6:16 pm Foresight Energy reports it has temporarily idled longwall mining operations and withdrawn underground mining personnel from its Deer Run Mine due to elevated carbon monoxide readings (FELP) : Once these levels are reduced and stabilized, Foresight will reenter the mine to complete the current longwall move and fully resume normal longwall mining operations at the Deer Run Mine.

5:37 pm Haverty Furniture increases quarterly dividend 25% to $0.10 from $0.08 per share (HVT) :  

5:28 pm Silver Wheaton reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; provides update on Canada Revenue Agency audit (SLW) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.13 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.13; revenues rose 10.7% year/year to $164.44 mln vs the $160.78 mln consensus.

• Record attributable silver equivalent production in Q2 2015 of 10.9 million ounces (7.2 million ounces of silver and 50,500 ounces of gold), compared with 8.5 million ounces in Q2 2014, representing an increase of 29%. 
• Record silver equivalent sales volume in Q2 2015 of 10.0 million ounces (5.6 million ounces of silver and 61,000 ounces of gold), compared with 7.5 million ounces in Q2 2014, representing an increase of 34%.
  
• During the three month period ending June 30, 2015, payable silver equivalent ounces attributable to the Company produced but not yet delivered were virtually unchanged at approximately 6.5 million ounces.
  

5:22 pm Air Lease announces pricing of public offering of $500 mln of 2.625% unsecured senior notes due 2018 (AL) : Co announces the pricing of its public offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount of 2.625% unsecured senior notes due 2018. The Notes were offered to the public at a price of 99.500% of par.

5:12 pm Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure misses by $0.08, misses on revs; declares prorated quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share (FTAI) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.10; revenues rose 212.5% year/year to $33.56 mln vs the $39.25 mln consensus.

Co declared a cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, payable on August 31, 2015, to holders of record on August 21, 2015. The $0.15 per share represents a prorated quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, or $1.32 per share on an annualized basis, calculated from May 20, 2015 through June 30, 2015.

5:04 pm Home Inns reports Q2 (Jun) results, beats on revs (HMIN) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.14 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.42; revenues fell 1.8% year/year to $268.9 mln vs the $255.72 mln consensus. 

• Homeinns Hotel Group remains committed to its target of opening no fewer than 400 new hotels in the course of 2015, with approximately 10% as leased-and-operated hotels and 90% as franchised-and-managed hotels. 
• The Company expects its total revenues in the third quarter of 2015 to be in the range of RMB 1,830 million to RMB1,860 million. 
• With respect to the full year, given its performance in the first half of 2015 and the ongoing softer-than-expected market conditions, the Company now expects total revenues for 2015 to be in the range of RMB 6,550 million to RMB 6,650 million, below the initial guidance provided at the beginning of the year.
  

5:04 pm INC Research Holdings prices its secondary offering of 8 mln shares of its Class A common stock by on behalf of selling shareholders; actual price not disclosed (INCR) :  

5:01 pm Copa Holdings announces monthly traffic statistics for July 2015; ASM rise +5% to 1,876.2 mm, RPM +2.4% to 1,431.1 mm, load factor -2.0 pts to 78.1% (CPA) :  

5:01 pm Marcus confirms filing a $150 mln universal shelf registration statement (MCS) : Under the shelf registration statement, The Marcus Corporation will have the flexibility to publicly offer and sell from time to time debt securities, common stock, preferred stock, warrants and other securities or any combination of such securities.

4:43 pm Hackett Group beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (HCKT) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues rose 8.8% year/year to $66.4 mln vs the $62.22 mln consensus.

• Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.17-0.19 vs. $0.16 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $63.5-65.5 mln vs. $62.67 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

4:33 pm Parsley Energy beats by $0.02, beats on revs; raises FY15 production guidance (PE) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.01 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.03); revenues fell 5.4% year/year to $77.86 mln vs the $72.14 mln consensus.

• Co reports Q2 total production of 2.025 Mboe and average net daily production of 22,249 Boe/d

4:32 pm New York REIT: First Winthrop Corporation and The Witkoff Group sends a revised proposal with respect to their offer to become the external manager of NYRT (NYRT) : The Group's letter stated:

• "We have prepared and are now submitting a revised proposal to the Board of Directors of New York REIT regarding replacement of the current advisor by an affiliate of First Winthrop Corporation and The Witkoff Group. In so doing, the Revised Proposal incorporates feedback that we have received from the investment community since our first correspondence to you. 
• We believe that there are three key components to our prior proposal that we are now updating and addressing in this Revised Proposal. The first element remains exclusivity. To this point, we can find no publicly traded real estate investment trust in which internalized management is permitted to behave in such a manner. Winthrop/Witkoff, on the other hand, is proposing that its principals perform all of their acquisitions and investment activities with respect to New York metropolitan area REIT tax compliant assets exclusively through NYRT. 
• We also believe that the second component of our Revised Proposal, an equity commitment to purchase six million newly issued shares from the Company at a purchase price of $12 per share, establishes an alignment of interest with shareholders. 
• The third component of our Revised Proposal provides for a process by which shareholders can vote annually to internalize the management structure. 
• We believe that in order to proceed further, it would be in the mutual best interests of all parties to commence discussions sooner rather than later in view of the multitude of issues to be resolved."
  

4:30 pm Artisan Partners Asset Mgmt reported AUM as of July 31, 2015 totaled $108.7 bln vs $109.2 bln prior month (APAM) :  

4:26 pm Akebia Therapeutics beats by $0.11, provides pipeline update, discloses entry into $50 mln Controlled Equity Offering Sales Agreement with Cantor (AKBA) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.40 per share, $0.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.51).

• "We look forward to advancing vadadustat into a Phase 3 program later this year once we have successfully completed our discussions with the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. We remain on track to report top-line results from our Phase 2 study of vadadustat in dialysis patients in the third quarter, followed by an IND submission for AKB-6899 in an oncology indication by year-end"
  
• The Company ended the second quarter of 2015 with cash, cash equivalents and available for sale securities of $152.8 million, which is expected to support operations into the fourth quarter of 2016.
  
• The co also filed a prospectus supplement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that contemplates the sale of up to $50 million of shares of the Company's common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, from time to time in at-the-market offerings pursuant to a Controlled Equity Offering Sales Agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co
  

4:25 pm First Acceptance reports Q2 results, revs up 20% YoY (FAC) : Co reports Q2 (Jun) EPS of $0.01; revenue rose 20% YoY to $80.6 mln. There are no analyst estimates.

4:23 pm Axovant Sciences misses by $0.08; expands RVT-101 program to support regulatory approval in Japan (AXON) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.35 per share, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.27). 

• Axovant reported two updates for the RVT-101 global development program for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease: In addition to seeking regulatory approval to commercialize RVT-101 in the United States and the European Union, Axovant will expand the RVT-101 program to include additional registration studies to support regulatory approval in Japan; and 
• Axovant will start the development of an oral, fixed-dose combination tablet of RVT-101 and donepezil designed to potentially improve patient convenience. 
• As a result of these and other anticipated activities, Axovant is updating the total projected expenses associated with the planned Phase 3 registration program for RVT-101 from ~$95.0 - $105.0 million to approximately $125.0 - $135.0 million.
  

4:22 pm Invuity prelim ($3.20), may not compare to ($0.74) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; revs rose 69% YoY to $4.7 mln vs $4.55 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (IVTY) :  

4:22 pm Cheniere Energy enters into a sales agreement for the delivery of 100 mln MMBtus of natural gas, with lectricit de France (ECIFY); agreement extends through 2018 (LNG) :  

4:21 pm Adamas Pharmaceuticals reports Q2 results (ADMS) : Co reports Q2 EPS of $-0.78 vs $-0.72 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; revs -98.4% y/y to $0.4 mln vs $0.1 mln Captial IQ Consensus Estimate. 

• Adamas ended the current quarter with $143.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale securities compared to $158.7 million at December 31, 2014. 
• "Over the past few months, we have expanded and advanced our ADS-5102 clinical program with the initiation of a Phase 2 study for the treatment of major symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with walking impairment and completed enrollment in our 26-week Phase 3 study of ADS-5102 in Parkinson's disease patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesia (:LID). We plan to complete enrollment in our 13-week Phase 3 study of ADS-5102 in LID by year-end and will continue enrolling individuals in the ongoing open-label safety study."
  

4:21 pm Celator Pharma misses by $0.01; provides clinical update (CPXX) : Co reports Q2 (Jun) loss per share of $(0.15), a penny below the consensus of $(0.14); co has no revenue.

• "We capped off a very busy Q2 by reporting positive induction response rate data in the Phase 3 study of VYXEOS (CPX-351) in patients with high-risk (e.g. secondary) acute myeloid leukemia (AML.V)."
• "We believe response is an important surrogate for overall survival and clinical benefit in this patient population. We intend to build on that momentum as we advance our broader clinical development program, report data on CombiPlex technology platform studies, and increase pre-commercial activities." 
• Data on overall survival are expected in 1Q16, with an NDA submission planned for 3Q16. If approved, VYXEOS will be well-positioned to become the foundation of care for high-risk AML patients.
  

4:20 pm Cyclacel Pharma reports Q2 EPS of ($0.10) vs ($0.22) in prior year; SEAMLESS trial of sapacitabine in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia continues to progress towards final data read-out (CYCC) : As of June 30, 2015, cash and cash equivalents totaled $26.9 million.

"SEAMLESS continues to progress towards final data read-out," said Spiro Rombotis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cyclacel. "There are now approximately 13% of events remaining to occur and we expect to report top-line data during the second half of 2015 through the first half of 2016. Following unblinding and analysis of the SEAMLESS data, we will determine their suitability for submission to regulators in the U.S. and Europe."

4:20 pm Computer Sciences beats by $0.10, misses on revs; reaffirms FY16 EPS in-line; Co also to acquire Fruition Partners and Fixnetix (CSC) : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $1.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.01; revenues fell 14.7% year/year to $2.76 bln vs the $2.82 bln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $4.75-5.05, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.86 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• In separate news releases...
• Co announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Fruition Partners, the leading provider of technology-enabled solutions for the service-management sector and the largest ServiceNow-exclusive service management consulting firm. The proposed acquisition will enable CSC to offer enterprise and emerging clients an expanded range of cloud-based service-management solutions to improve their business results through organizational efficiency and lower operating costs.
• Co announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Fixnetix, a leading provider of front-office managed trading solutions in capital markets. The proposed acquisition will enable CSC to offer capital market clients an expanded range of as-a-service front office capabilities and will strengthen its ability to address growing client demand for greater efficiency and innovation in trading, market data, hosting, infrastructure, connectivity and risk management.
  

4:19 pm Jernigan Capital reports Q2; CFO resigns (JCAP) :

• Q2 EPS ($0.20); at June 30, 2015, the Company had closed 10 loans for an aggregate committed principal amount of $74.5 mln, including 8 development loans totaling ~$68.5 million of aggregate committed principal amount. 
• The Company also announced that effective August 10, 2015, Gregory W. Ward has resigned as the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Company and JCap Advisors, LLC in order to pursue other interests, and the Company has appointed William C. Drummond as its new Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
  

4:15 pm Resonant reports Q2 EPS ($0.31) vs ($0.69) year ago (RESN) : Ended the Second Quarter with $9.2 million in working capital compared with $13.2 million of working capital at December 31, 2014. Management believes it has sufficient cash to support planned operations through the first half of 2016.

4:15 pm Fossil reports Q2 results, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus; guides FY15 EPS below consensus (FOSL) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.12 per share, which may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.82; revenues fell 4.4% year/year to $740 mln vs the $751.32 mln consensus. 

• Segment Breakdown
• Americas +1% +3%
  Europe -12% +2%
  Asia -6% +1%
  Watches -6% flat
  Leathers +2% +9%
  Jewelry -1% +11% 
• During the second quarter of fiscal 2015, gross margin decreased 220 basis points to 55.3%, driven primarily by changes in foreign currencies. 

Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees GAAP EPS of 1.03-1.28, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.47 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• Net sales to decrease in the range of 15.0% to 10.0%
• Operating margin in a range of 9.5% to 11.0%

Co issues downside guidance for FY15, sees GAAP EPS of $4.80-5.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $5.62 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 

• Net sales to decrease in the range of 8.0% to 4.0% (Prior guidance -4% to -1%)
• Operating margin in a range of 10.5% to 11.5% 
  

4:15 pm Exelixis misses by $0.01, misses on revs (EXEL) :

• Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.22 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.21); revenues rose 21.2% year/year to $8 mln vs the $8.69 mln consensus. 
• The company anticipates that operating expenses for the second six months of 2015 will be in a range of $80 million to $90 million, including ~$10 million of incremental non-cash stock-based compensation expense related to the vesting of performance stock options tied to the read-out of METEOR top-line results. 
• Exelixis is focused on expediting its regulatory submissions for cabozantinib in advanced renal cell carcinoma (:RCC) based on the positive outcome from the METEOR pivotal trial and building its commercial infrastructure to support the launch of cabozantinib in advanced RCC in the United States, pending approval. In addition, Exelixis continues to support its partner Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, as it prepares for the potential worldwide commercialization of cobimetinib, a second Exelixis-discovered compound.
  

4:12 pm Cyber-Ark Software beats by $0.13, beats on revs; guides Q3 above consensus; raises FY15 above consensus; acquires 20 person Israeli firm Cyberintel (CYBR) :

• Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 70.9% year/year to $36.4 mln vs the $32.34 mln consensus. 
• Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.11-0.13, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.08 Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q3 revs of $36-37 mln vs. $34.30 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues upside guidance for FY15, raises EPS to $0.62-0.65, excluding non-recurring items, from $0.40-0.44 vs. $0.42 Capital IQ Consensus; raises FY15 revs to $145-147 mln from $136-138 mln vs. $140.61 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Co has acquired Cybertinel Ltd. an ~20 person Israel-based cyber security company. Cybertinel Ltd. specializes in cyber threat detection technology that will enhance CyberArk's ability to detect credential threats at the beginning stages of the attack cycle. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed
  

4:10 pm Opower beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; raises FY15 EPS above consensus, reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (OPWR) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.12 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.16); revenues rose 15% year/year to $35.8 mln vs the $35.27 mln consensus. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $3.5 million, compared to a loss of $3.7 million for the comparable period in 2014.

• Co issues guidance for Q3, sees EPS of ($0.15) - ($0.13) vs. ($0.17) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $37.9-38.5 mln vs. $38.29 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues guidance for FY15, raises EPS of ($0.62) - ($0.53) from ($0.65) - ($0.58)  vs. ($0.64) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; reaffirms FY15 revs of $144-149 mln vs. $147.09 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $3.5 million, compared to a loss of $3.7 million for the comparable period in 2014. 
• Co also announced a major new contract with a large U.S. utility worth more than $50 mln over 6 years.
  

4:10 pm Moog adds 4 mln shares to repurchase program (MOG.A) : The program, originally authorized in January 2014 and expanded in August 2014, included the authorization to repurchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 shares of its Class A and Class B common stock at management's discretion. Under those programs, 8.3 million shares were purchased as of August 7, 2015.

4:10 pm Ekso Bionics reports Q2 EPS of ($0.06) vs ($0.04) estimate; revs $2.1 mln vs $2 mln estimate (EKSO) :  

4:09 pm Freshpet misses by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (FRPT) : Reports Q2 (Jun) GAAP loss of $0.07 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus GAAP Estimate of ($0.06); revenues rose 39.1% year/year to $28.36 mln vs the $27.22 mln consensus.

• Adjusted EBITDA increased $3.1 million to $2.8 million
• Freshpet Fridges increased 14.0% to 14,354 from 12,593
  

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $112.0-114.5 mln vs. $115.79 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co also reaffirms guidance for adjusted EBITDA of $16.0-17.5 mln and Freshpet Fridges of approximately 15,100 to 15,600, an increase of approximately 13% to 17%.

4:09 pm Inogen beats by $0.03, beats on revs; Raises FY15 rev guidance above consensus (INGN) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.17 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14; revenues rose 44.7% year/year to $44 mln vs the $36.88 mln consensus.

• Total units sold in Q2 2015 were 16,400, an increase of 78.3% over the same period in 2014, reflecting the strong consumer demand for the company's products across all channels.
  
  
• Gross margin was $20.8 million, or 47.3% of revenue, in the second quarter of 2015 compared to $15.1 million, or 49.7% of revenue in the comparative period in 2014. 
   
  
• Guidance: Co issues raises guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $145-$149 mln vs. $141.81 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, vs prior guidance of $133-$137 million. 
  

4:08 pm Cree misses by $0.16, reports revs in-line with June warning; guides Q1 in-line (CREE) :

• Reports Q4 (Jun) loss of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.03); revenues fell 12.4% year/year to $382.2 mln vs the $378.49 mln consensus. 
• Co lowered rev guidance to $375 from $420-440 mln on June 24.
• non-GAAP gross margin 21% vs. 37.9% last year.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.18-0.23, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.20 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $410-430 mln vs. $418.90 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. non-GAAP gross margin targeted to be 32.0%+/-. 
  

4:08 pm Codexis reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides FY15 revs in-line (CDXS) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.14 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.14) - two estimates; revenues fell 8.4% year/year to $6.02 mln vs the $7.34 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $41-44 mln vs. $40.98 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• "We recently entered into two agreements that validate the strength of our business strategy...Last week we announced our second non-exclusive CodeEvolver protein engineering platform technology licensing agreement with a major pharmaceutical company, this time with current customer Merck (MRK). This licensing agreement allows Merck to use our CodeEvolver platform technology to develop novel enzymes for the manufacture of its pharmaceutical products. It is compelling evidence of the value of our CodeEvolver technology that Codexis and our license partners GSK and Merck are making long-term investments in our platform."
• "Also, earlier today we announced a collaborative research and development agreement with a leading global biopharmaceutical company. This is our first agreement in the biopharmaceutical industry and it is exciting to see our CodeEvolver protein engineering platform applied in the field of biologic drug development for this new customer."
  

4:08 pm NASDAQ reports end-of-month open short interest positions in Nasdaq stocks as of July 31, 2015 (NDAQ) : Short interest in all 3,017 Nasdaq securities totaled 8,689,183,682 shares at the July 31, 2015 settlement date, compared with 3,020 issues and 8,814,554,508 shares at the end of the previous reporting period. This is 4.76 days average daily volume, compared with an average of 4.34 days for the previous reporting period.

4:07 pm Closing Market Summary: Stocks Slide After China Devalues Yuan (:WRAPX) : Global equity markets retreated on Tuesday as investors responded to the overnight devaluation of China's yuan. Specifically, the People's Bank of China lowered the yuan fix by the largest amount on record, sending the USD/CNY pair higher by 1.9% to 6.3249.

The move invited renewed trepidations about the pace of economic growth in China while also feeding concerns that China's trading partners may feel compelled to respond by weakening their own currencies. For instance, the Japanese yen was in focus during the session amid speculation the Bank of Japan may be forced to step up its easing efforts to support the country's exporters. As a result, the dollar/yen pair climbed 0.4% to 125.07, nearing a 13-year high.

The major European indices lost between 1.1% and 2.7% with the retreat paced by exporter stocks while the S&P settled lower by 1.0% and retraced the bulk of its advance from Monday.

Today's selling sent the benchmark index back below its 50-day (2,096) and 100-day (2,098) moving averages with eight sectors registering losses. To little surprise, cyclical groups paced the slide, but the energy sector (-0.2%) spent the day in a steady rally off its opening low. The sector fought its way back to yesterday's highs even as crude oil plunged 4.2% to $43.08/bbl, settling at a six-year low.

Meanwhile, the other commodity-related sector-materials (-1.9%)-ended at the bottom of the leaderboard with steelmakers showing broad weakness, evidenced by Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 27.22, -1.15), which fell 4.1%. On a somewhat related note, copper futures fell 2.6% to $2.338/lbs, erasing the bulk of their gain from yesterday.

Elsewhere among cyclical groups, the technology sector (-1.7%) displayed relative strength at the start, but could not stay ahead of the broader market into the afternoon. That being said, the early outperformance was due to a spike in the shares of Google (GOOGL 690.30, +27.16) after the company announced plans for a new operating structure. As part of the announced change, Google will create a new company called Alphabet, which will replace Google as a publically-traded entity and should make it easier to evaluate different segments of the company's business. Shares of GOOGL settled higher by 4.1% after being up more than 6.0% at the start. As for other tech heavyweights, Apple (AAPL 113.55, -6.17), Intel (INTC 28.99, -0.65), and Microsoft (MSFT 46.41, -0.92) lost between 1.9% and 5.2% as China-related concerns pressured the multinational companies.

On the upside, rate-sensitive telecom services (+0.1%) and utilities (+0.5%) ended in the green, benefitting from strength in the Treasury market that sent the 10-yr yield lower by nine basis points to 2.14%.

Today's participation was roughly in-line with recent averages as more than 830 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included Productivity/Labor Cost data and Wholesale Inventories:

• Nonfarm productivity increased 1.3% in Q2 2015 after declining an upwardly revised 1.1% (from -3.1%) in the first quarter while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 1.4% 
  • The increase in second quarter productivity ended two consecutive quarterly declines. 
  • Year-over-year, nonfarm productivity increased 0.3%, down from a 0.6% gain in Q1 2015 
  • Unit labor costs increased 0.5% in the second quarter while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1%; however, the reported increase was the smallest rise since a 0.1% increase in Q3 2014 
• Wholesale inventories increased 0.9% in June after a downwardly revised 0.6% increase (from 0.8%) in May while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.3% 
  • Wholesale sales increased 0.1% in June after a 0.2% increase in May while durable sales declined 1.1% in June, which resulted mostly from a 2.8% decline in automotive sales. Nondurable sales increased 1.2% on strong demand for farm products (3.6%) and petroleum (3.7%) 
  • The inventory-to-sales ratio increased to 1.30 in June from 1.29 in May 

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for June will cross the wires at 10:00 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the 14:00 ET release of the Treasury Budget for July (Briefing.com consensus -$149.00 billion).

• Nasdaq Composite +6.4% YTD 
• S&P 500 +1.2% YTD 
• Russell 2000 +0.5% YTD 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average -2.4% YTD

4:07 pm Myriad Genetics reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY16 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (MYGN) : Reports Q4 (Jun) earnings of $0.41 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues rose 0.6% year/year to $189.9 mln vs the $187.67 mln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.34-0.36 vs. $0.40 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $176-178 mln vs. $184.68 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues mixed guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.60-1.65 vs. $1.75 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $750-770 mln vs. $759.70 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

4:07 pm Allergan confirms that it has filed an ANDA with the US FDA seeking approval to market its Posaconazole Delayed-Release Tablets, a generic for Merck's (MRK) Noxafil (AGN) : The co. confirmed that it has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (:ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) seeking approval to market Posaconazole Delayed-Release Tablets, 100mg. Allergan's ANDA product is a generic version of Merck's Noxafil which is an antifungal agent indicated for prophylaxis of invasive Aspergillus and Candida infections in patients, 13 years of age and older, who are at high-risk of developing these infections due to being severely immunocompromised, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients with graft-versus-host disease or those with hematologic malignancies with prolonged neutropenia from chemotherapy

4:07 pm Invesco Announces July 31, 2015 Assets Under Management, preliminary month-end assets under management (AUM.TO) of $806.7 billion, an increase of 0.4% month over month (IVZ) : Co reports preliminary month-end assets under management (AUM.TO) of $806.7 billion, an increase of 0.4% month over month. The increase was driven by favorable market returns and an increase in money market AUM. Long-term net flows were flat during the month while FX decreased AUM by $2.3 billion. Preliminary average total AUM for the quarter through July 31 were $806.8 billion, and preliminary average active AUM for the quarter through July 31 were $664.4 billion.

4:06 pm SS&C Techs announces a favorable arbitration decision in its litigation with Millennium Global (SSNC) : On July 31, 2015, a Tribunal issued a favourable judgment in the London Court of International Arbitration matter pending against the company, dismissing entirely the Millennium Funds' claim against GlobeOp for at least $160 million (plus interest).

• The Tribunal found that GlobeOp was not liable under the terms of the Agreement. It will conduct further proceedings on GlobeOp's claim for indemnification of its arbitration costs, the only unresolved issue in the arbitration.
  

4:06 pm Kimball increases quarterly dividend to $0.055/share from $0.05/share (KBAL) :  

4:06 pm Omega Protein confirms receipt of letter from Wynnefield Capital Management shareholder group, indicating the group has filed a Schedule 13D with the SEC (OME) : "The Board of Directors values open dialogue and input from all our shareholders. While we believe the company's current strategy will create substantial long-term value for shareholders, we will thoughtfully review the matters raised by Wynnefield Capital. The Board and management team are committed to undertaking actions that we believe will enhance value for our shareholders, and we intend to consider this letter with that principle in mind."

4:05 pm General Electric announces it will Sell its Healthcare Financial Services U.S. Lending Business to Capital One (COF) for ~$9 billion; expected closure in 4Q15 (GE) : Co has reached an agreement to sell $8.5 billion of healthcare-related loans and its Healthcare Financial Services (:HFS) U.S. lending business to Capital One (COF) for ~$9 billion. Separately, GE has signed an agreement with another buyer to sell approximately $600 million of HFS real estate equity investments.

• Co stated: "We are on track to reduce our ending net investment (ENI) by $100 billion by the end of 2015 and expect to be substantially done with our exit strategy by the end of 2016." 
• When completed, the transaction, which represents about $8.4 billion of ENI ($8.5 billion of assets), will contribute ~$1.5 billion of capital to the overall target of ~$35 billion of dividends expected to GE under this plan (subject to regulatory approval). GE is on track to reduce total ENI at GE Capital by about $100 billion by year end. 
• With the transaction, the total for announced sales is ~ $78 billion.

4:05 pm Everyday Health beats by $0.15, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 revs in-line; guides FY15 revs in-line (EVDY) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.15 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.12; revenues rose 32.2% year/year to $54.81 mln vs the $54.54 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $55.0-59.5 mln vs. $56.75 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $236-244 mln vs. $239.1 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• Co also announces the acquisition of Tea Leaves Health, a provider of a SaaS-based marketing and analytics platform for hospital systems to identify and engage consumers and physicians. "Our strategic acquisition of Tea Leaves Health allows us to diversify our customer base and expand our revenue opportunity into the large and fast-growing hospital systems market....The changing regulatory and economic environment has resulted in major changes in the way hospitals operate." Tea Leaves Health is the market leader in this space and has a premier customer base of approximately two dozen hospital systems, which represent over 250 individual hospitals.

4:05 pm Zafgen beats by $0.04, No Revenue (ZFGN) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.66 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.70). The company continues to expect that its cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities balance will be greater than $145.0 million at December 31, 2015.

• Co states: "With enrollment completed in our bestPWS Phase 3 trial this past quarter and enrollment now greater than 95% in our Phase 2b trial (ZAF-203) in patients with severe obesity complicated by type 2 diabetes, we remain on track to release data in late 2015 or very early 2016 for both of these clinical trials. The bestPWS trial is the first Phase 3 trial conducted for a potential treatment of hyperphagia and weight loss in this hard to treat patient population. We are also extremely excited to see the six-month interim data from the ZAF-203 clinical trial which will provide our first look at the effects of beloranib treatment on both body weight and glycemic control chronically in the setting of type 2 diabetes, an important and vexing co-morbidity of obesity."
  

4:04 pm Carbylan Therapeutics misses by $0.16 (CBYL) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.37 per share, $0.16 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.21).

• As of June 30, 2015, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $65.4 million. Based on current operating levels, the company expects that existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund operations for at least the next 12 months.
  
• "During the quarter, we continued to progress with our phase 3 clinical program for Hydros-TA in the treatment of osteoarthritis pain of the knee. Most importantly, we completed the enrollment of our 510 subject COR1.1 trial, which is the first of the two pivotal clinical trials required for our new drug application for Hydros-TA. We expect to have data available from this trial during the first quarter of 2016 and look forward to providing additional details."
  

4:03 pm Fogo de Chao beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY15 revs above consensus (FOGO) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.22; revenues fell 0.4% year/year to $68.2 mln vs the $65.28 mln consensus. U.S. company-owned comparable restaurant sales increased 4.2%.

• Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $273.0 vs. $270.85 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Sees company-owned comparable restaurant sales growth of 1% to 2% on a World Cup adjusted basis (the one-time sales benefit of the World Cup in 2014 is estimated at $5.0 million);

4:02 pm Viavi appoints Richard Belluzzo as interim President and CEO, effective immediately (VIAV) : The appointment follows the departure of Tom Waechter, who has stepped down as the company's president and chief executive officer and Board member to pursue other interests.

• Belluzzo has served as a Board member since February 2005, and has been Chairman since November 2012. Belluzzo is currently U.S. Venture Partner for Innogest SpA and consults with The Gores Group, a private equity firm, and Bravosolution, a private cloud software company. 
• As interim president and chief executive officer, Mr. Belluzzo will work with Viavi's Board and executive leadership to ensure that Viavi continues its ongoing transformation until a permanent chief executive officer is appointed. He will continue to serve as Chairman during the transition.
  

4:01 pm Numerex Corp. appoints Marc Zionts as its Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2015 (NMRX) : The co. announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Marc Zionts as its Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2015. In addition to his new position, Mr. Zionts will join the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Zionts will succeed Stratton J. Nicolaides, who will remain CEO until September 1 and then assume the position of Executive Chairman. Mr. Zionts most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Aicent, Inc.

3:35 pm Earnings Calendar (:SUMRX) : Today after the close look for the following companies to report:

• CSC, FOSL, CREE, VIAV, HMIN, MYGN, SLW, TAHO, PE, FENG, FOGO, EVDY, INGN, OPWR, CYBR, FRPT, EXEL, CDXS, CBYL, ZFGN

Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report:

• M, ARMK, BABA, VWR, AIT, CAE, ATTO, W, STKL, MRKT, SHLX, EZCH, ENZY, HSGX

3:32 pm Nasdaq Comp -65 slightly extends push off afternoon low -- Dow -209, S&P -20 hover near their bounce highs (:TECHX) :  

3:21 pm Treasury Market Summary (BONDX) : Government Bonds Soar on Yuan Liberalization

• U.S. Treasuries rallied sharply today after the Chinese government announced that it would allow market forces to help determine the yuan's value in FX markets. The move may have been prompted by data released over the weekend, showing that exports declined 8.3% in July. A cheaper local currency will make Chinese exports more competitive on global markets at the expense of the country's trading partners
• Yield Check:
• 2-yr: -5 bps to 0.67%
• 5-yr: -9 bps to 1.53%
• 10-yr: -9 bps to 2.14%
• 30-yr: -10 bps to 2.80%

• News:
• China announced that it will let the yuan float more freely, prompting many of its East Asian neighbors' currencies to fall Greece and its official creditors have reached an agreement on an 85 bln euro bailout that can now go to national parliaments for approval
• Nonfarm productivity increased 1.3% in Q2 2015 after declining an upwardly-revised 1.1% (from -3.1%) in the first quarter. The Briefing.com consensus was for +1.4%
• Unit labor costs only increased 0.5% in the second quarter. While unit costs growth topped the consensus expectation of a 0.1% increase, it was still the smallest increase in costs since 0.1% growth in Q3 2014
• Wholesale inventories rose 0.9% in June after a downwardly-revised 0.6% increase (from 0.8%) in May. The Briefing.com consensus expected wholesale inventories to increase 0.3%
• The BEA assumed that wholesale inventories increased 0.7% in the advance estimate of second quarter GDP. After combining the stronger-than-expected June gain with the downward revision to May inventories, wholesale inventories still came out ahead of what the BEA expected. The beat should lead to a positive revision to Q2 GDP growth
• The Treasury auctioned off $24 billion of 3-year notes:
• High yield: 1.013%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.34
• Indirect bid: 52.8%
• Direct bid: 8.2%

• Commodities:
• WTI crude: -4.00% to $43.16/bbl.
• Gold: +0.435% to $1,108.00/troy oz.
• Copper: -2.69% to $2.3355/lb.

• Currencies:
• EUR/USD: +0.11% to $1.1033
• USD/JPY: +0.44% to 125.10

• News Out Wednesday:
• MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 8/08 (07:00 ET)
• June JOLTS -- Job Openings (10:00 ET)
• Crude Inventories for the week ending 8/08 (10:30 ET)
• July Treasury Budget (14:00 ET)
• Fed Speaker:
• NY Fed President Dudley (FOMC voter) (08:30 ET)
  
• Treasury Auction:
• $24 bln 10-year note auction (results at 13:00 ET)

3:00 pm Zebra Tech (-24%) just off seven month lows after missing Q2 EPS and guiding Q3 EPS below consensus (ZBRA) :  

2:36 pm Mannatech appoints its current President Alfredo Bala, to the position of CEO (MTEX) :  

2:20 pm New lows for Nasdaq Comp -87, Dow -258 and S&P -27 have spent last hour hovering just above their lows (:TECHX) :  

2:06 pm Currency Market Summary (:FOREX) : Dollar and Euro Gain

• The dominant theme in FX markets today was the Chinese government's decision to allow market forces to play a greater role in determining the yuan's exchange rate. The timing looks like the Chinese government seizing a moment of financial market stress to allow market forces to depreciate the RMB and thereby boost its export sector which was shown to have weakened dramatically over the weekend. The IMF will not likely include the yuan in its special drawing rights (SDR's) later this year
• The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.11% to 97.26
• Nonfarm productivity increased 1.3% in Q2 2015 after declining an upwardly revised 1.1% (from -3.1%) in the first quarter. The Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 1.4%
• Wholesale inventories rose 0.9% in June after a downwardly revised 0.6% increase (from 0.8%) in May. The Briefing.com consensus expected wholesale inventories to increase 0.3%
• EUR/USD: +0.13% to $1.1035
  
• Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment Index unexpectedly fell to 25.0 in August from 29.7 in July
• Current Conditions jumped more than expected to 65.7 versus 63.9 in July
• ZEW Economic Sentiment for the whole eurozone soared to 47.6 in August from 42.7 July
• GBP/USD: -0.13% to $1.5570
• The Conference Board's Leading Index for the U.K. fell 0.2% m/m in July versus -0.4% in June
• USD/JPY: +0.47% to 125.13
• In Japan, Machine Tool Orders grew 1.6% y/y 
• USD/CAD: +0.92% to 1.3129
• Canadian Housing Starts fell to a worse-than-expected 193.0K in July from 202.3K in June
• The antipodean currencies were particularly badly hit by the pseudo-flotation of the yuan
• AUD/USD: -1.72% to $0.7292
• NAB Business Confidence in Australia unexpectedly fell to 4 in July from 8 in June
• NZD/USD: -1.31% to $0.6529
  

1:35 pm Metals closing prices (:COMDX) :

• December gold ended today's session $3.60 higher (+0.3%) at $1108.10/oz
• September silver closed today's session $0.01 higher (+0.1%) at $15.29/oz
• September copper closed $0.07 lower (-2.9%) at $2.33/lb
  

1:29 pm Bottomline Tech leaks on website: Beats by $0.02, misses on revs (EPAY) : Reports Q4 (Jun) core earnings of $0.35 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.33; revenues rose 4.4% year/year to $85.3 mln vs the $86.75 mln consensus. 

• Gross margin for the fourth quarter was $49.3 million, an increase of $2.8 million from the fourth quarter of last year.
  

1:24 pm Isle of Capri announces it will sell its Natchez hotel-casino and related non-gaming assets to Casino Holding Investment Partners for $11.5 mln; expected closure in October, 2015 (ISLE) :  

1:19 pm Notable movers of interest (:SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume). 

Large Cap Gainers

• PUK (49.17 +4.02%): Reported H1 EPS of GBP0.57 vs GBP0.52 Capital IQ consensus; New business profit 1,190m.
• AAL (42.75 +2.57%): Airlines outperforming on the heels of weakness in crude oil futures; AAL also reported July traffic which showed RPMs +4.8% y/y (UAL, DAL, LUV, ALK, also higher).
• S (3.87 +0.65%): Announced an amended affiliate agreement with Shentel (SHEN) under which it will pay up to $252 mln through a reduction in retained earnings over the next 5-6 years in consideration for spectrum, customers, and value derived from the amended relationship.

Large Cap Losers

• FCX (10.02 -13.99%): Miners under meaningful pressure following China's moves to devalue its currency (VALE, PKX, AA among numerous lower).
• VIPS (17.45 -16.9%): Beat Q2 consensus EPS estimates by $0.02, reported revs in-line; guided Q3 revs in-line (midpoint of range below expectations).
• SYMC (21.65 -5.5%): Confirmed the sale of its Veritas unit to The Carlyle Group (CG) for $8 bln in cash, reported Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.43; revenues fell 13.6% year/year to $1.5 bln vs the $1.53 bln consensus.

Mid Cap Gainers

• NVAX (13.92 +24.4%): Announced positive top-line data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of its RSV F vaccine; RSV F Vaccine was well-tolerated and fulfilled expectations of the primary, secondary and exploratory objectives; co also reported earnings.
• NGL (27.08 +5.62%): Upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel.
• DXCM (95.29 +5.54%): Entered into a collaboration with Google Life Sciences to jointly develop a series of next-generation CGM products that are designed to be smaller and less expensive than existing technologies

Mid Cap Losers

• ZBRA (87.35 -20.62%): Missed Q2 consensus EPS estimates by $0.13, reported revs in-line; guided Q3 EPS below consensus, revs in-line.
• XON (48.01 -16.77%): Downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Mizuho; tgt $45; Also downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
• PRAA (57.28 -10.46%): Reported Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.06 per share, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.15; revenues rose 20.2% year/year to $237.2 mln vs the $246.92 mln consensus.

1:08 pm Nasdaq Comp -76 and S&P -26.9 drop to new lows, this time Dow -256 confirms the move (:TECHX) : Decline continues with Nasdaq Comp probing support at 5025/5019 (session low 5022) while the S&P is back to 2077/2075 (session low 2076).

1:05 pm Auction Up (BONDX) : Auction Results

• The $24 Billion 3-Year Note Auction was met with moderate demand:
• Results:
• High yield: 1.013%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.34
• Indirect bid: 52.8%
• Direct bid:8.2%
• Prior 12-auction average results:
• High yield: 1.00%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.26
• Indirect bid: 44.2%
• Direct bid: 13.2%

1:00 pm Alcentra Capital Corp increases revolving credit facility by $20 mln to $135 million (ABDC) : Additionally, the accordion feature was increased to $250 million from $160 million while also extending the maturity of the facility to August 2020 and adding a conditional pricing step-down.

12:57 pm Midday Market Summary: Stocks Pressured After China Devalues Yuan (:WRAPX) : The major averages trade near their lows at midday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.3%) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.3%) trailing the S&P 500 (-1.1%).

Equity indices have faced selling pressure from the start after China devalued the yuan overnight, sending the USD/CNY pair higher by 1.9% to 6.3249. The announcement sparked the largest one-day move in the pair since China ended a dual-currency system in 1994, stirring up concerns about the country's economic growth. Commodities have been broadsided as a result while commodity-related sectors have paced today's retreat in equities with energy (-1.5%), industrials (-1.3%), and materials (-2.1%) trading behind other groups.

The materials sector sits at the bottom of the leaderboard with steelmakers contributing to the weakness as Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 27.04, -1.34) trades lower by 4.7%. Meanwhile, the energy sector has retreated alongside crude oil, which has tumbled 4.0% to $43.18/bbl. Including today's decline, the energy sector is now down 9.7% for the quarter.

Moving on, the industrial sector also appears among the laggards with heavy machinery names like Caterpillar (CAT 77.52, -2.64) and Joy Global (JOY 25.25, -1.59) down 3.3% and 5.9%, respectively, as investors respond to concerns about the pace of economic growth in China.  

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, technology (-1.5%) also trades behind the broader market even though one of its top components-Google (GOOGL 687.65, +24.51)-has spiked 3.7% after announcing plans for a new operating structure. As part of the announced change, Google will create a new company called Alphabet, which will replace Google as a publically-traded entity.

Unlike Google, other tech heavyweights like Apple (AAPL 114.97, -4.75), Microsoft (MSFT 46.23, -1.10), and Intel (INTC 29.10, -0.54) hold losses between 1.8% and 3.7%.

On the upside, rate-sensitive telecom services (+0.1%) and utilities (+0.5%) have held modest gains amid a decline in market rates. To that point, the 10-yr note sits just below its high with the benchmark yield down ten basis points at 2.13%.

On a related note, the Dollar Index (97.37, +0.21) holds a modest gain of 0.2% with the greenback adding 0.5% against the yen (125.18). The dollar/yen pair deserves attention going forward considering China's move could pressure the Bank of Japan into additional easing in order to support Japanese exporters.

Economic data included Productivity/Labor Cost data and Wholesale Inventories:

• Nonfarm productivity increased 1.3% in Q2 2015 after declining an upwardly revised 1.1% (from -3.1%) in the first quarter while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 1.4% 
  • The increase in second quarter productivity ended two consecutive quarterly declines. 
  • Year-over-year, nonfarm productivity increased 0.3%, down from a 0.6% gain in Q1 2015 
  • Unit labor costs increased 0.5% in the second quarter while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1%; however, the reported increase was the smallest rise since a 0.1% increase in Q3 2014 
• Wholesale inventories increased 0.9% in June after a downwardly revised 0.6% increase (from 0.8%) in May while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.3% 
  • Wholesale sales increased 0.1% in June after a 0.2% increase in May while durable sales declined 1.1% in June, which resulted mostly from a 2.8% decline in automotive sales. Nondurable sales increased 1.2% on strong demand for farm products (3.6%) and petroleum (3.7%) 
  • The inventory-to-sales ratio increased to 1.30 in June from 1.29 in May

12:01 pm Gain Capital comments on the Yuan devalutation, says customer trading activity in yuan-related currency pairs constitute an immaterial part of overall trading volume, not expected to have a material adverse effect on financial results (GCAP) :  

11:55 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (237) outpacing new highs (55) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ABTL, ADBE, AFAM, AIZ, ALDW, ALJ, ATNI, AVOL, AZO, BEE, CDNS, CIGI, CINF, DVAX, EBS, EFSC, ELNK, EMKR, EXR, FBHS, FORD, FORTY, FSFG, HSKA, IBP, ICUI, IMPR, INFN, JLL, LION, LNCE, LOXO, LPCN, MLVF, MMI, MWW, NVAX, OME, PLPM, POST, PTLA, RCPT, SCOR, SHEN, SKYW, SPNS, SYA, TFSL, TGLS, TI.A, TMK, USG, VNTV, WRB, XL

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AAIT, AAXJ, ABGB, ACP, ACV, ADAP, ALIM, AMSC, AMTG, APEI, ARMF, ARTX, ASCMA, ASX, AVL, AXON, BAP, BBDO, BEN, BGX, BICK, BIOS, BOI, BPT, BRN, BTH, BWA, BWG, CALA, CANF, CBT, CG, CHN, CIG, CIK, CJES, CMLS, CMO, CNCO, CNIT, CNNX, CNX, CNXC, COMT, CPG, CPPL, CPSI, CPTA, CRDS, CRTN, CSII, CTRE, CUB, CXP, DAVE, DGRE, DGSE, DPW, DQ, DRYS, DSCI, DTEA, DV, DXKW, DXPE, EBIO, EBR, EDD, EEMA, EGAS, ELP, EMES, EMF, EMR, ENG, ENI, ENSV, ENV, ENVA, ETRM, EVV, FBP, FBZ, FCH, FCX, FHY, FMSA, FOSL, FSD, FSFR, FTAI, FTF, FTW, FUR, GALT, GLBL, GMCR, GMZ, GNL, GPACU, GRAM, GRMN, GRR, HELI, HEP, HIBB, HIE, HPJ, HWCC, HYB, HYGS, HYI, IAE, IAF, IF, IGD, IHD, IMUC, INPH, IVR, JMG, JPEP, KCG, KEYW, KMM, KOPN, KRO, KVHI, LALT, LEE, LGI, LOCO, LOR, LXK, MCC, MCF, MDLY, MG, MHY, MIL, MOC, MRLN, MTGE, NDRO, NFJ, NHS, NLST, NRG, NRX, NSLP, NSU, NTIC, NXRT, NYMT, OAKS, OIBR, OIBR.C, ONE, ONVO, PACB, PCI, PCN, PDI, PFL, PFN, PHF, PHI, PIM, PKO, PKX, PNTR, PNX, POT, PSIX, PSTI, PSUN, QTWW, RADA, RBCN, RCAP, RCPI, REXI, RL, RLOG, RNWK, RRMS, RWC, SBS, SCD, SGF, SGM, SID, SJR, SKBI, SMT, SNR, SOHO, SORL, STAR, STML, SYPR, TAC, TAS, TBIO, TEI, TFM, TG, THW, TIVO, TORM, TPUB, TRP, TRST, TTF, TTM, TTOO, TUP, TWN, UIS, UQM, VIDI, VLT, VNOM, VPG, VTVT, VVUS, WBK, WFM, WG, WHLR, WRLD, WSR, XOM, XONE, YDIV, YUME, ZFC

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: CHN, DBB, EEB, ENZL, EPP, EWA, EWM, EWS, EWT, EWY, EWZ, IDX, ILF, JNK, OIL, PBW, SEA, THD, USO, VWO

11:51 am Floor Talk (:TALKX) : Much of what was gained on Monday has been undone in today's early action.  Selling efforts are broad-based with risk-off attitudes prevailing at this juncture.  China's move to devalue the yuan has been the major driver of the selling interest for several reasons:

• It has been regarded as an act of competitive devaluation which, in turn, is stoking concerns about a heightened currency war taking place, particularly in East Asia
• The devaluation has been regarded as an act borne out of economic weakness, raising concerns about near-term end demand
• The devaluation of the yuan is being viewed as a driver of continued dollar strength, which would be a negative for dollar-denominated commodity prices and an added headwind on earnings prospects for U.S. multinational companies

The quick turn of events from Monday's rally effort has weighed on sentiment, most likely feeding some added selling interest by participants who took long positions in yesterday's rally and who now feel trapped by the market action.

The only pockets of strength are in the defensive-oriented, and rate-sensitive, utilities (+0.7%) and telecom services (+0.2%) sectors.  In turn, there has been a significant flight to safety in the Treasury market.  Gains are being registered across the curve, yet it is longer-dated maturities that are faring the best.  The yield on the 10-yr note has dropped 11 basis points to 2.12%, lowering the spread between it and the 2-yr note yield to 146 basis points from 151 basis points on Monday.

Not surprisingly, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 13.76, +1.53) has seen a 12% spike with investors hedging portfolios for downside protection.

11:51 am European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:-1.1%
• Germany's DAX:-2.7%
• France's CAC:-1.9%
• Spain's IBEX:-1.4%
• Portugal's PSI:-1.8%
• Italy's MIB Index:-1.1%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-0.7%
• Greece ASE General Index: +2.1%

11:48 am New lows for market averages -- Dow -247 Nasdaq Comp -62, S&P -23 (:TECHX) :  

11:28 am Stock indices extend again to new session lows -- Dow -221, S&P -21, Nasdaq Comp -52 (:TECHX) : The S&P has reached the 62% retrace of the rally off last Friday's low at 2082 with yesterday's low slightly below at 2080 (session low 2080).

11:24 am Currency Commentary: China Moves to Devalue the Yuan (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index fell below the 97 level in overnight trade. The dollar initially saw an overnight rally as markets digested news that China would move to devalue the yuan. The DXY rallied to 97.60 but was unable to hold these gains as we approached the open of European markets. The greenback would reverse and sink lower. Part of the move can be attributed to news that Greece and its creditors have moved closer to a third bailout deal. Adding to some of the pressure was concerns that the gyrations in global currency markets in response to China would perhaps cause the Fed to pause. The DXY would slip to 96.90 before finding support. It has rallied back above the 97 level but continues to see limited interested above these levels. 
• The euro was able to rally above to its best levels in August. News that Greece had reached a deal with creditors was able to provide a boost to the currency. It was able to break above trend resistance (1.1077) which will be a key level to watch in coming sessions. The deal still needs to be ratified by 18 parliaments but investors are happy to see the two sides find a more cordial ground after months of contentious fighting. The German and European ZEW Surveys saw mixed results with Germany missing and the EU figure outpacing expectations. 
• The pound was able to rally to 1.5617 in overnight trade but has given up some of those early gains. It has been holding the 1.5560 level at the moment which corresponds with the 20- and 50-sma levels. Sterling has been in a tight consolidation range of 1.5450-1.5650 over the past four weeks. 
• The yen continues to float around the 125 level. Yen has been testing the key levels for support for the past two weeks. It has held and has yet to test the multi-year low of 125.85 set back in early June. The country saw a slow down in its Machine Tool Orders as investors closely watch macro date to see if the government will need to provide more stimulus. 
• The Chinese yuan is the big story in currency markets. The country caught markets by surprise as it devalued the yuan. The government insists that this is a one time correction to fix the break between the PBoC fixing and spot rate. But most suspect the move is being done to help provide a boost to the country's weakening exports. The yuan is pegged to the dollar, so the rise in the greenback has helped boost the value of the yuan. The impact from the move will be closely watched. It will likely delay China's push towards making the currency a reserve currency as the fixed intervention remains a key concerns for markets (BONDX, FOREX).
  

11:23 am RPX: digital security firm Tyfone Inc. announces it has completed a $6.6 million Series C funding, led by RPX Corp (RPXC) :  

11:19 am Blue Square-Israel announces it is in discussions with Credit Card for Israel Company, to sell its entire interest in Diners Club Israel (BSI) :  

11:14 am Republic Airways reports prelim July 2015 traffic, showing RPMs at ~1 bln, down 5% Y/Y from 1.05 bln (RJET) : Co reported RPMs of 1,005,231, down 5% from 1,053,463 Y/Y. It also reported ASMs of 1,225,361, down 6% from 1,302,485 Y/Y

11:06 am Limited bounce attempt reversed with major averages setting new session lows -- Dow -201, S&P -19, Nasdaq Comp -46 (:TECHX) :  

11:02 am Comtech Telecom reports receiving $4.8 mln in orders for its MTTS Troposcatter terminals and solid-state amplifiers from the US Military, with expected shipment in FY16 (CMTL) :  

10:45 am Small-/mid-caps able to push to new intraday rebound highs (:TECHX) :  

10:24 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : Sectors displaying some relative strength vs. the S&P on the recent market index push off lows: Housing XHB, Retail XRT, Discretionary XLY, Airline, Staples XLP, Software IGV

10:21 am Stock indices extending recovery -- Dow -137, S&P -11.8, Nasdaq Comp -20 (:TECHX) :  

10:00 am Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired select eBook and technology assets of MeeGenius; no financial terms disclosed (HMHC) :

9:57 am New session low for Dow -175, S&P -16 is just above its early low and in a support at 2087/2085 (:TECHX) : The Dow was the top performer yesterday but is lagging thus far today. Dow leaders yesterday (CAT, AAPL) are pacing the way lower this morning along with CVX, XOM, GS, INTC, MSFT.

9:51 am Rite Aid's stores nationwide to begin accepting mobile payments starting Saturday, August 15 (RAD) :  

9:51 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Sectors that have underperformed on a percentage basis include: Mining XME, Steel SLX, Crude Oil USO, Copper JJC, Auto, Oil Service OIH, Coal KOL, Energy XLE, Materials XLB, Ag/Chem MOO, Semi SMH, Broker IAI, Casino BJK, Gold Miners GDX.

9:46 am Opening Market Summary: Cyclical Sectors Pace Early Retreat (:WRAPX) : The major averages began the trading day in negative territory, but the Nasdaq Composite (-0.3%) trades ahead of the S&P 500 (-0.7%) thanks to the early strength in the shares of Google (GOOGL 698.50, +35.36).

That being said, Google is just one of few strong spots as nine sectors display opening losses with energy (-2.1%) pacing the early weakness. With regard to more influential sectors, consumer discretionary (-0.9%), financials (-0.8%), and industrials (-0.9%) trade behind the broader market while health care (-0.6%) and technology (-0.4%) have stayed a bit ahead in the early going.

The early selling has been accompanied by demand for Treasuries as the 10-yr note remains near its high with its yield down seven basis points at 2.15%.

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

9:44 am Market averages retrace recovery gains in early trade -- Dow -160, S&P -14.6, Nasdaq -17 (:TECHX) : Secondary supports note in The Technical Take have been probed this morning at 5065/5058 Nasdaq Comp (session low 5061) and 2087/2085 S&P (session low 2086). Nasdaq has put together a better bounce with the S&P move more limited so far.

9:39 am Verizon aggressive extension (VZ) : Yesterday noted the test of its 50 sma and early Aug peak. Aggressive follow through this morning following an upgrade brought its July high and 200 day ema into play at 48.26/48.25 (session high 48.21). Its 200 day sma is at 48.44.

9:33 am AT&T displays early relative strength as it flirts with yesterday's high at 34.78 (T) : Its 50 day sma is at 34.89 with the multi-week/July high at 35.02. 

9:30 am Ford Motor to assemble its popular Ford Ranger pickup truck in Nigeria starting in Q4 as part of its expansion in Middle East and Africa (F) :  

9:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• SKECHERS USA, Inc. (SKX) announced that the company is transitioning its business in Latin America from a third-party distributor to a wholly-owned subsidiary, SKECHERS Latin America. The subsidiary will oversee more than 30 countries in the region, including the four key markets of Panama, Peru, Colombia and Costa Rica
• Echelon Corporation (ELON) and its European partner, Polish-based APANET Green System were awarded a comprehensive smart lighting and energy reduction project for the city streetlights of Bydgoszcz, Poland. The eco-friendly retrofit will outfit 7,200 streetlights spread across 400 streets
• The Hershey Company (HSY) announced that it has commenced cash tender offers for up to $100 million of its 8.80% Debentures due 2021 and 7.20% Debentures due 2027
• American DG Energy Inc. (ADGE) announced that it has reached an agreement to provide design and construction management services to two Times Square hotels in New York, NY. Under the terms of the agreements, it will provide fully developed, site specific, gas-fired boiler plant designs, and the construction management services to oversee the conversion of the boiler plants from No. 4 fuel oil to natural gas
• SkyWest Airlines' (SKYW) pilots recently accepted a three-year pay agreement. The agreement, for which the strong majority of pilots voted in favor, is effective immediately and runs through mid-2018
• Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) announced the appointments of Chris Sharp as Chief Technology Officer and Philip Lin as Senior Vice President, Strategy
• Adobe (ADBE) announced that it has received Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Authority to Operate: a cloud security assessment for vendors that sell to the federal government

9:22 am Amira Nature Foods says it has retained the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, LLP to investigate and pursue claims against those who have been disseminating 'material false, misleading, and defamatory information' about Amira (ANFI) : The co announced that it has retained the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, LLP to investigate and pursue claims against those who have been disseminating material false, misleading, and defamatory information about Amira and engaging in other serious misconduct against the Company.

• As part of this effort, Amira has today filed a lawsuit against Prescience Point Research Group, LLC, Prescience Investment Group, LLC, Spruce Point Capital Management, LLC, Ben Axler, and Eiad Asbahi in Supreme Court, New York County seeking damages and injunctive relief for defamation, trade libel, civil conspiracy, tortious interference, including but not limited to interference with banking, auditors, investors, and capital market relationships. The suit also names various "John Doe" defendants who will be identified and joined as the Kasowitz's investigation unfolds.

9:11 am PTC Therapeutics prices its $125 mln in convertible senior notes due 2022 at 3% (PTCT) : The conversion rate for the notes will initially be 17.7487 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $56.34 per share of common stock.

• Co intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including to fund the development of its commercial infrastructure and its commercial launch of Translarna, to fund the clinical development of and, subject to favorable clinical results, seek full marketing approval for Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD and nmCF, and to fund the research and development of Translarna for additional indications.
  

9:10 am S&P futures vs fair value: -16.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -26.20. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a lower open as S&P 500 futures trade 16 points below fair value.

Index futures have spent the entire night in negative territory with investor sentiment pressured by news out of China. Specifically, the country devalued the yuan overnight, which sent the USD/CNY pair higher by 1.9% to 6.3249. The move was aimed at boosting China's domestic economy, but concerns about the impact on the country's trading partners has taken a toll on European equities and U.S. futures. Exporters have paced the retreat across Europe with the likes of BMW, Daimler, Peugeot, Renault, and Volkswagen showing losses between 3.0% and 4.5%.

Domestically, investors have received just one economic report while corporate news has been limited. Unit labor costs increased 0.5% during the second quarter, which was higher than the 0.1% increase that had been anticipated by the Briefing.com consensus. During the same period, productivity increased 1.3%, according to the preliminary reading while the consensus expected an increase of 1.4%.

On the corporate front, Google (GOOGL 703.00, +39.86) is on track to open higher by 6.0% after announcing plans for a new operating structure. As part of the announced change, Google will create a new company called Alphabet, which will replace Google as a publically-traded entity.

Elsewhere, Treasuries sit near their highs with the 10-yr yield down seven basis points at 2.16%.

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

9:05 am Lipocine reports Q2 results (LPCN) :

• Q2 EPS ($0.26) vs ($0.21) Capital IQ Consensus
• "The highlight of the quarter was the announcement of the positive 52-week safety data from our Phase 3 study of LPCN 1021. Combined with successful completion of the food effect study, we are well-positioned to file our NDA in the second half of 2015" said Dr. Mahesh Patel, President and CEO of Lipocine Inc. "In addition, the recent completion of our public offering in the quarter has allowed us to accelerate the development of both LPCN 1111 and LPCN 1107 and ensure sufficient capital for on-going pre-commercial activities with LPCN 1021."
  

9:05 am American DG Energy reaches an agreement to provide design and construction management services to two iconic Times Square hotels in New York (ADGE) : Under the terms of the agreements, American DG Energy will provide fully developed, site specific, gas-fired boiler plant designs, and the construction management services to oversee the conversion of the boiler plants from No. 4 fuel oil to natural gas. The properties are collectively expected to realize an estimated annual energy savings of $420,000 while reducing their carbon footprint by 589 tons annually, a 29% decrease compared to the existing boiler plants.

9:04 am Kandi Technologies' Electric Vehicles Group JV received prepayment of ~$59.6 mln on August 10, representing national subsidy for pure EV sales in 2015 (KNDI) :  

9:04 am AT&T selected as a preferred network and advanced services provider for Marriott International (MAR) in a three year deal valued at $150 mln (T) :  

9:03 am WestRock to acquire SP Fiber Holdings and its 48% interest in Green Power Solutions of Georgia for $288.5 mln; expected be accretive to earnings in 2H16 (WRK) : Co entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SP Fiber Holdings, a producer of recycled containerboard and kraft and bag paper with mills located in Dublin, Georgia, and Newberg, Oregon. WestRock will also acquire SP Fiber's 48 percent interest in Green Power Solutions of Georgia. GPS is a renewable energy joint venture providing energy to Georgia Power and steam to the paper mill in Dublin. The total value of the transaction is $288.5 million.

• The transaction is expected to generate significant synergies and be accretive to earnings in the second half of fiscal year 2016
  

9:02 am Gas Natural's subsidiary Public Gas Company, sells the operation of its Kentucky utility business for $1.9 mln in cash (EGAS) :  

9:01 am Natl Hlth Investors announces the resignation of Justin Hutchens, President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 11, 2015 (NHI) : Co announced that J. Justin Hutchens will become Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer -- Senior Housing and Care, effective September 8, 2015. Mr. Hutchens joins HCP from National Health Investors, Inc. (NHI), where he most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 2011. 

9:00 am Tetra Tech is awarded a $49 mln biodiversity and climate change contract from the US agency for International Development to promote climate-resilient communities (TTEK) :  

8:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -15.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -27.30. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade 15 points below fair value.

There were broad-based declines across markets in the Asia-Pacific region after China's central bank surprisingly implemented a near 2.0% devaluation of the yuan, presumably in an effort to help boost the competitiveness of the country's exporters. The move sent regional currencies reeling against the greenback and triggered worries about competitive devaluation that weighed on most equity markets.

• In economic data: 
  • China's M2 Money Stock +13.3% year-over-year (expected +11.7%; prior +11.8%) and New Loans CNY 1480.0 bln (expected CNY 725.0 bln; prior CNY 1280.0 bln) 
  • Japan's Machine Tool Orders +1.6% year-over-year (prior +6.6%) and M2 Money Stock +4.1% year-over-year (expected +3.9%; prior +3.9%) 
  • South Korea's July Export Price Index -1.7% year-over-year (expected -4.2%; prior -2.2%) and July Import Price Index -13.7% (prior -14.1%) 
  • Australia's July NAB Business Confidence 4.0 (expected 11.0; prior 8.0) and July NAB Business Survey 6.0 (prior 10.0) 
  • Singapore's Q2 GDP -4.0% quarter-over-quarter (expected -4.6%; prior +4.1%); +1.8% year-over-year (expected +1.5%; prior +1.7%) 

------

• Japan's Nikkei declined 0.4%, led lower by the consumer staples (-2.6%), consumer discretionary (-1.0%), health care (-0.8%), and financials (-0.4%) sectors. Shiseido (-4.8%), Kansai Electric Power (-4.7%), and MEIJI Holdings (-4.5%) were the worst-performing issues. Sumco Corp (+8.6%), Sekisui House (+5.2%), and Nisshin Steel Co (+4.6%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 225 index members, 110 ended higher, 110 finished lower, and 5 were unchanged. 
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng started strong but faded as the day progressed and ended down 0.1%. Leading laggards were Cathay Pacific Airways (-2.0%), Cheung Kong Property Holdings (-1.8%), and CK Hutchison Holdings (-1.5%). Li & Fung (+5.0%), CNOOC (+4.1%), and China Overseas Land & Investment (+3.7%) paced the winners. Out of the 50 index members, 23 ended higher, 25 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged. 
• China's Shanghai Composite had a jagged session in a narrow range and ended the day flat after the People's Bank of China surprisingly implemented a near 2.0% devaluation of the yuan. The move came after China reported weaker than expected trade data over the weekend and is considered to be an effort to help boost the prospects of China's exporters. The yuan dropped 1.9% against the dollar to 6.3250. 

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-2.0%) trailing the region. Earlier, the European Commission announced that Eurozone creditors and Greek officials have reached a technical agreement on a third bailout package, but regional equities have retreated amid concerns related to China's devaluation of the yuan.

• Economic data was limited: 
  • Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment rose to 47.6 from 42.7 (expected 43.9) 
  • Germany's August ZEW Economic Sentiment fell to 25.0 from 29.7 (consensus 65.7) while ZEW Current Conditions improved to 65.7 from 63.9 (expected 64.3). Separately, July Wholesale Price Index +0.1% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior -0.2%) 
  • Italy's July CPI -0.1% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected 

------

• UK's FTSE has given up 0.8% with miners appearing on both sides of the leaderboard. Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore, and Rio Tinto are down between 1.5% and 3.2% while Randgold Resources and Fresnillo outperform with respective gains of 2.1% and 2.7%. 
• In France, the CAC trades down 1.5% amid broad weakness. Exporters Peugeot and Renault are among the weakest performer with losses close to 3.7% apiece. Consumer names also lag with LVMH, Kering, L'Oreal, and Danone down between 1.8% and 4.1%. 
• Germany's DAX is lower by 2.0% with BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen leading the retreat. The three exporters show losses between 3.1% and 4.6%. On the upside, Lufthansa is the lone advancer, trading higher by 0.5%.

8:49 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Medovex Corp. (MDVX) announced that the Company has entered into a medical advisory board member consulting agreement with Dr. Martin Deeg. Under the terms of the agreement, Dr. Deeg will advise Medovex on matters related to its technology and the area of Fact Joint pain therapies
• The Western Union Company (WU) announced the launch of new transactional web sites in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, and Slovakia
• Synchrony Financial (SYF) announced a multi-year extension of its agreement to continue providing a private label credit card financing program for Mills Fleet Farm
• MedAssets (MDAS) announced that it has broadened its purchased services approach through a partnership with Valify, to offer and expansion of its MedAssets Purchased Services Solutions service, that will now include new data and analytics software
• Hemispherx Biopharma (HEB) reported that it has executed an agreement with Emerge Health Pty to seek approval of Alferon N Injection in Australia and New Zealand and to commence distribution of Alferon in both countries on a named-patient basis
• Asure Software (ASUR) announced a partnership with SPREO Indoor Location Solutions, which enables Asure clients to add indoor navigation to their suite of workplace management solutions
  

8:40 am XL Group plc to acquire Allied International Holdings; terms not disclosed (XL) : Allied International Holdings is the holding company of Allied Specialty Insurance, Inc. and T.H.E. Insurance Company, an insurer of the outdoor entertainment industry in the U.S.

• The transaction is expected to close no later than the first quarter of 2016, pending receipt of anti-trust and regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
  

8:38 am NexPoint Residential reports Q2; reaffirms FY15 FFO (NXRT) :

• Q2 AFFO $0.34 vs. $0.09 last year. 
• Rental income increased to $25.5 million for the quarter, compared to $22.7 million for the first quarter of 2015 
• The Company is reaffirming its prior FFO guidance and expects full year 2015 FFO to be in a range of $1.22 to $1.29
  

8:37 am Cellular Biomedicine appoints Yihong Yao, Ph.D., B.S. as its Chief Scientific Officer (CBMG) : Yao has over fifteen years of professional experience with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including MedImmune biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca (AZN), and Abbott Bioresearch Center

8:36 am Bright Horizons prices its public offering of 3 mln shares of common stock on behalf of selling shareholders at $61.25/share (BFAM) :  

8:35 am European Markets Update: FTSE -0.9%, CAC -1.5%, DAX -2.0% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-2.0%) trailing the region. Earlier, the European Commission announced that Eurozone creditors and Greek officials have reached a technical agreement on a third bailout package, but regional equities have retreated amid concerns related to China's devaluation of the yuan.

• Economic data was limited: 
• Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment rose to 47.6 from 42.7 (expected 43.9) 
• Germany's August ZEW Economic Sentiment fell to 25.0 from 29.7 (consensus 65.7) while ZEW Current Conditions improved to 65.7 from 63.9 (expected 64.3). Separately, July Wholesale Price Index +0.1% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior -0.2%) 
• Italy's July CPI -0.1% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected 

------

• UK's FTSE has given up 0.9% with miners appearing on both sides of the leaderboard. Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore, and Rio Tinto are down between 1.5% and 3.2% while Randgold Resources and Fresnillo outperform with respective gains of 2.1% and 2.7%. 
• In France, the CAC trades down 1.5% amid broad weakness. Exporters Peugeot and Renault are among the weakest performer with losses close to 3.7% apiece. Consumer names also lag with LVMH, Kering, L'Oreal, and Danone down between 1.8% and 4.1%. 
• Germany's DAX is lower by 2.0% with BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen leading the retreat. The three exporters show losses between 3.1% and 4.6%. On the upside, Lufthansa is the lone advancer, trading higher by 0.5%.
  

8:35 am Tribune Publishing beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides FY15 revs in-line (TPUB) :

• Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.42 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ single est of $0.32; revenues fell 4.6% year/year to $410.4 mln vs the $405.3 mln consensus. 
• Q2 Advertising Revenues of $226 million, down 6.9% from prior-year quarter and down 10.5% excluding advertising revenues from the acquisition of The San Diego Union-Tribune. 
• Q2 Total Digital Revenues of $52 million, up 3.7% from prior-year quarter adjusted for prior-year impact of modified affiliate agreements
• Total Digital subscribers were 678,000 at the end of Q2; Digital-only subscribers were 70,000 at end of Q2 2015
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $1.67-1.70 bln vs. $1.7 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
  

8:33 am Red Robin Gourmet beats by $0.01, misses on revs; sees 2015 comparable revenue growth of approximately 3.0% (RRGB) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.78 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.77; revenues rose 14.4% year/year to $292.98 mln vs the $299.19 mln consensus. Comparable restaurant revenue increased 2.9%.

• For 2015, the Company expects comparable revenue growth of approximately 3.0% and total revenue growth near 12.0% (in-line with expectations).
• The sensitivity of the Company's earnings per diluted share to a 1% change in guest counts for fiscal year 2015 is estimated to be $0.33 on an annualized basis. Additionally, a 10 basis point change in restaurant-level operating profit margin is expected to impact earnings per diluted share by approximately $0.08, and a change of approximately $145,000 in pre-tax income or expense is equivalent to approximately $0.01 per diluted share.
  

8:32 am iBio receives notice that its application for a U.S. patent for a monoclonal antibody targeting influenza is scheduled to result in issuance of a new patent on August 26 (IBIO) : The patent, US 9,155,201 entitled "Human Neuraminidase Antibody and Methods of Use Thereof," includes claims for a method for treating influenza infection using a monoclonal antibody against the influenza neuraminidase protein.

8:32 am QTS Realty Trust prices its public offering of 2.4 mln shares of its Class A common stock on behlaf of selling shareholders; specific price not disclosed (QTS) :  

8:31 am Clovis Oncology enters into a clinical trial collaboration with Genentech to evaluate a novel combination therapy of Genentech's investigational cancer immunotherapy atezolizumab and rociletinib for the treatment of advanced EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (CLVS) :

• Co announced that they have entered into a clinical trial collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group to evaluate a novel combination therapy of Genentech's investigational cancer immunotherapy atezolizumab (MPDL3280A; anti-PDL1) and rociletinib for the treatment of advanced EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (:NSCLC).
• Rociletinib is the Company's novel, oral targeted covalent (irreversible) mutant-selective inhibitor of EGFR in development for the treatment of NSCLC in patients with initial activating EGFR mutations, as well as the dominant resistance mutation T790M.
• The Phase 1b/2 trial of rociletinib in combination with atezolizumab is planned to begin enrolling patients before the end of 2015.
  

8:31 am S&P futures vs fair value: -15.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -25.70. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade 15 points below fair value.

Unit labor costs increased 0.5% during the second quarter, which was higher than the 0.1% increase that had been anticipated by the Briefing.com consensus. During the same period, productivity increased 1.3%, according to the preliminary reading while the consensus expected an increase of 1.4%.

8:31 am CGI Group extends its IT services agreement with National Bank of Canada to 2025, with an estimated contract value of $420 mln (GIB) :  

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

• ESu5 now @ 2084.25 -15.50
  
  
• YMu5 now @ 17409 -144
  
  
• NQu5 now @ 4543.25 -22.75

8:30 am TD Ameritrade reports July metrics, showing $706.9 billion in total client assets, +10% Y/Y and +1% M/M (AMTD) :  

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

• Rethink Robotics and Sonoco Alloyd, a unit of Sonoco (SON), have entered into a strategic alliance whereby Sonoco Alloyd will incorporate Rethink Robotics' collaborative robots into their line of sealing machines in order to provide a complete automation solution for their customers
• Voya Financial, Inc. (VOYA), announced that Trish Walsh will join the company as executive vice president and chief legal officer, effective September 14, 2015
• BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (BCLI) announced that it has completed enrollment in its ongoing randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled phase 2 clinical trial of NurOwn in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The targeted enrollment of 48 subjects has been achieved. In February 2015, the Data Safety and Monitoring Board overseeing the trial completed its first safety review of the trial, and did not find any lab abnormalities, adverse events or significant protocol deviations that would be cause for concern. A second and final DSMB review is planned the fourth quarter of 2015
• bebe stores, inc. (BEBE) announced its entry into Macy's (M), with the launch of a new "athleisure" footwear line that will debut under the "bebe Sport" label
• CoreLogic (CLGX) released its June 2015 National Foreclosure Report which showed that the foreclosure inventory declined by 28.9 percent and completed foreclosures declined by 14.8 percent since June 2014
• Crossroads Systems, Inc. (CRDS) announced a partnership with M2M Direct, to offer its Crossroads StrongBox network attached storage appliance

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

• Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) announced it was selected by ExxonMobil to perform engineering, procurement and construction management (:EPCM) services for its Crude Flexibility Engineering and Construction Project at the ExxonMobil Refinery in Beaumont, Texas. The company also announced that it has been awarded two contracts by Hyundai Engineering Co to provide engineering services for the balance of plant facilities and the cooling water intake and discharge system respectively for a 2,000MW ultra-super-critical, coal-fired power generation project in Port Dickson, about 60 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia
• Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS) announced it has opened a new distribution center in Abbotsford, British Columbia
• IHS Inc. (IHS) announced it has extended the exchange offer of its 5% percent Senior Notes due 2022 from August 10, 2015 to August 13, 2015
• Hersha Hospitality Trust (HT) announced it closed on a new $300 million Senior Unsecured Term Loan. The new Term Loan, together with the Company's $500 million senior unsecured credit facility expand the Company's senior unsecured borrowing capacity from $500 million to $800 million
• Nymi, in collaboration with TD Bank Group and MasterCard (MA) announced the completion of the world's first biometrically authenticated, wearable credit card payment using one's heartbeat. The first payment was made as part of a pilot on Friday, July 10th.

8:27 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: AVID -21.8%, ONVO -19.7%, ARTX -18.2%, CLDX -15%, PFIE -14.2%, PBYI -12.7%, YUME -10.2%, ZBRA -10%, MM -8.8%, XON -8.5%, VIPS -6.7%, XONE -5.6%, GSAT -5.5%, TROV -5.4%, RGSE -5.1%, PRAA -5%, FRSH -4.7%, ZIOP -3.4%, HIBB -3.3%, TTWO -3.1%, DTSI -3%, ALIM -2.6%, ZGNX -2.6%, KHC -2.3%, CALA -2.1%, CARA -1.7%, BIOC -0.9%

Select metals stocks trading lower: FCX -4.5%, BHP -4.3%, RIO -3.6%, X -3.1%, VALE -2.8%, AA -2.3%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness: OAS -4.1%, SDRL -3.8%, SD -3%, RIG -2.4%, NOV -2.2%

Other news: WRLD -26.6% (disclosed that the staff of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Enforcement Office is considering recommending that the CFPB take legal action against the Company), ARTX -18.2% (filed to delay Form 10-Q; co also reported earnings), NCLH -3.6% (announced the launch of a 20 mln share secondary offering, by selling stockholders affiliated with Apollo Global Management (APO) and TPG Global), PTCT -3.1% (proposed to offer $125 mln of convertible senior notes due 2022), MHR -3% (discloses entry into a letter of intent with a private equity fund that sets out the preliminary non-binding terms and conditions of a proposed farm-out arrangement to develop certain undeveloped and unproved oil and gas leasehold acreage), POST -2.2% (announced an offering of $600 mln in senior notes due 2024 and $600 mln in senior notes due 2025; also reports an offering of $275 mln in common stock), AXTA -2.2% (announced a 30 mln share secondary offering of common stock, by selling stockholders affiliated with The Carlyle Group), ICON -2.2% (filed to delay Form 10-Q), GM -2.2% (China auto sales released), TWTR -2.1% (pulling back following yday's advance), QTS -1.7% ( announces the commencement of an underwritten public offering of 2.4 mln shares of its Class A common stock by a selling stockholder), COH -1.7% (still checking), F -1.6% (China auto sales released), ACHC -1.3% (announces a 5,033,230 mln share secondary offering of its common stock, by selling shareholders affiliated with Waud Capital Partners and Bain Capital Investors ), HSBC -1.1% (cont weakness), BABA -1.1% (pulling back following yday's advance), BFAM -0.9% (announces a secondary offering of 3 mln common stock shares)

Analyst comments: PNC -1.2% (downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Keefe Bruyette)

8:26 am Dexcom to collaborate with the life sciences team at Google to jointly develop a series of next-generation CGM products that are designed to be smaller and less expensive than existing technologies (DXCM) : These new products will incorporate Google's miniaturized electronics platform with DexCom's best-in-class sensor technology. This collaboration also provides an opportunity to better utilize the data generated by these CGM products to significantly improve the outcomes and reduce the costs associated with diabetes care.

• DexCom retains all sales and distribution rights of the products developed under this agreement.  DexCom is also obligated to pay an initial upfront payment and milestone payments during development, and revenue-based royalties once these products are launched and have achieved a certain level of revenue.  
• Pursuant to the Collaboration Agreement, DexCom and GLS have agreed to jointly develop a series of next-generation continuous glucose monitoring products. Under the terms of the Collaboration Agreement, DexCom will pay GLS an upfront fee of $35,000,000 in shares of common stock of DexCom, equal to approximately 404,591 shares, which number of shares was calculated based on the volume weighted average trading price during a period of twenty (20) consecutive trading days ending prior to the date of the Collaboration Agreement. In addition, DexCom will pay GLS, up to $65,000,000 in additional milestones upon achievement of various development and regulatory objectives, which payments may be paid in cash or shares of DexCom Common Stock at the sole election of DexCom, calculated based on the volume weighted average trading price during a period of twenty (20) consecutive trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the applicable objective has been achieved.

8:23 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: TUBE +22.9%, ICUI +15.9%, CALL +11.7%, NSPH +10.8%, NVAX +10%, SYMC +7.2%, (also confirms the sale of Veritas to The Carlyle Group (CG) for $8 bln in cash, expects to receive ~$6.3 bln in net cash proceeds, Raises stock repurchase program to $2.6 bln), MNGA +6.9%, HALO +6.6%, REN +6.4%, SHAK +5.3%, ADRO +5.3%, AMBC +4.8%, SFXE +3.8%, MODN +3.6%, ARCO +3.6%, RAX +3.2%, PFSW +3.2%, LYV +2.9%, MACK +1.8%, JASO +1.8%, HCHC +1.7%, ANTH +1.4%, FSIC +1.2%, TWER +0.6%, WYY +0.6%

M&A news: YDLE +37.1% (Yodlee to be acquired by Envestnet (ENV) for $18.88/share, or ~$660 mln; expected to close in Q4 2015),TEX +22.8% (Terex and and Konecranes to combine in all-stock merger of equals),NTLS +22.4% (Shenandoah Telecom enters into a definitive agreement to acquire NTELOS Holdings Corp (NTLS) for $9.25/share in cash), SYA +6.7% (to be acquired by Sumitomo Life Insurance for $32.50/share in cash, or ~$3.8 bln)

Select mining stocks trading higher: KGC +3.4%, AUY +2.4%, GG +1.3%, GDX +1%, GOLD +0.9%, NEM +0.8%

Other news: AQXP +51% (cont strength),AEZS +18.8% (announces that the independent DSMB for its pivotal Phase 3 ZoptEC, will complete a second interim efficacy and safety analysis of the compound in October, 2015),TINY +16.5% (reported June 30, 2015 net asset value of $3.34 per share; Board authorized $2.5 mln stock repurchase program),NVAX +8.6% (announces positive top-line data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of its RSV F vaccine),NBG +6.1% (reports that Greece and creditors have made a deal),GOOG +5.2% (Google announces plans for new Operating Structure; to create a new company called Alphabet; Alphabet Inc. will replace Google Inc. as the publicly-traded entity and all shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet, with all of the same rights ),DPLO +3% (to offer AstraZeneca's (AZN) IRESSA, recently approved by the FDA as a first-line therapy for a specific type of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer),RLYP +2.2% ( enters into a two-year detailing agreement with Sanofi (SNY) for Patiromer),VLTC +1.2% (cont strength)

Analyst comments: KATE +2.1% (added to Focus List at Citigroup),ECHO +0.8% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie),XL +0.7% (added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman)

8:21 am Broadcom and Avago (AVGO) announce expiration of the waiting period under the HSR acts; Closing of the transaction is still expected by the end of the first calendar quarter of 2016 (BRCM) : The expiration of the HSR Act waiting period satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the proposed transaction, which remains subject to approval by Avago and Broadcom shareholders, antitrust clearance in certain foreign jurisdictions and other customary closing conditions.

8:20 am European Yields (BONDX) : Greek Bailout Agreement Reached

• Greece and its official creditors (the ECB, IMF, European Commission, and the European Stability Mechanism) have only "one or two very small details" remaining before they can go forward with an 85 bln euro bailout package
• National parliaments of the eurozone will still have to approve the deal
• The details of the agreement will be discussed later today in a press conference
• Greece owes the ECB 3.5 bln euro on August 20th, so time is a factor
• Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment Index unexpectedly fell to 25.0 in August from 29.7 in July
  
• Current Conditions jumped more than expected to 65.7 versus 63.9 in July
• ZEW Economic Sentiment for the whole eurozone soared to 47.6 in August from 42.7 July
• Yield Check:
• France, 10-yr OAT: -6 bps to 0.94%
• Germany, 10-yr Bund: -5 bps to 0.61%
• Greece, 10-yr note: -76 bps to 10.04%
• Italy, 10-yr BTP: -6 bps to 1.77%
• Portugal, 10-yr note: -8 bps to 2.32%
• Spain, 10-yr ODE: -7 bps to 1.83%
• U.K., 10-yr Gilt: -6 bps to 1.88%

8:08 am Ares Management misses by $0.08, misses on revs (ARES) : Reports Q2 (Jun) economic net income of $0.32 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 33.6% year/year to $175.8 mln vs the $271.5 mln consensus. 

• Fee related earnings were $46.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, up 32.7% from the three months ended June 30, 2014 
• Distributable earnings were $73.0 million on a pre-tax basis and $0.28 per common unit, net of tax, up 55.6% from the three months ended June 30, 2014 
• Declared second quarter distribution of $0.26 per common unit compared to $0.18 for the second quarter of 2014
  

8:05 am Altisource Residential Board of Directors authorizes $100 mln stock repurchase program (RESI) :  

8:02 am Abiomed will present its long-term growth strategy and five- year vision for Impella revenues during its annual investor conference, seeing $1.2-1.8 bln in potential Impella revenues (ABMD) : The meeting will also include projected patient figures for the high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) market, describe a new patient population of interest, and introduce future Impella products in the pipeline for heart failure, along with scientific and case presentations from leading physicians.

• Impella rev models indicate a potential of up to $1.2 to $1.8 billion in Impella revenues, and possibly larger with the receipt of future regulatory approvals for treatment of heart failure patients. This revenue potential, in conjunction with operating leverage, will create a vision for a fast growing, 30%+ operating margin, business
  

8:02 am Legg Mason reports July AUM of $695.5 bln, down $3.7 bln M/M (LM) : The month's AUM included preliminary long-term inflows of $2.8 billion, consisting of equity inflows of $1.6 billion and fixed income inflows of $1.2 billion. Liquidity outflows were $5.3 billion and this month's AUM included $2.8 billion in negative foreign exchange impact.

8:02 am American Airlines reports July 2015 and year-to-date traffic results; revenue passenger miles for the month were a record 21.8 billion, up 4.8 percent versus July 2014 (AAL) :

• Co total revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for the month were a record 21.8 billion, up 4.8 percent versus July 2014. 
• Total capacity was a record 24.9 billion available seat miles (ASMs), up 2.2 percent versus July 2014. 
• Total passenger load factor was 87.3 percent, up 2.2 percentage points versus July 2014. 
• AAL continues to expect its third quarter 2015 consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (:PRASM) to be down approximately six to eight percent year-over-year. In addition, the Company continues to expect its third quarter pretax margin excluding special items to be between 16 and 18 percent.
  

8:02 am Southwest Air reports July 2015 traffic, showing RPMs of 11.5 bln, +8.2% from 10.6 bln Y/Y (LUV) :

• Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 7.0 percent to 13.1 billion in July 2015, compared with the July 2014 level of 12.3 billion. 
• The July 2015 load factor was an all-time record 87.7 percent, compared with 86.7 percent in July 2014. 
• Based results and current trends, the co estimates its Q3 2015 operating revenue per ASM (:RASM) will decrease 1 percent, compared with third quarter 2014.
  

8:01 am Qorvo announces Board authorization for a new $400 mln common stock repurchase program (QRVO) :  

8:00 am La Jolla Pharm announces FDA acceptance of IND for LJPC-401 (LJPC) : Co announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) has accepted the Company's Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for LJPC-401, La Jolla's novel formulation of hepcidin. La Jolla expects to release preliminary results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of LJPC-401 by the end of 2015.

7:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -10.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.20. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade lower amid cautious action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover 11 points below fair value after spending the entire night in the red. 

Overnight, China devalued the yuan by the largest amount on record, sending the USD/CNY pair higher by 1.9% to 6.3249. The announcement briefly boosted the dollar against other currencies, but the Dollar Index (97.09, -0.07) has returned to unchanged since then.

Treasuries hover just below their overnight highs with the 10-yr yield down five basis points at 2.18%.

Preliminary Q2 productivity (Briefing.com consensus 1.4%) and unit labor cost (consensus -0.1%) data will be released at 8:30 ET while June Wholesale Inventories will be reported at 10:00 ET.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Kraft Heinz (KHC 77.50, -1.31): -1.7% after reporting better than expected earnings on light revenue. 
• Raxspace (RAX 32.90, +1.17): +3.7% in reaction to an in-line report. 
• Shake Shack (SHAK 76.20, +5.56): +7.9% after beating estimates and announcing a secondary share offering. 
• Symantec (SYMC 24.40, +1.49): +6.5% after reporting disappointing results, increasing its buyback, and confirming the sale of its data storage unit to the Carlyle Group (CG 25.17, +0.15) for $8 billion in cash. 
• Zebra Technologies (ZBRA 110.94, +0.90): +0.8% despite missing estimates and guiding Q3 earnings below consensus.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended lower. Japan's Nikkei -0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.1%, and China's Shanghai Composite settled just below its flat line. 
  • In economic data: 
    • China's M2 Money Stock +13.3% year-over-year (expected +11.7%; prior +11.8%) and New Loans CNY 1480.0 bln (expected CNY 725.0 bln; prior CNY 1280.0 bln)
    • Japan's Machine Tool Orders +1.6% year-over-year (prior +6.6%) and M2 Money Stock +4.1% year-over-year (expected +3.9%; prior +3.9%) 
    • South Korea's July Export Price Index -1.7% year-over-year (expected -4.2%; prior -2.2%) and July Import Price Index -13.7% (prior -14.1%) 
    • Australia's July NAB Business Confidence 4.0 (expected 11.0; prior 8.0) and July NAB Business Survey 6.0 (prior 10.0) 
    • Singapore's Q2 GDP -4.0% quarter-over-quarter (expected -4.6%; prior +4.1%); +1.8% year-over-year (expected +1.5%; prior +1.7%) 
  • In news: 
    • China's record devaluation of the yuan sent shockwaves through global equity markets with the move suggesting the presence of structural problems with the world's second-largest economy

• Major European indices trade lower across the board. Germany's DAX -1.7%, France's CAC -1.1%, and UK's FTSE -0.7%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.3% and Spain's IBEX -0.7%
  • Economic data was limited: 
    • Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment rose to 47.6 from 42.7 (expected 43.9) 
    • Germany's August ZEW Economic Sentiment fell to 25.0 from 29.7 (consensus 65.7) while ZEW Current Conditions improved to 65.7 from 63.9 (expected 64.3). Separately, July Wholesale Price Index +0.1% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior -0.2%) 
    • Italy's July CPI -0.1% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected 
  • Among news of note: 
    • Eurozone creditors and Greek officials have reached a technical agreement on a third bailout package, according to the European Commission

7:52 am Owens-Illinois announces a private offering of $1 bln in senior notes due 2023 and senior notes due 2025 (OI) : Co expects to use the net proceeds from the private offering to fund, in part, its previously announced acquisition of the food and beverage glass containers business of Vitro, S.A.B. de C.V. and its subsidiaries as conducted in the United States, Mexico and Bolivia

7:48 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) : Treasuries Bounce Back on Yuan Liberalization

• Overnight, the Chinese government devalued the yuan by 1.9% against the U.S. dollar and enacted measures to allow the Chinese currency's value to be determined by market forces. The move sent Treasuries higher in a curve-flattening trade, reversing a good chunk of Monday's losses
• Yield Check:
• 2-yr: -2 bps to 0.70%
• 5-yr: -5 bps to 1.56%
• 10-yr: -5 bps to 2.18%
• 30-yr: -5 bps to 2.85%

• International News:
• The Chinese government lowered the yuan's peg to the U.S. dollar. The yuan is now worth about 15.8 cents versus 16.1 cents yesterday
• Previously, the yuan had been supported by Chinese authorities to discourage capital outflows related to increased levels of fear among investors in China
• Other East Asian currencies fell in sympathy
• The government's decision could have been a response to a sharp decline in exports for the month of July, the IMF's upcoming decision about whether to grant the yuan reserve status and the associated inclusion in Special Drawing Rights (SDR's), or both
• There are also measures to make the yuan's value more market-determined, indicating that further depreciation may be in the cards
• The move may also represent the opening of another front in the war of competitive devaluation that was already being fought by many major central banks. A weaker yuan is another headwind for the U.S. and European economies
• The Italian CPI fell 0.1% m/m in July, in line with expectations and the prior reading
• Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment Index unexpectedly fell to 25.0 in August from 29.7 in July
• Current Conditions jumped more than expected to 65.7 versus 63.9 in July
• ZEW Economic Sentiment for the whole eurozone soared to 47.6 in August from 42.7 July

• Data Out Today:
• Q2 Productivity and Unit Labor Costs -- Preliminary (08:30 ET)
• June Wholesale Inventories (10:00 ET)
• Treasury Auction:
• $24 bln 3-year note auction (results at 13:00 ET)

7:36 am ConforMIS misses by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides FY15 revs in-line (:CFMS) :

• Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $2.51 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($2.48); revenues rose 71.4% year/year to $19.2 mln vs the $19.11 mln consensus; royalty revenue of $3.5 million related to lump-sum payments from Wright Medical Group and MicroPort Orthopaedics, paid upon the signing of non-exclusive worldwide license agreements in connection with the settlement of patent litigation.Achieved product revenue of $15.8 million, up 41% year-over-year on a reported basis and up 50% year-over-year on a constant currency basis.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $72-74 mln vs. $72.28 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Product revenue in a range of $68 million to $70 million, representing year-over-year growth of 42% to 46% on a reported basis and 48% to 53% on a constant currency basis. Royalty revenue of ~$4 million, including the $3.5 million recognized in the second quarter related to a patent litigation settlement. 

7:36 am Fairmount Santrol misses by $0.02, misses on revs; Due to ongoing uncertainty in the oil and gas markets, co is continuing to suspend earnings guidance (FMSA) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.04; revenues fell 33.8% year/year to $221.3 mln vs the $233.84 mln consensus. 

• Overall sales volumes were 2.2 million tons for the quarter, approximately an 8% decrease compared with 2.4 million tons in Q2 of 2014 and a 4% sequential decrease from 2.3 million tons. The decrease in volumes in Q2 of 2015 over the prior-year period was primarily a result of reduced demand for proppants due to the continued decline in U.S. oil and gas land drilling activity driven by sustained low oil and gas prices.
• Total Proppant Solutions volumes for Q2 of 2015 were 1.6 million tons, down 10% compared to the prior-year period and Q1 of 2015. Raw frac sand volumes were 1.4 million tons, flat compared with volumes for the same period a year ago and down 7% sequentially. Coated proppant volumes were 0.21 million tons, down 45% from the prior-year period and down 29% versus Q1 of 2015.
• The co saw certain customers move away from using resin-coated sand in the quarter in their efforts to reduce near-term input costs. During Q2, the co saw an average decline in selling prices of 13% across all product lines. For the period, that represented an ~$9 to $12 per ton decline in the average selling price of raw frac sand.

Outlook:

• Due to the ongoing uncertainty in the oil and gas markets, the co is continuing to suspend earnings guidance.

7:35 am Cancer Genetics misses by $0.01, misses on revs (CGIX) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.51 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus two-analyst estimate of ($0.50); revenues rose 180.0% year/year to $4.2 mln vs the $4.5 mln consensus.  

7:33 am Aeterna Zentaris announces that the independent DSMB for its pivotal Phase 3 ZoptEC, will complete a second interim efficacy and safety analysis of the compound in October, 2015 (AEZS) :  

7:31 am Sigma-Aldrich confirms unconditional approval from Brazil's Council for Economic Defense for its acquisition by Merck KGaA (MKGAY.PK) (SIAL) : With the aforementioned clearances now in hand, both companies continue to work toward a Q3 2015 completion of the Transaction. The closing of the Transaction is still subject to the Company's fulfillment of the commitments made to the European Commission (EC), following the EC's conditional approval of the transaction on June 15, 2015. Pursuant to those commitments, Merck and Sigma-Aldrich have agreed to sell parts of Sigma-Aldrich's solvents and inorganics business in Europe. In order to provide sufficient time to fulfill those commitments, the term of the Merger Agreement dated September 22, 2014, has been extended.

7:30 am Celgene receives antitrust clearance for acquisition of Receptos (RCPT); expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2015 (CELG) : The expiration of the HSR waiting period satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the pending acquisition, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions.

7:30 am Vishay Precision continues to finalize its 2Q Form 10-Q, and currently expects to file it and hold its earnings call by September 4, 2015 (VPG) : Co's current expectation are that the principal line items impacted in the company's Indian subsidiary's financial statements, and consequently in the company's consolidated financial statements, are: property and equipment, net; cost of goods sold, including depreciation expense; foreign currency re-measurement gains and losses; and foreign currency translation gains and losses recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income within stockholders' equity.

7:24 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Amarin Corporation plc (AMRN) announced the promotion of Joseph T. Kennedy to Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Strategic Initiatives
• Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC) announced that it has recently been repaid its $72.7 million debt investment in Ryan, LLC and its $23.6 million debt investment in TB Corporation. Prospect realized an 18.0% internal rate of return and 1.4 times cash-on-cash return on its investment in Ryan, and Prospect realized a 15.8% IRR and 1.4 times cash-on-cash return on its investment in TB
• Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (THLD) announced that the company, in collaboration with the Academic Thoracic Oncology Medical Investigators Consortium, has initiated the first Phase 2 clinical trial of tarloxotinib bromide, or tarloxotinib, for the treatment of patients with mutant epidermal growth factor receptor non-small cell lung cancer who have been previously treated with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor and are progressing on treatment, but have not acquired the T790M resistance mutation. Eligible patients will receive tarloxotinib on Days 1, 8, 15 and 22 of a 28-day cycle. RECIST response rate is the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints include duration of response, progression-free survival, overall survival, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics
• SiriusXM (SIRI) and the National Hockey League announced they have extended a multi-year agreement to offer SiriusXM subscribers across North America live game broadcasts through the 2021-22 NHL season

7:09 am JA Solar beats by $0.12, beats on revs; guides Q3 shipments (JASO) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.12 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.15; revenues rose 11.9% year/year to $436.8 mln vs the $398.65 mln consensus. Total shipments were 790.8 megawatts ("MW"), an increase of 16.0% y/y and 16.0% sequentially. Co had guided for 680 MW to 720 MW.

• "We were pleased to close out the first half of the year with shipments higher than previous expectations due to strong demand in several key markets. Solid shipment growth was largely driven by demand in China, which represented 45% of our total shipments during the second quarter. Additionally, we continue to make progress on the establishment of our new cell manufacturing plant in Malaysia."
• Guidance: Co expects Q3 total cell and module shipments to be in the range of 900 MW to 950 MW. Based on the latest project development and permitting status, the Company now expects to ship 150 MW of modules to its downstream projects in 2015.  JASO previously guided for full year 2015 shipments of 3.6 GW to 4.0 GW, including 200 MW of modules shipments to the company's downstream projects.
  

7:07 am First Majestic Silver misses by $0.02, misses on revs (AG) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of CAD $0.03 per share, CAD $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of (CAD $0.01); revenues fell 19.0% year/year to CAD $54.2 mln vs the CAD $65.83 mln consensus. 

• Total production for the quarter was 3,802,558 silver equivalent ounces consisting of 2,716,503 ounces of silver, 3,528 ounces of gold, 11,078,235 pounds of lead and 3,824,737 pounds of zinc. 
• Cash cost per ounce for the quarter was $8.74 per payable ounce of silver, down from $9.63 per ounce in the second quarter of 2014.
  

7:06 am Symantec misses by $0.03, misses on revs; increases buyback; stock halted (SYMC) : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.40 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.43; revenues fell 13.6% year/year to $1.5 bln vs the $1.53 bln consensus. Revenue was flat in Q1, adjusting for currency and an extra week in the June 2014 quarter.

• Separately, Symantec announced a definitive agreement to sell its information management business, Veritas, to a group of investors led by The Carlyle Group for $8 billion. The deal is expected to close by January 1, 2016. 
• Increases share repurchase authorization to $2.6 billion. Intends to maintain our dividend at $0.15 per common share, which represents an increased and attractive payout ratio for a company of Symantec's size post-separation. 
  
• Stock is set to resume trading at 7:30 ET.

7:05 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei -0.4%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.1%; China's Shanghai Composite flat (:SUMRX) : There were broad-based declines across markets in the Asia-Pacific region after China's central bank surprisingly implemented a near 2.0% devaluation of the yuan, presumably in an effort to help boost the competitiveness of the country's exporters. The move sent regional currencies reeling against the greenback and triggered worries about competitive devaluation that weighed on most equity markets.

Economic data

• China
• M2 Money Stock +13.3% year-over-year (expected +11.7%; prior +11.8%)
• New Loans CNY 1480.0 bln (expected CNY 725.0 bln; prior CNY 1280.0 bln)
• Japan
• Machine Tool Orders +1.6% year-over-year (prior +6.6%)
• M2 Money Stock +4.1% year-over-year (expected +3.9%; prior +3.9%)
• South Korea
• July Export Price Index -1.7% year-over-year (expected -4.2%; prior -2.2%)
• July Import Price Index -13.7% (prior -14.1%)
• Australia
• July NAB Business Confidence 4.0 (expected 11.0; prior 8.0)
• July NAB Business Survey 6.0 (prior 10.0)
• Singapore
• Q2 GDP -4.0% quarter-over-quarter (expected -4.6%; prior +4.1%); +1.8% year-over-year (expected +1.5%; prior +1.7%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei declined 0.4%, led lower by the consumer staples (-2.6%), consumer discretionary (-1.0%), health care (-0.8%), and financials (-0.4%) sectors. Shiseido (-4.8%), Kansai Electric Power (-4.7%), and MEIJI Holdings (-4.5%) were the worst-performing issues. Sumco Corp (+8.6%), Sekisui House (+5.2%), and Nisshin Steel Co (+4.6%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 225 index members, 110 ended higher, 110 finished lower, and 5 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng started strong but faded as the day progressed and ended down 0.1%. Leading laggards were Cathay Pacific Airways (-2.0%), Cheung Kong Property Holdings (-1.8%), and CK Hutchison Holdings (-1.5%). Li & Fung (+5.0%), CNOOC (+4.1%), and China Overseas Land & Investment (+3.7%) paced the winners. Out of the 50 index members, 23 ended higher, 25 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite had a jagged session in a narrow range and ended the day flat after the People's Bank of China surprisingly implemented a near 2.0% devaluation of the yuan. The move came after China reported weaker than expected trade data over the weekend and is considered to be an effort to help boost the prospects of China's exporters. The yuan dropped 1.9% against the dollar to 6.3250.
• India's Sensex declined 0.8% and ended near its lows for the day. The weakness was driven by the materials (-4.9%), consumer staples (-1.6%), energy (-1.4%), industrials (-1.2%), and financials (-1.2%) sectors. Tata Steel (-5.5%), State Bank of India (-4.9%), and Tata Motors (-4.3%) were the worst-performing issues while Infosys (+2.1%) and Tata Consultancy Services (+1.3%) were the only stocks to gain more than 1.0%. Out of the 30 index members, 9 ended higher and 21 finished lower.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7%, pressured by weakness in the health care (-1.6%), industrials (-1.5%), and financials (-1.2%) sectors. Separately, the Australian dollar was sent reeling by China's move to devalue the yuan. USD/AUD was last up 1.3% to 1.3669. Out of the 200 index members, 66 ended higher, 123 finished lower, and 11 were unchanged.
• Regional advancers: Philippines +0.5%
• Regional decliners: South Korea -0.8%, Taiwan -0.9%, Malaysia -1.1%, Indonesia -2.7%, Singapore -1.4%, Thailand -1.0%, Vietnam -0.2%

FX

• USD/CNY +1.9% at 6.3250
• USD/INR +0.6% at 64.2375
• USD/JPY +0.2% at 124.92
  

7:05 am Verso reports Q2 op income $14 mln vs $12 mln year ago; revs 142.4% to $778 mln (no estimates) (VRS) : "As our integration efforts continue, our synergy achievement is ahead of expectations, with savings to date of $41 million....Looking ahead, we continue to focus on keeping our people safe, integrating the NewPage business, achieving additional synergies across the entire company, and exceeding our customers' expectations."

7:05 am Rentech misses by $0.24, reports revs in-line (limited coverage) -- merging with CVR Partners (UAN) (RTK) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.23 per share, $0.24 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.01; revenues rose 7.6% year/year to $149.8 mln vs the $151.11 mln consensus. 

• "Our nitrogen business exceeded our expectations this quarter due to strong demand for ammonia and ammonium sulfate during the spring application season. Rentech Nitrogen announced a strong second quarter cash distribution and increased guidance for distributions in 2015, which will add to Rentech's cash position." 
• "Fulghum had a strong second quarter largely due to cost controls and improved performance in South America. We expect this segment to finish the year at the high end of our indicated range for EBITDA of $16 to $17 million. NEWP continues to perform well and the business is tracking to full year EBITDA guidance of $9 to $10 million,"
• "Yesterday, we announced transformative transactions that would de-lever Rentech and increase our cash position. The closing of the merger of Rentech Nitrogen and CVR Partners (UAN) would enable us to repay debt and redeem preferred stock held by GSO Capital, while we continue to hold significant value of securities in a more-diversified nitrogen company,"
  

7:03 am Symetra Financial to be acquired by Sumitomo Life Insurance for $32.50/share in cash, or ~$3.8 bln, confirming last week's reports (SYA) : The co announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Sumitomo Life Insurance Company pursuant to which Sumitomo Life will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Symetra. Symetra shareholders will receive $32.00 per share in cash at closing, plus a previously announced special dividend of $0.50 per share in cash, which is payable on August 28, 2015 to Symetra shareholders of record as of August 10, 2015. The amount of the special dividend was established in connection with the determination of the total combined transaction consideration. The total combined transaction consideration of $32.50 per share is approximately $3.8 billion in aggregate and represents a 32% premium over Symetra's average stock price of $24.64 for the 30 days ending August 5, 2015.

• Symetra's largest shareholders, White Mountains and Berkshire Hathaway, representing approximately 18% and 17% ownership of common shares, respectively, have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction.
• The transaction, which was unanimously approved by Symetra's board of directors, is expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2016 and is subject to the approval of Symetra's shareholders and regulators, and to other customary closing conditions.

7:02 am Aecom Tech misses by $0.13, misses on revs; updates FY15 EPS guidance (ACM) : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.74 per share, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.87, with a "solid performance offset by $0.09 lower-than-expected benefit from non-cash normal profit"; revenues rose 131.2% year/year to $4.55 bln vs the $4.73 bln consensus.

• Co updates guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.05-3.45 vs. $3.26 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. The change reflects lower non-cash normal profit estimates. Business trends underlying updated adjusted earnings guidance remain consistent with the firm's prior outlook.
  
• Wins in the quarter of $4.8 billion were driven by growth in the design business in the Americas region, which had a book-to-burn ratio1 of 1.5. After adjusting for acquisitions, total backlog grew two percent. The company's total book-to-burn ratio1 was 1.1 for the quarter, with total backlog at June 30, 2015, of $40.4 billion.   
  

7:02 am Blue Bird reaffirms FY15 guidance for net sales of $918-940 mln and adj EBITDA of $72-75 mln (will report Q3 Aug 18 before the open) (BLBD) :  

7:02 am Intl Game Tech. PLC initiates quarterly cash dividend of $0.20/share (IGT) :  

7:01 am Norwegian Cruise Line prices its 20 mln share secondary offering of common stock by selling stockholders, at $59.25/share (NCLH) :  

7:01 am ContraFect announces that an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board has recommended the continuation of the company's CF-301 Phase 1 study (CFRX) : Thus far, the study has successfully completed two dose levels out of the currently planned four, and ContraFect expects to complete the study by year-end. If the results of the Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers are favorable, ContraFect plans to advance CF-301 into Phase 2 study next year in patients with staph bloodstream infections, including MRSA.

7:01 am Codexis enters into a collaborative research and development agreement with a leading global biopharmaceutical company; receives a $1 mln upfront payment (CDXS) : Co announced that it has entered into a collaborative research and development agreement with a leading global biopharmaceutical company.

• Under the terms of the agreement, Codexis will employ CodeEvolver to develop a novel enzyme for use in its partner's preclinical therapeutic development program. Development of the new enzyme will occur in two stages. The first stage is a proof-of-concept study that is expected to be completed in approximately six months. Pending the partner's election to proceed, the second stage is an enzyme evolution program that is expected to take six to 12 months. 
• Under terms of the agreement, Codexis has received a $1 million upfront payment
  

7:00 am Biocept will collaborate with UC Irvine, to evaluate biomarkers detected from blood-based versus invasive tissue biopsies in patients with metastatic cancers (BIOC) : The collaboration is aimed at validating the use of liquid biopsies to qualify patients for available targeted therapies and to establish a framework for serial monitoring of tumor mutations during cancer treatment to help identify early indicators of resistance to therapy.

6:58 am AerCap beats by $0.40, beats on revs (AER) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.73 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.40 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.33; revenues rose 69.5% year/year to $1.34 bln vs the $1.28 bln consensus. 

• 99.1% fleet utilization rate and 6.0 years average remaining contracted lease term as of June 30, 2015.
  

6:57 am Symantec confirms the sale of Veritas to The Carlyle Group (CG) for $8 bln in cash, expects to receive ~$6.3 bln in net cash proceeds, Raises stock repurchase program to $2.6 bln (shares halted) (SYMC) : The co confirmed that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its information management business, known as Veritas, to an investor group led by The Carlyle Group (CG) together with GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and other expected co-investors for $8 billion in cash. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by Symantec's Board of Directors, is expected to close by January 1, 2016. 

• Upon closing of the transaction, Symantec expects to receive approximately $6.3 billion in net cash proceeds, subject to certain customary post-closing adjustments. Symantec will take a comprehensive and disciplined approach to capital deployment focused on both returning capital to shareholders and investing in the business. The Symantec Board has authorized a $1.5 billion increase to its existing share repurchase program, bringing the total to $2.6 billion, with $2 billion expected to be returned to shareholders over the 18 month period following the close of the transaction.
  

6:52 am Symantec to sell its Veritas unit to Carlyle Group (CG) for $8 bln in cash (SYMC) : The Carlyle Group (CG) announced that it has agreed to acquire Veritas, an information management systems provider, from Symantec for $8 billion in cash. Bill Coleman and Bill Krause will become CEO and Chairman, respectively. Equity for the transaction will come from Carlyle Partners VI, together with GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and other coinvestors. The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions, is expected to close around year end.

6:51 am Eagle Pharma beats by $0.04, beats on revs (EGRX) : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.53 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.57); revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $6 mln vs the $4.7 mln consensus. 

• "This was another very positive quarter for Eagle, marked by 22% sequential growth in product revenues and continued execution of our strategy. We now have NDAs for three significant products on file with the FDA, with PDUFA dates in the next eight months," said Scott Tarriff, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Pharmaceuticals. "We expect that by this time next year, we will be marketing at least four products, which we estimate represents an aggregate market opportunity in excess of $1.4 billion, while also receiving royalties from Teva on sales of rapid infusion bendamustine, assuming regulatory approvals."
  

6:41 am Magic Software misses by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (MGIC) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.12 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.13; revenues rose 4.7% year/year to $42.5 mln vs the $42.03 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $166-173 mln vs. $171.75 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "We are experiencing continued growth for our professional services along with solid demand for our software products, mainly reflecting organic growth. In fact, excluding the negative impact from currency fluctuations, we would have produced record-breaking revenues for the second quarter."

6:39 am Materialise misses by EUR 0.04, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 guidance (MTLS) :

• Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of 0.06 per share, 0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of (0.02); revenues rose 29.2% year/year to 24.8 mln vs the 24 mln consensus, driven by continued strong gains in 3D Printing Software segment (+45%) and Industrial Production segments and double-digit growth in our Medical segment. Excluding revenue from OrthoView, which they acquired in October 2014, total revenue for the quarter increased 22.6%. Adjusted EBITDA decreased from 1,372 kEUR to a loss of 179 kEUR, reflecting ongoing investments.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of EUR 99-101 mln vs. 100.71 mln Capital IQ Consensus; adj. EBITDA EUR4-5 mln.
  

6:34 am Zebra Tech misses by $0.13, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (ZBRA) :

• Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.18; revenues rose 208.5% year/year to $889.8 mln vs the $885.35 mln consensus. 
• The Enterprise business acquired from Motorola Solutions accounted for $573.4 million of sales in the quarter, excluding the purchase accounting adjustment noted above. Sales of legacy Zebra were $320.8 million, up 11.2% from $288.4 million in the second quarter of 2014. The effect of movements in foreign currency, net of hedges, reduced legacy Zebra sales by $9.7 million.
• Co issues guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $1.10-1.35, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.41 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $900-930 mln vs. $915.95 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Gross margin for the second quarter of 2015 of 44.2% includes an increase to costs of sales associated with purchase accounting adjustments, costs associated with the rebranding of Motorola product, as well as other costs not expected to recur.

6:32 am Alderon Iron Ore announces that Tayfun Eldem will transition from his current role as President & CEO to become the Vice Chairman effective August 24; provides corporate update (AXX) : Mark Morabito will transition from his role as Executive Chairman to become Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

• Due to the decrease in the market price of iron ore, the completion of the financing plan has taken longer than anticipated. The delay in the completion of the financing has led to the Company implementing a cash conservation program (the "Program") which will allow it to maintain sufficient liquidity while it continues to advance its financing plan (see press release dated December 9, 2015). The Program includes an interest deferral agreement with Liberty, voluntary partial payment deferrals with equipment vendors for work completed to date, workforce reductions and the implementation of the DSU Plan for Directors in place of cash director fees. The Program remains on track with the Company having approximately $17.6 million in cash and short-term investments while Management continues to identify and implement additional cash conservation measures. 
• As a further cash conservation measure, the Company will proceed with the closure of its Montreal office. As a result the Company's sole corporate office will be based in Vancouver. As part of the closure of the Montreal office, after a transition period, the Company will replace its current Interim Chief Financial Officer with a new Chief Financial Officer located in Vancouver.

6:17 am TopBuild beats by $0.01, misses on revs (BLD) : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.26; revenues rose 5.5% year/year to $404 mln vs the $410.1 mln consensus.

• Installation (TruTeam) net sales increased 9% driven by growth in both residential and commercial lines of business. Adjusted operating margin for TruTeam was 5.1%, a 220 basis point improvement over prior year. 
• Distribution (Service Partners) net sales were flat, due to prior year accelerated customer purchases ahead of announced price increases at the end of Q2 2014. Adjusted operating margin for Service Partners was 7.7%, 40 bps lower than prior year.
  
  

6:09 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• BASF (BASFY) announced it is investing in the expansion and flexibilization of its production facilities to manufacture chelating agents at its site in Ludwigshafen. By increasing the production capacity, the company is responding to the rapidly growing global demand for its chelating agents, such as the readily biodegradable Trilon M (methylglycinediacetic acid) for use in detergents and cleaners. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016.
• On August 10, 2015, El Paso Electric (EE) filed with the City of El Paso, other municipalities incorporated in its Texas service territory, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas a request for an increase in non-fuel base revenues of approximately $71.5 million. Under the proposed rates, a residential customer using 625 kilowatt-hours per month will see an average bill increase of $8.41 per month when new rates become effective in 2016.
• Sapiens (SPNS) announced that FNB - a financial institution providing personal, private, business and commercial banking services to millions of customers across South Africa and Africa - has selected Sapiens ALIS for the launch of its new life insurance company
• Poseida Therapeutics, a private biotechnology company announced they have entered into a worldwide License Agreement with Janssen Biotech, a unit of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize licensed products using Janssen Centyrin technology. Under the License Agreement, Poseida gains the rights to screen the Centyrin library to identify and develop Centyrin molecules against new cancer antigens that Poseida identifies or licenses, including solid tumor antigens. Poseida will pay Janssen an undisclosed upfront fee and potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments. 
• Abengoa (ABGB) has been selected by the Mexico Federal Electricity Commission to develop the engineering and construction of a new 21.1 km transmission network in the state of Chihuahua, located north of the country. Abengoa will be responsible for the engineering, design and construction, and also fo the commissioning, of four lines of 230 kV and a length of 21.1 km; and two substations of 230 kV with ten high-voltage feeders. The total contract amounts to 17.3 M$.

6:03 am Towers Watson beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (TW) : Reports Q4 (Jun) earnings of $1.51 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.41; revenues rose 1.0% year/year to $888.2 mln vs the $864.91 mln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.30-1.35, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.38 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $870-885 mln vs. $891.62 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was $180 million, or 20% of revenues, versus Adjusted EBITDA of $169 million, or 19% of revenues. 
• The year over year impact of the change in foreign currency rates is expected to negatively impact reported revenues by approximately $40 million or adjusted diluted earnings per share by $0.04. This impact is incorporated in our guidance ranges.

6:01 am Sorrento Therapeutics enter into a binding term sheet to exclusively license the NanoVelcro Circulating Tumor Cell profiling assay from CytoLumina Tech and FetoLumina Tech (SRNE) : Co has entered into a binding term sheet to exclusively license the NanoVelcro Circulating Tumor Cell (:CTC) profiling assay technology from CytoLumina Technologies Corp. and FetoLumina Technologies Corp., two privately-held sister biotechnology companies in Los Angeles, California. The exclusive licenses will cover the applications of the NanoVelcro CTC assay and its portfolio technologies for precision medicine diagnostics in conjunction with all cellular therapies and Sorrento antibody therapeutics.

5:51 am S&P futures vs fair value: -12.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -17.40. :

5:50 am European Markets : FTSE...6684.39...-50.90...-0.80%.  DAX...11446.28...-158.50...-1.40%.

5:50 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...20720.75...-87.90...-0.40%.  Hang Seng...24498.21...-22.90...-0.10%.

4:23 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• ACE Group (ACE) announced the launch of ACE Commercial Partner, a comprehensive single property and liability package insurance policy for businesses operating in the UK and Ireland. 
• Clavister (CLAV) has signed a 3-year license and support agreement worth EUR1,8 mln with Regus, a global workspace provider, to secure Internet connectivity on-demand to its clients. 
• Toshiba's (TOSBF) Semiconductor & Storage Products Company announced three distinct families of PCIe solid state drive products using NVMe protocol, targeted for various applications including high performance notebooks 
  

4:22 am Sandvik CEO steps down; appoints Bjorn Rosengren as President and CEO (SDVKY) : Co announces that the Board and President and CEO, Olof Faxander, have mutually agreed that Faxander step down from his current position and the company.

• Bjrn Rosengren, currently President and CEO of Wrtsil Corporation, will succeed Olof Faxander as of November 1

3:56 am CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust misses by $0.03; intends to raise annual div in Q3 (CORR) : Reports AFFO of $0.13 vs $0.16 Capital IQ consensus

Dividend Update
A second quarter common stock cash dividend of $0.135 was declared on July 31, 2015, payable on August 31, 2015. In connection with the GIGS acquisition, CorEnergy has announced its Board of Directors' intention to increase the annualized dividend rate to $0.60 per share beginning with the distribution for the third quarter of 2015.

3:03 am Cascade Microtech authorizes a new stock repurchase program of up to $15 mln of common stock (CSCD) :  

3:02 am National Storage Affiliates beats by $0.01; beats on revs; guides FY15 FFO in-line (NSA) : Reports Q2 Core FFO of $0.22 vs $0.21 Capital IQ consensus; revs of $31.7 mln vs $30.8 mln consensus.

• Net operating income was $20.8 million for the second quarter of 2015, an increase of over 100% compared to NOI of $10.2 million for the second quarter of 2014.
• Same store NOI was $9.6 million for the second quarter of 2015, an increase of 11.8% compared to same store NOI of $8.6 million for the second quarter of 2014
  

2:55 am Terex and and Konecranes to combine in all-stock merger of equals (TEX) : Terex and Konecranes jointly announced that their respective Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive business combination agreement and the resulting all-stock merger of equals.

• Konecranes and Terex will combine to create a single company with estimated pro forma 2014 revenues and EBITDA of $10.0 billion and $845 million, respectively. Upon completion of the transaction, Terex shareholders will own approximately 60% of the combined company and Konecranes shareholders will own approximately 40%. The new company will be named Konecranes Terex Plc and will be incorporated in Finland. 
  
• Expected to be accretive to both companies' shareholders in first full year 
• Identified annual after-tax synergies of at least $119 million 
• New Company plans to authorize a $1.5 billion share repurchase and initial annual dividend of ~$1.15 per share
  

2:31 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Super Micro Computer (SMCI) announced the deployment of a new supercomputer in Japan at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University supporting scientists and researchers focused on discovery and innovation in the life, physical and environmental sciences. 
• Seadrill (SDRL) announced it has entered into a forward agreement for 10,803,274 Sevan Drilling Limited shares expiring November 6, 2015 with a strike price of NOK 8.9482.
  

2:00 am Imation adopts shareholder rights plan to protect net operating loss carry forwards (IMN) :  

1:46 am Northern Dynasty Minerals to raise CAD20 mln through combination of warrants and and acquisition (NAK) : Northern Dynasty Minerals announced that it intends to raise up to CAD20 million through a combination of an issuance of CAD10-CAD15 million of Special Warrants exercisable into the Company's listed common shares at a price of CAD0.399 per Special Warrant together with acquisition of 100% of Cannon Point Resources, an inactive TSX Venture Exchange listed company whose primary asset is CAD4.7 million cash.

• Based on a letter agreement dated today, the Company expects to acquire 100% of Cannon Point for approximately 12.9 million Northern Dynasty common shares, subject to the approval of a special 2/3 majority vote of Cannon Point shareholders as well as customary regulatory and judicial approvals. The acquisition is not subject to Northern Dynasty shareholder approval. During the merger process, which will be by conventional statutory plan of arrangement, Cannon Point has agreed to make a secured credit facility for CAD4.25 million available to Northern Dynasty.
  

1:29 am MSCI prices offering of $800 mlnof 5.750% senior notes due 2025 (MSCI) :