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Frontrunning: September 24

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/24/2014 07:41 -0400

A Month of Bombs Dropped in One Night of Strikes on Syria (BBG)
Air strikes in Syria hit Islamic State-held areas near Turkey (Reuters)
Pimco ETF Draws Probe by SEC (WSJ)
Shadowy al Qaeda cell, hit by U.S. in Syria, seen as 'imminent' threat (Reuters)
Yellen Warns on Market Calm Before ‘Considerable Time’ Up (BBG)
Dudley Says Fed Needs U.S. Economy to Run ‘A Little Hot' (BBG)
Websites Are Wary of Facebook Tracking Software (WSJ)
Tokyo Gas in no hurry to buy new LNG from Russia due to sanctions (Reuters)
Just a joke now: Barclays Fined Twice in One Day for Compliance Failures (BBG)
Companies in Bakken Shale Fight Limits on Oil Trains (WSJ)
Fired UPS worker kills two supervisors, self, in Alabama shooting (Reuters)
Citizens Financial IPO Prices at $21.50 a Share, Below Range (WSJ)
NYC Luxury-Condo Buyers Await New Towers as Sales Slow (BBG)
San Francisco Skyscraper Values Soar as Tech Lifts Rents (BBG)
NYC’s Most Expensive Condo to Be Listed at $130 Million (BBG)
Planned obsolescence 101: May I Borrow Your Shower? Ukraine Braces for Winter Cold (BBG)
The iPhone 6's latest free feature: it bends in your pocket (MacRumors)
U.S. hospitals unprepared to handle Ebola waste (Reuters)
Dutch parcel service TNT Express issues profit warning, warns of weak growth in Europe and the US (Expatica)

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

on.wsj.com/1xbTjx3)

* Pfizer Inc explored a potential tax-lowering takeover of rival Actavis PLC in recent weeks, but talks between the two pharmaceutical companies have ended, according to a person familiar with the matter. (on.wsj.com/ZcBTT4)

* Investors had to wait more than a decade for a bank offering the size of Citizens Financial Group Inc's $3 billion initial stock sale. In the deal priced Tuesday, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC offered 140 million shares of the U.S. regional bank for $21.50 each. That is below the company's expected range of between $23 and $25 a share, according to filings. Citizens' common stock is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the ticker "CFG." (on.wsj.com/1mrSmNc)

* Executives from the top oil companies in the Bakken Shale told state regulators that their crude is safe to transport by train, opposing possible requirements that they make the oil less volatile before shipping it. The industry pushback comes as North Dakota considers new rules on treating crude to stabilize it, spurred by growing public concern about the safety of oil-laden trains crisscrossing the country.(on.wsj.com/1uXEg7F)

* Google Inc must improve its proposal to settle European Union concerns over its search practices or face formal antitrust charges, the bloc's competition chief said, even as he rejected calls to break up the U.S. search giant. (on.wsj.com/1pbDI8B)

* Frank Tamayo, who surrendered to the FBI last week, worked as a home lending officer for Citigroup Inc in Midtown Manhattan, across the street from the bank's headquarters, according sources and confirmed by the bank. The U.S. attorney's office of New Jersey on Friday named Tamayo as part of the alleged insider-trading ring, and said he had pleaded guilty to securities fraud. Citigroup said in a statement on Tuesday that it "terminated this individual as soon as we learned of his admission of guilt." (on.wsj.com/ZJvcIa)

* Oracle Corp paid Larry Ellison, who vacated the chief executive post last week, $67.3 million for his final full year in the job, the company said. Nearly all of Ellison's compensation consisted of stock options. For the fiscal year 2014, Ellison's salary remained $1, as it has been since 2011. (on.wsj.com/1mOxH6A)

* Brazilian authorities have filed a criminal action against eight Embraer SA employees accusing them of bribing officials in the Dominican Republic in return for a $92 million contract to provide the country's armed forces with attack planes. (on.wsj.com/XZjV4M)

* Mitesh Parikh, Goldman Sachs Group Inc's European head of spot foreign exchange trading, is leaving to join a hedge fund, according to people familiar with the matter. (on.wsj.com/1v8Q4mF)

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc was pressured into cutting the price of shares sold in the Citizens Financial stock market offering to $21.50, to ease investor concerns over the lender's ability to perform on its financial goals.

Airbus Group is packing more seats into its A380 superjumbo aircraft, hoping to revive interest in the world's largest passenger jet. German venture capital group Rocket Internet has priced shares for its initial public offering at a midpoint market capitalization of 6.2 billion euros ($7.96 billion).

British technology company Arm Holdings Plc is releasing a chip designed for connected home appliances and wearable products, hoping to open up new avenues for future growth.

Norwegian fertilizer firm Yara International is in merger talks with U.S.-based CF Industries Holdings Inc - a deal that would make them one of the largest international crop nutrient producers.

NYT

* President Obama, emboldened by his use of executive powers to fight climate change at home, challenged China on Tuesday to make the same effort to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions and join a worldwide campaign to curb global warming. (http://nyti.ms/1wL6DVX)

* Maurice R. Greenberg, 89, the former American International Group Inc chief executive, who still holds a large stake in the insurance company, filed a lawsuit on behalf of fellow shareholders that accuses the government of shortchanging the AIG in its 2008 bailout.(http://nyti.ms/ZJu0Vc)

* The three largest soda companies - The Coca-Cola Co , PepsiCo Inc and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group - have pledged to cut the number of sugary drink calories that Americans consume by one-fifth in about a decade, through a combination of marketing, distribution and packaging. (http://nyti.ms/ZcC7cO)

* After 26 years within the Royal Bank of Scotland Group , the Citizens Financial Group, the American retail bank, is setting off on its own. The bank raised $3 billion in its initial public offering on Tuesday, valuing itself at $12.9 billion, which was below expectations. (http://nyti.ms/1rjpx4q)

* Tiger Global Management, the $15 billion investment firm that has invested in the likes of the Alibaba Group <IPO-BABA.N> and the sunglasses maker Warby Parker, has begun raising a $1.5 billion fund, just five months after raising another $1.5 billion vehicle, a person briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. (http://nyti.ms/1rmH0KH)

* A week after Zalando <IPO-ZLDO.F>, the German e-commerce giant, announced plans for an I.P.O. that could value the company at up to $7.3 billion, Rocket Internet, another Berlin-based Internet company, said on Tuesday that its own public offering could value the company at up to $7.8 billion. (http://nyti.ms/1xbZWiQ)

Canda

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** The unique marriage of Maple Leaf Foods Inc and activist shareholder Greg Boland ended earlier this month when Bay Street fund West Face Capital Inc sold its four-year-old stake in the company. (http://bit.ly/Y0FeTA)

** Canada's environment minister says the government is committed to reaching a new global climate deal in Paris next year, as leaders from two of the world's biggest carbon emitters, the United States and China, pledged to take tougher action to combat global warming. (http://bit.ly/1sXhFUn)

** Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he will "continue to not engage" with Sun Media - one of the country's largest newspaper and media organizations - after one of its columnists and TV hosts made critical and personal remarks about Trudeau's parents. (http://bit.ly/1xdoLeg)

NATIONAL POST

** The day after Netflix Inc defied an order from Canada's broadcast regulator to hand over its subscriber data, the U.S. video-streaming service insisting it was not bound by Canadian regulations, legal observers said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has little recourse to force the matter besides taking the company to court. (http://bit.ly/1ohvPOH)

** If the question going into the mayoralty debate on Tuesday evening was what kind of Doug Ford would show up, the answer was this: one that was fired up. Sticking to tried and tested slogans about gravy trains, subways and a tax and spend yesteryear, Councillor Ford proved he can spar with the best of them at his first performance since joining the race, in front of a decidedly friendly crowd at York Memorial Collegiate. (http://bit.ly/1tYG3t7)

** After undergoing chemotherapy to combat a rare form of cancer, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is home with his family after being discharged from a Toronto hospital on Tuesday afternoon. (http://bit.ly/1msaK8L)

China

CHINA DAILY

- China's top food and drug regulator plans to grade food and drug producers and issue a blacklist with information on enterprises, in a move to address serious food safety issues that have emerged in recent years.

CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL

- China may take a dual approach of lowering interest rates and adjusting the exchange rate when the economy is under pressure, the paper said in its front-page comment.

SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS

- China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited announced on Tuesday the unified account online platform would be launched on Oct. 1 and that account fees would be lowered starting from Oct. 8.

PEOPLE'S DAILY

- Different countries have different methods of governance and consultative democracy is China's most important, unique governing channel, the official People's Daily said in an editorial.

Britain

The Times

SFO PUTS TESCO IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS CRISIS DEEPENS Britain's Serious Fraud Office is following events at the country's biggest supermarket chain Tesco Plc closely as the company investigates whether any deliberate manipulation was involved in the creation of 250 million pounds ($409.75 million) of illusory profits. (http://thetim.es/1sWBeMt)

TESCO'S RETAIL RIVALS WARNED OVER RISKS IN ACCOUNTS Auditors have warned leading retailers including J Sainsbury , Wm Morrison and Travis Perkins Plc that they could be at risk of a Tesco-style accounting fiasco. (http://thetim.es/1rmAq6V) ANOTHER FINE MESS FOR BARCLAYS, THE BRITAIN'S MOST PENALISED FINANCIAL GROUP Barclays Plc has been officially declared the most-fined financial institution in Britain after confirming that it is paying a 38 million pound penalty for failings that put billions of pounds of client money at risk. (http://thetim.es/1uFjhUJ)

The Guardian

JIMMY CHOO PLANS FLOTATION VALUED AT MORE THAN 700 MLN STG Jimmy Choo <IPO-JIM.L> has set out plans to join the London Stock Exchange next month in a deal that could value the upmarket shoemaker at more than 700 million pounds, seeking to woo investors with the prospect of expansion in Asia. (http://bit.ly/XYdSO4)

BANK OF ENGLAND DEPUTY CALLS FOR U.S. CO-OPERATION OVER BANK FINES The deputy governor of the Bank of England has called for better co-operation with U.S. regulators over the scale of fines being levied on banks to ensure they do not weaken their financial position. (http://bit.ly/ZcrKpi)

The Telegraph

MOBILE OPERATORS IN TALKS FOR RURAL COVERAGE COMPROMISE

Britain's mobile operators are in talks with the government over a deal to share access to their masts in an effort to improve coverage in rural areas. The plans would allow EE, O2, Three and Vodafone Group Plc to avoid a more economically and technically challenging 'national roaming' regime being imposed, according to government sources. (http://bit.ly/1wKT6xF)

BRITISH TAXPAYERS SET FOR $3 BLN WINDFALL AFTER RBS-OWNED CITIZENS PRICES IPO Citizens Financial Group, the U.S. bank owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, has priced its initial public offering at $21.50 a share, releasing more than $3 billion that has been trapped in America to taxpayers in the Britain. (http://bit.ly/1tXXfiq)

Sky News

SINGAPOREAN STATE FUND GIC IN TAKEOVER TALKS RAC FOR OVER 2 BLN STG

Singaporean state fund GIC is in talks to lead a takeover of roadside recovery business RAC for over 2 billion pounds, a move that would end the prospect of a stock market listing of RAC. (http://bit.ly/1riGeNv)

TESCO PROFIT ERROR: NEW FINANCE BOSS RUSHED IN Tesco Plc has managed to secure the services of its new Chief Financial Officer Alan Stewart more than two months early - a day after revealing a 250 million pound profits error. (http://bit.ly/1DvOSP9) The Independent

GOLDMAN SACHS'S NEW LONDON HQ FACING LEGAL CHALLENGE FROM NEIGHBOURS OVER THEIR 'RIGHT TO LIGHT' Goldman Sachs Group Inc's new headquarters in London is facing a possible legal challenge from the owners of neighbouring buildings - who claim the proposed office will steal their light. (http://ind.pn/1B4bD8G)

Fly On The Wall Pre-market Buzz

ECONOMIC REPORTS

Domestic economic reports scheduled for today include:
New home sales for August at 10:00--consensus up 4.4% to 430K rate

ANALYST RESEARCH

Upgrades

FTI Consulting (FCN) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair
Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Wunderlich
Marvell (MRVL) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at JMP Securities
Rio Tinto (RIO) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
SYNNEX (SNX) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James
Sage Therapeutics (SAGE) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
WuXi PharmaTech (WX) upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman

Downgrades

Ascena Retail (ASNA) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Auxilium (AUXL) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital
Ericsson (ERIC) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS
Medivation (MDVN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman
Morgan Stanley (MS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan
TriMas (TRS) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo
Unilever (UN) downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies

Initiations

Autoliv (ALV) initiated with an Outperform at Exane BNP Paribas
BNY Mellon (BK) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup
Basic Energy (BAS) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo
Cameron (CAM) initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo
CoreLogic (CLGX) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray
FMC Technologies (FTI) initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo
FNFV (FNFV) initiated with a Neutral at Piper Jaffray
Farmer Bros. (FARM) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley
Fidelity National (FNF) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray
First American (FAF) initiated with a Neutral at Piper Jaffray
Helmerich & Payne (HP) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo
HomeAway (AWAY) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
IMS Health (IMS) initiated with a Buy at Topeka
Nabors Industries (NBR) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo
National Oilwell (NOV) initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo
Northern Trust (NTRS) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup
Pacific Drilling (PACD) initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo
Paragon Offshore (PGN) initiated with a Market Perform at Wells Fargo
Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo
Pioneer Energy (PES) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo
Realogy (RLGY) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray
Ruckus Wireless (RKUS) initiated with a Neutral at SunTrust
State Street (STT) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup
Ubiquiti Networks (UBNT) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Wafergen Biosystems (WGBS) initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital

COMPANY NEWS

Atossa Genetics (ATOS) reports FDA does not clear ForeCYTE aspirator for U.S. marketing
Bill Barrett (BBG) to replace ITT Educational (ESI) in S&P 600 as of 9/30 close
Delek US (DK) declares 10c per share special dividend
Echo Therapeutics (ECTE) suspends operations to conserve liquidity
Egalet (EGLT) needs to conduct more clinical trials for Egalet (EGLT)-001
Green Dot (GDOT), Wal-Mart announce nationwide rollout of GoBank
Inovio (INO) Ebola vaccine moving into human trial with GeneOne Life Science
International Game (IGT) and GTECH amend merger agreement
KCG Holdings (KCG) to cut 4% of workforce, recognize pre-tax charge of $5M-$6M
LyondellBasell (LYB) evaluating further expansion at Channelview
Malvern Federal Bancorp names Anthony Weagley as president, CEO
Pershing's Ackman sends letter to Allergan (AGN), threatens suit
Provectus (PVCT) cancer candidate PV-10 shows positive Phase II results
Starbucks (SBUX) to purchase remaining 60.5% share of Starbucks Japan for $913.5M
Starbucks (SBUX) sees Japan acquisition accretive to FY15 non-GAAP results
Urban Outfitters (URBN) targets doubling revenue by 2020
ZS Pharma (ZSPH) announces positive top-line results from HARMONIZE trial of ZS-9

EARNINGS

Companies that beat consensus earnings expectations last night and today include:
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Steelcase (SCS)

Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
Copart (CPRT), AAR Corp. (AIR)

NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES

Apple (AAPL) iOS 8 upgrade prompts more frequent app collapse, Bloomberg says
Apple (AAPL) iPhone 6 Plus bending in pockets, MacRumors says
Starz (STRZA) hires investment bank to explore sale, WSJ reports
Starz (STRZA) met with 21st Century Fox about takeover, LA Times reports
Data breach at Home Depot (HD) triggers fraudulent transactions across U.S., WSJ says
Experts see new tax rules not halting inversions, WSJ reports
GFI (GFIG), BGC (BGCP) merger talks slowed by confidentiality dispute, Bloomberg says
Pfizer (PFE), Actavis (ACT) takeover talks ended last week, WSJ reports
Verizon (VZ) hires TAP Advisors for tower sale, lease agreement, Bloomberg says

SYNDICATE

American Midstream (AMID) files to sell 4.62M units for limited partners
Avanir (AVNR) 18.2M share Secondary priced at $11.00
Citizens Financial (CFG) 140M share IPO priced at $21.50
CyberArk (CYBR) 5.36M share IPO priced at $16.00
Envision Healthcare (EVHC) files to sell 17.5M shares for holders
GasLog Partners (GLOP) files to sell 4.5M common units
Gladstone Land (LAND) files to sell 1.15M shares of common stock
Martin Midstream Partners (MMLP) files to sell 3M common units
Medley Management (mdly) 6M share IPO priced at $18.00
Seadrill Partners (SDLP) files to sell 8M common units
Smart & Final Stores (SFS) 13.45M share IPO priced at $12.00

- advertisements -

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:44 | 5250919 negative rates

A GDP booster, what's wrong wit that?

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:47 | 5250923 Truthseeker2

Seems like this ought to be a FRONTRUNNER!

Russian Intelligence Continues 9/11 Data Dump, Key Perps Named

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:47 | 5250927 Truthseeker2

US Intelligence Also Disseminates Critical 9/11 Info, ISIS Unveiled

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:50 | 5250928 buzzsaw99

Yellen Full of Crap as Per Usual. Will Not Divulge S&P Target Level to Anyone Outside Crony Circle.

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:49 | 5250931 papaswamp

MBA Mortgage indicator drops along with apps, refis and purchases, with just a tiny uptick in rates. Lets see if there is an impact on new home sales up at 10am. Could be hint of a long winter coming.

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:52 | 5250936 Infinite QE

A look at the PTB behind the news:

A Month of Bombs Dropped in One Night of Strikes on Syria (BBG) - TFJ

Air strikes in Syria hit Islamic State-held areas near Turkey (Reuters)- TFJ

Pimco ETF Draws Probe by SEC (WSJ) - Probably TFJ

Shadowy al Qaeda cell, hit by U.S. in Syria, seen as 'imminent' threat (Reuters) TFJ

Yellen Warns on Market Calm Before ‘Considerable Time’ Up (BBG), Yellen, AFJ

Dudley Says Fed Needs U.S. Economy to Run ‘A Little Hot' (BBG), the Fed, TFJ

Websites Are Wary of Facebook Tracking Software (WSJ), Facebook, psyop by TFJ

Just a joke now: Barclays Fined Twice in One Day for Compliance Failures (BBG) TFJ

Fired UPS worker kills two supervisors, self, in Alabama shooting, gungrabbing psyop perped by TFJ

Carry on now.

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:54 | 5250942 pods

Classy how bloomberg ran the Lockheed ticker in their Syria bombing article, then proceeded to speak about the companies making our latest and greatest weapons of death.

Way to work that stereotype bloomBERG.

pods

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 07:58 | 5250946 no more banksters

Anti-Russian sanctions drive rapid de-dollarization

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 08:03 | 5250957 JustObserving

Watch fascism roll in the land of the free:

The bombing of Syria and unending US war

24 September 2014

Once again, the US military machine has fired cruise missiles and dropped bombs upon a defenseless country in the Middle East—this time Syria. As with “shock and awe” against Iraq in 2003 and the “humanitarian” war for regime-change in Libya in 2011, Washington is hurling the American people into a war of aggression based upon lies.

What perhaps distinguishes this latest eruption of American militarism most strikingly is the absolutely perfunctory manner in which the president of the United States announced that Washington had attacked yet another country.

Barack Obama spoke for barely three minutes Tuesday before he boarded a helicopter on the White House lawn. His cursory remarks, beginning with praise for “the finest military that the world has ever known,” made it clear that the American ruling class no longer feels obliged to even explain, much less defend, its military interventions. The public is simply expected to accept them as a permanent fact of life.

As for Congress, it scurried out of town for a five-week pre-election recess, getting well away before the bombs started falling. It has effectively renounced its constitutional power regarding the waging of war while working to prevent this most vital question from becoming an issue at the ballot box.

With even the pretense of democratic control and popular support dispensed with, it is increasingly clear that all the real decisions are being taken by the most powerful branch of the state, the vast military-intelligence apparatus. Significantly, the first public announcement of the Syrian war came not from the White House, but the Pentagon.

Obama serves merely as a mouthpiece for this murderous machine, and his repeated promises not to deploy ground troops will soon be waved aside as the generals implement their strategy.

There is in these events the sense that the launching of war against yet another country has become almost routine, an unending and continuous feature of America’s political landscape. This unbridled militarism is an instrument not just for pursuing US imperialism’s global interests, but also for regulating social instability, projecting outward the immense tensions building up in this, the most socially polarized of the advanced capitalist countries.

In his brief statement Tuesday, Obama declared himself “proud to stand shoulder to shoulder” with “our friends and partners—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar,” which played minor supporting roles in the US blitz against Syria.

By their friends ye shall know them. Washington goes to war against “terrorism” “shoulder to shoulder” with the royal parasites and whoremasters of the Middle East, who until recently served as the principal paymasters of the now targeted “terrorists.”

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/24/pers-s24.html

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 08:24 | 5251000 NoWayJose

At $1.41 million a copy, the cost of 47 Tomahawks divided by the number of ISIS claimed to be killed works out to something like $1 million per kill. And that ignores the cost of the other missiles and bombs used. ISIS saw this coming and has hidden and dispersed most of their assets. ISIS does not have any quantity of tanks or other high value targets. Destroying training centers only means a few buildings go down. And any psychological effect of making ISIS scared is offset by also making them want to seek revenge. A much more intensive Israeli air assault on Hamas - in a much more concentrated area - had little effect other than to create the next generation of Hamas fighters. Long US bombs!

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 08:48 | 5251063 gcjohns1971