right on the exchange.

Moments ago Bloomberg broke news that $19 billion market cap Dell may be in talks to go public. The result was a 10% surge in the stock that halted the stock as a circuit was triggered. Of course, there was a headline caveat that "LBO TALKS MAY NOT LEAD TO A DEAL." Which is not improbable: at $19 billion market cap, the equity check would be substantial for any consortium of buyers, not to mention the debt. Then again this must be the New Normal LBO announcement, where PE firms "leak" news of a going private deal just so they get to pay an even higher 20% premium to a closing stock price.  But the truly hilarious part is that the entire multi-trillion market jumped as if stung following the news. And that is what passes for efficient markets these days. Unless, of course, the "here come the LBOs" thesis is now in play.

Things change fast in the technology world. 

• Obama Signs Bill Enacting Budget Deal to Avert Most Tax Hikes (BBG)
• GOP Leaders Take Political Risk With Deal (WSJ)
• Basel Becomes Babel as Conflicting Rules Undermine Safety (BBG)
• Portugal Faces Divisions Over Austerity Measures (WSJ)
• The Fiscal Cliff Deal and the Damage Done (BBG)
• Cliff deal threatens second term agenda (FT)
• Deposits stable in euro zone periphery in November (Reuters)
• Fresh Budget Fights Brewing (WSJ)
• China Poised for 2013 Rebound as Debt Risks Rise for Xi (BBG)
• Who's Afraid of Italian Elections?  (WSJ)
• China services growth adds to economic revival hopes (Reuters)
• Asian Economies Show Signs of Strength (WSJ)
• Japan’s Aso Targets Myanmar Markets Amid China Rivalry (Bloomberg)