6:31 pm Post announces that chicken flocks at co's owned and third party farms in Nebraska and Iowa have tested positive for avian influenza; estimates that ~20% of egg supply has been affected (POST) : Co provided an update on the recent avian influenza ("AI") outbreak impacting Post's egg business.

• Chicken flocks at company owned and third party farms in Nebraska and Iowa, respectively, have tested positive for AI. Including these two new incidents, Post now estimates that approximately 20% of its egg supply has been affected. 
• On May 7, 2015, Post provided Adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2015 of between $585.0 million and $610.0 million. This included an estimated negative impact of $20.0 million related to AI based on information available at that time. Post will update the estimated impact of AI as soon as practicable.
  

5:31 pm Veracyte announces online publication of a study showcasing development of Percepta Bronchial Genomic Classifier (VCYT) : Co announced the online publication of a study on the derivation of the company's Percepta Bronchial Genomic Classifier, which is used to help patients avoid unnecessary invasive procedures as part of lung cancer diagnosis. The article, published in BMC Medical Genomics, details the rigorous scientific and clinical approach used to develop the genomic test.

• The 23-gene classifier was developed in a dedicated training set of 299 patients enrolled in a large, prospective, multicenter study of current and former cigarette smokers who were undergoing bronchoscopy for lung nodules and lesions that were suspicious for cancer. Subjects were enrolled at 25 medical centers around the country. The classifier's performance in identifying and ruling out cancer was found to be consistent with data from a previously published study.
  

5:31 pm Cesca Therapeutics announces resignation of Ernst & Young as its independent registered public accounting firm (KOOL) : The report of E&Y on the Company's financial statements for the past two fiscal years did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion and was not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles. Subsequent to the completion of the audit of the Company's financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2014, E&Y determined that a deficiency in the Company's governance practices exists which was concluded to represent a material weakness in the Company's internal control over financial reporting. This issue was discussed by the audit committee and the Company is developing plans to remediate this material weakness, including the engagement of an independent outside counsel to further review its corporate governance procedures and to recommend appropriate changes.

5:26 pm SunOpta reports Q1 EPS in-line, misses on revs (STKL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.08 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.08; revenues fell 5.9% year/year to $303.4 mln vs the $315.8 mln consensus.

• The extra week contributed approximately $21.3 million of the revenue in the first quarter of 2014.
• After adjusting for the impact of changes including commodity prices, foreign exchange rates, product rationalizations and an additional week of sales in the first quarter of 2014, consolidated revenues increased 6.9% and SunOpta Foods revenues increased 9.1% versus the prior year first quarter.
• The increase in revenues was primarily due to stronger demand for organic ingredients in the U.S. and Europe, partially offset by lower sales in snack-based food categories and competitive pressures on certain steel and industrial mineral products in Opta Minerals.
  

5:22 pm Manulife Financial announces its intention to redeem all of its outstanding 14 mln Non-cumulative Class A Shares, Series 1 for cash on June 19, 2015 (MFC) : The Series 1 Preferred Shares are redeemable at Manulife's option on June 19, 2015, at a redemption price per Series 1 Preferred Share equal to C$25.00 for an aggregate total of C$350 million.

5:20 pm Voxeljet AG misses by EUR 0.26, gross margin was 33.6% compared to 39.4%; Reaffirm full year 2015 revenue guidance (VJET) : Reports Q4 (Feb) loss of EUR (0.49) per share, EUR 0.26 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of EUR ($0.23); revenues rose 104.1% year/year to EUR 5.58 mln vs the EUR 4.3 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms its revenue guidance in a range of between EUR 23-24 mln for the year ending December 31, 2015 vs EUR 22.7 mln
• The primary drivers of the Company's anticipated revenue growth for the year ending December 31, 2015 are expected to be:
• (1) increased global Systems sales
• (2) continued Services revenue growth at its facility in Friedberg, Germany
• (3) contribution from Voxeljet of America Inc., the Company's Services facility in Canton, Michigan, which began operating in January 2015
• (4) a full year's contribution from voxeljet UK, the Company's Services facility outside London, England. Based on these factors, the Company expects Services revenue growth to outpace Systems revenue growth in 2015.

5:17 pm Marrone Bio Innovations announces receipt of NASDAQ listing determination letter; to delay Q1 2015 results (MBII) : Co announced that on May 6, 2015, as anticipated, it was notified by the Listing Qualifications Staff NASDAQ that, based upon the Company's continued non-compliance with NASDAQ's filing requirements under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), the uncertainty of the Company's time frame to file all its required periodic reports and its expectation that it would not file all periodic reports with the SEC by May 13, 2015, the termination of the exception period previously granted by the Staff, the Company's securities were subject to delisting unless the Company timely requests a hearing before the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel. In addition, the Company announced that it does not expect to file on a timely basis its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2015, resulting in further noncompliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1). Co intends to timely request a hearing before the Panel.

5:10 pm DragonWave beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs below consensus (DRWI) : Reports Q4 (Feb) loss of $0.03 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.05); revenues rose 144.9% year/year to $43.74 mln vs the $44.08 mln consensus.

• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $30-33 mln vs. $46.03 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $23.7 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, compared to $29.5 million at the end of the third quarter, and $19.0 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014.
  

5:10 pm Home Inns beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides 2015 revenue above consensus (HMIN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) ADS of $0.01 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.05); revenues fell 0.1% year/year to $237.2 mln vs the $219.34 mln consensus.

• Homeinns Hotel Group expects total revenues for the Company in the second quarter of 2015 to be in the range of RMB 1,670-1,700 mln vs RMB 1.6 mln consensus.
  

5:04 pm Vectren announces the pricing of its Senior Unsecured Notes offering (VVC) : The co announced that its subsidiary, Vectren Utility Holdings, Inc. priced $200 million of its senior unsecured notes to be issued in three tranches of 20, 30 and 40 years. The co also announced that its subsidiary, Vectren Capital, Corp, has priced $150 million of its senior unsecured notes to be issued in two tranches of seven and 15 years and sold to various institutional investors through the private placement market.

5:04 pm RSP Permian misses by $0.04, misses on revs (RSPP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues fell 18.1% year/year to $51.38 mln vs the $57.51 mln consensus.

• Production increased by 86% to 15.9 MBoe/d as compared to 1Q14
  
• Exit production rate was 17.7 MBoe/d, a 11% increase over 1Q15 average
  
• RSP's capital expenditures for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 totaled $84.6 million which included approximately $78.4 million of drilling and completion and $6.2 million of infrastructure and other. Of the total capital spent, approximately $7.4 million was on non-operated properties.
  
• As of March 31, 2015, the Company had no borrowings on its revolving credit facility, which has a $500 million borrowing base, and had $103 million of cash on hand, for total liquidity available of $603 million.
  

5:01 pm Copa Holdings announces RPM increased 1.6% YoY to 1,280.6 mm, while capacity increased 7.0% YoY to 1,761.2 mm (CPA) :  

5:01 pm Forestar announces it will focus on core real estate business following strategic review (FOR) : The co. will focus on harvesting cash flow from its non-core oil and gas business by significantly lowering capital expenditures and operating costs

4:50 pm AES announces a 60 mln share secondary common stock offering, by selling stockholder Terrific Investment Corporation (AES) : The co. will not receive any of the proceeds from the Offering. As part of the Offering, the underwriter has reserved 20 million shares to be sold to AES at a price per share equal to the price paid by the underwriter to the selling stockholder in the offering. AES will use cash on hand, and may supplement with borrowings under its revolving credit facility, to fund the purchase. The number of shares of common stock available for sale to the general public will be reduced by such reserved shares. Following completion of the Offering, it is expected that the selling stockholder will have fully sold its stake in AES common stock

4:50 pm Good Times Restaurants reports Q2 net loss per share of ($0.05) vs. ($0.04) CapIQ Consensus (3 estimates); Revenue increased 42.6% y/y to $8.7 mln vs. $8.6 mln consensus (GTIM) :

• Same store sales for company-owned Good Times restaurants increased 8.3% for the quarter on top of last year's increase of 17.8%, the twentieth consecutive quarter of increasing same store sales.
  
  
• Restaurant Level Operating Profit for Good Times restaurants increased $224,000 or 27.5% over last year during the quarter.
  
  
• The company opened a new Good Times restaurant on May 7, 2015 in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.
  

4:47 pm Crossroads announces a planned rights offering of common stock, to common and preferred shareholders; size not disclosed (CRDS) : Co to use the estimated net proceeds of the rights offering to continue to fund efforts related to the monetization of its intellectual property portfolio, including the costs of ongoing litigation and other proceedings, repayment of indebtedness, and for working capital purposes.

4:46 pm Star Bulk Carriers announces plans to make a public offering of $150 mln of its common shares (SBLK) : The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for its newbuilding program and general corporate purposes (including additions to working capital, capital expenditures, repayment of debt or the financing of possible acquisitions and investments).

4:45 pm PartnerRe confirms receipt of revised proposal from EXOR for $137.50/share in cash (PRE) :

• PartnerRe will have no further comment on EXOR's proposal until the Board has completed its review.
  

4:38 pm CareTrust REIT beats by $0.04, beats on revs; raises FY15 FFO guidance, rev guidance (CTRE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) funds from operations of $0.27 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.23; revenues rose 32.8% year/year to $17 mln vs the $16.05 mln consensus. 

• Co issues guidance for FY15, raises FFO to $0.98-1.00 from $0.96-0.98 vs. $1.02 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; raises FY15 revs to ~$63.9 mln from $63.3 mln vs. $64.21 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

4:36 pm Pacific Energy Development announces a public offering of common shares; size and terms not disclosed (PED) : Co expects to use the net proceeds from the offering to extend and acquire additional leasehold rights in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado, fund working capital, and for general corporate purposes

4:35 pm Zillow beats by $0.17, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 guidance -- halted, trade will resume at 17:00 (Z) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.17 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.12); revenues rose 92.3% year/year to $127.3 mln vs the $135.17 mln consensus.

• Marketplace Revenue of $108.9 million, including Real Estate Revenue of $93.3 million, Mortgages Revenue of $9.6 million and Trulia's Market Leader Revenue of $6.1 million. Display Revenue of $18.3 million.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $690 mln vs. $678.01 mln Capital IQ Consensus,m which includes Market Leader's expected revenue of $40 million. The company expects pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $80 million to $85 million.

• In March 2015, nearly 140 million unique users visited Zillow Group consumer brands Zillow, Trulia, StreetEasy and HotPads. 
• Trulia integration on track for completion by year-end.
  

4:34 pm Salesforce.com and Sage forge strategic partnership to enable small businesses to run completely in the cloud (CRM) :  

4:32 pm ConAgra has acquired Blake's All Natural Foods in an all cash deal; terms not disclosed (CAG) : The transaction has no impact to ConAgra Foods' previously communicated debt reduction commitments for fiscal 2015

4:32 pm Parsley Energy misses by $0.07, misses on revs (PE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.00); revenues fell 4.3% year/year to $55.2 mln vs the $65.8 mln consensus. 

• Parsley delivered record quarterly net production of 18.9 MBoe/d, an increase of 4% over Q4 2014 and up 106% year-over-year. 
• Parsley is raising full-year 2015 production guidance from 18-19 MBoe/d to 20-21.5 MBoe/d.
  

4:31 pm Hawaiian Electric shareholders approve the proposal to extend the deadline for shareholder voting on the proposed merger agreement with NextEra Energy (NEE) (HE) : The co's preliminary count indicates that, of the shares HEI shareholders have voted to date, currently approximately 90 percent have been voted in favor of the proposed merger.

4:31 pm Echostar Holdings subsidiary Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation announces a call for redemption of $110 mln of its 6.5% senior secured notes due 2019 (SATS) : The co. announced its subsidiary's intention to redeem $110 million of the outstanding $1.1 billion principal amount of Hughes Satellite Systems Corporation 6 1/2% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 (CUSIP Number 444454 AB8). The redemption price will be equal to 103.000% of the principal amount plus any accrued and unpaid interest

4:31 pm American Express Board authorizes repurchase of up to 150 mln shares, announces 12% dividend increase to $0.29 (AXP) :

• Co approved the repurchase of up to 150 million common shares, from time to time, subject to market conditions and the Federal Reserve's non-objection of the company's capital plans. 
• his authorization replaces the prior 150 million share repurchase program that had approximately 45 million shares of common stock remaining under board authorization. Separately, the board of directors approved a $0.03 -- or 12%-- increase in the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock.
• The dividend was raised to $0.29 per common share, from $0.26, payable on August 10, 2015 to shareholders of record on July 2, 2015.
  

4:30 pm TubeMogul misses by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus; guides FY15 revs above consensus (TUBE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.24 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.23); revenues rose 37.7% year/year to $30.3 mln vs the $29.41 mln consensus.

• Gross margin was 73% compared to 72% in the first quarter of 2014 .
  
  
• Guidance: Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $38-$40 mln vs. $36.98 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees total Spend in the range of $92 million to $94 million. Gross profit in the range of $26 million to $28 million and Adjusted EBITDA loss in the range of $(3) million to $(1) million. 
  
  Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $149-$157 mln vs. $149.15 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees total Spend in the range of $373 million to $381 million. Gross profit in the range of $105 million to $113 million and Adjusted EBITDA loss in the range of $(15) million to $(7) million. 
  

4:30 pm Blackstone prices its EUR 300 mln in senior notes due 2025 at 2% (BX) : Co intends to use the proceeds from the notes offering for general corporate purposes.

4:28 pm Pengrowth Energy confirms the filing of a preliminary base shelf prospectus for up to $1 bln in securities (PGH) : The prospectus will allow Pengrowth to offer and issue common shares, subscription receipts, warrants, options or rights with an aggregate offering amount not to exceed $1 billion. Co intends to use the net proceeds of any sales of securities for general corporate purposes, repayment of indebtedness and/or the direct or indirect financing of future growth opportunities, including acquisitions and capital expenditures.

4:28 pm Ardelyx reports Q1 results; outlines upcoming milestones (ARDX) :

• Upcoming Milestones:
• In June, Co is scheduled to have an End of Phase 2 meeting with FDA in order to obtain agreement on pivotal study designs, and safety and efficacy endpoints for Phase 3 studies for tenapanor to treat IBS-C. 
• Co is preparing for the continuation of the development of tenapanor under a variety of scenarios, and intends to be in a position to initiate a Phase 3 clinical program for tenapanor in IBS-C in 4Q15 and to continue the development of tenapanor for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in CKD patients on dialysis should it regain the worldwide rights to the program. 
• Data from the IBS-C study will be presented at Digestive Disease Week from May 16-19, 2015 in Washington D.C. An oral presentation entitled, "Efficacy and Safety of Tenapanor in Patients with Constipation Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A 12-Week, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Phase 2b Trial" will be presented on Tuesday, May 19, at 2:45 pm ET to provide additional information about the study.

4:21 pm CafePress beats by $0.05, misses on revs (PRSS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.12 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.17); revenues fell 11.3% year/year to $27.4 mln vs the $30.35 mln consensus.

• Average Order Size was $28, down 6% y/y; Orders totaled 0.9 mln, an 11% y/y decline.
  
• The decrease in order count in the first quarter was driven by both a decline in our white label photo-prints business, and the shift in our marketing focus on higher quality ROI channels. The average order size decreased primarily due to the higher volume of single item orders through CafePress Services. 

4:21 pm AllianceBernstein announces prelim AUM for April, 2015 of $499 bln, up 2.7% Q/Q (AB) : Co stated the 2.7% increase was the result of total firmwide net inflows and market appreciation, including the positive impact of FX movements. By channel, net flows were positive in Institutions and negative in Retail and Private Wealth

4:16 pm Vertex Pharm confirms the FDA Advisory Panel voted 12 to 1 to recommend approval of ORKAMBI to treat people with cystic fibrosis ages 12 and older (shares halted) (VRTX) : The FDA is expected to make a decision on the approval of ORKAMBI by July 5, 2015 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (:PDUFA). The FDA is not bound by the committee's recommendation but often follows its advice. If approved, ORKAMBI will be the first and only medicine to treat the underlying cause of CF for eligible people with CF ages 12 and older with two copies of the F508del mutation in the CFTR gene. People with two copies of the F508del mutation represent the largest group of people with CF.

4:16 pm McKesson beats by $0.19, reports revs in-line; guides FY16 EPS in-line; Board of Directors authorized a new $500 mln share repurchase program (MCK) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $2.94 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.19 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $2.75; revenues rose 18.7% year/year to $44.92 bln vs the $45.03 bln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $12.20-12.70, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $12.57 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

4:15 pm Newstar Financial announces entrance into a new $175 mln revolving warehouse financing arrangement (NEWS) : The credit facility will be used to partially fund eligible loans originated by the Company's Leveraged Finance group. The facility has a target advance rate of 70% and matures in May 2020. It is structured with a three-year revolving, reinvestment period and will amortize over the remaining two years

4:15 pm New Relic beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides JunQ EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guides FY16 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; Chief Marketing Officer is resigning (NEWR) : Reports Q4 (Mar) loss of $0.22 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.25); revenues rose 68.3% year/year to $33.4 mln vs the $30.3 mln consensus. For Q1 (Jun), co sees EPS of $(0.26)-(0.23), excluding non-recurring items, vs. ($0.24) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $34.5-35.5 mln vs. $32.5 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. For FY16, co sees EPS of $(1.03)-(0.95), excluding non-recurring items, vs. ($1.00) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $155-159 mln vs. $147.3 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• Note: In 8-K, co announces that on May 11, 2015, Patrick Moran notified the company that he is resigning as Chief Marketing Officer, effective July 1, and that he plans to work with emerging leaders as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Benchmark Capital.
  

4:14 pm SS&C Techs announces its performance measurement outsourcing assets under management have grown to $182 billion (SSNC) :  

4:13 pm Rice Energy announces a 6 mln share secondary offering, by a selling stockholder affiliated with Natural Gas Partners (RICE) :  

4:13 pm Opower beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides for Q2 and full yr (OPWR) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.12 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.16); revenues rose 17.0% year/year to $33.42 mln vs the $32.73 mln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ($0.15-0.17) vs. ($0.17) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $34.8-35.5 mln vs. $35.70 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues guidance for FY15, sees EPS of ($0.58-0.65) vs. ($0.69) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $144-149 mln vs. $146.93 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

4:12 pm Closing Market Summary: Influential Sectors Lead Stocks Lower (:WRAPX) : The stock market ended the Tuesday session on a modestly lower note, which masked an early drop that had the S&P 500 (-0.3%) down as much as 20 points at the start.

Equity indices endured a shaky open after the overnight session featured more selling in European and U.S. bond markets; however, that pressure abated shortly before the opening bell with the U.S. 10-yr note marking its low at 8:00 ET. At that time, the benchmark yield marked a session high at 2.36% and began its daylong retreat that ended at 2.26% (-3 bps). The ensuing rally in Treasuries fostered a rebound in equities with the S&P 500 returning above its 50-day moving average (2,089) after sliding beneath that level at the start.

The S&P 500 ended the day not far below its flat line, but only two sectors finished the day with gains. The energy space (+0.4%) outperformed throughout the day thanks to a 2.5% gain in crude oil ($60.59/bbl), which was underpinned by a 0.5% decline in the Dollar Index (94.55, -0.46).

Elsewhere, the industrial sector (-0.1%) settled just below its flat line even though high-beta transport stocks lagged notably. The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 1.2% with all 20 components registering losses while the largest sector member-General Electric (GE 27.03, +0.11)-gained 0.4%.

Meanwhile, the remaining cyclical sectors posted losses. The materials space (-1.0%) spent the day behind other groups while technology (-0.5%) and financials (-0.4%) prevented the broader market from turning positive. Similar to transport stocks, high-beta chipmakers displayed relative weakness throughout the day with the PHLX Semiconductor Index falling 0.9%.

As for large cap tech names, Microsoft (MSFT 47.35, -0.02) and Cisco Systems (CSCO 29.23, +0.02) outperformed while Google (GOOGL 538.73, -7.05) and Facebook (FB 77.46, -0.55) lagged. Also of note, Yelp (YELP 48.83, +0.21) settled lower by 0.4% after the Wall Street Journal contrasted the potential acquisition of the company with Verizon's (VZ 49.62, -0.18) purchase of AOL (AOL 50.52, +7.93) for $50/share or $4.40 billion. Recall that Yelp spiked 23.0% on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported the social media company is looking into a potential sale.

Similar to technology, the influential health care sector (-0.5%) presented a headwind throughout the day. The sector finished among the laggards even as the biotech group settled near the broader market with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 351.79, -0.50) reclaiming its 50-day moving average (349.96).

Today's participation was a bit light with fewer than 700 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to the Treasury Budget and JOLTS:

• The Treasury budget showed a surplus of $157.00 billion in April 2015, up from a surplus of $106.90 billion in April 2014 and roughly in-line with the Briefing.com consensus estimate that called for a surplus of $155.00 billion 
  • The Treasury data are not seasonally adjusted, so the April surplus cannot be compared to the $52.90 billion deficit recorded in March 
• The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for March showed that job openings decreased to 4.994 million from a revised rate of 5.144 million (from 5.133 million)

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while April Retail Sales (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%) and April Import/Export Prices will be reported at 8:30 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the 10:00 ET release of the Business Inventories report for March (consensus 0.2%).

• Nasdaq Composite +5.1% YTD 
• Russell 2000 +2.4% YTD 
• S&P 500 +2.0% YTD 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.4% YTD

4:12 pm Lumenis LTD misses by $0.05, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance (LMNS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.11; revenues rose 4.1% year/year to $68.51 mln vs the $68.36 mln consensus.

• "Our new innovative products, released since Q2'13, show great momentum and already accounted for approximately 21% of product sales in the 1Q15, compared to 18% and 16% of product sales in Q4 and 3Q14, respectively." 
  

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $0.62-0.66, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.63 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $305-310 mln vs. $305.71 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:11 pm GoDaddy beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 and FY15 revs just above consensus (GDDY) : Reports Q1 (Mar) GAAP loss of $0.34 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.35); revenues rose 17.5% year/year to $376.3 mln vs the $373.45 mln consensus.

• Total Bookings of $498.7 million, up 13.7% year over year. 
• Adjusted EBITDA of $93.9 million, up 17.8% year over year. 

Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $390-395 mln vs. $390.07 mln Capital IQ Consensus; EBITDA $75-78 mln.

Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $1.595-1.605 bln vs. $1.59 bln Capital IQ Consensus; EBITDA $322-327 mln.

4:11 pm Vitae Pharmaceuticals misses by $0.10 (VTAE) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.47 per share, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.37). revs of $150.2K vs $1.2 mln last year.

• VTP-34072 in Type 2 Diabetes -- Top-line clinical efficacy results from the metformin arm of the Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial in type 2 diabetic patients in the second quarter, and top-line clinical efficacy results from the monotherapy arm in the second half of 2015.
  

4:10 pm Five9 beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY15 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (FIVN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.12 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.17); revenues rose 24.7% year/year to $30.3 mln vs the $28.46 mln consensus.

• Adjusted gross margin improved by 540 basis points year-over-year. 
  
  
• Guidance: Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ($0.17)-($0.15) vs. ($0.16) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $28.7-$29.7 mln vs. $29.08 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
  Co raises guidance for FY15, sees EPS of ($0.54)-($0.49) vs. ($0.57) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from prior guidance of ($0.60)-($0.54); sees FY15 revs of $120-$124 mln vs. $119.90 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from prior guidance of $117-$122 mln.
  

4:10 pm CareDx misses by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 revs in-line (CDNA) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.19 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.18); revenues rose 22.0% year/year to $7.22 mln vs the $6.82 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $28-30 mln vs. $29.12 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

4:09 pm Inogen beats by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (INGN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.07; revenues rose 42.8% year/year to $33.7 mln vs the $29.98 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $133-137 mln vs. $140.30 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Adjusted EBITDA of $6.4 million, representing 46.7% growth over the same period in 2014 and an 18.9% return on revenue. FY15 Guidance: Inogen confirmed its 2015 Adjusted EBITDA estimate to range from $27 to $30 million, representing an approximate increase of 12.7% to 25.2% over 2014 and its 2015 net income to be in the range of $8 to $9.5 million.
  

4:09 pm Fibrocell Science recieves rare pediatric disease designation for FCX-007 from the FDA, to treat recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (FCSC) :

• Co announced that the FDA has granted rare pediatric disease designation for co's lead orphan gene-therapy drug candidate, FCX-007, for the treatment of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. The rare pediatric disease designation augments the Orphan Drug designation granted by the FDA and announced by Fibrocell in June 2014 for FCX-007 to treat dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, which includes RDEB. 
• FCX-007 is a gene-modified autologous fibroblast that encodes COL7 and is being developed in collaboration with Intrexon (XON)
  

4:08 pm Exar reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs below consensus; co announces review of strategic alternatives (EXAR) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.11; revenues rose 56.7% year/year to $43.86 mln vs the $45.88 mln consensus.

Co issues mixed guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.10-0.12, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.12 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $40-43 mln vs. $48.22 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Co also announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously decided to undertake a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to enhance value for stockholders. Exar intends to conduct a thorough review and evaluation of strategic alternatives.

4:08 pm Swisher Hygiene has completed the sale of the assets of its Gulf Coast Laundry Services for $4 mln in cash plus purchased accounts receivable (SWSH) :

• The difference between the sale price and the carrying value of the assets sold will be recognized as a gain in the second quarter of 2015.
  

4:08 pm Electro Scientific beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides JunQ EPS below consensus, revs in-line (ESIO) : Reports Q4 (Mar) loss of $0.21 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.25); revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $37.57 mln vs the $36.0 mln consensus. For Q1 (Jun), co sees EPS of $(0.20)-(0.15), excluding non-recurring items, vs. ($0.14) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of approx $40 mln vs. $40.5 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• "This was a productive quarter, as we achieved critical product milestones and delivered revenue and earnings that were better than expected...We introduced two key new products directed at the PCB industry, one of which contained a new internally-developed laser yielding higher performance. We also closed the Topwin acquisition to drive our business in China, and took actions to consolidate locations to improve efficiency and agility." 
• "Our new products and adjacent applications are key to ESI's turnaround effort. Initial customer reaction to our new CornerStone and GemStone products has been encouraging. The addition of Topwin has already begun to contribute in terms of both product portfolio and customer engagements, and we are on track to introduce a new cost-effective flexible micromachining system leveraging a Topwin platform this quarter."
  

4:07 pm Gladstone Land announced that it plans to sell ~1.1 mln shares of common stock (LAND) : The co. intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay existing indebtedness, fund pending and future property acquisitions and for other general corporate purposes. The co. also plans to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase approximately 165,000 additional shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

4:07 pm Ducommun misses by $0.48, misses on revs (DCO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.18 per share, $0.48 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.30; revenues fell 3.8% year/year to $172.92 mln vs the $177.44 mln consensus.

"We are very disappointed in our 2015 first quarter financial and operational performance and are taking swift action to resolve or mitigate the factors that impeded our execution during the quarter. The lost revenue from the decline in our military and space business, particularly in our AeroStructures operating segment, caused us to incur higher relative indirect costs at a faster rate than we were able to offset with our cost reduction initiatives. This, coupled with production inefficiencies in certain legacy programs and one-time development costs related to new technology applications, adversely impacted our gross margin. To address these issues, we are working on specific plans to lower operating costs and improve profitability, including additional headcount reductions, where appropriate."

4:06 pm FMC Tech appoints Douglas Pferdehirt as President effective immediately (FTI) : Pferdehirt assumes this responsibility from John T. Gremp who remains Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Pferdehirt previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He will assume the role of President immediately, while retaining his position as Chief Operating Officer

4:06 pm Civitas Solutions misses by $0.05, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance, increases Adj. EBITDA guidance (CIVI) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.05 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.10; revenues rose 9.4% year/year to $335.2 mln vs the $333.78 mln consensus.

• Guidance: Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $1.345-$1.385 bln vs. $1.37 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Increases Adj. EBITDA guidance to $152-$154 mln from $150-$153 mln.
  
  Sees Capex of 3-3.5% of net revenue.

4:06 pm Jetblue Airways reports preliminary traffic results for April 2015, showing an increase of 9% in RPMs to ~3.46 mln Y/Y (JBLU) : Co also reported that available seat miles increased 6.6% to ~4.04 mln Y/Y

4:05 pm Hortonworks beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus; guides FY15 revs above consensus (HDP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.77 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.82); revenues rose 168.2% year/year to $22.8 mln vs the $18.19 mln consensus.

• Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $22.5-23.5 mln vs. $20.36 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $94-97 mln vs. $85.66 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

4:05 pm Kaman announces that its Aerospace segment has been awarded several commercial sale purchase orders for the procurement of Joint Programmable Fuzes totaling $68 mln (KAMN) : The fuzes are expected to be delivered in 2015 and 2016

4:05 pm Invitae reports Q1 results, beats on revs (NVTA) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $1.09 per share, may not compare to Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.51); revenues of $1.23 mln vs the $1.12 mln consensus.

• 2015 Outlook:
• Co plans to reduce the average cost of billable reports in 2015 versus 2014.
• Co plans to increase its content to more than 500 genes by the end of 2015.
• Co is confirming its guidance for 2015 of delivering 14,000-17,000 billable tests to its customers.

4:04 pm Nova Measuring beats by $0.09, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (NVMI) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.06; revenues fell 20.7% year/year to $27.5 mln vs the $25.6 mln consensus.

Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.07-0.11, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.13 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $33-35 mln vs. $31.84 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 

• "Bookings for the expanded company in the first quarter, and thus far in the second quarter, reflect a pickup in business potential, which will drive growth in the following quarters, accelerating our growth for the whole year and bolstering our optimism going forward."
  

4:03 pm Cara Therapeutics beats by $0.08, misses on revs (CARA) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.21 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.29); revenues rose 150.0% year/year to $0.5 mln vs the $0.7 mln consensus. 

• Based on discussions with the FDA, the Company currently anticipates the first trial of its I.V. CR845 Phase 3 Program to be a pivotal adaptive trial designed to meet FDA criteria for an adequate and well-controlled clinical trial. The trial will evaluate several doses of I.V. CR845, administered both pre- and post-operatively, in patients undergoing abdominal laparoscopic surgery, including laparoscopic hysterectomy. Cara expects to initiate the trial in the third quarter of 2015, with completion expected in 2016.
  

4:03 pm Zafgen beats by $0.03 (ZFGN) : Reports Q1 (Mar) GAAP loss of $0.53 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.56).

• Q1 highlighted by accelerated enrollment in bestPWS clinical trial - six month data now expected in early 1Q16;
• Co on track to report data from ongoing ZAF-203 clinical trial in late 2015/very early 2016;
• Ends quarter with cash and marketable securities of $234 million following recent follow-on offering.
  

4:03 pm Andatee China Marine Fuel Services announces that its previously scheduled NASDAQ listing hearing was cancelled after co pays outstanding fees; offers recent business development updates (AMCF) : Regarding Operational Updates, the co reported:

• On April 28, 2015, the executive management of the Company informed the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") that commencing in January 2015 the Company was forced to substantially curtail and eventually to cease its oil blending/reselling business operations. It is currently unclear when and whether market conditions will stabilize and when and whether the Company will reinitiate its oil blending/reselling business operations. There is no assurance that such efforts will be successful; or that the Company will remain economically viable in the future. 
• The shift in the profitability of the Company's oil blending/reselling business operations was exacerbated by a significant change in the commercial credit environment in China during the same period. Following a substantial tightening of credit in China, the Company's experienced difficulty in renegotiating its commercial loan facilities, which matured in March of 2015, leaving the Company without the adequate liquidity to operate its business. 
• The Company also has been seeking alternative sources of financing. It is the Company's expectation that its first fiscal quarter of 2015 revenues will be materially adversely affected by the foregoing business and operational developments. 
• On April 29, 2015, the Company entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Three Pillars PetroChem. TPP, on behalf of the Company, will identify and negotiate business development opportunities investments in energy assets globally

4:02 pm Vital Therapies reports EPS in-line (VTL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.62 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.62).

4:01 pm The Children's Place sends letter to shareholders; recommends shareholders support its three independent director nominees by voting the WHITE proxy card today (PLCE) :  

4:01 pm Tyson Foods raises tgts for prepared foods profit improvement initiatives and synergies from The Hillshire Brands Co. acquisition to more than $250 mln for the current fiscal year, $400 mln in FY16 and $600 mln in FY17 (TSN) :  

4:00 pm OXiGENE announces appointment of Bill Schwieterman, M.D to President and CEO; current CEO Dai Chaplin, Ph.D to become Chief Scientific Officer (OXGN) : Schwieterman, from 2009 to 2014, was Chief Medical Officer of Chelsea Therapeutics. Both Drs. Schwieterman and Chaplin will continue to serve on OXiGENE's board of directors

3:32 pm Treasury Market Summary (BONDX) : Treasuries Recover Losses to End Green

• After getting shelled in the overnight session in sympathy with European sovereign debt, U.S. Treasuries recovered throughout the day to end positively. Profit-taking in curve-steepening trades pressured the front end of the curve
• Yield check:
• 2-yr: -1 bp to 0.61%
• 5-yr: -3 bps to 1.57%
• 10-yr: -3 bps to 2.26%
• 30-yr: -2 bps to 3.02%

• News:
• San Francisco Fed President Williams (FOMC voter) spoke in New York today 
• He said that he sees "a safer course in a gradual increase, and that calls for starting a bit earlier."
• Williams expects that unemployment will fall to 5% this year
• He noted that even if the Fed hikes rates, policy will still remain extremely accommodative between low policy rates and the Fed's $4 trillion balance sheet
• The Treasury auctioned $24 billion of 3-year notes and it found solid demand. There was a stop-through of 0.8 bps 
• High yield: 1.000%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.34
• Indirect bid: 52.7%
• Direct bid:11.6%
• March JOLTS - Job Openings were 4.994 million versus 5.144 million in February

• Commodities:
• WTI Crude: +2.23% to $60.57/bbl
• Gold: +0.84% to $1,192.9/troy oz.
• Copper: +0.95% to $2.9305/lb.

• Currencies:
• EUR/USD: +0.64% to $1.1218
• USD/JPY: -0.29% to 119.81

• Data out Wednesday:
• MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 05/09 (07:00 ET)
• April Retail Sales and Retail Sales ex-auto (08:30 ET)
• April Export Prices ex-agriculture and Import Prices ex-oil (08:30 ET)
• March Business Inventories (10:00 ET)
• Crude Inventories for the week ending 05/09 (10:30 ET)
• New Supply:
• $24 billion 10-year note auction (13:00 ET)

3:30 pm Earnings Calendar (:SUMRX) : Today after the close look for the following companies to report:

• MCK, GDDY, STKL, HMIN, DCO, Z, SSRI, LMNS, PE, RSPP, EXAR, ESIO, OPWR, PRSS, NEWR, INGN, TUBE, FIVN, NVMI, HDP, VSLR, CDNA, NVTA, CARA, VTAE, RENN, VTL, ZFGN

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

• M, ARMK, PCP, RL, IGT, ZBRA, ZAYO, MRKT, ACAT, ELOS, SHLX, DSX, EZCH, MTLS, CRME

2:47 pm Currency Market Summary (FOREX) : Dollar Declines

• The dollar lost against all of the majors today as the bull trend that began last summer continues to consolidate. The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.50% to 94.54
• EUR/USD: +0.67% to $1.1221
• European sovereign yields continued higher this morning, eroding one of the factors that has decimated this pair over the past several months. That said, U.S. yields went higher as well
• USD/JPY: -0.15% to 119.98
• JGB yields finally joined the global sell-off in fixed income, with the Japanese 10-year yield rising 7 basis points to 0.46%
• GBP/USD: +0.67% to $1.5681
• U.K. Manufacturing Production beat expectations rising 0.4% m/m in March versus a 0.5% increase in February
• AUD/USD: +1.22% to $0.7991
• NZD/USD: +0.47% to $0.7368
• USD/CAD: -0.85% to 1.1998
• USD/CHF: -0.60% to 0.9289
  

2:38 pm IBM announces that the New Zealand Ministry of Health has adopted its government cloud service offering (IBM) :  

2:32 pm Dow +2.5 climbs back into positive territory, S&P -1.5 set a new session high -- Nasdaq Comp -2.8 is nearing its midday/session high (:TECHX) :  

2:11 pm MSA Safety increases its quarterly dividend by 3% to $0.32/share from $0.31/share (MSA) :  

2:01 pm Certron Corporation announces an expansion of its three-year services agreement with a Tier-1 communications operator, worth a total of ~$34 mln (CRTN) : Co is helping the Tier 1 operator deliver a number of major transformation programs as the operator expands its investment in communications infrastructure. Based on projected program requirements and including the minimum contract commitment, total contract revenue is forecasted to run up to ~$34 million, with ~$28 million coming in 2015 and 2016.

1:33 pm Atlatsa Resources confirms that operations at the Bokoni Platinum Mine have been interrupted by the recent unrest that erupted in the Bokoni area (shares halted) (ATL) : The co noted that the unrest began yesterday, Monday 11 May 2015, when some members of the community surrounding Bokoni blocked the main road leading to Bokoni with burning tyres and rocks. Employees were prevented from reporting for work as a result of the blockade and intimidation. Bokoni noted that there was damage to the timber storage yard and to the network and telephone infrastructure. 

1:20 pm Auction Out (BONDX) : Auction Results

• The $24 billion 3-year note auction was met with strong demand
• High yield: 1.000%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.34
• Indirect bid: 52.7%
• Direct bid: 11.6%
• Prior 12-auction average results:
• High yield: 0.987%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.29
• Indirect bid: 39.4%
• Direct bid: 15.0%

1:17 pm Waterstone Financial announces a 2 mln stock repurchase program, representing ~6.3% of outstanding shares, to commence on May 13, 2015 (WSBF) :  

1:13 pm Major averages edge to new recovery/session highs -- Dow -4, S&P -2.4, Nasdaq Comp -4 (:TECHX) :  

1:06 pm Notable movers of interest (:SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume). 

Large Cap Gainers

• PLL (117.94 +18.76%): Reports out that the company is near a potential sale, with Thermo Fisher (TMO) and Danaher (DHR) mentioned as possible suitors.
• EW (131.28 +3.31%): Upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• HUM (171.52 +2.94%): Outperforming follow chatter the name may be targeted by Aetna (AET).

Large Cap Losers

• VIPS (25.95 -5.01%): Under pressure following cautious blog mention.
• GPS (38.42 -3.63%): Reported April same store sales -12% vs -7.0% Retail Metrics consensus with downside Q1 EPS guidance and prelim sales; Downgraded at FBR Capital. 

Mid Cap Gainers

• AOL (50.54 +18.67%): To be acquired by Verizon (VZ) for $50 per share in a $4.4 bln deal.
• RARE (74.22 +10.41%): Price target raised to $78 from $68 at Canaccord Genuity; co reported Q1 results which showed a larger than expected loss.
• CDK (53.4 +3.53%): Elliott Associates disclosed 7.6% active stake in 13D filing.

Mid Cap Losers

• JOBS (29.96 -14.15%): Reported revenues increased 4.8% y/y to $73.9 mln; EPS of $0.39, ex items, compared to prior year of approx $0.36
• RAX (46 -13.42%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.01, reported revs in-line; sees Q2 revs +1.5-2.5%; Downgraded at Morgan Stanley and Credit Argicole.
• LDOS (39.24 -8.49%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.07, beat on revs; reaffirmed FY16 EPS guidance, revs guidance, which are below consensus estimates.

12:55 pm Midday Market Summary: Stocks Trim Opening Losses (:WRAPX) : The major averages hold modest midday losses with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all down near 0.2% at this juncture.

Although the key indices trade in the red, their current standing represents a notable improvement from their opening levels. The benchmark index was down nearly 20 points at the start as sellers pressed on amid continued weakness in the Treasury market. However, Treasuries notched their lows at 8:00 ET with the 10-yr yield hitting the 2.36% mark prior to reversing. Currently, the 10-yr note sits near its high with the benchmark yield down four basis points at 2.25%, which has contributed to the rebound in equities.

Even though stocks have climbed off their lows, nine sectors remain in the red while energy (+0.5%) has received support from a 2.3% jump in crude oil ($60.58/bbl). On the flip side, the materials sector (-0.8%) is the weakest performer while top-weighted technology (-0.4%), financials (-0.4%), and health care (-0.5%) trade behind the broader market.

Furthermore, high-beta groups have also struggled with the Dow Jones Transportation Average trading lower by 1.2% even though the industrial sector (-0.2%) outperforms. Elsewhere, biotechnology also lags with iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 351.00, -1.29) trading lower by 0.4%. Similarly, chipmakers have spent the first half behind the broader technology sector with the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 0.6%.

On the corporate front, AOL (AOL 50.58, +7.99) has agreed to be acquired by Verizon (VZ 49.66, -0.14) for $50/share, representing a 16.7% premium to yesterday's closing price.

Economic data released this morning was limited to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for March, which showed that job openings decreased to 4.994 million from a revised rate of 5.144 million (from 5.133 million).

The Treasury Budget for April will be released at 14:00 ET.

12:49 pm MSA Safety announces the election of William M. Lambert to the position of Chairman, succeeding John T. Ryan III, who will continue as a Director (MSA) :  

12:38 pm ITT Educational issues statement, vows it will fight the SEC's 'unfounded charges' (ESI) : The company issued a statement saying it is "deeply disappointed in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's mistaken decision to bring an enforcement action against the company" Highlights of the statement include:

• "We vehemently disagree with the SEC's position and we are confident that the evidence does not support the SEC's claims. We are eager to have the court clear our reputation that has been unnecessarily endangered by the SEC's action.....ESI has additionally reached out to the U.S. Department of Education, accrediting agencies and appropriate state regulatory authorities to ensure they understand the company's legal and financial position.  We look forward to helping ensure that they have all of the information necessary to inform their judgment, and to share the basis for our strong views about the misguided and inappropriate nature of the SEC's action.  We would expect any regulator would refrain from taking any action against the company, and thereby against our students and employees, until we have had our day in court."

12:36 pm Abengoa and ENEL have been jointly selected by Pemex to develop a 517 MW cogeneration power plant in Mexico (ABGB) : The project investment has been estimated by Abengoa at $950 million. Abengoa and ENEL's cogeneration plant will supply Pemex with electricity and steam, with the excess power being sold in the market.

12:21 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (120) outpacing new highs (59) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ACLS, AET, AFH, AHS, ALDW, AOL, AXS, BLUE, CATY, CDK, CNO, CORI, CSRE, ELNK, EMJ, FFNM, GDDY, HILL, INTG, IPAR, IPHI, IRMD, JNPR, KALU, KTWO, LOAN, LYG, MMAC, MOH, MTSL, NCOM, NHTC, NICE, NOAH, NVEE, PAHC, PAYC, PFSW, PINC, PLL, PNFP, PRE, PVTB, QCRH, QLIK, QTWO, RARE, RELY, RGEN, SAL, SBNY, SIGM, SIVB, SUM, TDS, TFX, VRTU, WIX, ZIXI

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AEZS, AJX, AKAO, AMBR, APEI, ARG, ASCMA, ASEI, AVP, BDSI, BKH, BMR, BOI, BPTH, BREW, BSM, CBAY, CBLI, CDZI, CEL, CIM, CKP, CLTX, CNP, CNS, CRCM, CRD.B, CSAL, CVSL, DTF, DX, EDE, EE, EGL, EGP, EMMS, ENZ, ESI, ESIO, FBRC, FPT, FREE, FTK, FXEN, GBL, GLRE, GRC, GRVY, GTY, HCP, HOV, HTR, IDN, INPH, IO, IPDN, ISDR, ISH, KEM, LMIA, LPL, LPSN, LUNA, MDU, MDW, MIN, MNKD, MNTX, MTZ, MZF, NBD, NCS, NDLS, NMRX, NNVC, NOR, NPF, NSPR, NYRT, OFG, OHGI, ONTY, ORN, PCH, PCN, PKOH, PNF, PSB, QRHC, RFP, ROVI, RSO, RST, SBY, SGI, SHLO, SJT, SMCP, SNH, SNI, SPKE, SRT, STRI, TDC, TRCO, TROX, TTF, UACL, UFPT, VCLT, VPCO, VPG, VPV, VRTS, VSAR, WIN, WLKP, WPG, XPL, XRX

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: LQD

12:18 pm Major averages slightly extend slip off rebound highs -- Dow -59, S&P -8.3, Nasdaq Comp -25 (:TECHX) : As noted earlier the S&P cut the slide off yesterday's high in half at 2101 and paused (rebound high 2101.42) with some further slippage developing in recent trade. A posture at/above intraday supports at 2095 and 2091 keeps the door open to an upside follow through attempt.

12:18 pm Sphere 3D announces a partnership with an education service center in the southern United States (ANY) : Under the terms of this five-year education partner agreement, the education service center will provide schools with installation services for Sphere 3D's virtualization solutions, and will be certified to resell, promote, service and support Sphere 3D's complete virtualization and data management product portfolio.

12:12 pm Supreme Industries increases quarterly dividend to $0.03/share from $0.025/share (STS) :  

12:08 pm L-3 Communications has been awarded an $81.8 mln contract from Raytheon (RTN) Australia to supply the Australian Defence Force (LLL) :  

11:59 am New Supply on the Way (BONDX) : Treasury Auction Preview

• $24 billion 3-year note auction (results out at 13:00 ET)
• Prior auction results:
• High yield: 0.87%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.25
• Indirect bid: 49.4%
• Direct bid: 11.1%
• Prior 12-auction average results:
• High yield: 0.987%
• Bid-to-cover: 3.29
• Indirect bid: 39.4%
• Direct bid: 15.0%

11:52 am European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:-1.4%
• Germany's DAX:-1.7%
• France's CAC:-1.1%
• Spain's IBEX:-1.1%
• Portugal's PSI:-0.7%
• Italy's MIB Index:-0.9%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-1.3%
• Greece ASE General Index: +1.4%

11:45 am SPDR S&P Bank ETF edges back toward Monday's breakout high (KBE) : The KBE broke above its March/April range highs yesterday, set a new 52-wk high (32.68) and tested its multi-year close high from March 2014 at 34.67. The recovery off the morning low has been extended as high as 34.63 in recent trade. The multi-year intraday high from March 2014 is at 34.90 -- WFC, BRK.B, JPM, BAC, C, GS, AIG, USB, AXP, MS.

11:38 am W&T Offshore closes on its $300 mln five-year second-lien term loan that was priced with a 9% fixed coupon at 99 to yield 9.25% (WTI) : Net proceeds have been used to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under the Company's revolving credit facility. Pro forma for the new issue, the Company's liquidity under the borrowing base plus cash on hand as of March 31, 2015, would have been over $285 million. The borrowing base under the Company's revolving bank credit facility is now set at $500 million.

11:16 am Century Aluminum: United Steelworkers announces Century Aluminum has locked 560 members out of their jobs at a Kentucky smelter (CENX) : The United Steelworkers (:USW) said that approximately 560 members of Local 9423 were locked out of their jobs this morning by Century Aluminum (CENX) management after voting on Monday to reject the company's latest "last, best and final" contract proposal. "USW District 8 Director Billy Thompson called on the company to abandon its strategy to bully union workers into accepting management's demands and negotiate in good faith for a fair contract at the smelter."

11:14 am Relative strength in Energy and Telecom (:TECHX) : The OIH, XLE and Telecom sectors have climbed back into positive territory.

11:09 am S&P -5 edges to new rebound high (:TECHX) : The solid recovery off of support (10:10 update) has been extended in recent action leaving the index at the 50% retracement of the slide off yesterday's high at 2101 (recovery high 2101.42). The opening level and yesterday's pullback low are the next levels of interest above at 2102/2104 (62% retrace 2105).

11:06 am Floor Talk (:TALKX) : It's been a pretty wild day already and the stock market hasn't even been open for two hours yet.  As expected, the major indices opened with sizable losses, yet the bleeding was stemmed by the recovery that was happening concurrently in the Treasury market.

In overnight action, the yield on the 10-yr note jumped to 2.35% from 2.27% yesterday without any real news driver to account for the move.  At that point, however, it began a recovery effort that is still continuing and that has dropped the yield back down to 2.26%.  Selling interest in European bond markets has abated at the same time.

The turn lower in market rates has facilitated the rebound effort in the stock market that has seen all three major averages push well off their lows of the morning.

The low in the S&P 500 was 2085.44, which dropped it just below its 50-day simple moving average (2088.68), so one can also make a case that support efforts were mobilized with the violation of that key technical level and the unwillingness to test the low end of the April trading range at 2080.

The energy sector (+0.1%) is the only sector in positive territory as it is following crude prices higher (+1.1% at $59.91/bbl), although all sectors have cut their losses with the help presumably of some short-covering activity.

Accordingly, three elements have come together it seems to help stem the early tide of selling interest:

• Bond yields have reversed lower
• Technical support at the 50-day simple moving average; and
• A reversal of some short positions put on in the face of Monday's weak outing and the negative action at the start of today's trading

10:57 am Aetna provides outlook for Operating EPS in presentation (AET) :

• Targeting low-double digit Operating EPS growth on average over time.
• Aetna projects it can return to its targeted Operating EPS growth rate in 2016.
• Aetna Believes At Least $10.00 in Operating EPS is Achievable in 2018.
  

10:50 am Seeing headlines that sources do not believe EU will approve plan for a state-backed bad bank (EWI) :  

10:49 am Currency Commentary: DXY Testing Support (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index is closing in on a test of its multi-month low (93.88). The greenback remains under selling pressure but has so far held this 94-95 area over the past two weeks. This level will continue to play a key role in the DXY. Economic data has been light with a weaker than expected JOLTS- Job Openings number being the one report this morning. NY Fed President William Dudley spoke in the early morning but his comments provided little insight as he repeated the fact that the Fed remains data dependent. 
• The euro is pressing above its 100 sma (1.1216). The single currency is grinding higher amidst a spike in sovereign yields in the region. The 1.1391 May highs (May 7) will play a key level in upcoming sessions. Greece was able to make its IMF payment but there are some concerns as the country was forced to access an emergency IMF lending facility in order to pay off the final EUR 100 mln of the EUR 750 mln due. So the country is far from out of the woods at the moment. But the Greek issues have done little to halt the move higher by the single currency. 
• The pound continues its impressive squeeze higher as it movers above its 200 sma for the first time since last Summer. The 200 sma (1.5652) will set up as a key test of resistance for cable which has now rallied 8% against the dollar over the past month. 
• And the yen continues its straddling of the 120 level in what simply remains uneventful trading. A 10-year bond auction overnight highlighted the global sell off in bonds as the paper drew a yield of 0.43%, 6 bps higher than the prior offer, yet found only a 2.2x bid to cover compared to 2.7x at the prior sale (BONDX, FOREX). 
  

10:47 am Recovery picks up its pace, Dow -28 lifts more than 150 points off low -- S&P -5.9, Nasdaq Comp -21 (:TECHX) :  

10:40 am New recovery attempt highs -- S&P -8.9, Dow -56, Nasdaq Comp -29 (:TECHX) : The major averages have stabilized near supports (10:10 update) and extended the bounce in recent trade. Some relative strength on this move (outperforming the S&P) has been noted in: Biotech IBB, Health XLV, Staples XLP, REITs IYR.

10:33 am Ameris Bancorp announces receipt of all regulatory approvals for its Merchants and Southern Bank, and Bank of America branch acquisitions (ABCB) : The Merchants and Southern Bank acquisition is scheduled to close on May 22, 2015 and the branch acquisition from Bank of America is scheduled to close on June 12, 2015.

10:31 am Cyberonics and Sorin announce that Andr-Michel Ballester will serve as CEO, and Dan Moore will be appointed non-executive Chairman following the companies' merger (CYBX) :  

10:10 am Major averages extend to short term supports -- S&P -14, Nasdaq Comp -45, Dow -117 (:TECHX) : The aggressive early retreat was extended back near supports from The Technical Take at 2085/2083 S&P (session low 2085), 4930/4922 Nasdaq Comp (session low 4931) and 17935/17925 Dow (session low 17924). Thus far, however, little interest has developed as the indices vacillate mildly above their lows. Initial intraday resistances for the S&P are at 2095 and 2097.

10:05 am Castlight Health announces its selection by Viacom (VIAB) to provide benefit management services for Viacom's employees (CSLT) :  

10:03 am Con Edison subsidiary Con Edison Development acquires six shovel-ready solar PV projects, totaling 140 MW from Solar Reserve and GCL Solar Energy (ED) :  

10:02 am Medtronic announces US FDA approval for the use of its Arctic Front Advance ST Cryoballoon, to treat patients with Atrial Fibrillation (MDT) :  

9:57 am Vicor announces a positive US PTO Patent Trial and Appeals Board ruling, regarding its litigation with Synqor litigation (VICR) : The USPTO Patent Trial and Appeals Board ruled that patent claims by SynQor (U.S. Patent No. 7,727,021) are invalid. The decision follows a March 13th decision in which the Federal Circuit, reversing a prior decision of the PTAB, found that prior art invented by Dr. Robert L. Steigerwald anticipated key claims of a related patent. Co stated: ""SynQor's abuse of the patent system and its campaign to prevent competition from superior Vicor bus converters, known not to infringe, has now been dealt a second, decisive blow. The two remaining SynQor patents that have been asserted against Vicor -- patents based on the same technical disclosure as the '190 and '021 patents -- are equally bogus, and due to be invalidated."

9:49 am Relative sector performance (:TECHX) : Sectors that have underperformed the S&P on a relative basis in recent trade include: Housing XHB, Semi SMH, Bank KBE, Reg Bank KRE, Finance XLF, Biotech IBB, Internet FDN, Software IGV, Defense PPA. Groups that are outperforming the S&P include: Oil Service OIH, Energy XLE, Restaurant, Coal KOL, Crude Oil USO, Gold Miners GDX, Silver SLV, Gold GLD.

9:48 am Flextronics announces selection by NEXTracker, for the high-volume manufacturing of its self-powered tracker controllers (FLEX) :  

9:46 am Major averages extend opening slide back below their 50 day -- Dow -173, S&P -19, Nasdaq Comp -60 (:TECHX) :  

9:45 am Opening Market Summary: Influential Sectors Display Early Weakness (:WRAPX) : As expected, the major averages began the session under pressure. The S&P 500 trades lower by 0.8% while the Nasdaq Composite (-1.1%) underperforms.

All ten sectors display early losses with the energy space (-0.2%) hovering near its flat line with crude oil trading higher by 0.7% at $59.68/bbl. On the flip side, heavily-weighted technology (-1.0%), financials (-0.8%), health care (-0.7%), and consumer discretionary (-0.7%) have struggled in the early going. The four laggards will be in focus today considering they are the largest sectors by weight.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have reclaimed most of their overnight losses, leaving the 10-yr yield higher by a basis point at 2.30%.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for March will be released at 10:00 ET.

9:43 am Telus acquires 40 MHz of 2500 MHz spectrum in Canada, for $479 mln, to be funded by the co's existing credit facility (TU) :  

9:42 am Major averages slip to minor new session lows -- Dow -134, S&P -16, Nasdaq Comp -49 (:TECHX) :  

9:41 am Patriot Coal this morning filed voluntary petitions for restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code; currently evaluating a range of strategic alternatives to maximize the value of its assets (PCXCQ) : The co announced that it is engaged in active negotiations for the sale of substantially all of the Company's operating assets to a strategic partner. The Company is also engaged in ongoing discussions with key stakeholders as it evaluates a range of strategic alternatives to maximize the value of its assets.  The Company intends to complete its review of strategic alternatives and present a value-maximizing restructuring plan to the Court as quickly as possible.

• Patriot expects its customer shipments and mining operations to continue in the ordinary course during the restructuring process. The Company has received a commitment for $100 million in "debtor in possession" financing led by a consortium of the Company's secured debt holders to support its continued operations. Upon approval by the Court, the DIP financing, combined with cash generated from ongoing operations will provide sufficient liquidity to support the business during the restructuring process.

9:35 am Firmly negative start -- Dow -112. S&P -12, Nasdaq Comp -36 (:TECHX) : Early sector weakness noted in: Biotech IBB, Internet FDN, solar TAN, Technology XLK, REITs IYR, Health XLV, Social Media SOCL, Materials XLB, Software IGV, Retail XRT.

9:33 am Astrotech's 1st Detect subsidiary announces the receipt of an initial order for its disruptive mass spectrometry technology from a leading snack food producer (ASTC) :  

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

• CSG International (CSGS) announced that Gabon Telecom has implemented its Wholesale Business Management Solution
• RLHC (RLH) announced that the company has entered into a franchise license agreement with the owner of the former Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The property is expected to convert to the Red Lion Hotel designation on or about May 13, 2015.
• TransCanada (TRP) announced that its Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project has entered into a Project Agreement with the Lake Babine Nation of northern B.C. that provides the Nation with financial and other benefits related to the pipeline project. The Project Agreement will provide annual legacy payments for the duration of the commercial operation of the pipeline, plus immediate benefits on signing, and at other key project milestones.
• Bombardier (BDRBF) announced that it has made an agreement with with Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies (UTX) to develop and implement a data management service for the CSeries aircraft. The service will facilitate remote troubleshooting and diagnostics for use by maintenance and flight crews.
• MoneyGram (MGI) has renewed a long-standing agreement with Bremer Bank, a privately-owned financial institution, to provide official check services.
• Honeywell (HON) and the U.S. Army announced a $22.4-million modernization project at the Rock Island Arsenal Garrison in Rock Island, Ill. The project will help the Garrison eliminate coal-fired heating and replace equipment with high-efficiency boilers
• Rocket Fuel (FUEL) announced a contract extension of the company's alliance with Cyber Communications that originally began in 2012. CCI will continue to use Rocket Fuel's DSP as its primary platform, and Rocket Fuel will continue to partner with CCI as its channel partner in Japan
• Kopin Corporation (KOPN) announced that it has licensed certain wearable technologies and is supplying key components to the FUJITSU IoT Solution Ubiquitouswear Head-Mounted Display

9:11 am S&P futures vs fair value: -12.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -30.30. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a lower open as futures on the S&P 500 trade 13 points below fair value. Index futures retreated overnight amid continued selling in the Treasury market that has pushed the benchmark 10-yr yield up to 2.30% (+2 bps). Similarly, European bonds have also faced some additional selling with Germany's 10-yr yield jumping six basis points to 0.68%.

Staying in Europe, Greece has reportedly made its EUR750 million payment to the International Monetary Fund, but according Kathimerini, the country used its reserves held at the Fund, which must be replenished within a month.

Turning back to the U.S., corporate news has been limited, but AOL (AOL 50.28, +7.69) has spiked 18.1% in pre-market after agreeing to be acquired by Verizon (VZ 49.55, -0.25) for $50/share.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for March and the 14:00 ET release of the April Treasury Budget (Briefing.com consensus $155.00 billion).

9:09 am LRAD announces $700k in orders for LRAD 360X systems and accessories for a country in Asia replacing and upgrading its tsunami warning system (LRAD) : The order is part of an ongoing rollout of LRAD 360X installations into additional cities and towns. The order is scheduled for delivery this fiscal year.

9:08 am MGM Resorts: Land & Buildings issues additional letter to shareholders urging them to vote for its four board nominees on the GOLD Proxy Card today (MGM) : Land and Buildings commented that, "Given the substantial underperformance of MGM and the Board's lackluster response to this underperformance, Land and Buildings believes that the addition of its independent nominees would compel the Company to take the necessary steps to close the persistent and material discount to its potential valuation."

9:03 am Aviat Networks announces an agreement with a United Arab Emirates security agency to implement CTR microwave routers in a new public safety LTE network (AVNW) : Initial deployments will comprise CTR 8540 microwave routers. When the customer deploys commercial LTE, Layer 3 services at the network edge will be introduced into the network via IP/MPLS technology.

9:01 am NiSource announced its intention for NiSource and Columbia Pipeline Group to pay shareholders an initial combined quarterly common stock dividend of $0.28/share, up 7% from the current level (NI) :  

9:00 am Baxter to acquire the Oncaspar (pegaspargase) product portfolio from Sigma-Tau Finanziaria S.p.A for $900 mln (BAX) : Co announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Oncaspar (pegaspargase) product portfolio from Sigma-Tau Finanziaria S.p.A. The acquisition further accelerates the innovation capabilities and the commercial presence of Baxter BioScience in growing oncology markets for rare and orphan diseases.

• The Oncaspar transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.
• Under the terms of the agreement, Baxter will purchase the portfolio for USD $900 million before working capital and other transaction adjustments. 
• The company expects to finance the transaction through a combination of foreign cash and debt. 
• This transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings on a cash basis in the first full year and increasingly accretive thereafter.

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

• CGI (GIB) announced that the State of Louisiana's Division of Administration, Office of Technology Services has extended its agreement with CGI to deliver IT services for various programs. The contract renewal is valued at $19 million over three years.
• NETGEAR, Inc. (NTGR) announced that AT&T (T) will bring the NETGEAR AirCard 779S Mobile Hotspot to market under the brand name, AT&T Unite Express for GoPhone
• West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) announced it will add additional technological capabilities to all of its global Packaging Systems R&D facilities, and develop two R&D Centers of Excellence, one in the Asia Pacific region and one in Europe
• EnerNOC (ENOC) announced that Weis Markets, has expanded its deployment of EnerNOC's energy intelligence software across its entire chain of 163 supermarkets
• GuideOne Insurance and Guidewire Software (GWRE) announced that GuideOne has launched Guidewire's PolicyCenter as its new underwriting and policy administration solution
  

8:56 am S&P futures vs fair value: -12.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -31.30. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade 13 points below fair value.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Tuesday as Wall Street's weak showing on Monday and the striking jump in sovereign bond yields around the globe curtailed investor enthusiasm. China's Shanghai Composite was a notable exception in the region as it followed up Monday's 3.0% gain with a 1.6% increase on Tuesday.

• In economic data: 
  • Japan's March Leading Index 105.5 (expected 105.5; prior 104.8); Coincident Indicator -1.2% (prior -2.8%) 
  • Australia's March Home Loans +1.6% month-over-month (expected +1.0%; prior +1.1%); March Invest Housing Finance +6.4% month-over-month (prior -3.4%) 
  • New Zealand's REINZ House Price Index +0.5% month-over-month (prior +6.7%) 

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• Japan's Nikkei ended Tuesday flat, but finished the session on an upswing that recouped an earlier loss of about 150 points. The financial (+0.7%) and industrial (+0.4%) sectors provided support that offset weakness in the energy (-0.5%) and basic materials (-0.3%) sectors. Sharp Corp (+11.1%) rebounded from Monday's drubbing to lead individual gainers and was followed by Suzuki Motor (+7.8%) and Nisshinbo Holdings (+7.7%). Nippon Kayaku (-7.7%) and Taiyo Yuden (-6.8%) were the biggest decliners. Out of the 225 index members, 136 ended higher, 83 finished lower, and 6 were unchanged. 
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.1% and ended at its low for the day, dropping roughly 200 points in the final hour. Every sector closed the day with a loss. The technology (-2.6%) and basic materials (-2.0%) sectors were the weakest areas, but the financial sector (-1.1%) was the most influential laggard. China Overseas Land & Investment (-3.6%), China Unicom Hong Kong (-2.8%), and China Mengniu Dairy (-2.5%) were the largest decliners. Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding (+3.8%) was the only stock to gain more than 1.0%. Out of the 50 index members, 5 ended higher, 43 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged. 
• China's Shanghai Composite continued Monday's rally and added 1.6% on Tuesday. The index closed at its high for the day, underpinned by broad-based buying interest. The utilities (+3.1%) (+3.1%), communications (+2.9%), and industrial (+2.6%) sectors led the way for the Chinese market. 

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-1.8%) leading the retreat. According to Kathimerini, Greece has made its EUR750 million payment to the International Monetary Fund by using reserves held at the Fund, which must be replenished within a month.

• Economic data was limited: 
  • UK's March Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; prior 0.1%); +0.7% year-over-year (consensus 0.2%; previous 0.1%). March Manufacturing Production +0.4% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; last 0.5%); +1.1% year-over-year (expected 1.0%; prior 1.2%) 

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• In France, the CAC is lower by 1.2% with all but three names in the red. Industrial names underperform with Airbus, Peugeot, and Renault down between 1.5% and 3.0%. On the upside, Technip outperforms, trading higher by 0.8%. 
• UK's FTSE has given up 1.6% amid broad weakness. EasyJet is the weakest performer, down 9.9%, in reaction to a warning that an air traffic control strike in France would reduce profits by GBP25 million. Peer International Consolidated Airlines trades down 3.2%. Miners outperform with Fresnillo and Randgold Resources both up near 1.4%. 
• Germany's DAX trades down 1.8% with exporters BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen down between 2.2% and 2.9%. Steelmaker ThyssenKrupp is the lone advancer, trading higher by 3.3%.

8:52 am Noranda Aluminum announces the pricing of the secondary public offering of 22,840,000 shares held by certain funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management (APO) (NOR) : Following the completion of this offering, the Selling Stockholders will no longer own any shares of the Company's common stock and the co expects Matthew R. Michelini, Matthew H. Nord, Eric L. Press, and Robert J. Kalsow-Ramos, who are affiliates of the Selling Stockholders, to resign from the board of directors.

8:47 am Perrigo acquires the Mexican operations of Patheon for $34 mln in cash; acquisition is expected, after exclusions, to be immediately accretive to CY 2015 adjusted EPS, (PRGO) :  

8:33 am Eli Lilly announces a cash tender offer for $1.6 bln of various series of outstanding notes (LLY) : The tender offer is for the co's:

• 5.55% Notes due 2037 and 4.650% Notes due 2044
• 5.950% Notes due 2037 and  5.50% Notes due 2027 
• 6.77% Notes due 2036 and 7.125% Notes due 2025 
• 5.20% Notes due 2017
  

8:33 am Immunomedics receives a patent that covers its investigational antibody-drug conjugate, Sacituzumab Govitecan (IMMU) : The co announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 9,028,833 for a new patent family "Dosages of immunoconjugates of antibodies and SN-38 for improved efficacy and decreased toxicity."

8:33 am Select Comfort: Blue Clay Issues letter, notes it is encouraged by the Board's implementation of Blue Clay's recommended actions, withdraws proxy solicitation at Select Comfort Corporation (SCSS) :

• "We strongly urged the Co to focus on high-ROIC new store growth and significantly increase store openings from its current level of ~463. Following our discussions, mgmt has increased its goal from 550 to 650 stores. We believe that this is a step in the right direction, and that store openings will accelerate in previously identified new and underpenetrated markets as the Board and mgmt come to realize our recommendation for faster, but thoughtfully staged growth, is not risky, as it has been characterized, but rather the highest ROIC strategy available."
  
• "We advised the Board and mgmt to modify and greatly increase the Co's share repurchase program, prompting the Co to change its repurchase objective from "maintain[ing] common shares outstanding at current levels" to a more sensible approach that repurchases be "accretive to earnings." Further, the Co doubled its monthly share repurchase to $10 mln in March 2015, which we support. Lastly, and most importantly, the Board and management have now incorporated an ROIC framework in their share repurchase decisions, as well as in performance metrics for the Co's executive compensation."
  
• "In recognition of the Co moving in the overall direction of our recommendations, we are withdrawing our slate of two director nominees for election to the Board at this year's annual shareholders meeting."

8:32 am On Track Innovations beats by $0.01, beats on revs (OTIV) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.05 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.06); revenues fell 3.8% year/year to $5 mln vs the $4.66 mln consensus.

8:32 am European Markets Update: CAC -1.3%, FTSE -1.6%, DAX -1.9% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-1.9%) leading the retreat. According to Kathimerini, Greece has made its EUR750 million payment to the International Monetary Fund by using reserves held at the Fund, which must be replenished within a month.

• Economic data was limited: 
• UK's March Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; prior 0.1%); +0.7% year-over-year (consensus 0.2%; previous 0.1%). March Manufacturing Production +0.4% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; last 0.5%); +1.1% year-over-year (expected 1.0%; prior 1.2%) 

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• In France, the CAC is lower by 1.3% with all but three names in the red. Industrial names underperform with Airbus, Peugeot, and Renault down between 1.5% and 3.0%. On the upside, Technip outperforms, trading higher by 0.8%. 
• UK's FTSE has given up 1.6% amid broad weakness. EasyJet is the weakest performer, down 9.9%, in reaction to a warning that an air traffic control strike in France would reduce profits by GBP25 million. Peer International Consolidated Airlines trades down 3.2%. Miners outperform with Fresnillo and Randgold Resources both up near 1.4%. 
• Germany's DAX trades down 1.9% with exporters BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen down between 2.2% and 2.9%. Steelmaker ThyssenKrupp is the lone advancer, trading higher by 3.3%.
  

8:32 am Cardiome Pharma agrees to a commercialization agreement with AOP Orphan Pharma for the sale of Esmocard and Esmocard Lyo in Italy, France, Spain and Belgium; financial terms not disclosed (CRME) :  

8:32 am Orexigen Therapeutics and Takeda Pharmaceuticals announce termination of the cardiovascular outcomes study (light study) of the obesity drug contrave (OREX) :

• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Development Center Americas, Inc. (Takeda) and Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) have accepted the recommendation of the Executive Steering Committee (:ESC), chaired by Dr. Steven Nissen of The Cleveland Clinic, for early termination of the Light Study, a cardiovascular (C.V) outcomes trial that compared the obesity drug Contrave (naltrexone HCI and bupropion HCl extended-release tablets) to placebo, in addition to diet and exercise counselling, in 8,909 overweight and obese patients with certain CV risk factors.
• The Light Study is not being terminated due to a finding of superiority or harm. The ESC, Takeda and Orexigen expect to report the final Light Study data in a scientific forum after all of the CV events in the Light Study have been collected and properly adjudicated
  

8:30 am Jamba announces that its Board of Directors increased its share repurchase authorization from $25 mln to $40 mln (JMBA) :  

8:30 am MobileIron announces appointment of Simon Biddiscombe as Interim CFO (MOBL) : Co names Simon Biddiscombe as interim CFO. He brings more than 20 years of management and financial experience to MobileIron. He spent five years at QLogic (QLGC) as CFO and Senior VP, then as CEO. Simon joins MobileIron from ServiceSource Intl (SREV) where he served as Interim CFO.

8:30 am S&P futures vs fair value: -14.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -35.20. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures continue holding the bulk of their losses with futures on the S&P 500 trading about five points above their session low. Similarly, Treasuries have retreated overnight, and they too hover near their low. As a result, the benchmark 10-yr yield is higher by five basis points at 2.33%.

It is worth noting that the selloff has not been limited to the U.S. For instance, Germany's 10-yr bund has also tumbled, sending its yield higher by almost ten basis points to 0.71% after beginning the month near 0.36%.

On a related note, the Dollar Index (94.47, -0.54) is lower by 0.6% with the euro adding 0.8% against the greenback (1.1237).

8:30 am Argan acquires Atlantic Projects Company Limited; terms not disclosed (AGX) :

• Co announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire Atlantic Projects Company in exchange for a combination of cash and common stock of Argan, Inc.
• APC is a provider of construction and technical services for power generation. 
• The transaction is expected to close by May 31, 2015.
  

8:28 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT) announced its Sheraton brand will debut in Danang, with the signing of Sheraton Danang Resort, which is scheduled to open in early 2018
• Cover-All Technologies (COVR) announced that it has signed agreements with three new insurance carriers in May 2015. The new Cover-All customer contracts for license, maintenance and professional services include: A mid-size regional insurance carrier, A tier-1 mid-west insurance carrier, and A division of a tier-1 insurance carrier
• ZS Pharma (ZSPH) announced that data from the Phase 3 trials of ZS-9, an investigational treatment for hyperkalemia, will be presented at a meeting of the American Society of Hypertension on May 15 to 19, 2015, in New York, NY
• Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE) announced that it has entered into a solar panel supply agreement with Borrego Solar Systems. Under the terms of the agreement, it expects to supply Borrego Solar with up to 40 megawatts (MW) of solar panels in 2015

8:27 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) has been awarded a 28.8m contract by the United Kingdom Home Office to provide service and systems operations and maintenance to the Forensic and Biometric Interim Capability, otherwise known as FABrIC. Under the two-year FABrIC contract, Northrop Grumman will maintain and enhance the IDENT1 core software
• Zillow Group (Z) announced that Zillow and Trulia have signed 105 new agreements with multiple listing services in the past six weeks. In total, Zillow Group has signed 235 new agreements with MLSs since January 2015
• UBIC (UBIC) announced that they have agreed to jointly provide new solutions that detect and prevent potential information leakage through analysis of employee communications. The alliance combines UBIC's AI-based Predictive Coding and Digital Arts' information security products for possible corporate and government agency customers
• Rosetta Genomics (ROSG) announces that data on the Company's novel, microRNA-based assay for accurate thyroid nodule classification will be presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 24th Annual Scientific and Clinical Congress, being held May 12-15, 2015 in Nashville, Tenn

8:27 am European Yields (BONDX) : Sovereign Yields Spike

• European government debt has renewed its sell-off that had seemed to crescendo at the end of last week. There was no new economic data that induced the wave of selling, but European sovereigns opened down in sympathy with the deep losses in U.S. Treasuries on Monday and took the lead from there
• Greek 10-year notes are the second best performers in Europe today, with their yields rising only 7 basis points to 10.82%
• Despite the global nature of this move higher in yields, the ECB will be faced with some tough questions about the effectiveness of its QE program. The obvious reply will be (just as the Fed argued after yields rose following its QE program) that higher yields show that the program is working. Higher yields, however, are also leading to a higher euro in the FX market and this is surely not a welcome development for the European recovery
• Yield check:
• France, 10-yr OAT: +11 bps to 1.00%
• Germany, 10-yr Bund: +9 bps to 0.70%
• Greece, 10-yr note: +7 bps to 10.82%
• Italy, 10-yr BTP: +12 bps to 1.88%
• Portugal, 10-yr note: +11 bps to 2.47%
• Spain, 10-yr Bono: +11 bps to 1.86%
• U.K., 10-yr Gilt: +7 bps to 2.03%

8:23 am Diana Containerships beats by $0.01, beats on revs (DCIX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.01 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.02); revenues rose 3.0% year/year to $13.9 mln vs the $13.03 mln consensus.

• Time charter revenues, net of prepaid charter revenue amortization, were $13.9 million for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $13.5 million for the same period of 2014, mainly due to the decrease of prepaid charter revenue amortization and the increase in ownership days resulting from the enlargement of our fleet, partly offset by decreased average time charter rates.
• Time charter equivalent (:TCE) rate fell 17% to $14,410/day in the quarter. 
  

8:09 am Ares Commercial Real Estate reports Q1 EPS of $0.25 vs. $0.27 CapIQ Consensus; Raises FY15 EPS Guidance, Authorizes $20 mln share buyback (ACRE) : Co reports Q1 EPS of $0.25 vs. $0.27 CapIQ Consensus. Total revenue increased 33% y/y to $18.4 mln. For the Principal Lending segment, originations for the three months ended March 31, 2015 totaled $41.6 million in commitments and outstanding principal, with an additional $17.6 million of fundings on existing commitments. Loan repayments totaled $218.1 million in outstanding principal for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

• Guidance: Co raises guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $1.04-$1.14 vs. $1.09 CapIQ Consensus.
  
  
• Stock Buyback: Co authorizes the repurchase of up to $20.0 million of its outstanding common stock over a period of one year.

8:04 am Arcos Dorados misses by $0.08, misses on revs (ARCO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ dual estimate of ($0.05), mainly due to lower operating results and higher foreign exchange losses; revenues fell 15.3% year/year to $775.06 mln vs the $852.84 mln dual estimate.

• Systemwide comparable sales increased by 9.4% year-over-year. 

8:03 am Seabridge Gold gives update on its 2015 exploration program at the KSM Project in NW British Columbia (SA) : Co stated that this year's main target is a possible higher grade core zone beneath KSM's largest deposit, gold-rich Mitchell. Drilling is planned to begin at the lower elevations of the Mitchell valley and then proceed to Kerr and Iron Cap.

• Co stated: "This summer, we expect to conclude our three year core zone exploration program. The potential under Mitchell has been our top exploration target for more than four years but earlier attempts to drill it ran into technical difficulties. We believe we now have a reliable solution that will enable us to complete holes into this high value target. No additional funding is required for the 2015 program following the $16.4 million raise completed last month."
  

8:03 am Relmada Therapeutics receives a patent from the USPTO for broad coverage of levorphanol and other opioids, with validity expected until at least 2028 (RLMD) : The new SECUREL patent application is entitled "Multimodal Abuse Resistant and Extended Release Opioid Formulations." Co's lead development program, LevoCap ER is the first product candidate utilizing the SECUREL technology platform. The patent contains claims that provide broad coverage for levorphanol and other opioids that could leverage the SECUREL technology platform.

8:03 am International Tower Hill Mines appoints David Cross as Chief Financial Officer (THM) : Mr. David A. Cross, CPA, CGA, has been retained under contract to serve as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Company, effective May 11, 2015. Mr. Cross will remain a partner in the firm of Cross Davis & Company LLP, Certified General Accountants

8:02 am Legg Mason reports preliminary assets under management of $706.8 billion as of April 30, 2015 (LM) :

• Co reported preliminary assets under management of $706.8 billion as of April 30, 2015. This month's AUM included preliminary long-term inflows of $0.1 billion, driven by fixed income inflows of $1.0 billion, partially offset by equity outflows of $0.9 billion.
• Liquidity inflows were $0.2 billion. April AUM included the previously disclosed $1.9 billion fixed income redemption, which was partially offset by $0.5 billion of equity inflows for a funding that had been expected in May. This month's AUM included $3.0 billion in positive foreign exchange impact.
  

8:01 am Miller Energy Resources announces receipt of notice from the NYSE for non-compliance with respect to the $50+ mln equity minimum rule; co intends to regain compliance (MILL) :  

8:01 am Pain Therapeutics announces top-line results of an FDA Category 3 Human Abuse Potential Study with REMOXY Extended-Release Capsules CII; REMOXY meets both primary endpoints with statistical significance (PTIE) : This study demonstrated with statistical significance (p

• "We believe results of today's study speak to the clinical and commercial potential of REMOXY. REMOXY's high viscosity is intended to deter injection and snorting. We believe this feature, coupled to today's data on oral abuse, contributes to an overall assessment of abuse potential that supports a label-claim for REMOXY."
  

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

• pSivida Corp. (PSDV) announced that it has signed two funded technology evaluation agreements with a global pharmaceutical company. The agreements will each evaluate the use of pSivida's Durasert technology to deliver a specific compound to treat a significant ophthalmic disease.
• Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC) announced that it was awarded a four-year contract by Sadara Chemical Company for engineering, procurement and construction management services. The contract value was not disclosed. Co also noted that it was awarded a contract by EDF Energy to provide project management resources to the company's eight nuclear power stations and two technical centers in the United Kingdom. The contract is for five years with two optional two-year extensions.
• Inovalon (INOV) announced the expansion of its relationship with Geisinger Health Plan to include Inovalon's EDGE server solution for electronic claims aggregation, analysis, and submissions for Geisinger's commercial Affordable Care Act population.
  

7:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -17.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -37.80. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market lows amid cautious action overseas. The S&P 500 futures trade 17 points below fair value after notching their lows at the start of the European session. The retreat in futures has occurred amid continued weakness in Treasuries with the 10-yr yield higher by six basis points at 2.33%.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for March and the 14:00 ET release of the April Treasury Budget (Briefing.com consensus $155.00 billion).

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• AOL (AOL 50.35, +7.76): +18.2% after agreeing to be acquired by Verizon (VZ 49.40, -0.40) for $50/share. 
• Gap (GPS 38.50, -1.37): -3.4% in reaction to a 12.0% decline in April same store sales. 
• Pall (PLL 120.17, +20.86): +21.0% after the Wall Street Journal reported Danaher (DHR 83.56, 0.00) and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO 129.87, -0.11) may be interested in PLL. 
• Rackspace Hosting (RAX 45.75, -7.38): -13.9% despite reporting a one-cent beat. The stock received a pair of downgrades following earnings. 

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.1%, China's Shanghai Composite +1.6%, and Japan's Nikkei settled flat. 
  • In economic data: 
    • Japan's March Leading Index 105.5 (expected 105.5; prior 104.8); Coincident Indicator -1.2% (prior -2.8%) 
    • Australia's March Home Loans +1.6% month-over-month (expected +1.0%; prior +1.1%); March Invest Housing Finance +6.4% month-over-month (prior -3.4%) 
    • New Zealand's REINZ House Price Index +0.5% month-over-month (prior +6.7%) 
  • In news: 
    • The dollar/yen pair spent the night in a 50-pip range with the yen currently trading higher by 0.1% against the greenback at 120.00. 
• Major European indices trade lower across the board. France's CAC -1.4%, UK's FTSE -1.6%, and Germany's DAX -2.0%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.5% and Spain's IBEX -1.5%.
  • Economic data was limited: 
    • UK's March Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 0.1%; prior 0.1%); +0.7% year-over-year (consensus 0.2%; previous 0.1%). March Manufacturing Production +0.4% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; last 0.5%); +1.1% year-over-year (expected 1.0%; prior 1.2%) 
  • Among news of note: 
    • According to Kathimerini, Greece has made its EUR750 million payment to the International Monetary Fund by using reserves held at the Fund, which must be replenished within a month.

7:46 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) : Global Bond Rout Continues

• Yields moved sharply higher overnight as the Treasury complex added to yesterday's losses and European yields spiked in sympathy. Losses came all across the Treasury curve, although, as has been the theme for this move higher in yields, the 2-year note was spared most of the carnage
• Yield check:
• 2-yr: +2 bps to 0.64%
• 5-yr: +6 bps to 1.66%
• 10-yr: +7 bps to 2.35%
• 30-yr: +8 bps to 3.12%

• International News:
• The sovereign debt sell-off that began another leg in the U.S. yesterday hit European markets this morning, with German and French yields rising 8 and 10 basis points, respectively, at the 10-year maturity
• 10-year JGB (Japanese government bond) yields rose 7 basis points to 0.46%
• In the U.K., Manufacturing Production grew 0.4% m/m in March, surpassing expectations but falling short of the 0.5% growth in February
• U.K. Industrial Production rose 0.5% m/m in March, higher than both expectations and the reading of +0.1% in February
• Greek Prime Minister Tsipras has reported that Greece has slightly more than 600 mln euro of reserves

• Data out Today:
• March JOLTS -- Job Openings (10:00 ET)
• April Treasury Budget (14:00 ET)
• New Supply:
• $24 billion 3-year note auction (13:00 ET)
• Fed Speaker:
• San Francisco Fed President Williams (FOMC voter) speaks before the NY Association for Business Economics (12:45 ET)

7:39 am Cancer Genetics beats by $0.10, beats on revs (CGIX) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.44 per share, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.54); revenues rose 205.6% year/year to $4.37 mln vs the $3.85 mln consensus.

7:36 am Advanced Drainage Systems beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides FY16 revs in-line (WMS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) net of breakeven, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.06); revenues rose 14% year/year to $206.6 mln vs the $188.48 mln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees FY16 revs of $1.32-1.37 bln vs. $1.32 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; adjusted EBITDA ~$190-215 mln; CapEx of ~$40 mln

• "Our guidance for FY16 reflects anticipated overall domestic end market growth of high single digits in non-residential, flat to modest growth in infrastructure, total housing starts of 1.1-1.2 mln and a decline of mid-single digits in the agriculture market. In addition to organic growth in our core end markets, we also expect to see incremental growth above the market as we continue to execute on our strategies in gaining market share from traditional materials in both our domestic and international segments. Adjusted EBITDA growth is forecasted to be driven by higher sales volumes, increased operating leverage, and a more favorable cost environment driven by lower raw material and fuel costs, as well as the contribution of a full year of operating results from our Ideal Pipe acquisition in Canada."
  

7:36 am Zix Corp announces share repurchase program of up to $15 mln (ZIXI) :

• Co announced that its board of directors approved a share repurchase program that enables the company to purchase up to $15 mln of its shares of common stock from time to time in the open market or in block purchase transactions.
• The $10 mln share repurchase program announced in January 2015 is being terminated and replaced by this new $15 mln share repurchase program.
  

7:35 am FMSA Holdings beats by $0.02, misses on revs (FMSA) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues rose 2.2% year/year to $301.5 mln vs the $310.7 mln consensus.

• "Our first quarter performance under the challenging market conditions is a result of the resilience of our differentiated business model...We acted quickly to help our customers lower their cost per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) by leveraging our broad operating footprint and logistics network and by providing price reductions to allow them to remain competitive. We also have taken a number of internal actions, including organizational restructuring and facility consolidation, in order to more closely align our own cost structure with the near-term oil and gas market conditions."
• At this time, co is continuing to forgo providing earnings guidance due to the uncertainty in the oil and gas markets. Given the sustained lower level of rig counts and drilling activity, the co does anticipate that proppant volumes and pricing will face continued pressure, which could result in lower levels of revenues and profitability in the near term.
  

7:31 am Imprimis Pharmaceuticals enters into a loan agreement with Life Sciences Alternative Funding, for $15 mln of borrowing capacity (IMMY) : Under the terms of the agreement, LSAF, through its affiliate, provided Imprimis with $10 million on the initial closing date of May 11, 2015. Up to an additional $5 million will be available to Imprimis, at its option, on or before May 11, 2016, subject to Imprimis achieving certain revenue milestones within 12 months of the initial closing date. The agreement has an initial term of up to five years and bears interest at 12.5% per annum with monthly interest-only payments for the first three years. Co intends to use the proceeds from the loan for working capital and general corporate purposes

7:31 am Alliqua announced it has amended its exclusive licensing agreement with Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, and received the right to develop and market CCT's connective tissue matrix product (ALQA) : Co stated: "Alliqua plans to launch connective tissue matrix mid 2016 to compete in the approximately $660 million advanced tissue market, along with our Biovance Human Amniotic Membrane Allograft."

7:31 am TASER receives an order from the Louisville Metro Police Department for 988 Axon Flex body-worn cameras, all on the Evidence.com unlimited plan (TASR) :  

7:30 am Airgas has acquired the assets and operations of Valley Air Supply; terms not disclosed (ARG) : Valley Air Supply is an industrial gas and welding supply distributor that generated $10 million+ in sales in calendar year 2014

7:30 am Fed's William Dudley Speech- The Global Implications of Diverging Monetary Policy Settings in Advanced Economies (ECONX) : Excerpts- 

• "a few words on the timing of normalization. To be as direct as possible: I don't know when this will occur. The timing of lift-off will depend on how the economic outlook evolves. Since the economic outlook is uncertain, this means the timing of liftoff must also be uncertain".
• "If the improvement in the U.S. labor market continues and the FOMC is "reasonably confident" that inflation will move back to our 2 percent objective over the medium-term, then it would be appropriate to begin to normalize interest rates".
• "The good news is that many EMEs generally appear to be better equipped today to handle the Fed's prospective exit from its exceptional policy accommodation than they were during past tightening cycles".

Full speech.

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

• Scientists from the Oregon State University, Corvallis and Aradigm Corporation (ARDM) demonstrated that Aradigm's investigational drugs Lipoquin and Pulmaquin significantly reduced the growth of the pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria infection after 3 weeks of once daily respiratory tract dosing in mice. The number of colony forming units of Mycobacterium Avium Subsp Hominissuis was reduced by 79% and 77% by Lipoquin and Pulmaquin, respectively compared to saline controls. In contrast, unencapsulated ciprofloxacin had no effect. The detailed description of this research and its findings will be presented at Session D108 at the American Thoracic Society 2015 International Conference in Denver, CO
• Century Aluminum of Kentucky General Partnership, a subsidiary of Century Aluminum Company (CENX) announced that members of USW Local 9423 at its Hawesville, Kentucky smelter rejected the Company's modified Last, Best, and Final offer Monday night, May 11, 2015. As a result, a lockout is scheduled to commence at 8 a.m. CDT on May 12, 2015. The lockout will allow other personnel to maintain uninterrupted plant operations, which is required in the continuous-flow operation of an aluminum smelter
• SunEdison (SUNE) announced that is has signed an agreement with the County of Alameda, Calif. to install 3 MW DC of solar systems as part of the second phase of the Regional Renewable Energy Procurement Program
• Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (SIAL) announced the expansion of its existing facility in Carlsbad, Calif. The investment will enable SAFC to offer clinical and commercial bulk drug production, as well as fill/finish of viral products for its gene therapy, viral vaccine and immunotherapy customers. Co also announced it has completed the expansion of its St. Louis facility to support commercial-scale antibody drug conjugate manufacturing

7:22 am PartnerRe: Exor confirms it has increased its all-cash binding offer to acquire PartnerRe to $137.50 per Share (PRE) : EXOR S.p.A. announced that it has delivered an irrevocable and binding offer to the Board of Directors of PartnerRe to acquire all of the outstanding common shares for $137.50 per share in cash, valuing PartnerRe at $6.8 billion.

• EXOR's commitment to its offer is underscored by its decision to invest $572 million in PartnerRe, representing 9.32% of the total outstanding common shares. EXOR is now PartnerRe's largest shareholder. 
• EXOR continues to maintain that the Board of PartnerRe has conducted a flawed process to date and has mischaracterized the nature of its discussions with EXOR. In fact, PartnerRe revised the Amalgamation Agreement with AXIS (AXS) in an attempt to preclude competition to acquire the Company by including, among other changes, an excessive break-up fee and increased restrictions on PartnerRe's ability to consider competing proposals.
• Exor commented that if the PartnerRe Board continues to ignore the best interests of the Company by working to favor its transaction with AXIS, this filing enables EXOR to solicit PartnerRe shareholders to vote "AGAINST" the demonstrably inferior AXIS transaction.

7:11 am Kimball Electronics reports Q1 results (KE) : Q1 EPS $0.25 vs. $0.22 last year; rev +11% to $206.9 mln (no estimates). Sales related to the exit of JCI were down $17.2 million compared to the same quarter last year.

7:10 am General Employment Ent. confirms it has filed a universal shelf registration for up to $75 mln (JOB) : Under the Form S-3, once declared effective by the SEC, General Employment may from time to time issue various types of securities in one or more offerings, using any combination of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, or units, consisting of one or more of the foregoing. The Company is registering to offer and sell up to $75 million in securities over the next three years

7:06 am Installed Building Products misses by $0.04, beats on revs (IBP) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.09; revenues rose 22.7% year/year to $129.9 mln vs the $128.01 mln consensus. 

• On a same branch basis, net revenue improved 14.0% from the prior year quarter, with approximately half of the growth attributable to an increase in the number of completed jobs and the remainder through price gains and a more favorable customer and product mix.
  

7:06 am Astronics misses by $0.27, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (ATRO) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.47 per share, $0.27 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.74; revenues rose 14.6% year/year to $161.6 mln vs the $171.79 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $680-740 mln vs. $719.88 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Approximately $550 million to $580 million of forecasted 2015 revenue is expected from the Aerospace segment, while approximately $130 million to $160 million of the forecasted revenue is expected from the Test Systems segment.
• "We expect Test shipments to improve dramatically in the coming quarters, particularly in the third quarter, resulting once again in new records."
  

7:05 am Aecom Tech beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY15 EPS above consensus (ACM) : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.58 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.53; revenues rose 140.7% year/year to $4.51 bln vs the $4.43 bln consensus. New wins in the quarter of $4.6 billion were driven by growth in the company's Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India region and its building construction business. After adjusting for acquisitions, total backlog grew six percent organically. The company's book-to-burn ratio6 was 1x for the quarter, with total backlog at March 31, 2015, of $40.7 billion. Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $3.15-3.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

7:04 am Intl Flavors beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line (IFF) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.43; revenues rose 0.6% year/year to $774.89 mln vs the $767.91 mln consensus.

• "Looking to the balance of year, we continue to believe we can deliver attractive returns to our shareholders. On a currency neutral basis, we expect all of our key financial metrics to be in line with our long-term targets in 2015. Yet, if global currencies remain where they are today throughout the rest of the year, we expect adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS to grow low to mid-single-digits."
  

7:02 am FactSet increases its quarterly dividend by 13% to $0.44/share from $0.39/share (FDS) :  

7:02 am Westmoreland Coal and Athabasca Minerals announce an agreement for production at Westmoreland's Obed Mountain Mine site (WLB) : Highlights of the agreement include Athabasca purchasing the Obed rail transloading facility and royalty payments to Westmoreland for all gravel, sand and frac sand produced from the Obed Mountain Mine site. The deal is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2015

7:02 am MEDNAX to acquire Virtual Radiologic Corporation for $500 mln, with expected accretion to co earnings (MD) : vRad currently generates annual revenue of roughly $185 million. The transaction is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2015. This is a cash transaction, and it is expected to be accretive to earnings, including interest and non-cash amortization expense.

7:01 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei flat; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.1%; China's Shanghai Composite +1.6% (:SUMRX) : Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed Tuesday as Wall Street's weak showing on Monday and the striking jump in sovereign bond yields around the globe curtailed investor enthusiasm. China's Shanghai Composite was a notable exception in the region as it followed up Monday's 3.0% gain with a 1.6% increase on Tuesday.

Economic data

• Japan
• March Leading Index 105.5 (expected 105.5; prior 104.8)
• Coincident Indicator -1.2% (prior -2.8%)
• Australia
• March Home Loans +1.6% month-over-month (expected +1.0%; prior +1.1%)
• March Invest Housing Finance +6.4% month-over-month (prior -3.4%)
• New Zealand
• REINZ House Price Index +0.5% month-over-month (prior +6.7%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei ended Tuesday flat, but finished the session on an upswing that recouped an earlier loss of about 150 points. The financial (+0.7%) and industrial (+0.4%) sectors provided support that offset weakness in the energy (-0.5%) and basic materials (-0.3%) sectors. Sharp Corp (+11.1%) rebounded from Monday's drubbing to lead individual gainers and was followed by Suzuki Motor (+7.8%) and Nisshinbo Holdings (+7.7%). Nippon Kayaku (-7.7%) and Taiyo Yuden (-6.8%) were the biggest decliners. Out of the 225 index members, 136 ended higher, 83 finished lower, and 6 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.1% and ended at its low for the day, dropping roughly 200 points in the final hour. Every sector closed the day with a loss. The technology (-2.6%) and basic materials (-2.0%) sectors were the weakest areas, but the financial sector (-1.1%) was the most influential laggard. China Overseas Land & Investment (-3.6%), China Unicom Hong Kong (-2.8%), and China Mengniu Dairy (-2.5%) were the largest decliners. Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding (+3.8%) was the only stock to gain more than 1.0%. Out of the 50 index members, 5 ended higher, 43 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite continued Monday's rally and added 1.6% on Tuesday. The index closed at its high for the day, underpinned by broad-based buying interest. The utilities (+3.1%) (+3.1%), communications (+2.9%), and industrial (+2.6%) sectors led the way for the Chinese market.
• India's Sensex declined 2.3% in a steady selloff and ended at its low for the day. The weakness preceded the release of the industrial production and CPI reports and was paced by big losses in the basic materials (-5.4%), industrial (-3.7%), and financial (-2.9%) sectors. Tata Steel (-6.2%), Vedanta Ltd (-5.2%), and Bharat Heavy Electricals (-5.2%) topped the list of decliners. Hero MotoCorp (+3.5%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (+3.3%) were the only two stocks that finished the day higher.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.9% in a rebound effort that was led by the materials (+1.7%), metals & mining (+1.7%), and information technology (+1.7%) sectors.
• Regional advancers: Taiwan +0.2%, Indonesia +0.6%, Philippines +0.2%
• Regional decliners: South Korea -0.03%, Singapore -0.8%, Malaysia -0.4%, Thailand -1.0%, Vietnam -1.3%

FX

• USD/CNY -0.06% at 6.2089
• USD/INR +0.1% at 64.171
• USD/JPY -0.1% at 119.98
  

7:00 am AOL to be acquired by Verizon (VZ) for $50 per share, or ~$4.4 bln (AOL) : The transaction will take the form of a tender offer followed by a merger, with AOL becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon upon completion. Verizon expects to fund the transaction from cash on hand and commercial paper. Verizon also continues to expect to return to pre-Vodafone transaction credit ratings in the 2018-2019 timeframe.

6:58 am GigaMedia announces that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with an independent third party in relation to its potential acquisition of a controlling interest in a global cosmetics e-commerce company (GIGM) : The co notes the target is an established online distribution and retail platform of beauty products, with its own website and mobile application. It has a comprehensive sales and distribution network covering the major countries worldwide, with increasing contributions from the fast growing economies in Asia. The Target has also established a global sourcing network of a comprehensive range of beauty products with more than 700 brands and 30,000 stock keeping units. The Target has an annual net turnover of over $200 million. The Company sees potential significant synergies with the Target.

6:57 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Trimble (TRMB) announced that a SITECH Technology Dealer has been established in North and South Dakota, with the exception of several counties in North Dakota adjacent to Montana. The dealer will also operate in Clay County, Minnesota
• Petrobras (PBR) issued a statement clarifying that the 2015-2019 Business & Management Plan is still being drafted. Therefore, no date has yet been set for its release. Additionally, the Company does not confirm the investment amounts that have been disclosed in media reports
• Pacific Booker Minerals (PBM) announced it has submitted a response to the BC Environmental Assessment Office, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Energy and Mines in response to the Aboriginal groups' comments on both the Mount Polley Independent Technical Review Board Panel Report Recommendations and Pacific Booker's response to the Report. The response includes a letter, prepared by Harvey McLeod of Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd., that addresses the points raised in the April 2015 letters from the First Nations.

6:46 am BiondVax Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BVXV) priced its upsized 1.9 mln ADS IPO at $5.00 per share (BVXV) : The co announced the pricing of its IPO in the United States of 1,910,000 American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each ADS representing 40 of its ordinary shares, and warrants to purchase 1,910,000 ADSs at an offering price of $5.00 per ADS and $0.01 per warrant. The warrants will have a per ADS exercise price of $6.25, are exercisable immediately and will expire on May 15, 2020. The company's shares currently trade in Tel Aviv. Ahead of today's pricing, the latest plans from the company were to offer 1.46 mln ADS in its IPO

6:31 am Carrizo Oil & Gas announces details on its farm-out agreement in the Delaware Basin, in which it plans to begin operated drilling activities later this year (CRZO) : Carrizo recently signed a farm-out agreement with a larger operator providing it the right to earn approximately 2,800 net acres in eastern Culberson County.

• Co plans to bring a rig into the play during the third quarter and drill three horizontal wells during 2015. Due to the timing of completion and hook-up for the wells, the Company does not currently expect material production from the play during 2015. Carrizo will be the operator of these wells and expects to have an average working interest of at least 80% in them. 
• In order to fund the Delaware Basin activity, Carrizo has allocated approximately $30 million to its 2015 drilling and completion capital expenditure plan, increasing it to $470-$490 million from $440-$460 million. The company's 2015 land and seismic capital expenditure plan remains unchanged at $35 million.
  

6:16 am Landmark Infrastructure Partners announces a public offering of 2.5 mln common units (LMRK) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering, including any proceeds from any exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase additional common units, to repay a portion of its outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facility and for general partnership purposes, including to potentially fund future acquisitions.

6:13 am Leidos beats by $0.07, beats on revs; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance, revs guidance (LDOS) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.65 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.58; revenues fell 5.0% year/year to $1.25 bln vs the $1.21 bln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $2.20-2.45 vs. $2.60 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $4.6-5.0 bln vs. $5.01 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• Co sees FY15 cash flows provided by operating activities from continuing operations of at or above $200 million
  

6:08 am Care.com misses by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line; slightly raises FY15 rev guidance (CRCM) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.33 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.31); revenues rose 38.7% year/year to $35.1 mln vs the $34.19 mln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $34-36 mln vs. $35.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, slightly raises FY15 revs to $146-155 mln from $145-155 mln vs. $150.26 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• On an adjusted EBITDA basis for the consolidated business, the first quarter 2015 loss was $7.1 million -- which exceeded our Q1 guidance of a loss of $8.2 million to $7.6 million.
  

6:04 am Magellan Petroleum reports an update on its Horse Hill-1 well, showing 'best estimate' gross oil in place of 21 mmbbls (MPET) : Co provided an update on the Horse Hill-1 well and PEDL 137, in which it owns a 35% direct working interest. An independent study of the conventional reservoir in the Upper Portland sandstone in PE0DL 137 and concluded that the "best estimate" gross oil in place amounted to 21.0 MMbbls. The announcement also clarified that the OIP should not be construed as recoverable resources and that meaningful estimates of recoverable oil from the Upper Portland can only be made following the proposed HH-1 flow test, which is planned for later in 2015

6:02 am Threshold Pharma and Partner Merck KGaA (MKGAY.PK) receive FDA fast track designation for Evofosfamide, to treat advanced pancreatic cancer (THLD) :  

5:49 am S&P futures vs fair value: -19.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -41.70. :

5:49 am European Markets : FTSE...6911.97...-117.90...-1.70%.  DAX...11411.11...-262.90...-2.30%.

5:49 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...19624.84...+3.90...+0.00%.  Hang Seng...27407.18...-311.00...-1.10%.

5:11 am Telenor announces Sigve Brekke new Group CEO (TELNY) : Co announces the appointment of Sigve Brekke as the company's new Group President and Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed Jon Fredrik Baksaas by 17 August 2015.

• Sigve Brekke is the Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Group's Asia operations. He joined Telenor in 1999 and has held several executive positions in the company since then.
  

5:02 am Inovio Pharma Initiates clinical trial with DNA immunotherapies to prevent and treat Ebola (INO) : Co announced that the company has initiated a phase I trial to evaluate safety, tolerability and immune responses of Inovio's DNA immunotherapy for Ebola. In previously published preclinical testing, Inovio's DNA-based Ebola immunotherapy protected 100% of immunized animals from death and sickness after being exposed to a lethal dose of the Ebola virus. This is the first step in the Inovio-led consortium selected by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to take a multi-faceted approach to develop products to both prevent and treat Ebola infection.

4:32 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Qumu (QUMU) announced their next generation mobile apps and integration with Citrix XenMobile Enterprise Mobility Management. With these additions, Qumu will provide its customers with an even broader function set to address the significant growth expected for mobile video globally.
  
• Meraas, a leading Dubai-based holding company, and Aliyun, Alibaba Group's (BABA) cloud computing subsidiary, signed a deal to setup a new technology enterprise that offers system integration services to private companies and government institutions in the MENA region. 
• Ruckus Wireless (RKUS) announced that Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi products and technology have been chosen by Kansai International Airport to provide free public Wi-Fi service for international travelers. 
• Boeing (BA) and Turkish Airlines celebrated a milestone with the delivery of the airline's 125th airplane purchased from Boeing -- a Next-Generation 737-900ER -- and one of 12 airplanes the Turkish flag-carrier will take delivery of this year.
  

4:03 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Nevro Corp (NVRO) announced that it had learned that a unit of Boston Scientific (BSX) has filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office two petitions for inter partes review challenging the validity of U.S. Patent No. 8,359,102. The '102 patent is one of Nevro's 52 issued U.S. patents directed to Nevro's innovations in the neuromodulation field. Nevro intends to vigorously defend its intellectual property in this matter. 
• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (TKPYY) announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the Phase 3 TOURMALINE-MM4 study of investigational oral ixazomib. This is a superiority study designed to demonstrate whether sustained proteasome inhibition, delivered orally, improves the long term clinical outcomes of people living with multiple myeloma.

3:47 am Blackstone to offer euro-denominated senior notes (BX) : Co announced its intention to offer, subject to market and other conditions, euro-denominated senior notes of Blackstone Holdings Finance Co. L.L.C., its indirect subsidiary.

3:26 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• El Paso Electric (EE) filed with the New Mexico Regulation Commission for an increase in non-fuel base rates of approximately $8.6 million or 7.1 percent. These proposed rates will increase, on average, residential bills by 9.0 percent. 
• Technip (TKPPY) was awarded by BP Exploration & Production Inc. a lump sum project for the design, engineering, fabrication, installation and pre-commissioning of the new production pipeline systems on the south side of the Thunder Horse production drilling quarters unit. 
• Stratasys (SSYS) announced that ClearCorrect LLC, a leading manufacturer of clear aligners, has incorporated an additional batch of Objet Eden500V 3D Printers to its sizable fleet of Stratasys 3D Printers. 

2:30 am Yara approves dividend and share buy-back program and elects new vice chair (YARIY) : Co approved a dividend of NOK 13.00 per share and a new Power of attorney to the Board regarding acquisition of own sharesThe dividend of NOK 13.00 per share will be paid on 21 May 2015 to shareholders as of 11 May 2015, and the Yara share will be traded ex dividend from 12 May 2015. American Depository Receipts will also be traded ex dividend from 12 May 2015, with a dividend payment date of 29 May 2015.

• Maria Morus Hanssen was elected as new Board member for a period of one year. After the general meeting, the Board elected Morus Hanssen as its new vice chair.
  
• Co approved the cancellation of 730,000 of the Company's own shares and the redemption of 414,406 shares owned by the Norwegian State.
  

2:27 am Koninklijke Ahold confirms preliminary discussions with Delhaize Group (DEG) (AHONY) :  

2:24 am Statoil ASA appoints new Chief Financial Officer (STO) : Co announces CFO Torgrim Reitan is appointed EVP for Development & Production USA after Bill Maloney decided to not prolong his contract with Statoil. Hans Jacob Hegge is appointed new EVP and CFO. Hegge comes from the position as senior vice president for Operations North in Development & Production Norway.

2:22 am Endeavour Silver releases positive preliminary economic assessment for the Terronera Project, Jalisco State, Mexico (EXK) : Co released a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for its emerging new high grade silver-gold discovery on the large (6,159 hectares), historic (discovered 1542) and prospective (more than 50 old mines) Terronera Project (previously known as San Sebastian) in Jalisco State, Mexico.

The positive results of the PEA are as follows:

• Total pre-production capital expenditures of $65.4 million 
  
• Construction period of 12 months 
  
• Total operating revenue of $542 million from estimated sales of 20.4 million ounces (oz) of silver and 138,500 oz of gold at $18 per oz silver and $1,260 per oz gold 
  
• Mine-life of 10.3 years 
  
• Total operating costs of $287 million at estimated mine-site cash operating costs of $3.93 per oz silver net of gold credits (silver:gold ratio 70:1) based on $83 per tonne total operating costs
  

2:18 am Pan Am Silver to proceed with dolores pulp agglomeration and underground expansion project (PAAS) : Co announced that its Board of Directors has approved the investment of $112.4 million required to expand its Dolores mine in Chihuahua, Mexico, by adding a milling and pulp agglomeration circuit to improve silver and gold recoveries, as well as by developing an underground mine to extract mineral resources that exist beneath and to the south of the ultimate open pit

• 40% increase in the average annual silver production during the first five years from 4.5 million to 6.3 million ounces of silver 
• 52% increase in the estimated annual gold production during the same period from 135,100 to 205,700 ounces 
• Increased life of mine metal production to 50 million ounces of silver and 1.5 million ounces of gold, from 41 million ounces of silver and 1.3 million ounces of gold
  
  

1:58 am Clorox increases quarterly dividend 4% to $0.77 per share (from $0.74 prior) (CLX) :  

1:38 am Pan Am Silver misses by $0.06, reports revs in-line (PAAS) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.07); revenues fell 15.1% year/year to $178.1 mln vs the $178.79 mln consensus.

• Silver production of 6.08 million ounces 
  
• Gold production of 37,500 ounces 
  
• Consolidated All-in Sustaining Costs per Silver Ounce Sold, net of by-product credits of $14.24 
  
• Consolidated cash costs(3) of $11.71 per silver ounce, net of by-product credits 
  

Outlook

• Pan American reaffirms its annual precious metals production forecast of between 25.50 million and 26.50 million silver ounces, and between 165,000 ounces and 175,000 ounces of gold. Provided metal prices remain at or near current levels, the Company also believes that it will be within its annual guidance for AISCSOS of between $15.50 and $16.60, net of by-product credits and annual consolidated cash costs of between $10.80 and $11.80 per silver ounce, net of by-product credits. 
• In addition, the Company reaffirms its forecast for 2015 annual sustaining capital of between $71.0 and $84.0 million. With the addition of the Dolores expansion project, the Company now expects to invest between $111.0 million and $120.0 million in project development in 2015.

1:11 am Samson Oil & Gas provides monthly production update (SSN) : Co reports April production 1,064 Barrels of oil equivalent per day

• April's oil production was higher than prior months because additional wells were bought on line during that month. 
• Currently all of the wells except for one well (Matilda Bay 2 which is undertaking a work over) are on line. 
  

12:54 am Pain Therapeutics announces update on drug portfolio (PTIE) : Co announced an update regarding its portfolio of drug candidates. After staying quiet for the past six months, management expects an uptick in news flow for the rest of 2015. Expected milestones include a clear path to the FDA for re-filing the REMOXY NDA, announcement of proof-of-concept results for an abuse deterrent transdermal pain patch and announcement of non-dilutive funding for a new drug development initiative in a major indication.

REMOXY Update

• Co believes REMOXY's previous sponsor undertook substantial studies and expenses to address the deficiencies previously noted in REMOXY's 2011 Complete Response letter. We also believe the collective data generated from these new studies form the basis to re-file the REMOXY NDA. 
  
• Co believes the adequacy of the clinical data generated by REMOXY's previous sponsor will not require us to conduct any new clinical studies to re-file the REMOXY NDA. 
  
• Co plans to conduct certain non-clinical activities prior to re-filing the REMOXY NDA. This includes in vitro work that was initiated but never completed by REMOXY's previous sponsor due to the timing of their decision to return REMOXY. It may take up to six months to conduct such work, depending on the workflow and availability of our consultants and vendors.