Америка сегодня. Потребительское кредитование.

Upgrades: 

• Barclays PLC (BCS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank
• Vale S.A. (VALE) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays
• Michelin (MGDDY) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
• Antofagasta plc (ANFGY) upgraded to Hold from Sell at S&P Global
• Wirecard (WRCDF) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse

Downgrades: 

• RSA Insurance (RSNAY) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS
• Popular (BPOP) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS
• Ericsson (ERIC) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
• Brasil Foods S.A. (BRFS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan
• Continental AG (CTTAY) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan

Miscellaneous: 

• YPF Soc. Anonima (YPF) initiated with an Outperform at Credit Suisse
• London Stock Exchange (LDNXF) resumed with a Buy at Citigroup

European Government Bonds Rally as Pound Drops on Hard Brexit Fear

• European sovereign debt is trading higher this morning with the largest gains coming in the eurozone periphery. Eurozone unemployment was unchanged at 9.8% in November but remains much lower than its 12.2% high in late 2013. The unemployment rate got as low as 7.1% before the Great Recession so there should be a lot more slack in the eurozone labor market before the European Central Bank needs to take its foot off of the accelerator. Reports last week of a surprisingly large jump in the consumer price index have raised discussion on the issue of ECB asset purchases and prompted more warnings from inflation hawks that the ECB should be withdrawing monetary accommodation rather than adding it. Members of the ECB Governing Council are not flinching, however, and point to lots of excess capacity and core inflation that remains stuck below 1%. The Governing Council meets next on January 19
• U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said over the weekend that the U.K. would seek a «new relationship» for Britain outside of the European Union in its upcoming negotiations, set to begin at the end of March. Most traders and investors interpreted her speech to mean that May's Tory government would prioritize control of immigration over maintaining access to the EU's single market. The pound traded to a 10-week low against the dollar overnight and an eight-week low against the euro
  
  • This morning, however, Theresa May denied that her government is committed to a so-called «hard Brexit» in which the UK loses access to the single market. It appears that she is resigned to losing the economic benefits of EU membership in favor of controlling immigration but believes that she can support the pound by denying that this isn't the case
• European Economic Data:
  
  • Eurozone unemployment was steady at 9.8% in November, as expected
    
    • The eurozone's Sentix Investor Confidence gauge rose more than expected to 18.2 for January from 10.0 in December
  • Germany's trade surplus widened for than expected in November to EUR21.7 bln from EUR20.6 bln in October
  • Italy's unemployment rate rose to 11.9% in November, missing estimates for a decline from October's 11.8% UE rate
  • Swiss retail sales increased by 0.9% y/y in November, beating forecasts and reversing October's 0.7% slide
  • The U.K.'s Halifax House Price Index rose 1.7% m/m in December (6.5% y/y), beating both economists' estimates and November's 0.6% growth
• Yield Check:
  
  • France, 10-yr OAT: -4 bps to 0.79%
  • Germany, 10-yr Bund: -3 bps to 0.27%
  • Greece, 10-yr note: -1 bp to 6.76%
  • Italy, 10-yr BTP: -7 bps to 1.89%
  • Portugal, 10-yr PGB: -10 bps to 3.93%
  • Spain, 10-yr ODE: -7 bps to 1.46%
  • U.K., 10-yr Gilt: -6 bps to 1.41%

Gapping up 
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

• EXAS +15.9%, (sees Q4 revs above consensus) TTOO +7.5%, GPN +5.1%, PTCT +4.2%, VNDA +3.9%, FRAN +3.2%, SPNE +2%, PME +1.7%, NUVA +1.4%, VLRS +1.1%

M&A news:

• MSTX +122.5% (signs merger agreement with privately held Savara Inc )
• MACK +35.8% (concludes strategic review; Ipsen (IPSEY) to Acquire Oncology Assets from Merrimack for $575 mln cash; up to $450 mln in additional regulatory approval-based milestone payments

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: KGC +5.4%, VALE +4%, AUY +3.2%, GFI +2.8%, MUX +2.3%, GG +2.3%, AG +2.3%, GDX +2.2%, SLW +2%, ABX +1.9%, NEM +1.8%, AKS +1.1%

Other news:

• ADMS +7.2% (prepares for potential approval and launch of ADS-5102 for the treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease in 2017)
• ARWR +7.1% (issues response to new minority shareholder announcement by Silence Therapeutics plc; no discussions about any potential transaction)
• KERX +6.3% (provides business update; sees Q4 revs above consensus)
• EBIO +5.2% (provides upcoming milestones in slide presentation)
• CTIC +4.8% (provides 2017 key objectives)
• MDCO +4.2% (presents compelling safety and efficacy data from Day 180 interim analysis for ORION-1 Phase 2 Study of Inclisiran )
• EXEL +3.1% (announced today that Genentech (RHHBY) has withdrawn its counterclaim against Exelixis in the ongoing JAMS arbitration )
• ARLZ +1.8% (enters into a rebate agreement with Express Scripts (ESRX))

Analyst comments:

• JD +2.6% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan)
• BIDU +0.7% (upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan)

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

• BABY -7.7%, LULU -1.9%, CMC -1.5%

Select financial related names showing weakness:

• RBS -3.3%, DB -2.1%, PUK -1.6%, BCS -1.5%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness:

• WLL -1.7%, SDRL -1.5%, RDS.A -1.3%, CHK -1.3%, STO -1.3%

Other news:

• ADHD -23.8% (receives official minutes from its meeting with the Division of Psychiatry Products of the FDA held in early December)
• ETRM -2.1% (after filing amended S-1)

Analyst comments:

• RIG -2% (downgraded to Underperform at BofA/Merrill)
• KO -1.1% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman)
• VMW -0.6% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS )