“Companies in the euro area are poised to cut dividends to the lowest level in four years as chief executive officers stockpile cash to weather the region’s sovereign-debt crisis.

Payouts to shareholders in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index (SX5E) will fall by 3.3 percent to 115.48 euros a share this year, according to more than 500 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Reducing them by that much would cut the dividend yield to 4.3 percent from 6.3 percent in September 2011, even after cash on balance sheets climbed to the highest since 2008, the data show.

The forecasts suggest more companies will follow Royal KPN NV and Enel SpA (ENEL) in reducing payouts as the debt crisis pushes unemployment in Spain and Greece to more than 25 percent and China’s economy cools. Analysts are cutting estimates amid a rally that has sent the Euro Stoxx 50 to a 17-month high as central-bank measures hold down bond yields.

“Within Europe, it’s excess cash on balance sheets” that attracts investors, said Bank of America Corp.’s John Bilton, European investment strategist at Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit in London. “The current levels of dividend yield are not sustainable.”

Holdings of cash and equivalents at companies in the Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 9.3 percent to 1,834.44 euros a share in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While the gauge’s estimated dividend yield fell over the past year, projections for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased to 2.3 percent from 2.2 percent, Bloomberg data show.

Economy Shrinks…”

“Alcatel-Lucent SA (ALU), the French phone- equipment maker revamping its business to end losses, won a $1 billion services contract over eight years with Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCOM) to improve service quality on the Indian carrier’s fixed and wireless networks.

The contract, the Paris-based company’s first publicly announced deal in India in seven months, is a sign that the Indian market is picking up, Rajeev Singh-Molares, president of the Asia Pacific region at Alcatel-Lucent, said during a press conference in Mumbai. He forecast the market will grow in 2013.

“While the Indian market and the industry have had some challenges over the last two years, I think we’re turning the corner,” Singh-Molares said. “I think 2013 will be a year of more stability and back to growth. Back to expanding the kinds of services consumers will be getting.”

Alcatel-Lucent shares jumped as much as 2.9 percent in Paris, and were up 1 percent at 1.27 euros as of 10:13 a.m., taking the advance to 26 percent this year. On Dec. 24, Alcatel ended a 25-year presence on the CAC 40 by leaving France’s leading stock index….”

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More bad news for $BA.

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B.I. says over a 100 charts have surfaced in the last 24 hours on $AAPL and pointed out 4 key charts for you to keep in mind.

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Markets yawn over the announcement as there is no clear path to revenue generation….

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“Apple’s warranty plans have drawn the ire of a Belgian consumer watchdog agency, Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats. The group has filed a complaint against the company over how AppleCare is sold and marketed to customers, who in the EU by default are entitled to a free two-year warranty with any consumer electronics purchase. The complaint says Apple markets its warranties in a manner which doesn’t properly explain consumer rights to Belgian gadget shoppers.

The decision to pursue legal action comes only after Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats decided to join up with 10 other Europe-based entities to make complaints about how Apple operates its warranties, but now the group feels it is time to escalate to a court case after efforts to petition the Mac maker have gone unheard. The move also follows successful action in Italy regarding the same exact issue, a case which the Belgian watchdog cites as a precedent, noting that Apple not only had to pay a €900,000 penalty in that case, but also modified its practices for the Italian market….”

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“(Reuters) – Drugmakers are betting that a new wave of medicines for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and hepatitis will shape up as tomorrow’s blockbusters in the coming 12 months.

With the industry regaining some of its swagger after winning 39 new drug approvals last year – a record only beaten in 1996 – there are signs the improving trend could continue through 2013.

Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, Biogen Idec, Gilead Sciences and Novo Nordisk are among those with important new products reaching a critical point in development this year.

The industry needs a winning streak after delivering poor returns for years due to a wave of patent expiries. Now companies are emerging from that patent “cliff” and the balance of losses to new opportunities is improving.

European drugmakers, for example, have the potential to deliver new drugs from 2013 to 2015 with peak annual sales of $64 billion (or $27 billion after adjusting for the risk of failure), while fresh patent losses in the period will be only $12 billion, according to Deutsche Bank estimates.

Simon Friend, global pharmaceutical leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, agrees the picture is improving. But he warns it is still too early to say that drug companies are out of the woods, especially with governments and insurers taking an increasingly tough line on paying for new medicines.

“Productivity is starting to turn the corner – but the other big issue is whether the industry can get the prices it needs for new products,” he said….”

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Small investors begin to hit the bid….stock is $490 currently.

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NYSE

NASDAQ

AMEX

“NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer and the nation’s largest private employer, is making a pledge to hire every veteran who wants a job.

The plan is set to be announced as part of an address delivered in New York on Tuesday at the annual retail industry convention by Bill Simon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart’s namesake U.S. business.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., says it projects it will hire more than 100,000 veterans in the next five years. Honorably discharged veterans will have a “place to go”, says Wal-Mart’s Simon, according to prepared text supplied by the discounter. The hiring pledge, which will begin on Memorial Day, covers veterans within 12 months of leaving active duty. Most of the jobs will be in Wal-Mart’s stores or its Sam’s club locations. Some will be in the company’s distribution centers.

“Let’s be clear; hiring a veteran can be one of the best decisions any of us can make,” Simon plans to say in his address to retailers gathered on the third day of the four-day National Retail Federation convention. “Veterans have a record of performance under pressure. They’re quick learners, and they’re team players. These are leaders with discipline, training, and a passion for service. There is a seriousness and sense of purpose that the military instills, and we need it today more than ever…..”

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$AAPL dipped below $500 this morning while $RIMM popped 7%…

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“The belt-tightening in American corporations that made relics of pension plans, in-house cafeterias and even many holiday parties is squeezing another victim:American Express Co.’s AXP +0.73% travel business.

Responding to the rise of do-it-yourself policies that ask employees to book work trips online rather than calling an AmEx travel agent, the New York company is trimming its corporate-travel operation.

The overhaul, announced last Thursday, will result in the loss of 5,400 jobs as the company invests more in technology to handle customer-service functions.

The move is the latest in a series of hits to the company. Long known for peerless customer service, global cachet and its throwback traveler’s checks, American Express was tarnished in the financial crisis by an ill-timed bet on less-affluent credit-card customers and last year was slapped by regulators for alleged billing missteps. AmEx said last week it would spend $153 million to make amends with wronged customers….”

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“Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares declined after the Nikkei newswire reported that the company scaled back production plans for the iPhone because sales have trailed expectations.

The stock fell as much as 4.5 percent to $497 in early U.S. trading. It dropped to $520.30 at the close in New York on Jan. 11 and has lost 26 percent from a September record.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, reduced its original targetto order 65 million iPhone 5 displays this quarter by about half, Nikkei said, citing an unidentified senior executive at a component maker it didn’t name. IPhone sales are slowing because smartphones have saturated developed markets, where Apple is strongest, said James Cordwell, an analyst at Atlantic Equities Service in London.

“We’re getting close to saturation,” said Cordwell, who ratesApple shares “overweight” and doesn’t own any. “The real growth is going to come from emerging markets, and Apple’s share in emerging markets is much lower than it is in other markets at the moment due to such high prices.”

Bethan Lloyd, a spokeswoman for Apple in the U.K., didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

Android Rivalry…”

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“Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) and other foreign companies are “digging their own graves” in China by failing to ensure quality standards in the nation, the official Xinhua News Agency said in an editorial.

These companies “risk losing the profits they came to China to seek if they don’t correct their practices,” Xinhua said. The government is serious about cracking down on illegal activities by all companies, including international ones, according to the editorial.

Yum’s vice chairman apologized on Jan. 10 after the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said in December it found antibiotic levels that didn’t meet prescribed standards in batches of chicken supplied to the Louisville, Kentucky-based company between 2010 to 2011. French hypermart chain Carrefour SA (CA) and Germany’s Volkswagen AG (VOW) were also singled out by Xinhua, which criticized multinational firms for “capitalizing on loopholes in Chinese law and regulations to escape punishment.”

“Yum’s understated apology is rooted in its arrogance and propensity for unfairly treating Chinese consumers, who usually regard foreign brands as being safer and of higher quality than domestic brands,” Xinhua wrote in the editorial.

Sam Su, vice chairman of the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut stores, said in a letter posted on KFC’s official microblog the company’s self-inspection processes and internal communications had been lacking. Amy Sherwood, Yum’s Kentucky-based spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail sent by Bloomberg News after regular office hours….”

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Source

“(Reuters) – Transocean Ltd (RIG.N) has disclosed that billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has acquired a 1.56 percent stake in the offshore rig contractor and is looking to increase that holding, according to a statement on its Web site.

Icahn is seeking regulatory approval to acquire shares worth more than $682.1 million, according to the statement. If he gets approval, Icahn would become one of Transocean’s largest shareholders with just over 5 percent ownership in Transocean, based on its closing stock price of $54.09 on January 11.

Transocean’s biggest shareholder is Capital World Investors, a division The Capital Group Companies Inc, which owned 5.12 percent of Transocean as of October 15, according to Thomson Reuters (TRI.N) data.

Icahn’s move comes less than two weeks after Transocean agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges over BP Plc’s (BP.L) massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2012 . Transocean employed nine of the 11 workers killed in the accident.”

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Read on gear head…

“Oracle said it is preparing an update to address a flaw in its widely used Java software after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged computer users to disable the program in web browsers because criminal hackers are exploiting a security bug to attack PCs.

“A fix will be available shortly,” the company said in a statement released late on Friday.

Company officials could not be reached on Saturday to say how quickly the update would be available for the hundreds of millions of PCs that have Java installed.

The Department of Homeland Security and computer security experts said on Thursday that hackers figured out how to exploit the bug in a version of Java used with Internet browsers to install malicious software on PCs. That has enabled them to commit crimes from identity theft to making an infected computer part of an ad-hoc computer network that can be used to attack websites.

Java is a computer language that enables programmers to write software utilizing just one set of codes that will run on virtually any type of computer, including ones that use Microsoft’s Windows, Apple‘s OS X and Linux, an operating system widely employed by corporations.

It is installed in Internet browsers to access web content and also directly on PCs, server computers and other devices that use it to run a wide variety of computer programs.

Oracle said in its statement that the recently discovered flaw only affects Java 7, the program’s most-recent version, and Java software designed to run on browsers.

Java is so widely used that the software has become a prime target for hackers. Last year, Java surpassed Adobe Systems Inc’s Reader software as the most frequently attacked piece of software, according to security software maker Kaspersky Lab.

Java was responsible for 50 percent of all cyber attacks last year in which hackers broke into computers by exploiting software bugs, according to Kaspersky.

That was followed by Adobe Reader, which was involved in 28 percent of all incidents. Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer were involved in about 3 percent of incidents, according to the survey.

The Department of Homeland Security said attackers could trick targets into visiting malicious websites that would infect their PCs with software capable of exploiting the bug in Java….”

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