10:47 am Malvern Federal Bancorp appoints William H. Woolworth, III as Chief Risk Officer (MLVF) :  

10:40 am Stock indices extend lift off morning lows -- Dow +5.3, S&P -0.2, Nasdaq Comp +8 (:TECHX) : Relative sector strength (outperforming the S&P) on the bounce has been noted in: Housing XHB, Bank KBE, Reg Bank KRE, Discretionary XLY, Restaurant, Networking IGN.

10:37 am Energy XXI provides operations update and capital budget estimates for fiscal 2016 (EXXI) : For FY16, the co expects

• Full year production guidance 54,000-59,000 BOE/d net, as compared to 58,900 BOE/d net for fiscal 2015
• Targeting full fiscal year capital expenditures of $130 to $150 million
• Current liquidity as of July 31, 2015, was $875 million, of which $750 million was cash 

The capital budget, targeting low-risk oil opportunities, is predicated on a $50 oil price deck. The company will consider expanding its development drilling as commodity prices rebound. In the second half of fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, development and recompletion capital totaled approximately $50 million and production remained relatively stable.

• At South Pass 78 (100% WI/ 83% NRI), the company's recompletion program continues to deliver positive results, including lower overall costs compared to pre-drill estimates. To date, nine recompletions have been brought online, and one additional recompletion is underway. Production from the field reached 5,450 BOE/d net, up from 2,100 BOE/d net when the program began earlier this calendar year. In fiscal 2016, the company has identified over 25 projects across its core fields to be completed.

10:22 am Choppy trade at mildly lower levels -- Dow -55, S&P -7.2, Nasdaq Comp -11 (:TECHX) :  

10:14 am Beacon Roofing Supply receives early termination of HSR waiting period regarding its acquisition of Roofing Supply Group; transaction is expected to close on October 1, 2015 (BECN) :  

10:07 am Thinly traded biotech name Mast Therapeutics is up 8% following Q2 results (MSTX) :

• Co reported Q2 EPS ($0.06) unchanged from prior year. As of June 30, 2015, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and investment securities totaling $43.4 mln. 
• "As we approach completion of the EPIC study, we continue to be excited about the potential for vepoloxamer, currently the most clinically-advanced new drug in development for patients with sickle cell disease,... We also continue to be enthusiastic about clinical progress we are making with our second asset, AIR001. We are supporting ongoing Phase 2a studies of AIR001 in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) at two elite clinical institutions, and we continue to anticipate reporting preliminary data from one of those studies, a 30-patient, placebo-controlled trial, later this year."
  

10:03 am GW Pharma probing resistance near the $115 level after Morgan Stanley initiates with Overweight rating and $150 tgt (GWPH) : They expect binary Phase 3 Epidiolex event in 1Q16 to be positive.

9:46 am Nasdaq Comp -4.4 joins Dow -43 and S&P -5 in the red (:TECHX) : Relative sector weakness during the recent slip has been noted in Semi SMH, Health XLV, Pharma PPH, Biotech IBB, Retail XRT.

9:42 am Opening Market Summary: Stocks Slip Out of the Gate (:WRAPX) : The major averages began the trading day just above their flat lines before dipping into the red. The Nasdaq Composite (unch) shows slight relative strength while the S&P 500 (-0.2%) underperforms after opening with a one-point gain.

Seven of ten sectors display early losses with energy (-1.0%) trading behind the remaining nine sectors amid a 1.6% decline in crude oil, which has slid to $42.60/bbl.

On the flip side, heavily-weighted consumer discretionary (+0.3%), health care (+0.2%), and technology (+0.2%) have shown early strength. Cisco Systems (CSCO 29.12, +1.22) has contributed to the early strength in the tech sector as the stock trades higher by 4.3% after beating earnings estimates.

The June Business Inventories report will be released at 10:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%).

9:42 am Relative Sector Weakness (:TECHX) : Underperforming sectors thus far this morning have been led by: Gold Miners GDX, OIl Service OIH, Crude Oil USO, Steel SLX, Energy XLE, Silver SLV, Mining XME, Gold GLD, Retail XRT, Rail.

9:39 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : Relative sector strength has been noted in Solar TAN, Biotech IBB, Cyber Security HACK, Social Media SOCL, Copper JJC, Broker IAI, Semi XSD.

9:37 am Mixed early action with Nasdaq Comp +16 outperforming -- Dow -3, S&P -0.02 (:TECHX) :  

9:36 am IBM announced that its cloud-based MaaS360 platform achieved US Government's first FedRAMP mobile authorization; received Provisional Authorization to Operate (IBM) :  

9:32 am Check-Cap appoints Bill Densel as its CEO (CHEK) : Densel joined Check-Cap earlier this year as President of U.S. Operations. He succeeds Guy Neev, who held the role of Chief Executive Officer since the Company's inception. Neev will serve as a consultant to the Company through the end of 2015.

9:31 am DSW will open 22 new stores this fall including 6 stores in new markets (DSW) :  

9:31 am Global Cash Access announces that it will change its corporate name to Everi Holdings Inc., effective August 24, 2015; will trade on that date under the ticker EVRI (GCA) :  

9:27 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Remy International (REMY) announced that the U.S. FTC has granted early termination of the HSR waiting period with respect to its pending acquisition by BorgWarner (BWA). The closing of the acquisition remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including adoption of the merger agreement entered into among Remy, BorgWarner and Band Merger Sub, Inc. by Remy's stockholders and the making or obtaining of any filings, authorizations, consents or approvals regarding the acquisition required pursuant to antitrust laws in Austria, Germany, China, Korea and Mexico and the termination or expiration of any applicable waiting period thereunder
• FedEx Trade Networks, the freight forwarding and customs brokerage arm of FedEx (FDX) announced the appointment of Dr. Udo Lange as EVP and COO
• SeaChange International, Inc. (SEAC) announced the expansion of its senior management team with the immediate appointment of Paul Crann to SVP of Product Management & Solutions Architecture, and Mitchell Chun to SVP of Business Development
• The Hertz Corporation (HTZ) announced that Carlo Cavecchi has joined Hertz Equipment Rental as its VP of Specialty Rental Group
• Hansen Medical, Inc. (HNSN) announced the recent completion of the 30th Robotic Prostatic Artery Embolization procedure for the treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia at Inova Alexandria Hospital, in Alexandria, Virginia

9:22 am Sotheby's announces it will repurchase $125 mln of its common stock under an accelerated share repurchase program (BID) : Under the ASR agreement Sotheby's will receive an initial delivery of ~2,667,000 shares. The repurchase is part of the Company's previously announced $250 million share repurchase authorization

9:19 am MBIA announces it will repurchase 7.6 mln shares of its common stock, from shareholders affiliated with Warburg Pincus (MBI) : Following the completion of the repurchase transaction, 158 million of the Company's common shares will be outstanding and ~$33 million of authorized capacity will remain under the share repurchase program

9:17 am Ares Management announces a $300 mln offering of senior notes (ARES) : The notes will be guaranteed on a joint and several basis by each of Ares Management, L.P's subsidiaries, but not by Ares Management. The co intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to, directly or indirectly, partially fund its merger with Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors

9:15 am S&P futures vs fair value: +0.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.90. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a flat open as futures on the S&P 500 trade within a point of fair value.

Index futures held modest gains during overnight action, but they have returned to their flat lines after the release of the Retail Sales report for July (+0.6%; Briefing.com consensus 0.5%), which beat estimates. Furthermore, the June reading was revised up to 0.0% from -0.3%.

In addition to weighing on futures, the report has sent the Dollar Index (96.66, +0.40) to a fresh high while Treasuries have marked new lows with the 10-yr yield up five basis points at 2.18%. Altogether, this dynamic suggests the market believes today's data strengthens the case for a rate hike as early as September.

In other economic news, weekly initial claims increased to 274,000 from a downwardly revised 269,000 (from 270,000) while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 271,000. The four-week moving average fell to 266,250 from 268,000, representing the lowest level since April 2000, when it also reached 266,250.

One more data point remains with the June Business Inventories report set to be released at 10:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%).

On the corporate front, Cisco Systems (CSCO 28.66, +0.76) is on track to open higher by 2.7% after beating bottom-line estimates on light revenue.

9:13 am iDreamSky Technology enters into an exclusive licensing agreement to publish the successful puzzle game Toy Blast in the Greater China region (DSKY) : The extended distribution agreement will expand the base of game players to include mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

9:10 am LDR Hldg prices its 2 mln share public offering of common stock at $40/share (LDRH) : Piper Jaffray and William Blair are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering

9:06 am Integrated Silicon says continues to make progress with Uphill towards closing of acquisition, expects merger to be completed by end of the year (ISSI) : ISSI and Uphill continue to make progress with respect to the closing conditions in the Merger Agreement. In particular, ISSI has completed the internal restructuring of its operations in Taiwan as contemplated by the Merger Agreement. As a result of the restructuring, all of the assets and employees to be divested have been transferred to ISSI's Chingis Technology subsidiary. ISSI has entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement with MediaTek Capital Corp. to sell Chingis for $27.1 million. The Chingis sale is subject to regulatory approvals in Taiwan and is expected to close shortly before the closing of ISSI's acquisition by Uphill. The acquisition of ISSI by Uphill (after ISSI's divestiture of its Chingis subsidiary) is also subject to regulatory approval in Taiwan and the application for such approval is expected to be submitted in the next few days.

• Additionally, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has advised ISSI that it is undertaking an investigation of the proposed acquisition of ISSI by Uphill and that the investigation will be completed no later than August 31, 2015. ISSI and Uphill have provided information to CFIUS and are cooperating fully with the process. 
• Upon the satisfaction of the foregoing conditions and the other conditions in the Merger Agreement, ISSI and Uphill still expect to complete the merger by the end of the current calendar quarter.
  

9:04 am Hemispherx Biopharma reported 1H EPS ($0.04) including non-cash effects vs ($0.05) year ago; to continue seeking approval for commercialization of Ampligen in US and abroad (HEB) : Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were ~$15.7 mln at June 30, 2015 as compared to $16.1 mln as of December 31, 2014.

9:04 am Qualcomm has completed its acquisiton of CSR plc (CSRE) for $2.4 bln (QCOM) : While the accounting for the transaction is not yet finalized, Qualcomm estimates that on a Non-GAAP basis the acquisition will be modestly accretive to earnings per share in fiscal 2016 consistent with prior guidance. In addition, based on preliminary estimates, Qualcomm expects the transaction to be modestly dilutive to GAAP earnings for fiscal 2016 driven primarily by acquisition-related items.

9:01 am eLong announces the formation of an independent special committee, to consider its previously received going private proposal (LONG) : The committee consists of three independent and disinterested director: May Wu, Shengli Wang and Adam J. Zhao. The special committee intends to retain independent legal and financial advisors in due course, to assist it in the process.

9:01 am Resource America announces authorization to repurchase up to $25 million of its common stock (REXI) :  

9:00 am ServiceSource Intl announces initiation of a $30 mln common stock repurchase program (SREV) :  

8:58 am S&P futures vs fair value: +0.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.40. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade right above fair value.

A sea of red on Wednesday was replaced by a field of green on Thursday in the Asia-Pacific region. With only a few exceptions, equity markets advanced on reassurances from the People's Bank of China that a further material depreciation of the yuan seemed unlikely or, at least, unjustified.

• Economic data was limited: 
  • Japan's June Core Machinery Orders -7.9% month-over-month (expected -5.6%; prior +0.6%); +16.6% year-over-year (expected +16.4%; prior +19.3%) 
  • Australia's MI Inflation Expectations 3.7% (prior 3.4%) 

------

• Japan's Nikkei increased 1.0%, finishing near its best levels of the day despite hearing core machinery orders declined a weaker than expected 7.9%. Some chatter that the Bank of Japan could implement additional easing to offset the impact of a weakening Chinese yuan helped support things. Kyowa Hakko Kirin (+6.2%), Chiyoda (+5.4%), and Trend Micro (+5.2%) topped a lengthy list of winners while Softbank Group (-2.6%), Pacific Metals (-2.5%), and Resona Holdings (-2.4%) brought up the rear. Out of the 225 index members, 158 ended higher, 60 finished lower, and 7 were unchanged. 
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased 0.4%, bouncing back from an early dive into negative territory. A turnabout in mainland markets after the People's Bank of China tried to talk up the yuan helped settle things for Hong Kong. Leading gainers included Tencent Holdings (+6.8%), China Resources (+2.9%), and PetroChina (+1.9%). The biggest losers were Lenovo Group (-9.1%), Cathay Pacific Airways (-4.2%), and Sands China (-3.2%). Out of the 50 index members, 21 ended higher, 28 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged. 
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 1.8% after a shaky start and finished at its highs for the day. Buyers stepped back into the mix following a press conference by the People's Bank of China where, according to reports, it touted reasons why a further material depreciation of the yuan was unlikely and said there wasn't a need to weaken the yuan to drive exports. The CSI 300 Index for its part jumped 1.5%. 

Major European indices trade higher across the board with Italy's MIB (+2.1%) in the lead. Elsewhere, the European Central Bank released the minutes from its latest meeting, showing willingness to employ additional easing measures, if necessary.

• Investors received several data points: 
  • Germany's July CPI +0.2% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected 
  • France's July CPI -0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior -0.1%) 
  • Spain's July CPI -0.9% month-over-month (consensus -1.0%; last 0.3%); +0.1% year-over-year, as expected 
  • Swiss July PPI -0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; prior -0.1%); -6.4% year-over-year (consensus -6.3%; last -6.1%) 

------

• UK's FTSE is higher by 0.5% with consumer names among the leaders. Coca-Cola HBC, TUI, easyJet, and ITV hold gains between 2.1% and 8.5%. Coca-Cola HBC leads after reporting better than expected results. Miners and energy names lag with Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto, and Royal Dutch Shell down between 1.0% and 2.4%. 
• Germany's DAX trades up 1.6% with all but five components in the green. Drug makers Bayer and Merck lead with gains close to 1.1% apiece. On the downside, RWE is the weakest performer, down 6.5%, in reaction to disappointing results. 
• In France, the CAC has climbed 1.8% with all 40 components taking part in the advance. Cap Gemini leads with a 4.2% gain while consumer names like Accor, Pernod Ricard, LVMH, and L'Oreal are up between 2.4% and 3.4%. 
• Italy's MIB outperforms with a gain of 2.1% amid broad strength. Financials are among the leaders with BMPS, Banco Popolare, Mediobanca, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Unicredit up between 2.6% and 4.0%.

8:54 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Michael Kors (KORS) announced that Daisuke Yamazaki has been named President of Japan, effective August 10, 2015, following the retirement of Toshi Tashiro
• Global Power Equipment Group (GLPW) announced that Stanley Breitweiser has joined the Company as President of its Electrical Solutions division
• Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) announced it is investing $21 million to increase the size of its distribution network, by establishing a new Regional Distribution Center near Chicago, IL
• Marathon Patent Group, Inc. (MARA) announced that its subsidiary, TLIF has entered into a settlement and license agreement with Biomet. The consideration to be paid and all other terms of the license agreement were not disclosed

8:51 am McGraw-Hill Financial announces an offering of senior notes in a private placement; size and terms not disclosed (MHFI) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to finance the previously announced acquisition of SNL Financial LC.

8:46 am European Markets Update: FTSE +0.6%, DAX +1.7%, CAC +1.8%, MIB +2.2% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade higher across the board with Italy's MIB (+2.2%) in the lead. Elsewhere, the European Central Bank released the minutes from its latest meeting, showing willingness to employ additional easing measures, if necessary.

• Investors received several data points: 
• Germany's July CPI +0.2% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected 
• France's July CPI -0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior -0.1%) 
• Spain's July CPI -0.9% month-over-month (consensus -1.0%; last 0.3%); +0.1% year-over-year, as expected 
• Swiss July PPI -0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; prior -0.1%); -6.4% year-over-year (consensus -6.3%; last -6.1%) 

------

• UK's FTSE is higher by 0.6% with consumer names among the leaders. Coca-Cola HBC, TUI, easyJet, and ITV hold gains between 2.1% and 8.5%. Coca-Cola HBC leads after reporting better than expected results. Miners and energy names lag with Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto, and Royal Dutch Shell down between 1.0% and 2.4%. 
• Germany's DAX trades up 1.7% with all but five components in the green. Drug makers Bayer and Merck lead with gains close to 1.1% apiece. On the downside, RWE is the weakest performer, down 6.5%, in reaction to disappointing results. 
• In France, the CAC has climbed 1.8% with all 40 components taking part in the advance. Cap Gemini leads with a 4.2% gain while consumer names like Accor, Pernod Ricard, LVMH, and L'Oreal are up between 2.4% and 3.4%. 
• Italy's MIB outperforms with a gain of 2.2% amid broad strength. Financials are among the leaders with BMPS, Banco Popolare, Mediobanca, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Unicredit up between 2.6% and 4.0%.
  

8:40 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: MXPT -10.1%, SZMK -8.8%, AEG -8.3%, CPA -7.4%, KSS -6.8%, XNET -6.1%, IOT -6%, PAH -3.3%, NTES -3%, NRX -2.9%, AYA -1.3%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower: GFI -5.6%, HMY -5.2%, AU -5%, CDE -3.8%, ABX -2.3%, GDX -2%, GOLD -2%, PAAS -1.9%, MT -1.4%, SLW -1.2%, AEM -1.2%, RIO -1%, SLV -0.7%, GLD -0.7%, BHP -0.7%

Other news: BGMD -31.8% (announces a public offering of Series A and Series B units), SHAK -7.8% (priced 4 mln share secondary offering of common stock at $60 per share), AQXP -7.7% (10% owner Johnson & Johnson disclosed sale of ~1.51 mln shares), CTRE -5.5% (prices offering of 14,200,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $10.50 per share), CERE -5.3% (modest pull back following yday advance), LDRH -3% ( announces a public offering of common stock; size and terms not disclosed ), FANG -2.4% ( launches a 2 mln share public offering of common stock), FANG -2.4% upsizes offering by 500K shares and prices 2.5 mln shares of its common stock for total proceeds of ~$176 mln, CDW -1.8% (prices offering by selling stockholders of 11,250,000 shares of common stock at $38.25 per share), POST -1.4% (priced offering of 5.85 mln shares of common stock at $60 per share)

Analyst comments: KERX -4.8% (initiated with an Underweight at Morgan Stanley), ICPT -3% (initiated with an Underweight at Morgan Stanley), RLYP -2.9% (initiated with an Underweight at Morgan Stanley), MEMP -1.9% (downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan ).

8:40 am Jones Lang LaSalle to acquire Oak Grove Capital; terms not disclosed, expected to be accretive to margins (JLL) : Together, JLL and Oak Grove have more than $4 billion in annual originations and $14 billion in loan servicing plus the ability to scale across the United States and expand in critical lending segments while maintaining discipline and credit quality.

8:38 am BG Medicine prices its offering of 2,315,654 Series A units and 184,346 Series B units at $1.00/unit (BGMD) : The company is offering 2,315,654 Series A units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one half of a warrant to purchase one share of common stock, at a purchase price of $1.00 per Series A unit. The company is also offering 184,346 Series B units, in lieu of Series A units, at a purchase price of $1.00 per Series B unit to those purchasers whose purchase of additional Series A units in the offering would result in the purchaser beneficially owning more than 9.99% of the company's outstanding common stock following the completion of the offering. Each Series B unit consists of one fully pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of common stock and one half of a warrant to purchase one share of common stock.

• The warrants (other than the fully pre-funded warrants) will have an exercise price of $1.00 per share. 
• After the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by the company, the company expects to receive net proceeds of approximately $2.1 million.
  

8:38 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: EBIO +32%, OPXA +15%, GBSN +14.6%, PGN +12.9%, CRNT +12.5%, SEDG +10.4%, RNDY +9.1%, CLCD +6.5%, SVT +6.1%, BGG +5.1%, NWSA +4.8%, SVA +4.5%, KINS +4.3%, DARA +3.7%, CSAL +3.7%, CSCO +3.4%, TDOC +2.9%, LXFT +2.5%, CPG +1.4%, DDS +1.2%, JUNO +1%

M&A news: PLNR +33.3% (to be acquired by Leyard for $6.58 per share),PRGO +0.9% (Mylan (MYL) lowers the acceptance condition for its offer to acquire Perrigo, from not less than 80% of shares, to greater than 50%)

Other news: OHGI +92% (agreement to be the exclusive supplier of Voice over IP services to KeyIdea Information Technology),IMUC +43.2% (reaches an agreement with the FDA on a Special Protocol Assessment for its ICT-107 Phase 3 registrational trial),GALT +32.4% (receives U.S. Patent notice of allowance for use of Pectin compounds to reduce fibrosis in multiple diseases),ALIM +4.3% (signs an exclusive five-year agreement with Societa Industria Farmaceutica Italiana S.p.A., for the distribution of Iluvien in Italy, San Marino and the Vatican City),SUNE +4.2% (SunEdison signs a definitive agreement with Dominion (D) to establish a JV Four Brothers, a 420 megawatt (MW) DC, or 320 megawatt AC, solar project in Utah),S +4.1% (SoftBank Group (SFTBY) discloses it acquired additional shares of Sprint),BDSI +4% (announces US FDA approval of an SNDA for a new formulation of Onsolis CII to manage breakthrough pain in opoid intolerant cancer patients),CMCM +3.3% (China mkts rebound overnight),JD +2.5% (rebounding after recent declines),ITEK +2.5% (prices offering of 5,400,000 shares of its common stock at $12.75 per share),FGEN +2.4% (announced that Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation has published 'encouraging' Phase 2a safety and efficacy data for roxadustat for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease),FIT +2.3% (cont volatility),NVAX +2.2% (favorable commentary on Wednesday's Mad Money ),TSLA +1.9% (announces a $500 mln common stock offering; CEO Elon Musk intends to purchase $20 mln of the offering),GSAT +1.6% (NASA selecte Globalstar and ADS-B technologies' ALAS aviation tracking solution),MN +1.1% (reports July, 2015 prelim AUM of $41.7 billion, down from $43.1 billion in prior month)

Analyst comments: GWPH +4% (initiated with a Overweight at Morgan Stanley),BBEP +3% (upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS),GPRO +3% (initiated with an Outperform at Cowen),YHOO +1.5% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Bernstein ),QLIK +1.3% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank),RAD +1.3% (initiated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill),MNST +1% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley),MSFT +1% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel),EZCH +0.9% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Brean Capital)

8:36 am Initial Claims Increase to 274,000; Retail Sales Beat Estimates; Import/Export Prices Decline in July (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade six points above fair value.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 274,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 271,000. Today's tally was above the revised prior week count of 269,000 (from 270,000). As for continuing claims, they rose to 2.273 million from 2.258 million.

Separately, July retail sales rose 0.6% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.5%. The prior month's reading was revised up to 0.0% from -0.3%. Excluding autos, retail sales increased 0.4% while the consensus expected an increase of 0.5%.

Also of note, export prices, excluding agriculture, decreased 0.4% in July after decreasing 0.1% in the prior reading. Excluding oil, import prices decreased 0.3%, which followed last month's decrease of 0.2%.

8:35 am Advance Auto beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (AAP) : Reports Q2 (Jun) comparable cash EPS of $2.27, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.25; revenues rose 0.9% year/year to $2.37 bln vs the $2.38 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees comparable cash EPS of $8.10-8.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $8.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• Q2 comparable store sales increased +1.0%.
• Results were in-line with co's expectations given the continuing demands of the General Parts integration. "Our integration continues to be on-track overall along with our sales and profitability."
• Co plans to close 50 stores in the latter part of 2015 in line with the company's accelerated efforts to achieve its 12% comparable operating profit target in 2016.
  

8:34 am Dollar index spikes to a new high for today following retail and claims data; gold and silver pulled back just barely on the dollar move (:COMDX) : In current trade:

• Dec gold is -0.5% at $1117.90/oz
• Sept silver -0.5% at $15.40/oz
• Dollar index +0.3% at 96.57

8:32 am Treasuries See Early Slide (BONDX) :

• Treasuries were running fast for a while on Wednesday with global equity markets reeling from China's devaluation of the yuan, but eventually saw the brakes put on as the U.S. stock market came back strong in a short-covering rally.  The brakes are still on today with modest selling interest seen across the curve (and in sovereign bond markets as well) as some of the safe-haven premium gets unwound in the wake of the People's Bank of China making an effort to calm markets down about the recent weakness in the yuan.
  
  
• Yield check:
  • 2-yr: +3 bps to 0.70%
  • 5-yr: +2 bps to 1.55%
  • 10-yr: +1 bp to 2.16%
  • 30-yr: unch at 2.84%
    
    
• People's Bank of China held a press conference in an attempt to quiet concerns about the devaluation of the yuan, suggesting a further material devaluation would be unjustified and that it has the ability to keep things stable.  It was also noted that the devaluation was not needed to drive exports.
  
  
• Germany, France, and Spain all reported CPI data for July.  The results were largely in-line with expectations and showed some steady, albeit very low, inflation
  
  
• Treasury market also biding its time in front of a busy economic reporting calendar today, which features the initial claims and retail sales reports at 08:30 a.m. ET
  • Initial claims are expected to hold to their encouraging trend, yet retail sales are expected to bounce back smartly from June disappointing decline with the hekp of strong auto sales
    
    
• Commodity check
  • Oil -0.4% at $43.14/bbl
  • Copper +0.3% at $2.36/lb
  • Gold -0.6% at $1116.80/troy oz.
    
    
• Currencies
  • EUR/USD -0.5% at 1.1115
  • USD/JPY +0.3% at 124.49
    
    
• $16 bln 30-yr bond auction (results at 1:00 p.m. ET)

8:32 am DepoMed: Horizon Pharma (HZNP) sends a letter to Depomed's Board, saying it stands by its proposal to acquire the company for $33/Share (DEPO) : Co said stands by its proposal to acquire all the outstanding shares of Depomed for $33.00 a share in its stock, assuming parties can come to a negotiated agreement quickly. Horizon Pharma (HZNP) also announced it will fix the exchange ratio based on the 15-day volume weighted average price of its stock at $34.74 per share, which results in an exchange ratio of .95 HZNP shares for every Depomed share. Co said it would alternatively offer Depomed shareholders $32.50/share in cash and stock.

• Co stated: "We urge you to act now by sitting down with us to negotiate a mutually beneficial transaction that would serve the best interests of both Depomed's and Horizon Pharma's shareholders. We remain confident Depomed's shareholders will support such efforts."
  

8:31 am Market View: Sep. eMini stock-index futures remain bid above fair values here following the 8:30 am ET economic data points (:TECHX) :

• ESu5 now @ 2088.00 +3.75
  
  
• NQu5 now @ 4544.25 +10.75
  
  
• YMu5 now @ 17397 +30

8:30 am Hercules Offshore files pre-packaged plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (shares halted) (HERO) : The Company anticipates that, among other things, it will receive court authority to pay employee wages and benefits without interruption and continue to pay trade creditors and suppliers in the ordinary course of business. The Chapter 11 reorganization is expected to conclude in approximately 45-60 days.

• The filing follows the completion of the solicitation process of the Company's senior noteholders. The solicitation process resulted in overwhelming approval of the pre-packaged plan presented by the Company. More than 300 senior noteholders with aggregate holdings in excess of $1.2 billion of senior notes have voted to accept the Plan while only two holders with approximately $320,000 of the senior notes voted against the Plan. 
• The plan also provides for the Company's current shareholders, despite being substantially "out of the money" by approximately $500 million, to have the opportunity to receive a pro rata portion of the remaining 3.1% of the new common equity, as well as certain warrants, subject to the requirements of the Plan and Court approval
  

8:30 am Hemispherx Biopharma appoints Thomas Equels as its new President (HEB) : Equels has previously served as the company's Executive Vice Chairman, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and General Counsel

8:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) announced that it has recently completed subject randomization of the Phase III clinical trial of its proprietary Vesicular Mono-Amine Transporter 2 compound NBI-98854 in tardive dyskinesia patients. Topline efficacy data from the initial six week assessment is expected in the fourth quarter of 2015
• RezNext and the Expedia group (EXPE) have partnered to provide availability of the suite of hotels RezNext works with in India, to Expedia customers
• Brio Gold, a subsidiary of Yamana Gold (AUY) announced a modified process flow sheet and results from the recently completed metallurgical testwork at the C1 Santa Luz project, located in the Bahia State of Brazil. Co stated that "The modified plant flowsheet is expected to achieve average recoveries of about 83% with the mine plan designed to separate the carbonaceous minerals from the clean dacite minerals. Given the results of this metallurgical testwork and pilot plant success, we are moving onto the next stage of analysis in our re-commissioning plan. C1 Santa Luz is expected to contribute 100,000 oz per year when in full production
• Glu Mobile Inc. (GLUU) announced the availability of jits Tap Sports Football game on both the App Store and Google Play
• Salesforce (CRM) announced that its Community Cloud is now enabling companies to embed a buy button into online communities. The new e-commerce capabilities enable communities of customers to discover, research, discuss and buy products in a single location

8:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Pharmaceutical Packaging, a European market label production company, has agreed to license two-sided thermal media intellectual property from NCR Corporation (NCR). The license gives PPL the worldwide right to make, use and sell two-sided thermal label media under NCR's two-sided thermal media intellectual property
• Merck (MRK) and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced that they have entered into a strategic clinical research collaboration to evaluate Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA, in combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or novel antitumor medicines. Under the terms of the agreement, collaborative studies will be conducted in the following tumor types: gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma -- over the three year period of the collaboration. The first studies are scheduled to start enrolling later this year
• View, a dynamic glass company announced it has raised $150 million in equity funding to finance manufacturing expansion and company growth. Participants in this round included existing investors Corning Incorporated (GLW) and Madrone Capital Partners
• Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS) announced that it is expanding production capacity in Japan by facilitizing a two-story, 405,000 square foot facility in Osaka that will house the design, development and manufacture of filter devices
• Stein Mart (SMRT) announced plans to open nine new stores this fall and previewed its 2016 store opening plans including six new stores opening in the spring and plans for at least six more stores in the fall
  

8:24 am Avolon Holdings: Bohai Leasing extends the expiration of its tender offer to purchase 20% of the outstanding common shares of Avolon at $26.00/share to September 18, 2015 (AVOL) :  

8:16 am Pfizer receives approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for its pending acquisition of Hospira (HSP) (PFE) :  

8:15 am Conifer Holdings (Nasdaq: CNFR) prices its 3.1 mln share IPO (in-line with reduced terms from yesterday) at $10.50/share, below the expected $11.00-$13.00 range (deal size reduced by 41% from original plans) (CNFR) :  

8:08 am Heat Biologics reports Q2 results; HS-410 Phase 1 data out in 2H15 (HTBX) :

• Q2 EPS ($0.56) vs ($0.46) Capital IQ single est. 
• We expect a number of important value creating milestones in the second half of 2015. For HS-410, our immunotherapy candidate for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, we plan to release one-year safety and immune response data from our Phase 1 trial and complete enrollment in our Phase 2 trial."
  

8:06 am Onconova Therapeutics reports Q2 results (ONTX) : Reports Q2 (Jul) loss of ($0.41) per share, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.54); revenues fell 2% year/year to $0.1 mln vs the $0.1 mln consensus.

• Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of June 30, 2015 totaled $25.4 million, compared to $33.7 million as of March 31, 2015.
• "Following receipt of regulatory guidance, we have completed the design of a proposed Phase 3 pivotal trial for IV rigosertib in patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS) after failure of hypomethylating agent (:HMA) therapy. We are finalizing our IND submission for the trial and intend to initiate enrollment in this study in the second half of 2015," said Ramesh Kumar, Ph.D., President and CEO of Onconova. "In addition, a Phase 2 trial of oral rigosertib in combination with azacitidine in MDS and AML is approaching full enrollment. We expect to present data from this study later this year."
  

8:05 am Veritiv reports Q2 revs rose 62% YoY to $2.16 bln vs $2.21 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees EBITDA at middle-to-higher end of guidance range (VRTV) :

• Reports Q2 revs rose 62% YoY to $2.16 bln vs $2.21 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; Adjusted EBITDA of $40.7 mln, an increase of 7.5% from the prior year. 
• Sees FY15 EBITDA at the middle to higher end of guidance range of $165 to $175 mln.
  

8:03 am W.W. Grainger announces July 2015 sales results, showing sales declined 1% Y/Y (GWW) : Results for the month included a 4 percentage point decline from unfavorable foreign exchange and a 1 percentage point increase from acquisitions. Sales increased 2 percent on an organic basis, excluding foreign exchange and acquisitions, driven by 3 percentage points from volume, partially offset by a 1 percentage point decline in price

8:03 am NeoThetics Q2 EPS ($0.69) vs ($0.88) Capital IQ Consensus; "We remain on track for reporting topline results from our pivotal U.S. Phase 3 trials later this year" (NEOT) :  

8:03 am Alimera Sciences signs an exclusive five-year agreement with Societa Industria Farmaceutica Italiana S.p.A., for the distribution of Iluvien in Italy, San Marino and the Vatican City (ALIM) : Under the terms of this agreement, SIFI will handle all promotion, marketing and commercial activities in those locations for ILUVIEN

8:03 am Frontier Communications enters into new $1.5 billion term loan agreement (FTR) : Co announced that it has entered into a new $1.5 billion senior secured delayed-draw term loan facility. The loan will be drawn upon the closing of Frontier's acquisition of Verizon Communications Inc.'s wireline operations in California, Florida and Texas, which is expected at the end of March 2016. Frontier completed the equity portion of its financing plan for this acquisition with a $2.75 billion dual-tranche equity offering in June 2015.

8:03 am Staples announces it has received approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to acquire Office Depot (ODP) (SPLS) : Staples will continue to seek clearance from regulatory agencies in the United States, the European Union and Canada.

8:02 am Coca-Cola appoints James Quincey as its President and COO, effective immediately (KO) : Quincey is a 19-year veteran of Coca-Cola and since 2013 served as President of The Coca-Cola Company's Europe Group. Concurrent to Quincey's appointment, Ahmet Bozer, Executive Vice President and President of Coca-Cola International, will retire after a 25-year career in the Coca-Cola system. Bozer will stay with Coca-Cola until March 2016, to ensure a smooth transition and serve as an adviser to Muhtar Kent and the Company on key strategic initiatives.

8:02 am Sonoco Products announces it will raise the price for all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard products by $45/ton, effective in the US and Canada on August 31, 2015 (SON) :  

8:02 am Bristol-Myers and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical announces that the FDA has approved an update to the Sprycel (dasatinib) product labeling (BMY) : Co announces that the FDA has approved an update to the Sprycel (dasatinib) product labeling. The labeling now includes five-year efficacy and safety data in adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML.TO) in chronic phase (CP) and seven-year data in CP Ph+ CML patients who are resistant1 or intolerant2 to prior therapy, including Gleevec (imatinib mesylate). 

8:00 am Galectin Therapeutics receives U.S. Patent notice of allowance for use of Pectin compounds to reduce fibrosis in multiple diseases (GALT) : Co announces receipt of a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office for patent application number 13/726,900. When issued, the patent will extend coverage of the company's pectin-derived compounds to include treatment of chronic kidney disease associated with the development of fibrosis, established kidney fibrosis, chronic lung disease associated with the development of fibrosis and established lung fibrosis.

8:00 am Galmed Pharma reports Q2; commences patient screening in ARREST study in US and LatAm, on track for interim results June 2016 (GLMD) :

• Q2 EPS ($0.21) vs ($0.29) Capital IQ Consensus 
• "We now have received country approval in five out of our expected nine countries to be included in the ARREST Study, including the United States, Germany, France, Chile and Israel. Currently, fifty-two (52) sites out of our expected seventy three (73) sites have been approved by their respective Ethics Committees. Importantly, patient screening has now commenced in the United States and Latin America, and remains ongoing in Israel. Regarding our activities in Europe, we expect our first patients to be screened in September. We remain confident that we will have enrolled the first 120 patients in the trial by the end of 2015, which we believe should allow us to stay on track for releasing the interim results around June 2016.
  

7:52 am S&P futures vs fair value: +8.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +26.90. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market highs amid upbeat action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover eight points above fair value after rallying off lows at the start of the European session.

Overnight, the People's Bank of China held a press conference, during which central bank officials tried to calm the market by saying the yuan adjustment "is almost complete" and that rumors of a 10.0% devaluation were false. The press conference appears to have calmed Asian markets for the time being as regional indices rallied across the board.

Domestically, Treasuries trade near their recently-established lows with the 10-yr yield higher by two basis points at 2.17%.

On the economic front, weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 271K), July Retail Sales (consensus 0.5%), and July Import/Export Prices will be reported at 8:30 ET while the June Business Inventories report (expected 0.3%) will be released at 10:00 ET.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Cisco Systems (CSCO 28.78, +0.88): +3.2% after beating bottom-line estimates on light revenue. 
• Coty (COTY 30.50, +1.78): +6.2% after beating estimates and announcing a $700 million share repurchase program. 
• Kohl's (KSS 57.38, -4.12): -6.7% after missing earnings/revenue estimates and guiding lower. 

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.4%, Japan's Nikkei +1.0%, and China's Shanghai Composite +1.8% 
  • In economic data: 
    • Japan's June Core Machinery Orders -7.9% month-over-month (expected -5.6%; prior +0.6%); +16.6% year-over-year (expected +16.4%; prior +19.3%) 
    • Australia's MI Inflation Expectations 3.7% (prior 3.4%) 
  • In news: 
    • The People's Bank of China held a press conference, during which central bank officials tried to calm the market by saying the yuan adjustment "is almost complete" and that rumors of a 10.0% devaluation were false. The press conference appears to have calmed Asian markets for the time being as regional indices rallied across the board 
    • The Bank of Korea left its main policy rate unchanged at 1.50%, as expected

• Major European indices trade higher across the board. UK's FTSE +0.8%, France's CAC +1.9%, and Germany's DAX +2.0%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +2.3% and Spain's IBEX +1.5% 
  • Investors received several data points: 
    • Germany's July CPI +0.2% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected 
    • France's July CPI -0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior -0.1%) 
    • Spain's July CPI -0.9% month-over-month (consensus -1.0%; last 0.3%); +0.1% year-over-year, as expected 
    • Swiss July PPI -0.3% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; prior -0.1%); -6.4% year-over-year (consensus -6.3%; last -6.1%) 
  • Among news of note: 
    • The European Central Bank released the minutes from its latest meeting, showing willingness to employ additional easing measures, if necessary

7:50 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Rentrak (RENT) announced a multi-platform contract with Broad Green Pictures to provide the studio with access to the company's OnDemand Essentials and Digital Download Essentials services, as well as its Dynamic Studio Share and Digital Download Essentials Industry products
  
• TASER International (TASR) announced it is now offering its Axon body camera and digital evidence management solution to police agencies across Canada. The announcement includes the incorporation of Axon Public Safety Canada Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary of TASER International
  
• Financial Engines (FNGN) announced that the company's chief investment officer Christopher Jones will testify at today's U. S. Department of Labor hearings on the proposed Conflict of Interest Rule. The co supports the rule, which would require more retirement investment advisors to serve as fiduciaries, legally required to place their clients' interests ahead of their own
  

7:47 am Pfenex beats by $0.12, beats on revs (PFNX) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.27 per share, $0.12 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.39); revenues fell 30.3% year/year to $2.3 mln vs the $2.1 mln consensus. 

• "we look forward to updating you on progress for PF530, our biosimilar candidate to Betaseron later in 2015 as well as on PF708, our generic to Forteo, which we expect to enter bioequivalence studies in 2H15."
  

7:46 am InterCloud Systems announces a $1.5 mln contract, for a multi-site deployment of its network infrastructure in Yonkers (ICLD) :  

7:33 am Dillard's beats by $0.03, beats on revs (DDS) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.75 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.72; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $1.55 bln vs the $1.5 bln consensus. 

• Total merchandise sales remained unchanged on a percentage basis for the 13-week period ended August 1, 2015. 
• Sales in comparable stores for the period increased 1%. 
• Sales trends were notably strong in shoes followed by juniors' and children's apparel. Sales were notably weak in the home and furniture category. Sales trends were strongest in the Central region, followed by the Eastern and Western regions, respectively
  

7:32 am Eldorado Gold announces favorable rulings from the Greek government, regarding forestry land and site clearing rights at its gold-copper project in Halkidiki (EGO) : Co announce that the Council of State, Greece's Supreme Court on administrative and environmental matters, has issued two court decisions pertaining to Hellas Gold S.A., a subsidiary of Eldorado in Greece.

• The two decisions, both in favour of Hellas Gold, are related to forestry land and site clearing rights at the Company's Skouries gold-copper project in Halkidiki, Northern Greece. 
• The co stated: "The decisions of the Council of State confirm once more the legality of our activities in northern Greece. This will allow Eldorado to accelerate construction activities at our Skouries Project in Halkidiki."
  

7:32 am Ceragon beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line (CRNT) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.00); revenues rose 4.9% year/year to $94.8 mln vs the $95.01 mln consensus.

• Gross margin: 28.2%, compared to 26.3% in the second quarter of 2014 and 25.9% in the first quarter of 2015.
• "We reached a very important milestone in the second quarter by clearly restoring our financial stability with solid profitability and positive cash flow," said Ira Palti, president and CEO of Ceragon. "More important, we are much more confident that we can continue the trend of profit improvement."
  

7:31 am Swisher Hygiene to sell its U.S. operations to Ecolab (ECL) for $40 mln in cash (SWSH) : The co announced that it agreed to sell the stock of its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary Swisher International, Inc. and other assets relating to Swisher's U.S. operations, which comprise all of Swisher's remaining operating interests, to Ecolab (ECL) for $40.0 million in cash, of which $2.0 million is subject to a holdback for working capital adjustments.

• In the transaction, Swisher will retain certain debt and liabilities as set forth in the Purchase Agreement governing the sale. Completion of the transaction is subject to stockholder approval and other customary conditions.
  

7:31 am Hooper Holmes appoints Steven Balthazor as interim CFO, effective upon the company's filing of its Q2 10-Q (HH) : Balthazor's appointment reflects the decision by Tom Collins, SVP and Chief Financial Officer of Hooper Holmes, to accept a new opportunity as chief operating officer with a private company in the Kansas City area.

• Balthazor recently served as the Principal of J. Galt Financial, a consulting firm providing executive management consultation and hands-on business services to public and private companies.
  

7:30 am One Horizon signs agreement to be the exclusive supplier of Voice over IP services to KeyIdea Information Technology (OHGI) : KeyIdea will commence operations of their new maritime satellite service in the fourth quarter of 2015 and will supply their crew-calling services exclusively using the Aishuo platform.

7:26 am Tribune Media reports Q2 (Jun) results, revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 and long term guidance (TRCO) :

• Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.04 per share (-$3.3 mln), including a $37 mln loss from debt extinguishment and $8 mln investment gain, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 5.6% year/year to $501.5 mln vs the $503.29 mln consensus. 
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $2.0-2.03 bln vs. $2.01 bln Capital IQ Consensus; adj. EBITDA $480-495 mln. 
• Long term:
• 2016 Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA year-over-year growth of greater than 30% 
• In addition, the Company currently expects the following for the period of 2016 - 2019: 
• WGN America and Tribune Studios revenue growth to be greater than 20% annually 
• WGN America and Tribune Studios programming expenses ~50% of net revenues 
• Digital and Data net revenue growth of 10% to 12% annually 
• Digital and Data Adjusted EBITDA margins growing to low 30% range

7:22 am Amaya beats by $0.05, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance (AYA) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of CAD $0.43 per share, CAD $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of CAD $0.38; revenues rose 10.5% year/year to CAD $319.6 mln vs the CAD $344.5 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of CAD $1.77-2.00 vs. CAD $1.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs for the B2C business of CAD $1.446-1.564 bln vs. CAD $1.5 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co sees FY15 Adjusted EBITDA for the B2C business of CAD 600-650 mln.
• The Corporation's B2C business added an aggregate of 1.9 million customer registrations during the quarter, with registered customers totalling more than 95 million as of June 30, 2015. 
• The aggregate number of unique customers who played a real money online offering during the quarter was ~2.3 million, of which approximately 95% played on PokerStars, in line with Q2 2014. 

7:21 am KemPharm to report pharmacokinetic data from intranasal human abuse liability study on Q2 conf call today at 4:30pm ET (KMPH) :  

7:18 am Dipexium Pharmaceuticals reports Q2 EPS of ($0.47) vs. ($0.43) Capital IQ two-analyst consensus; says cash balance is currently anticipated to fund operations through 2017 (DPRX) :  

7:15 am You On Demand reports Q2 EPS of ($0.06) vs. ($0.05) in prior year; revs rose to $1.5 mln from $182K in prior year - no estimates (YOD) :  

7:12 am Vista Outdoor beats by $0.07, beats on revs; raises FY16 guidance following Camelback, Jimmy Styks acquisitions (VSTO) :

• Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.54 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.47; revenues fell 9.1% year/year to $514.5 mln vs the $506.63 mln consensus, primarily reflecting the expected sales decline from the shooting sports market correction.
  
• Co issues guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $2.05-2.30 from $2.00-2.20, may not be comparable to $2.15 Capital IQ Consensus; raises FY16 revs to $2.17-2.24 bln from $2.05-2.11 bln, may not be comparable to $2.1 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.  
• The strength in our Outdoor Products segment helped to offset the impacts in the Shooting Sports segment. We continue to expect low, single-digit organic growth for the full year, as a result of improvements in the back half of FY16."

7:10 am Tesla Motors announces a $500 mln common stock offering; CEO Elon Musk intends to purchase $20 mln of the offering (TSLA) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to accelerate the growth of its business in the United States and internationally, including the growth of its stores, service centers, Supercharger network and the Tesla Energy business, and for the development and production of Model 3, the development of the Tesla Gigafactory, and other general corporate purposes. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley are acting as lead joint book-running managers for the offering

7:10 am Xenia Hotels reports Q2 Adjusted FFO of $0.57 vs. $0.50 in prior year period; updates 2015 guidance (XHR) :

• Co updated its outlook for 2015, incorporating the recent acquisitions of the RiverPlace Hotel, the Canary Hotel and the Hotel Palomar which are expected to generate EBITDA of $7 -8 mln for the remainder of 2015. 
• Sees 2015 RevPAR growth adjusted for USALI 5-6%, Adjusted EBITDA $288.0 $297.0 mln and Adjusted FFO $227.0 $236.0 mln
  

7:07 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei +1.0%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.4%; China's Shanghai Composite +1.8% (:SUMRX) : A sea of red on Wednesday was replaced by a field of green on Thursday in the Asia-Pacific region. With only a few exceptions, equity markets advanced on reassurances from the People's Bank of China that a further material depreciation of the yuan seemed unlikely or, at least, unjustified.

Economic data

• Japan
• June Core Machinery Orders -7.9% month-over-month (expected -5.6%; prior +0.6%); +16.6% year-over-year (expected +16.4%; prior +19.3%)
• South Korea
• Bank of Korea leaves main policy rate unchanged at 1.50%, as expected
• Australia
• MI Inflation Expectations 3.7% (prior 3.4%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei increased 1.0%, finishing near its best levels of the day despite hearing core machinery orders declined a weaker than expected 7.9%. Some chatter that the Bank of Japan could implement additional easing to offset the impact of a weakening Chinese yuan helped support things. Kyowa Hakko Kirin (+6.2%), Chiyoda (+5.4%), and Trend Micro (+5.2%) topped a lengthy list of winners while Softbank Group (-2.6%), Pacific Metals (-2.5%), and Resona Holdings (-2.4%) brought up the rear. Out of the 225 index members, 158 ended higher, 60 finished lower, and 7 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased 0.4%, bouncing back from an early dive into negative territory. A turnabout in mainland markets after the People's Bank of China tried to talk up the yuan helped settle things for Hong Kong. Leading gainers included Tencent Holdings (+6.8%), China Resources (+2.9%), and PetroChina (+1.9%). The biggest losers were Lenovo Group (-9.1%), Cathay Pacific Airways (-4.2%), and Sands China (-3.2%). Out of the 50 index members, 21 ended higher, 28 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 1.8% after a shaky start and finished at its highs for the day. Buyers stepped back into the mix following a press conference by the People's Bank of China where, according to reports, it touted reasons why a further material depreciation of the yuan was unlikely and said there wasn't a need to weaken the yuan to drive exports. The CSI 300 Index for its part jumped 1.5%.
• India's Sensex increased 0.1%, surrendering most of what it gained early in a steady fade throughout the day. Mahindra & Mahindra (+3.1%), Cipla Ltd (+2.5%), and Lupin (+2.1%) were upside leaders while Vedanta (-9.2%), Tata Steel (-6.2%), and Hindalco Industries (-5.3%) paced the laggards. Out of the 30 index members, 16 ended higher and 14 finished lower.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.1%, but had a weak finish as it slipped 0.7% in the final hour of trading. A rebound in the gold (+3.2%), energy (+1.5%), and resources (+1.3%) sectors helped underpin the market. Out of the 200 index members, 95 ended higher, 91 finished lower, and 14 were unchanged.
• Regional advancers: South Korea +0.03%, Taiwan +0.3%, Malaysia +0.7%, Indonesia +2.3%, Singapore +1.0%, Thailand +0.01%
• Regional decliners: Vietnam -1.7%, Philippines -0.8%

FX

• USD/CNY +0.2% at 6.3982
• USD/INR +0.5% at 65.1188
• USD/JPY +0.3% at 124.53
  

7:07 am Kohl's misses by $0.09, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS below consensus (KSS) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $1.07 per share, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.16; revenues rose 0.6% year/year to $4.27 bln vs the $4.31 bln consensus. Reports Comparable Store Sales +0.1%.

•  Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS at low end of prior guidance of $4.40-4.60, vs. $4.50 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.  
• "Our sales results were below our plan as the shift of sales in tax-free states from July into August was larger than anticipated. Our expenses were well managed for the season. Our inventory receipts are well-positioned for the back-to-school and fall seasons."
  

7:06 am STORE Capital beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY15 FFO above consensus (STOR) : Reports Q2 (Jun) funds from operations of $0.36 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.33; revenues rose 53.1% year/year to $68.9 mln vs the $65.93 mln consensus. Co originated $394.8 million of gross investments representing 107 property locations during the second quarter of 2015.

• Co issues raised guidance for FY15, sees FFO of $1.38-1.42 from $1.34-1.40 vs. $1.32 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:05 am G&K reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY16 EPS in-line; raises dividend 19%, adds $100 mln to buyback, sets new financial goals (GK) :

• Reports Q4 (Jun) earnings of $0.83 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.83; revenues rose 3.0% year/year to $236.6 mln vs the $237.52 mln consensus. 
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $3.50-3.70 vs. $3.58 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $975m-1.0 bln vs. $982.85 mln Capital IQ Consensus; guidance assumes a continued negative impact from foreign currency exchange, which is expected to reduce both revenue and earnings by 1.5 to 2.0 percent compared to fiscal 2015. 
• New Financial Goals "With the 15/5 Goals, our primary focus remains improving profitability and returns, setting the goal to achieve 15 percent operating margin and 15 percent ROIC. We've also set a goal of 5 percent or greater average revenue growth, consistent with the shift to growth we began two years ago. Achieving these goals will continue to generate strong returns for our shareholders." 
• Co increases quarterly dividend 19% to $0.37/share from $0.31/share, 
• Adds $100 mln to share repurchase program (now $130 mln).
  

7:05 am Alcobra Pharma beats by $0.05; believes that it has sufficient capital through 2016 (ADHD) : Reports Q2 net loss of $0.24 per share vs ($0.29) Capital IQ consensus; co reported no revs (as expected). 

Cash: Cash, cash equivalents and bank deposits totaled $41.1 million at June 30, 2015, compared with $45.0 million at March 31, 2015. 

• In future periods, co expects cash used in operating activities to increase, as it continues to advance adult ADHD phase III pivotal study. 
  
• The company believes that it has sufficient capital to fund the company's activities through 2016, including the completion of the MEASURE study.

7:05 am Myriad Genetics announces that the Medicare Administrative Contractor for Myriad, has issued a final local coverage determination for Myriad's Prolaris prognostic test for assessing the aggressiveness of prostate cancer (MYGN) : This decision follows a final LCD decision from Palmetto GBA on January 15, 2015.

7:05 am Coty beats by $0.01, beats on revs; announced $700 mln share repurchase authorization (COTY) : Reports Q4 (Jun) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.07; revenues fell 2.2% year/year to $1.02 bln vs the $996.1 mln consensus. 

• The Company is targeting modest improvement in total like-for-like net revenue coupled with continued strong growth in profitability behind its efficiency programs. 
• The Company is now aiming to deliver annual savings of $270 million by fiscal year 2017. The anticipated pre-tax charges associated with the Program remained unchanged at $250 to $300 million. 
• Co also announced a $700 million share repurchase authorization
  

7:02 am Perrigo: Mylan (MYL) lowers the acceptance condition for its offer to acquire Perrigo, from not less than 80% of shares, to greater than 50% (PRGO) : Mylan (MYL) announced that it has formally lowered the acceptance condition for its offer to acquire Perrigo from not less than 80% of Perrigo ordinary shares to greater than 50% of Perrigo ordinary shares

7:01 am Emergent BioSolutions receives $44 million CDC contract to further advance vaccinia immune globulin intravenous program (EBS) : The co announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has exercised options under contract 200-2012-52242 for the supply of Vaccinia Immune Globulin into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile. VIGIV is a therapeutic licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of complications due to smallpox vaccination.

• The contract options, valued at $44 million over two years, will require Emergent to collect plasma for future manufacturing in addition to current collection requirements, conduct manufacturing runs, and conduct additional activities in support of maintaining the FDA licensure of VIGIV.
  

7:01 am BioDelivery Sciences announces US FDA approval of an SNDA for a new formulation of Onsolis CII to manage breakthrough pain in opoid intolerant cancer patients (BDSI) :  

7:01 am Ituran Location and Control announces a cash dividend of $0.14/share, paid to shareholders of record as of September 24, 2015 (ITRN) :  

7:01 am G&K increases quarterly dividend 19% to $0.37/share from $0.31/share, adds $100 mln to share repurchase program (GK) :  

7:00 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• AngioDynamics (ANGO) announced the publication of clinical data from STAR (Soft Tissue Ablation Registry) utilizing NanoKnife, in the Annals of Surgery.The authors of the paper stated in the paper's conclusion that they believe, "IRE results in substantially prolonged survival of patients with LAPC compared with historical controls."
  
• Statoil (STO) announced that the first piece of the Johan Sverdrup development has now been completed and installed on the field in the North Sea. The pre-drilling template contains eight well slots that allow production wells to be pre-drilled before the drilling platform is installed in 2018 and production starts at Johan Sverdrup in late 2019
  
• Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY) announced it has concluded an agreement with Strer SE for the sale of the online platform t-online.de and the digital marketing company InteractiveMedia CCSP GmbH. The transaction will take the form of a capital increase of Strer in return for the non-cash contribution of the two companies. New shares in Strer SE worth some EUR 0.3 billion will be issued to Deutsche Telekom AG, which corresponds to an equity investment of around 11 to 13 percent in the subsequently increased capital stock of Strer
  

6:58 am Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics reports Q2 results (BCLI) :

• Q2 EPS ($0.12) vs ($0.14) Capital IQ single est. 
• "our strong cash position of ~$20 million provides more than adequate resources to complete the U.S. phase 2 clinical trial in 2016, to run our planned multi-dose study, and to pursue these additional research and development activities, as well as several important manufacturing initiatives."
  

6:38 am GlobalStar trading higher after announcing NASA selecte Globalstar and ADS-B technologies' ALAS aviation tracking solution (GSAT) : NASA requires two-way voice and data communications via Globalstar's newest satellite network as well as technical support for the installation, operation, maintenance, modification and training for the ALAS system. The ALAS system is the only compatible system with and complementary to the existing Globalstar voice, data, and subscription services that NASA Langley has previously purchased. ALAS was primarily chosen due to the proof of concept of the technology and available data speeds.

6:37 am Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI) priced its downsized 10.5 mln share IPO at $21.00/share, below the expected $22.00-$24.00 range; total deal size reduced by 26.6% (HLI) : The offering originally was planned to consist of 13059139 share at an expected range range of $22.00-24.00. All of the shares are being offered by an affiliate of ORIX USA Corporation and certain of the Company's employees and members of management. Houlihan Lokey will not receive any proceeds from the offering, including from any exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares.

6:30 am Globelmmune has engaged Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. as its exclusive financial advisor to assist in evaluating strategic alternatives (GBIM) : GlobeImmune believes it has cash on hand to last through 2016, based on its current level of operations.

6:30 am Trimble Navigation announces Board authorization for a $400 mln share repurchase program, plans to spend at least $150 mln in next six months (TRMB) : The share repurchase authorization does not have an expiration date and replaces the prior authorization of $300 million, which had $177 million remaining as of the end of the second quarter of 2015

6:30 am Genesee & Wyoming reports traffic in July 2015 was 266,372 carloads, an increase of 89,186 carloads, or 50.3% Y/Y (GWR) : The co's same-railroad traffic in July 2015 was 153,901 carloads, a decrease of 23,285 carloads, or 13.1%, compared with July 2014.

• North American Operations: Traffic in July 2015 was 139,335 carloads, a decrease of 11.4% compared with July 2014. On a same-railroad basis, traffic declined 20,868 carloads or 13.3%. The decrease was primarily due to reduced shipments of coal & coke, metals and agricultural products traffic.
  
• U.K./European Operations: Traffic was 109,529 carloads in July 2015. Traffic in July 2015 was led by intermodal traffic in the U.K. and continental Europe as well as minerals & stone traffic in Poland and the U.K.
  

6:02 am Acacia Research enters into a settlement and patent license agreement regarding litigation with Sony Corporation (SNE): terms not disclosed (ACTG) :  

6:01 am ImmunoCellular Therapeutics reaches an agreement with the FDA on a Special Protocol Assessment for its ICT-107 Phase 3 registrational trial (IMUC) : Co has reached agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) on a Special Protocol Assessment for the phase 3 registrational trial of its cancer immunotherapy ICT-107 to treat patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The phase 3 trial is designed as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of about 400 HLA-A2 positive subjects, which will be conducted at about 120 sites in the US, Canada and the EU.

• The primary endpoint in the trial is overall survival, which the FDA and EU regulators have stated is the appropriate endpoint for registrational clinical studies in glioblastoma. Secondary endpoints include progression-free survival and safety, as well as overall survival in the two pre-specified MGMT subgroups. Patient enrollment is anticipated to begin in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2015.

5:49 am S&P futures vs fair value: +5.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +17.10. :

5:49 am European Markets : FTSE...6617.11...+45.90...+0.70%.  DAX...11088.78...+164.20...+1.50%.

5:49 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...20595.55...+202.80...+1.00%.  Hang Seng...24018.80...+102.80...+0.40%.

5:44 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• UTStarcom (UTSI) announced that on June 30, 2015, it launched a new standalone entity, Virtual Gateway Labs 
• Himax Technologies (HIMX) announced an ultra-low power consumption eDP 1.4 timing controller that supports ultra-high resolution panels for tablets, notebooks and monitors that further supports nVIDIA G-SYNC function to alleviate screen tearing in gaming.
  

5:08 am Roche Hldg acquires GeneWEAVE for $190 mln upfront; up to $235 mln in milestones (RHHBY) : Roche announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire GeneWEAVE BioSciences, a privately held company focused on innovative, clinical microbiology diagnostics solutions based in Los Gatos, CA.

• Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay GeneWEAVE shareholders $190 million upfront and up to $235 million in contingent product related milestones.
• The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and, once closed, GeneWEAVE will be integrated into Roche Molecular Diagnostics.
  

3:56 am MarkWest Energy and EMG expand in Utica Shale (MWE) : MarkWest Energy Partners and The Energy & Minerals Group announced the development of a new, large-scale dry gas gathering system to strategically expand the parties' leading midstream position in the Utica Shale. The extensive system will be underpinned by a long-term, fee-based contract with Ascent Resources -- Utica, LLC, a subsidiary of Ascent Resources (AST)

• The system will be designed to gather more than 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of gas from this highly prospective portion of the Utica's dry gas window, and could ultimately consist of more than 250 miles of pipeline and more than 200,000 horsepower of compression. Initial operation is expected to begin by the end of 2015
  

3:16 am Sprint: SoftBank Group (SFTBY) discloses it acquired additional shares of Sprint (S) : SoftBank Group (through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary) disclosed that it has acquired additional shares in Sprint (S). 

• In light of these and other turnaround initiatives, SBG believes that Sprint shares are fundamentally undervalued. SBG has therefore implemented a program of open market purchases of Sprint's publicly traded shares. Such purchases will be made by SBG's wholly owned subsidiary, Galaxy Investment Holdings
• On August 12, Galaxy has purchased 22,873,301 shares at a weighted average price of $3.80, bringing SBG's share of outstanding shares of Sprint common stock to approximately 80.0%. 
• Any future purchases by Galaxy will be on an opportunistic basis. 
  

2:37 am CDW prices upsized offering by selling stockholders of 11,250,000 shares of common stock at $38.25 per share (CDW) :  

2:22 am Medley Management misses by $0.03, misses on revs; announces $5 mln stock repurchase program (MDLY) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.22 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.25; revenues fell 19.0% year/year to $20.5 mln vs the $25.96 mln consensus.

• Total assets under management were $4.0 billion 
• Fee earning assets under management were $3.4 billion 

Share Repurchase Program
The Company's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $5 million of the Company's Class A common stock. 

2:03 am North Atlantic Drilling CFO steps down effective Aug 17; Scott McReaken appointed as Chief Financial Officer (NADL) : Co announced that Ragnvald Kavli, Chief Financial Officer, has decided to leave the Company to pursue other career opportunities and will step down from his duties as of August 17.

• Scott McReaken will succeed Kavli as Chief Financial Officer for North Atlantic Drilling. 
• McReaken comes with a background within the Seadrill Group where he has held various management positions
  

1:59 am CareTrust REIT prices offering of 14,200,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $10.50 per share (CTRE) :  

1:45 am Flowers Foods acquires Dave's Killer Bread for ~$275 mln; neutral to 2015 earnings (FLO) : Co announced a definitive agreement to acquire Dave's Killer Bread, an organic bread in the U.S., from its existing shareholders for ~$275 million in cash. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015.

• With anticipated fiscal 2016 sales of $160 million to $170 million, Dave's Killer Bread generated a revenue compound average growth rate of 32% over the past three years
  
• The company anticipates the transaction will be neutral to fiscal 2015 earnings.
  

1:37 am Inotek Pharmaceuticals prices offering of 5,400,000 shares of its common stock at $12.75 per share (ITEK) :  

1:26 am Planar Systems to be acquired by Leyard for $6.58 per share (shares halted) (PLNR) : Leyard Optoelectronic Co, a worldwide provider of LED display products and ancillary systems, and Planar Systems (PLNR) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which a U.S. affiliate of Leyard will acquire all of the common stock of Planar for a purchase price of $6.58 per share.

• The merger values Planar's equity at approximately $156.8 million on a fully diluted basis.
  
• The pending acquisition augments Leyard's existing range of LED display products and enables Leyard to expand its position outside the Chinese market. 
• Planar's board of directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement and recommends that its shareholders vote to approve the merger agreement.
  

1:11 am Dean Foods appoints long-time Board member Jim Turner as Chairman (DF) : Turner joined the Board in November 1997.

1:09 am Diamondback Energy upsizes offering by 500K shares and prices 2.5 mln shares of its common stock for total proceeds of ~$176 mln (FANG) :