Milan judge clears Berlusconi in fraud case-source
Berlusconi faces two separate corruption and tax fraud
trials linked to his business empire, and another court case in
which he is accused of paying for sex with an underage
prostitute.
Spanish stocks - Factors to watch on Wednesday
IBEXSpanish public holiday, markets openREPSOLSpanish oil company Repsol and state-owned Petroperu are
considering an alliance to market natural gas in Peru. For a
full story, click on:BANKSStandard & Poor’s on Tuesday downgraded a key measure of
risk for Spain’s banking sector, warning that the economic
crisis will continue to have a negative impact on Spanish banks
in the next 15-18 months.The U.S. ratings agency cut the credit ratings of Santander
and BBVA by one notch to “AA-“For more information, click onFitch Ratings followed suit soon after with its own
downgrade of Spanish banksFor today’s European market outlook double click on .For real-time moves on the Spanish blue-chip index IBEX
please double click onFor IBEX constituent stocks highlight .IBEX in the command
box and press the F3 button on your keyboardFor latest news on Spanish stock moves double clickFor Spanish language market report double click onFor latest Eurostocks report please double click on
Mobile plans and economy to shade Google earnings
Google’s core business of selling advertising alongside Web search results appears to be holding up so far against macroeconomic concerns, including the debt crisis in Europe and high unemployment in the United States.But investors have been fretting about the outlook for Google, which generated 96 percent of its revenue from advertising last year. Its stock has fallen roughly 13 percent since late July to trade at around $541 on Tuesday.”Everyone is kind of bracing for another recessionary period, and that could impact the ad spend in the second half of the year,” said Mike Hickey, an analyst with National Alliance Capital Markets.Uncertainty about the economy is one of several factors weighing on shares of the world’s No. 1 search engine. Antitrust regulators in the United States and Europe are investigating Google’s business practices, and the company is spending more money to counter competitive pressure from the likes of Facebook and Apple Inc.Since Page took the CEO reins in April, he has made several big bets, including the launch of the Google+ social network and acquiring mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc for $12.5 billion.The Motorola deal, which Google expects to close late this year or early in 2012, will give Google one of the wireless industry’s largest patent libraries, as well as hardware manufacturing operations that will allow Google to develop its own line of smartphones.But the deal has left some analysts scratching their heads, as Google has no experience in the low-margin hardware business. A move to build its own phones could jeopardize support for Google’s free Android mobile software from other phone manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC.Android phones have a greater combined market share than Apple’s iPhone.”We are confused as to why Google didn’t simply license or acquire Motorola’s patent portfolio over acquiring the whole company,” Morgan Stanley analyst Scott Devitt wrote in a recent note to investors.WEATHERING THE STORMGoogle fared better than many of its competitors during the 2008 financial crisis and analysts consider search advertising one of the most effective forms of marketing.Spending on search advertising in the United States rose 19 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, according to Efficient Frontier, a firm that manages large search ad campaigns. Google also won back search market share in the quarter, after losing ground to Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp, which have a search partnership, during the past couple of quarters.Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S expect Google’s third-quarter net revenue, which excludes fees paid to partner websites, to increase about 32 percent year-on-year to $7.21 billion. The average estimate calls for Google to earn $8.74 per share, excluding certain items, in the third quarter.Needham & Co analyst Kerry Rice expects Google to beat Wall Street’s projections in the third quarter, though he notes that investors are particularly focused on profit.”Bottom line has become more of an important metric for Google at this stage. The consistent 20 to 30 percent growth on the top line doesn’t seem to excite people as much as it used to,” said Rice.That means operating expenses will also be in the spotlight. Google, which has been hiring engineering talent and acquiring companies at a brisk pace, boosted its operating expenses 52 percent year-on-year in the first six months of 2011, excluding the cost of its settlement with the Department of Justice over pharmaceutical industry advertising practices.Rice said Google cannot afford to pull back on investments in key businesses, given the fierce competition in the mobile, social and local advertising markets.”Certainly not everything they’ve done has turned into a pot of gold,” the analyst said. “But they do have a handful of very good opportunities that seem to be materializing very nicely.”Google shares were up about 1 percent at $542 on Tuesday morning on the Nasdaq.
TEXT-Fitch:Alcoa’s CDS move out 138%;JP Morgan widens 95%
Credit default swap (CDS) spreads on Alcoa Inc. (reporting tomorrow) have gapped
out 250 basis points (138%) over the past three months. Alcoa is now trading in
below investment grade territory. Additionally, CDS liquidity for Alcoa is
trading in the second regional percentile. ‘Market scrutiny for Alcoa is likely
being driven by its vulnerability to continued slow recovery of developed
nations, keeping demand for metals low,’ said Author and Director Diana
Allmendinger.Elsewhere, CDS on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (reporting Thursday) have widened 95% to
trade at ‘BBB’ levels. CDS liquidity for JPMorgan has also increased to the 13th
regional percentile from trading in the 25th. ‘The sputtering economy has
heightened market uncertainty across all financial institutions in recent
weeks,’ said Allmendinger.ALCOA Inc. (BASIC MATERIALS/Industrial Metals)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point
widening from 181 bps to 431 bps, an increase of 138%. The liquidity score on
ALCOA Inc. decreased from 6.87 to 6.25 over the three-month period, causing an
increase in liquidity from trading in the third percentile to the second
percentile.HCA Inc. (HEALTH CARE/Health Care Equipment & Services)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point
widening from 410 bps to 708 bps, an increase of 73%. The liquidity score on HCA
Inc. decreased from 7.23 to 6.81 over the three-month period, causing a decrease
in liquidity from trading in the 12th percentile to the 13th percentile.Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (FINANCIALS/Real Estate Investment Trusts)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point
widening from 215 bps to 511 bps, an increase of 138%. The liquidity score on
Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. decreased from 8.53 to 8.38 over the three-month
period, causing a decrease in liquidity from trading in the 52nd percentile to
the 53rd percentile.JPMorgan Chase & Co. (FINANCIALS/Banks)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point
widening from 82 bps to 159 bps, an increase of 95%. The liquidity score on
JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased from 7.57 to 6.81 over the three-month period,
causing an increase in liquidity from trading in the 25th percentile to the 13th
percentile.Pepsico, Inc. (CONSUMER GOODS/Beverages)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point
widening from 38 bps to 53 bps, an increase of 38%. The liquidity score on
Pepsico, Inc. decreased from 8.05 to 7.52 over the three-month period, causing
an increase in liquidity from trading in the 39th percentile to the 35th
percentile.The Progressive Corporation (FINANCIALS/Nonlife Insurance)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point
widening from 92 bps to 112 bps, an increase of 21%. The liquidity score on The
Progressive Corporation increased from 9.43 to 10.74 over the three-month
period, causing a decrease in liquidity from trading in the 68th percentile to
the 82nd percentile.Safeway Inc. (CONSUMER SERVICES/Food & Drug Retailers)Credit spreads have widened over the last three months, with the five-year point
widening from 115 bps to 115 bps, an increase of 0%. The liquidity score on
Safeway Inc. decreased from 7.42 to 6.77 over the three-month period, causing an
increase in liquidity from trading in the 19th percentile to the 12th
percentile.Additional insightful market data and analysis is available at
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