Top UBS shareholder pins rebound hopes on private wealth

LONDON (Reuters) - UBS's wealth management business will help it bounce back from a $1.5 billion rap for rigging interest rates, one of its largest investors said, although fears of costly civil lawsuits could cast a pall over its shares for some time.
Paras Anand, European equities head at Fidelity Worldwide Investment, said legal action sparked by the Libor scandal posed an unpredictable threat to the bank's near-term earnings, even if its core private banking franchise escaped permanent harm.
"The big unknown factor is the civil litigation that could follow on as a result of this...That is one thing at the back of our minds that we have to be cognizant of," Anand said in an interview with Reuters.
"The issue for shareholders is the challenge of pricing that risk in. The potential costs are too unquantifiable and indeed, it's unclear as to whether they will actually manifest or not."
Switzerland's largest bank was hit with the fine on Wednesday after admitting to fraud, paying bribes to brokers and "pervasive" manipulation of global benchmark interest rates by dozens of its staff.
UBS shares were trading 1.3 percent higher at 9:01 a.m. ET, as investors looked forward to the end of a scandal-filled chapter in the bank's history and a renewed focus on managing cash on behalf of rich clients, rather than so-called 'casino' investment banking.
"There's clearly been a backlash against big faceless financial entities but a private bank has big personal relationships with its customers ... These kinds of institutions are surprisingly resilient," Anand said.
"We have seen some awful scandals in businesses much weaker than UBS and they manage to survive," he added.
Fidelity owns around 45 million shares in UBS, equivalent to around 1.2 percent of the bank, and is its fifth largest institutional owner excluding sovereign wealth funds, according to Thomson Reuters data.

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Top UBS shareholder pins rebound hopes on private wealth

LONDON (Reuters) - UBS's wealth management business will help it bounce back from a $1.5 billion rap for rigging interest rates, one of its largest investors said, although fears of costly civil lawsuits could cast a pall over its shares for some time.
Paras Anand, European equities head at Fidelity Worldwide Investment, said legal action sparked by the Libor scandal posed an unpredictable threat to the bank's near-term earnings, even if its core private banking franchise escaped permanent harm.
"The big unknown factor is the civil litigation that could follow on as a result of this...That is one thing at the back of our minds that we have to be cognizant of," Anand said in an interview with Reuters.
"The issue for shareholders is the challenge of pricing that risk in. The potential costs are too unquantifiable and indeed, it's unclear as to whether they will actually manifest or not."
Switzerland's largest bank was hit with the fine on Wednesday after admitting to fraud, paying bribes to brokers and "pervasive" manipulation of global benchmark interest rates by dozens of its staff.
UBS shares were trading 1.3 percent higher at 9:01 a.m. ET, as investors looked forward to the end of a scandal-filled chapter in the bank's history and a renewed focus on managing cash on behalf of rich clients, rather than so-called 'casino' investment banking.
"There's clearly been a backlash against big faceless financial entities but a private bank has big personal relationships with its customers ... These kinds of institutions are surprisingly resilient," Anand said.
"We have seen some awful scandals in businesses much weaker than UBS and they manage to survive," he added.
Fidelity owns around 45 million shares in UBS, equivalent to around 1.2 percent of the bank, and is its fifth largest institutional owner excluding sovereign wealth funds, according to Thomson Reuters data.

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Drugs group Lundbeck's shares hit by profit warning

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Shares in Danish drugs firm Lundbeck fell to their lowest level in over 12 years on Wednesday after it cut its profits forecast for the next two years as European sales slow and spending on new products rise to combat generic competition.
The company has already warned that earnings would stall until 2015 due to cheap generic competition for its existing drugs, meaning new products will be vital for future earnings.
But Chief Executive Ulf Wiinberg said on Wednesday that the negative impact on revenue from healthcare reforms in Europe had also been bigger than expected in the last two years and that slowing European sales and generic competition were hurting.
As a result the company said operating profits would fall further than previously forecast in 2014 as it increases investments in its late-stage drugs development pipeline and product launches.
Lundbeck is working to find new drugs to replace lost revenue from products coming off patent protection such as its antidepressant Cipralex, which is sold as Lexapro in the United States and Japan, and Alzheimer's drug Ebixa.
Wiinberg said 2014 would be the company's peak investment year for the new products pipeline, offering it a solid foundation for growth starting in 2015.
"You only get one chance to launch a product and we have to do it well," Wiinberg said at a briefing for investors.
He was commenting after the company warned in a statement that it now expects revenue in 2014 of about 14 billion Danish crowns ($2.5 billion) and an operating profit of between just 0.5 billion and 1 billion crowns.
Analysts have on average been forecasting a profit of over 2.5 billion crowns for 2014 on turnover of over 14.7 billion crowns, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.
Two years ago Lundbeck predicted its annual revenues over the period 2012-2014 would exceed 14 billion crowns a year while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would exceed 2 billion crowns a year.
Next years' revenue is now forecast to be in the range of 14.1 billion and 14.7 billion crowns to produce an operating profit of 1.6 billion to 2.1 billion crowns, with no change to the company's forecast for 2012.
Analysts' forecasts for this year are for operating profit to drop 41 percent to 1.99 billion crowns on revenue down 8 percent at 14.7 billion crowns, while for 2013 they predict a profit of 2.26 billion crowns on revenue of 14.5 billion crowns.
Lundbeck's shares were trading down 17 percent at 79.90 crowns at 12.44 p.m. British time, dropping below 80 crowns for the first time since April 2000.
"In the short term, earnings are under pressure," Sydbank analyst Soren Hansen said.
Lundbeck said that it expects a dividend payout ratio of about 35 percent of net profits in the 2012-14 period. Last year it paid 3.49 crowns on basic earnings per share of 11.64 crowns, a payout ratio of 30 percent.
Analysts have been predicting a 27-30 percent cut this year to 2.53-2.28 crowns, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data.
But a number of analysts doubt that revenue from new products will be enough to secure revenue growth in 2015, compensating for lost revenue from Cipralex, Lexapro and Ebixa which together accounted for about 70 percent of group revenue in 2011.
Lundbeck is working on new products such as antidepressant Brintellix in Europe and the United States for launch at the end of next year or start of 2014, as well as alcohol dependency treatment Selincro in Europe in mid 2013.
"It is difficult to see revenue from the smaller products compensating for the large products," said Hansen.

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New Mauritius Hotels posts 25 pct drop in full-year profit

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Luxury hotels group New Mauritius Hotels (NMH) reported a 25 percent fall in full-year pretax profit, citing higher finance costs and fewer tourists, and forecast a 15 percent drop in first-quarter earnings.
Ranked among the Indian Ocean island's most-traded stocks, NMH said on Wednesday that pretax profit for the year to September 30 fell to 603 million Indian rupees, with earnings per share down 20 percent at 3.60 rupees.
The hotels group said that it won't pay a dividend this year, given the difficult conditions in the local tourism industry. Last year it paid a dividend of 2.50 rupees per share.
Shares in the group, which owns eight hotels in Mauritius and one in the Seychelles, closed unchanged at 52 rupees before its results were released.
Tourism, a traditional cornerstone of the Mauritius economy, has been forecast to account for 7.9 percent of domestic product in 2012, down from 8.4 percent last year. The downturn in tourism has been caused largely by economic turmoil in the euro zone - the sector's key source market.

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FedEx: cost plan can counter sluggish growth

NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx is more pessimistic about the U.S. economy than it was three months ago, but more assured of its own ability to grow earnings.
The world's second-largest package delivery company lowered its economic forecast for the U.S., saying that there remains a lot of uncertainty for the company and the country.
Its forecast for the current quarter, which incorporates the critical holiday season, falls short of Wall Street expectations.
But FedEx maintained its forecast for the full fiscal year ending in May, counting on a massive cost reduction plan and a slightly more optimistic view of growth overseas. Shares rose 2.6 percent in afternoon trading.
FedEx Corp. posted earnings of $438 million, or $1.39 per share for the quarter that ending in November, compared with $497 million, or $1.57 per share, a year ago. That was below the $1.41 per share that Wall Street was expecting, according to a poll of analysts by FactSet.
Revenue rose to $11.1 billion from $10.6 billion previously, as the company scaled back its operation to better match demand and some of its raised rates. Analysts forecast revenue of $10.84 billion.
Growth in the company's freight and ground operations boosted results, but FedEx reported "persistent weakness" in its core express network. Operating income in that segment fell 33 percent. FedEx and its larger rival UPS Inc. have both seen consumers and businesses opt for slower shipping options to cut costs.
FedEx said on Wednesday that it expects earnings will be between $1.25 and $1.45 per share in the third quarter. Analysts that follow the company were predicting per-share earnings of $1.45.
The company, based in Memphis, Tenn., also said it expects to earn between $6.20 and $6.60 per share for the year ending in May, excluding any charges from the company's buyout plan. Wall Street is looking for $6.34.
Earlier this month FedEx said it will offer some employees up to two years pay to leave, starting next year. The voluntary program is part of an effort to cut annual costs by $1.7 billion within three years. The plan also includes cutting aircraft and underused assets.

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Participant Media plans cable TV network targeting millenials

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Entertainment company Participant Media, one of the backers of the hit historical drama "Lincoln", will launch a cable TV network next summer with programming that focuses on social issues of interest to the millenials generation of teens and young adults.

The channel's original programming, films and documentaries will be aimed at viewers age 18 to 34 in the large demographic group known as millenials, Participant Media CEO Jim Berk said in an interview on Monday.

Millenials are particularly interested in the type of content that Participant produces about social issues, Berk said. The studio's credits include the current release "Lincoln", about President Abraham Lincoln's push to ban slavery, last year's civil rights drama "The Help" and Al Gore climate change documentary "An Inconvenient Truth".

Participant Media is creating the new network by purchasing two existing cable channels, The Documentary Channel and Halogen TV. After those networks are combined and rebranded, the new channel will reach an estimated 40 million of the more than 100 million U.S. pay-TV subscribers.

The company, founded by billionaire and former eBay Inc President Jeff Skoll with the aim of producing entertaining content that inspires social change, interacts regularly with more than 2.5 million people through social media, local movie screenings and its Takepart.com website, Berk said.

The challenge for Participant will be to sign up additional pay-TV distributors and win viewership in a crowded media landscape. The company is privately held and is not part of a large media conglomerate.

"We have the funding necessary to take a very long-term view, and to spend what we need to spend in terms of programming," Berk said.

The mainstay of the network's lineup will be original programming from a variety of genres, said Evan Shapiro, a Participant executive who will run the new network.

The company is developing programming with established Hollywood names including former MTV President Brian Graden, "Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim and documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.

Participant also hopes to work with pay-TV distributors to make the channel's content available on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, to meet the viewing patterns of younger audiences, Shapiro said.

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Participant Media starts cable network for millenials

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Participant Media, the company behind films including "Lincoln" and "The Help," is starting a new cable network targeting millenial viewers, with content from Davis Guggenheim and The Jim Henson Company, among others.

It will be led by Evan Shapiro, who joined Participant in May after serving as President of IFC and Sundance Channel.

Participant has bought The Documentary Channel and entered into an agreement to acquire the distribution assets of Halogen TV from The Inspiration Networks. No terms were disclosed.

The combined and rebranded properties are expected to reach more than 40 million subscribers once the yet-to-be-named network launches in the summer.

"The goal of Participant is to tell stories that serve as catalysts for social change. With our television channel, we can bring those stories into the homes of our viewers every day," said Participant chairman and founder Jeff Skoll.

Those producing content for the new network also include producer Brian Graden, The Jim Henson Company's Brian Henson, columnist and blogger Meghan McCain, Morgan Spurlock, Gotham Chopra, filmmaker Mary Harron, writer/director Timothy Scott Bogart, and Cineflix Media, a TV producer and distributor in which Participant Media controls an equity interest.

Guggenheim directed the Oscar winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" for Participant.

"Our content will be specifically designed for the viewers that the pay TV eco-system is most at risk of losing," said Shapiro. "We all know that Millennials are changing how media is consumed. However, they also have the strong desire and inimitable capacity to help change the world. Our research shows that there is a whitespace in the television landscape and we believe that a destination for ‘the next greatest generation' will be a win for our affiliate partners, advertisers and the creative community."

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Amazon adds episodes of alt-comedy show "UnCabaret"

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Amazon Instant Video has added four exclusive episodes of "UnCabaret," an alt-comedy showcase for the likes of Margaret Cho and Andy Dick, to its Prime Instant Video service.

The show was created and hosted by comedian and entertainer Beth Lapides and features performances by such comedy stars as Sandra Bernhard, Garfunkle and Oates, Greg Fitzsimmons and Rob Delaney. Instead of punch-line driven sets, performers are encouraged to show off story-based stream-of-consciousness acts.

Amazon Prime members will get free access to the titles. The episodes will be available for rental or purchase for Amazon Instant Video customers on an a la carte basis.

Amazon Prime costs $79 annually and gives members free two-day shipping as well as streaming access to movies and shows from the likes of Paramount and Disney-ABC. The catalog of titles grew a little larger Monday. In addition to "UnCabaret," Amazon announced an exclusive content licensing agreement with Turner Broadcasting System and Warner Bros. TV to add two TNT shows, "Falling Skies" and "The Closer" to its service.

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Family Guy," "Haven" episodes pulled due to Newtown shootings rescheduled

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - In a possible sign that the nation - or at least network programmers are beginning to regain their composure after Friday's horrific school shootings in Newtown, Conn., episodes of Fox's "Family Guy" and Syfy's "Haven" have been rescheduled.

The "Family Guy" episode "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," which was initially scheduled to run on Sunday before being pulled from the schedule following the massacre, will now air this upcoming Sunday.

While the episode isn't particularly violent, the holiday parody episode does poke fun at religion - something that might not have sat well in the days following the killings.

An episode of "American Dad" that also was pulled last Sunday has not yet been rescheduled.

The "Reunion" episode of Syfy's "Haven," which was due to air Friday night - the same day of the shootings - will now run on January 17, along with the show's season finale. That episode features fictional gun violence.

In addition to the "Family Guy" and "Haven" postponements, the TLC special "Best Funeral Ever" had its December 26 premiere date pushed back to January, while a recent episode of the ABC drama "Scandal," which depicted the killing of a family of four, was removed from the network's website Monday.

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Leah Remini sued by former managers over "Family Tools" commissions

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Leah Remini's new TV gig is already giving her a headache, months before it even starts. Former "King of Queens" star Remini is being sued by her former managers, the Collective Management Group, which claims that it's owed $67,000 in commissions relating to her upcoming ABC comedy "Family Tools," which debuts May 1.

In a complaint filed with Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, the Collective says that it entered into an agreement with the actress in November 2011 that guaranteed the company 10 percent of the earnings that emerged from projects that Remini "discussed, negotiated, contemplated, or procured/booked during Plaintiff's representation of Remini," regardless of whether the income was earned after she and the Collective parted ways.

According to the lawsuit, that would include the $1 million that it says Remini will earn for the first season of "Family Tools." (The suit allows that it isn't owed commission on a $330,000 talent holding fee that Remini received from ABC prior to officially being booked on the show.)

Remini, pictured above wearing the self-satisfied smirk of someone who just might stiff her former managers out of their commission, terminated her agreement with the Collective "without warning or justification" in October, the suit says.

Alleging breach of oral contract among other charges, the suit is asking for an order stipulating that it's owed the $67,000, plus unspecified damages, interest and court costs.

Remini's agent has not yet responded to TheWrap's request for comment.

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