6:02 pm Qihoo 360 Tech. beats by $0.09, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (QIHU) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.57 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.48; revenues rose 45.0% year/year to $384.36 mln vs the $378.37 mln consensus.

• Total monthly active users of Qihoo 360's PC-based products and services reached 503 million in March 2015, compared to 479 million in March 2014.
• User penetration of Qihoo 360's PC-based products was 94.7% in March 2015, compared to 93.3% in March 2014.
• Total smartphone users of Qihoo 360's primary mobile security product [4] reached a record 778 million in March 2015, compared to 538 million in March 2014.
• Monthly active users of Qihoo 360's PC browsers were 376 million and user penetration was 70.8% in March 2015, compared to 339 million and 66.1% in March 2014, respectively.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $435-445 mln vs. $440.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

5:45 pm Rowan Cos provides fleet contract status update: (RDC) : Co announced today that its report of drilling rig status and contract information has been updated as of May 19, 2015. Notable events in the current report include:

• Rowan Gorilla V: Awarded a two-well extension estimated for an additional year with Total in the U.K. Sector of the North Sea. The day rate is revised to $170,000 from $274,000 effective January 1, 2015, and will increase to $175,000 on January 1, 2016, for the remainder of the term which is expected to end in August 2016. The retroactive adjustment to day rate revenue was included in Rowan's first quarter financial results. 
• Rowan Stavanger: Awarded an extension estimated for 30 days to June 2015 with Talisman at the current day rate of $150,000. 
• Rowan EXL III: Awarded a one-well contract estimated for 40 days with ExxonMobil in the Gulf of Mexico at a day rate of $75,000, which commenced beginning of May 2015.
• Ralph Coffman: Awarded an extension estimated for 30 days beginning mid-May 2015 with BG at a day rate of $170,000.
  

5:26 pm Morgans Hotel Group announces that Jason T. Kalisman has resigned as Interim CEO; Howard M. Lorber named Chairman (MHGC) : Co announced that Jason T. Kalisman has resigned as Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company to spend more time on personal matters, effective immediately, and he will remain a member of the Board. Howard M. Lorber, veteran real estate investor and member of Morgans Board, has been named Chairman. The Board intends to continue its CEO search and in the interim, Richard Szymanski, Chief Financial Officer, will temporarily assume the duties of the principal executive officer for securities law reporting purposes.

5:19 pm Evolution Petroleum announces $5 mln share repurchase program (EPM) : Randy Keys, President and CFO, added: "We do not believe our current stock price adequately reflects the exceptionally long life and quality of our reserves and the predictability of our production profile, nor does it reasonably account for the near term catalysts for growth from the NGL plant and the expansion of the CO2 flood in the eastern part of the field. In addition, we have a strong balance sheet with no debt."

5:12 pm HEICO beats by $0.04, misses on revs (HEI) : Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.45; revenues rose 3.3% year/year to $291.4 mln vs the $301.2 mln consensus. Based on our current economic visibility, we continue to estimate full fiscal year growth in both net sales and net income of approximately 8% - 10% over fiscal 2014 levels (Approx $1.222-1.245 bln, Capital IQ consensus $1.221 bln) with our consolidated operating margin approximating 18%. Additionally, we continue to anticipate depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $48 million, capital expenditures to approximate $25 million and cash flow from operations to approximate $200 million."

5:07 pm NQ Mobile reports Q1 results, issues Q2 and FY15 guidance (NQ) :

• Co reports Q1 EPS of $0.00 vs $0.00 Capital IQ single analyst estimate; revs $89.2 mln vs $85.00 mln Capital IQ single analyst estimate
  
• Average monthly active user accounts as of March 31, 2015 were 175.4 million. 
• Guidance:
• Sees Q2 revs of $102-103 mln vs $99.50 mln Capital IQ single analyst estimate
• Sees 2015 revs $455-460 mln vs $443.00 mln Capital IQ single analyst estimate

5:03 pm IHS reaffirms guidance for FY15 revs of $2.27-2.31 bln vs $2.28 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, adjusted EPS Of $5.77-5.97 vs $5.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (IHS) : Rev guidance includes 5-6 percent subscription organic growth and negative non-subscription organic growth. Co reaffirms guidance for FY15 adjusted EBITDA of $715-735 mln.

5:02 pm SCANA Corp subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Company sells in a negotiated offering, $500 mln principal amount of its First Mortgage Bonds, 5.10% Series due June 1, 2065 (SCG) :  

5:02 pm Tarena International misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 revs in-line; guides FY15 revs in-line (TEDU) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.03 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.02); revenues rose 16.0% year/year to $28.2 mln vs the $28.42 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $41-42 mln vs. $41.58 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $180-186 mln vs. $184.04 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:54 pm EP Energy priced its offering of $800 mln aggregate principal amount of 6.375% Senior Notes due 2023 at an issue price of 100% (EPE) :  

4:54 pm Yahoo! follow-up: YHOO stabilizes in after-hours, currently trading at 41.45 (YHOO) :

• As mentioned earlier, shares of YHOO saw notable late-day weakness on very heavy volume, finishing lower by 7.6%. 
• As discussed, the weakness in YHOO was attributed to reports of possible IRS changes to the way spinoffs are treated. One of the key factors in YHOO's valuation is its Alibaba (BABA) stake and the idea of a future spinoff of that stake, so a potential rule change could be seen as adding some uncertainty to that situation.
  
• BABA closed higher by 1.3%.

4:54 pm Winthrop Realty Trust 's Board declares a liquidating distribution of $1.25 per common share payable in cash on June 16, 2015 to common shareholders of record on June 9, 2015 (FUR) : The liquidating distribution is being paid from the net proceeds of recent sales of Winthrop's assets.

4:50 pm Asta Funding receives letter from Nasdaq relating to its late report on form 10-Q (ASFI) : The Company intends to file the Form 10-K and Form 10-Q with the SEC as soon as it clears the SEC comments. Until the Company regains compliance, quotation information for the Company's common stock will include an indicator of the Company's non-compliance and the Company will be included in a list of non-compliant companies on the Nasdaq website. If, however, for any reason it is unable to file the Form 10-K and Forms 10-Q on or before June 29, 2015, the Company's common stock would be delisted from Nasdaq, unless the Company would prevail at a hearing of which there can be no assurance.

4:48 pm FirstService announces final steps to separate into two public companies; tax rulings have been obtained, application for final court order has been scheduled and final completion is expected on June 1, 2015 (FSRV) :  

4:48 pm Norwegian Cruise Line announces a secondary public offering of 20 mln shares by selling shareholders (NCLH) : Co will not sell any ordinary shares in the offering and will not receive any of the proceeds from the offering. The total number of shares outstanding will not change as a result of the offering. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is acting as the sole underwriter for the offering.

4:43 pm Bunge authorizes new program for the repurchase of up to $500 mln of its common shares; increases regular quarterly cash dividend, from $0.34 to $0.38/share (BG) :  

4:35 pm Nordson misses by $0.06, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line (midpoint below estimates) (NDSN) : Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.86; revenues fell 4.0% year/year to $400.7 mln vs the $405.48 mln consensus. This change in sales included a 1 percent increase in organic volume, a 3 percent increase related to the first year effect of acquisitions, and a negative 8 percent impact related to the unfavorable effects of currency translation

• Order rates for the 12-week period ending May 10, 2015, measured in constant currency, increased by 3 percent over the same period a year ago. Backlog for the quarter ended April 30, 2015 was ~$287 million, an increase of 26 percent compared to the same period a year ago, and inclusive of 23 percent organic growth and 3 percent growth due to acquisitions. 
• Current backlog increased 25 percent compared to the first quarter ended January 31, 2015.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $1.19-1.30 vs. $1.28 Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q3 revs +2-6% to ~$467.8-486.1 mln vs. $484.95 mln Capital IQ Consensus (+6-10% organic volume).

4:35 pm RAIT Financial Trust announces pricing of a $223 mln non-recourse, floating-rate CMBS transaction (RAS) : Co announced today the pricing of a non-recourse, floating-rate CMBS transaction collateralized by floating rate commercial real estate first lien mortgage loans, all of which were originated by subsidiaries of RAIT.

• The transaction involves the issuance and sale by a RAIT subsidiary of investment grade notes totaling ~$181.2 million with a weighted average cost of LIBOR + 1.84%. Co expects the transaction to close on May 22, 2015
  

4:31 pm MGM Resorts: Land & Buildings issues additional statement, notes it no longer intends to nominate any candidates for election as directors at the Company's 2015 Annual Meeting (MGM) :  

4:30 pm Pacira Pharma announces data from three studies evaluating the clinical and pharmacoeconomic utility of EXPAREL for postsurgical pain control (PCRX) : Co announced data from three studies evaluating the clinical and pharmacoeconomic utility of EXPAREL for postsurgical pain control in patients undergoing colorectal surgery, breast reconstruction and total knee replacement surgery. The data were presented this month at the annual meetings of the World Congress of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery and Perioperative Medicine.

• Forty-three patients undergoing loop ileostomy closure who received EXPAREL via subcutaneous and suprafascial infiltration had lower opioid consumption, pain scores, costs and shorter lengths of hospital stay compared to thirty-five patients who received bupivacaine HCl for postsurgical analgesia. 
• Patients who received local infiltration with EXPAREL  versus preoperative paravertebral block for pain control following mastectomy with immediate tissue expander breast reconstruction reported lower pain scores, and required less opioids and antiemetic medication for nausea. 
• More patients who received EXPAREL infiltration compared to continuous nerve blocks via elastomeric pump following knee replacement surgery were able to ambulate on the day of surgery and were discharged from the hospital in 3 days or less
  

4:28 pm GeoPark reports Q1 results (GPRK) : Co reports Q1 net revs down 36% year/year to $54.4 mln vs $84.7 mln in prior year; Adj. EBITDA -65% year/year to $16.8 mln vs $48.4 mln in prior year

• Net loss of $36.0 mln in 1Q2015 mainly explained by lower revs from decreased oil prices, foreign exchange losses from depreciation of Brazilian currency, and one-time charges from cost reduction efforts
  
• Capital expenditures reduced by 83% to $10.3 mln in 1Q2015 compared to $62.2 mln in 1Q2014
  
• Cash position of $91.4 mln at the end of 1Q2015
  

4:22 pm Computer Sciences beats by $0.06, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS in-line; announces plan to split its Global Commercial and US Public sector businesses and a $10.50/share cash dividend (CSC) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $1.26 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.20; revenues fell 12.6% year/year to $2.91 bln vs the $2.97 bln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $4.75-5.05, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.80 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 

Board of Directors has unanimously approved a plan to separate the company into two publicly traded, pure-play leaders: 

• One to serve commercial and government clients globally, and 
• One to serve public sector clients in the U.S. 
• Concurrent with the separation, CSC intends to pay a special cash dividend to shareholders of $10.50 per share at closing, which is expected by October 2015.
  

4:21 pm Horizon Technology Finance has closed a $7.5 mln venture loan to SilkRoad Technology, a global provider of cloud-based talent management solutions (HRZN) :  

4:19 pm Cimarex intends to commence a registered public offering of 6 mln shares of its common stock (XEC) : Co announces it intends to commence a registered public offering of 6 mln shares of its common stock. Net proceeds from the offering are expected to be used for general corporate purposes and to fund increased drilling and completion activity in 2H15 and more significantly in 2016. J.P. Morgan and Barclays are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

4:19 pm Cardiovascular Systems peripheral and coronary data featured at EuroPCR 2015; ORBIT II two-year data demonstrates durable clinical and economic results (CSII) : The co announced that CBSET, a not-for-profit preclinical research institute dedicated to biomedical research, education and advancement of medical technologies, presented pre-clinical study data at the 2015 European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions conference taking place May 19-22, 2015, in Paris, France. 

• Elazer Edelman, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and co-founder of CBSET, presented data showing that primary treatment with CSI's Diamondback 360Orbital Atherectomy System improved paclitaxel absorption by 50 percent in calcified cadaveric peripheral arteries. Historically, calcified plaque barriers in arteries have been reported to make drug diffusion and retention more difficult.
  

4:18 pm Fiserv prices a public offering of $1.75 bln in senior notes due 2020 and 2025 (FISV) : The co has priced $850 mln in senior notes that mature in 2020 at 2.70% and $900 mln in senior notes that mature in 2025 at 3.85%.

• The offering is expected to close May 22, 2015. Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to redeem all of its outstanding $600 million aggregate principal amount of 3.125% senior notes due 2016 and all of its outstanding $500 million aggregate principal amount of 6.800% senior notes due 2017 and to repay outstanding debt under its revolving credit facility
  

4:15 pm Qualstar reports the promotion of Daniel Jan to President, effective immediately (QBAK) : Steven N. Bronson stepped down as President and shall remain the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Jan has served as Executive Vice President since April 2014

4:15 pm Thor announces repurchase of 1 mln shares at $60/share from The Thompson Family Foundation in a private transaction valued at $60 mln (THO) :  

4:15 pm Pebblebrook Hotel Trust announces an increase in its senior unsecured revolving credit facility from $600 mln to $750 mln (PEB) : The increased credit facility is composed of a $450 million unsecured revolving credit facility and an existing $300 million unsecured term loan

4:14 pm Carbylan Therapeutics reports Q1 (Mar) results (CBYL) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $7.38 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.17).

• As of March 31, 2015, Co had cash and cash equivalents of ~$3.2 mln. Based on current operating levels, co expects that existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, including ~$66.1 mln in net proceeds received from the April 2015 IPO, will be sufficient to fund operations into 2016.

4:11 pm BioSpecifics Tech announces that its strategic partner Endo International (ENDP) has presented the first treatment guidelines for Peyronie's disease at the AUA annual meeting (BSTC) :

• Endo also presented data evaluating the efficacy of XIAFLEX treatment for Peyronie's disease as well as the impact of Peyronie's disease on erectile dysfunction and female partners. Average improvements in penile curvature with XIAFLEX were higher than placebo among men with Peyronie's disease duration of 6 to /=12 months. 
• In addition, improvements in patient-reported bother were similar between the two groups. Most adverse events in the XIAFLEX group occurred at the injection site (penile bruising, pain, edema, contusion) and were mild to moderate in severity. 
• The adverse events profiles were comparable regardless of Peyronie's disease duration.
  

4:11 pm SAExploration Holdings has commenced an offer to exchange up to $150 mln of its outstanding 10% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 for an equal amount of its 10% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 (SAEX) :  

4:10 pm Dycom beats by $0.20, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (DY) : Reports Q3 (Apr) earnings of $0.58 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.20 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.38; revenues rose 15.5% year/year to $492.4 mln vs the $468.36 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.74-0.82, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.58 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $550-570 mln vs. $521.95 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:10 pm Closing Market Summary: S&P 500 Snaps Three Day Streak (:WRAPX) : The major averages ended the Tuesday session on an unchanged note after spending the entire day near their flat lines. The S&P 500 settled lower by 0.1% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.1%) outperformed slightly, edging up to another record closing high.

Overall, the Tuesday session was a snoozer that saw the benchmark index bounce inside a five-point range that was expanded to nine points by the close. The index was able to set a fresh intraday record high at 2,133.02 during the afternoon, but returned near its session low by the close.

For the second day in a row, heavily-weighted health care (+0.5%) and financials (+0.7%) outperformed throughout the day and kept the benchmark index from dipping too far below its flat line. The health care sector outperformed even as biotechnology struggled to keep pace with the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 360.60, +0.30) adding 0.1%.

Elsewhere, the financial sector continued its recent outperformance amid increasing Treasury yields that are expected to boost net interest margins for banks. Thanks to today's gain, the sector is now up 3.4% in May versus a 2.0% gain for the S&P 500.

Treasury yields rose once again today, but not before an overnight rally in global bonds that followed remarks from European Central Bank executive member Benoit Coeure who said the ECB plans to frontload its asset purchases in hopes of avoiding thin liquidity conditions in July and August. The remarks boosted global bonds and weighed on the euro, sending the single currency lower by 1.5% against the dollar to 1.1150. Furthermore, the timing of the comments from Mr. Coeure was viewed as controversial because the original speech was delivered on Monday evening, London time, when the ECB member appeared before a private group of hedge fund investors; however, the speech was not released to the public until this morning. In response, the European Central Bank blamed the delay on an "internal procedural error."

Despite rallying overnight, U.S. Treasuries surrendered their gains in the morning after the April Housing Starts report beat expectations (1.135 mln; Briefing.com consensus 1.019 mln). True to recent form, the better than expected data point was seen as a potential headwind to the market considering a strong showing from the housing sector is likely to be used as an argument in favor of the Fed hiking rates sooner rather than later. That being said, homebuilder stocks outperformed with iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 27.30, +0.19) climbing 0.7%. Meanwhile, the broader consumer discretionary sector settled just below its flat line.

Also of note, another cyclical sector-energy-lost 1.2%, and settled behind the remaining nine groups as crude oil weighed. WTI crude ended lower by 3.6% at $58.08 and surrendered its May gain with the 1.1% increase in the Dollar Index (95.29, +1.07) adding to the pressure.

Today's participation represented an improvement from yesterday as more than 720 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to Housing Starts and Building Permits:

• Housing starts increased 20.2% in April to 1.135 mln from an upwardly revised 944,000 (from 926,000) in March while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 1.019 mln 
  • After the subpar first quarter, when housing starts plummeted to some of their worst levels since the middle of last year, construction levels rebounded significantly in April. 
  • This was the first time starts reached 1.135 mln since November 2007 and it was the first time starts increased by at least 20.2% in a month since a 20.9% increase in February 1991. 
  • Single-family starts increased 16.7% in April to 733,000 from 628,000 in March. That was the most single-family homes started since January 2008 when 773,000 were started. 
  • Building permits rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.143 mln in April from a revised 1.038 mln for March (from 1.039 mln) while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 1.065 mln 

Tomorrow, the Weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7:00 ET while the FOMC minutes from the April 29 meeting will be released at 14:00 ET.

• Nasdaq Composite +7.1% YTD 
• Russell 2000 +4.4% YTD 
• S&P 500 +3.4% YTD 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average +2.8% YTD

4:09 pm CSS Industries announced BoDs has authorized an additional buy back of up to 500K shares of its common stock (CSS) :  

4:09 pm Autodesk beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 below consensus; lowers FY16 guidance (ADSK) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.28; revenues rose 9.1% year/year to $646.5 mln vs the $636.49 mln consensus.

• Total billings increased 3 percent, compared to the first quarter last year as reported, and 8 percent on a constant currency basis. 
• Deferred revenue increased 20 percent to $1.15 billion, compared to $964 million in the first quarter last year. 
• Total subscriptions increased by ~95,000 from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. 

"As we scan the economic environment, we've observed unevenness, particularly in key markets. Considering the current economic environment, coupled with persistent foreign currency headwinds, we've adjusted our business outlook for the fiscal year as we look to build on the early successes of our model transition." 

Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.14-0.19, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.32 Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q2 revs of ~$600-620 mln vs. $650.15 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Co issues downside guidance for FY16, lowers EPS to ~$0.95-1.10, excluding non-recurring items, from $1.05-1.20 vs. $1.17 Capital IQ Consensus; lowers FY16 revs to +2-4% to ~$2.56-2.61 bln (from +3-5%) vs. $2.63 bln Capital IQ Consensus; billings +2-4%; 375-425K net sub adds.

4:08 pm Etsy reports GAAP loss of ($0.84);reports revs in-line (ETSY) : Reports Q1 (Mar) GAAP loss of $0.84 per share, does not compare to the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.00); revenues rose 44.4% year/year to $58.5 mln vs the $58.02 mln consensus.

• GMS increased 28.2% y/y to $531.9 million.
• Active sellers up 25.8% to 1.4 million, active buyers up 36.5% to 20.8 million.
• Percent mobile GMS of 41.4%, up 620 bps.
• Percent international GMS 30.5%, down 10 bps.
  
  
• Outlook: "First, if foreign exchange rates continue at current levels, it will likely continue to impact buyer behavior outside of the U.S. Second, we expect to increase the pace of hiring in the second quarter compared with both the first quarter of 2015 and second quarter of 2014. Third, we plan to spend more on marketing in absolute dollars in the second quarter compared with both the first quarter of 2015 and the second quarter of 2014. Finally, we would like to remind investors that second quarter 2015 results will include some one-time expenses such as Etsy's $300,000 cash contribution to Etsy.org described in the Etsy prospectus filed on April 16, 2015 and approximately $300,000 in IPO expenses not deductible from Etsy's IPO proceeds."

4:08 pm ViaSat misses by $0.06, reports revs in-line (VSAT) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.36 per share, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.42; revenues rose 6.1% year/year to $364.8 mln vs the $363.5 mln consensus.

4:07 pm Ashford Hospitality Trust announces acquisition of 9-hotel portfolio for $224 mln, which is expected to be accretive (AHT) : The Company anticipates financing the portfolio with non-recourse debt of ~$179 million

4:06 pm Credit Acceptance announces increase of revolving secured warehouse facility to $400 mln from $325 mln (CACC) : There were no other material changes to the terms of the facility. As of May 19, 2015, the co did not have a balance outstanding under the facility.

4:05 pm Achillion Pharma has entered into a worldwide license and collaboration arrangement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) unit for Hepatitis C in up to $1.1 bln deal (shares halted) (ACHN) : The co announced it has entered worldwide license and collaboration arrangement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), to develop and commercialize one or more of Achillion's lead hepatitis C virus (:HCV) assets which include ACH-3102, ACH-3422, and sovaprevir.

• Under the terms of the agreement, Achillion will grant Janssen an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and, upon regulatory approval, commercialize HCV products and regimens containing one or more of Achillion's HCV assets. Achillion is eligible to receive a number of payments based upon achievement of specified development, regulatory and sales milestones. Achillion is also eligible to receive tiered royalty percentages between mid-teens and low-twenties based upon future worldwide sales. Janssen will be responsible for all of the development costs within the collaboration and all subsequent costs related to commercialization of the HCV assets. 
• A key objective of the collaboration will be to develop a short-duration, highly effective, pan-genotypic, oral regimen for the treatment of HCV. An initial regimen that will be explored will feature Achillion's ACH-3102, a second-generation NS5A inhibitor currently in Phase 2 clinical studies that has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in combination with an NS3/4A HCV protease inhibitor plus an NS5B HCV polymerase inhibitor from the collaboration.
  
• In an equity transaction separate to the exclusive license and collaboration arrangement, Johnson & Johnson Innovation -- JJDC, Inc. will invest $225 million in Achillion and, in return, receive approximately 18.4 million newly issued, unregistered shares of Achillion at a price of $12.25 per share.

4:05 pm Analog Devices beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; mid-point of JulQ EPS guidance below consensus, revs in-line (ADI) : Reports Q2 (Apr) earnings of $0.73 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.72; revenues rose 18.2% year/year to $821.0 mln vs the $819.8 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3 (Jul), sees EPS of $0.71-0.77, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.77 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $825-865 mln vs. $845.3 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• "We had a very successful second quarter driven by the quality of our innovation, the diversity of our business, and our strong execution...Looking ahead, our book to bill ratio was positive in the second quarter and we are seeing stable order rates across all our end markets. As a result, we are planning for sequential growth in the third quarter and for revenue to be in the range of $825 million to $865 million."
  

4:03 pm KMG Chemicals: Stockholm Convention Committee Accepts Continued Use of Pentachlorophenol (KMG) : Co announced that the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Stockholm Convention accepted the recommendation of the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee that pentachlorophenol (penta) can continue to be produced and used as an industrial wood preservative for the treatment of utility poles and cross-arms.

4:02 pm Paragon Shipping announces receipt of notice of non-compliance from NASDAQ due to trading 30 consecutive business days below $1.00 per share (PRGN) : The Company intends to monitor the closing bid price of its common stock between now and November 10, 2015 and is considering its options in order to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Global Market minimum bid price requirement.

4:02 pm Wendy's prices its $2.275 bln securitized financing facility (WEN) : Net proceeds from the expected sale of the Notes will be used for repayment of existing senior secured indebtedness, transaction costs associated with the refinancing, and general corporate purposes, including the return of cash to shareholders.

4:01 pm Tilly's appoints Michael Henry as CFO, effective June 13, 2015 (TLYS) : Henry has served Quiksilver since July 2012, most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Controller.

4:00 pm Sarepta Therapeutics announces a rolling NDA for Eteplirsen, to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, following a meeting with the FDA (SRPT) : Co announced that the Company held a pre-New Drug Application meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its lead product candidate, eteplirsen, for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

• Co has agreed with the Agency to initiate a rolling NDA submission and will submit the non-clinical and CMC components of the NDA by the end of this week
  

3:52 pm Treasury Market Summary (BONDX) : Treasuries Lose Despite ECB

• The U.S. Treasury complex caught a bid overnight on remarks from the ECB that it would move forward some of its asset purchases. Those gains disappeared quickly after April Housing Starts and April Building Permits were released at 08:30 ET. Treasuries bottomed around 09:30 ET, but only the 30-year bond has mustered much of a bounce since then and the complex is pointing toward its lows at the time of writing
• Yield check:
• 2-yr: +3 bps to 0.61%
• 5-yr: +6 bps to 1.59%
• 10-yr: +4 bps to 2.28%
• 30-yr: +3 bps to 3.06%

• News:
• Executive Board member Benoit Coeure of the ECB announced that the European Central Bank will front-load its asset purchase program in May and June to avoid the illiquidity of the summer months. He also said that more assets could be purchased in September. The total size of the program will remain the same, at 60 billion euro/month until September of 2016
• Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said that a deal with Greece's creditors is close, but officials from the creditor side of negotiations denied that
• There were 1135K seasonally-adjusted Housing Starts in April, significantly higher than the Briefing.com consensus of 1019K and the 944K starts in March
• That was the first time starts reached 1.135 mln since November 2007. That was the first time starts increased by at least 20.2% in a month since a 20.9% increase in February 1991. That was the first time starts increased by at least 191,000 since starts rose by 279,000 in January 2006
• The rate of new Building Permits was 1143K, higher than the Briefing.com consensus of 1065K and March's figure of 1038K

• Commodities:
• WTI Crude: -3.57% to $58.09/bbl, its lowest level since April
• Gold: -1.57% to $1208.30/troy oz.
• Copper: -2.58% to $2.8315/lb.

• Currencies:
• EUR/USD: -1.51% to $1.1150
• USD/JPY: +0.63% to 120.72

• Data out Tomorrow:
• MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 05/16 (07:00 ET)
• Crude Inventories for the week ending 5/16 (10:30 ET)
• FOMC Minutes (14:00 ET)
• Fed Speak:
  
• Chicago Fed President Evans (FOMC voter) speaks on current economic conditions and monetary policy in Munich (03:00 ET)
  

3:31 pm Philips announces a 5 year, $25 mln research alliance with MIT to develop healthtech solutions and digital connected lighting systems (PHG) :  

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

• CSC, ADI, ADSK, DY, NDSN, QIHU, VSAT, HEI, ETSY, TEDU

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

• TGT, LOW, SPLS, HRL, AEO, ATTO, EV, CTRN, EVLV, SFUN

3:28 pm Seacoast Banking announces the purchase of certain assets and factored receivables of First Growth Capital from FCC; financial terms not disclosed (SBCF) : FGC currently provides invoice financing and small asset based facilities to companies with annual business-to-business domestic sales between $2 million and $250 million.

3:16 pm New session lows for S&P -4.2 and Nasdaq Comp -14.8 -- Dow -7.8 (:TECHX) : Relative sector weakness on the latest slip (underperformed the S&P) has been noted in Biotech IBB, Health XLV, Retail XRT, Semi SMH, Telecom IYZ.

3:06 pm Further minor downticks off afternoon highs -- Dow +8, S&P -2, Nasdaq Comp -8.5 (:TECHX) :  

3:03 pm The Eastern Company: Barington Group shareholders urges fellow shareholders to vote for its White proxy card, in support of its Board nominees at the co's upcoming annual meeting (EML) :  

2:53 pm Ardelyx presents Phase 2B clinical trial results for Tenapanor to treat IBS-C patients, at the Digestive Disease Week conference: showing statistically significant improvement in IBS-C symptoms (ARDX) : Co presented Phase 2b clinical trial results that demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in IBS-C symptoms for tenapanor-treated patients compared to patients receiving placebo.

• As previously reported, at the 50 mg dose of tenapanor, the study met its primary efficacy endpoint of an increase in the complete spontaneous bowel movement responder rate. Most secondary endpoints, including abdominal pain and other abdominal and IBS-C symptoms, demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements. 
• A dose response relationship among all doses was observed in the primary endpoint, as well as in most secondary endpoints, although statistical significance was not achieved at the 5 mg or 20 mg doses. Additionally, the activity of tenapanor was maintained throughout the entire 12-week treatment period.
  
• Tenapanor was well-tolerated, and the safety results were consistent with those observed in previous tenapanor trials
  

2:52 pm CHS Inc. and NuStar Energy L.P. (NS) to pursue a strategic alliance to develop an expanded pipeline and terminal network that will increase supply of propane to meet product demand in the Upper Midwest (CHSCP) : Key projects under development include construction of an eight-mile, eight-inch pipeline at NuStar's Conway, Kan., origin facility, which is near the southern end of NuStar's East Refined Products Pipeline System. The new pipeline and modifications to the origin facility will allow for increased propane supply to be sourced from Conway, Kan., for delivery to propane terminals on the system. NuStar will also expand its Rock Rapids, Iowa, terminal to include propane services. This terminal expansion will allow NuStar to gain more efficiencies in an underutilized facility, and allow CHS to better supply the region with propane. All of these projects are projected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2015.

2:50 pm First Republic Bank priced 4 mln depositary shares, each representing a 1/40th interest in a share of its 5.70% Noncumulative Perpetual Series F Preferred Stock, at a public offering price of $25.00 per depositary share (FRC) :  

2:42 pm Currency Market Summary (FOREX) : Dollar Index Gains for Second Day

• The dollar is rallying against all of the majors today, with the Dollar Index up 1.11% to 95.27. The first wave of gains came after the ECB announced that it would front-load its asset purchase program to take advantage of better market liquidity in May and June. The second wave came after the 08:30 ET release of April's Housing Starts and Building Permits data which was substantially better than expect
• Crude oil and gold both fell in sympathy, down 3.64% and 1.63%, respectively
• EUR/USD: -1.50% to $1.1150
• The ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for Germany fell to 41.9 in May from 53.3 in April. This level was well short of expectations
• Eurozone CPI and Core CPI for April both came out as expected at +0.2% y/y and +0.6% y/y, respectively
• Greek 10-year yields were down 24 basis points to 10.91% and Greek equities rallied 2.59% on optimism for a deal between Greece and its creditors
• GBP/USD: -0.99% to $1.5505
• Inflation in the United Kingdom fell short of expectations and actually went negative for the first time since 1960, with the CPI declining 0.1% y/y in April versus +0.0% in March
• USD/JPY: +0.62% to 120.71
• Japanese GDP for Q1 2015 will be released tonight
• USD/CHF: +1.24% to 0.9375
• USD/CAD: +0.58% to 1.2221
• AUD/USD: -0.98% to $0.7916
• NZD/USD: -0.47% to $0.7346
  

2:39 pm Stock indices slide back off afternoon highs -- Dow +13, S&P -1.5, Nasdaq Comp -7 (:TECHX) :  

2:38 pm Floor Talk (:TALKX) : The trading action may not be anything special, yet the major indices continue to hold their ground for the most part.  Support has been provided today by the financial sector (+0.6%), which has shown some notable relative strength of late, outperforming the broader market week-to-date (+1.2%), month-to-date (+3.4%), and quarter-to-date (+3.5%).

The improved fortune of the financial sector has brought it back to positive territory for the year (+0.9%) and is driving talk about it being a positive signal for economic prospects.  That is, the financial sector is deemed to be in good position to benefit from rising interest rates that are a by-product of stronger economic growth and will help lift net interest margins for the banks.

The leadership of the financials is important because it is the second most-heavily-weighted sector in the S&P 500 behind only the information technology sector.  When financials are leading, it is tough to break down the broader-market.  The added support provided today by the health care sector (+0.5%), which is another influential sector, is also working to keep selling interest in check.

Gains in those two areas have been enough to overcome weakness in the energy sector (-1.2%), which is following crude prices (-3.6% to $57.32/bbl) lower.  The latter are off sharply, along with the metals, as the dollar has spiked against the euro and the yen in today's action.

The greenback was bolstered by the earlier news that the ECB is going to frontload its bond purchases in May and June due to the low liquidity that is typically seen in July and August.  Some participants see the decision as having an ulterior motive, namely to provide added liquidity in the event the Greece situation doesn't get resolved.  Either way, the news weighed heavily on the euro, which has helped boost the U.S Dollar Index 1.2%.

2:30 pm Covisint has reached a definitive agreement with Cisco (CSCO) to use the Covisint platform to power General Motors (GM) OnStar and SupplyPower through 2020 (COVS) : Under the terms of this five-year, non-cancelable contract, GM will materially increase their use of the Covisint platform to support growth in these solutions. This economically favorable transaction is a major milestone in the strategic partnership with Cisco, and a win for General Motors, Cisco and Covisint.

1:39 pm S&P +3 joins Dow +44 above Monday highs, Nasdaq Comp +1.7 climbs out of negative territory (:TECHX) :  

1:36 pm Metals closing prices (:COMDX) :

• June gold ended today's session $20.70 lower to $1206.90/oz
• July silver closed $0.65 lower at $17.08/oz
• July copper closed $0.06 lower at $2.84/lb
  

1:31 pm Dow +31 sets new session high, S&P +1.3 edges up toward its intraday range high -- Nasdaq Comp -1.7 (:TECHX) :  

1:12 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

• TJX (69.83 +3.82%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.03, beat on revs; guided Q2 EPS below consensus; raised FY16 EPS and comp guidance.
• NMR (6.84 +3.48%): Announced that its Board approved a resolution to set up a share buyback program.
• LRCX (80.92 +1.84%): Increased its quarterly dividend to $0.30/share from $0.18/share.

Large Cap Losers

• MBT (11.78 -4.85%): Reported Q1 results; Consolidated group revenue increased 2.7%y/y to RUB 100.2 bln.
• ABX (12.6 -4.47%): Miners under pressure as Gold drops $20 on the day to $1207.60/ozt (GG also lower).
• STO (19.56 -3.76%): Select oil & gas names underperforming with WTI crude oil futures down 3.5% (EC, CAM, AR, among others lower).

Mid Cap Gainers

• MOMO (15.74 +22.74%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by $0.04, beat on revs; guided Q2 revs below consensus, guided Q2 revs below consensus.
• TTWO (28.06 +15.94%): Beat Q4 (Mar) consensus EPS estimates by $0.21, missed on revs; guided Q1 EPS and rev above consensus; guided FY16 EPS and rev below consensus; increased share repurchase authorization to 10 million shares; upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee CRT.
• CMCM (33.94 +12.98%): Beat Q1 consensus EPS estimates by RMB 0.26, beat on revs; guided Q2 revs in-line.

Mid Cap Losers

• URBN (33.94 -16.65%): Reported Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.30; revenues rose 7.7% year/year to $739 mln vs the $757.71 mln consensus; comps +4%; Downgraded at JP Morgan, Piper Jaffray, Oppenheimer, others.
• ICPT (272.79 -13.12%): Lower following release of details of co's Phase 3 trial of obeticholic acid for the treatment of NASH; trial is larger than expected, with first data readout at 72 weeks; downgraded at BofA/Merrill.
• LINE (11.21 -9.67%): Announced an offering of 16 mln units representing limited liability company interests, which priced at a price to the public of $11.79 per unit.

12:56 pm Midday Market Summary: Little Changed (:WRAPX) : The major averages are little changed at midday with the S&P 500 trading near its flat line after spending the first half of the day in a five-point range.

Equity indices have followed yesterday's record-setting session with a lackadaisical drift; however, the lack of activity in the stock market has overshadowed larger moves in other asset classes.

The overnight session saw a spike in the Dollar Index (95.33, +1.10) after European Central Bank executive member Benoit Coeure disclosed that the ECB plans to frontload its asset purchases in hopes of avoiding thin liquidity conditions in July and August. The remarks weighed on the euro, sending the single currency lower by 1.5% against the dollar to 1.1140. Furthermore, the comments from Mr. Coeure were viewed as controversial because they were made on Monday evening, London time, when the ECB member appeared before a private group of hedge fund investors, but the speech was not released to the public until this morning. For its part, the European Central Bank blamed the delay on an "internal procedural error."

In addition to pressuring the euro, Mr. Coeure's insight boosted European bonds while U.S. Treasuries also rallied, but surrendered their gains after the April Housing Starts report came in well ahead of expectations. Treasuries notched their highs during morning action, but they have returned into the middle of today's trading range with the 10-yr yield higher by two basis points at 2.26%.

Three sectors sport midday gains with financials (+0.7%) and health care (+0.7%) showing relative strength for the second consecutive day. Interestingly, the health care sector has outperformed even though biotechnology has struggled to keep pace, evidenced by a 0.2% gain in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 361.18, +0.88).

Elsewhere, the consumer discretionary space (+0.1%) hovers just above its flat line with homebuilders contributing to the slim gain as the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 27.34, +0.23) adds 0.9%.

On the downside, the energy sector (-1.2%) is a clear laggard amid a 3.3% decline in crude oil ($58.23/bbl), which has been fueled by the aforementioned increase in the Dollar Index. Including today's decline, the growth-sensitive group is lower by 3.8% for the month while eight of the remaining nine sectors sport month-to-date gains.

Economic data was limited to Housing Starts and Building Permits:

• Housing starts increased 20.2% in April to 1.135 mln from an upwardly revised 944,000 (from 926,000) in March while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase to 1.019 mln 
  • After the subpar first quarter, when housing starts plummeted to some of their worst levels since the middle of last year, construction levels rebounded significantly in April. 
  • This was the first time starts reached 1.135 mln since November 2007 and it was the first time starts increased by at least 20.2% in a month since a 20.9% increase in February 1991. 
  • Single-family starts increased 16.7% in April to 733,000 from 628,000 in March. That was the most single-family homes started since January 2008 when 773,000 were started. 
  • Building permits rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.143 mln in April from a revised 1.038 mln for March (from 1.039 mln) while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 1.065 mln

12:37 pm NJ Resources subsidiary New Jersey Natural Gas receives approval from the NJ Board of Public Utilities, to adjust its Societal Benefits Charge rate downward , effective June 1, 2015 (NJR) :  

12:34 pm Keurig Green Mtn (-1.3%) extends recent break down to 15 month low (GMCR) : GMCR missed Q1 estimates and lowered guidance on May 6 and then disappointed once again with its Keurig Kold announcement on May 14.

12:10 pm Ipsen S.A. acquires private, life sciences company OctreoPharm Sciences, for EUR 50 mln in upfront and downstream payments (IPSEY) : Downstream payments will be contingent upon clinical and regulatory milestones. The acquisition includes an agreement with Eckert and Ziegler, one of OctreoPharm's shareholders, to provide contract manufacturing services for the radio-labeling of the therapeutic compound.

12:03 pm Ultragenyx Pharma (+5%) extends recent surge into new all time highs after Alexion (ALXN) acquired fellow rare disease focused company Synageva (GEVA) at a huge premium two weeks ago (RARE) : RARE up ~35% since that deal was announced on May 6, now has a ~$3. bln market cap.

11:55 am European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:+0.4%
• Germany's DAX:+2.2%
• France's CAC:+2.1%
• Spain's IBEX:+1.4%
• Portugal's PSI:+0.5%
• Italy's MIB Index:+2.2%
• Irish Ovrl Index:+1.7%
• Greece ASE General Index: +2.6%

11:52 am Vringo announces that court-appointed officials in Brazil, have issued a report stating that ZTE violated a previous Brazilian court injunction related to the companies' litigation (VRNG) :  

11:49 am Dow +12 stalls after fractional move above yesterday's high -- S&P -0.02 and Nasdaq Comp -7.7 did not confirm the move (:TECHX) :  

11:44 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (215) outpacing new lows (88) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAWW, ABT, ACGL, ACIW, ACLS, ACN, AEIS, AET, AHS, ALV, AMAG, AMBA, AMCN, AMSG, ANSS, ANTM, AOS, APOG, ASB, ASML, AWH, AXTA, BBNK, BF.A, BHB, BIO, BK, BKCC, BLBD, BLKB, BLMT, BLOX, BOH, BONA, BRCM, BRKL, BTO, BX, CALM, CATY, CBF, CCK, CFG, CFO, CIEN, CMCM, CNMD, COL, CRTO, CRUS, CSGP, CYNI, CYNO, CYT, DATA, DGRW, DHIL, DLPH, DOOR, DSKX, DST, DXJS, EBIX, EGI, EGRX, ELNK, ERI, ETFC, EWBC, EXL, FCCO, FCS, FDS, FFA, FFKT, FHN, FNB, FOMX, FRC, FTNT, FULT, GPN, GS, GTT, HALO, HASI, HBAN, HCA, HMST, HOLX, HUBS, ICCC, IDCC, IDTI, IMAX, IMN, INBK, IPHI, ISBC, ISCA, IVC, JBL, JBLU, JNPR, JPM, KEN, KEY, KRNT, KWEB, LAMR, LBY, LDRH, LEG, LII, LPX, MAS, MASI, MCGC, MCK, MCO, MFG, MFLX, MHK, MIW, MKC, MKC.V, MKL, MMC, MMI, MOH, MSCI, NCLH, NDAQ, NFLX, NHF, NHTC, NI, NICE, NOAH, NPTN, NRZ, NTRS, NYCB, OCR, OLED, OPK, ORBK, OZRK, PANW, PBCT, PF, PFSW, PLAB, PLXS, PN, PNFP, PNRA, PPO, PRTO, PVTB, PZZA, QABA, RARE, RE, REGN, RGEN, RTRX, SBCF, SBNY, SC, SCHW, SCI, SCOR, SEE, SEIC, SEV, SHW, SIRO, SJM, SKX, SNE, SNPS, SNV, SPNS, SPR, SSB, SSFN, STI, SUM, SUSQ, SWKS, SYNA, TACO, TECH, THOR, TNP, TRQ, TSE, TSS, TTMI, TW, UHS, VAC, VNTV, WAL, WAT, WBS, WFC, WIBC, WIX, WNS, WPPGY, WTFC, XPO, ZSPH

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACI, AEZS, ALXA, AMBR, AMIC, AMPE, ANCI, ANR, AP, APOL, ARCI, BANX, BJZ, BSM, BTU, CDI, CECO, CEQP, CHCI, CHEK, CIM, CLDN, CLTX, CPST, CPTA, CSAL, CTL, DEST, DSCO, DTF, EOX, EVJ, FGEN, FHCO, FREE, FSAM, FTEK, GMCR, GV, HGG, HGT, HIIQ, I, IGT, IHC, LTRE, MCF, MHI, MHR, MIN, MUH, MZF, NDLS, NEOT, NM, NMRX, NMY, NRP, NUM, NXJ, OPXA, ORN, PCN, PQ, QUMU, RCMT, RMGN, RST, SD, SGNL, SHLO, SKBI, SPDC, STB, TESS, TRIV, TROX, TSU, UNXL, VPCO, VRS, WBK, WHLR, WILN, WIN, WTW, YGE, YUMA

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: DIA, IAI, IHF, IYF, IYG, KBE, KRE, MDY, OEF, PPH, UYG, XLK

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: VXX, VXZ

11:18 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : The Nasdaq Comp slipped for a fractional new session low but the S&P/Dow did not confirm. Some relative sector weakness in recent action that weighed on Nasdaq came from Technology XLK, Semi SMH, Software IGV, Internet FDN. Also underperforming the S&P were: Telecom IYZ, Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH, Transports IYT, Defense PPA

11:05 am Home Depot: HD now -0.70%, reversing all gains this morning following quarterly earnings results as price sets a new session low print @ 113.50 in recent trading (HD) :  

10:59 am Choppy range action persists -- Dow +5, S&P -0.8, Nasdaq Comp -6.4 (:TECHX) : The S&P/Nasdaq Comp were not able to confirm a minor new intraday high in the Dow suggesting some on-going underlying caution this morning. Thus far the S&P has been confined to a five point choppy range.

10:56 am Currency Commentary: DXY Rallies Above 95 (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index has rallied back above the 95 level. The Index slipped to a four month low on Friday but has been able to reverse course. Housing Starts and Building Permits outpaced expectations which has helped boost the greenback in early trade. The key for the markets though may very well be tomorrow's FOMC minutes. Expectations for a June rate hike have been taken off the table, but hawkish commentary in the minutes could lead to expectations for a September hike.
• The euro continues to see some profit taking ahead of an EU meeting. Overnight, ECB member Benoit Coeure said that the central bank was front loading its bond buying program in May and June. The premise was said to be ahead of a Summer slow down. But some participants are reading into it as a move to offset the potential for a Greek default. Tomorrow the ECB will make its weekly decision on an extension of the ELA to Greek banks as well as a potential decision on haircuts to Greek debt. This will proceed the highly anticipated EU meeting on Thursday. ZEW Economic surveys from Europe and Germany both came in below expectations which is also weighing on the euro today.
• The pound has slipped back below its 200 sma (1.5594). CPI in the country fell below zero for the first time since the 1960s. This has helped lead to some profit taking following an 8% rally in sterling. The numbers are unlikely to cause the Bank of England to ease further as the inflation issues are viewed as transitory at the moment.
• The yen is seeing some selling pressure here as it slips to its lowest level in five weeks. The yen overall continues to trade in a tight channel but the move lower has been one of the more aggressive moves witnessed over the past couple of weeks (BONDX, FOREX).
  

10:54 am Digi Intl announces that the USPTO has awarded it five new U.S. patents (DGII) : The new patents expand its intellectual property portfolio to 108 issued patents.

10:49 am Kinder Morgan issues statementafter the Georgia Department of Transportation declined its application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity associated with the proposed Palmetto Pipeline (KMI) : "We are disappointed with the outcome of our proceedings with the Georgia DOT. We believe that we have more than adequately demonstrated that this project is in the best interests of Georgia's consumers, as it will result in lower costs and provide safer transportation of refined petroleum products to many areas in the Southeast, including specifically many communities in Georgia... We will continue to work to reach mutually beneficial agreements with landowners, and to cooperate with applicable agencies and other stakeholders in order to minimize or eliminate potential environmental impacts."

10:33 am Dow +14 and S&P +0.4 push back into positive territory -- Nasdaq Comp -1.1 (:TECHX) :  

10:21 am Prima Biomed announces that the final CVac data from the Phase II CAN-003 ovarian cancer clinical trial has shown a trend for a clinically meaningful improvement in Overall Survival over standard of care in second remission patients (PBMD) : In the group of second remission patients (n=20), the median for standard of care patients was 25.53 months, which is consistent with current literature. By comparison, for patients treated with CVac a median has still not yet been reached after 42 months with study completion and closure. This suggests a striking improvement with a hazard ratio = 0.17 (95%CI: 0.02, 1.44; p=0.07). This implies at least a 16 months median survival advantage for second remission patients when treated with CVac.

10:20 am Healthcare SPDR extends to new two month high (XLV) : Noted relative strength in the sector this morning with the XLV breaking above its April peak (74.82) to set a new two month high of 74.98 -- ABT, LLY, MRK, MDT, PFE, UNH, ESRX, BMY.

10:18 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : The Dow -11 and S&P -1.1 have thus far not confirmed the new session low for the Nasdaq Comp -5 and small-/mid-caps. Sectors that have displayed some relative strength include: Finance XLF, Bank KBE, Reg Bank KRE, Health XLV, Biotech IBB, Rail.

10:11 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Sectors that have underperformed the S&P in recent trade include: Oil Service OIH, Energy XLE, Semi SMH, Telecom IYZ, Technology XLK, Ag/Chem MOO, Gold Miners GDX, Coal KOL, Retail XRT. 

10:08 am Minor new session low for Nasdaq Comp -5 -- Dow -18, S&P -2.1 (:TECHX) :  

10:05 am Pure Cycle announces a time-frame extension of its land sale agreement with Arkansas River Farms, with expected closure to occur in August, 2015 (PCYO) :  

10:03 am Bank of America extends break above May peak near its four month high from Feb at 16.79 -- session high 16.75 (BAC) :  

9:51 am CNOOC Ltd announces Yang Hua as Chairman after Wang Yilin resigned (CEO) : Co announced that Mr. Wang Yilin has resigned from his positions as Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Nomination Committee and Non-executive Director of the Company. Mr. Yang Hua, an existing Non-executive Director of the Company, has been appointed as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Nomination Committee of the Company. In addition, Mr. Yang has no longer served as Vice-chairman of the Board. The aforementioned changes become effective from today.

9:44 am S&P -0.4 slips back to April high at 2125 and stabilizes -- session low 2125 (SPY) :  

9:40 am Linn Energy priced its public offering of 16 mln of its units representing limited liability company interests at a price to the public of $11.79 per unit (LINE) :  

9:40 am Opening Market Summary: Stocks Surrender Opening Gains (:WRAPX) : The major averages began the session above their flat lines before slipping into the red.

The S&P 500 trades just below its flat line with consumer discretionary (+0.1%) and financials (+0.3%) showing relative strength for the second consecutive day. Meanwhile, energy (-1.0%) and consumer staples (-0.4%) have slipped out of the gate with the staples sector pressured by Wal-Mart (WMT 77.82, -2.10) after the retail giant reported disappointing results.

For its part, the energy sector has been weighed down by crude oil, which is currently lower by 1.9% at $59.10/bbl while the Dollar Index (95.24, +1.02) adds 1.1%. Elsewhere,

Treasuries have slid to new lows, pushing the 10-yr yield up to 2.29% (+5 bps).

9:40 am Nasdaq Comp -1.1 joins Dow -24 and S&P -1.8 slightly in the red (:TECHX) : Early relative sector weakness has been noted in: Crude Oil USO, Copper JJC, Gold Miners GDX, Oil Service OIH, Silver SLV, Steel SLX, Mining XME, Energy XLE, Gold GLD, Coal KOL, Retail XRT, Telecom IYZ, Ag/Chem MOO.

9:36 am Mixed start for major averages with Nasdaq Comp +1 slightly outperforming -- Dow -17, S&P -1.4 (:TECHX) :  

9:35 am Synthetic Biologics presented preclinical results for SYN-004 at Digestive Disease Week, supporting the development of SYN-004 to degrade beta-lactam antibiotics within the GI tract (SYN) : research supports the development of SYN-004, the Company's candidate therapy designed to degrade certain intravenous (:IV) beta-lactam antibiotics within the gastrointestinal (GI.V) tract and maintain the natural balance of the gut microbiome for the prevention of C. difficile infection and antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

• Data showed that  in fistulated dogs, oral delivery of SYN-004 resulted in efficient degradation of ceftriaxone in the GI tract, and in humanized pigs, SYN-004 protected the intestinal microflora from ceftriaxone and maintained the natural balance of the microbiome.
  

9:34 am Laboratory Corp announces strategic collaboration with ORIG3N (LH) : LabCorp has invested in ORIG3N, and will provide storage for LifeCapsule at its biorepository facilities as well as perform genetic testing on the stored cells.

9:33 am GlycoMimetics announces that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1/2 clinical study designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of GMI-1271 (GLYC) :  

9:30 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Brookfield Property Partners (BPY) announced that David Woodward has been hired to oversee Brookfield's apartment business and strategy.
• LyondellBasell (LYB) announced that Daniel M. Coombs has been selected to become executive vice president of Intermediates and Derivatives, with additional responsibility for Supply Chain, Procurement and Technology
• IBM (IBM) announced that United Business Group has chosen the IBM Cloud to transition its business into toward managed service offerings.
• Online retailer Choxi announced a new partnership with web-based shipping software ShipStation, a subsidiary of Stamps.com (STMP), to develop the fulfillment process for Choxi's network of eCommerce merchants.
• The American Sports Network (ASN.V), a division of Sinclair Networks Group (SBGI) announced that ASN has reached an agreement with Minor League Baseball to televise a weekly game this summer.
• Tyler Technologies (TYL) announced it has signed a seven-year software-as-a-service (SaaS) contract with Bibb County School District in Georgia for Tyler's Munis enterprise resource planning solution. The agreement includes hosting services, related professional services, maintenance and support.
• EIT Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH announced that, or the first time, a patient with a degenerative cervical spine problem has been treated with an anatomically adapted 3D printed titanium fusion implant. 3D Systems (DDD) partnered with EIT in the 3D design and manufacturing process
• Cardiovascular Systems (CSII) announced that a new article e-published in May 2015 in The Journal of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Intervention highlights the mechanical effect of orbital atherectomy (OA) and rotational atherectomy (:RA) in treating heavily calcified coronary lesions. Authors stated: " "We found that using OA versus RA to treat heavily calcified coronary lesions resulted in more significant tissue modification leading to better stent apposition and expansion. This may translate to lower major adverse cardiac event, or MACE, and restenosis rates."

9:23 am Roundy's priced the offering of 3.5 mln shares of its common stock owned by funds controlled by Willis Stein and Partners, LLC at a price to the public of $3.50 per share (RNDY) :  

9:21 am Edwards Lifesciences announces that in consultation with trial investigators, the company has voluntarily implemented a temporary pause on enrollment in its FORTIS clinical program (EW) : Co observed evidence of valve thrombosis that we believe warrants additional investigation.

• Co stated: "We are working closely with the trial investigators and Heart Teams to gather additional information in this early study of transcatheter mitral valve replacement therapy. While it is still very early in the program, and we anticipated that optimizing this therapy would be challenging, we are continuing to learn which patients may benefit from it."
  

9:16 am CDW priced the public offering of 10 mln shares of its common stock held by selling stockholders at a price to the public of $36.80 per share (CDW) :  

9:16 am MCG Capital: HC2 Holdings submits a revised merger proposal to MCG Capital Corporation, for $5.25/share in cash and stock (MCGC) : The consideration that HC2 (HCHC) is offering in its updated proposal consists of an amount of HC2 common stock valued at $4.75 and $0.50 in cash. Except for the mentioned modification, the key terms set forth in the May 4th proposal remain unchanged.

9:13 am S&P futures vs fair value: +1.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.10. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a modestly higher open as futures on the S&P 500 trade two points above fair value. Index futures held modest gains throughout the night, spiking to highs around 3:00 ET after European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure disclosed that the ECB plans to front-load its asset purchases in hopes of avoiding thin liquidity conditions in July and August.

In addition to underpinning European and U.S. equities, the news gave a boost to global bonds. To that point, Germany's 10-yr bund sits on its high with the yield down five basis points at 0.60%. Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-yr has surrendered its overnight gain not long ago, sliding to lows after the Housing Starts (1.135 million; Briefing.com consensus 1.019 million) and Building Permits (1.143 million; Briefing.com consensus 1.065 million) report surpassed estimates. The benchmark yield is currently higher by two basis points at 2.26%. Similar to Treasuries, index futures retreated following today's economic data.

On the corporate front, Wal-Mart (WMT 77.94, -1.98) is on track to open lower by 2.5% after missing earnings/revenue estimates and guiding toward the low end of analyst expectations. On the flip side, Home Depot (HD 116.88, +2.55): +2.1% in reaction to a one-cent beat.

9:03 am NiSource subsidiary Columbia Pipeline Group announces a private placement offering of $2.75 bln in senior unsecured notes (NI) : The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement to pay off $1.0252 billion of intercompany debt between the Company and NiSource and to fund a $1.45 billion special dividend to NiSource in connection with its planned separation from NiSource. Co intends to use the remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes

9:02 am Sirona Dental Systems and OnDemand 3D enter into a settlement and license agreement for dental surgical drill guides (SIRO) : Co announces a settlement and license agreement with OnDemand 3D Technology to resolve the pending litigation concerning SIRO's U.S. Patent No. 6,319,006, which covers methods of planning dental surgical drill guides. OnDemand 3D has agreed to an up-front payment and ongoing royalties to SIRO.

• Under the agreement, OnDemand acknowledges both the validity of SIRO's patent and also the infringement of the OnDemand In2Guide product. SIRO has granted OnDemand a limited license to use a modified version of its In2Guide to plan a dental surgical drill guide that must be fabricated at a central facility, but is restricted from using the software to plan the fabrication of a chairside surgical drill guide.
  

9:01 am Cherokee announces the acquisition of the Everyday California Lifestyle Brand; terms not disclosed (CHKE) : Co announces that it has acquired casual lifestyle brand Everyday California from owners and founders Michael Samer and Christopher Lynch. The acquisition closed on May 14. Everyday California sells apparel and accessories for men and women with its flagship retail store in La Jolla, California.

9:01 am 3D Systems announces a reseller agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) for laboratories, and science and technology education (DDD) : Co announces it has entered into a reseller agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), a leader in science research, technology and healthcare solutions for laboratories, and science and technology education.

• Under the new agreement, TMO will immediately begin to offer DDD's popular line of Cube and CubePro 3D printers, Sense 3D scanners, Touch haptic stylus and education-friendly CAD software. The combination of products provides a comprehensive educational solution for educators new to 3D design and printing as well as advanced programs from K-12 to university level.
  

9:00 am Pandora Mediato acquires Next Big Sound; terms not disclosed (P) :

• Co announced that it has agreed to acquire Next Big Sound, a provider of online music analytics, for an undisclosed sum.
  

8:55 am S&P futures vs fair value: +1.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.70. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade two points above fair value.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region gained ground on Tuesday on the back of Wall Street's record-setting showing. China's Shanghai Composite (+3.1%) was the biggest mover, drawing further support from news that Beijing is planning some investor-friendly reform efforts.

• In economic data: 
  • Australia's CB Leading Index -0.1% month-over-month (prior +0.5%) 
  • Hong Kong's April Unemployment Rate slipped to 3.2% from 3.3%, (expected 3.3%) 
  • South Korea's April PPI 0.0% month-over-month (prior -0.1%); -3.6% year-over-year (prior -3.7%) 
  • New Zealand's Q1 PPI Input -1.1% quarter-over-quarter (expected -0.7%; prior -0.4%) while Q1 PPI Output -0.9% quarter-over-quarter (prior -0.1%) 

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• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.7%, reclaiming a stance above the 20,000 level. Gains were seen across all sectors, yet no sector gained more than 1.0%. The consumer cyclical (+0.9%) and industrial (+0.9%) sector set the pace. Individual standouts included Shiseido Co (+5.1%), Nitto Boseki (+4.7%), and Nisshin Seifun Groyup (+4.1%). Nippon Yusen KK (-2.6%) was the worst-performing stock. Out of the 225 index members, 134 ended higher, 79 finished lower, and 12 were unchanged. 
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 0.4%, supported by strength in the mainland market and gains in the industrial (+1.7%), basic materials (+0.7%), and financial (+0.6%) sectors. Bank of Communications (+2.9%), China Life Insurance (+2.9%), and China Resources Land (+2.3%) led individual gainers while Power Assets Holdings (-2.9%), Kunlun Energy (-1.6%) and China Merchants Holdings Intl. (-1.4%) led decliners. Out of the 50 index members, 28 ended higher, 20 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged. 
• China's Shanghai Composite surged 3.1% and ended at its highs for the session. Sentiment was lifted by Wall Street's record-setting performance, talk of a potential Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, and news, according to CNBC, that Beijing plans to implement reform efforts that include improving the IPO system, developing the capital markets, and gradually pulling back controls over deposit rates. The financial sector (+4.6%) led all sectors in Tuesday's broad-based rally effort. 

Major European indices trade higher across the board with Germany's DAX (+2.0%) setting the pace. European equities spiked while the euro fell more than 150 pips against the dollar to 1.1130 after European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure said the central bank plans to purchase a large amount of assets up front in order to avoid thin liquidity that is expected in July and August.

• Participants received several data points: 
  • Eurozone April CPI +0.2% month-over-month; 0.0% year-over-year. Both reading matched expectations. Separately, Core CPI +0.3% month-over-month; +0.6% year-over-year, as expected. Also of note ZEW Economic sentiment fell to 61.2 from 64.8 (expected 62.4) and the March trade surplus widened to EUR23.40 billion from EUR20.30 billion (expected surplus of EUR22.80 billion) 
  • Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment fell to 41.9 from 53.3 (consensus 49.0) 
  • UK's April CPI +0.2% month-over-month (expected 0.4%); -0.1% year-over-year (consensus 0.0%). Separately, Core CPI +0.8% year-over-year (expected 1.0%; last 1.0%). Also of note, Input PPI -11.7% year-over-year (expected -11.5%; prior -12.8%) and House Price Index rose 9.6% year-over-year (consensus 7.7%; previous 7.2%) 

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• UK's FTSE is higher by 0.5% with roughly 80% of index components trading in the green. Consumer names lead with Burberry, GKN, Kingfisher, and Taylor Wimpey up between 1.8% and 2.1%. On the flip side, Vodafone has given up 3.1% while miners Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore/Xstrata, and Randgold Resources hold losses between 0.8% and 2.9%. 
• In France, the CAC trades up 1.9% thanks to gains among 38 of 40 components. Renault has jumped 4.1% after reporting strong sales while AXA and Unibail-Rodamco follow with gains close to 3.0% apiece. Oil services company Technip is the weakest performer, down 1.3%. 
• Germany's DAX has gained 2.0% amid broad strength. BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen lead with gains between 2.9% and 3.6% while Merck has surrendered 0.4%.

8:52 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Sainsbury's Bank announced a new relationship with Western Union (WU) whereby Western Union will provide Western Union Money Transfer services in 170 Sainsbury's Bank Travel Money bureaux in Sainsbury's stores across the UK
• Apple (AAPL) announced it has updated the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, to included the new Force Touch trackpad, faster flash storage, longer battery life and faster discrete graphics. It also introduced a new $1,999 configuration of the 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display, and lowered the price of the top-end iMac with Retina 5K display to $2,299.
• Tandem Diabetes Care (TNDM) announced that it is now taking orders for the t:flex Insulin Pump, with shipments planned to begin in June
• CytoSorbents Corporation (CTSO) announced that it has established an exclusive agreement with AlphaMedix to distribute CytoSorb in Israel for critical care and cardiac surgery applications.
• Constellation West announced it was awarded a $3 million software development and sustainment contract to support the U.S. Transportation Command's Commercial Operations Integrated System program. Harris IT Services, a division of Harris Corporation (HRS), is a partner with Constellation West on the contract.
• Edwards Lifesciences (EW) announced that the first high-risk European patients to receive the advanced Edwards SAPIEN 3 transcatheter aortic valve via transfemoral delivery had a one-year survival rate of 91.6%, as well as low rates of stroke and paravalvular leak. The independently adjudicated data from the CE Mark study were presented at EuroPCR 2015

8:46 am TJX beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus; raises FY16 EPS and comp guidance (TJX) :

• Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.69 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.66; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $6.87 bln vs the $6.8 bln consensus.
• Comps +5% vs. +2-3% guidance. 
• Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.72-0.74 vs. $0.78 Capital IQ Consensus; comps +2-3%.
• Co raises guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $3.21-3.27 from $3.18-3.25 vs. $3.29 Capital IQ Consensus; raises comps to +2-3% from +1-2%.
  
• TJX tends to guide conservatively.

8:45 am American Superconductor announces that the U.S. Navy awarded a contract worth up to $8.5 mln to provide high temperature superconductor-based ship protection system equipment (AMSC) :  

8:44 am Apollo Global Management to purchase Protection 1; also announces agreement to purchase ASG Security; terms not disclosed (APO) : Protection 1 announced it has signed definitive agreements to be acquired by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo. Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo also announced today the concurrent signing of definitive agreements to acquire Maryland-based ASG Security, which will be combined with Protection 1.

• The newly created company, which will continue to operate under the Protection 1 brand, enables Apollo to enter the security monitoring industry generating a combined $40 million in monthly recurring revenue and total annual revenue well in excess of $500 million. Terms of the transactions, which are expected to close in mid-2015, were not disclosed. 
  

8:41 am Bluerock Residential Growth priced its upsized public offering of 5.52 mln shares of Class A common stock, at a price to the public of $13.00 per share (BRG) : The offering was upsized from the previously announced offering of 3,850,000 shares.

8:41 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: YGE -28.2%, HNR -17.4%, VPCO -11.8%, AMCN -8%, DKS -5%, A -3.8%, NOAH -2.6%, WBAI -2.6%, WMT -2.1%, ZX -1.6%, TS -1.5%, CBMG -1%, EJ -0.8%, EVGN -0.8%, LEJU -0.7%, CCIH -0.7%

M&A news: ACHN -5% (Biotech blogger Adam Feuerstein out downplaying rumors regarding potential (GILD) acquisition of ACHN)

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower (gold and silver futures down over 1%): GFI -3.7%, HMY -3.7%, RIO -2.7%, AU -2.1%, MT -1.7%, FCX -1.7%, GOLD -1.5%, EGO -1.4%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness (WTI down ~1.6%): LNCO -5%, STO -3.1%, SDRL -2.8%, RIG -2.7%, GDP -1.5%, BBEP -1%

Other news: EOX -16.8% (announces the launch of an underwritten public offering of the Company's common stock with an aggregate public offering size of $150,000,000), RNDY -14.9% (announces a proposed underwritten secondary offering of 3.5 mln shares of its common stock owned by selling shareholders), LINE -8.1% (announces public offering of 16 mln units ), ARP -7.5% (Atlas Resource Partners to acquire natural gas producing properties in the Arkoma basin, from its parent company, Atlas Energy for $35.5 mln; also prices its 6.5 mln unit public offering of common units at $7.97/unit), MBI -6.2% (announces the sale of 27.25 mln shares of common stock, by funds affiliated with Warburg Pincus), MNTA -4.7% (announces a proposed public offering of 7.25 mln shares of common stock ), ICPT -4.6% (announces plans for a Phase 3 trial of obeticholic acid, to treat non-cirrhotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with liver fibrosis), BRG -4.1% (commenced a public offering of ~3.85 mln shares of its Class A common stock), SABR -2.3% (confirms the public offering of 22 mln shares of common stock by existing stockholders affiliated with TPG Global, LLC and Silver Lake Management Company),. CDW -2.2% (commences public offering of 10 mln shares of common stock by selling shareholders), ATLS -1.4% (Atlas Resource Partners to acquire natural gas producing properties in the Arkoma basin, from its parent company, Atlas Energy for $35.5 mln ), STOR -1.4% (proposed public offering of 9,250,000 shares of common stock to be sold by the Company and 9,250,000 shares of common stock to be sold by the selling stockholder)

Analyst comments: LL -2.1% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald ), HSBC -1.8% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Bernstein), PAGP -1.8% (transferred/downgraded to Hold at Wunderlich), HII -1.6% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill )

8:40 am MSCI completes its September 2014 accelerated repurchase program, $550 mln remaining on existing share repurchase authorization (MSCI) :  

8:38 am Red Robin Gourmet beats by $0.22, reports revs in-line; raises comp, margin guidance (RRGB) : Reports Q1 (Mar) adj. earnings of $1.10 per share, $0.22 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.88; revenues rose 16.0% year/year to $395 mln vs the $394.61 mln consensus; comps +3.1%.

Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, lowers FY15 revs to +12-12.5% to ~$1.28-1.29 bln (from +12-13%) vs. $1.29 bln Capital IQ Consensus; raises comps to +2.5-3% from +2-2.5%. Raises restaurant-level operating profit margin in fiscal year 2015 to approach 22.0% from 21.4%.

8:38 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: MOMO +25.6%, GIGA +23.5%, (also - co finalized a $10 mln multi-year production order for high performance YIG filters for a major aerospace company), XGTI +13.3%, TTWO +7.4%, CMCM +3.2%, DWSN +2.6%, SLTD +2.1%, KITE +1.3%, HD +1.2%, BLRX +1%

M&A news: GOMO +7.7% ('special committee' was advised that a buyer consortium was formed for the proposed 'going private' transaction),ALTR +1% (Citigroup discussed increased likelihood of Intel (INTC) acquisition; suggests probability of deal -- over 50%)

Other news: MNGA +17.4% (completed a MagneGas2 presentation to a second top ten utility company in the United States),TRQ +10.1% (announced Oyu Tolgoi shareholders sign agreement to progress the development of underground mine),BIOL +7.4% (announced Harold C. Flynn Jr. will become President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 13, 2015),AIXG +5.1% (disclosed that it received a multiple tool order for its new AIX R6 MOCVD system),NBG +2.1% (optimism in Europe that Greece deal may come in next cpl weeks),ADXS +1.9% (announces a non-exclusive research and clinical trial collaboration agreement with Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE)),VSR +1.9% (awarded $1.2 mln contract from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Analyst comments: ENPH +8.6% (upgraded to strong buy from Buy at Needham),APIC +5.5% (initiated with a Overweight at Morgan Stanley, among others),HDP +3.4% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays),PFPT +1.8% (added to Priority Stock List at Wells Fargo),RCL +1.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan),ASNA +1.6% (upgraded to Outperform at FBR Capital),TSC +1.3% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Keefe Bruyette),PNRA +1.3% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Cowen),MA +0.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at Pacific Crest),NFLX +0.9% (target raised to $850 from $650 at Pivotal Research)

8:37 am St. Jude Medical announces results from two studies that support the use of its fractional flow reserve technology in percutaneous coronary intervention procedures (STJ) :

• The studies, a 15-year follow-up to the DEFER study and primary results from the CONTRAST study, were presented earlier today during hotline sessions at EuroPCR 2015. Researchers leading the DEFER study found the positive benefits of decisions based on St. Jude Medical PressureWire FFR guidance were sustained after 15 years. The study also found the risk for a myocardial infarction was 6.5 times lower in patients where treatment was guided by FFR compared to patients in the non-FFR guided group, while finding no negative effect of leaving non-significant lesions untreated. 
• The Contrast study found that cFFR provides superior accuracy compared to resting indices such as iFR or resting Pd/Pa
  

8:36 am IntercontinentalExchange: NYSE announces the NYSE Bitcoin Index (:NYXBT) (ICE) : Launching today, the NYXBT Index will represent the U.S. dollar value of one bitcoin unit based upon actual transactions occurring on select bitcoin exchanges which have been evaluated and meet NYSE's quality standards.

8:36 am Scripps Networks Interactive prices its $1.5 bln of various senior note offerings (SNI) : Co has priced:

• $600 million of 2.80% notes due 2020, at 99.659% of par 
• $400 million of 3.50% notes due 2022, at 99.69% of par
• $500 million of 3.95% notes due 2025, at 99.81% of par
  

8:32 am Eagle Pharma announces it has been granted a patent for the use of the bendamustine hydrochloride formulation, administered in a 50mL bag; patent expiration occurs in March 2033 (EGRX) :  

8:32 am Medtronic sees Q4 revenue of approx $7.3 bln, Capital IQ consensus $7.07 bln (MDT) :

• Preliminary Q4 Worldwide Revenue of Approximately $7.3 Billion Grew 7% on a Comparable, Constant Currency Basis; 60% as Reported (Capital IQ consensus is $7.07 bln)
• Preliminary Q4 U.S. Revenue of Approximately $4.1 Billion Grew 8% on a Comparable Basis; 67% as Reported.
• Preliminary FY15 GAAP Revenue of Approximately $20.3 Billion Grew 19% as Reported, or 6% on a Comparable, Constant Currency Basis 
• Company Tightens Fourth Quarter Adjusted EPS Expectations; expects EPS at the upper end of the prior guidance range of $1.08-1.13, Capital IQ consensus $1.03.
• As this is the first quarter where the company is reporting results that include its recent acquisition of Covidien, full financial results are expected to be reported on June 2, 2015, two weeks later than the company's normal reporting date.
• Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons and growth rates in this press release are stated on a comparable, constant currency basis, which includes Covidien plc in the prior year comparison and aligns Covidien's prior year monthly revenue to Medtronic's fiscal quarters. Aligning historic Covidien revenue to Medtronic's fiscal quarters is different than the pro forma revenue information previously included within certain SEC filings. Management believes that referring to comparable, constant currency growth rates is a more useful way to evaluate the underlying performance of Medtronic's revenue.
  

8:32 am S&P futures vs fair value: +5.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.30. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade five points above fair value.

Housing Starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.135 million units in April. That was up from a revised 944,000 million units in March (from 926,000). The Briefing.com consensus expected starts to increase to 1.019 million units.

Building permits rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.143 million in April from a revised 1.038 million for March (from 1.039 million). The Briefing.com consensus expected permits to come in at 1.065 million.

8:32 am Cynosure receives FDA clearance for SculpSure, its Hyperthermic Laser Treatment for Non-Invasive Fat Reduction (CYNO) : Co announces it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market SculpSure, the world's first hyperthermic laser treatment for non-invasive lipolysis of the flanks. Cynosure plans to introduce SculpSure through its U.S. direct sales force late in the second half of 2015.

8:31 am Market View: Jun. stock-index futures continue to trade bid above fair values following the 8:30 am ET economic data points (:TECHX) :

• ESm5 @ 2131.25 +5.25
  
  
• YMm5 @ 18312 +53
  
  
• NQm5 @ 4254.75 +17.50

8:31 am Great Panther Silver has signed a two-year option agreement with Nyrstar to acquire a 100% interest in the Coricancha Mine Complex in the central Andes of Peru (GPL) : The Coricancha Mine has been on care and maintenance since August 2013 and has fully permitted and operational 600 tonne per day flotation and BIOX bio-leach plants along with supporting mining infrastructure. The property comprises more than 3,700 hectares in the prolific Central Polymetallic Belt and production at the mine dates back to 1906. Gold-silver-lead-zinc-copper mineralization (approximately 80% gold and silver) occurs as massive sulphide veins that have been mined underground by cut and fill methods.

• Under the terms of the option agreement, Great Panther made an initial cash payment of US$1.5 million on signing. A second option payment of US$1.5 million is due on the first anniversary of signing to extend the option for a second year.
  

8:31 am Energy Recovery announces the shipment of components, for a $1 mln desalination plant project in Sur, Oman (ERII) : Co Energy Recovery expects to recognize revenue on the shipment in the Company's current second quarter

8:30 am Agria establishes strategic cooperation with Guiyang Government (GRO) :

• Co announced that it has established a five year cooperation agreement with the city government of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in China, to modernize agricultural production in the area.
  
• Under the cooperation agreement, the two parties intend to cooperate on a number of development and modernization initiatives in and around Guiyang that include:  The development of a China-New Zealand free trade demonstration park.
  

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

• InVivo Therapeutics Holdings (NVIV) announced that Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine in Indianapolis, IN has been added as a clinical site in the company's ongoing pilot study of its investigational Neuro-Spinal Scaffold in patients with acute spinal cord injury
• NV5 Holdings (NVEE) announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide as-needed geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing services to San Diego Unified School District for three years. The contract was effective in April 2015 and is valued at $2.95 million.
  
• NCR Corporation (NCR) announced that it has worked with Wells Fargo (WFC) to design and develop the fully functional weatherized ATM for exterior walk-up environments. The co's have rolled out more than 50 units in California
  
• ClickSoftware (CKSW) announced that collaboration software and services provider PGi, has utilized its solutions for the coordination of scheduling and time management within its global event services organization
  
• St. Jude Medical (STJ) announced Health Canada approval and the first implant in Canada, of its Prodigy Chronic Pain System
  
• American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) announced new license agreements in South Korea with SK Networks; in Singapore with Trendz 360; and in Greece with Notos Com Holdings, S.A. Stores will begin opening in mid-2015.

8:17 am European Yields (BONDX) : Sovereigns Rally on ECB Asset Purchase Adjustment

• The ECB will front-load its asset purchase program in May and June to avoid the illiquidity of the summer months, according to Executive Board member Benoit Coeure. He also said that more assets could be purchased in September to make up for shortfalls in July and August. The total size of the program will remain the same, at 60 billion euro/month until September of 2016 
• The announcement sent sovereign debt prices sharply higher
• The ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for Germany fell to 41.9 in May from 53.3 in April, well short of expectations
• Inflation in the U.K. was negative for the first time since 1960
• The CPI declined 0.1% y/y in April versus no change in March
• Yield check:
• France, 10-yr OAT: -7 bps to 0.86%
• Germany, 10-yr Bund: -7 bps to 0.58%
• Greece, 10-yr note: -18 bps to 10.98%
• Italy, 10-yr BTP: -9 bps to 1.81%
• Portugal, 10-yr note: -4 bps to 2.37%
• Spain, 10-yr Bono: -8 bps to 1.77%
• U.K., 10-yr Gilt: -4 bps to 1.92%

8:16 am Celgene announces the presentation of a post-hoc subgroup analysis of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, multicenter phase II trial of GED-0301 in patients with active Crohn's disease (CELG) : The primary findings of the phase II trial, which enrolled 166 adult patients with active Crohn's disease, defined as Crohn's Disease Activity Index (:CDAI) scores >220 to =400, were published in the March 19, 2015 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Patients in the trial were treated for two weeks with either placebo or one of three doses of GED-0301 (10 mg, 40 mg or 160 mg tablets, once daily) and then followed for an additional 10 weeks. The presentation at DDW retrospectively examined certain subgroups of patients in the trial.

8:15 am Atlas Resource Partners prices its 6.5 mln unit public offering of common units, at $7.97/unit (ARP) : Co intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering to fund its announced acquisition of assets in the Arkoma basin in eastern Oklahoma from its parent company, Atlas Energy Group (ATLS)

8:15 am Versar announces the award of a fixed price task order from the US Army, to provide performing planning systems support at five of its sites, worth $1.2 mln (VSR) :  

8:14 am European Markets Update: FTSE +0.5%, CAC +1.7%, DAX +1.9% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade higher across the board with Germany's DAX (+1.9%) setting the pace. European equities spiked while the euro fell more than 100 pips against the dollar to 1.1185 after European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure said the central bank plans to purchase a large amount of assets up front in order to avoid thin liquidity conditions that are expected in July and August.

• Participants received several data points: 
• Eurozone April CPI +0.2% month-over-month; 0.0% year-over-year. Both reading matched expectations. Separately, Core CPI +0.3% month-over-month; +0.6% year-over-year, as expected. Also of note ZEW Economic sentiment fell to 61.2 from 64.8 (expected 62.4) and the March trade surplus widened to EUR23.40 billion from EUR20.30 billion (expected surplus of EUR22.80 billion) 
• Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment fell to 41.9 from 53.3 (consensus 49.0) 
• UK's April CPI +0.2% month-over-month (expected 0.4%); -0.1% year-over-year (consensus 0.0%). Separately, Core CPI +0.8% year-over-year (expected 1.0%; last 1.0%). Also of note, Input PPI -11.7% year-over-year (expected -11.5%; prior -12.8%) and House Price Index rose 9.6% year-over-year (consensus 7.7%; previous 7.2%) 

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• UK's FTSE is higher by 0.5% with roughly 80% of index components trading in the green. Consumer names lead with Burberry, GKN, Kingfisher, and Taylor Wimpey up between 1.8% and 2.1%. On the flip side, Vodafone has given up 3.1% while miners Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore/Xstrata, and Randgold Resources hold losses between 0.8% and 2.9%. 
• In France, the CAC trades up 1.7% thanks to gains among 38 of 40 components. Renault has jumped 4.1% after reporting strong sales while AXA and Unibail-Rodamco follow with gains close to 3.0% apiece. Oil services company Technip is the weakest performer, down 1.3%. 
• Germany's DAX has gained 1.9% amid broad strength. BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen lead with gains between 2.9% and 3.6% while Merck has surrendered 0.4%.
  

8:05 am Raven Industries reports Q1 EPS of $0.13 vs $0.30 in prior year; revs down 31.4% year/year to $70.3 mln vs $68.2 mln in prior year (RAVN) :

• Outlook: "For Applied Technology we have seen end-market demand deteriorate since the beginning of the year and we believe conditions will remain challenging throughout this fiscal year, and may persist well into next fiscal year. Corn prices have continued to slide since the beginning of the year and are now at 8-year lows. Farmer sentiment is weak and productivity investments are being delayed.... We have adjusted our cost structure for the current level of demand and we continue to look for opportunities to reduce expenses and further optimize our structure as necessary. While current end-market conditions are not conducive to growth, we believe in the long-term fundamentals of the markets we serve. We are committed and confident that we will return to the growth rates consistent with our strategic objectives when commodity market conditions cycle in our favor"

8:04 am Magnegas has completed a MagneGas2 presentation to a second top ten utility company in the United States (MNGA) : Formal demonstration and testing has been scheduled for June. In February, MagneGas2 was accepted by one of the nation's top 5 utilities as a replacement for acetylene because of its improved productivity and safety features. Officials for the company viewed a MagneGas presentation and indicated an interest in MagneGas productivity and safety features.

• A formal demonstration and testing is scheduled for June, during which time the utility company indicated they would invite other local utility companies in the area to attend. They specified that they were interested in using MagneGas for repairs and demolition projects.
  

8:04 am Masimo announces that a court upholds $467 mln patent infringement award (MASI) : Co announced today that the Delaware federal court upheld a jury verdict of $467 million against Philips (PHG) for infringing two Masimo patents.  

8:03 am Duke Energy unveils $1.1-billion plan to end coal era in Asheville, N.C. (DUK) :

• Co announced plans to retire its Asheville, N.C., coal-fired power plant in four to five years and modernize its generation and transmission system in western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina -- significantly reducing environmental impacts, improving system reliability and minimizing long-term costs to customers.
• "With the availability and near record low cost of natural gas, this comprehensive project will transform the energy system in the region to meet the growing needs of our customers and significantly reduce emissions and water use."
• The plan's major components include retiring the 376-megawatt Asheville coal power plant, investing ~$750 million to build a 650-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant, and installing solar generation at the site -- one of the first combinations of its kind.
• The plan includes investing ~$320 million to build a transmission substation near Campobello, S.C., and connect it to the Asheville power plant with a new ~40-mile, 230-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line. It also includes upgrading and rebuilding additional electrical infrastructure such as transmission lines and distribution substations.
  

8:02 am STORE Capital announces a proposed public offering of 9.25 mln shares by the company and 9.25 mln shares by a selling stockholder (STOR) : Co files a registration statement with the SEC related to a proposed public offering of 9,250,000 shares to be sold by the company and 9,250,000 shares to be sold by the selling stockholder. The proceeds will be used by the company to repay amounts outstanding on its revolving credit facilities and to fund real estate acquisitions. Co will not receive any proceeds from shares sold by selling stockholder.

8:02 am Sungy Mobile's 'special committee' was advised that a buyer consortium was formed for the proposed 'going private' transaction: the special committee is still in the process of evaluating the proposed transaction (GOMO) :  

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

• Mad Catz Interactive (MCZ) announced that it has reached agreement with Dovetail Games for the retail and e-tail distribution of the boxed version of Microsoft's Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition. 
• Derma Sciences (DSCI) announced that it has reached the halfway point of enrollment in the Phase 3 program with aclerastide in subjects with diabetic foot ulcers.Co has targeted the end of June 2016 for the last subject to be randomized in the pivotal program. Database lock will occur within a couple of months after the last subjects complete the 24 weeks of study participation. Top-line results should be available within a few weeks thereafter
• Sealed Air Corporation (SEE) announced that it is implementing price increases of up to 5% for the majority of its European Product Care and Food Care division packaging products, effective July 1st, 2015
• IBM (IBM) announced two new investments in WayBlazer and Sellpoints, designed to advance online travel and shopping apps powered by Watson. The financial terms of IBM's investments were not disclosed
• Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC) announced that it received a contract from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) to provide construction management services for a new large-scale biologics manufacturing facility in Cruiserath, County Dublin, Ireland.

7:58 am S&P futures vs fair value: +5.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.70. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade modestly higher amid upbeat action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover five points above fair value after notching their highs around 3:00 ET when European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure disclosed that the ECB plans to front-load its asset purchases.

Treasuries hit their highs after the comments from Mr. Coeure with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 2.20%.

Economic data will be limited to April Housing Starts (Briefing.com consensus 1.019 million) and Building Permits (consensus 1.065 million) with both reports set to be released at 8:30 ET.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS 52.70, -3.59): -6.4% after reporting in-line results. 
• Home Depot (HD 115.70, +1.37): +1.2% in reaction to a one-cent beat. 
• Take-Two Interactive (TTWO 26.24, +2.04): +8.4% after beating earnings estimates on light revenue and mixed guidance. 
• Urban Outfitters (URBN 34.50, -6.22): -15.3% in reaction to disappointing results. The stock received several downgrades following earnings. 
• Wal-Mart (WMT 78.10, -1.82): -2.3% after missing earnings/revenue estimates and guiding toward the low end of analyst expectations.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mostly higher. China's Shanghai Composite +3.1%, Japan's Nikkei +0.7%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.4% 
  • In economic data: 
    • Australia's CB Leading Index -0.1% month-over-month (prior +0.5%) 
    • Hong Kong's April Unemployment Rate slipped to 3.2% from 3.3%, (expected 3.3%) 
    • South Korea's April PPI 0.0% month-over-month (prior -0.1%); -3.6% year-over-year (prior -3.7%) 
    • New Zealand's Q1 PPI Input -1.1% quarter-over-quarter (expected -0.7%; prior -0.4%) while Q1 PPI Output -0.9% quarter-over-quarter (prior -0.1%) 
  • In news: 
    • China's Shanghai Composite surged after China State Council announced its economic reform priorities for the year, focused mainly on financial reform.

• Major European indices trade higher across the board. UK's FTSE +0.4%, France's CAC +1.6%, and Germany's DAX +1.9%. Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX +1.3% and Italy's MIB +1.5% 
  • Participants received several data points: 
    • Eurozone April CPI +0.2% month-over-month; 0.0% year-over-year. Both reading matched expectations. Separately, Core CPI +0.3% month-over-month; +0.6% year-over-year, as expected. Also of note ZEW Economic sentiment fell to 61.2 from 64.8 (expected 62.4) and the March trade surplus widened to EUR23.40 billion from EUR20.30 billion (expected surplus of EUR22.80 billion) 
    • Germany's ZEW Economic Sentiment fell to 41.9 from 53.3 (consensus 49.0) 
    • UK's April CPI +0.2% month-over-month (expected 0.4%); -0.1% year-over-year (consensus 0.0%). Separately, Core CPI +0.8% year-over-year (expected 1.0%; last 1.0%). Also of note, Input PPI -11.7% year-over-year (expected -11.5%; prior -12.8%) and House Price Index rose 9.6% year-over-year (consensus 7.7%; previous 7.2%) 
  • Among news of note: 
    • The euro fell more than 100 pips against the dollar to 1.1185 after European Central Bank member Benoit Coeure said the central bank plans to purchase a large amount of assets up front in order to avoid thin liquidity that is expected in July and August

7:52 am Brookfield Asset Mgmt announces approval of its proposed normal course issuer bid, to purchase up to ~83.85 mln Class A limited voting shares (BAM) : Co announced it has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange for its proposed normal course issuer bid to purchase up to 83,848,184 Class A Limited Voting Shares , representing 10% of the public float of the company's outstanding Class A Shares.

7:42 am Nat gas pushes higher in early trade, now at today's high; oil starts the day off lower (:COMDX) :

• June natural gas is now +1.6% at $3.06/MMBtu
  
• July crude oil is -0.9% at $59.70/barrel

7:41 am Partner Comms announces Board approval for the appointment of Isaac Benbenisti as CEO, effective July 1, 2015 (PTNR) : Benbenisti joined Partner's management team as Deputy CEO in November 2014

7:37 am Dick's Sporting Goods reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line; raises low end of FY16 EPS, in-line; reaffirms comps and long term outlook (DKS) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.53 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.53; revenues rose 8.8% year/year to $1.57 bln vs the $1.56 bln consensus.

• Consolidated same store sales increased 1.0%, compared to the Company's guidance of ~flat to an increase of 2%. Same store sales for DICK'S Sporting Goods increased 1.8%, while Golf Galaxy decreased 11.0%. First quarter 2014 consolidated same store sales increased 1.5%.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.73-0.76 vs. $0.76 Capital IQ Consensus; comps ~flat to +2%.

Co issues guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $3.12-3.20 from $3.10-3.20 vs. $3.19 Capital IQ Consensus. 

• Consolidated same store sales are currently expected to increase 1 to 3%, compared to a 2.4% increase in fiscal 2014. The Company expects to open ~45 new DICK'S Sporting Goods stores and relocate seven DICK'S Sporting Goods stores in 2015.
• Reaffirms: Anticipates 3-year diluted EPS CAGR of ~12% to 16% and 3-year sales CAGR of ~8% to 10%
  

7:37 am Nomura Holdings announces that its Board approved a resolution to set up a share buyback program (NMR) : The share buyback program will run from May 20, 2015, to July 28, 2015, and have an upper limit of 25 million shares of Nomura Holdings common stock, or 0.7 percent of outstanding shares. The upper limit of the aggregate amount of the repurchase price will be 20 billion yen, and the shares will be purchased on the stock exchange via a trust bank.

7:35 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) : ECB Front-Loading Asset Purchases Boosts Bonds

• The U.S. Treasury complex rallied in sympathy with European sovereign debt after the ECB announced that it would front-load asset purchases before the illiquid summer months of July and August. The yield curve flattened slightly with 2's/10's falling 2 bps to 163 bps and 5's/30's unchanged at 149 bps
• Yield check:
• 2-yr: -2 bps to 0.56%
• 5-yr: -4 bps to 1.50%
• 10-yr: -4 bps to 2.19%
• 30-yr: -4 bps to 2.99%

• International News:
• The ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for Germany fell to 41.9 in May from 53.3 in April. This level was well short of expectations 
• The decline in sentiment was attributed to the recent bond sell-off, which was essentially a tightening of monetary conditions, and uncertainty around Greece
• The ZEW Current Conditions Index also missed the average estimate, falling to 65.7 in May from 70.2 in April
• Eurozone CPI and Core CPI for April both came out as expected at +0.2% y/y and +0.6% y/y, respectively
• The ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for the eurozone fell to a worse-than-expected 61.2 in May versus 64.8 in the prior month
• The ECB will front-load its asset purchase program in May and June to avoid the illiquidity of the summer months, according to Executive Board member Benoit Coeure. He said that more assets could be purchased in September as well. The total size of the program will remain the same, at 60 billion euro/month until September of 2016 
• He denied that this alteration of the plan was due to recent weakness in eurozone sovereign debt markets
• Inflation in the United Kingdom fell short of expectations, with the CPI declining 0.1% y/y in April versus +0.0% in March
• Greece is "one week" away from a deal with its creditors, according to an estimate by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis
• According to Bloomberg, at least two European officials close to the negotiations are denying the likelihood of a deal in that time frame 
• The Athens Stock Exchange General Index is up 3.10% to 850.65

• Data out Today:
• April Housing Starts (08:30 ET)
• April Building Permits (08:30 ET)
• Fed Speakers:
• New York Fed President Dudley (FOMC voter) presides over a meeting of the Economic Club of New York (11:45 ET)
• Fed Chair Yellen (FOMC voter) participates in a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (14:30 ET)

7:35 am pSivida announces positive data of masked safety data from its first Phase III clinical trial of Medidur, to treat posterior uveitis (PSDV) : At three months, only 4% more study eyes (2/3 of which received Medidur) experienced elevated intraocular pressure than the fellow non-study eyes. The minimal difference observed in elevated IOP in the assessment suggests highly favorable results for the number of eyes that develop clinically significant increases in IOP within 12 months of receiving Medidur.

•  Co stated: "We expect top line results from this first Phase III trial of Medidur to be available in Q2 2016, and with favorable results from this and our second trial, which has just been initiated, we intend to file for U.S. approval in the first half of 2017."
  

7:34 am Apollo Investment reports EPS in-line; Declares dividend (AINV) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.22 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.22. 

• Net asset value per share at the end of the quarter was $8.18, compared to $8.43 at December 31, 2014, a decline of 3.0%. 
• Debt to Equity ratio 0.77x compared to 0.67x in prior year. 
• Net leverage ratio 0.72x compared to 0.68x in prior year period. 

Additionally, the Company also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.20 per share for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2015, payable on July 6, 2015 to stockholders of record as of June 19, 2015. The specific tax characteristics of this dividend will be reported to stockholders on Form 1099 after the end of the calendar year.

7:32 am EP Energy subsidiary Everest Acquisition Finance announces a private offering of $800 mln in senior notes due 2023, and a tender offer for $750 mln of its 6.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2019 (EPE) : Co intend to use the proceeds from the offering of the Notes (i) to purchase for cash any and all of the $750 million aggregate principal amount of their outstanding 6.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2019. Any remaining proceeds will be used to repay amounts outstanding under its senior reserve-based revolving credit facility and/or for other general corporate purposes

7:32 am General Dynamics' subsidiary Gulfstream Aerospace announces increased Aircraft Order from Qatar Airways (GD) : Co announces Qatar Executive has agreed to purchase from its wholly owned subsidiary, Gulfstream Aerospace, up to 30 Gulfstream aircraft as part of a Memorandum of Understanding originally announced in October of last year. 

7:31 am SL Green Rlty enters into definitive agreement to acquire Eleven Madison Avenue in New York City for $2.285 bln plus ~$300 mln in costs associated with lease stipulated improvements to the property (SLG) : Co announces it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eleven Madison Avenue in New York City for $2.285 bln plus ~$300 mln in costs associated with lease stipulated improvements to the property. The building is being sold by a joint venture of The Sapir Organization and CIM Group. The transaction is expected to close in 3Q15.

7:30 am Advaxis announces a non-exclusive research and clinical trial collaboration agreement with Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE), to evaluate combinations of their respective technologies (ADXS) : The cos have entered into a non-exclusive research and clinical trial collaboration agreement, to evaluate combinations of Advaxis's Lm-LLO cancer immunotherapy technology platform, including ADXS-HPV, ADXS-PSA and ADXS-HER2, with Sorrento's (SRNE) fully human antibodies targeting immune checkpoints, including GITR, OX40, LAG-3 and TIM-3. Under the terms of the agreement, Advaxis will conduct the studies and the companies will equally share the expenses. The companies hope to commence the first of the two planned combination studies in 2016

7:30 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• BHP Billiton (BHP) issued a statement saying that an inquiry into Australia's iron ore industry was unnecessary. Speaking on ABC radio, BHP Billiton CEO, Andrew Mackenzie said an inquiry would send the wrong signal to international customers about the country's commitment to free trade.
• Ducommun Incorporated (DCO) reported it has received multimillion dollar contracts from Gulfstream Aerospace, a subsidiary of General Dynamics (GD), to support the G500 and G600 -- a new family of large-cabin, long-range business jets. Ducommun will be the sole source supplier of the titanium auxiliary power unit inlet duct and the cooler duct for these aircraft.
• Plug Power (PLUG) announces a big box retailer as their recent new customer receiving a comprehensive GenKey hydrogen and fuel cell system, to power their material handling fleet in its new distribution warehouse constructed in Troy Township near Toledo, Ohio
• IMRIS (IMRS) announced that Mike Fritts, Executive Vice President, Global Customer Service, and Mark Reade, Executive Vice President, Global Sales, have left the Company
• Unisys Corporation (UIS) announced that TravelSky has signed a new contract with Unisys, to provide expanded processing power for TravelSky's reservation and distribution systems in China.
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced it is working with Accenture (ACN) to deliver a biometric technology system for registering and verifying the identities of displaced persons around the world. Under the terms of the three-year contract, UNHCR will deploy Accenture's Biometric Identity Management System (:BIMS) across UNHCR global operations
• CEVA (CEVA) announced that Ramon Chips, a fabless semiconductor company, has licensed the CEVA-X1643 for its RC64 64-core parallel processor, targeting high performance space computations
• GW Pharmaceuticals plc (GWPH) announced that the Company has appointed Julian Gangolli as President, North America and is also relocating its Chief Executive Officer, Justin Gover, to the United States
• Fifth Street Asset Management (FSAM) announced that its affiliate, Fifth Street Management, served as Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger for a $171 million one-stop financing facility for LegalZoom.com
  

7:10 am Wal-Mart misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS towards low end of expectations (WMT) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $1.03 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.05 and $0.95-1.10 guidance; net sales fell 0.1% year/year to $114 bln vs the $115.48 bln consensus.

• Currency negatively impacted EPS by ~$0.03. 
• Walmart U.S. Q1 comparable store sales +1.1% vs 1-2% guidance (-0.1% Q1 last year) includes positive traffic for the second consecutive qtr; 
• Sam's Club Q1 comps +0.4% vs 1-2% guidance (excluding fuel). 
• Customer experience scores improved in all formats. Customers benefited from lower gas prices. E-commerce sales globally increased ~17%.

Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.06-1.18 vs. $1.17 Capital IQ Consensus; Walmart US comps up ~1%; Sams Club without fuel +0-2%. 

7:05 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei +0.7%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.4%; China's Shanghai Composite +3.1% (:SUMRX) : Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region gained ground on Tuesday on the back of Wall Street's record-setting showing. China's Shanghai Composite (+3.1%) was the biggest mover, drawing further support from news that Beijing is planning some investor-friendly reform efforts.

Economic data

• Australia
• CB Leading Index -0.1% month-over-month (prior +0.5%)
• South Korea
• April PPI 0.0% month-over-month (prior -0.1%); -3.6% year-over-year (prior -3.7%)
• New Zealand
• Q1 PPI Input -1.1% quarter-over-quarter (expected -0.7%; prior -0.4%)
• Q1 PPI Output -0.9% quarter-over-quarter (prior -0.1%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.7%, reclaiming a stance above the 20,000 level. Gains were seen across all sectors, yet no sector gained more than 1.0%. The consumer cyclical (+0.9%) and industrial (+0.9%) sector set the pace. Individual standouts included Shiseido Co (+5.1%), Nitto Boseki (+4.7%), and Nisshin Seifun Groyup (+4.1%). Nippon Yusen KK (-2.6%) was the worst-performing stock. Out of the 225 index members, 134 ended higher, 79 finished lower, and 12 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 0.4%, supported by strength in the mainland market and gains in the industrial (+1.7%), basic materials (+0.7%), and financial (+0.6%) sectors. Bank of Communications (+2.9%), China Life Insurance (+2.9%), and China Resources Land (+2.3%) led individual gainers while Power Assets Holdings (-2.9%), Kunlun Energy (-1.6%) and China Merchants Holdings Intl. (-1.4%) led decliners. Out of the 50 index members, 28 ended higher, 20 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite surged 3.1% and ended at its highs for the session. Sentiment was lifted by Wall Street's record-setting performance, talk of a potential Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, and news, according to CNBC, that Beijing plans to implement reform efforts that include improving the IPO system, developing the capital markets, and gradually pulling back controls over deposit rates. The financial sector (+4.6%) led all sectors in Tuesday's broad-based rally effort.
• India's Sensex declined 0.2%, weighed down by weakness in the financial sector (-1.0%). Tata Motors (-2.1%), Housing Development Finance Corp (-1.9%), and Oil & Natural Gas Co (-1.3%) were the worst-performing issues. Hero MotoCorp (+2.4%), Vedanta (+1.9%), and Wipro (+1.5%) led all gainers.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.8% and ended near its lows for the day, shrugging off the implication in the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting minutes that the door is still open for additional interest rate cuts if necessary. Losses were led by the consumer staples (-1.9%), energy (-1.0%), and gold (-1.0%) sectors.
• Regional advancers: Taiwan +1.2%, South Korea +0.3%, Thailand +1.0%, Indonesia +0.6%, Vietnam +1.5%
• Regional decliners: Singapore -0.2%, Philippines -0.5%

FX

• USD/CNY +0.04% at 6.2067
• USD/INR +0.01% at 63.718
• USD/JPY +0.1% at 120.07
  

7:01 am Cempra presents positive additional data from its Phase 3 Oral Solithromycin study at the American Thoracic Society International Conference (CEMP) : The study consisted of a 1:1 randomization of 860 CABP patients to oral solithromycin for 5 days or oral moxifloxacin for 7 days, stratified by geographic region, by history of asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and by PORT score.  

• The primary endpoint (for FDA) was non-inferiority in ECR rate at 72 hours in the intent-to-treat population. The primary endpoint was NI in success rate at SFU visit, 5 to 10 days after end of therapy in the ITT and clinically-evaluable populations. 
• Oral solithromycin demonstrated statistical non-inferiority to oral moxifloxacin for the treatment of CABP with a treatment success rate in the ECR-ITT population of 78.2% for solithromycin and 77.9% for moxifloxacin. The 95% confidence interval for the treatment difference had lower and upper bounds of -5.5% and 6.1%, respectively. 
• In addition, oral solithromycin demonstrated NI for the SFU-ITT endpoint with a success rate of 84.5% for solithromycin and 86.6% for moxifloxacin with a 95% confidence interval for the treatment difference at lower and upper bounds of -7.1 and 2.8, respectively. 
• Treatment emergent adverse events were comparable for the two patient groups with 155 (36.6%) reported for solithromycin and 154 (35.6%) for moxifloxacin. 
• There were no serious adverse events attributed to solithromycin
  

7:00 am Emergent BioSolutions announces a long-term manufacturing agreement with ProMetic Life Sciences, allowing Prometric access to Emergent's facility in Winnipeg, Canada (EBS) : The agreement provides ProMetic access to Emergent's cGMP FDA-licensed biopharmaceuticals facility located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Under the terms of the manufacturing agreement, ProMetic is obligated to purchase at least C$4 million of capacity in the first full contract year. The minimum order amount increases over the 15-year life of the contract. The aggregate total of the minimum fees over the life of the contract is in excess of C$100 million.

6:58 am BTG plc reports results for year ended 3/31; revs rose 27% (BTGGF) :

• BTG plc reports group revenue grew 27% to 367.8m (2013/14: 290.5m); underlying revenue growth at constant curre ncy and allowing for the full year impact of EKOS and TheraSphere was 21%.  
• Operating profit before acquisition adjustments and reorganisation costs was 67.9m (2013/14: 62.3m)   
  

6:46 am E-House China beats by $0.04, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (EJ) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ two est avg of ($0.17); revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $169.1 mln vs the $161.8 mln consensus.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $1.05-1.10 bln vs. $1.06 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 

"Seasonality and a later than usual Chinese New Year holiday contributed to a slow real estate market in the first quarter with a low volume of transactional activities, which negatively impacted our results. However, the overall market began to improve toward the end of March, driven in part by the government's loosened credit policies and improved sentiment toward the industry, which in turn resulted in increased transaction volumes and improved performances in our traditional businesses."

6:38 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Genmab A/S (GNMSF) announced it has entered an agreement with BioNTech AG to jointly research, develop and commercialize bispecific antibody products using Genmab's DuoBody technology platform. Under the terms of the agreement, BioNTech will provide proprietary antibodies against key immunomodulatory targets that play an important role in activating the immune system against cancer, while Genmab provides access to its DuoBody technology platform. 
• Infinera (INFN) announced that Colt Technology Services, a provider of network, voice, datacenter and managed Cloud services, is deploying the Infinera DTN-X packet optical transport networking platform for the upgrade of its long distance network, known as the European Supercore.
• Mondelez (MDLZ) announced its $400 million Cocoa Life program is fully operational in Indonesia, the world's third largest cocoa origin and the biggest cocoa origin in Asia. By the end of 2015, Cocoa Life will be operating in more than 100 Indonesian communities and will have trained 8,000 farmers in agricultural and business skills to help improve cocoa yields, protect the environment and boost farmer incomes. 
• AIXTRON SE (AIXG) announced that it has received a multiple tool order for its new AIX R6 MOCVD system. The systems were ordered in the second quarter 2015 while shipments will continue until 2016.
• CYREN (CYRN) announced that German-based G DATA Software AG will extend its integration of CYREN Malware Attack Detection with its portfolio of consumer and enterprise cybersecurity solutions. The multi-year partnership extension helps protect millions of G DATA end users in more than 90 countries. 

6:37 am Royal Dutch Shell announces it has received a binding offer of $529 mln from DCC Energy for its Butagaz Liquefied Petroleum Gas business in France (RDS.A) : In reply to this offer, DCC Energy has been granted exclusivity while Shell consults with the staff councils of both Butagaz and Shell France. The transaction is also subject to obtaining regulatory approvals following these consultations. It is expected to complete in 2015.All other Shell Businesses in France -- Aviation, Commercial Fleet, Lubricants, Retail and Specialties -- will continue to operate as before.

6:36 am Leju Holdings beats by $0.04, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (LEJU) : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.01 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.03); revenues rose 19.0% year/year to $93.4 mln vs the $96.47 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $600-620 mln vs. $606.22 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• "Operationally, we continued to focus on building the leading O2O service platform for real estate marketing across the primary, secondary and home furnishing markets. Our platform for primary services combines our marketing expertise in media, e-commerce, membership service and brokerage connectivity to offer comprehensive services to developers and homebuyers throughout the sale and purchase process. Our informational platform for listing services is gaining momentum nationally and adding listing agents to our network. Furthermore, our Qianggongzhang.com platform for home furnishing services has generated significant interest and growth since its official launch in January this year, and already has attracted over 10,000 contractors on the platform in 50 cities."
  

6:31 am Oncolytics Biotech announces a Phase 1 study of Reolysin, to be used in combination with GM-CSF for pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory brain tumors (ONCY) : The primary outcome for the patients of the Phase 1 study will be safety and tolerability. Secondary goals include median progression free and overall survival in this patient population

6:21 am DHT announces an adjustment of the conversion price of its 4.5% convertible senior notes due 2019, to $7.8925/share from $8.1250/share (DHT) :  

6:16 am Cheetah Mobile beats by RMB 0.26, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (CMCM) : Reports Q1 (Mar) adj earnings of RMB 0.54 per share, RMB 0.26 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of RMB 0.28; revenues rose 113.0% year/year to RMB 672.5 mln vs the RMB 654.01 mln consensus.

• Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of RMB 785-795 mln vs. RMB 788.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "Our total revenues this quarter increased 113% year over year, which well exceeded our prior guidance and was driven mainly by the continued ramp-up of our mobile advertising business, especially in overseas markets. Mobile revenues increased 584.1% year over year and now accounts for 55% of total revenues, with overseas revenues contributing 38% of total revenues and 70% of mobile revenues in the quarter."

6:11 am Home Depot beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; raises FY16 EPS, rev and comp guidance; Q1 comps +6.1% (HD) : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $1.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items ($0.05 tax benefit), $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.15; revenues rose 6.1% year/year to $20.89 bln vs the $20.81 bln consensus.

• Co issues raised guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $5.24-5.27 from $5.11-5.17 vs. $5.23 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of +4.2-4.8% from +3.5-4.7% to ~$86.67-87.1 bln vs. $86.8 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Q1 comps 6.1%, (ahead of ests) and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 7.1%. Based on its year-to-date performance, the Company raised its fiscal 2015 sales guidance and now expects comp sales will be up ~4.0-4.6% (prior guidance +3.3-4.5%).

6:06 am MRC Global to issue $363 mln of 6.50% Series A Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock to an affiliate of Cornell Capital LLC (MRC) : The Company expects to use the proceeds to pay down its term loan and asset based lending facility. MRC Global also reiterated its previously communicated guidance for 2015 cash from operations in the range of $350-$450 million.

6:05 am Stage Stores beats by $0.01, misses on revs; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance (SSI) : Reports Q1 (Apr) loss of $0.27 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.28); revenues fell 0.7% year/year to $369.3 mln vs the $379.31 mln consensus.

• 180 bps improvement in merchandise margin. 
  
• Comparable sales decreased 1.1%, due in part to a Mother's Day marketing shift. 
  

Guidance
Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.20-1.28 vs. $1.30 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

• Comparable sales are expected to be in a range of flat to up 2%.
  

6:01 am MDC Holdings announces the resignation of CFO John Stephens, and appoints VP of Finance Robert Martin to be successor CFO, effective May 23, 2015 (MDC) :  

6:01 am Lombard Medical announces that the first procedures were successfully performed in Japan, using its Aorfix Endovascular Stent Graft with the AorFlex Delivery system (EVAR) :  

6:01 am Intercept Pharma announces plans for a Phase 3 trial of obeticholic acid, to treat non-cirrhotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with liver fibrosis (ICPT) : the Randomized Global Phase 3 Trial to Evaluate the Impact on NASH with Fibrosis of Obeticholic Acid Treatment has been designed as a double-blind, placebo-controlled pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial expected to enroll up to approximately 2,500 patients.

• The study population will primarily be comprised of NASH patients with stage 2 or stage 3 advanced liver fibrosis who will be evaluated on the primary efficacy endpoints in the 72-week interim analysis and subsequently.
• The interim analysis after 72 weeks of treatment will be conducted on the following co-primary endpoints, which are intended to serve as the basis for seeking U.S. and international marketing approvals: the proportion of OCA-treated patients relative to placebo achieving at least one stage of liver fibrosis improvement with no worsening NASH, and the proportion of OCA-treated patients relative to placebo achieving NASH resolution with no worsening of liver fibrosis. 
• Additional supportive histologic endpoints and non-invasive markers of liver fibrosis and steatohepatitis will also be evaluated

6:01 am Egalet announces the issuance of patents by the USPTO covering its product candidates and proprietary Guardian Technology (EGLT) : The following patents were issued: U.S. patent No. 8,877,241 titled "Morphine controlled release system," U.S. patent No. 9,005,660 titled "Immediate release composition resistant to abuse by intake of alcohol"; and U.S. patent No. 9,023,394 titled "Formulations and methods for the controlled release of active drug substances."

• Egalet currently has been granted 12 U.S. patents and 77 patents outside of the United States that cover Guardian Technology and its product candidates. 
  

6:00 am Bluebirdbio announces its global regulatory strategy for LentiGlobin BB305 in beta-thalassemia major; co plans to pursue conditional and accelerated registration strategies in E.U. and U.S., respectively (BLUE) : The co announced that it has met with regulatory authorities in Europe and the United States to discuss potential approval pathways for its LentiGlobin BB305 product candidate for the treatment of beta-thalassemia major. These discussions have resulted in general agreement from both agencies regarding bluebird bio's development plans, which could potentially result in accelerated approvals. 

• Based on several discussions involving the EMA, European Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies and patient advocacy organizations as part of this program, bluebird bio believes it is possible to seek conditional approvalfor the treatment of adults and adolescents with beta-thalassemia major on the basis of the totality of clinical data, in particular reduction in transfusion need, from the ongoing Northstar Study and supportive HGB-205 study. Conversion to full approval will be subject to the successful completion of the HGB-207 and HGB-208 clinical trials discussed below, supportive long-term follow-up data and "real-life" post-approval monitoring data. 
• In addition, bluebird bio has reached general agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) on the design of its planned clinical trials HGB-207 and HGB-208. Based on its discussions with the FDA, bluebird bio believes that data from these trials, together with data from the ongoing beta-thalassemia major clinical studies (Northstar and HGB-205), could form the basis for a Biologics License Application (:BLA) submission for LentiGlobin BB305. 
• In the United States, if the LentiGlobin BB305 product candidate demonstrates acceptable efficacy and safety in these patient populations, these planned clinical trials could support an accelerated approval, with post-approval confirmatory evidence to be provided with longer-term follow-up of these trials. As a result of this regulatory feedback and as required of all gene therapy clinical trials, bluebird bio has filed both clinical study protocols with the National Institutes of Health (:NIH) Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (:RAC). The RAC has notified bluebird bio that HGB-207 does not require an in-depth review or public RAC discussion. The RAC has also notified bluebird bio that the HGB-208 study protocol is scheduled for public review on June 9, 2015.
  

5:57 am Petrobras Brasileiro announces oil and natural gas production on April (PBR) : The co announces that, on April 2015, its oil and natural gas production was 2 million 785 thousand oil equivalent per day (boed), in Brazil and abroad, 0.8% above the volume registered on March of the same year, which was 2 million 764 thousand boed. Among such total, 2 million 596 thousand boed were produced in Brazil and 189 thousand boed abroad. The production of 2 million 785 thousand oil equivalent per day (boed) is 8.8% above the volume produced on April 2014, which represented 2 million 560 thousand boed.

• On April 11th, Petrobras reaches its own daily production record at the "pre-salt" layer of Santos and Campos basins, with 590 thousand barrels of oil per day (bdp). Furthermore, the production operated by the Company at the "pre-salt" reached a daily peak of 802 thousand bpd in the same day. 
• In April, 189.5 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) were produced abroad, 0.2% below 189.8 thousand boed produced in the previous month.
  

5:47 am S&P futures vs fair value: +5.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.10. :

5:47 am European Markets : FTSE...6992.08...+23.20...+0.30%.  DAX...11802.36...+208.80...+1.80%.

5:47 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...20026.38...+136.10...+0.70%.  Hang Seng...27693.54...+102.30...+0.40%.

5:46 am Unilever NV announces that CFO, Jean-Marc Hut, has decided to step down from his role and the Boards of Unilever NV and Unilever PLC (UL) effective October 1 2015 (UN) : Hut will remain in his role through this period to ensure a smooth and orderly transition to his successor. The co announced that Graeme Pitkethly will succeed Hut as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 October 2015. Pitkethly will become a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive on 1 October 2015 and he will be proposed for election to the Boards of Unilever N.V. and PLC (UL) at the Annual General Meetings in April 2016.

4:19 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Ruckus Wireless (RKUS) announced the introduction of its new SmartZone software platform, a carrier-grade solution developed for and deployed by service providers around the globe, now extended to demanding enterprise customers.
• Booking.com, an operating business of The Priceline Group (PCLN) announced it will waive enforcement of its existing wide parity provisions with German accommodations with immediate effect and will amend its standard terms and other agreements with German accommodations by 1 July 2015 to be consistent with the binding commitments given to the French, Italian and Swedish National Competition Authorities. 
• Advantest (ATE) introduced its new 28G OPM, the company's first solution designed specifically for testing optical transceivers -- advanced semiconductor devices that transmit and receive data through optical fibers. 
• Applied Materials (AMAT) announced its Applied Endura Cirrus HTX PVD system with breakthrough technology for patterning copper interconnects at 10nm and beyond.

3:42 am General Mills reaffirms FY15 outlook (GIS) : Co reaffirmed its fiscal 2015 full-year targets:

• Sees constant currency rev and EPS growth in low single digits. 
• Fiscal 2015 adjusted diluted earnings per share (which excludes mark-to-market valuation effects, currency devaluation, restructuring costs, Annie's integration costs, and a discrete tax charge associated with a planned repatriation action) are expected to grow at a low-single-digit rate in constant currency from the base of $2.82 earned in fiscal 2014.
  
• 2015 EPS consensus stands at $3.01 vs. $2.82 in prior year. 
• 2015 revenue consensus is $17.91 bln vs. $17.9 bln in prior year. 

3:30 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• ViaSat (VSAT) announced it has been selected by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation as the sole source Ku-band equipment supplier to outfit Gulfstream's large cabin business jets with ViaSat Yonder high-speed internet service. 
• MoneyGram (MGI) has renovated and opened a new modern shop for its longtime agent Global Quality, a privately owned money transfer company, making transactions more accessible than ever before. Customers in Ireland who want to transfer money will benefit from the modern technology available at the updated location. 
• Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean telecommunications provider, KT, under which the companies will collaborate to test technologies for the eventual introduction of 5G mobile networks and infrastructure capable of meeting the huge connectivity demands expected in the future.
• Power Integrations (POWI) announced a new reference design (DER-479) demonstrating an industrial power supply using the company's LinkSwitch-4TM family of CV/CC primary-side regulated switcher ICs with a 1200 V bipolar junction transistor 

2:48 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Panasonic (PCRFY) announced that it will boost production capacity of solar cells and modules for its solar panels HITTM at its two domestic plants. The company will invest 9.5 billion yen to expand production lines at the Shimane Factory, which produces solar cells, and at the Shiga Factory, a module production site. 
• DSP Group (DSPG) and GreenPocket, a software provider of intuitive and elegant IoT user interfaces, collaborated to introduce a end-to-end, node to cloud IoT solution.
• Radisys (RSYS) and WIT Software announced that they have partnered to deliver a deployment-ready solution that will enable mobile operators to roll out VoLTE, Rich Communications Services and WebRTC to their customers. 
• Lear (LEA) announced its plans to open a new automotive plant to produce seat covers in Gostivar, Macedonia, in summer 2015.

2:38 am Fiat Chrysler reports April sales in Europe up 13.4% YoY (FCAU) : Co announces it outpaced industry sales growth in Europe for the fourth consecutive month with passenger car sales up 13.4% year-over-year to nearly 79,000 vehicles. The Group was leader in the European A segment for the 28th consecutive month, with the Fiat 500 and Fiat Panda accounting for a combined 29.2% share.

2:36 am Abengoa CEO resigns for personal reasons; appoints Abengoa Yield (ABY) CEO as his replacement (ABGB) : Abengoa (ABGB), informs that its Board of Directors at the meeting held on May 18, 2015, accepted the resignation as CEO by Manuel Sanchez Ortega for strictly personal reasons.

• Board unanimously approved the appointment of Santiago Seage, who had previously resigned as CEO of Abengoa Yield (ABY), as the new CEO with immediate effect.
• Manuel Sanchez will continue in office as non executive first vice chairman of Abengoa, and joins the International Advisory Board of Abengoa.
• Abengoa Yield (ABY) approved the appointment of Javier Garoz as the new CEO with immediate effect. 
• Javier Garoz was until now CEO of Abengoa Bioenergy and is a director of Abengoa Yield. 

2:30 am Caledonia Mining Corp increases and upgrades resource base at its 49% owned subsidiary, the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe (CALVF) : Co announces that based on the drilling that has been completed at depth below the AR Main and at Blanket Sections over the past year, it has been possible to upgrade 491,000 tonnes from the Inferred to Indicated Resource categories and to add 47,000 tonnes of new inventory to Indicated Resource.

• This upgraded Indicated Resource of 538,000 tonnes is additional to the 2,934,000 tonnes of Reserves and Indicated Resource that was used for the Reserve Plan in the Technical Report prepared by Minxcon in December 2014 and represents an increase of 17.4% in terms of tonnes and 20.5% in terms of contained gold.
  

2:22 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• DSP Group (DSPG) announced the availability of its DHAN ULE module based on the company's DHX91 ULE SoC. 
• TomTom (TMOAY) has renewed and extended its global agreement with Apple (AAPL) for maps and related information. No further details of the agreement will be provided.
  

2:18 am Matson announces consent solicitation for any and all of the ~$2 mln of 6.00% Series A Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2017 (MATX) :  

1:16 am Dorchester Minerals appoints new COO and CFO after retirements (DMLP) : Co has appointed Bradley J. Ehrman to serve as its Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Ehrman, age 38, served as the Company's Engineering Manager from 2004 to 2011 when he was named Vice President of Operations.

• Ehrman succeeds James E. Raley who retired from his position as the Company's Chief Operating Officer, a position he has held since the Company's formation in 2001. Mr. Raley will continue to serve as a member and Vice-Chairman of the Company's Board of Managers.
  

1:05 am PharMerica withdraws from UBS conf due to weather-related travel delays (PMC) : Company has cancelled its previously announced plan to participate at the UBS 2015 Global HealthCare Conference on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

12:59 am Turquiose Hill Resources: Oyu Tolgoi partners sign agreement to development of underground mine; set to finalize project (TRQ) : The development of the underground mine at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia has taken a significant step forward today with the signing of the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan by the Government of Mongolia, Turquoise Hill Resources and Rio Tinto (RIO). The Plan addresses the key outstanding shareholder issues and sets out an agreed basis for the funding of the project.

• With a new pathway to development of the underground mine agreed, the focus now shifts to finalizing the project finance, the feasibility study and securing all necessary permits so that the underground mine development can proceed.