5:21 pm This week's biggest % gainers/losers (:SCANX) : The following are this week's top 20 percentage gainers and top 20 percentage losers, categorized by sectors (over $300 mln market cap and 100K average daily volume).

This week's top 20 % gainers

• Healthcare:MRTX (43.38 +67.81%),CLVS (104.1 +24.18%),ADXS (16.51 +21.4%),CNCE (19.27 +21.27%),SGMO (7.96 +21.16%),ACET (26.79 +20.57%),FGEN (27.7 +19.55%),IDRA (3.34 +19.29%),TXMD (7.33 +17.85%),KITE (63.63 +17.79%)
• Materials:SID (1.26 +28.57%),CSTM (7.54 +21.61%),SBGL (5.86 +20.58%),FCX (11.4 +17.4%)
• Industrials:CNW (47.44 +34.66%)
• Consumer Discretionary:LILAK (39.62 +21.2%),LILA (38.77 +18.89%),DTEA (15.51 +17.77%)
• Telecommunication Services:PGI (13.74 +27.34%)
• Utilities:TE (26.7 +26.72%)

• Healthcare:TTPH (8.69 -79.91%),THRX (10.13 -36.65%)
• Materials:CLW (43.61 -19.49%),MTL (0.91 -19.47%)
• Industrials:DRYS (0.23 -48.64%)
• Consumer Discretionary:MFRM (46.24 -21.56%),BKS (12.49 -21.2%),LULU (54.01 -17.77%)
• Information Technology:FNSR (12.16 -19.63%),MRVL (8.84 -18.53%)
• Energy:BTU (1.65 -27.63%),CJES (3.86 -22.18%),PGH (0.98 -19.42%),CLNE (4.07 -19.41%),PWE (0.52 -18.98%),DNR (2.89 -18.82%),MEMP (5.79 -18.22%),BRS (29.3 -18.13%),BCEI (6.19 -17.69%)
• Consumer Staples:AVP (3.48 -21.27%)

5:03 pm Healthsouth announces pricing of $350 mln of 5.75% senior notes due 2025 (HLS) : Co announces the pricing of a $350 million private offering of 5.75% senior notes due 2025 at a price of 100.0% of the principal amount. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this private offering to fund a portion of its previously announced acquisition of the operations of Reliant Hospital Partners, LLC and affiliated entities ("Reliant") and to pay fees and expenses related to the Reliant acquisition, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015. This private offering, however, is not conditioned upon the completion of the Reliant acquisition, and the Reliant acquisition is subject to conditions that do not include the consummation of this offering.

5:02 pm CGI Group announces it intends to purchase for cancellation up to an additional ~410k shares of Class A subordinate voting shares as part of normal course issuer bid (GIB) : Co announces that it intends to purchase for cancellation, on or before February 10, 2016, up to an additional 410,735 of its Class A subordinate voting shares, for an aggregate of up to 6,350,735 pursuant to private agreements between CGI and arm's length third-party sellers. These purchases will be made pursuant to an issuer bid exemption order issued by the Ontario Securities Commission.

5:01 pm AutoNation authorizes additional $250 mln for share repurchase (AN) : Co announces that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $250 million of AutoNation's common stock. With the increased authorization, AutoNation has approximately $338 million total Board authorization remaining for share repurchases as of September 11, 2015. AutoNation has approximately 111 million shares outstanding as of September 11, 2015.

4:55 pm American Homes 4 Rent announces pricing of $477.7 mln securitization transaction (AMH) : Co announces that it has priced its fifth securitization transaction. The transaction involves the issuance and sale to third parties of single-family rental pass-through certificates that represent beneficial ownership interests in a loan secured by 4,125 single-family residential properties transferred to an affiliate from the Company's portfolio of single-family properties. The Company anticipates gross proceeds from the sale of its certificates of approximately $477.7 million.

4:32 pm Action Semi amends Dutch Auction tender offer; reaffirms guidance for Q3 revs of $13-14 mln, but expects FY15 revs to growth at a slower pace than previously expected (ACTS) :

Co announces it has amended its previously announced self "Dutch auction" tender offer to (1) increase the size of the offer to up to 84,000,000 of its issued and outstanding ordinary shares (including Shares represented by ADSs), (2) increase the price range at which it will purchase the issued and outstanding ordinary shares to not greater than $23/60 per Share (or $2.30 per ADS) nor less than $20/60 per Share (or $2.00 per ADS) and (3) extend the expiration date of the tender offer to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Savings Time, on Tuesday, September 29, 2015.

Co also reaffirmed its third quarter 2015 and fiscal 2015 guidance previously announced on August 14, 2015. For third quarter 2015, the Company reaffirmed revenue guidance of $13.0 to $14.0 million. For fiscal 2015, the Company reaffirmed that it continues to anticipate revenue growth for the full year 2015 but at a slower pace than previously expected due to declining demand in tablet market and longer than anticipated design and qualification times for SoCs targeting other types of smart devices and hardware.

4:30 pm Nathan's Famous to commence Dutch Auction tender offer to repurchase up to 500k shares of common stock (shares halted) (NATH) :

Co announces that it will commence mailing to its stockholders on or about September 18, 2015 a modified Dutch Auction tender offer to purchase for cash up to 500,000 shares of its common stock, $.01 par value, at a price per share of not less than $33.00 nor greater than $36.00, for a maximum aggregate purchase price of $18,000,000.

• The tender offer will commence on or about September 18, 2015, and the Company expects the tender offer will expire at 12:00 Midnight, Eastern Time, on or about October 16, 2015 unless extended or withdrawn.
• At June 28, 2015, the Company had approximately $51.6 million of cash and cash equivalents and approximately $7.8 million of marketable securities.

4:17 pm TimkenSteel lowers Q3 EBITDA guidance; reaffirms guidance for FY15 CapEx of $75-85 mln (TMST) :

Co sees Q3 EBITDA of a loss of $30 to $40 mln, lowered from prior guidance for a loss of $15 mln to breakeven. 

• "We anticipated a difficult third quarter due to continued weakness in energy and some industrial end markets, but the impact is deeper than expected," said Ward J. "Tim" Timken, Jr., chairman, CEO and president. "We're holding our share of these markets, but overall demand has dropped. Lower demand in industrial markets accompanied by higher manufacturing costs associated with melt utilization of 40 percent will result in a greater loss than we had in the second quarter. We continue on pace with a program of $25 million in cost reductions and will take additional actions to address the shortfall. At the same time, we continue to support our unique business model to optimize performance as markets rebound."

Co reaffirmed guidance for FY15 CapEx of $75-85 mln provided on July 30, 2015; co expects to maintain dividend at current levels subject to board approval; co is also evaluating its share repurchase program

4:10 pm Monster Beverage Board authorizes new $500 mln share repurchase program (MNST) : There was no availability remaining under the previously authorized $200 mln share repurchase program.

4:07 pm Closing Market Summary: Abbreviated Trading Week Ends on Higher Note (:WRAPX) :

The stock market finished the abbreviated trading week on a higher note. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, extending its weekly gain to 2.1% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%) outperformed slightly, adding 3.0% for the week.

Broadly speaking, the Friday session was very quiet and did not feature any major macroeconomic or company-specific developments. Instead, stocks began the day under modest pressure as noteworthy weakness in the energy sector (-0.8%) fueled the opening retreat. The energy sector settled not far above its low while the remaining groups fared much better and helped the market erase its early loss.

Staying in the energy sector, the cyclical group represented the lone decliner of the week, losing 0.7% since last Friday. Crude oil contributed to underperformance in the sector as the energy component settled lower by 2.8% at $44.63/bbl after briefly dipping below $44.20/bbl in the morning. For the week, WTI crude surrendered 3.1% with today's decline following cautious comments from Goldman Sachs. Specifically, the investment bank cut its 2015 price forecast to $48.10/bbl from $52.00/bbl and lowered the 2016 outlook to $45.00/bbl from $57.00/bbl.

Elsewhere, the other commodity-related sector-materials (-0.2%)-also settled in the red while other groups posted gains. Notably, consumer discretionary (+0.7%), technology (+0.6%), and health care (+0.7%) gathered steam as the market climbed off its session low.

Thanks to today's gain, the technology sector gained 3.1% for the week, which was good enough for the sector to end ahead of its peers. The influential sector followed Apple's (AAPL 114.02, +1.45) lead as the stock jumped 1.3% on Friday and 4.4% for the week.

The relative strength in technology helped the Nasdaq stay ahead of the broader market through the week, but the tech-heavy index also received a measure of support from health care, and specifically, biotechnology. To that point, the health care sector (+0.7%) finished among today's leaders, extending its weekly gain to 2.8%. As for biotechnology, the high-beta group enjoyed a strong week, evidenced by the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 354.74, +4.02), which climbed 1.2% on Friday to end the week higher by 5.2%.

The afternoon recovery in stocks had little impact on Treasuries as the 10-yr note remained near its high with the benchmark yield ending the day lower by four basis points at 2.18%.

Today's participation was below recent averages as roughly 810 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data included PPI, Michigan Sentiment, and Treasury Budget:

• Producer prices were flat in August after increasing 0.2% in July while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decline of 0.1%
  • Energy prices declined 3.3% in August, which was the largest downturn since a 10.1% drop in January, after falling 0.6% in July
  • Food prices increased 0.3% in August after declining 0.1% in July with the aftermath of the bird flu epidemic continuing to wreak havoc on the egg supply, driving egg prices up 32.2%
  • Excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.3% for a third consecutive month in August while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1%
• The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 85.7 in the preliminary September reading from 91.9 in August while the Briefing.com consensus expected a drop to 91.5
  • The Current Conditions Index fell to 100.3 in September from 105.1 in August while the Expectations Index declined to 76.4 from 83.4
  • The overall decline in the Consumer Sentiment Index can be traced to the pullback in stock prices that began at the end of August while other measures that typically impact confidence levels --gasoline prices and employment conditions-continued to improve over the past few weeks
• The Treasury Budget statement for August showed a deficit of $64.40 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected a deficit of $62.00 billion
  • The Treasury data are not seasonally adjusted so the August deficit cannot be compared to the $149.20 billion deficit recorded in July Investors will not receive any economic data on Monday.

• Nasdaq Composite +1.8% YTD
• Russell 2000 -3.7% YTD
• S&P 500 -4.8% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average -7.8% YTD

Week in Review: Stocks Advance Ahead of FOMC Rate Decision Week

On Monday, bond and equity markets were closed for Labor Day.

On Tuesday, the restless stock market began the holiday-shortened week with a broad-based surge. The Nasdaq Composite led the way, spiking 2.7% while the S&P 500 jumped 2.5% with the bulk of the advance taking place at the opening bell. The buying surge at the start reflected a build-up of strength in the futures market that took root on Monday as U.S. futures labored their way higher alongside European equities. Once the Tuesday session began in Asia, China's Shanghai Composite rallied 2.9% with speculation of continued state support for equities overshadowing mediocre trade data (trade balance $60.24 billion; expected $48.20 billion) that showed a 5.5% year-over- year decline in exports (expected -6.0%) and a 13.8% drop in imports (expected -8.2%; prior -8.1%). The late-afternoon gains in China stirred up overall risk tolerance, leading to more gains in the U.S. futures market while European equities enjoyed an opening surge. Better than expected economic data highlighted the European session as eurozone Q2 GDP was unexpectedly revised up to 0.4% quarter-over-quarter from 0.3%.

The stock market ended Wednesday on a defensive note despite enjoying an upbeat start to the session. The S&P 500 began the day with a 15-point gain, which morphed into a 27-point loss by the close. The benchmark index surrendered 1.4% while the Nasdaq Composite (-1.2%) settled a bit ahead. Equity indices hit their highs shortly after the opening bell with the early move fueled by strengthening risk appetite overseas. To that point, Asian markets posted solid gains with China's Shanghai Composite jumping 2.3% amid continued speculation about government involvement in the market while Japan's Nikkei soared 7.7%, registering its largest one-day gain since October 2008, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to lower the corporate tax rate by at least 3.3%. The positive vibes carried into the European session, but the demand for equities began receding once the U.S. market opened. The S&P 500 spent the first 90 minutes of the day in a slow retreat from its high and hovered near its flat line into the early afternoon. The index then dipped into negative territory alongside Apple (AAPL 110.15, -2.16) as the largest stock by market cap slid to a session low in reaction to the company's underwhelming product refresh event. Shares of Apple settled lower by 1.9% while the broader technology sector (-1.3%) had a better showing than its leading component, ending just ahead of the market.

Equity indices ended the Thursday session on a higher note after enduring a shaky start to the trading day. The S&P 500 added 0.5% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%) outperformed. The key indices opened near their flat lines after the futures market was whipped around during pre-market action. The early-morning volatility followed a defensive session in Asia while European markets also struggled. Once the U.S. session got going, the market traded in sideways fashion through the first hour before climbing higher. However, the S&P 500 found resistance near the 1,965 level in the early afternoon, slipping into the close. Heavily-weighted technology (+1.0%) and health care sectors (+0.9%) displayed strength from the start, and that dynamic kept the S&P 500 from sliding too far below its flat line during the opening hour. The top-weighted tech sector rallied behind Apple (AAPL 112.57, +2.42), which spiked 2.2%, while other large cap components posted slimmer gains.

4:06 pm Jetblue Airways reports traffic in August, which increased 6.7% from August 2014, on a capacity increase of 8.3% (JBLU) :

• Load factor for August 2015 was 87.0%, a decrease of 1.3 points from August 2014.
• JetBlue's preliminary completion factor was 98.9% and its on-time performance was 74.0%.
• JetBlue's preliminary passenger revenue per available seat mile (:PRASM) for the month of August decreased ~3% YoY, which was negatively impacted by a late Labor Day this year.
• For the third quarter of 2015, PRASM is expected to change between negative half percent and positive half percent year over year.

4:03 pm Capital Product Partners announces granting of a right of first refusal to the Partnership over two additional newbuild eco Medium Range product tankers (CPLP) :

Co announced the granting of a right of first refusal to the Partnership over two additional newbuild eco Medium Range ('MR') product tankers and fleet employment updates.

• Specifically, co has granted the Partnership a right of first refusal on two additional newbuild eco MR product tankers under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries Ltd., which are expected to be delivered to Capital Maritime in the first quarter of 2017. As a result, the Partnership now has a right of first refusal on a total of eight newbuild eco MR product tankers, with expected deliveries from September 2015 to February 2017.
• Finally, the Partnership has received a re-delivery notice for the M/V 'Agamemnon' (103,773 dwt / 7,943 TEU, container carrier built 2007, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering from A.P. Moller-Maersk A.S. The vessel will be re-delivered from Maersk Line to the Partnership upon completion of its current charter on September 30, 2015 and is then expected to drydock and commence its special survey renewal.

4:01 pm Madison Square Garden announces approval of a spin-off of its sports and entertainment businesses, from its media business (MSG) :

Co announced that its board of directors has approved the spin-off of its sports and entertainment businesses from its media business. Upon completion of the transaction, MSG will be a standalone media company and will change its name to MSG Networks and the newly formed sports and entertainment company will be called The Madison Square Garden Company.

• The distribution will take place on September 30, 2015 to MSG stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 21, 2015. For the distribution, each MSG Class A common stockholder will receive one share of the new Madison Square Garden Company Class A common stock for every three shares of MSG Class A common stock held as of the record date.
• Upon completion of the spin-off, MSG's current repurchase program, through which $241 million of MSG Class A common stock has already been purchased, will be terminated and the new Madison Square Garden Company will have in place new Board authorization to repurchase up to $525 million of its Class A common stock.
• Co also announced key executive appointments for what will be the new pure play media company, MSG Networks Inc., once the transaction is complete.
  • Following the spin-off, which is expected to occur on September 30, 2015, Andrea Greenberg will become president and chief executive officer of MSG Networks Inc., while Bret Richter will join the company as chief financial officer. Greenberg will report to the executive chairman of MSG Networks Inc., James Dolan, and Richter will report to Ms. Greenberg.

3:35 pm Earnings Preview for the week of September 14 - 18 (:SUMRX) :

Of the companies reporting earnings for the week of September 14 - 18 some of the bigger names include:

• Monday:
  • After Hours - STB
    
• Tuesday:
  • Pre Market - NTWK
  • After Hours - UNFI
• Wednesday:
  • Pre Market - FDX, ASNA, CBRL, LITB
  • After Hours - ORCL, MLHR, CLC, APOG, ALOG, ARCW, SANW
• Thursday:
  • Pre Market - RAD, MCS, MANU
  • After Hours - ADBE, MCFT
• Friday:
  • Pre Market - ZAYO

3:11 pm Dow +69 and S&P +3 join Nasdaq Comp +14 above midday highs (:TECHX) :  

2:40 pm Nasdaq Comp +12 retesting session high, Dow +61 and S&P +3 nearing their highs (:TECHX) :  

2:30 pm Great Lakes Dredge & Dock announces a $15 mln common share repurchase program (GLDD) :  

2:20 pm Apple notches a new session high of 113.45, this week's Sep high is at 114.02 (AAPL) : The top end of its two week range from late Aug is at 114.53. 

2:19 pm Tyco announces a 122.075% redemption price for the redemption of its subsidiary Tyco International Finance S.A.'s 8.5% Notes due 2019 (TYC) :  

1:37 pm Cardica: Broadfin Capital shareholder group issues an open letter to the company, reiterating its intent to nominate 8 candidates for election to the Board at the upcoming annual meeting (CRDC) :  

1:30 pm Applied DNA Sciences acquires the assets of privately held Vandalia Research, for $1.5 million in cash (APDN) : Vandalia's core technology and intellectual property portfolio, allow for the large-scale production of specific DNA sequences using polymerase chain reaction

1:25 pm S&P -3.2 and Nasdaq Comp -5.3 are back in the red -- Dow +5 (:TECHX) : Sectors underperforming the S&P during the recent slip include: Biotech IBB, Bank KBE, Finance XLF, Materials XLB, Staples XLP.

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

• KR (37.09 +4.77%): Beat Q2 consensus EPS estimates by $0.05, reported revs in-line; raised FY16 guidance.
• COTY (28.92 +1.72%): Increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25/share from $0.20/share
• RIO (37.17 +2.17%): Upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Large Cap Losers

• CLR (28.09 -4.36%): Oil & Gas names underperforming amid cautious analyst commentary on the energy sector, IEA September market report (WMB, ETE, PAA, CNQ, HES, among many lower).
• DCM (19.84 -3.27%): Downgraded to Underperform at Mizuho.
• MSI (67.21 -2.24%): Downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Mid Cap Gainers

• RH (97.65 +7.24%): Beat Q2 consensus EPS estimates by $0.01, reported revs in-line; offered mixed guidance consisting of Q3 below consensus, Q4 above consensus, and FY16 in line.
• PTLA (49.53 +5.97%): Biotech again outperforming (PBYI, XON, CMRX, SGEN, among other names in the space seeing strong gains).
• NCR (27.36 +3.4%): Reports out that NCR has re-opened itself to an auction, and Blackstone (BX) has shown an interest.

Mid Cap Losers

• MFRM (47.31 -21.59%): Missed Q2 consensus EPS estimates by $0.05, reported revs in-line; lowered FY16 EPS guidance below consensus, raised rev guidance above consensus.
• MRVL (8.89 -15.73%): Reported Q2 (Jul) results, revs missed estimates; announced that its Audit Committee is conducting an independent investigation of certain accounting and internal control matters; Downgraded at Susquehanna, Needham, Brean Capital, FBR, and others.
• RSPP (22.42 -5.6%): Downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman.

1:02 pm Stock indices slightly extend to set new session highs -- Dow +64, S&P +3, Nasdaq Comp +9 (:TECHX) : Noted the test of the initial morning bounce highs with the breakout leading to a modest recovery off the session lows.  Overall, however, the major averages are still forming consolidative inside days. 

12:55 pm ZIOPHARM (+7.5%) leading immuno-oncology stocks higher; group is strong for the second day in a row as biotech (IBB XBI +0.8%) leads equities higher (ZIOP) : ZIOP +7.5%, BLCM +4%, XON +4%, INCY +4%, NLNK +3%, KITE +2%, JUNO +2%, INO +2%, CLDX +2%, AFMD +1%, ADXS +1%

12:54 pm Midday Market Summary: Health Care Leads (:WRAPX) :

The major averages hover near their session highs at midday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.5%) trading ahead of the S&P 500 (+0.2%).

Equities began the trading day in negative territory, responding to overnight weakness in the futures market. Despite the lower start, most sectors have kept pace with the S&P 500 while the energy space (-1.5%) has lagged notably since the opening bell.

The relative weakness in the energy sector has been brought on by selling in crude oil after Goldman Sachs lowered its price forecast for the commodity. Currently, WTI crude remains lower by 1.8% at $45.08/bbl after spiking off its low near $44.20/bbl.

The key indices spent the first two hours of the day near their lows, but spiked back into positive territory with most sectors taking part in the move higher. Notably, the health care sector (+0.5%) has seized the lead after showing relative strength yesterday. Biotechnology has backed today's move, evidenced by a 0.8% gain in iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 353.38, +2.66). The biotech ETF is on track to end the week higher by 4.8% while the health care sector is tracking a 2.5% gain for the week.

Elsewhere among influential sectors, technology (+0.3%) and financials (+0.1%) trade near their broader market, but their performance deserves attention into the afternoon considering they represent more than 35.0% of the entire market.

Treasuries have ticked down from their highs alongside the bid in equities, but they continue holding the bulk of their gains with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.18%.

Economic data reported this morning included PPI and Michigan Sentiment:

• Producer prices were flat in August after increasing 0.2% in July while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decline of 0.1%
  • Energy prices declined 3.3% in August, which was the largest downturn since a 10.1% drop in January, after falling 0.6% in July
  • Food prices increased 0.3% in August after declining 0.1% in July with the aftermath of the bird flu epidemic continuing to wreak havoc on the egg supply, driving egg prices up 32.2%
  • Excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.3% for a third consecutive month in August while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1%
• The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 85.7 in the preliminary September reading from 91.9 in August while the Briefing.com consensus expected a drop to 91.5
  • The Current Conditions Index fell to 100.3 in September from 105.1 in August while the Expectations Index declined to 76.4 from 83.4
  • The overall decline in the Consumer Sentiment Index can be traced to the pullback in stock prices that began at the end of August while other measures that typically impact confidence levels --gasoline prices and employment conditions-continued to improve over the past few weeks

The Treasury Budget for August will be reported at 14:00 ET.

12:40 pm Nasdaq Comp +2 and Nasdaq 100 +3 set new session highs, Dow +34, S&P -0.4 and small-/mid-caps did not confirm (:TECHX) :  

12:14 pm Republic Airways reports preliminary passenger traffic results for August 2015, revenue passenger miles were down 6% y/y (RJET) : The Company generated nearly 974 million revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in August, down about 6 percent compared to the same period in 2014, with a 7 percent reduction in available seat miles (ASMs). Block hours declined 8 percent to about 62,000, and the load factor increased 1 percentage point compared to the same period last year. Republic Airways carried more than 2 million passengers during the month, a decrease of 2 percent compared to August 2014.

12:14 pm Additional upticks for stock indices -- Dow +57, S&P +2.4, Nasdaq Comp +5 (:TECHX) : Biotech IBB, Medical Supplies, Health XLV, Housing XHB, Banking KRE/KBE have displayed relative strength on the push.

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

• UK's FTSE:-0.6%
• Germany's DAX:-0.9%
• France's CAC:-1.0%
• Spain's IBEX:-1.1%
• Portugal's PSI:-0.7%
• Italy's MIB Index:-0.6%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-0.7%
• Greece ASE General Index: -0.1%

11:44 am Stock indices edge above initial bounce highs -- Dow -10, S&P -5, Nasdaq Comp -14 (:TECHX) : The S&P is probing intraday resistance mentioned at 11:23 at 1947/1949 (secondary level note at 1952). Relative sector strength in recent action has been noted in Crude Oil USO, Biotech IBB, Medical Supplies, Reg Bank KRE, Bank KBE, Semi SMH, Software IGV, REITs IYR.

11:33 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (199) outpacing new highs (22) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ADUS, CDW, CNCE, DSGX, EDAP, ENVI, FALC, GB, INCY, INGN, ITI, JBLU, JNP, OTEL, PGI, PLAY, SFBS, SITO, SPWH, STRP, TRR

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ABX, ABY, ACAT, AEZS, AG, AGTC, AIN, ALB, APAM, APWC, ARO, ARR, ARTW, ATEC, ATU, ATW, AUY, AVP, AXLL, BEBE, BGI, BGMD, BHK, BKE, BKH, BPK, BRC, BRG, BRS, BUFF, BUI, BWINB, CAFD, CAI, CAS, CDE, CDI, CEQP, CLW, CMLP, CNS, CNV, CPA, CPGX, CRR, CRS, CYD, DAIO, DDR, DECK, DFRG, DHX, DLR, DNR, DUK, ECR, EDR, EGO, EMCB, ENLC, EPIQ, ESND, EVY, EXC, FDML, FNSR, FRPT, FSM, FSTR, FSYS, FVE, GG, GIGA, GNT, GPRO, GTY, GWR, HGR, HHS, HI, HL, HMY, HP, HR, HUN, HURC, IMN, IPHS, IRC, ISIG, ITG, ITRI, JOY, JRS, JW.A, KGC, KLIC, KS, LEE, LF, LMNR, LNG, LWAY, MDU, MEG, MFRM, MHR, MPEL, MPLX, MR, MRVL, MSL, MT, MUR, MWE, MYE, NFG, NQP, NSLP, NUM, NWPX, NXJ, NYLD, NYLD.A, OCIP, OGE, OOMA, PAH, PBR, PBR.A, PCH, PCL, PEBO, PEI, PERF, PHIIK, PHK, PKOH, PRGN, PSAU, PSTR, PWE, QIHU, RBCN, RDNT, RGLD, RPT, RRMS, RWT, SAIC, SAN, SCX, SGI, SHLO, SJI, SJT, SLRC, SLW, SRE, SRET, STDY, SXC, SXCP, SXE, SYNL, TAC, TAL, TAXI, TEF, TGD, TGI, THST, TIF, TKC, TNC, TROX, TWI, UE, UNT, VNCE, VRNS, VRNT, VRTS, VSEC, VTG, VTR, WIA, WILC, WIW, WMAR, WPC, WPG, WRLD, WYNN, X, YLCO, ZINC, ZUMZ

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: GDX, JO, SIL

11:23 am Choppy action not far above the lows continues -- Dow -52, S&P -10, Nasdaq Comp -29 (:TECHX) : While the S&P has held above its early low/first level support (1940/1937), little interest has developed. Intraday a push back through 1947/1949 and 1952 is needed to start to improve the short term weaker bias.

10:57 am Owens & Minor names W. Marshall Simpson as Chief Commercial Officer, effective October 4, 2015 (OMI) : Simpson, who was most recently Chief Executive Officer of Dominions Medical, a consulting firm he founded to advise new and existing medical and technology companies, served for twenty years at Owens & Minor.

10:46 am Major averages testing initial morning bounce highs -- Dow -30, S&P -6.9, Nasdaq Comp -20 (:TECHX) : Noted in The Technical Take and the 10:01 update that the S&P was probing first level support at 1940/1937. It stabilized at 1939 and edged slightly higher to 1945. In recent trade it has pushed back to this minor bounce high.

10:26 am Amazon displaying relative strength as it vacillates near its session high at 526.80 (AMZN) : Its three week high from this week is at 529.95. 

10:01 am New session lows for market averages -- Dow -81, S&P -12, Nasdaq Comp -30 (:TECHX) : S&P reaches first level support from The Technical Take in the 1940/1937 zone (session low 1939).

10:01 am Market ticks to lows on weaker than expected Michigan Sentiment reading, which came in at 85.7 vs. 91.5 Briefing.com consensus (SPY) :

• S&P 500 is now -13; Dow Jones -85.

9:44 am Sectors displaying relative strength (:TECHX) : The major averages are in the red and the A/D Line is firmly negative but have seen some relative strength in: Coal KOL, Casino (MPEL, LVS, MGM, WYNN), Restaurant, Airline JETS, Home Const ITB (TOL, PHM, BZH, DHI).

9:40 am Early relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Sector that have applied pressure thus far this morning include: Silver SLV, Gold Miners GDX, Crude Oil USO, Oil Service OIH, Solar TAN, Networking IGN (JDSU, FFIV, HRS, MSI), Energy XLE, Biotech IBB.

9:39 am Mecox Lane's Special Committee retains legal and financial advisors to evaluate the previously announced 'going private' offer (MCOX) :  

9:39 am Opening Market Summary: Energy Sector Paces Opening Retreat (:WRAPX) :

The major averages began the trading day in negative territory, staying true to the pre-market indication. The S&P 500 trades lower by 0.3% with all ten sectors showing early losses.

This week's weakest sector-energy-began the day at the bottom of the leaderboard with a 1.0% loss. The sector has responded to the selling pressure in the oil market after Goldman Sachs issued a cautious outlook on oil prices. Currently, WTI crude trades lower by 2.3% at $44.82/bbl.

Elsewhere, heavily-weighted technology (-0.2%) and health care (-0.5%) trade near the broader market after showing relative strength yesterday.

Treasuries have ticked down from their highs, but they remain in the green with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 2.19%.

The preliminary reading of the Michigan Sentiment survey for September (consensus 91.5) will be reported at 10:00 ET.

9:38 am Weak tone off the open but slide limited with indices edging up off lows -- Dow -37, S&P -5, Nasdaq Comp -13.9 (:TECHX) :  

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

• Global Power Equipment Group Inc. (GLPW) announced that it has appointed Peter W. Dawes as President, Auxiliary Products
• Sasol (SSL) and its partners have awarded a $45 mln contract to Petrleos de Moambique, Mozambique's state-owned distributor of petroleum products, to purchase condensate from the Central Processing Facility in Temane, Inhambane province.
• The UK's Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said that it received a complaint about a commercial feature in a Raconteur supplement on cancer treatments sponsored by Northwest Biotherapeutics (NWBO) that was published on 4 June 2015 in the Times. The MHRA says it upheld the complaint and considered that the commercial feature was an advert for a medicine that did not have a valid marketing authorisation in the UK.

9:29 am Evans Bancorp reaches an agreement with the NY state Attorney General, to end litigation (EVBN) :

Co announced that it has reached an agreement with the New York State Attorney General to end litigation by jointly filing a Stipulation of Discontinuance in Federal Court. This action formally ends the Attorney General's lawsuit, which was initiated in September of 2014, regarding Evans residential mortgage practices. Under the settlement, Evans has agreed to:

• Provide, in two annual installments, a total grant of $475,000 to the City of Buffalo's Office of Strategic Planning.
• Administer, over a three-year period, a $100,000 grant program to encourage homeownership in Buffalo's East Side neighborhoods.
• Over a two-year period, invest $200,000 in advertising and marketing designed to reach potential applicants and residents of the complaint area. Pay $50,000 to the New York State Attorney General for costs and fees.

9:27 am Blackstone sets the record and distribution dates for the spin-off of PJT Partners, will begin regular way trading on October 1 (BX) :

The co announced that its Board of Directors has set the record and distribution dates for the spin-off of its financial and strategic advisory services, restructuring and reorganization advisory services and Park Hill Group businesses, which will be combined with PJT Capital, to form an independent, publicly-traded company called PJT Partners Inc.

• On October 1, 2015, the distribution date, each Blackstone common unitholder of record will receive one share of Class A common stock of PJT for every 40 common units of Blackstone held as of the close of business on September 22, 2015, the record date for the distribution.
• Following completion of the spin-off, both companies will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Blackstone common units will continue to trade under the ticker symbol "BX," while shares of Class A common stock of PJT will trade under the symbol "PJT." Blackstone expects that on or about September 18, two trading days prior to the record date, the Class A common stock of PJT will begin trading on a "when issued" basis under the symbol "PJT WI." Concurrently, "ex distribution" trading in Blackstone common units under the symbol "BX WI" will commence alongside "regular way" trading for Blackstone common units. Class A common stock of PJT will begin "regular way" trading on October 1, 2015, at which time "regular way" trading in Blackstone common units will reflect Blackstone's distribution of its Class A common stock of PJT.

9:19 am Corp. Exec. Board to acquire Wanted Technologies (CEB) :

Pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement, shareholders of Wanted Technologies will receive cash consideration of C$1.79 per share, which represents a premium of approximately 53% to the closing price of C$1.17 per share on the TSX Venture Exchange on September 9, 2015 and a premium of approximately 61% over the 20-day volume weighted average price of C$1.11 per share.

• "The acquisition of Wanted Technologies will further our commitment to helping business leaders solve high-value talent challenges with the precision required to drive business impact"

9:16 am Amgen submits an application to the FDA, for a new delivery option for monthly administered Repatha (AMGN) :  

9:14 am S&P futures vs fair value: -9.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -11.50. (:WRAPX) :

The stock market is on track for a modestly lower open with S&P 500 futures trading ten points below fair value after sliding from highs shortly before markets in Europe opened for the day. Speaking of Europe, regional equity indices trade lower across the board with UK's FTSE (-0.6%) outperforming while Spain's IBEX (-1.2%) lags.

Domestically, the pre-market action has been fairly muted with futures trading inside relatively narrow ranges when compared to the swings that have been observed in recent weeks. The benchmark index ended yesterday's session with a week-to-date gain of 1.6%, but some work will be needed in order for the index to maintain its standing.

On the economic front, August producer prices were unchanged while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease of 0.1%. Core producer prices increased 0.3% while the consensus expected a reading of 0.1%.

Treasuries hover near their best levels of the day with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.18%.

More data will be released today with the preliminary reading of the Michigan Sentiment survey for September (consensus 91.5) set to cross at 10:00 ET while the Treasury Budget for August will be reported at 14:00 ET.

9:08 am NextEra Energy agrees to sell $700 mln of equity units (NEE) :

The co announced that it has agreed to sell $700 million of equity units to Barclays, Mizuho Securities, and Wells Fargo Securities.

• Each stock purchase contract will require the holder to purchase NextEra Energy common stock for cash, based on a per-share price range of $95.35 to $114.42. The higher end of this price range reflects a premium of 20 percent over the New York Stock Exchange closing price of NextEra Energy common stock on Sept. 10, 2015, which was $95.35. The holders must complete the stock purchase by no later than Sept. 1, 2018, and their purchase obligations may be satisfied with proceeds raised from remarketing the debentures that comprise part of their equity units.

9:06 am NextEra Energy subsidiary Florida Power & Light Company announces a tender offer for up to $400 mln in mortgage bonds (NEE) : Bonds include First Mortgage bonds with maturities ranging from 2033-2039

9:01 am FMC Corp to sell its Brazilian generic crop protection distribution and sales subsidiary to Atanor do Brasil Ltda; terms not disclosed (FMC) :  

9:01 am DGSE names Matthew M. Peakes as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer effective September 16, 2015 (DGSE) :

• Co announced that Matthew M. Peakes has been appointed to the positions of Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of DGSE Companies, Inc., effective September 16, 2015.
• Peakes will replace James D. "Dusty" Clem, who previously announced his resignation as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 15, 2015. Peakes will step down from his current position as Director of Business Development for Elemetal, LLC ("Elemetal"), to assume these roles at DGSE.

9:00 am Trevana prices its 6.5 mln share common stock offering at $9.75/share (TRVN) :

• Co announces pricing of offering of 6,500,000 shares of its common stock $9.75/share. The gross offering size will be ~$63.4 mln,

8:55 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• WellCare Health Plans (WCG) and Inovalon (INOV) announced a five-year agreement to improve member health utilizing Inovalon's sophisticated quality analytics platform
• Bear State Financial (BSF), the parent company of Bear State Bank and Marshfield Investment Company the parent company of Metropolitan National Bank, have received all necessary approvals required to consummate the transaction and expects to close in the fourth quarter of 2015
• Capstone Turbine Corporation (CPST) announced that it received an order for a C1000 dual mode Power Package to provide thermal and electrical power at a private Christian college in central Pennsylvania
• Emergent Capital, formerly known as Imperial Holdings (EMG) announced the lead plaintiff's dismissal with prejudice of a shareholder lawsuit against the company. Among other things, the suit challenged the board's adoption of a bylaw requiring a shareholder to obtain the consent of holders of 3% of the Company's outstanding shares before bringing a claim on behalf of other shareholders in a class action or on behalf of the Company in a derivative action

8:52 am S&P futures vs fair value: -8.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.10. (:WRAPX) :

The S&P 500 futures trade eight points below fair value.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region closed Friday on a generally weaker note as buyers backed away ahead of China's economic releases over the weekend, which will include the latest reports for retail sales, fixed asset investment, and industrial production. China itself bucked the broader trend and eked out a small gain on Friday, aided by yet another spike of buying interest in the final hour of trading.

• In economic data:
  • China's August New Loans CNY809.60 bln (expected CNY850.00 bln; prior CNY1.48 tln) and August M2 Money Supply +13.3% year-over-year (prior +13.3%)
  • Japan's Q3 BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions 11.0 (prior -6.0)

------

• Japan's Nikkei declined 0.2% in a relatively subdued day of trading. Weakness in the industrials (-1.6%), materials (-1.1%), and technology (-0.8%) sectors pressured the market. Fujikura (-4.4%), Nitto Denko (-4.0%), and Mitsubishi Electric (-4.0%) led individual decliners while Daiwa House Industry (+3.8%), UNY Group Holdings (+3.0%) and Konami Corp (+2.9%) paced the winners. Out of the 225 index members, 101 ended higher, 119 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged. For the week, the Nikkei increased 2.7%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.3% amid steady selling pressure that kicked in following an early 1.6% gain. China Shenhua Energy (-5.1%), PetroChina (-3.9%), and China Life Insurance Co (-3.0%) were the biggest laggards. China Resources Power Holdings (+3.9%), Sun Hung Kai Properties (+3.9%), and Cheung Kong Property Holdings (+3.0%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 23 ended higher, 26 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged. For the week, the Hang Seng increased 3.2%.
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.1%, aided by a last hour spurt of buying interest that brought the Composite back from a 1.0% decline. Earlier in the day it was reported that new loans in August were weaker than expected. Over the weekend, China will be releasing closely-watched data for retail sales, fixed asset investment, and industrial production. For the week, the Shanghai Composite increased 1.3%.

Major European indices trade lower across the board with UK's FTSE (-0.4%) trading a bit ahead of other indices.

• Investors received several data points:
  • Germany's August CPI 0.0% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected. Also of note, August Wholesale Price Index -0.8% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior 0.1%)
  • France's July Current Account swung from a surplus of EUR800 million to a deficit of EUR400 million (expected surplus of EUR600 million)
  • Spain's August CPI -0.3% month-over-month, as expected; -0.4% year-over-year, as expected
  • Italy's July Industrial Production +1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; prior -1.0%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 0.9%; last -0.3%)

------

• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.4% with consumer and telecom names under pressure while miners outperform. Associated British Foods, Sainsbury, Inmarsat, and Vodafone show losses between 1.8% and 2.9%. On the flip side, Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto hold gains between 1.8% and 2.8%.
• Germany's DAX has surrendered 0.7% with all 30 components in the red. E.On is the worst performer, down 2.5% while Deutsche Bank is lower by 0.7%. As for exporters, BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen are down between 0.3% and 0.6%.
• In France, the CAC is down 0.8% with all but six components in the red. Consumer names Accor, Carrefour, and Vivendi are down between 1.5% and 3.0% while Total outperforms, trading higher by 1.2%.

8:50 am Kroger beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; raises FY16 guidance (KR) :

• Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 0.5% year/year to $25.44 bln vs the $25.5 bln consensus.
  • Achieved 47th consecutive quarter of positive identical supermarket sales growth, excluding fuel, +5.3%.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $1.92-1.98 from $1.90-1.95 vs. $1.95 Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • Kroger raised its identical supermarket sales growth guidance, excluding fuel, to a range of 4.0% to 5.0% for fiscal 2015. The previous guidance was 3.5% to 4.5%. 

8:48 am Ecopetrol announces that its Board has accepted the resignation of COO Camilo Marulanda Lpez (EC) : Marulanda will remain in his position until the end of October. Ecopetrol will begin a selection process for the Company's COO with the assistance of a recruiting firm.

8:33 am Allegion proposes a registered public offering of senior notes; size not disclosed (ALLE) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the senior notes offering to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under its senior secured revolving credit facility.

8:32 am Telus completes its 2015 normal course issuer bid program, receives approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange for a new $500 mln, 2016 normal course issuer bid program (TU) :

• Co purchased ~12.048 mln shares under its 2015 Normal Course Issuer Bid program and will have completed the purchases under the 2015 program by September 14, 2015. TELUS has also received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange for a new Normal Course Issuer Bid program to purchase and cancel up to $500 mln in additional shares over the next 12 months.
• By September 14, 2015, TELUS will have completed its 2015 NCIB program with the purchase of approximately 12.1 mln shares or 2.0 per cent of its outstanding shares for approximately $500 mln.

8:32 am Gorman-Rupp announces over $10 million of cash investments, to expand its European operations in Ireland and The Netherlands (GRC) : Co announced over $10 million of cash investments in expansions of its European operations in Ireland and The Netherlands and a related planned acquisition in Belgium. Related to its acquisition, the Company announced that its G-R Europe subsidiary has reached an agreement in principal to purchase Hydro+ SA and Hydro+ Rental SPRL, based near Namur, Belgium. Hydro+ has been the Company's Belgian pump and pump systems distributor since 1998, and in 2011 formed Hydro Rental to expand pump and pump system rentals in the same region. Combined annual revenues of the Hydro companies are ~$4 mln. 

8:32 am Market View: Dec. eMini stock-index futures remain below fair values following the 8:30 am ET economic data points (:TECHX) :

• ESz5 now @ 1934.75 -5.00
  
  
• YMz5 now @ 16164 -41
  
  
• NQz5 now @ 4268.00 -17.00

8:31 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: CHKE -33.6%, ZUMZ -17.4%, FNSR -14.8%, MRVL -13.7%, MFRM -12.2%, RUN -4.2%, BRC -2.4%, USAT -2.2%, VISI -0.6%

Select EU financial names showing weakness: SAN -1.4%, ING -1.4%, DB -1%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness: SDRL -4%, STO -2.7%, RIG -2.6%, SU -2.5%, CEO -1.3%, HAL -1.1%, SLB -1.1%

Other news: EFOI -20.3% (prices its follow-on offering of 3 mln shares of its common stock by it and certain of its stockholders at $17.00/share), TRVN -4% (announced a proposed underwritten offering of common stock; size and terms not disclosed), NEE -2.4% (announced that it intends to sell $700 million of equity units, with each equity unit to be issued in a stated amount of $50), CLNE -2.1% (Co-Founder Boone Pickens to sell up to 3 mln shares), HLF -2.1% (Bill Ackman on CNBC reaffirms high level of confidence in (large) HLF short position), SGEN -0.5% (prices its upsized underwritten public offering of 11,707,318 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $41/share)

Analyst comments: WCIC -10.2% (downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan), SLCA -4.6% (downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies), RSPP -2.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman), CHD -1.6% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS)

8:31 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.60. (:WRAPX) :

The S&P 500 futures trade six points below fair value.

August producer prices were unchanged while the Briefing.com consensus expected a decrease of 0.1%. Core producer prices increased 0.3% while the consensus expected a reading of 0.1%.

8:31 am Erin Energy announces Christopher Hearne has resigned as CFO effective September 9, names Daniel Ogbonna as replacement (ERN) :

The co announced a number of changes within its management structure.

• Daniel Ogbonna has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Ogbonna was previously with CAMAC International Corporation, where he has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer since 2010
• Christopher Hearne has resigned as SVP and CFO effective September 9, 2015. Mr. Hearne has agreed to work with Erin Energy as a consultant to assist with the transition period.
• Segun Omidele, Senior Vice President, Exploration and Production, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer effective immediately. Mr. Omidele has been with Erin Energy since 2011

8:30 am Amyris enters into an MOU for an exclusive distribution and reseller agreement with Contm 1G (AMRS) :

Following completion of definitive agreements, Amyris plans to introduce Biossance The Revitalizer, its initial featured skin moisturizer, to Brazil around the end of this year. Amyris also plans to introduce an additional five Biossance products through 2016 and a hair care line by the end of 2016.

• Through the agreement contemplated by the Memorandum of Understanding, Amyris would gain access to Contm 1G's retail sales outlets as its exclusive skin care product line. The partnership would also provide Amyris with access to the manufacturing and cosmetic-development facilities and capabilities of Contm 1G.

8:30 am Citrix Systems authorizes additional $500 mln stock repurchase (CTXS) :

• Co announces that its board of directors has authorized the company to repurchase up to an additional $500 million of Citrix common stock. Citrix said it plans to buy shares on the open market from time to time, depending on market conditions.

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

• Reynolds American Inc (RAI) announced that Debra A. Crew, currently president and chief commercial officer of R.J. Reynolds, will become president and chief operating officer of the company
• Manning & Napier (MN) reported preliminary AUM of $38.8 billion at August 31, 2015, compared with $43.1 billion at June 30, 2015 and $47.8 billion at December 31, 2014
• Array BioPharma Inc. (ARRY) announced presentations on encorafenib and binimetinib at the 2015 European Cancer Congress, which will be held September 25 - 29, 2015 in Vienna, Austria. Top-line results expected over the next year from the NEMO and COLUMBUS Phase 3 trials
• Genomic Health, Inc. (GHDX) announced that results from four Oncotype DX breast cancer studies, including three large clinical outcomes studies in which the test was used to determine treatment, will be presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress
• Pulmatrix, Inc. (PULM) announced that preclinical data regarding the pharmacokinetics and potency of PUR1900, will be presented at the 2015 North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference. The co will present the data, which show that itraconazole, the drug selected for development as PUR1900, was active and potent in vitro against Aspergillus fumigatus, a pathogen causing pulmonary infection in cystic fibrosis. Pharmacokinetic data also demonstrate that PUR1900 achieved high lung concentrations of itraconazole and low systemic exposure following lung delivery in rats, highlighting the advantages of pulmonary delivery for this compound
• Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (MRTX)announced it will present data on its tyrosine kinase inhibitor, MGCD516, at the ESMO 2015 European Cancer Congress
• Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. (SHOS) announced that Michael McCarthy has been hired as the company's new Vice President, Merchandising and Inventory, which will take effect on September 21, 2015

8:28 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: ACET +10%, RH +2%, BOTA +0.5%

M&A news: CSX PGI +22.4% (to be acquired by Siris Capital Group for $14.00/share in cash, or ~$1 bln; deal includes a 45-day 'go-shop' period),+0.9% ( Incoming Canadian Pacific (CP) CEO (current COO) on CNBC says a combination with CSX is up to it's Board)

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: AG +2.5%, GOLD +1.6%, HMY +1.5%, BHP +1.1%

Other news: ZSPH +5.7% (co confirmed it has participated in preliminary discussions with Actelion (ALIOY) regarding a potential strategic transaction),NVAX +3.8% (announced that the full data set from its clinical trial of RSV F-protein recombinant nanoparticle vaccine candidate in women of childbearing age were published in the Journal of Infectious Disease),FGEN +2.7% (still checking),MIXT +1.9% (announced its Board has approved a share repurchase programme under which the Company may repurchase up to 1.6 mln ADSs through March 15, 2016),NEP +1.3% (prices offering of 8,000,000 common units at $26.00 per common unit)

Analyst comments: RIO +2.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS),ARCB +1.9% (upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill),AHH +1.7% (initiated with a Buy at Janney),ZEN +1.6% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse ),SYT +1.5% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Bernstein ),WLL +1.2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman),POWR +0.9% (initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer),TOT +0.8% (added to Conviction Buy list at Goldman),LULU +0.6% (added to Focus List at JP Morgan),WEN +0.6% (initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim)

8:21 am Cherokee follow-up: CHKE -33% in pre-market on Target (TGT) non-renewal; analysts see potential opportunity (CHKE) :

Cherokee (CHKE) is the biggest pre-market loser this morning, trading lower by 33% after reporting Q2 results and announcing its largest licensor, Target (TGT), will not renew its license for Cherokee brand in the U.S. The Target license is now scheduled to expire at the end of its current term on January 31, 2017 after a 20+ year partnership.

Cherokee is a global brand marketing platform that manages a growing portfolio of fashion and lifestyle brands. It has licensing agreements with retailers and manufacturers in more than 50 countries in 7,000 retail locations. Some of the company's other owned brands include Liz Lange and Completely Me by Liz Lange, Hawk and Tony Hawk, Sideout, and Carole Little. The Hawk and Tony Hawk brands are licensed exclusively in the U.S. to Kohl's (KSS). Licensing revenues for those brands totaled $4.9 million in fiscal 2015, which was 14% of Cherokee's total revenues. The license agreement with Kohl's extends through January 2018.

While Q2 results were slightly below expectations, the real catalyst for the downside reaction is the Target license non-renewal.

Royalty revenues from Target U.S. for the Cherokee brand accounted for 43%, 53%, respectively, of CHKE's consolidated revenues during 2015 and 2014. CHKE does not expect the non-renewal to have any material impact on 2016 revenues, and anticipates that it will establish new channels for Cherokee branded products in the U.S. that will be available in Fiscal 2018.

Cherokee has limited Wall Street analyst coverage, but a few of the covering analysts are out this morning suggesting that while it adds uncertainty to the revenue picture, the Target non-renewal could actually create an opportunity for Cherokee to replace that license with another licensor on better terms. Wunderlich cut their target to $26 from $33 but noted they expect the uncertainty to create a buying opportunity. B. Riley lowered their target to $27 from $34, also seeing the downside as a buying opportunity.

CHKE shares are lower by 33% at $16.15, wiping out this year's gains and back at levels last seen in November of 2014. 

8:13 am Centene announces that its Georgia subsidiary was one of the Care Management Organizations selected to serve Medicaid recipients in Georgia (CNC) : The new contract is expected to start on July 1, 2016, pending regulatory approvals. Under the new contract, Peach State Health Plan will be one of four plans serving over 1.3 million members enrolled in the Georgia Families, PeachCare for Kids and Planning for Healthy Babies programs.

8:11 am Manning & Napier Advisors reports preliminary AUM of $38.8 bln at August 31, 2015, compared with $43.1 bln at June 30, 2015 (MN) :  

8:08 am European Markets Update: FTSE -0.4%, CAC -0.8%, DAX -0.8% (:SUMRX) :

Major European indices trade lower across the board with UK's FTSE (-0.4%) trading a bit ahead of other indices.

• Investors received several data points:
  • Germany's August CPI 0.0% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected. Also of note, August Wholesale Price Index -0.8% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior 0.1%)
  • France's July Current Account swung from a surplus of EUR800 million to a deficit of EUR400 million (expected surplus of EUR600 million)
  • Spain's August CPI -0.3% month-over-month, as expected; -0.4% year-over-year, as expected
  • Italy's July Industrial Production +1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; prior -1.0%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 0.9%; last -0.3%)

------

• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.4% with consumer and telecom names under pressure while miners outperform. Associated British Foods, Sainsbury, Inmarsat, and Vodafone show losses between 1.8% and 2.9%. On the flip side, Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto hold gains between 1.8% and 2.8%.
• In France, the CAC is down 0.8% with all but six components in the red. Consumer names Accor, Carrefour, and Vivendi are down between 1.5% and 3.0% while Total outperforms, trading higher by 1.2%.
• Germany's DAX has surrendered 0.8% with all 30 components in the red. E.On is the worst performer, down 2.5% while Deutsche Bank is lower by 0.7%. As for exporters, BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen are down between 0.3% and 0.6%.

8:06 am Integrated Silicon completes the sale of its Chingis subsidiary to MediaTek Capital Corp, expects closing of merger with Uphill early in Q4 (ISSI) :  

8:04 am Brady misses by $0.06, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS below consensus; authorizes increase in share repurchase program (BRC) :

Reports Q4 (Jul) earnings of $0.28 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.34; revenues fell 8.9% year/year to $288.6 mln vs the $295.7 mln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.10-1.30 vs. $1.56 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co anticipates approximately flat to low single-digit organic sales growth in fiscal 2016, with organic sales growth in both the Identification Solutions and Workplace Safety businesses increasing as the year progresses.
• Board of Directors authorized an increase in the Company's share buyback program, authorizing the repurchase of up to a total of two million shares of the Company's Class A Common StockShare buyback program increased to a total share repurchase authorization of up to 2 million shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock.

8:04 am Ford Motor approves a three-year extension of its current tax benefit preservation plan (F) :

The current plan, originally adopted in September 2009 and amended in September 2012, was scheduled to expire on September 30, 2015. The extension approved by the Board of Directors extends the final expiration date of the plan to September 30, 2018.

• At year-end 2014, Ford had tax attributes, including net operating losses and tax credit carry forwards, that would offset more than $15 billion of taxable income. Ford can utilize these tax attributes in certain circumstances to offset taxable income and reduce its federal income tax liability. 
• As a continuation of the current plan, if any person or group acquires 4.99 percent or more of the outstanding shares of common stock (subject to certain exceptions), there would be a triggering event under the plan resulting in significant dilution in the ownership interest of such person or group in Ford stock.

8:03 am Q2 Holdings confirms it filed a registration statement relating to its proposed follow-on public offering; Q2 and certain of its stockholders are proposing to sell an aggregate of 3,798,996 shares (QTWO) : The co and certain of its stockholders are proposing to sell an aggregate of 3,798,996 shares, consisting of 863,409 shares to be offered by Q2 and 2,935,587 shares to be offered by certain selling stockholders.

8:03 am Legg Mason reports August, 2015 prelim AUM of $681.9 bln, down 2% from the prior month (LM) : This month's AUM reflects long-term outflows of $1.2 billion, including equity outflows of $1.7 billion partially offset by fixed income inflows of $0.5 billion. Liquidity inflows were $3.4 billion and this month's AUM reflects $0.5 billion in negative foreign exchange impact.

8:02 am AES wins a competitive bid from the Electric Transmission Company, to supply 350 MW of new capacity (AES) :

Co announced that its subsidiary Gas Natural Atlantico S. de R.L., has won a competitive bid process conducted by the Electric Transmission Company, SA (:ETESA), the state's electric transmission company, to supply 350 MW of new capacity. The project will include the construction of a 350 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired plant with a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement, and a 170,000 m3 LNG storage tank and regasification facility.

• AES expects to sign the 10-year PPA by the end of 2015. The total project cost is expected to be in the range of $800 to $900 million, which will be financed with a combination of non-recourse debt, equity from partners and AES equity of up to $210 million

8:02 am Flotek Industries welcomes Praesidium's investment, continues to have discussion with partners about FracMax; reaffirms Q3 chemistry rev to post sequential growth of at least 10% with stable to modestly higher margins (FTK) :

• As noted in recent presentations and on the Company's second quarter conference call, Flotek expects third quarter chemistry revenue to post sequential growth of at least 10% with stable to modestly higher margins. The growth is primarily the result of accelerating use of Flotek's CnF completion chemistries, principally in North America, and continued expansion of validation projects with prospective commercial customers.
• Co is delighted with Praesidium's recent 13D filing showing over a 5% stake: "Flotek is acutely focused on growing its core energy chemistry business and views FracMax, first and foremost, as an important tool in increasing market penetration for our CnF chemistries," added Chisholm. "That said, we also recognize there may very well be additional value to this unique, innovative software platform and look forward to input from Praesidium as well all other stakeholders that could lead to meaningful value creation. In fact, we have initiated and continue to have meaningful discussions with potential partners -- both strategic and financial -- regarding the future of FracMax that have resulted from meaningful discussions with other stakeholders, albeit in a more flexible setting without the need for a formal filing."

8:02 am La Jolla Pharm receives a positive opinion for LJPC-401 from the EMA, and is granted a meeting to review LJPC-401 future development plans (LJPC) : Co announced that the European Medicines Agency (:EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (:COMP) issued a positive opinion recommending LJPC-401. In a separate decision, the EMA's Innovation Task Force (ITF) has granted a meeting with La Jolla to review future development plans for LJPC-401.

8:01 am Cypress Semi and Fujitsu Electronics (FJTSY) announce $500 mln distribution agreement for Japan (CY) :

• Co and Fujitsu Electronics Incorporated (FEI) finalized an agreement that will significantly expand FEI's role as a distribution partner for Cypress.
• In the wake of Cypress's merger with Spansion Inc. in March 2015, the agreement replaces the two prior agreements between Spansion and FEI, providing FEI with access to the products covered by the prior agreements and adding Cypress's entire product line, including PSoC Programmable System-on-Chip devices, automotive touch-sensing solutions, SRAM and nonvolatile memories, Bluetooth Low Energy solutions and USB controllers.
• The agreement took effect on September 10, 2015 and is expected to generate $500 million in sales the first year.

8:01 am Coty increases quarterly dividend to $0.25/share from $0.20/share (COTY) :  

8:01 am Kite Pharma announces positive EMA opinion recommending EU Orphan Designation for the treatment of primary mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma (KITE) : Co announced that the European Medicines Agency (:EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products has adopted a positive opinion recommending KTE-C19 for designation as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of PMBCL and MCL. No other product candidate currently has orphan drug designation for the treatment of PMBCL in the EU. Kite previously received orphan drug designation for KTE-C19 for the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (:DLBCL) in both the US and the EU.

8:00 am GAIN Capital names Nigel Rose as CFO, effective October 1, 2015 (GCAP) : Rose, who is currently GAIN's Group Finance Director, has served as the Chief Financial Officer of City Index Holdings, Inc. since 2010. GAIN acquired City Index in April of 2015.

7:53 am S&P futures vs fair value: -6.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.40. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures hold modest pre-market losses amid defensive action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover six points below fair value after sliding from highs shortly before the start of the European session.

Meanwhile, Treasuries hold gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 2.21%.

On the economic front, August PPI (Briefing.com consensus -0.1%) will be reported at 8:30 ET while the preliminary reading of the Michigan Sentiment survey (consensus 91.5) will be released at 10:00 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the 14:00 ET release of the Treasury Budget for August.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Finisar (FNSR 12.51, -2.40): -16.1% after missing estimates and guiding below analyst expectations.
• Marvell (MRVL 9.50, -1.05): -10.0% after missing revenue estimates and announcing that the Audit Committee will continue an independent investigation of the company's accounting.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mostly lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.3%, Japan's Nikkei -0.2%, and China's Shanghai Composite +0.1%
  • In economic data:
    • China's August New Loans CNY809.60 bln (expected CNY850.00 bln; prior CNY1.48 tln) and August M2 Money Supply +13.3% year-over-year (prior +13.3%)
    • Japan's Q3 BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions 11.0 (prior -6.0)
  • In news:
    • The Bank of Korea left its key lending rate unchanged at 1.50%, as expected

• Major European indices trade lower across the board. UK's FTSE -0.4%, France's CAC -0.7%, and Germany's DAX -0.7%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.2% and Spain's IBEX -1.1%
  • Investors received several data points:
    • Germany's August CPI 0.0% month-over-month, as expected; +0.2% year-over-year, as expected. Also of note, August Wholesale Price Index -0.8% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; prior 0.1%)
    • France's July Current Account swung from a surplus of EUR800 million to a deficit of EUR400 million (expected surplus of EUR600 million)
    • Spain's August CPI -0.3% month-over-month, as expected; -0.4% year-over-year, as expected
    • Italy's July Industrial Production +1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; prior -1.0%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 0.9%; last -0.3%)
  • Among news of note:
    • European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure commented on the central bank's QE program, saying it will continue until growth is strong enough to create a sufficient number of jobs

7:48 am Energy Focus prices its follow-on offering of 3 mln shares of its common stock by it and certain of its stockholders at $17.00/share (EFOI) : The Company is offering 1,500,000 shares of its common stock and the Selling Stockholders are offering an additional 1,500,000 shares of their common stock on the same terms and conditions.

7:47 am Diana Containerships announces the delivery of a post-panamax container vessel, the M/V Rotterdam (DCIX) :

• Co announced that yesterday, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it took delivery of the m/v Rotterdam. As previously announced, "Rotterdam" is a 2008-built Post-Panamax container vessel of ~6,500 TEU capacity that the co entered into an agreement to purchase on July 29, 2015.
• Including the newly delivered "Rotterdam", Diana Containerships Inc.'s fleet currently consists of 14 container vessels (5 Post-Panamax and 9 Panamax).
• The co also expects to take delivery of one Post-Panamax container vessel by the end of November 2015.

7:42 am Healthsouth announces an offering of $300 million in senior notes due 2025 (HLS) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from this private offering to fund a portion of its previously announced acquisition of the operations of Reliant Hospital Partners,, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015

7:40 am Mattress Firm misses by $0.05, reports revs in-line; lowers FY16 EPS, raises rev (MFRM) :

• Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.67 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.72; revenues rose 61.2% year/year to $661.1 mln vs the $663.58 mln consensus, incremental sales from acquired and new stores, and comparable-store sales growth of 2.8%.
• Co issues guidance for FY16, lowers EPS to $2.30-2.45, excluding non-recurring items, from $2.50-2.70 vs. $2.59 Capital IQ Consensus; raises FY16 revs to $2.53-2.55 bln from $2.485-2.535 bln vs. $2.5 bln Capital IQ Consensus; reaffirms comps up low single digits.
  • The Company is increasing the midpoint of its sales guidance range by $30 million primarily as a result of the anticipation of 30 incremental net new stores and the outperformance at the Sleep Train brand.
  • The Company is revising its Adjusted EPS financial guidance for the full fiscal year (52 weeks) ending February 2, 2016 ("fiscal 2015") based on year-to-date results, continued volatility inside oil-affected markets, and the discontinuation of the Mattress Pro concept. 

7:31 am Arrowhead Research nominates ARC-HIF2 as its first therapeutic candidate delivered using a new Dynamic Polyconjugate designed to target tissues outside of the liver (ARWR) :

Arrowhead believes that ARC-HIF2, which uses RNA interference to silence transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 2a, is a promising new candidate for the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The company will present preclinical data at the European Cancer Congress 2015 in Vienna on September 27 in a session starting at 16:45 CEST. In a poster titled "HIF-2a targeting with a novel RNAi delivery platform as therapy for renal cell carcinoma," Arrowhead scientists will show data suggesting that HIF-2a inhibition through RNA interference may significantly impact late stage ccRCC progression.

• The company says it is in the process of manufacturing scale up to allow for initiation of IND-enabling studies. Timing for anticipated regulatory submission will be announced in the future.

7:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• NxStage Medical (NXTM) and Spindial S.p.A. announced their new partnership with the Niguarda-Ca' Granda hospital in Milan, Italy to help assist hemodialysis patients, including both current NxStage patients and non-NxStage patients, who wish to travel to Milan. Through this partnership in-center hemodialysis patients may have the opportunity to travel to Milan and access therapy using the NxStage System One at the Milan hospital
• Ixonos PLC announced a global services partnership with Brightcove (BCOV) designed to deliver innovative apps that leverage the power of online video to engage audiences and move businesses.
• SunEdison, Inc (SUNE) announced that Columbia, Md. now sources 75 percent of its energy from wind renewable energy credits, and 25 percent from a newly completed two megawatt MW DC solar farm in SunEdison and Bithenergy's Nixon Farm solar project

7:07 am Avid Tech names Rashid Desai as Chief Technology Officer (AVID) : Desai joins Avid from Barclaycard, where he held Managing Director, Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer roles.

7:02 am ISIS Pharm announces that its collaboration with AstraZeneca (AZN) to discover and develop antisense drugs, has received HSR clearance (ISIS) : As such, AstraZeneca (AZN) will pay Isis a $65 million up-front payment. Isis is eligible to receive development and regulatory milestones for each program that AstraZeneca advances to clinical development. Isis Pharmaceuticals is also eligible to earn tiered double-digit royalties on annual net sales for each program.

7:01 am Biogen prices $6 bln in senior unsecured notes (BIIB) :

The notes will mature as follows:

• $1.50 billion will mature on September 15, 2020 and will bear interest at an annual rate of 2.900%
• $1.00 billion will mature on September 15, 2022 and will bear interest at an annual rate of 3.625%
• $1.75 billion will mature on September 15, 2025 and will bear interest at an annual rate of 4.050%
• $1.75 billion will mature on September 15, 2045 and will bear interest at an annual rate of 5.200% 

Biogen intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with cash on hand, to fund share repurchases of its common stock under the company's previously authorized $5.0 billion share repurchase program, for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

6:53 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei -0.2%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.3%; China's Shanghai Composite +0.1% (:SUMRX) :

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region closed Friday on a generally weaker note as buyers backed away ahead of China's economic releases over the weekend, which will include the latest reports for retail sales, fixed asset investment, and industrial production. China itself bucked the broader trend and eked out a small gain on Friday, aided by yet another spike of buying interest in the final hour of trading.

Economic data

• China
  • August New Loans CNY 809.6 bln (expected CNY 850.0 bln; prior CNY 1.48 tln)
  • August M2 Money Supply +13.3% year-over-year (prior +13.3%)
• Japan
  • Q3 BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions 11.0 (prior -6.0)
• South Korea
  • Bank of Korea leaves key lending rate unchanged at 1.50% as expected (prior 1.50%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei declined 0.2% in a relatively subdued day of trading. Weakness in the industrials (-1.6%), materials (-1.1%), and technology (-0.8%) sectors pressured the market. Fujikura (-4.4%), Nitto Denko (-4.0%), and Mitsubishi Electric (-4.0%) led individual decliners while Daiwa House Industry (+3.8%), UNY Group Holdings (+3.0%) and Konami Corp (+2.9%) paced the winners. Out of the 225 index members, 101 ended higher, 119 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged. For the week, the Nikkei increased 2.7%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.3% amid steady selling pressure that kicked in following an early 1.6% gain. China Shenhua Energy (-5.1%), PetroChina (-3.9%), and China Life Insurance Co (-3.0%) were the biggest laggards. China Resources Power Holdings (+3.9%), Sun Hung Kai Properties (+3.9%), and Cheung Kong Property Holdings (+3.0%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 23 ended higher, 26 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged. For the week, the Hang Seng increased 3.2%.
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.1%, aided by a last hour spurt of buying interest that brought the Composite back from a 1.0% decline. Earlier in the day it was reported that new loans in August were weaker than expected. Over the weekend, China will be releasing closely-watched data for retail sales, fixed asset investment, and industrial production. For the week, the Shanghai Composite increased 1.3%.
• India's Sensex declined 0.1% on steady selling pressure that emerged following an opening 1.0% gain. Weakness in the materials (-2.5%), industrials (-1.4%), and energy (-0.7%) sectors offset strength in the financials (+0.6%), technology (+0.4%), and health care (+0.4%) sectors. Bharat Heavy Electricals (-3.1%), Tata Steel (-3.0%), and Tata Motors (-3.0%) were the worst-performing issues. State Bank of India (+1.3%), Wipro (+1.3%), and Housing Development Finance (+1.2%) led the gainers. Out of the 30 index members, 13 ended higher and 17 finished lower. For the week, the Sensex increased 1.6%.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5%, led lower by weakness in the energy (-1.6%), gold (-1.3%), and telecom services (-1.2%) sectors. Out of the 200 index members, 80 ended higher, 96 finished lower, and 24 were unchanged. For the week, the S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.6%.
• Regional advancers: Taiwan +0.5%, Indonesia +0.4%, Philippines +0.3%
• Regional decliners: South Korea -1.1%, Malaysia -0.7%, Thailand -1.2%, Vietnam -0.9%
• Closed for holiday: Singapore (elections)

FX

• USD/CNY -0.04% at 6.3749
• USD/INR +0.2% at 66.5412
• USD/JPY +0.02% at 120.64

6:42 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Merck KGaA (MKGAY) announced that it intends to submit its investigational treatment Cladribine Tablets for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis for registration in Europe. The decision follows the company's evaluation of new data and additional analyses of the compound's benefit-risk profile.
• Sky News (SKYAY) and Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing Pulse have announced they will continue to work together to provide audience feedback and sentiment tracking around key debates and events in the future.
• SeaChange (SEAC) and Imagine Communications have signed a reseller agreement in pursuit of the global market for multiscreen television and advertising. The companies will jointly offer a range of solutions comprised of category-leading platforms for premium video networking, management, streaming, analytics and monetization.
• AK Steel (AKS) said that the U.S. International Trade Commission has made a preliminary determination that cold-rolled steel produced in seven foreign countries is causing or threatening to cause injury to AK Steel and the domestic steel industry. The preliminary injury determination means that cases against cold-rolled steel producers in these seven countries will proceed. The ITC also determined that imports of cold-rolled steel from the Netherlands are not causing or threatening to cause injury to the domestic industry because the quantity of imports from the Netherlands was "negligible," such that the imports comprised less than three percent of total imports of cold-rolled steel during the 12 months preceding the filing of the petition. (X)
• Volvo Group (VOLVY) Executive Team member Torbjrn Holmstrm has announced his intention to step down from his position as Volvo Group Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President Group Trucks Technology. A global search will be conducted during autumn 2015 to identify his successor.
  

6:22 am Clean Energy Fuels Co-Founder Boone Pickens to sell up to 3 mln shares (CLNE) :

President and CEO Andrew J. Littlefair detailed that:

• "My co-founder, Boone Pickens, let me know that he has filed a Form 144 to sell a small portion of his overall holdings in Clean Energy, up to 3 million shares. He emphasized that he still remains as bullish as ever on the company's future and the benefits of natural gas as a transportation fuel, validated by the growing number of vehicle fleets fueling at Clean Energy stations. Boone will continue to be our largest shareholder, an active member of the company's board of directors and a valuable energy expert for us to tap into."

6:16 am Seattle Genetics prices its upsized underwritten public offering of 11,707,318 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $41/share (SGEN) : The gross proceeds to Seattle Genetics from the offering, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses, are expected to be approximately $480 million. The offering was upsized by 20 percent from the originally anticipated gross offering amount of $400 million.

6:10 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Avid (AVID) made several key announcements around the Avid MediaCentral Platform and its associated modular application suites, further delivering on the promises of Avid Everywhere. These innovations solve the media industry's most critical challenges, so that everyone, from individual artists and creative teams to the world's largest media enterprises, can create, distribute, and manage content in a way that helps them get more value from their media assets. 
• Starting on September 25, qualified Sprint (S) customers can get Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 6s for $15 per month and iPhone 6s Plus for $19 per month, making it the most affordable way to get the new iPhones on Sprint. Customers who choose not to trade in an existing smartphone at time of purchase can get iPhone 6s for $22 per month and iPhone 6s Plus for $26 per month.
  

5:59 am S&P futures vs fair value: +4.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.30. :

5:59 am European Markets : FTSE...6134.64...-21.20...-0.30%.  DAX...10108.22...-102.20...-1.00%.

5:59 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...18264.22...-35.40...-0.20%.  Hang Seng...21504.37...-58.10...-0.30%.

4:18 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Celeno Communications, a leading provider of high-performance Wi-Fi chips and software for demanding home networking applications, today announced a reference design developed together with STMicroelectronics (STM), where Celeno's Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 802.11n chips are fully integrated with ST's Alicante DOCSIS 3.0 CableLabs certified chip.
• Concurrent (CCUR) announced a new major release of its Unified Content Delivery Solution that includes enhanced support for Cloud DVR and 4K streaming services.
• ARRIS Group (ARRS) announced that Telefonica (TEF) selected its VIP1113 set-top to deliver next-generation IPTV services-including HDTV, TV everywhere, on-demand, and OTT services-to its Movistar+ TV customers.
• Toshiba Corporation's (TOSBF) Semiconductor & Storage Products Company announced the launch of optical coupled isolation amplifiers with a delta-sigma AD converter that can detect infinitesimal electric current and voltage fluctuation with high-precision, for use in industrial equipment applications. 
• Ericsson (ERIC) announced the commercial availability of Ericsson MediaFirst, a next-generation Pay TV platform that transforms TV and video entertainment.
  

4:03 am Telenor and TeliaSonera (TLSNY) withdraw from merger proposal (TELNY) :

Telenor and TeliaSonera announce the withdrawal of the proposed merger of their respective business units in Denmark. The companies have not been able to agree with the European Commission on acceptable conditions to go ahead with their plan to create a robust mobile operator.

• Telenor and TeliaSonera now continue to review the strategic options in the Danish market.

4:01 am NextEra Energy Partners prices offering of 8,000,000 common units at $26.00 per common unit (NEP) :  

4:00 am Danaher prices ~$2 bln in senior notes (DHR) :

Co announced that it has priced a public offering of:

• $500 mln of 1.650% senior notes due 2018
• $500 mln of 2.400% senior notes due 2020
• $500 mln of 3.350% senior notes due 2025
• $500 mln of 4.375% senior notes due 2045

4:00 am Globe Specialty Metals amends its business combination agreement with FerroAtlantica; $32.5 mln cash payment to shareholders (GSM) :

Globe Specialty Metals announced that it has amended its business combination agreement with Grupo FerroAtlntica to, among other things, provide additional governance provisions for the benefit of the Globe shareholders.

• Globe also announced that, subject to certain conditions, a $32.5 million aggregate cash payment would be made by the combined companies for the benefit of the Globe shareholders after completion of the business combination.
• The amendments to the business combination agreement and the cash payment to the Globe shareholders are made pursuant to a memorandum of understanding that outlines the terms of an agreement in principle to settle the pending legal action regarding the business combination.
• Globe will adjourn to September 22, 2015 its special meeting of shareholders called to approve the business combination in order to provide additional time for shareholders to consider these matters.

3:59 am William Lyon Homes prices offering of $50 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.00% senior notes due 2022 (WLH) :  

3:58 am CenturyLink unit Qwest sells $400 million aggregate principal amount of 6.625% Notes due 2055 (CTL) :  

3:48 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Nordea has selected Accenture (ACN) and Temenos to help the bank replace its core banking systems across the Nordics as part of its broader "simplification" program. Accenture will help implement the new core banking platform, which will be based on Temenos' core banking software.
• DBV Technologies (DBVT) announced that following the review of the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange Indices on September 10, 2015, the "Conseil Scientifique des Indices", Euronext's steering committee, has admitted DBV to the SBF 120 Index.
• TiVo (TIVO) announced it will unveil its latest advanced TV offerings for cable operators. In addition to demonstrating enhancements to TiVo's acclaimed Gateway PVR, multi-room and multi-screen solutions, TiVo will be showcasing comprehensive offerings combining technologies from portfolio companies Digitalsmiths and Cubiware.
• MaxLinear (MXL) announced it will demonstrate a scalable multi-channel satellite UHD set-top box and media server reference design with STMicroelectronics (STM) and Quantenna