Italy's Moleskine fails to sparkle on market debut

By Antonella Ciancio

MILAN (Reuters) - Shares in upmarket notebook maker Moleskine made a lackluster debut in Milan on Wednesday as growth concerns and broad market weakness weighed on this year's first major stock listing in crisis-hit Italy.

The maker of notebooks based on originals used by Ernest Hemingway and Bruce Chatwin is the first company to join the main Milan stock market since the listing of cashmere brand Brunello Cucinelli nearly a year ago.

Shares in Moleskine closed 0.9 percent below their issue price at 2.28 euros, though Italy's all-share index <.ftitlms> fared worse, losing 2.1 percent.

Moleskine shares had risen nearly 3 percent in early trade from the 2.30 euros price the company had set for its 488 million euro ($626.5 million) initial public offering (IPO).

"They tried to defend it at placement price but eventually gave up and it slipped back," a Milan trader said.

The Milan-based company was valued around 14.5 times its 2012 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a discount to Prada and luxury brand Tumi , but in line with brands with strong margins and growth in foreign markets.

Moleskine, which also makes diaries and leather covers for tablet PCs, lacks the exclusive appeal of luxury names such as Prada or Salvatore Ferragamo , whose shares rose in their stock market debut in 2011.

However, the company says it has revenue growth potential and margins above the luxury sector average.

"We are better than the average of luxury makers in terms of profitability," Chief Executive Arrigo Berni told Reuters at the market launch ceremony at Milan's stock exchange.

Founded in 1997, the company makes its thread-bound jotters in Asia, generating an operating margin of 43 percent, putting it in line with high-end luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton.

Bottega Veneta, owned by PPR , and Hermes have EBIT margins around 33-34 percent.

Moleskine generated revenues of around 78 million euros in 2012, a 16 percent rise on the year before and above an average 11 percent growth in the luxury sector, helped by new stores and stationery products. Profits rose 25 percent to 19.7 million euros.

Moleskine is the fourth upscale Italian brand to tap the stock market in under two years, following the IPOs of Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo and Cucinelli.

"I don't remember any recent luxury company which closed down on the first day," said Mario Ortelli, senior analyst at Bernstein Research. "They rather preferred not to float at all, like Graff and Moncler," he said.

"SIGNIFICANT GROWTH"

Berni said he expected "significant" growth in coming years as Moleskine developed applications and other digital products for a growing number of smartphone users and opens its first stores in China.

"We are not like Rolex, which makes exclusivity and price an integral part of its appeal," Berni said.

Moleskine sells 90 percent of its 15-euro notebooks outside Italy, which is struggling with a deep recession and stuck in political limbo after inconclusive elections.

"I think the management of Moleskine did a good job building the brand, but I think margins look pretty high and might come down in the future since they will need to invest in expanding their distribution channels and entering new product categories," said Scilla Huang Sun, who runs the JB Luxury Brands Fund with 320 million euros under management.

Moleskine offered 106.3 million shares, including 12 million new ones, meaning just over 50 percent of the company's shares are now traded on the market.

Demand for the shares has come from investors in Italy, Britain, elsewhere in Europe, the United States and Asia. The offer was 90 percent reserved for institutional investors.

"I hear the concerns that Italy doesn't have a government," said Raffaele Jerusalmi, CEO of Italian stock exchange Borsa Italiana, adding that the listing provided a sign of confidence.

"It is even more important to have a market flotation at this moment of uncertainty."

Private equity funds Syntegra Capital and Index Ventures, alongside founder Francesco Franceschi and management, will pocket most of the 244 million euros generated by the sale.

Moleskine has seen revenue growth of around 25 percent per year since Syntegra bought 75 percent for around 60 million euros in 2006. The company had revenues of 78 million euros in 2012.

Moleskine said remaining proceeds from the capital increase would be used to halve debt to 12 million euros, while retail growth would be funded through cash generation.

($1 = 0.7789 euros)

(Additional reporting by Elisa Anzolin and Stephen Jewkes, Astrid Wendlandt in Paris; Writing by Lisa Jucca and Antonella Ciancio; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford and Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italys-moleskine-fails-sparkle-market-debut-162655611--finance.html

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Drake Matches Gritty '5 AM In Toronto' Lyrics With Homegrown Video

'Doing it for the city this time around,' Drizzy says of the low-key video for the venomous track.
By Rob Markman

Drake in his "5 AM in Toronto" music video
Photo: Universal Music Group

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704804/drake-5-am-in-toronto-music-video.jhtml

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Mounting demand pushes Dubai real estate prices up further ...

Apartment sales prices grew on average by 12% in the three months to the end of March 2013 with year-on-year growth standing at 27%. In comparison, although average villa sales prices only climbed 5% in Q1 2013, growth over the past 12 months averaged 24%.

The performance of rental rates was also impressive, average apartment and villa rents grew by 3 and 4% compared to Q4 2012, but still managed to climb 19 and 21% respectively over the past 12 months.

"The overall outlook is positive with demand and rates expected to continue to grow. However, this will also mean that some tenants and buyers will be priced out of certain buildings or communities," said John Stevens, Managing Director, Asteco Property Management.

"Prices are not only being driven by tenants relocating, Dubai is also attracting new tenants and those expatriates here are still tending to take a longer-term view of living in Dubai," added Stevens.

The areas that came out on top for villa sales in Q1 2013 were the Meadows which jumped 10% reaching Dhs11,850 per square metre; Jumeirah Islands which rose 9% achieving Dhs13,450 per square metre and the Jumeirah Village which also grew 9% to Dhs6,450 per square metre. Year-on-year villa sales in the Springs grew by 29% to Dhs 9,700 per square metre and the Palm Jumeirah remains the most expensive at Dhs20,450 per square metre.

In terms of apartment sales the top performer in Q1 2013 was Discovery Gardens which increased by 33% to Dhs6,450 per square metre. The only other double-digit growth was recorded in Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence, where rates grew 14 and 15% respectively to Dhs12,900 and Dhs12,400. Over the past 12 months once again Discovery Gardens was the top achiever climbing an impressive 50% and again the Palm Jumeirah is the most expensive area with property commanding Dhs16,150 per square metre compared with apartments in DIFC and Downtown Dubai, which now change hands for Dhs15,600 and 15,000 per square metre respectively. The Palm Jumeirah remains the most expensive area, with a three-bedroom villa now costing Dhs325,000 per annum.

"In terms of supply and demand, Dubai is still benefiting from the Arab Spring and the Euro crisis, which was brought into sharper focus recently with the Cypriot banking crisis. Good quality stock is gradually being reduced while the length of time that advertised units stay on the market now is also shortening," added Stevens.

Apartment rental rates grew most during Q1 2013 in International City where a two-bedroom unit increased by 8% to Dhs40,000, while most other areas recorded up to 3% growth. However on an annual basis, a two-bedroom unit in Discovery Gardens now leases for Dhs70,000 a 27% increase. Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina followed, notching-up increases of 21 and 22% respectively. A two-bedroom apartment in these developments rents on average for between Dhs100,000 and Dhs125,000.

Although the commercial market saw little movement during 2012, it did show some signs of life in Q1 2013. Rental rates in Dubai Investments Park rose 13% to Dhs485 per square metre, while JLT and Tecom rose 20 and 25% respectively to command Dhs654 to Dhs800 per square metre compared to the same period last year. DIFC remains the premium destination for office rental with Dhs2,400 per square foot. Q1 2013 office sales prices grew most notably in JLT (9%) and Business Bay (7%).

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/mounting-demand-pushes-dubai-real-estate-335982

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Man Tattoos Pitbull, Defends Actions as Dog Lover

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/man-tattoos-pitbull-defends-actions-as-dog-lover/

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Lindsay Lohan and Kristen Stewart: Unexpected BFF Alert!

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Deep freeze: Home sales to barely budge this spring

Diana Olick , CNBC.com ? ? ? 14 hrs.

The U.S. housing market will see no surge at the start of spring, as fewer buyers signed contracts to purchase existing homes in February. An industry index of so-called pending home sales fell 0.4 percent from January but is up 8.4 percent from February of 2012.

While the number of for-sale listings increased more than the seasonal norm, realtors still say a lack of supply is keeping many potential buyers from desired deals. Pending home sales are a one to two month forward indicator of closed sales.

"Only new home construction can genuinely help relieve the inventory shortage, and housing starts need to rise at least 50 percent from current levels," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors in a release. "Most local home builders are small businesses and simply don't have access to capital on Wall Street. Clearer regulatory rules, applied to construction loans for smaller community banks and credit unions, could bring many small-sized builders back into the market."

Sales of newly built homes fell nearly five percent in February, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Inventories did rise, but only slightly, as the nation's home builders struggle with labor and land shortages, as well as higher costs for materials.

Pending home sales fell 2.5 percent month-to-month in the Northeast, rose 0.4 percent in the Midwest, fell 0.3 percent in the South and rose 0.1 percent in the West, according to the Realtors.

"The volume of home sales appears to be leveling off with the constrained inventory conditions, and the leveling of the index means little change is likely in the pace of sales over the next couple months," Yun added.

A better sign for March, after two weeks of declines, mortgage applications to purchase a home jumped 7 percent during the past week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This as interest rates fell slightly, due to concerns over the banking crisis in Cyprus.

"The rebound in mortgage applications is a small piece of a brighter housing outlook," says Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. "Interest rates are still at record lows despite their upward trend, and consumers are taking advantage of record home affordability. Look for more buyers to enter the market this spring and a more robust housing recovery to occur."

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a0e46eb/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Ceconomywatch0Cdeep0Efreeze0Ehome0Esales0Ebarely0Ebudge0Espring0E2B910A4579/story01.htm

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No NASCAR penalties issued after California race

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ? NASCAR Chairman Brian France said Tuesday the contact between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin as they battled for the win at California over the weekend was just the kind of throwback racing he expects out of his drivers and the new Gen-6 car.

"I have said repeatedly, every minute, that contact, especially late in the race when you are going for a win, that's not only going to happen ? that's expected," France said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "Both of them did exactly what I think you would do when you really, really want to win. Getting some contact, trying to race extra hard to win the race, that's what we're about."

Hamlin suffered a compressed fracture of the L1 vertebra in his lower back, and Joe Gibbs Racing said Tuesday night he'll be out a minimum of six weeks.

France, who spoke to AP hours before JGR announced Hamlin would not require surgery but needed time to heal, did not think anything was done intentionally by Logano to harm Hamlin.

"Injuries can happen throughout any race on any lap, and fortunately they are seldom," France said. "That's just part of racing."

NASCAR announced Tuesday no penalties were warranted after California ? not against Tony Stewart for scuffling with Logano after the race, and series officials saw nothing to indicate Logano or Hamlin were trying to intentionally wreck each other as they raced for the win. In addition, NASCAR officials have given no thought to policing blocking, which is what Logano did to Stewart on the final restart to trigger the post-race confrontation.

"There are no conversations internally inside of NASCAR to look at blocking as a violation or a penalty as some other forms of motorsports do," Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said. "As good as the racing has been, as exciting as it's been, I don't know that we need to jump in the middle and screw it up."

Stewart parked his car near Logano's and angrily approached him after Sunday's race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. There was some shoving, but crew members intervened before any punches landed. Logano threw a water bottle at Stewart.

Darby said the incident didn't escalate to a level where NASCAR had to take action.

"A few years ago we backed away from micromanaging drivers' emotions, you would hope in today's world that if somebody didn't win a race, they would be upset about it," Darby said. "I don't know that we've actually got a rule book that describes every push in the chest or kick in the shin. If two guys get into a hell of a fight, we're going to have to react. But a couple of guys blowing off some steam and slapping at the air is not going to get anybody in a whole lot of trouble."

France noted that drivers are encouraged to show their emotion and settle disputes ? which is all Stewart was doing on Sunday.

"We have no problem, and frankly encourage drivers to go up to one another to discuss whatever they think they need to that happened in the race," France said. "And then every once in a while there will be some emotions, and that's what happened Sunday and crews stepped in between them and we don't think it rose to some level of anything."

France said NASCAR will intervene when feuds go too far and when emotions run too high.

"We're not going to allow a boxing match to take place every time they have a disagreement," France said. "But on the other hand, we're not going to prevent the emotional exchanges that occur after a race. Everyone has the right to walk up to someone and say, 'What the? What happened there? What did you do that for?' And they explain themselves and usually work it out."

It remains to be seen where the Logano and Hamlin feud goes from here, although Sunday was viewed as a racing incident.

The two former teammates have feuded since the closing laps of the season-opening Daytona 500 and it escalated after contact from Hamlin sent Logano spinning into the wall two races ago at Bristol. Logano angrily confronted Hamlin after the race before being pulled away by crew members.

The two moved their feud to Twitter for at least the second time this season and then came Sunday's race.

They were racing side-by-side on the last lap for the win when they banged into each other. Both cars spun and Hamlin's hit head-on into an inside wall not protected with energy-absorbing SAFER barriers.

He spent Sunday night in a Southern California hospital, where he was diagnosed with an L1 compression fracture in his lower back. He saw Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates on Tuesday, and Petty determined the driver will not need surgery but needed a minimum of six weeks to heal.

NASCAR is off this weekend, so Hamlin could miss only five races if the healing process meets Petty's estimate. But the next five weeks include stops at Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway, where the Virginia-raised driver has a combined six Sprint Cup victories.

Hamlin also races in his annual charity event at RIR, and will now have to sit that out, too.

Darby did not think Logano intentionally wrecked Hamlin.

"It was the last lap of the race, and the last time they were both going to see turns three and four. They were side-by-side. If somebody was of the mindset to retaliate, they probably would have been lined up nose-to-tail and somebody would have drove into the other car and spun him around," Darby said. "In this case, that is so far from the opposite, that it never even crossed anybody's mind that I'm aware of that paid attention to the race."

Meanwhile, NASCAR is still going over data from Hamlin's accident and will need to meet with officials from the University of Nebraska, home to the engineering school's Midwest Roadside Safety experts, and IndyCar before making any recommendations on whether a SAFER barrier should be installed where Hamlin hit.

When NASCAR first began installing SAFER barriers following the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt, the priority were locations where cars frequently hit the wall. Officials at Nebraska also make recommendations not to install the barriers at certain points at a facility because of various issues, including the potential for a car to sling-shot back into traffic after impact.

Track officials usually follow the recommendations.

Tom Gideon, senior director of safety research and development at NASCAR, said where Hamlin hit was not an area that cars frequently make impact.

"Each point on the track we look at the application and you don't want to put (barriers) in places where the angle of impact may not be appropriate for a SAFER barrier," Gideon said. "We also look at the possibility of impact and the frequency of impact, and when you look at the frequency of impact, especially at oval tracks, it's reasonable to think they are going to be with outside walls."

NASCAR doesn't race at Auto Club Speedway again this season, but IndyCar's October finale is scheduled at the track. IndyCar officials said the series is working with NASCAR, Nebraska and the Fontana track officials to study the accident and see if "any changes need be addressed prior to our race at Fontana."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-nascar-penalties-issued-california-race-190726619--spt.html

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