Leora notes

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Singapore Hot Stocks-Centurion falls after placement

Centurion said on Monday it had sold 100 million shares at S$0.21 each in a compliance placement, following a reverse takeover of SM Summit."The share price now is actually above its placement price, which shows there is pretty firm demand for the stock," said a local trader.Centurion said it is in discussions with potential partners to tap into the workers dormitory sector in China, where manufacturing remains a core driver for economic growth.

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UPDATE 2-Apple sells 4 million iPhones in 3 days

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Apple Inc said on Monday it sold 4 million iPhone 4S in the new smartphone's first three days on the market, setting up a strong December quarter for the world's largest technology company.Helped by availability in more countries and on more telecommunications carrier networks, the iPhone 4S, which went on sale on Friday, Oct. 14, managed to outshine the iPhone 4, which sold 1.7 million over its first three days.Unveiled just a day before Apple Chairman Steve Jobs died, it was initially dubbed a disappointment, partly because it looked identical to its predecessor. But anticipation of its "Siri" voice software helped it set an online record in pre-orders on Oct. 7.It hit seven countries -- Japan, Australia, France, the UK, Germany, Canada and the United States -- versus five for the iPhone 4. In the United States, it launched with all three major U.S. carriers -- Verizon Communications Inc's and Vodafone Group Plc's Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc , and Sprint Nextel Corp -- rather than just one for Apple's previous smartphone. In Japan, it appeared on KDDI Corp's network for the first time."Availability in more countries and carriers is helping unit volumes, in addition to pent-up demand," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman, adding that the mix of phone models sold will help margins during the last quarter of the year.Wall Street analysts expect Apple to chalk up 25 million to 30 million iPhone sales in the final three months of the year, despite worries about a tepid consumer-holiday season.The company took more than 1 million online orders in the first 24 hours when iPhone 4S was available for pre-ordering, exceeding the 600,000 pre-orders received for the iPhone 4 when it launched.On Monday, Apple also said that more than 25 million customers were using the "iOS 5" mobile operating system in the first five days of its release. And more than 20 million customers have signed up for iCloud, its free cloud services, Apple said.The latest iPhone will be available in 22 more countries on Oct. 28 and more than 70 countries by the end of the year.Shares in Apple were down 0.9 percent in afternoon trading to $418.18, alongside a decline in the broader market, after staying in positive territory for much of the morning.

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TEXT-S&P keeps Castellana Finance. ltd.'s class C2 nts on watch neg

OVERVIEW-- In July, we downgraded several classes in castellana finance. ltd. due to its counterparty exposure.-- At the same time, we placed the most junior-rated notes (class C2) on CreditWatch negative due to weakening credit enhancement levels.-- As of today, we have kept the class C2 notes on CreditWatch negative, as we would like to make further analysis of developments in the transaction after the Oct. 10 payment date.-- castellana finance is a CDS issued in June 2007, under which the issuer sells protection on the reserve funds and the subordinated credit lines of 14 Bankinter RMBS transactions.-- In this transaction, our ratings address timely payment of interest and ultimate payment of principal, if there is no credit event.Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today kept on CreditWatch negative its 'A- (sf)' credit rating on castellana finance. ltd.'s class C2 notes.In July 2011, we removed from CreditWatch negative and downgraded several notes in the transaction due to its counterparty exposure. At that time, we also downgraded the class C2 notes and placed them on CreditWatch negative (see "Ratings List Resolving European Structured Finance Counterparty CreditWatch Placements").The purpose of the transaction is to transfer to third-party investors the credit risk associated with the reserve funds and subordinated credit lines in 14 residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions held at Bankinter S.A. , as outlined below:-- The underlying transactions were originated by Bankinter between May 1999 and March 2007.-- On the closing date, the issuer deposited the note issuance proceeds as cash with Bankinter (the account bank provider).-- At the same time, it entered into a EUR185.15 million credit default swap (CDS) with Bankinter, under which the issuer sells protection on the reserve funds and the subordinated credit lines of the 14 Bankinter RMBS transactions.-- The funds have a total value of EUR185.15 million. Bankinter, as protection buyer, makes quarterly premium payments to the issuer. In return, the issuer must make credit protection payments to Bankinter if a credit event occurs, subject to certain conditions.-- If the issuer makes a credit protection payment to Bankinter, the principal balance of the notes reduces by a corresponding amount.-- If the credit event is then cured, Bankinter must, from time to time, make reimbursement payments to castellana finance and, as a consequence, the principal balance of the notes is reinstated.Until today, several credit protection payments have been made which, in the past, were able to be reimbursed, but which lately have persisted.Since the January 2011 payment date, several draws in Bankinter 11, 12, and 13's reserve funds have caused subsequent credit events, which have resulted in a credit event amount of EUR1,747,878.16 as of the July 2011 payment date.Given that the following payment date was on Oct. 10, 2011, we have today kept the class C2 notes on CreditWatch negative, as we would like to make further analysis in order to reflect the latest developments at the transaction level.RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH-- Ratings List Resolving European Structured Finance Counterparty CreditWatch Placements, July 12, 2011-- Counterparty And Supporting Obligations Update, Jan. 13, 2011-- Counterparty And Supporting Obligations Methodology And Assumptions, Dec. 6, 2010-- Understanding Standard & Poor's Rating Definitions, June 3, 2009-- Methodology And Assumptions: Update To The Criteria For Rating Spanish Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities, Jan. 6, 2009-- New Issue: castellana finance. ltd., Oct. 16, 2007-- Criteria for Rating Spanish Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities, March 1, 2002

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UPDATE 1-Libya says oil output to hit 1 million bpd

* Gaddafi-era oil deals to be reviewed* Oil minister says evidence of corruption will be publishedBy Jessica Donati and Ali ShuaibTRIPOLI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Production from a Libyan oil field will restart within days and the country should be able to pump 1 million barrels per day (bpd) within a year, the interim oil and finance minister said on Tuesday.In an interview with Reuters, Ali Tarhouni said he had received a phone call the previous evening saying the huge El Sharara oil field operated by Spanish firm Repsol was ready to restart and he expected it to resume pumping within days. It produces 200,000 bpd."Within less than a year we will be up to 1 million barrels. I am very confident of that," Tarhouni said.Libya is struggling to resume oil production, which forms the overwhelming bulk of its economy but was largely halted for the past eight months by its civil war. The country produced about 1.8 million bpd during peace time.The oil minister said current production was at 400,000 bpd and the rapid recovery was owed to the bravery and skill of Libyan workers, some of whom had given their lives to protect and repair the oil fields."We have a lot of patriots," the minister said.OIL DEAL INVESTIGATIONThe minister promised to scrutinize all oil deals agreed during the rule of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi and would publish evidence of corruption, including documents."One of the things I promise ... is that we will practice transparency, not talk about it," Tarhouni said.Industry sources have long anticipated an investigation of oil deals by the new rulers in Libya, which may lead to a reallocation of some contracts to reward countries which supported the uprising against Gaddafi.Foreign players account for almost half a million bpd of oil output in Libya and imported 1.3 million bpd of crude before the war. [ID: nL5E7LB29Y]The minister said evidence of illegal activity had been found and corruption in the oil sector had been widespread."I have some evidence here but ... I will leave that until we have the final picture. Unfortunately there was a lot of corruption in the oil sector," he said.He said Libyans had the right to know what had happened in the past and efforts would be made to hold any oil company found guilty of corruption during Gaddafi's era accountable."Anyone who did something not legal or right -- if we find proof, of course -- we will do that [bring them to justice]. That's what transparency is," he said.The structure of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the ministry of oil would have to change, but it was too early to discuss what changes needed to be made to make the sector more efficient, he said.

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UPDATE 2-Celadon seeks takeover talks with USA Truck

* USA Truck says will evaluate Celadon's interestBy A. AnanthalakshmiOct 11 (Reuters) - Trucker Celadon Group reported a 6.29 percent stake in USA Truck Inc , and said it was interested in buying its smaller rival.In a regulatory filing, Celadon said it recently asked to meet USA Truck's management to discuss a possible association between the companies, potentially including a combination of the two."We believe the truckload industry offers consolidation and other strategic opportunities as successful companies seek additional capacity and services for customers, more diverse routes for drivers, and greater value and liquidity for investors," Celadon said in the filing.USA Truck said it will evaluate Celadon's filing in due course.Celadon said it bought USA Truck's shares at an average of $7.08 a share -- about 55 percent of USA Truck's book value per share.USA Truck's shares had dropped sharply in late-August after the company warned of a third-quarter loss.The shares rose as much as 24 percent to $10.20 in regular trading on Tuesday on Nasdaq. Celadon shares rose 6 percent to $9.85.USA Truck, valued at $86 million, recorded revenue of $387 million last year. Celadon had annual revenue of around $557 million.Jonathan Adams, transportation banker at Sterne Agee & Leach, said trucking companies are driven towards acquisitions due to pressures of more expensive equipment, difficulty in retaining drivers and government regulation."We expect to see increasing bifurcation between the valuations afforded to companies that are able to finance replacement equipment, retain high quality drivers and meet the expectations of their shareholders and those that are not able to do so," Adams said.He said the valuation disparity provides a good opportunity for larger truckload companies to make acquisitions and for smaller regional ones "to face a stark choice -- find a niche, or find a buyer."Shares of USA Truck's peer Covenant Transportation rose 8 percent following Celadon's interest. Covenant's stock has fallen almost 60 percent in the last three months.