** EU WRAP **
| ** EUROPEAN MARKETS ** | ||||||
| S&P future -0,09%; Bund future 0,21%; Crude future 70,75; €/$ 1,25265; Gold 637,96 | ||||||
** HEADLINES **
- European Executive, Consumer Confidence May Have Remained Near 5-Year High
- French Jobless Rate Fell to 9.5 Percent in March, More Than Three-Year Low
- Billionaire Azevedo Defies EU Snub, Hunts Portugal’s Former Phone Monopoly
- Yen Drops Versus Dollar as Japan’s Takenaka and Abe Say Deflation Persists
- Oil Falls for Fifth Day as Refiners Make More Fuel, Easing Supply Concern
- Retail Sales in Eastern European Countries to Grow `Strongly,’ Mintel Says
- Roche, Drugmakers Shares Soar as Bird Flu Poses Threat to North America
** IN PLAY TODAY **
- Earnings of note: Novo Nordisk, DSM, Volkswagen, Erste Bank, Banco Santander and Puma.
- Areva SA ,The world’s largest builder of nuclear
reactors said first-quarter sales rose 13 percent to 2.48
billion euros as it worked on constructing Finland’s fifth power
station.
- Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, Europe’s biggest
distributor of building materials said first-quarter sales rose
28 percent to 9.75 billion euros, aided by the acquisition of
BPB Plc. Revenue growth would have been 9.1 percent before the
acquisition of the gypsum maker and the effects of currency
fluctuations it said.
- PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Europe’s second-largest
automaker said first-quarter sales rose 2.4 percent to 14
billion euros thanks to gains at its parts division Faurecia and
its freight unit Gefco. Peugeot reiterated a forecast for the
2006 operating margin at about 2.8 percent of sales in the first
half, after which it expects it will rise as it sells a new
model of the 207 car.
- Telefonica SA, Spain’s largest telephone company,
selling its 60 percent stake in phone director unit Telefonica Publicidad
e Informacion SA to Yell Group Plc for 3.07 billion euro.
- Erste Bank AG, Austria’s second- biggest bank, said first-quarter
profit jumped on lending in eastern Europe and better-than-expected
earnings from its stock and foreign currency trading business.
Net income rose 50 percent to 239.6 million euros ($300
million), or 83 cents a share, from 160 million euros, or 67 cents,
a year earlier, Vienna-based Erste said today. That beat analysts’
207 million-euro median estimate. Erste said profit in 2006 will
grow by “more than” 20 percent.
- Novo Nordisk A/S, the world’s largest maker of insulin, said first-quarter profit fell after it didn’t
repeat a gain from the sale of shares of Ferrosan A/S. Net income fell to 1.21 billion kroner ($200 million), or 3.72 kroner a share, from 1.23 billion kroner, or 3.70 kroner, a
year earlier, Bagsvaerd, Denmark-based Novo said in a statement on
Stockwise today. Novo was expected to earn 1.33 billion kroner,
the median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by RB-Boersen.
- Puma AG, Europe’s second-largest sporting-goods maker, said first-quarter profit unexpectedly
rose and increased its annual forecasts for the second time in as many months ahead of this year’s World Cup soccer tournament. First-quarter net income increased 2.5 percent to 93 million
euros, Puma said today in a statement. Analysts had expected profit to drop to 85 million euros, according to a Bloomberg survey. Earnings will fall less than 10 percent this year, the company said. Puma, based in the German town of Herzogenaurach, previously forecast a decline of 10 percent to 15 percent.
** UPS & DOWNS **
+ SINGAPORE STOCKS RAISED TO `OVERWEIGHT’ BY MERRILL LYNCH
+ VOLVO RAISED TO `HOLD’ FROM `SELL’ AT CITIGROUP
+ PEUGEOT PRICE ESTIMATE RAISED TO EU53 FROM EU46 AT LEHMAN
+ GLAXOSMITHKLINE PRICE EST. RAISED TO 1707P VS 1655P AT MERRILL
+ SAINT GOBAIN PRICE ESTIMATE RAISED TO EU62 FROM EU58 AT UBS
+ LONMIN RAISED TO `BUY’ FROM `NEUTRAL’ AT UBS
+ ASTRAZENECA PRICE ESTIMATE RAISED TO 3200P FROM 3000P AT UBS
+ ABB PRICE EST. RAISED 20% TO SF17.85 AT JPMORGAN
+ RANDSTAD PRICE EST. RAISED 8% TO EU52.50 AT MORGAN STANLEY
+ GLAXO RAISED TO `OVERWEIGHT’ AT MORGAN STANLEY :GSK LN
- OUTOKUMPU CUT TO `UNDERWEIGHT’ VS. `NEUTRAL’ AT JPMORGAN
- MERRILL LYNCH TURNS LESS POSITIVE ON PAKISTAN STOCKS
- JCDECAUX CUT TO `IN-LINE’ FROM `OUTPERFORM’ AT GOLDMAN SACHS
- SMITH & NEPHEW LOWERED TO `EQUAL-WEIGHT’ AT MORGAN STANLEY