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Attempting to understand a company in the routing and data transfer areas tempting one of our techie readers who knows all about interconnection photronics or optronics, I ran into this comment from a chartist named Sharon on the website both reader GY and I subscribe to:

"No bueno. The chart is heading south, under the ichimoku cloud, negative Chaiken money flow, and a very choppy pattern. Resistance is overhead at 9 and it looks like a Elliott wave bearish wave downside correction.

“I would wait for any indicator that shows a reversal from it’s[sic] present downtrend off the June 19 th high of 10.05. maybe there’s an upcoming event that can move it.

“It pays a good dividend, which appears to be moving the stock through the execution and payout cycles."

As if that were not enough, here is a msg later received, I think, from Google (with a do not reply stamp):

“Publisher ID: ca-pub-4651807170625812

“Dear Publisher,

“We have now verified that we are no longer detecting PII being passed to Google from the account(s) under your control. Thank you for helping to resolve this matter.

“Regards,

“The Google Policy Team”

The reader collective is invited to help me understand these messages. A free 3-month trial subscription or subscription extension is offered to anyone who can explain what either message is saying.

Abhimanyu Sisodia wrote about the Indian 2015-6 fiscal year budget which was "tabled" Sat. (UK usage, meaning presented rather than deferred as on Capital Hill.) "I thought the Budget did not live up to the Modi hype."

I noted that the budget kept the old gold import duty in place, while trying to get Indian owners of the precious metal to lend it to jewelry makers to help them boost business despite the duty. I expect that will not fly.

India will now use an inflation target rather than a govt deficit target which may be helpful in keeping the rupee steadier. And it plans desperately-needed infrastructure spending in the coming FY while austerity is delayed until FY 2016-7.

Abhimanyu leads with two notes:

*The staggering 30% tax on iron ore export remained unchanged, but the import tax on metallurgical coke for steel-making was raised from 2.5% to 5%.

Vivian notes: This is bad news for Sesa Sterlite, SSLT.

Technology

*Infosys bagged a 5-yr contract from global express delivery company TNT for an undisclosed amount. Dutch TNT is overhauling its IT systems. INFY will do application development and maintenance.

*Nokia, the world's third-largest mobile equipment maker, has seen nothing in its business that would lead it to change its financial outlook, its CEO Rajeev Suri said yesterday at a press conference in Spain before the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. This confirmed earlier Suri remarks that the lower euro will bost business for the Finnish maker of telephone exchange equipment. NOK.

*The stock Sharon the chartists and our reader GY are looking at is ST Microelectronics, STM on the Big Board. We owned it before the tech bust and sold it mainly because management was unable to manage a chip-maker subsidized by the French and Italian governments in an attempt to challenge Asian and US rivals. STM is incorporated in Switzerland and runs plants worldwide (including Texas.) It had sales of $7.4 bn last year in semiconductors for industrial applications, inkjet printheads, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems or MEMS), MEMS sensors, set-top-box and home-gateway SoCs and smartcard chips, automotive integrated circuits, computer peripherals, and chips for wireless and mobile apps. GY and I both began to consider STM after www.stockgumshoe.com deciphered a newsletter promotion about it from Michael Robinson's Radical Technology Profits which after rebates costs $1000/yr.

Drugs and Biotech

*GlaxoSmithKline plc is now “top dog” in consumer health (OTC) products, and inoculations, according to Fierce Pharma, a website. GSK announced in Monday that its 3-part transaction with Novartis had been completed. GSK acquired NVS’s global vaccines business (excluding flu jabs) for a cash payment of $5.25 bn. GSK  created a new world-leading consumer healthcare jv with NVS where it will own majority equity interest at 63.5%. It divested its oncology lines for $16 bn in cash.

Net after-tax proceeds to GSK in Monday  were estimated to be $7.8 bn, from the full $16 bn paid by NVS for GSK’s Oncology assets. Up to $1.5 bn of that purchase price may have to be returned to Novartis if conditions relating to the Combi-d Trial are not met. However, after the positive results from the trial announced Feb. 6. "GSK believes these conditions will be satisfied."

So GSK plans to use the transaction proceeds to fund the full amount of the previously announced capital return of £4 billion to shareholders. With shareholder approval, it will be done through the issue of B shares, which will count as return of capital for UK taxpayer shareholders. There is no mention of how it will work for US taxpayers.

GSK will delay its Q1 results for an Investor Meeting on May 6 when it will provide 2015 earnings guidance and profile the medium and long-term shape and opportunities for the enlarged Group.

Sir Andrew Witty, GSK CEO, said: “Completion of this transaction represents a major step forward in the strategy to create a stronger and more balanced set of businesses across Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Healthcare, and Vaccines. We will now be focused on rapidly implementing our integration plans to realise the growth and synergy opportunities we see in the new Consumer Healthcare and Vaccines businesses. We look forward to sharing more details of this with our shareholders on 6 May.”

The payout is about $6.2 bn at the current exchange rate. The share should rise by the potential payout until it is made, after which the stock will probably fall back. It is in our yield portfolio.

*Irish Alkermes (ALKS) announced a new drug candidate in Monday, ALKS 7119, to treat agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease, major depressive disorder (MDD), and other central nervous system (CNS) indications. Alkermes completed preclinical development and expects to initiate clinical trials in Q3. Details about ALKS 7119 will be presented at an Analyst and Investor Event hosted by Alkermes to which I was not invited. It is among four late-stage candidates in its "emerging blockbuster portfolio" for major chronic CNS diseases: aripiprazole lauroxil for schizophrenia; ALKS 5461 for MDD; ALKS 3831 for schizophrenia; and ALKS 8700 for multiple sclerosis.

ALKS 7119's multivalent mechanism of action acts on key brain receptors in several CNS diseases, including agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease, MDD, and others. Alkermes will file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US FDA in Q2 and also submitted multiple patent applications for ALKS 7119.

Commented Elliot Ehrich, M.D., Chief Medical Officer: "Based on results and observations to date, we believe that the multivalent mechanism of ALKS 7119 has the potential to impact a range of CNS diseases. We will begin with agitation associated with Alzheimer's disease." Last Friday no fewer than 9 ALKS insiders under SEC rules filed notifications that they had acquired more shares through exercise of options. Insiders sell shares for many reasons; they buy for only one: to make money.

*Israeli Compugen Ltd. will present aspects of its immune checkpoint related research at two oncology conferences this month. Galit Rotman, PhD, CGEN Chief Scientist, Therapeutics, will present at the Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors conference on March 24-26in Boston a talk entitled "Novel Immune Checkpoints as Antibody Targets for Cancer Immunotherapy". Her talk will cover experimental data demonstrating the immunomodulatory function of selected CGEN-discovered novel immune checkpoints which are target candidates for cancer immunotherapy. She will also participate in a panel discussion on immuno-oncology at the Phacilitate Oncology Leaders’ Forum, also in Bosotn on Mar. 24.

*Teva Pharma divested its Sellersville, PA manufacturing facility to G&W Labs for an undisclosed sum. Besides all buildings, land, and equipment at the site, the deal also gives to G&W ~25 TEVA products to be manufactured and sold in the USA under the G&W label and exclusive rights to two additional Teva products made at Teva's Zagreb (Croatia) plant.

*Hikma Pharma was on of the worst performers in London last week, down 3.74%. We sold the ADR of the Dubai-London listed Jordanian generics drug-maker last year because it kept rising for no good reason.

Banking

*Santander Hldgs USA chose former JPMorgan-Chase consumer bank head Scott Powell as its CEO, reports the WSJ. It owns Santander Bank USA and 60.5% of subprime lender Santander Consumer USA. Selecting Powell is reinforces the new team of SAN Chairman Ana Patricia Botin. His first task will be regulatory compliance, so SAN passes its stress test this month and can avoid being fined like last year for paying its parent a dividend. In 2014 the US arm had after-tax net of $375.7 mn, down 12% y/y.

*More bank sub details. Our Old Mutual is a 54% owner of Nedbank in South Africa, the rest of whose shares are listed in Jo'burg. Its earnings, in rands, rose 14% in 2014 to 9.88 bn, up 13%/share to 2066 rands. Here is the ODMTY conference call viewof the Nedbank results by CEO Julian Roberts:

It's important to look at the actual percentages rather than just the bars as the scale tends to flatten a very good story of growth across all of the clusters. I would highlights in particular, the 23% increase in Nedbank Capital.

Net interest income grew by 8% due to an increase in average interest-earning banking assets, mainly in Nedbank Capital and Nedbank Corporate. Non-interest revenue was up by 5%, with considerably improved performance in the second half. Higher commissions and fees and significantly increased private equity income in capital and corporate were partly offset by the impact of earlier strategic decisions, slower personal loan growth, reducing price on credit life. We made this decision to hold prices at 2013 levels.

Impairments were down by 19% and the credit loss ratio continued to improve as a result of ongoing improvements in the effectiveness of underwriting and risk management and improvements in asset quality. All clusters well within or below their target levels. So a positive story yet again for Nedbank.

Before I move on from Africa, let me just say a few words on outlook. In South Africa, clearly there are concerns over the impact on the economy of the continuing power outages. In the long run a prolonged period of low oil prices will keep inflation down which will be positive for the consumer and the economy, but in the short-term GDP growth will be challenged. Our South African businesses are in good shape. They faced headwinds in 2014 and delivered good results and I am optimistic about their performance in 2015.

(Source: seekingalpha.com conference call transcript plus charts and information lacking there from Nedback site.)

Funds

*New Ireland Fund published a quarterly portfolio update as of Jan. 31. Its top 10 positions were;

Ryanair Holdings 23.02%; Aryzta AG 9.08% (Swiss crop chemicals); CRH PLC 8.60%; Kerry Group, Series A 8.30% (food); Glanbia 4.80% (food); Paddy Power 4.60% (bookie PDYPF, sold); Kingspan Group 4.58% (insulation panels); Smurfit Kappa 4.56% (paper); Bank of Ireland 4.38% and Cie de St-Gobain 4.04% (French construction materials) The non-diversified fund is managed by Kleinwort Benson Investors International Ltd., a sub of Kleinwort Benson Investors Dublin and trades on the NYSE as IRL. It is hard to diversify in Ireland but IRL has inexplicably doubled up outside the country in food and construction.