11:39 am Major averages stall shy of Wednesday's highs and edge back led by small-cap Russell 2000 -- Dow +13, S&P +5.7, Nasdaq Comp +15 (:TECHX) :  

11:31 am Wi-LAN's subsidiary acquires a portfolio of patents that relates to technology that seamlessly transfers communications between Wi-Fi and cellular wireless networks; terms not disclosed (WILN) :  

11:30 am Dow +22 joins S&P +6.7 and Nasdaq Comp +22 at minor new session high (:TECHX) :  

11:16 am Currency Commentary: DXY Holding 95 (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index fell back to test 95 for support but was able to hold. It was a busy morning on the U.S. economic data front with the majority of reports missing expectations. Initial Claims, Markit Manufacturing PMI, Existing Home Sales and the May Philly Fed all missed there marks. Perhaps the more surprising item is the big jump in Leading Indicators (+0.7% m/m). A full round of misses would have helped provide a little more clarity to the economic picture. But the LEI reading helped continue to muddle the picture. This afternoon the Fed's Fischer and Williams speak. Tomorrow the Fed's Yellen will be speaking.
• The euro continues to test the 1.11 area for support while straddling its 100 sma (1.1153). This area held support over the first 10 sessions in May and is continuing to do so mid-week. PMI data from the region suggested the slow recovery was stalling out. The focus will turn to the EU Meeting at the end of the week in hopes of a resolution with Greece. That appears unlikely which will have investors nervous ahead of a June 4 payment that is due to the IMF. 
• The pound has edged back above its 200 sma. Sterling has been able to shake off weak inflation data and dovish Bank of England minutes to maintain this key level. The 200 sma will remain on trader radars over the coming sessions. 
• The yen continues to bounce off of the 121 level. After months of showing little interest in moving out of a tight range the yen has started to flash signs of trending lower. The move is even more interesting given the county outperforming Q1 GDP expectations and just last night flashing a better than expected preliminary Manufacturing PMI survey. The Bank of Japan will meet tonight but it is not expected to make any changes to its current policy. There are expectations for it to raise its economic outlook based on source reports from Nikkei that hit headlines yesterday (BONDX, FOREX).
  

11:15 am Steel Dynamics announces plans to expand its offering of value-added flat roll steel products through the addition of painting and Galvalume capabilities at its Columbus, Mississippi steel mill (STLD) : The company plans to invest ~$100 mln and create 40 new jobs in order to add production capability of higher-margin pre-painted and Galvalume flat roll steel.

11:02 am Broadridge Financial signs an agreement with Thomson Reuters (TRI) to acquire the Fiduciary Services and Competitive Intelligence unit from Thomson Reuters Lipper: financial terms not disclosed (BR) :  

10:53 am Minor new highs for S&P +4.4 and Nasdaq Comp +17 -- Dow +8.5 still range trading slightly under its morning high (:TECHX) :  

10:43 am Apple range trading slightly under this week's highs from Tues/Wed highs at 130.88/130.98 -- session high 130.82 (AAPL) :  

10:32 am Meridian Bioscience announces receipt of the CE Mark for its molecular assays that detect HSV-1 and HSV-2 (VIVO) :  

10:30 am Marsh McLennan increases quarterly dividend to $0.31/share from $0.28/share; adds $2 bln to share repurchase program (MMC) :  

10:27 am Limited new session high for S&P +3.3 and Nasdaq Comp +11.9 -- Dow +0.7 did not confirm the move (:TECHX) :  

10:25 am Essex Rental: Casey Capital shareholder group sends letter to mgmt, stating that the co's resolution efforts haven't adequately addressed its concerns (ESSX) : Co stated: "(We) have responded several times to Laurence Levy's offer to appoint Lee Keddie and John Climaco to the board after the annual meeting so that they would constitute two of the board's seven members. While we remain open to seeking a resolution through settlement, we have been consistent in our communications with Essex that we are not in a position to accept the offer because it does not adequately address the concerns underlying our position that Essex desperately needs corporate governance improvements and a cost-cutting program.

• We continue to believe Mr. Keddie has complied with the Bylaws and to be concerned that Essex's blatant disregard of its Bylaws and the records of its transfer agent shows its indifference to the interests of all stockholders. 
• Given that you are misleading shareholders, we are cautious with settlement negotiations and conversations with you. That said, we remain hopeful that we can reach a settlement that will benefit all Essex stockholders."
  

10:15 am Avolon Holdings announces the delivery of an Airbus 320-200 aircraft to Pegasus Airlines (AVOL) :  

10:07 am Stock indices edge above initial bounce highs into positive territory -- Dow +16, S&P +3.6, Nasdaq Comp +9.3 (:TECHX) :  

10:06 am Atlantic Power to appoint Gilbert S. Palter to its Board of Directors following the signing of a customary standstill and support agreement with Mangrove Partners, its largest shareholder (AT) : The co additionally noted that it intends to "engage a financial advisor to help in the evaluation of our debt reduction options. We have been considering input from Mangrove Partners and other shareholders in this process. We have previously indicated that our plan for the wind sale proceeds would be to redeem our 9% senior unsecured notes; while that currently remains our expectation, there is no assurance that this evaluation process will not lead to an alternate debt reduction approach. Our goal is to strengthen our balance sheet in a manner that reduces our risk and helps to achieve our goal of growth in intrinsic value per share."The Company also announced that it plans to reduce the number of directors to seven by the 2016 Annual General Meeting.

10:02 am Limited reaction to data with indices range trading near initial bounce highs -- Dow -14, S&P +0.1, Nasdaq Comp +0.4 (:TECHX) :  

9:58 am Embraer SA and and Azul Linhas Areas Brasileiras S.A. have reached a final agreement for 30 firm orders for the E195-E2 jets (ERJ) : The contract, announced as a Letter of Intent during the 2014 edition of the Farnborough International Airshow, in July last year, also includes an additional 20 purchase rights for the same model, bringing the total potential order up to 50 E195-E2 jets The contract for the E-Jets E2 has an estimated value of $3.2 billion, at Embraer's current list prices, if all purchase rights are converted to firm orders. The firm orders will be included in Embraer's 2015 second-quarter backlog. The first delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2020.

9:51 am Westbury Bancorp's Board authorized a stock repurchase program to purchase up to 200k of its issued and outstanding shares, representing ~4.5% of its issued and outstanding shares (WBB) : In connection with the authorization of this stock repurchase program, the Board of Directors of the Company announced that the Company's existing stock repurchase program, which had authorized the Company to purchase up to 492,695 shares of its issued and outstanding common stock, had been completed in full at an weighted average price of $17.52 per share.

9:50 am Shake Shack (+8%) continues to defy gravity -- surges to fresh all time highs (SHAK) : Reports out yesterday afternoon: Co applied for a 'chicken shack' trademark.

9:49 am Student Transportation announces that its GoldStar Transit subsidiary has been awarded school transportation contracts at four school districts throughout the state of Texas (STB) : The long-term contracts will add over 180 vehicles and increase current fiscal year revenues by approximately $8.6 million annually.

9:43 am Opening Market Summary: Little Changed in the Early Going (:WRAPX) : The major averages began the day in the red before returning to their flat lines.

Four sectors hold early gains with energy (+0.5%) and industrials (+0.3%) showing relative strength after struggling in recent days. On the flip side, consumer staples (-0.3%), technology (-0.2%), and health care (-0.1%) have shown early weakness.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have returned to their overnight highs, pressuring the 10-yr yield to 2.22% (-3 bps).

April Existing Home Sales (consensus 5.24 million), April Leading Indicators (expected 0.3%), and the Philadelphia Fed Survey for May (expected 8.0) will be reported at 10:00 ET.

9:39 am Sector Watch (:TECHX) : Weaker groups in early dealings include: Transports IYT, Ag/Chem MOO, Semi SMH, Retail XRT, Restaurant. Sectors posting gains have been led by: Crude Oil USO, Oil Service OIH, Solar TAN, Casino, Telecom IYZ, Energy XLE, Internet FDN, Pharma PPH, Biotech IBB (BLUE, ICPT, CLVS, REGN, MYGN, PRGO, SGEN, NBIX.

9:37 am Unum Group's Board approves a $750 mln common share repurchase program through Nov. 21, 2016 (UNM) : This new authorization replaces the previous authorization of $750 million that was scheduled to expire on June 12, 2015.

9:37 am Unum Group announces board approval for an increase in its quarterly common stock dividend to $0.185/share from $0.165/share (UNM) :  

9:35 am Mildly weaker tone off the open but indices edge off lows -- Dow -14, S&P -0.6, Nasdaq Comp -2.2 (:TECHX) :  

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

• Comcast (CMCSA) and Level 3 Communications (LVLT) announced they have reached a new multi-year, bilateral interconnection agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Comcast and Level 3 will enhance their existing network capacity while extending their mutual interconnection agreements
• ITT Corporation (ITT) announced that it is expanding its manufacturing operations in Westminster, S.C., by investing approximately $1 million to build a new test facility. The investment is part of a total of $2.5 million that the company expects to invest in the facility over the next five years.
• STAG Industrial (STAG) announced that it has signed a renewal lease for 319,000 square feet at a distribution warehouse building located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The lease was signed by a manufacturer of consumer outdoor products for a term of just over three years.
• Overstock.com (OSTK) announced it has expanded its operations into China, as it is now shipping product from a warehouse located just outside of Shanghai. Overstock.com worked with Web2Asia to assist with integration into the country.
• Apigee (APIC) announced that Fujitsu (FJTSY) has chosen Apigee Edge to support its internal IT transformation efforts.
• Vantiv (VNTV) and Ingenico Group announced the addition of Vantiv's EMV-certified processing application on Ingenico Group's smart terminal solution set for small- and medium-sized merchants.
• nWay and NetEase (NTES) announced an exclusive mobile and online publishing partnership for ChronoBlade, nWay's free-to-play Action RPG. Under the agreement, NetEase has full publishing rights of ChronoBlade on mobile platforms in mainland China.

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

• Huaneng Power International (HNP) announced that a coal-fired generation unit with a capacity of 350 MW of Huaneng Luoyang Co-generation Co. Ltd. (in which the Company owns 51% equity interests) has recently commenced operation.
• Advantest (ATE) announced that it has developed a technology utilizing short-pulse terahertz waves for analysis of electrical circuits.
• Autodesk (ADSK) announced that it has initiated the U.S. federal government compliance process for cloud products and services known as the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program
• Spok, Inc. a subsidiary of Spok Holdings (SPOK) announced that Kalispell Regional Healthcare in Kalispell, Mont., has selected Spok's operator console and on-call scheduling solutions to replace multiple systems in its hospital call center
• Planda Biotechnology (PLPL) announced that it filled its first purchase order from USN Worldwide as part of the Company's exclusive 3-year agreement to supply USN with commercial amounts of the Company's green tea extract
  
• Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PBA) announced that it will provide terminalling services for the North West Redwater Partnership with respect to North West's planned refinery. Separately, the Company also announced that it has entered into agreements to construct a new pipeline lateral in the Karr area of Alberta to service growing production from the Montney resource play.
  

9:22 am China Information Tech enters into a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional investors for the sale of 2,102,484 ordinary shares in a registered offering at the price of $6.44/share (CNIT) : In addition, Series A warrants to purchase an aggregate of 525,621 ordinary shares and Series B warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,051,242 ordinary shares will be issued to the investors. The investors' Series A warrants are initially exercisable at $7.73 per share and will be exercisable immediately as of the date of issuance until three years after the date of issuance. The Series B warrants are initially exercisable at $7.09 per share and will be exercisable at any time immediately as of the date of issuance until six months after the date of issuance.

• The net proceeds to the Company from the offering, after deducting placement agent fees and the estimated offering expenses payable by the Company but excluding any proceeds from warrant exercise, are expected to be approximately $12.7 million. The net proceeds from this offering will be used for working capital and general working capital purposes.
  

9:20 am Agenus priced its public offering of 11 mln shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $6.30 per share (AGEN) : The gross proceeds from the offering to Agenus are expected to be $69,300,000, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by Agenus

9:15 am Blue Earth receives notice from Nasdaq that it has regained compliance and therefore is no longer subject to a possible delisting (BBLU) :  

9:09 am Integrated Electrical acquires Southern Rewinding, a motor repair and related field services company; financial terms not disclosed (IESC) :  

9:09 am Merck KGaA unit EMD Millipore enters into agreement to control and manage Singulex's Life Science Research business (MKGAY.PK) : Under the terms of the agreement, EMD Millipore, the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, will pay Singulex an upfront payment, royalties and additional payments based upon achievement of certain commercial milestones. EMD Millipore will have exclusive rights to further develop and commercialize the SMC technology for research applications worldwide.

9:08 am S&P futures vs fair value: -1.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.70. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a slightly lower open as futures on the S&P 500 trade two points below fair value after spending the entire night in negative territory. That said, S&P futures have erased more than half of their overnight decline.

Once again, pre-market action has been very quiet with a handful of companies reporting their results. On that note, Best Buy (BBY 35.88, +2.10) has jumped 6.2% in pre-market after reporting better than expected results and reaffirming its guidance. Elsewhere, Salesforce.com (CRM 72.29, +2.27) is on track to open higher by 3.3% after beating bottom-line estimates and guiding higher.  

Economic data reported this morning was limited to weekly Initial Claims, which increased to 274,000 from 264,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 270,000.

More data lurks on today's economic calendar with April Existing Home Sales (consensus 5.24 million), April Leading Indicators (expected 0.3%), and the Philadelphia Fed Survey for May (expected 8.0) all set to cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

Treasuries hover just above their flat lines with the 10-yr yield at 2.24%.

9:04 am KemPharm completes pre-NDA meeting with FDA for KP201/APAP: Based on review, it was determined that the final package would be sufficient for submission of the NDA utilizing the 505(b)(2) pathway (KMPH) :

• Co announced that it concluded a pre-New Drug Application ("NDA") meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for its lead pain candidate, KP201/APAP (benzhydrocodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen).
• The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the proposed NDA and to confirm the clinical and non-clinical requirements for the Company's NDA submission. At the pre-NDA meeting, representatives from the FDA reviewed the Company's preliminary data package being prepared for the NDA submission, including clinical, non-clinical, regulatory and abuse liability elements.
• Based on the review, it was determined that the final package would be sufficient for submission of the NDA utilizing the 505(b)(2) pathway, with acceptance of the final NDA subject to the FDA's review of the complete package. In addition, the FDA has agreed to meet with the Company again in the near future to further discuss the details of the manufacturing requirements to be included with the NDA.
  

9:03 am I.D. Systems has received a notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a patent on a remote vehicle rental system (IDSY) :

• Co received a notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a patent on a remote vehicle rental system. 
• The system incorporates unique methods for enabling access to a vehicle remotely, utilizing a device connected to a vehicle's control system via a standard OBD-II diagnostic port.
  

9:03 am CytRx announces positive updated results from its Phase 2 clinical trial of Aldoxorubicin, wherein subjects demonstrated a pathological complete response to treatment (CYTR) : Co announced positive updated results from its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial with aldoxorubicin for the treatment of unresectable glioblastoma multiforme, a deadly form of brain cancer.

• Study subjects have received between 1 and 14 cycles of aldoxorubicin, with 4 subjects continuing to receive aldoxorubicin treatment. Subjects received either 350 mg/m2  or 250 mg/m2 of aldoxorubicin intravenously on Day 1, and every 21 days thereafter until discontinuation. 
• Notably, 2 subjects (11%) diagnosed with tumor progression following aldoxorubicin treatment demonstrated no microscopic evidence of tumor tissue, a pathological complete response, when tissue was examined after resection. 
• Fourteen of 18 subjects discontinued aldoxorubicin treatment, although there is a significant possibility that some of the patients experienced pseudo-progression. Deaths have occurred in only 4 of 18 subjects (22%) to date, with survival duration so far of up to 10 plus months.
  

9:03 am Prologis announces it has received commitments for more than $455 mln unsecured senior term loan facility (PLD) :

9:02 am Allstate announces April catastrophe loss estimates of $273 mln (pre-tax) (ALL) :

• Co announced estimated catastrophe losses for the month of April 2015 of $273 mln, pre-tax ($177 mln after-tax). 
• Catastrophe losses occurring in April comprised six events at an estimated cost of $256 mln, pre-tax, plus increased reserve reestimates of prior reported catastrophe losses. Four wind/hail weather events accounted for over 90% of the estimated catastrophe losses for April events.
  

9:02 am Vermillion has been approved for product development grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas for $7.5 mln (VRML) : Receipt of the grant award is subject to execution of a grant contract on terms acceptable to both Vermillion and CPRIT and may include such terms as payment of future product royalties to CPRIT by Vermillion.

9:00 am DryShips announces the partial exchange of $40M under the $120M affiliate loan for shares (DRYS) : Co announces that it has reached an agreement with Ocean Rig to partially exchange $40 million borrowed by the company under the $120 million Exchangeable Promissory Note for 4,444,444 shares of Ocean Rig owned by the company and to amend certain other terms of the Loan.

9:00 am Baxter BioScience files for European approval of investigational 20% subcutaneous immune globulin treatment for primary immunodeficiency (BAX) :

• Co announced that its BioScience business has submitted a marketing authorization application to 17 competent authorities in Europe following the decentralized procedure for approval of its investigational 20 percent concentration subcutaneous immune globulin treatment for primary immunodeficiencies. Baxter is advancing the 20 percent treatment as part of its efforts to expand the primary immunodeficiency treatment portfolio to address patient needs. 
• The filing is based on the positive results of a Phase 2/3 study that evaluated the efficacy, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of IGSC 20 percent in European patients at least two years old with PI. The study met its primary endpoint that measured the rate of validated acute serious bacterial infections; these results were initially presented during the 2014 biennial congress of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies.

8:59 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Bluerock Residential Growth REIT (BRG) announced that it has acquired, through a joint venture, a 204-unit Class AA new construction apartment community known as Whetstone Apartments in Durham, North Carolina. BRG made a convertible preferred equity investment of $12.2 million to acquire an indirect interest in the joint venture, which acquired Whetstone for a purchase price of $35.6 million
• The GEO Group (GEO) announced the signing of a contract with the Washington Department of Corrections (the "Department") for the out-of-state housing of up to 1,000 inmates at the company-owned North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan. The contract will have a term of five years inclusive of renewal option periods. Under the contract, the Facility is expected to begin the intake process in the fourth quarter of 2015 with a gradual ramp over several months. At full occupancy, the contract would generate approximately $24 million in annualized revenues
• DS Healthcare Group (DSKX) announced that celebrity stylist Jen Atkin has endorsed its latest product line Continuum.
  

8:58 am Trinity Industries has renewed and extended its unsecured corporate revolving credit facility through May 2020 (TRN) : The size of the facility was also increased from $425 million to $600 million.

8:57 am Wave Systems priced its $4.7 mln offering of 7.3 million units at a public offering price of $0.65 per unit (WAVX) : Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.5 shares of Class A common stock, at a public offering price of $0.65 per unit. Each warrant will have an exercise price of $0.81 per share and will be exercisable for 60 months beginning from the date of original issuance.

8:55 am S&P futures vs fair value: -4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.80. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade four points below fair value.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday, following in the footsteps of Wall Street's mixed finish on Wednesday. China's Shanghai Composite, however, stood out from the pack with a 1.9% gain that was fueled once again by policy stimulus speculation. That speculation kicked in following the HSBC Flash PMI reading for May, which showed the third straight month of manufacturing activity being in contraction.

• In economic data: 
  • China's May Flash HSBC Manufacturing PMI 49.1 (expected 49.3; prior 48.9) 
  • Japan's May Flash Manufacturing PMI 50.9 (expected 50.3; prior 49.9) while All Industries Activity Index -1.3% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior +0.2%) 
  • Hong Kong's April CPI +2.8% year-over-year (expected +4.3%; prior +4.5%) 
  • Australia's MI Inflation Expectations 3.6% (prior 3.4%) 
  • New Zealand's Budget Balance NZD -4.17 bln (prior NZD -4.00 bln) and Credit Card Spending +7.1% year-over-year (prior +5.2%) 

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• Japan's Nikkei ended flat after being up as much as 0.6% earlier in the session. The financial (+1.5%) and utilities (+1.3%) sectors were the day's best performers. Individual standouts on the stock side included Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings (+7.4%), Tokyo Electric Power (+6.7%), and MS&AD Insurance Group (+5.4%). Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co (-3.7%) was the worst-performing issue. Out of the 225 index members, 118 ended higher, 99 finished lower, and 8 were unchanged. 
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2% with losses in the consumer non-cyclical (-1.5%) and communications (-0.9%) sectors weighing on matters. Leading laggards included China Unicom Hong Kong (-3.2%), Hengan Intl. (-2.6%), and China Resources Power Holdings (-2.4%). Galaxy Entertainment (+4.6%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 20 ended higher, 28 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged. 
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 1.9%, finishing at its highs for the day after the weaker than expected HSBC Flash PMI report for May triggered speculation that further policy stimulus will be provided. The industrial (+4.1%), diversified (+4.0%), and consumer non-cyclical (+3.8%) sectors were the best-performing areas in the Chinese market on Thursday. Financials (+0.3%) lagged the action. 

Major European indices trade mostly lower, but they are off their lows. In news, the Eurogroup is reportedly considering extending Greece's current aid program into the fall if representatives from the country agree to certain terms during the first week of June.

• Economic data was plentiful: 
  • Eurozone Current Account surplus narrowed to EUR18.60 billion from EUR27.30 billion (expected surplus of EUR26.00 billion). Separately, May Flash Manufacturing PMI 52.3 (expected 52.0; prior 52.0) and Flash Services PMI 53.3 (consensus 53.9; prior 54.1) 
  • Germany's May Flash Manufacturing PMI 51.4 (consensus 52.3; prior 52.1) and Flash Services PMI 52.9 (expected 53.9; previous 54.0) 
  • UK's April Retail Sales +1.2% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; prior -0.7%) and Core Retail Sales +1.2% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; previous 0.2%). Separately, May CBI Industrial Trends Orders -5 (expected 3; last 1) 
  • France's Flash Manufacturing PMI 49.3 (consensus 48.5; prior 48.0) while Flash Services PMI 51.6 (consensus 51.9; last 51.4) 
  • Italy's April Wage Inflation 0.2% month-over-month (prior 0.0%) 

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• UK's FTSE trades higher by 0.1% with miners showing relative strength. Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore, and Fresnillo show gains between 1.0% and 1.6%. Consumer discretionary names lag with Carnival, Taylor Wimpey, and International Consolidated Airlines down between 1.9% and 3.6%. 
• France's CAC is lower by 0.3% amid weakness in financials. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale display losses between 0.6% and 1.3%. Energy-related names outperform with Technip higher by 1.4% and Total up 0.2%. 
• Germany's DAX has given up 0.3% with all but seven names in the red. Software company SAP is the weakest performer, down 2.0%, while exporters BMW and Volkswagen hold losses close to 1.5% apiece. Utilities and health care outperform with RWE and Merck higher by 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

8:51 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: XNET -14%, NTAP -12.6%, (Also - disclosed it committed to a realignment designed to drive efficiency, eliminate cost and redirect resources; expects to reduce headcount by ~500 employees RXN -11.5%, BRS -5.9%, SMRT -5.8%, SCVL -4.9%, DLTR -4.3%, AAP -4.1%, SNPS -3.5%, BONT -3.2%, MNRO -2.8%, BKE -2.6%, OTEX -2.4%, ( announces Mark Barrenechea, President and CEO resumed full involvement in day-to-day operations; sees Q4 EPS and revs below consensus)

Other news: LL -17.4% (CEO resigns), BRKR -10% (CFO Charles Wagner has submitted his resignation), FATE -8% (prices 6,000,000 shares of its common stock at $5.00 per share), OXGN -5.8% (filed for $75 mln mixed securities shelf offering), DRNA -5.3% (prices 2,750,000 shares of its common stock at $17.75 per share), AETI -5.2% filed for $25 mln offering of common stock, warrants, and units), AGEN -4.2% (intends to offer shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering ), OCUL -2% (filed for $125 mln common stock offering by selling shareholders), SABR -1.8% (prices 24,000,000 shares of common stock by existing stockholders at a price of $26.00 per share), ARCI -1.7% (announced the return of Edward Cameron as President and CEO), SYT -1.2% (cont vol surrounding M&A spec), TRUE -1.1% (following late move lower on reports of California Dealers lawsuit), ARMK -1% (announces a 25 mln share secondary offering of common stock by selling stockholders)

Analyst comments: WBAI -5.6% (downgraded to Sell at Deutsche Bank ), SRPT -3.7% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill), SFUN -1.8% (downgraded to Hold at Brean Capital), DDD -0.9% (downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer)

8:47 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to  earnings/guidance: BBY +8.4%, QSII +8.1%, KZ +7.8%, TSL +6.4%, CRM +5.3%, NM +4.2%, WSM +4%, YOKU +3%, KIRK +3%, ACXM +2.9%, (also plans to sell IT Infrastructure Management Business), NGG +1.4%, EGHT +1.2%, .

M&A news: CTP +45.6% (agreed to exclusive negotiations to be acquired by DHR International; pricing and other terms not disclosed, but indicated preliminary price below the $7 per share DHR previously proposed),OCR +1.5% (to be acquired by CVS Health (CVS) for $98.00/share),.

Select pharma/biotech related names showing strength: AVEO +8.7%, ONCY +6.5%, CYCC +3.6%, CTIC +2.8%, GSK +1.8%, TKMR +1.8%, OSUR +1.7%, AZN +1.5%, SHPG +1.3%

Select oil/gas related names showing early strength:  SDRL +2.1%, BP +1.4%, RDS.A +1.3%, STO +1.2%

Other news: AMPE +37.4% (announced positive results of its OptimEyes trial for DME),CALA +19.8% (reports positive initial Phase I safety data for CB-839, used to treat Acute Leukemias),PRAN +17.4% (announces the publication of minutes from the EMA regarding the previously announced Orphan Drug Designation for PBT2),ISR +17% (following ~100% move higher yesterday),ATNM +10.4% (following late move higher yesterday),MNGA +9.4% (announces that a major producer of painting systems viewed a MagneGas2 demo and has requested an immediate supply of the fuel for metal cutting),BLUE +8% (released abstract highlights including updated data for its Phase 1/2 HGB-205 study of LentiGlobin BB305),IPCI +7% (intends to accelerate its Rexista Oxycodone XR development program on the basis of positive feedback from the FDA),ACXM +2.9% (entered into an agreement to sell its IT Infrastructure Management business to Charlesbank Capital Partners and M/C Partners for total cash consideration of up to $190 mln; co also reported preliminary Q4 results),NBG +2.9% (cont vol surrounding Greece negotiations),QCOM +1.5% (announces an accelerated share repurchase agreement for $5 bln of its common stock, or ~57.7 mln shares),TTWO +1.3% (favorable commentary on Wednesday's Mad Money),REGN +0.9% (Regeneron Pharms and Sanofi (SNY) reports results from Phase 3 studies with Sarilumab in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis met its co-primary efficacy endpoints)

Analyst comments: TNAV +3.8% ( initiated with a Outperform at Northland Capital; tgt $15),SSYS +3.3% (upgraded to Outperform at Oppenheimer),VOD +1.7% (upgraded to at ),ICPT +1.2% (initiated with an Overweight at Barclays; $425 tgt),BABA +1.1% (initiated with a Outperform at Bernstein)

8:38 am CNinsure comments on recent volatility of its stock, says it is not aware of any material non-public information that would account for such unusual trading activity (CISG) : The co stated that it remains "optimistic about achieving 30% top line growth in the second quarter this year and expect growth to accelerate in the second half of this year, leading to a 30% full year growth in net revenues. On the profit front, we expect non-GAAP operating income (which excludes online spending) for 2015 to increase by over 20% year-over-year. We believe our business is as well-positioned as it has ever been, and our continued investment in O2O initiatives reflects our confidence in the strategic progress that we continue to make to capture the emerging opportunities provided by the internet."

8:36 am Advance Auto misses by $0.09, reports revs in-line; co lowers FY15 EPS and revenue guidance below consensus (AAP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $2.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.48; revenues rose 2.3% year/year to $3.04 bln vs the $3.05 bln consensus.

• Co lowers guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $8.10-8.30 vs. $8.51 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, down from $8.35-8.55.
  
• Co also lowers ts revenue guidance... co now expects its annual comparable store sales to be at the low end of the previously communicated range.
• Last quarter, the co forecasted FY15 comparable revenue growth of "low single digits." Was assuming that to mean +1-4%, that computes to ~$9.79-10.08 bln (Consensus now call for $10.0 bln)

8:34 am European Markets Update: FTSE +0.1%, CAC -0.4%, DAX -0.6% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade mostly lower with Germany's DAX (-0.6%) leading the move. In news, the Eurogroup is reportedly considering extending Greece's current aid program into the fall if representatives from the country agree to certain terms during the first week of June.

• Economic data was plentiful: 
• Eurozone Current Account surplus narrowed to EUR18.60 billion from EUR27.30 billion (expected surplus of EUR26.00 billion). Separately, May Flash Manufacturing PMI 52.3 (expected 52.0; prior 52.0) and Flash Services PMI 53.3 (consensus 53.9; prior 54.1) 
• Germany's May Flash Manufacturing PMI 51.4 (consensus 52.3; prior 52.1) and Flash Services PMI 52.9 (expected 53.9; previous 54.0) 
• UK's April Retail Sales +1.2% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; prior -0.7%) and Core Retail Sales +1.2% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; previous 0.2%). Separately, May CBI Industrial Trends Orders -5 (expected 3; last 1) 
• France's Flash Manufacturing PMI 49.3 (consensus 48.5; prior 48.0) while Flash Services PMI 51.6 (consensus 51.9; last 51.4) 
• Italy's April Wage Inflation 0.2% month-over-month (prior 0.0%) 

------

• UK's FTSE trades higher by 0.1% with miners showing relative strength. Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore, and Fresnillo show gains between 1.0% and 1.6%. Consumer discretionary names lag with Carnival, Taylor Wimpey, and International Consolidated Airlines down between 1.9% and 3.6%. 
• France's CAC is lower by 0.4% amid weakness in financials. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale display losses between 0.6% and 1.3%. Energy-related names outperform with Technip higher by 1.4% and Total up 0.2%. 
• Germany's DAX has given up 0.6% with all but five names in the red. Software company SAP is the weakest performer, down 2.0%, while exporters BMW and Volkswagen hold losses close to 1.5% apiece. Utilities and health care outperform with RWE and Merck higher by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
  

8:33 am Lumber Liquidators sinks 20% on news of unexpected CEO resignation, currently trading around $20 (LL) : Note LL stock has very high short-interest at 37% of the float.

8:32 am Qihoo 360 Tech. and Huayuan Group announce a strategic partnership to develop smart home and security technology for Chinese real-estate (QIHU) : Under the agreement, Qihoo 360 will design and provide intelligent home security products and management systems for Huayuan's real-estate developments. These will include intelligent surveillance cameras, security routers, location- and health-tracking wearables, electrical appliance safety alarms, intelligent gas and fire alarms. 

8:31 am S&P futures vs fair value: -3.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.20. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade four points below fair value.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 274,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 270,000. Today's tally was above the unrevised prior week count of 264,000. As for continuing claims, they fell to 2.211 million from 2.223 million.

8:31 am Motorcar Parts of America acquires OE Plus, a privately held remanufacturer of alternators and starters: financial terms not disclosed (MPAA) :  

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

• ESm5 now @ 2118.75 -3.75
  
  
• YMm5 now @ 18226 -30
  
  
• NQm5 now @ 4493.00 -12.50

8:31 am Lumber Liquidators announces that Robert M. Lynch unexpectedly notified the Co of his resignation as the President and Chief Executive Officer (LL) : Co announces that Robert M. Lynch unexpectedly notified the Co of his resignation as the President and CEO. Co intends to commence a national search for Mr. Lynch's replacement. In the interim, Thomas D. Sullivan, the Co's Founder, will serve as the acting CEO.

8:31 am Teleflex reaffirms FY15 guidance; gives 2018 targets at Analyst Day (TFX) :

• Co reaffirms FY15 adj. EPS $6.10-6.35 vs $6.23 Capital IQ Consensus; revs -2% to flat at $1.80-1.84 bln vs $1.82 bln Capital IQ Consensus; constant FX rev +4-6%. 
• Company's longer-term financial goals and objectives include: 
• constant currency revenue growth of between 5% to 6% per year for 2016 through 2018; 
• adjusted gross and operating margin expansion of 350 basis points to 400 basis points beyond 2015 levels by 2018; and 
• free cash flow growth of between 10% to 12% per year through 2018.

8:30 am CEMEX S.A. announces an exchange offer for $626 mln of its 3.25% convertible subordinated notes due 2016 (CX) : Co's exchange offer will offer $321 million in new 3.72% Convertible Subordinated Notes due 2020 and an estimated 42 million American Depositary Shares of CEMEX

8:30 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT) announced that it has expanded its relationship with Facebook (FB). The companies entered into a new lease for 7.43 megawatts of available critical load and 43,000 square feet of computer room space in DFT's ACC7 data center located in Ashburn, Virginia
• Delcath Systems (DCTH) announces that the intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma study cohort of its expanded Global Phase 2 Clinical Trial Program of Melphalan/HDS for use in the treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma has opened for patient enrollment
• Numerex (NMRX) announced that its i-Tank bulk-liquid tank monitoring solution, recently achieved a major milestone with the signing its 100th U.S. distributor.
• El Pollo Loco (LOCO) announced it will be opening company and franchise restaurants in the Dallas market beginning the first half of 2016. 
• Zillow (Z) announced that RE/MAX has joined Zillow Tech Connect: Leads, adding RE/MAX LeadStreet to its list of technology partners 
• WuXi PharmaTech (WX) announced the launch of LabNetwork, a global e-Commerce platform for connecting buyers and sellers of research chemicals and reagents.
• CGI (GIB) announced that it is partnering with the Michigan Municipal Services Authority to offer CGI Advantage360. Initial clients under the new agreement are the City of Grand Rapids, which signed a $6.5 mln, five-year contract, and Kent County, which signed a $6 mln, five-year contract
  

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

• Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (HTZ) announced that Lawrence H. Silber has been appointed President and CEO of Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation (HERC), replacing Brian MacDonald, who has stepped down, effective immediately 
• Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO) announced that new clinical and preclinical data from the company's lead programs will be presented at the 20th Congress of the European Hematology Association 
• Extra Space Storage (EXR) announced it is adding 31 new solar projects with the help of Safari Energy. So far, EXR has selected Safari to develop and build over 3,880 kW of solar projects, across 26 EXR locations in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut 
• Prothena Corporation plc (PRTA) announced that Dr. Michaela Liedtke will give an oral presentation of clinical data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of NEOD001 in patients with AL amyloidosis and persistent organ dysfunction at the 20th Congress of the European Hematology Association 
• Kite Pharma, Inc., (KITE) announced that the first patient in its Phase 1/2 clinical trial of KTE-C19 in patients with refractory aggressive NHL has been treated. The study is expected to provide pivotal results in 2016, leading to the potential launch and commercialization of KTE-C19 in 2017

8:23 am European Yields (BONDX) : Weak PMI Fails to Support Sovereign Debt

• Despite disappointing economic releases for the eurozone, European government bonds weakened today and the benchmark 10-year German Bund is now trading at pre-ECB "front-loading" remarks levels
• Earlier this week, ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said that the ECB will increase its asset purchases in May and June to avoid disrupting markets during the illiquid months of July and August. The comment briefly put a bid into stocks and bonds
• The eurozone Markit Composite PMI fell to a weaker-than-expected 53.4 in May from 53.9 in April
• The PMI data showed growth momentum picking up in the European periphery and ebbing in the core
• Retail Sales in the United Kingdom blew out expectations, rising 1.2% m/m in April versus a 0.7% decline in March
• There is an EU summit in Riga, Latvia today. Blackrock is putting the chance of Grexit at only 20-25%. Wolfgang Schauble, the German fin min, is not as optimistic and says that the sanguine remarks emanating from Athens are not based in actual facts
• Greek 10-year yields are up 1 bp to 11.03%
• Auctions:
• Spain auctioned 3 and 5-year Bonos with high yields of 0.246% and 0.641%, respectively
• France auctioned 3 and 5-year BTANs with high yields of -0.07% and 0.21%, respectively
• Yield check:
• France, 10-yr OAT: +2 bps to 0.94%
• Germany, 10-yr Bund: +1 bp to 0.65%
• Greece, 10-yr note: +1 bp to 11.03%
• Italy, 10-yr BTP: +1 bp to 1.86%
• Portugal, 10-yr note: -2 bps to 2.39%
• Spain, 10-yr Bono: -1 bp to 1.78%
• U.K., 10-yr Gilt: unch at 1.99%

8:05 am Brady misses by $0.03, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus (BRC) : Reports Q3 (Apr) earnings of $0.34 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.37; revenues fell 6.3% year/year to $290.2 mln vs the $294.06 mln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.30-0.40 vs. $0.44 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "I'm confident that we are investing in the right initiatives to deliver shareholder value over the long term. However, we still remain challenged by operational inefficiencies stemming from certain facilities that were recently consolidated."
  

8:04 am Hewlett-Packard confirms purchase of its China-based server, storage and technology services businesses by Tsinghua Holdings, for ~$2.3 bln (HPQ) : The co and Tsinghua Holdings jointly announce a partnership under which, Tsinghua Holdings subsidiary, Unisplendour Corporation, will purchase a 51% stake in a new business called H3C, comprising H3C Technologies and HP's China-based server, storage and technology services businesses, for ~$2.3 bln, valuing the total business at $4.5 billion (net of cash and debt). 

• HP noted it sees continued long-term growth opportunities in China, and HP China will maintain 100% ownership of its existing China-based Enterprise Services, Software, HP Helion Cloud, Aruba Networks, Printing and Personal Systems businesses. 
• The new H3C generated CY2014 adjusted revenues of $3.1 billion, adjusted operating profit of $0.4 billion and adjusted GAAP net income of $0.3 billion. HP will equity account for its investment going forward.

8:04 am AbbVie announces per share consideration of $152.25 in cash and 1.6639 shares of stock or all-stock consideration of 3.9879 shares for Pharmacyclics (PCYC) acquisition (ABBV) : Co announces the per share offer consideration amounts pursuant to its previously announced offer to acquire each outstanding share of common stock of Pharmacyclics (PCYC) for a mix of cash and ABBV common stock. Based on the assumption that the exchange offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 22, 2015, the mixed consideration will consist of $152.25 in cash and 1.6639 shares of ABBV common stock and, subject to proration, the all-stock consideration will consist of 3.9879 shares of ABBV common stock.

8:04 am Till Capital (TSX: TIL.V) announces it will list on Nasdaq, effective Tuesday, May 26 (TIL.V) :  

8:03 am Genomic Health announces that Palmetto GBA has issued a positive draft local coverage determination, for the Oncotype DX prostate cancer test (GHDX) : The draft LCD recommends coverage of the Oncotype DX prostate cancer test for qualified Medicare patients throughout the United States "to help determine which patients with early-stage, needle biopsy proven prostate cancer, can be conservatively managed rather than treated with definitive surgery or radiation therapy."

8:02 am Celsion reports data from a preclinical study of TheraSilence, indicating the platform can safely deliver RNA to the lungs in non-human primates (CLSN) : Three primates were dosed in the study, receiving either TheraSilence-formulated RNA intravenously at one of two doses, or intravenous RNA formulated with a liver-directed formulation used as a positive control.

•  In the study, TheraSilence-formulated signaling RNA resulted in preferential expression in the lungs, with expression in the liver at less than 15% of expression levels observed in the lungs. Expression levels in tissues other than the lung, spleen and liver were very low or at background levels. 
• The TheraSilence-formulated RNA was well-tolerated at both dose levels as determined by safety analysis including complete blood cell count, blood chemistry, histopathology, interferon response and compliment activation.
  

8:02 am Ampio Pharmaceuticals announced positive results of its OptimEyes trial for DME (AMPE) : Co reported that Orally administered Optina was extremely safe with no drug related serious adverse events. There were no differences in side effect rates between placebo and the Optina arms.

• Additionally, 53% of patients included in the trial were refractory to the approved intraocular injection therapies. These refractory patients showed a significant +6.2 letter improvement in visual acuity over the three month period of the study. 
• In the remaining 47% patients who were unable or unwilling to have eye injections, they showed a significant +3.1 letter improvement over the same period. The placebo group failed to achieve a significant increase in visual acuity in either of the subgroup of patients who were and were not refractory to intraocular injections over the same time period
  

8:02 am Chico's FAS announces that David F. Dyer has informed of his intention to retire as President and CEO after the conclusion of the 2015 fiscal year, in the spring of 2016 (CHS) : To ensure an orderly transition, he will continue in his present role until a successor is appointed. After a successor is named, Mr. Dyer will remain on the Board in the newly-created role of Vice Chairman through his current term, which ends at the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders in June 2016. The Board of Directors has established a Succession Planning committee to identify Mr. Dyer's successor and has retained Herbert Mines Associates, a leading executive search firm to assist in the process.

8:01 am American States Water announces its Board of Directors has authorized the Co to repurchase up to 1.2 mln shares or ~3.2% of its outstanding common shares (AWR) : The co had previously approved a 1.25 million share buyback program in 2014 which was completed earlier this month.

8:01 am Intellipharmaceutics intends to accelerate its Rexista Oxycodone XR development program on the basis of positive feedback from the FDA (IPCI) :

• Co announced that the FDA provided the Company with notification regarding its Investigational New Drug Application submission for Rexista Oxycodone XR extended release tablets. The notification from the FDA stated that the Company will not be required to conduct Phase III studies if bioequivalence to Oxycontin is demonstrated. 
• At the same time the Company had also announced that topline data results of three definitive Phase I pharmacokinetic clinical trials all met the bioequivalence criteria when compared to the existing branded drug Oxycontin.
• The Company believes, in light of these prior results, that it will not be required to conduct Phase III studies, although no assurance to that effect can be given.
• The Company intends to file a New Drug Application for Rexista Oxycodone XR extended release tablets with the FDA within the next 6 to 12 months, although no assurance to this effect can be given. 
  

8:01 am Dehaier Medical Systems announces securing a short-term line of credit of up to ~$2.43 mln (DHRM) : Co says this line of credit gives it greater flexibility to withstand challenging market conditions and carry out its capital and operating plan for calendar year 2015. "As we continue to transform our business platform by expanding our emerging sleep respiratory business while we scale back our lower margin medical equipment distribution business, we expect our financial strength will improve over time." Co also plans to raise its collection efforts in coming quarters.

8:01 am Lincoln National board authorizes additional securities repurchase capacity, raising total repurchase authority to $1 bln (LNC) :  

8:00 am Magnegas announces that a major producer of painting systems viewed a MagneGas2 demo and has requested an immediate supply of the fuel for metal cutting (MNGA) : Co announces that a major producer of painting systems, viewed a MagneGas2 demo and has requested an immediate supply of the fuel for metal cutting. The demo was viewed by company officials on May 19, who indicated they were impressed with the speed and quality of the cut and immediately requested a supply of the fuel. The gas will initially be supplied to their location in Michigan.

8:00 am Solar3D wins $3M solar PV contract (SLTD) : Co announces that its SUNworks subsidiary was awarded a $3 million, 1-megawatt solar project with the Sun City Lincoln Hills Community Association, an active adult retirement community of nearly 3,000 acres, consisting of 6,703 single-family homes and 80 villas.

7:59 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• SunEdison (SUNE) announced that it has been awarded contracts to build 33 megawatts (MW) DC of rooftop solar with Southern California Edison. The solar systems will be built on rooftops throughout the Orange County and Inland Empire industrial corridors
• Advaxis (ADXS) announced that it has appointed Fred J. Frullo as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
• Enable Midstream Partners (ENBL) announced that the first phase of its Nesson Crude & Produced Water Gathering System is operational. The pipeline serves wells located in Williams and Mountrail Counties of North Dakota, in the Bakken shale play
• Karyopharm Therapeutics (KPTI) announced that two abstracts describing the activity of selinexor, have been selected for presentation at the 20th Congress of the European Hematology Association 2015 Annual Meeting. Abstract highlights state that preliminary data from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial demonstrating that selinexor in combination with standard doses of Ara-C and idarubicin is a potentially effective strategy for treating patients with AML that was relapsed or refractory after at least one line of chemotherapy, without unexpected toxicities. An overall response rate of 53% was achieved based on fifteen evaluable patients and 67% of those patients went on to receive either stem cell transplant or donor lymphocyte infusion

7:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -3.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.30. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade modestly lower amid cautious action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover three points below fair value.

Meanwhile, Treasuries hold slim gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 2.23%.

Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 270K) will be released at 8:30 ET while April Existing Home Sales (consensus 5.24 million), April Leading Indicators (expected 0.3%), and the Philadelphia Fed Survey for May (expected 8.0) will cross the wires at 10:00 ET.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Best Buy (BBY 36.80, +3.02): +8.9% in reaction to better than expected results and reaffirmed guidance. 
• NetApp (NTAP 31.00, -4.33): -12.3% after missing estimates, guiding lower, and announcing plans to reduce its headcount by about 500 employees. 
• Omnicare (OCR 96.12, +1.49): +1.6% after agreeing to be acquired by CVS Health (CVS 102.30, +1.03) for $98.00/share or $12.70 billion. 
• Salesforce.com (CRM 73.60, +3.44): +4.9% after beating bottom-line estimates and guiding higher. 
• Williams-Sonoma (WSM 81.00, +3.11): +4.0% in reaction to better than expected earnings and lower Q2 earnings guidance. 

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mixed. China's Shanghai Composite +1.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.2%, and Japan's Nikkei settled flat 
  • In economic data: 
    • China's May Flash HSBC Manufacturing PMI 49.1 (expected 49.3; prior 48.9) 
    • Japan's May Flash Manufacturing PMI 50.9 (expected 50.3; prior 49.9) while All Industries Activity Index -1.3% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior +0.2%)
    • Hong Kong's April CPI +2.8% year-over-year (expected +4.3%; prior +4.5%) 
    • Australia's MI Inflation Expectations 3.6% (prior 3.4%) 
    • New Zealand's Budget Balance NZD -4.17 bln (prior NZD -4.00 bln) and Credit Card Spending +7.1% year-over-year (prior +5.2%) 
  • In news: 
    • According to Nikkei, the Bank of Japan is likely to raise its economic assessment for the first time in two years at tomorrow's policy meeting

• Major European indices trade mostly lower. Germany's DAX -0.5%, France's CAC -0.4%, and UK's FTSE +0.1%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.6% and Spain's IBEX -0.3% 
  • Economic data was plentiful: 
    • Eurozone Current Account surplus narrowed to EUR18.60 billion from EUR27.30 billion (expected surplus of EUR26.00 billion). Separately, May Flash Manufacturing PMI 52.3 (expected 52.0; prior 52.0) and Flash Services PMI 53.3 (consensus 53.9; prior 54.1) 
    • Germany's May Flash Manufacturing PMI 51.4 (consensus 52.3; prior 52.1) and Flash Services PMI 52.9 (expected 53.9; previous 54.0) 
    • UK's April Retail Sales +1.2% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; prior -0.7%) and Core Retail Sales +1.2% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; previous 0.2%). Separately, May CBI Industrial Trends Orders -5 (expected 3; last 1) 
    • France's Flash Manufacturing PMI 49.3 (consensus 48.5; prior 48.0) while Flash Services PMI 51.6 (consensus 51.9; last 51.4) 
    • Italy's April Wage Inflation 0.2% month-over-month (prior 0.0%) 
  • Among news of note: 
    • The Eurogroup is reportedly considering extending Greece's current aid program into the fall if representatives from the country agree to certain terms during the first week of June

7:55 am Ryder expands natural gas vehicle solution to Arkansas with Alpha Packaging, Inc. and Boyd Metals Transportation LLC (R) :

• Co announced that it has expanded its natural gas vehicle (NGV) offering into Arkansas for the first time with two customers; Alpha Packaging, Inc. and Boyd Metals Transportation LLC.
• The CNG vehicles for both Alpha Packaging and Boyd Metals Transportation will be maintained by Ryder at its Fort Smith, Ark. service facility, which is being engineered to meet the unique compliance requirements for natural gas.
• Ryder has begun to deploy natural gas vehicles into the fleets of Ryder customers in Arizona, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Texas, Utah, and Quebec, Canada. Alpha Packaging and Boyd Metals Transportation are both current Ryder full service lease customers.
  

7:44 am Prana Biotech announces the publication of minutes from the EMA regarding the previously announced Orphan Drug Designation for PBT2 (PRAN) : Highlights from the European Medicines Agency Minutes from the April 2015 Meeting of its Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products include:

• The intention to treat the condition with the medicinal product containing 5,7-dichloro-2-dimethylaminomethyl-8-hydroxyquinoline hydrochloride was considered justified based on pre-clinical in vivo data and preliminary clinical data showing improvement in parameters associated with the condition. 
• In addition, although satisfactory methods of treatment of the condition have been authorised in the European Union, the sponsor has provided sufficient justification for the assumption that the medicinal product containing 5,7-dichloro-2-dimethylaminomethyl-8-hydroxyquinoline hydrochloride may be of significant benefit to those affected by the condition. The sponsor has provided preliminary clinical data that demonstrate an improvement in a relevant parameter when the product is used in combination with tetrabenazine. The Committee considered that this could constitute a clinically relevant advantage. 
• A positive opinion for containing 5,7-dichloro-2-dimethylaminomethyl-8-hydroxyquinoline hydrochloride, for treatment of Huntington's disease, was adopted by consensus
  

7:42 am Dollar Tree misses by $0.04, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY16 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (DLTR) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.71 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.75; revenues rose 8.8% year/year to $2.18 bln vs the $2.21 bln consensus.

• Sales performance was negatively impacted by delayed receipts at four of the Co's 10 distribution centers related to the west coast port congestion and the previously disclosed estimate of $8 mln impact from the holiday calendar shift.
  
• Co opened 93 stores, expanded or relocated 10 stores, and closed six stores during the quarter. Retail selling square footage increased to 47.2 mln square feet, a 7.1% increase compared to the prior year.
  

Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.63-0.68 vs. $0.71 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $2.17-2.23 bln vs. $2.24 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $3.32-3.47 vs. $3.53 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $9.24-9.42 bln vs. $9.45 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

7:39 am Monro Muffler misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus; guides FY16 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; Q4 comps -2.6% (MNRO) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.38 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.39; revenues rose 7.8% year/year to $219.1 mln vs the $226.37 mln consensus; comps -2.6%. Diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2015 includes the negative impact of $.01 related to higher due diligence costs.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.55-0.59, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.63 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees flat comps.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $2.00-2.20, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.31 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $935-955 mln vs. $995.26 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees comparable store sales increase of 1% to 3%; assumes $.12 to $.17 in contribution from recently completed acquisitions.
• Board of Directors has approved a $.02 increase in the Company's cash dividend for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 to $.15.

7:36 am Stein Mart misses by $0.03, rev in-line with preannouncement; reaffirms FY15 margin, SG&A guidance (limited coverage) (SMRT) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 7.5% year/year to $353.5 mln vs the $347.46 mln consensus. 

• Co preannounced rev $353.5 mln vs. $347.5 mln consensus; comps +4.8% on May 7.
• Ecommerce business contributing 80 basis points to our comparable sales growth. Traffic increased more than two percent during the quarter; slightly higher than our fourth quarter increase. 

"The quarterly timing of certain items negatively impacted year-over-year comparisons for the first quarter of 2015, but will have a positive impact in the second through fourth quarters. This primarily resulted in a lower first quarter gross profit rate and somewhat higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. We continue to expect our full year 2015 gross profit rate to be consistent with our 2014 rate and that our full year SG&A expenses will be as previously guided."

• "Compared to last year, we expect our gross profit rate to be about the same in the second and third quarters and higher in the fourth quarter as the impact of items which unfavorably impacted the first quarter rate reverse."
  

7:36 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei flat; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.2%; China's Shanghai Composite +1.9% (:SUMRX) : Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday, following in the footsteps of Wall Street's mixed finish on Wednesday. China's Shanghai Composite, however, stood out from the pack with a 1.9% gain that was fueled once again by policy stimulus speculation. That speculation kicked in following the HSBC Flash PMI reading for May, which showed the third straight month of manufacturing activity being in contraction.

Economic data

• China
• May HSBC Manufacturing PMI 49.1 (expected 49.3; prior 48.9)
• Japan
• May Manufacturing PMI 50.9 (expected 50.3; prior 49.9)
• All Industries Activity Index -1.3% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior +0.2%)
• Hong Kong
• April CPI +2.8% year-over-year (expected +4.3%; prior +4.5%)
• Australia
• MI Inflation Expectations 3.6% (prior 3.4%)
• New Zealand
• Budget Balance NZD -4.17 bln (prior NZD -4.00 bln)
• Credit Card Spending +7.1% year-over-year (prior +5.2%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei ended flat after being up as much as 0.6% earlier in the session. The financial (+1.5%) and utilities (+1.3%) sectors were the day's best performers. Individual standouts on the stock side included Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings (+7.4%), Tokyo Electric Power (+6.7%), and MS&AD Insurance Group (+5.4%). Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co (-3.7%) was the worst-performing issue. Out of the 225 index members, 118 ended higher, 99 finished lower, and 8 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2% with losses in the consumer non-cyclical (-1.5%) and communications (-0.9%) sectors weighing on matters. Leading laggards included China Unicom Hong Kong (-3.2%), Hengan Intl. (-2.6%), and China Resources Power Holdings (-2.4%). Galaxy Entertainment (+4.6%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 20 ended higher, 28 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 1.9%, finishing at its highs for the day after the weaker than expected HSBC Flash PMI report for May triggered speculation that further policy stimulus will be provided. The industrial (+4.1%), diversified (+4.0%), and consumer non-cyclical (+3.8%) sectors were the best-performing areas in the Chinese market on Thursday. Financials (+0.3%) lagged the action.
• India's Sensex declined 0.1%. Strength in the consumer cyclical (+1.6%) and industrial (+1.5%) sectors helped offset weakness in the basic materials (-3.6%) sectors. Tata Steel (-5.3%), Vedanta (-3.3%), and Cipla Ltd/India (-2.1%) paced the decliners while Bajaj Auto (+6.9%), Coal India (+3.4%), and Axis Bank (+2.2%) led the winners.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.9%, scoring nearly all of its gains in the first hour of trading. The advance was led by the health care (+2.1%), energy (+1.8%), and materials (+1.5%) sectors.
• Regional advancers: Singapore +0.01%, Thailand +0.4%, Indonesia +0.4%, Vietnam +0.5%
• Regional decliners: Taiwan -1.1%, South Korea -0.8%, Malaysia -0.8%, Philippines -0.6%

FX

• USD/CNY -0.1% at 6.1968
• USD/INR +0.1% at 63.671
• USD/JPY -0.2% at 121.06
  

7:32 am Bluebirdbio shares +10% after the co released abstract highlights including updated data for its Phase 1/2 HGB-205 study of LentiGlobin BB305 (BLUE) : At 4.5 months follow up, total anti-sickling hemoglobin (HbAT87Q + HbF) was 31.6%

• Safety: No subject has experienced a drug product-related adverse event, and integration site analyses demonstrate highly polyclonal reconstitution without clonal dominance
  

7:31 am Datalink announces signing a $5 mln contract with a global compliance solution provider for its all-flash FlashStack CI converged infrastructure solution (DTLK) : The contract covers the FlashStack solution, including Pure Storage FlashArray 400 Series storage arrays, Cisco UCS Blade Servers and Cisco Nexus switches, as well as project management, design, deployment and single-call support from Datalink's OneCall Support Services. The contract marks Datalink's largest transaction to date of the five-month-old, flash storage-based FlashStack CI offering. 

7:30 am Qualcomm announces an accelerated share repurchase agreement for $5 bln of its common stock, or ~57.7 mln shares (QCOM) : Co is funding the accelerated share repurchase with proceeds from its recently completed $10 billion debt offering.

7:27 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) : Governments Edging Higher

• The Treasury complex is rallying slightly in a curve-flattening trade. 2's/10's has tightened by 2 bps to 164 bps and 5's/30's is also down 2 to 148 bps
• Yield check:
• 2-yr: unch at 0.59%
• 5-yr: unch at 1.55%
• 10-yr: -2 bps to 2.23%
• 30-yr: -2 bps to 3.03%

• International News:
• HSBC's Manufacturing PMI for May rose to 49.1 but slightly missed estimates. The reading in April was 48.9
• Germany's Manufacturing PMI fell to a lower-than-expected 51.4 in May from 52.1 in April
• The Services PMI missed estimates, falling to 52.9 in May from 54.0 in the prior month
• The French Manufacturing PMI rose to a better-than-expected 49.3 in May from 48.0 in April
• The Services PMI rose to 51.6 from 51.4, but missed consensus estimates
• For the entire eurozone, May's Markit Composite PMI fell to a worse-than-expected 53.4 from 53.9 in April
• Hiring in the eurozone was at its fastest pace since 2011, according to the survey
• Europe ex-Germany and France had its best growth in output and employment since 2008, so the European core is weighing on the whole bloc for a change
• In the U.K., Retail Sales for April beat expectations handily, climbing 1.2% m/m in April versus a 0.7% decline in March
• The gains came in apparel and textile sales and are being attributed to warmer weather

• Data out Today:
• Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending 05/16 and Continuing Jobless Claims for the week ending 05/09 (08:30 ET)
• April Existing Home Sales (10:00 ET)
• May Philadelphia Fed (10:00 ET)
• April Leading Indicators (10:00 ET)
• Natural Gas Inventories for the week ending 05/16 (10:30 ET)
• New Supply:
• $13 billion 10-Year TIPS auction (reopening) (13:00 ET)
• Fed Speak:
• San Francisco Fed President Williams (FOMC voter) participates in "Policy Panel on the Impact of Reform in Practice" (19:00 ET)

7:27 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• bluebird bio, Inc. (BLUE) announced that data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 HGB-205 study of LentiGlobin BB305 Drug Product will be presented in an oral presentation on June 13, 2015 at the 20th Congress of the European Hematology Association (:EHA) in Vienna, Austria. Abstract highlights state that No subject has experienced a drug product-related adverse event, and integration site analyses demonstrate highly polyclonal reconstitution without clonal dominance
• Plug Power (PLUG) announced Uline, Inc., as a new GenKey customer. Uline is a distributor of shipping, industrial and packaging materials to businesses throughout North America
• 6D Global Technologies (SIXD) announced that Mike Telatovich has been appointed as the new Vice President of Global Delivery
• Evolving Systems (EVOL) announced that a Tier 1 African operator has placed a significant order for the Company's Tertio solution.
• Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation (MIC) announced that it has successfully completed a planned conversion to a Delaware corporation from a Delaware limited liability company. The conversion becomes effective on May 21, 2015.

7:26 am Berry Plastics announces an offering of $700 mln in second priority senior secured notes due 2023, and a tender offer for its 9.75% second priority senior secured notes due 2021 (BERY) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from its $700 mln offering, to fund its cash tender offer of the 9.75% notes due 2021. The cash tender offer is for a total of $800 mln of the co's 9.75% notes, which will be paid a total consideration of $1,102.50 per $1000 principal value.

7:26 am Trina Solar beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides Q2 shipments; cuts FY15 capacity (TSL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.16 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.08; revenues rose 25.5% year/year to $558.1 mln vs the $509.78 mln consensus. 

• Q2 guidance: The Company expects to ship between 1,100 MW to 1,140 MW of PV modules, of which 150 MW to 170 MW of PV modules will be shipped to the Company's downstream PV projects, revenues of which will not be recognized. The Company expects to connect 65 MW to 70 MW of PV projects to the grid in the second quarter of 2015.
• Co cuts FY15 ingot and wafer capacity guidance. 
• Total module shipments were 1,026.2 MW vs. 840-870 MW guidance, consisting of 891.7 MW of external shipments and 134.5 MW shipments to the Company's own downstream solar power projects. This compares with total shipments of 1,098.8 MW in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 558.0 MW in 1Q14.
  

7:18 am Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE: CHCT) priced its 6.25 mln IPO at $19.00, the low end of the expected $19.00-21.00 range (CHCT) :  

7:13 am Best Buy beats by $0.08, beats on revs; reaffirms Q2 guidance, including stronger domestic business offset by Canadian restructuring (BBY) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.37 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.29; revenues fell 0.9% year/year to $8.56 bln vs the $8.46 bln consensus. 

• Q1 comps +0.6% (-0.7% ex-installment billing); co guided for flat to low single digit decline; non-GAAP gross margin +20 bps to 22.9%; non-GAAP operating income margin flat at 2.6% vs. -30-50 bps guidance.
• Results "exceeded our expectations during the quarter due to a stronger-than-expected performance in the Domestic business."
• Reaffirms Q2: Enterprise outlook for Q2 FY16 includes (1) a flat to negative low-single digit revenue growth rate and (2) a year-over-year non-GAAP operating income rate decline in the range of negative 30 to 50 basis points, which is in-line with our previous outlook. This outlook, however, now assumes a strengthening in our Domestic business versus our previous outlook, offset by the near-term impacts of the Canadian brand consolidation.
  

7:13 am Booz Allen Hamilton misses by $0.03, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS below consensus (BAH) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.33; revenues fell 4.1% year/year to $1.34 bln vs the $1.39 bln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.60-1.70 vs. $1.72 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Guidance Details: The final quarter of fiscal 2015 was the fourth consecutive quarter with year-over-year improvement in the sum of funded and unfunded backlog. Book-to-bill for the full fiscal year 2015 was 0.91x compared with 0.69x for the full year fiscal 2014. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 represents our second sequential quarter of headcount growth. These facts provide us confidence in an improving market as we enter our fiscal 2016.
  

7:10 am Patterson Companies beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY16 EPS in-line (PDCO) : Reports Q4 (Apr) earnings of $0.68 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.65; revenues rose 4.2% year/year to $1.15 bln vs the $1.13 bln consensus. Sales for Patterson Dental, which accounts for approximately 59 percent of total sales, increased to $679.1 million, up 10.3 percent on a constant currency basis, from the year-earlier period. Sales for Patterson Veterinary, the company's second largest business, increased to $356.0 million, or up 2.7 percent on a constant currency basis.

• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $2.40-2.50 vs. $2.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

7:08 am Cato beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line (previously announced revs); expectations for the second quarter remain unchanged (CATO) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $1.11 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.09; as previously announced, revenues fell 0.3% year/year to $281.6 mln vs the $283.8 mln consensus. The Company's same-store sales decreased 3% in the quarter.

• Co gives guidance; expectations for the second quarter remain unchanged from what was included in the original guidance for the full year:
• For Q2, sees EPS of $0.54-0.57 vs. $0.58 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; same store sales in the range of down 2% to flat
• For FY16, sees EPS of $2.10-2.23 vs. $2.18 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

7:08 am Donaldson beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (DCI) : Reports Q3 (Apr) adj earnings of $0.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.35; revenues fell 9.0% year/year to $568 mln vs the $569.24 mln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.38-0.44 vs. $0.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of ~$2.35 bln vs. $2.36 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Foreign currency translation negatively impacted third quarter net earnings by $2.0 million, or 3.0 percent. 
• Third quarter gross margin was 33.8 percent, or 2.0 percentage points below the prior-year rate of 35.8 percent.

7:03 am Buckle misses by $0.08, revs in line with May 7 preannouncement (BKE) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.70 per share, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.78; revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $271.3 mln, in line with May 7 preannouncement.

• Comparable store net sales for the 13-week period ended May 2, 2015 decreased 2.2% from comparable store net sales for the prior year 13-week period ended May 3, 2014. 
• Online sales increased 12.9% to $24.2 million for the 13-week period ended May 2, 2015, compared to net sales of $21.4 million for the 13-week period ended May 3, 2014.
  

7:03 am Calithera Biosciences reports positive initial Phase I safety data for CB-839, used to treat Acute Leukemias (CALA) : Preliminary data demonstrated the clinical activity, tolerability and unique mechanism of action of CB-839 in patients with acute leukemia.There were no dose limiting toxicities identified.

• Treatment-related adverse events of any grade that occurred in >10% of patients were limited to increases in transaminases and bilirubin. 
• There were no Grade =3 adverse events that were considered treatment-related in >10% of patients. 
• Stable disease for 4-10 cycles was observed in 5 of 15 efficacy-evaluable AML patients across all dose levels, with patients remaining on study for an average of 134 days
  

7:02 am Omnicare to be acquired by CVS Health (CVS) for $98.00/share in cash, for a total enterprise value of ~$12.7 bln (OCR) : CVS Health (CVS) announced it will acquire Omnicare for $98.00 per share in cash, for a total enterprise value of ~$12.7 bln, which includes ~$2.3 bln in debt. In total, Omnicare has ~13,000 employees at 160 locations in 47 states across the U.S. 

• CVS Health expects to achieve significant purchasing and revenue synergies as well as operating efficiencies from this combination. CVS Health expects the transaction to be ~20 cents accretive to Adjusted EPS in 2016, its first full year, excluding integration and any one-time transaction costs. 
• It is expected to become increasingly accretive to Adjusted EPS in subsequent years. CVS Health has secured $13 billion in fully committed unsecured bridge financing from Barclays and expects to put in place permanent financing in the form of senior notes and/or term loans prior to the closing of the transaction.
  

7:01 am Bon-Ton Stores misses by $0.20, misses on revs; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance (BONT) : Reports Q1 (Apr) loss of $1.74 per share, $0.20 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($1.54); revenues rose 0.6% year/year to $610.9 mln vs the $631.05 mln consensus. Comparable store sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 increased 0.8% over the prior year period.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of ($0.25)-$0.25 vs. ($0.17) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; 
• Expects comparable store sales growth assumption to be 2.0% to 2.5% in fiscal 2015 
• "While we saw top-line pressure in the first quarter, we delivered a comparable store sales increase of 0.8%, with growth in both brick and mortar and eCommerce channels, and effectively managed our expenses, leveraging expense decreases to an 80-basis-point reduction in our selling, general and administrative rate. In addition, we saw some wins in merchandising, including strength in moderate sportswear, active wear and men's furnishings, while efforts in our localization strategies continue to generate good results. Gross margin dollars and rate decreased due to increased eCommerce distribution and delivery costs and an unfavorable comparison to prior year permanent markdowns."
  

7:01 am Carriage Services announces Board authorization for a $25 mln common stock repurchase program (CSV) :  

7:00 am Biodel announces the initiation of a Phase 2B clinical trial of BIOD-531, the company's prandial/basal combination insulin candidate. (BIOD) : The Phase 2b trial, Study 3-250, is a randomized, open-label, parallel group study in patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes.

• Approximately 130 patients are targeted for enrollment at 25 U.S. investigative centers. BIOD-531 or Humalog Mix 75/25 dosed twice daily and patients will be treated for 18 weeks. 
• The primary analysis will evaluate change from baseline in HbA1c, while secondary endpoints will compare postprandial glucose excursions, hypoglycemic event rates and weight changes. Top line results are expected in mid-2016
  

6:50 am Kirklands beats by $0.05, on in-line rev; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; raises FY16 EPS, in-line, reaffirms FY16 revs guidance (KIRK) :

• Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 9.3% year/year to $118.3 mln vs the $117.73 mln consensus.
• Comps +3%.
• Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ($0.13)-(0.10) vs. ($0.04) Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q2 revs of $115-116 mln vs. $115.78 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Comps  +5-7%.
• Co issues guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $1.18-1.23 from $1.15-1.20 vs. $1.19 Capital IQ Consensus; reaffirms FY16 revs +10-12% to ~$558-569 mln vs. $561.88 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• Comps +3-5%.

6:44 am Kirklands declares a special common stock cash dividend of $1.50/share to stockholders as of June 5, 2015 (KIRK) :  

6:39 am ChromaDex has entered into an exclusive worldwide license and supply agreement for patent-pending Suntava Purple Corn (CDXC) : ChromaDex plans to develop an extraction process to concentrate the anthocyanins in Suntava Purple Corn which will be used to produce a highly concentrated anthocyanin ingredient.

• Under the terms of the Agreement, Suntava granted to ChromaDex an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing right and license to use its purple corn husk hybrid variety, in addition to related intellectual property and technology used for manufacturing a high concentration anthocyanin extract, in a specified field of use. The Agreement has an initial five year term that renews automatically for successive two year terms unless otherwise terminated.
  

6:12 am Blue Calypso names CEO Andrew Levi as Chairman of the Board (BCYP) :  

6:08 am ARAMARK Holdings announces a 25 mln share secondary offering of common stock by selling stockholders (ARMK) : The offering is by affiliates of GS Capital Partners, CCMP Capital Advisors,  J.P. Morgan Partners, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and Warburg Pincus

6:04 am Baozun (Nasdaq: BZUN) priced its 11 mln ADS IPO at $10.00 per share, below the expected $12.00-$14.00 range (BZUN) :  

5:50 am Nordic American Offshore announces share repurchase program for up to 2.5 mln of its outstanding common stock over the next two years (NAO) :  

5:49 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -14.20. :

5:49 am European Markets : FTSE...7010.72...+3.50...+0.10%.  DAX...11805.16...-43.30...-0.40%.

5:49 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...20202.87...+6.30...+0.00%.  Hang Seng...27523.72...-61.30...-0.20%.

5:27 am Orion Marine receives contract award of ~$34 mln (ORN) : The award is for a project along the Gulf Coast for a private sector client involved in the energy business. The project is expected to begin in the third quarter and last approximately 10 months.

5:24 am Hanwha Q CELLS signs agreement with O2 emc to supply 28 MW of solar PV modules (HQCL) : The modules will be used at O2 emc's Montgomery Solar plant. Construction will commence in May and is scheduled to reach completion in November, 2015.

5:23 am Quality Systems beats by $0.06, beats on revs (QSII) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.15; revenues rose 11.5% year/year to $128.4 mln vs the $126.38 mln consensus.

5:07 am Deutsche Bank realigns Management Board for its Strategy 2020 (DB) : The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank  decided at its meeting today to realign responsibilities on the Management Board in order to enable the effective delivery of Strategy 2020, the bank's new strategy announced on April 27.
Among the changes:

• Anshu Jain, Co-Chief Executive Officer, will assume responsibility on the Management Board for Strategy & Organizational Development, the unit which will manage delivery of transforming the bank's operating model to decisively boost efficiency, and which had reported to Stefan Krause, Chief Financial Officer.
• Henry Ritchotte, Chief Operating Officer, will in addition become Chief Digital Officer in order to deploy digital banking technology across all businesses.

4:43 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• The Board of Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B) announced the Reference Share Price in respect of the first quarter interim dividend of 2015, which was announced on April 30, 2015 at $0.47 per A ordinary share and B ordinary share and $0.94 per American Depository Share. 
• More than one million customers have now signed up for E.ON's (EONGY) Saving Energy Toolkit, an online tool launched with Opower (OPWR). 
• STMicroelectronics (STM) and ARM (ARMH) have announced the creation of an innovation lab initiative to promote the ARM and STM32 technologies in China. 
• Amazon.com (AMZN) announced its Prime Now service will offer one-hour delivery from local stores in addition to the tens of thousands of items offered by Amazon. In Manhattan, customers can now purchase groceries, prepared meals and baked goods from D'Agostino, Gourmet Garage and Billy's Bakery through the Prime Now app.
• Enphase Energy (ENPH) announced a strategic partnership agreement with Swiss Solar Technics SA, a full-service solar installer based in Saxon, Switzerland, to deliver its market-leading Enphase solar energy systems to Swiss residential and commercial customers. 
  

4:19 am Pacific Rubiales Energy to be acquired by Alfa and Harbour Energy for C$6.50 per share (PEGFF) : Pacific Rubiales Energy (PEGFF) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with ALFA, S.A.B. de C.V. and Harbour Energy will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Pacific Rubiales for cash consideration of C$6.50 per share.

Transaction Highlights:

• The purchase price represents a 39% premium to the closing price of the Common Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 4, 2015, the day prior to the announcement by the Company that it had entered into exclusive discussions with ALFA and Harbour Energy in respect of a possible transaction and an 81% premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price of the Common Shares on the TSX as at such date. 
• The transaction has received the unanimous approval of the board of directors of the Company, acting on the advice of a committee of independent directors.

4:12 am Telecom Italia announces IPO of up to 40% of INWIT (TI) : Telecom Italia announces its intention to proceed with an Initial Public Offering of up to 40% of the ordinary shares in its fully owned telecom infrastructure subsidiary, Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane S.p.A. INWIT owns, operates and leases wireless infrastructure and generates revenues from the lease of the space and services on such towers in particular to mobile telecom operators.

4:11 am Novartis' Phase 3 study of Afinitor in patients with NET of gastrointestinal or lung origin met primary endpoint (NVS) : Novartis announced today that the Phase III study of Afinitor tablets plus best supportive care in patients with advanced nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors of gastrointestinal or lung origin met its primary endpoint: significant extension of progression-free survival compared to placebo plus best supportive care. The RADIANT-4 study is part of one of the largest clinical trial programs in NET

• Full results from the RADIANT-4 study will be submitted to a major medical meeting. Worldwide regulatory filings are planned for 2015.
  

3:33 am Volvo reports April Truck deliveries increased of 8% YoY (VOLVY) : Co reports that April 2015 truck deliveries rose by 24% in Europe and by 18% in North America. Deliveries in South America were down by 42% while deliveries rose by 9% in Asia. In total the Volvo Group's wholly-owned operations delivered 17,715 trucks, which was 8% more than in April 2014.

2:12 am Elbit Systems acquires NICE Systems' (NICE) Cyber and Intelligence unit for ~$158 mln (ESLT) : Elbit Systems (ESLT) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire NICE Systems (NICE) Cyber and Intelligence division for a total amount of up to $157.9 million, subject to certain customary adjustments. Out of the total amount, $117.9 million will be paid in cash at the time of the closing, expected to take place in the third quarter of 2015, subject to certain closing conditions. An additional amount of up to $40 million will be paid as earn-out, based upon the future business performance of the acquired division's activities.

1:55 am ING Group makes EUR57 mln capital injection to fulfil EC commitment on capitalisation of NN Bank (ING) : ING Group has made a capital injection into NN Group of EUR 57 million by subscribing for newly issued shares for an aggregate amount of EUR 57 million and ING has provided NN Bank a EUR 63 million facility which allows the bank to draw additional Tier 1 capital. With this provision of capital, ING Group fulfils a commitment to the European Commission (EC) pertaining to the capitalisation of NN Bank, which is included in the EC decision of 16 November 2012.

• The capital injection of EUR 57 million into NN Group has been made against the issuance of 2,178,899 ordinary shares in NN Group at a price per share of EUR 26.16, equal to yesterday's closing share price. The shares acquired by ING Group are not subject to a lock-up.
  

1:35 am Regeneron Pharms and Sanofi (SNY) reports results from Phase 3 studies with Sarilumab in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis met its co-primary efficacy endpoints (REGN) : Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announced that a Phase 3 study of sarilumab, an investigational, fully human IL-6 receptor antibody, met its co-primary efficacy endpoints of a greater improvement in signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis at 24 weeks and physical function at 12 weeks, compared to placebo. 

• The SARIL-RA-TARGET trial enrolled 546 TNF-IR patients who were randomized to one of three treatment groups self-administered subcutaneously every other week: sarilumab 200 milligrams (mg), sarilumab 150 mg, or placebo, in addition to DMARD therapy. Both sarilumab groups showed clinically relevant and statistically significant improvements compared to the placebo group in both co-primary endpoints:
• Improvement in signs and symptoms of RA at 24 weeks, as measured by the American College of Rheumatology score of 20 percent improvement (ACR20), were as follows: 61 percent in the sarilumab 200 mg group; 56 percent in the sarilumab 150 mg group; and 34 percent in the placebo group, all in combination with DMARD therapy.
• Improvement in physical function, as measured by change from baseline in the Health Assessment Question-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) at week 12. 

1:27 am Fate Therapeutics prices 6,000,000 shares of its common stock at $5.00 per share (FATE) :  

1:23 am Sabre prices 24,000,000 shares of common stock by existing stockholders at a price of $26.00 per share (SABR) : Shares were offered by existing stockholders affiliated with TPG Global, LLC and Silver Lake Management Company

1:15 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Allegiant (ALGT) has been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to continue its trajectory of record growth. Following a brief period of heightened surveillance due to labor negotiations, the FAA has found no cause for limiting Allegiant's growth and has approved the addition of planned new routes and airports to the company's scheduled service. 
• California New Car Dealers Association today filed legal action against Santa Monica-based TrueCar (TRUE) for its noncompliance with various sections of the California Vehicle Code pertaining to dealer licensing, brokering, advertising and disclosure. Patricia Glaser of the highly respected law firm Glaser Weil filed this litigation in Santa Monica.
  

12:58 am Life Partners Holdings' subsidiaries announce the filing for Chapter 11 (LPHI) : Co announced that on May 19, 2015 Life Partners and LPI Financial Services, direct and indirect subsidiaries of the Company, filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. The subsidiaries will operate as "debtors-in-possession" under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

12:52 am Dicerna Pharmaceuticals prices 2,750,000 shares of its common stock at $17.75 per share (DRNA) :  

12:50 am American Tower prices $350 million of Secured Revenue Notes, Series 2015-1 and $525 million of Secured Revenue Notes, Series 2015-2 (AMT) :  

12:45 am Liberty Global distributes its previously announced LiLAC tracking stock to shareholders (LBTYA) : Co announced that it intends to implement its previously announced tracking stock for its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean on July 1, 2015. At the close of trading on the distribution date, Liberty Global will distribute, as a dividend, to holders of its Class A, Class B and Class C ordinary shares as of 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on June 24, 2015, one share of the corresponding class of LiLAC Group ordinary shares for each 20 Liberty Global ordinary shares held by each shareholder as of the record date. Cash will be issued in lieu of fractional LiLAC Group ordinary shares.

• Co intends, prior to the distribution, to attribute $100 million of cash to the LiLAC Group in order to provide liquidity to fund, among other things, ongoing operating costs and acquisitions with respect to the LiLAC Group. 
  

12:39 am Sprint appoints Kevin Crull as Chief Marketing Officer (S) : Co announced Kevin Crull will join Sprint as chief marketing officer effective May 31, 2015. In his new role, Crull will be responsible for all products and services, brand and advertising, customer acquisition and retention, and all digital and social efforts.

12:38 am GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes reports Aprlil load factor rose 3.0 pp to 79.8% (GOL) : Co announces its preliminary air traffic figures for April 2015. Comparisons refer to April 2014 and 4M14.

Highlights

• The domestic load factor in April was 79.8%, up 3.0 p.p. year-over-year. For the first four months of 2015, the rate recorded 79.1%, an increase of 2.3 p.p. and in the last 12 months, the rate was 78.5%, which represents an increase of 4.9 p.p., both compared to the same periods in 2014. 
  
• Domestic demand in April increased by 4.3% year-over-year. From January to April 2015 and in the LTM, domestic demand raise 4.8% and 5.4% respectively, compared to the same periods in 2014. 
  
• The domestic capacity increased by 0.4% in April and 1.7% in 2015. In the LTM, supply dropped 1.1% compared to the same period of 2014. Although the domestic capacity has increased from January to April, GOL reaffirms its zero growth projection for 2015. 
  
• International demand in April grew by 3.8%, leading to a load factor of 70.2%, representing a decline of 0.2 p.p. versus April 2014. For the year, demand increased 16.6% and in the LTM, the expansion was 23.4% compared to the same periods in 2014. 
  
• The number of passengers transported registered 3.3 million in April 2015 and 13.4 million in the year. In the LTM, the Company transported 40.1 million passengers.