Ion-Marc Valahu is interviewed by Bloomberg – 28.04.2015

“European equities might have moved ahead too far too fast,"Said Ion-Marc Valahu, co-founder and fund manager at Clairinvest in Geneva. “Growth in Europe is not there yet, even in Germany. In addition, we have the Fed on Wednesday so a bit of caution is warranted.”

 
Europe Stocks Fall With S&P 500 Futures; Dollar Drops Before Fed
2015-04-28 11:22:12.490 GMT

By Nick Gentle and Stephen Kirkland
(Bloomberg) — European shares fell, led by health-care stocks, and U.S. equity-index futures declined. The dollar weakened amid speculation the Federal Reserve will signal this week it’s not ready to raise interest rates, while copper gained and Australia’s currency advanced.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 1.4 percent at 7:17 a.m. in New York and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.4 percent. Apple Inc. climbed 2.4 percent after reporting earnings. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.3 percent.
The Aussie advanced against all of its 16 major peers and copper gained 0.5 percent in London amid speculation China will ease monetary policy. BlackRock Inc. is selling its first bonds in euros, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The value of global equities rose to a record $72.2 trillion yesterday as U.S. earnings beat analysts’ estimates while central banks from Japan to Europe boosted stimulus to shore up their economies and bets receded on Fed rate increases.
The Fed is scheduled to update investors on monetary policy on Wednesday.
“European equities might have moved ahead too far too fast,"Said Ion-Marc Valahu, co-founder and fund manager at Clairinvest in Geneva. “Growth in Europe is not there yet, even in Germany. In addition, we have the Fed on Wednesday so a bit of caution is warranted.”

Fed Rates

The Fed’s first increase in rates since 2006 probably won’t happen until September after the economy stumbled in the first quarter, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. While data on Tuesday will probably show improvements in U.S. home prices and consumer confidence, a report the next day will indicate economic growth slowed in the first quarter, surveys showed.
The Stoxx 600 fell after closing 0.4 percent away from a record. Novartis AG, Roche Holding AG and Sanofi lost at least
1.3 percent as European drugmakers followed U.S. biotechnology shares lower.
Commerzbank AG dropped 4.8 percent after Germany’s second- biggest bank said it will sell as much as 1.4 billion euros
($1.5 billion) of shares. Swedbank AB declined 2.8 percent as it said it will stick to a plan proposed by the financial regulator to force more borrowers to pay down their home loans faster.
Deutsche Bank AG retreated for a second day.

Profit Jumps

Daimler AG climbed 1.6 percent after saying first-quarter operating profit jumped 41 percent amid rising demand. Total SA and BP Plc rose at least 1.5 percent after the companies reported that profit exceeded analysts’ estimates, sending Stoxx
600 energy shares higher.
S&P 500 E-mini futures expiring in June dropped, indicating the index will fall for a second day. Apple advanced in early New York trading after reporting a profit jump and saying it will boost its capital-return program by $70 billion.
Pfizer Inc. was little changed after cutting its 2015 sales forecast as the dollar’s strength cuts into sales outside the U.S. Ford Motor Co.’s earnings missed estimats.
About 76 percent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings this season have beaten analysts’ profit projections, while 50 percent topped sales estimates.
The Shanghai Composite, the world’s best performing major gauge this year, slid 1.1 percent from a seven-year high.
“The market will become more volatile as the index gets higher,” said Jimmy Zuo, a Shenzhen-based trader at Guosen Securities Co. “There’s a strong belief that disappointing data and earnings will persuade the government to do more to safeguard the economy.”

China Easing

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 0.2 percent, paring declines after the Wall Street Journal reported China’s central bank was to start an easing plan to help debt restructuring. Under the plan, the People’s Bank of China will allow Chinese banks to swap local-government bailout bonds for loans as a way to bolster liquidity and boost lending, the WSJ said, citing unidentified officials as saying.
Australia’s dollar appreciated for a fifth-straight day, climbing 0.9 percent to 79.25 U.S. cents, the strongest level since March 25. South Korea’s won and South Africa’s rand were the next-best performers.
Sweden’s krona also declined after a drop in economic confidence. The Nordic currency fell 0.3 percent to 9.3885 per euro.
Treasuries were little changed, with the 10-year yield at
1.92 percent. The U.S. will auction $35 billion of five-year notes later on Tuesday.

BlackRock Offer

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is marketing 10-year bonds that will be priced to yield 85 basis points more than benchmark rates, said a person familiar with the deal, who’s not authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified.
Rubber was on the cusp of a bull market as inventories shrank in China, the biggest consumer, while top exporters curb shipments to bolster prices. It advanced 0.6 percent to 14,280 yuan a metric ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
Nickel fell 0.6 percent to $13,465 per metric ton, retreating from the highest level in a month after a union at BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Cerro Matoso mine, the world’s second- largest ferro-nickel site, said it was closer to a deal to end a strike.
U.S. natural gas dropped 0.6 percent to $2.474 per million British thermal units, extended its slide from the lowest closing price in 34 months on speculation that mild weather will accelerate stockpile gains.