SAN FRANCISCO A 2014 outing by a group of male and female Uber executives to a Korean karaokebar where women with pinned numbers were selected by male guestshas put a controversial member of the ride-hailing company’s top ranks back in the spotlight.
Emil Michael, who in the fall of that yearsuggested that the personal information of journalists who weren’t supportive of Uber be investigated, three weeks ago told a former girlfriend of CEO Travis Kalanick that she should sanitize the story of the outing, according to a report Friday in The Information.
The woman, Gabi Holzwarth, 27, said that Michael repeatedly asked her to keep details of the mid-2014 Seoul outing from reporters, including the fact that the venue featured women with numbers pinned on them. Some of the male Uber executives present selected women to drink with. Holzwarth and Kalanick left after about an hour. A female Uber marketing manager later complained to human resources about the incident. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
best upcoming stocks to invest in: (SHF)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Money Morning Staff Reports]
In March 2012, Schiff Nutrition International Inc. (NYSE: SHF) acquired the company for $150 million in cash.
The product is still on the market today, found at most local drug stores. It is advertised now, however, as a nutritional supplement that does not, if taken alone, ward off viruses.
best upcoming stocks to invest in: J.M. Smucker Company (The)(SJM)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Douglas A. McIntyre]
The Pillsbury Doughboy is the mascot of the Pillsbury Company, which is owned by General Mills (NYSE: GIS) and J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM). The Doughboy was created by Pillsburys advertising agency almost 50 years ago. Pikachu are characters owned by The Pokemon Company International and appear in card games, video games, TV shows, movies and comic books. Founded in 1998, the Japanese company has achieved total games sales of almost 280 million. SpongeBob SquarePants was created for Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA). The show premiered in 1999 and has spawned movies, video games and theme park rides. Ronald McDonald is a c
- [By Teresa Rivas]
J.M. Smucker(SJM) is falling Monday, after Morgan Stanley’sMatthew Grainger and his team cut their rating on the stock, citing pricing pressures from Wal-Mart (WMT) and growing competition from private-labels.
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Grainger slash Smucker to Underweight from Equal Weight, and shaved $6 off his price target, to $126. He also cites what he calls “sustained” challenges in both its coffee and pet food business, as well as“below-average strategic optionality.”
At the same time, he also upgraded Pinnacle Foods (PF) to Overweight from Equal Weight, and raised his price target to $63 from $58, on its double-digit earnings growth and what he sees as superior execution.
Nonetheless, he sees many of the packaged food companies in his coverage, from Smucker to Pinnacle, as subject to pressure from Wal-Mart and off-brand rivals. From the note:
Walmart comprises ~22% of sales across our coverage, a figure that has increased in recent years even as the retailers total grocery sales have grown at an even faster 4% CAGR. With Food margins expected to expand meaningfully, we believe this only enhances Walmart’s negotiating leverage going forward. SJM, Dean Foods (DF), and General Mills (GIS) are most at risk in the current environment, in our view.
Recent scanner data points to a positive inflection in private label trends (share up ~30 bps L12W) across a range of center-store categories, a dynamic we believe could intensify in an increasingly competitive retail grocery landscape. Our analysis of recent trends points to the most meaningful underperformance vs. private label at GIS, SJM, ConAgra (CAG), and Campbell Soup (CPB), while only PF has outperformed in recent weeks.
Smucker is down 1.1% to $127.95 this morning, while Pinnacle is up 0.8% to %48.47.
best upcoming stocks to invest in: Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.(MMC)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Reuters]
Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
NEW YORK — Walgreen is moving 120,000 employees to a private health insurance exchange from coverage provided directly from carriers, the company will announce Wednesday.
The pharmacy chain will join 17 other large employers on the Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange as part of a growing movement to offer employees fixed dollar amounts to purchase their own plans on such exchanges.
The end-cost to employees depends on the plan chosen, but they typically get more options than under traditional arrangements. Private exchanges mimic the coverage mandated as part of the Affordable Care Act. Enrollment in the public exchanges starts Oct. 1.
“What happens to employer contributions over time? Will they put in as much as they put in the past? These are unanswered questions but potential negatives,” says Paul Fronstin, a senior research associate with the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The benefit to Walgreen and other employers is unknown at this point, as their cost-savings aren’t clear.
Of the 180,000 Walgreen (WAG) employees eligible for health care insurance, 120,000 opted for coverage for themselves and 40,000 family members. Another 60,000 employees, many of them working part-time, weren’t eligible for health insurance.
Aon Hewitt (AON) says other participants in its program include retailer Sears Holding (SHLD) and Darden Restaurants (DRI). These new additions raise enrollment to 330,000 from 100,000 last year, and Aon Hewitt estimates enrollment will jump to 600,000 next year, a fivefold increase from 2012.
By 2017, nearly 20 percent of employees nationwide could get their health insurance through a private exchange, according to Accenture Research (ACN). A recent report by the National Business Group on Health said that 30 percent of large employers are considering moving active employees to exchanges by 2015.Other major providers of private exchanges include Mercer, a division of Marsh & Mc
best upcoming stocks to invest in: Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]
A very risky Phase 3 drug for high cholesterol, anacetrapib, is listed and is in Phase 3; but several others of the class have failed, and there’s little reason to expect a success here (but you never know). Finally, a partnered heart failure drug that is also in Phase 3, vericiguat, is partnered with Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY). This compound failed its primary endpoint in Phase 2. Yet, the partners agreed that there was hope for the highest of the three doses. Thus, I view this drug as a very high risk Phase 3 product. Maybe it will be successful and blockbuster, but it’s no sure thing.
- [By Todd Campbell]
Nektar Therapeutics is working with Bayer AG (NASDAQOTH:BAYRY) on an inhaledversion of Amikacin, an anti-bacterial that if successful in trials could be used alongside standard of care to treat gram-negative pneumonia in intubated and mechanically ventilated patients. If it’s eventually approved in the U.S., Nektar Therapeutics will receive a flat 30% royalty on sales. It’s also working with Bayer on an inhaled powder formulation of Cipro that could be used to treat chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. Top-line phase 3 results on both drugs should be available this year.
- [By SEEKINGALPHA.COM]
As the graphic below shows, ImmunoGen’s product pipeline is potentially significant. Furthermore, it is impressive to see the involvement and partnerships in these early stage compounds by some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. This includes firms like Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY), Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY), Sanofi (NYSE:SNY), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), and Novartis (NYSE:NVS).
- [By Maxx Chatsko]
BeforeBayer(NASDAQOTH: BAYRY)arrived onto the scene, I viewedMonsanto(NYSE: MON)as an intriguing growth stock. It has a rich history of delivering value to shareholders and continues to hold a dominant technological edge over key competitors in crop protection products, seeds, and traits. While little has changed its promising pipeline and portfolio, the pending acquisition throws a wrench in anyone’s plans to start or add to a position. Uncertainty stemming from the merger provides several terrible reasons to buy Monsanto at this time.
best upcoming stocks to invest in: Pound/Rand(PX)
Advisors’ Opinion:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
The last twelve months haven’t been kind to Praxair (PX) and Air Products & Chemicals (APD), but UBS analyst John Roberts and team argue that’s about to change, as they upgrade their shares to Buy from Neutral arguing that their earnings can withstand a slowing global economy:
In our view, the two stocks are more alike than different. NTM P/Es are within ~0.5 pts of each other. Both stocks have declined ~20% from their historical highs the largest corrections in 20+ years aside from the financial crisis…
Industrial gas stocks have normally grown through changes in FX, oil & China demand within normal historical ranges. And investor concerns around China forAir Products & Chemicals may still prove much bigger than reality. Nevertheless, the combination of FX & oil sector impacts on Praxair, and FX & China issues for Air Products & Chemicals, have been much larger than previously seen. With oil already down, the dollar already appreciated, & China concerns already heightened we believe forward basis would appear to carry only normal risks (& lower if FX & oil are mean-reverting, which some theories support).
Normal high single digit EPS growth projected for both in 2017 vs 2016: Four large firms serve 70%+ of the global merchant gas market, and price normally contributes ~2% to growth. Customer older captive units being outsourced contributes another 2%. Secular drivers for oxygen include energy savings (i.e. O2 burns more efficiently than air), life sciences (healthcare & microbial processes) nitrogen secular drivers include increasing purity requirements (food freezing & semiconductors). Topline growth ~2x global GDP more normal, with EPS growth ~2x sales growth due to high fixed costs (key variable costs are inexpensive air & power).
Financial crisis demand drop was only a few %, in line with global GDP drop Most chemicals volumes dropped 10%+ (some 40%
