EconomyThe Bank of Japan maintained its massive ¥80T stimulus program today despite a tumbling inflation rate, indicating that a steady economic recovery will help it achieve its price target without immediate, additional monetary easing. Heading south, the RBA released minutes to its March 3 meeting when it kept its benchmark interest rate on hold after lowering it in February, saying some time was needed for "the economy to adjust to the earlier change" - but left the door wide open for another cut. The FOMC also begins its two-day meeting on interest rate policy this morning, with nearly all believing that the Fed will delete the word "patient" from its statement.
"Most indicators suggest a sustained (eurozone) recovery is taking hold," declared ECB President Mario Draghi yesterday, while urging governments to use the brighter outlook to advance reforms that would improve the region's long-term growth prospects. "Confidence among firms and consumers is rising. Growth forecasts have been revised upwards. And bank lending is improving on both the demand and supply sides," continued Draghi, citing the recent economic benefits from stimulus measures, reforms and falling oil prices. The euro is +0.4% at $1.0608.
"The package that we have is going to stabilize the financial banking system, but it’s not enough to seriously restart growth and promote growth," announced Ukraine Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko, just days after the IMF approved a $17.5B emergency loan. Kiev's conflict with pro-Russian separatists has put the country's economy into a tailspin with a plunging currency, soaring interest rates and diminishing central bank reserves.
Israelis are heading to the polls for a general election, with most surveys showing Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party trailing Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union by three or four of the Knesset's 120 seats. The winner will still have to conduct negotiations to form a ruling coalition. Major issues on the ballot include economic issues, especially the rising costs of housing, negotiations with the Palestinians and Iran’s nuclear program. The Tel Aviv 25 index is closed today for the election, but rose 0.6% yesterday prior to the national holiday.
Stocks
Apple is in talks to launch a Web TV service this fall, which will feature about 25 channels (including ABC (NYSE:DIS), CBS (NYSE:CBS) and Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA)), WSJ reports. The new service would cost about $30-$40 and would work across all devices powered by Apple's iOS operating system, including iPhones, iPads and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) TV set-top boxes. A September launch announcement could come in June.
Apple is in talks to launch a Web TV service this fall, which will feature about 25 channels (including ABC (NYSE:DIS), CBS (NYSE:CBS) and Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA)), WSJ reports. The new service would cost about $30-$40 and would work across all devices powered by Apple's iOS operating system, including iPhones, iPads and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) TV set-top boxes. A September launch announcement could come in June.
Employees and investors will be able to sell 337M Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) shares starting Wednesday, after the stock's first "lock-up" arrangement expires. The termination of the 180-day period will likely weigh on Alibaba’s share price, which may come under pressure in the nearterm, analysts say. There are different lock-up periods for different shareholders, and stock held by its largest shareholders - Softbank (OTCPK:SFTBY), Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Alibaba executives - will be frozen until the company's IPO anniversary in September.
eBay is taking another step into high-end auctions, launching a new area of its website built specifically for auction house Sotheby's (NYSE:BID). eBay's (NASDAQ:EBAY) new platform - ebay.com/sothebys - will stream Sotheby's New York auctions live beginning next month, bringing the company's vast inventory to a new audience in the hopes of boosting sales and prices.
Dropping its long-standing aversion to mobile gaming, Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) is teaming up with online gaming firm DeNA (OTC:DNACF) to develop games for smartphones based on its iconic game characters. "This...doesn't mean smart devices will eat away at gaming consoles, it will create an entirely new type of demand," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told reporters. The two companies will buy ¥22B worth of shares in each other as part of the capital and product tie-up.
Orange will invest over €15B in its networks over the next four years as part of its new plan, dubbed "Essentials 2020", aimed at reviving sales growth and profitability after years of decline. The French telecom operator faces fierce competition in many of its markets, particularly in Europe, where telecoms have been competing hard for market share by slashing prices for mobile and broadband services. Orange (NYSE:ORAN) aims for sales and EBITDA to grow again by 2018.
In what would be one of the biggest de-mergers in mining history, BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) has outlined its plan to spin off several of its assets into a new company called South32, named for the line of latitude linking its two main centers in Australia and South Africa. BHP said South32 intends to distribute at least 40% of its underlying earnings as dividends to shareholders and reiterated that it wouldn't rebase its own dividend lower following the demerger. BHP +1.7% premarket.
Hyundai is considering producing pick-up trucks, announced R&D director Park Byung-cheol today, saying the company's Santa Cruz crossover truck concept got "good response" at the Detroit auto show in January. Hyundai (OTC:HYMLF) seems to be looking at expanding into several markets. A report last month suggested the automaker would sell commercial vehicles in the U.S. for the first time.
General Motors is facing some serious allegations by attorneys involved in the class action ignition switch lawsuit. Sealed documents produced by Delphi Automotive indicate higher-level GM (NYSE:GM) execs knew safety issues with ignition switch existed, according to a statement from one plaintiff lawyer. The conclusion contrasts from the GM-sponsored Valuskas report which tied the ignition switch problems to ineffectiveness from lower-level employees. GM -1.2% premarket.
Lufthansa pilots say they will walk off the job Wednesday on short and mid-haul flights because of a continuing dispute over early retirement benefits and the airline's plans to expand low-cost offerings. The announcement is the latest signal that walkouts may plague the carrier again this year, following the tens of strikes in 2014 that cost Lufthansa (OTCQX:DLAKY) €232M in operating profit.
In his annual letter to shareholders, GE (NYSE:GE) CEO Jeffrey Immelt says he plans to stick by his company's model for housing diverse businesses under one roof even as other U.S. conglomerates are looking to shed units. "The value of the GE Store is captured by faster growth at higher margins; it makes the totality of GE more competitive than the parts," Immelt writes. The letter also says GE will focus on making GE Capital's operations - whose returns have fallen below the company's cost of capital - smaller and more connected to GE's industrial businesses.
A month after the WSJ reported Pinterest is seeking an $11B valuation in a new funding round, the image-sharing platform has confirmed it reached such heights through an SEC filing. $367.1M has been raised, and another $210.8M could still be raised through the latest round. Pinterest was valued at only $5B last May, and $3.8B in the fall of 2013.
Today's Markets:
In Asia, Japan +1% to 19437. Hong Kong -0.2% to 23901. China +1.6% to 3503. India +1.1% to 28736.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris -0.3%. Frankfurt -1%.
Futures at 6:20: Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.3%. Nasdaq -0.2%. Crude -1.6% to $43.18. Gold +0.1% to $1154.40.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -1 bps to 2.1%
Source : http://seekingalpha.com/article/3006086-wall-street-breakfast-here-comes-apples-web-tv-service
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