Ferrellgas

Published : July 06th, 2015

9:36 am Ferrellgas Partners acquires the assets of Propane Advantage; terms not disclosed

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9:36 am Ferrellgas Partners acquires the assets of Propane Advantage; terms not disclosed

5:41 pm Essex Rental announces corporate governance changes: Co will realize over $500k in annual savings; will not pursue a sale or other strategic alternative for its Essex Crane Rental Corp. subsidiary (ESSX) : Co announces a number of changes aimed at maintaining strong corporate governance practices and reducing corporate expenses. The following changes have been made as a result of investor feedback and our own continuing corporate governance assessment and review:

  • The Strategic Planning and Finance Committee has been disbanded; 
  • The agreement with Hyde Park Real Estate, LLC to lease office space in New York City will not be renewed; 
  • The number of directors comprising the Board has been reduced from six to five for the foreseeable future, subject to continuing evaluation of the Board's needs and composition;
  • Compensation to Board members will be paid half in common stock and half in cash, rather than all cash, as has been the historical practice; and
  • The Board has elected Bill Fox to chair both the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee.
Co also announced that it has determined to not continue to pursue a sale or other strategic alternative for its operating subsidiary, Essex Crane Rental Corp., at the present time.

5:30 pm Volaris Aviation Holding reports total capacity as measured in Available Seat Miles (ASMs) for the month of June increased by 20.9% year over year (VLRS) : Co reports June 2015 and year-to-date preliminary traffic results. During the month of June 2015, Volaris continued its capacity discipline in the domestic market and strong growth in the international market. Total capacity as measured in Available Seat Miles (ASMs) for the month of June increased by 20.9% year over year, and total passengers were 991 thousand, an increase of 23.7% year over year. Volaris' total demand for the month of June measured in Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs) increased 20.5% year over year, reaching 960 million. Network load factor for the month of June reached 83.5%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point's year over year. During the month of June 2015, Volaris started to fly two new domestic routes (Cancun -- Tuxtla Gutierrez and Cancun -- Villahermosa) and three international routes (Leon -- Los Angeles, Cancun -- Guatemala and Guadalajara - Guatemala).

5:14 pm Pinnacle Finl receives approvals of its applications to merge with CapitalMark Bank & Trust and Magna Bank from both the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC (PNFP) : Subject to approval by the shareholders of both CapitalMark and Magna, as well as satisfaction of other closing conditions, Pinnacle anticipates that the mergers should become effective during the third quarter of 2015. The shareholder meetings for CapitalMark and Magna are scheduled to occur in late July.

5:04 pm BioRestorative Therapies to conduct a 1-20 reverse split in preparation for its uplisting to the Nasdaq Capital Market (BRTX) : The reverse stock split will become effective on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 and the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis under the temporary ticker symbol "BRTXD." This temporary ticker symbol will remain in effect for 20 days, at which point it will revert back to "BRTX."

5:01 pm Express announces management change: Perry Pericleous promoted to CFO (EXPR) : Co announces that Perry Pericleous, previously Vice President, Finance has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer reporting to Matthew Moellering, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Pericleous succeeds Paul Dascoli who has left the Company, effective today.

5:00 pm Cardiovascular Systems receives FDA clearance for its new ViperWire Advance Peripheral Guide Wire with Flex Tip for their Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy Systems (CSII) : Co announces that it has received FDA clearance for its new ViperWire Advance Peripheral Guide Wire with Flex Tip for their Peripheral Orbital Atherectomy Systems (OAS). The new guide wire provides physicians with improved flexibility, navigation and ease-of-use-particularly in hard-to-reach, tortuous vessels-when treating arterial calcium associated with peripheral artery disease. CSI anticipates launching ViperWire Advance with Flex Tip in early August 2015.

4:58 pm Denison Mining and Fission Uranium Corp announce the execution of a Binding Letter Agreement to combine their respective businesses (DNN) :

  • Headlining the asset portfolio of the combined company will be two world class uranium exploration and development projects: Fission's 100% owned Patterson Lake South Project, and Denison's 60% owned Wheeler River Project, both located in the prolific Athabasca Basin, in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
  • Subject to the terms set out in the Binding Agreement, Fission common shareholders will receive 1.26 common shares of Denison for each common share of Fission held plus $0.0001 per share in cash.
  • The market capitalization of Denison and Fission on a combined basis is anticipated to be approximately CAD$900 million. Based on the 30 day volume weighted average price of Denison's shares on the TSX of CAD$0.99 as at July 3, 2015, the offer implies a price per Fission common share of CAD$1.25 and represents a premium of approximately 18% to the 30 day volume weighted average price of Fission's shares on the TSX of CAD$1.06 as at July 3, 2015.

4:56 pm A. Schulman misses by $0.05, misses on revs; guides FY15 EPS below consensus; FY15 adj. guidance range updated to reflect the Citadel acquisition and related financing activities (SHLM) : Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $0.72 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.77; revenues fell 13.1% year/year to $560.86 mln vs the $604.8 mln consensus.

  • Co issues downside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $2.37-2.42 vs. $2.46 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, lowered from $2.50-2.55.
  • Co said, "While the Citadel acquisition has occurred, and related financing actions taken, it is important to take note that the previous guidance range of $2.50-2.55 is achievable excluding the dilution expected in our fourth quarter related to these strategic long-term actions."
  • Citadel and Refinancing Actions:
    • On June 1, 2015, A. Schulman completed the previously announced acquisition of HGGC Citadel Plastics Holdings, Inc. for ~$800 mln. The co anticipates the transaction will be accretive in the first 12 months of ownership and expects to realize ~$25 mln in synergies within the next 18 months. The co financed the acquisition, with a component of this financing occurring in Q3 in anticipation of the June 1 close. The third quarter of fiscal 2015 included interest expense of ~$0.4 mln or a $0.01 per diluted share impact resulting from the issuance of $375 mln of Senior Notes. The cash raised during Q3 from the Senior Notes is reflected as restricted cash on the Company's balance sheet as of May 31, 2015. 

4:49 pm TerraForm Power and SunEdison (SUNE) sign definitive agreement to acquire net ownership of 930 megawatt of wind power plants from Invenergy Wind for $2 bln; TERP raises 2016 dividend target (TERP) : TerraForm Power intends to acquire net ownership of 460 MW of the wind power plants from Invenergy with the remaining 470 MW to be acquired by a new warehouse facility, for a combined $2.0 billion in aggregate consideration. Average unlevered CAFD of the acquired portfolio is anticipated to be $141 million annually over the next 10 years, generating a levered cash-on-cash return of approximately 8.4 percent.

  • Concurrent with today's announcement, TerraForm Power is raising its prior 2016 dividend target of $1.53 to 2016 dividend per share (DPS) guidance of $1.70, a 26 percent year-over-year increase compared to 2015 annual guidance. TerraForm Power is also updating its long-term DPS growth target to a 20 percent CAGR from its current first quarter dividend, driven by the increased visibility and growth provided by this transaction. 
  • The acquired portfolio is comprised of seven contracted wind farms located in the United States and Canada. The assets have a weighted average remaining contract life of 19 years and an average counterparty credit rating of AA. Invenergy will retain a 9.9 percent stake in the U.S. assets and will provide certain operation and maintenance services for these power plants.
  • TerraForm expects to finance the direct acquisition of the 460 MW through a combination of cash on hand and new bond financing. TerraForm Power will also assume approximately $450 million in non-recourse project debt. These initial drop downs are expected to provide average CAFD of $71 million annually over the next 10 years.

4:43 pm GeoPark announces results of an independent audit of its exploration resources as of December 31, 2014 (GPRK) : GeoPark has interests in 31 blocks, covering over six million acres, in 12 proven hydrocarbon basins, in five Latin American countries. GeoPark's current production is approximately 19,500 BOEPD and oil and gas reserves (including Peru), as of December 31, 2014 certified by DeGolyer & MacNaughton, include proven (P1) reserves of 63 MMBOE, proven and probable (2P) reserves of 122 MMBOE, and proven, probable and possible reserves (3P) of 221 MMBOE. DeGolyer & MacNaughton has estimated the Net Present Value (NPV10) of GeoPark's 2P reserves to be $1.7 Billion (using a forward oil price curve beginning at $50 per barrel for 2015). Year End 2014 Exploration Resource Audit Highlights

  • 768 to 1,465 MMBOE of total exploration resources (including 220 to 597 MMBOE in unconventional oil resources)
  • Total exploration resources are contained in 148 opportunities (112 prospects, 30 leads, 4 plays and 2 unconventional projects) on 31 evaluated blocks in five countries
  • Total exploration resources (best case) include 634 MMbbl of oil (94%) and 251 BCF (42 MMBOE) of natural gas (6%)
  • 38% or 257 MMBOE of the total conventional exploration resources (best case) are in prospects and 35% or 238 MMBOE are in leads and plays. Unconventional resources represent 27% or 181 MMBOE of the Company's total exploration resources

4:36 pm DHX Media commences a marketed, underwritten public offering of 8.7 mln variable voting shares and common voting shares (DHXM) : DHX intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay borrowings under its term credit facility and for general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions.

4:34 pm Phoenix Cos executes the previously disclosed intercompany reinsurance treaty between two of its subsidiaries after receiving regulatory approval (PNX) : Under the reinsurance treaty, PLIC will retrocede to PHL Variable on a modified coinsurance basis, policy liabilities of a block of corporate-owned life insurance policies. Phoenix confirmed that it expects the treaty to favorably impact statutory surplus and risk-based capital ratios for both subsidiaries and said it will provide more details on the impact with second quarter 2015 financial results. As of result of discussions with its regulators related to this treaty, Phoenix expects to de-stack its insurance company subsidiaries. Management believes de-stacking will create a more streamlined regulatory structure. The de-stacking is subject to approval by both New York and Connecticut regulators.

4:31 pm Iron Mountain announces refinancing of its existing revolving credit facility of $1.5 bln and its existing $250 mln term loan with a syndicate of 25 banks (IRM) : Co announces that it has closed the refinancing of its existing revolving credit facility of $1.5 billion and its existing $250 million term loan with a syndicate of 25 banks. Additionally, an accordion feature allows the company to request an increase in the aggregate amount available to be borrowed under the refinanced revolving credit facility or term loan by up to $500 million, for a total of $2.25 billion of availability, subject to certain conditions and additional lender commitments. Proceeds are expected to be used to repay amounts outstanding under the company's existing revolving credit facility and term loan and for general corporate purposes. Funds may be drawn in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, British pounds sterling, and Euros, among other currencies.

4:30 pm Retrophin closes sale of priority review voucher, prepays $45 mln credit facility due 2018 (RTRX) : Co announces the closing of the agreement to sell its Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher to Sanofi (SNY). Under the terms of the agreement, RTRX has received a payment of $150 mln, and will receive two additional payments of $47.5 mln in 2016 and 2017.

  • RTRX also announced the prepayment of its $45 mln credit facility due 2018, issued on June 30, 2014. Co made a $47.3 mln payment in full for all principal, accrued interest, and prepayment premium, as required by the terms of the credit agreement.

4:26 pm Thoratec announces the first ever HeartMate 3 implant performed via mini-thoracotomy (THOR) : This implant begins a European study to evaluate outcomes and complications using less invasive surgical placement through hemi-sternotomy and left thoracotomy techniques. The study will include ten cases performed at three European centers following one initial case to build experience at each center, and will measure the outcomes specified in the HeartMate 3 CE Mark trial after 30 days of follow-up.

4:23 pm Bipharmaceutical company Chiasma (Nasdaq: CHMA) sets terms for its anticipated IPO; Initially planning to offer 5.36 mln shares between $13.00-$15.00 for estimated net proceeds of ~$67.3 mln (:IPOXX) : At the midpoint, the company would command a market cap of ~$307.5 mln

4:22 pm Advanced Micro (halted, will resume at 16:35) lowers Q2 guidance, citing to weaker than expected consumer PC deamnd (AMD) : Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Jun), lowers Q2 (Jun) revs to -8% QoQ to ~$947.6 mln (from -6% to flat) vs. $999.59 mln Capital IQ Consensus.

  • The sequential decrease is primarily due to weaker than expected consumer PC demand impacting the company's Original Equipment Manufacturer (:OEM) APU sales. The company expects second quarter channel sales and channel inventory reduction efforts to be in-line with the company's plans. 
  • The co anticipates non-GAAP gross margin to be ~28%, compared to the previous non-GAAP guidance of ~32% primarily due to a higher mix of Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment sales and lower than anticipated Computing and Graphics segment APU unit volumes due to weaker than expected OEM PC product demand. 
  • AMD will report second quarter 2015 results after market close on Thursday, July 16, 2015.

4:16 pm Advanced Micro lowers Q2 rev to -8% QoQ from -6% to flat QoQ (AMD) :  

4:15 pm Advanced Micro (halted) lowers Q2 rev guidance (AMD) :  

4:14 pm Closing Market Summary: Stocks Retreat After Greece Votes 'No' (:WRAPX) : Monday was a busy day for equities across the globe, beginning with an overnight slide in the futures market after the Greek referendum produced 61.3% 'no' votes, rejecting the bailout terms previously proposed by eurozone creditors. The results of the referendum allowed Greece's Syriza party to stay in power, but Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis stepped down with Oxford-educated Euclid Tsakalotos assuming Mr. Varoufakis' place.

With the referendum in the rear-view mirror, the focus now shifts to July 20, when Greece will have to make a EUR3.50 billion payment to the European Central Bank. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank adjusted haircuts on Greek collateral for Emergency Liquidity Assistance, but the details were not revealed in the press release. The continued uncertainty about Greece's future in the eurozone pressured European markets with Germany's DAX and Italy's MIB losing 1.5% and 4.0%, respectively.

Domestically, the S&P 500 (-0.4%) began the session just above its 200-day moving average (2,055), but an aggressive bid lifted the index back to its flat line about an hour after the opening bell. However, that rebound was short-lived, fading into the afternoon.

Nine of ten sectors ended the day in negative territory with the energy sector (-1.3%) spending the day behind other cyclical groups. The growth-sensitive group finished among the laggards while crude oil plunged into the pit close, settling lower by 7.8% at $52.48/bbl.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, financials (-0.4%) and technology (-0.4%) spent the day in negative territory, which kept the market under pressure. High-beta chipmakers contributed to the losses in technology with the PHLX Semiconductor Index falling 1.6% as 28 of its 30 components registered losses while Altera (ALTR 51.40, +0.06) eked out a slight gain while Qualcomm (QCOM 63.11, 0.00) ended flat.

Things looked a bit better on the countercyclical side with consumer staples (-0.1%) and utilities (+0.4%) ending ahead of the broader market while the telecom services sector (-1.1%) struggled. For its part, health care (unch) finished ahead of the broader market after biotechnology displayed some intraday strength. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 372.36, +2.01) advanced 0.5% after being up 1.5%.

Today's session was relatively quiet on the corporate front, but Humana (HUM 188.96, +1.46) rose 0.8% after agreeing to be acquired by Aetna (AET 117.43, -8.08) as part of a transaction valued at $230/share.

Treasuries held gains throughout the day, settling not far below their overnight highs with the 10-yr yield down nine basis points at 2.29%.

Monday's trading volume surpassed recent averages with more than 910 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Although today's main focus was on Greece, it is also worth noting that China's Shanghai Composite gained 2.4%, but that was after the index opened with an 8.0% advance in reaction to news that the People's Bank of China extended a lifeline to equity brokers through China Finance Securities in an attempt to stem the recent slide.

Economic data was limited to the June ISM Services Index, which increased to 56.0 in June from 55.7 in May while the Briefing.com consensus expected the index an increase to 56.3. Business activities accelerated as the related index increased to 61.5 in June from 59.5 in May.

Tomorrow, May Trade Balance (Briefing.com consensus -$42.00 billion) will be released at 8:30 ET while the May Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey will cross the wires at 10:00 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the 15:00 ET release of the Consumer Credit report for May (consensus $17.60 billion).

  • Nasdaq Composite +5.1% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 +3.4% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +0.5% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.8% YTD

4:14 pm Legacy Reserves announces $440 mln acquisition of upstream and gathering and processing assets in East Texas (shares halted) (LGCY) : Co announced it has entered into separate agreements with affiliates of Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and Western Gas Partners, LP (WES) to purchase natural gas properties and gathering and processing assets in East Texas for a combined $440 million.

  • Closings of these transactions are expected to occur in the third quarter, and the purchase prices remain subject to customary adjustments.
  • Legacy anticipates funding these transactions with borrowings under its revolver. 
  • Highlights of this acquisition are as follows: 
    • Estimated proved reserves of approximately 420 Bcfe of which 100% are natural gas, 95% are classified as proved developed producing, and 95% are operated
    • Estimated Q3 2015 production of approximately 70 Mmcfe/d, yielding a proved reserves-to-production ratio of 16.4 years

4:12 pm Legacy Reserves and Funds Managed by TPG special situations partners sign definitive agreements to jointly develop Legacy's Permian Basin acreage (shares halted) (LGCY) : Co announces it has entered into an agreement with funds managed by TPG Special Situations Partners to fund horizontal development of certain of Legacy's Spraberry, Wolfcamp and Bone Spring rights in the Permian Basin. The primary acreage covered by the arrangement is ~6,000 net acres on which Legacy estimates there are over 150 horizontal locations requiring over $700 mln of capital deployment net to the Legacy and TSSP interests.

  • Under the terms of the agreement, LGCY will convey to TSSP an undivided 87.5% of Legacy's working interest in the covered oil and gas properties subject to re-assignment, reversion and other adjustments. LGCY and TSSP will establish tranches of proposed horizontal locations, with TSSP funding 95% of LGCY's drilling and completion costs and receiving 87.5% of certain of Legacy's interests in any wells in such tranche until it achieves a 1.0x return on investment. 
  • LGCY will fund 5% of the drilling and completion costs and retain 12.5% of certain of its interests prior to the ROI Hurdle. Upon achievement of the ROI Hurdle, TSSP will revert to 63% of Legacy's initial interest while Legacy will revert to 37% until TSSP achieves a 15% internal rate of return. Upon achievement of the IRR Hurdle, TSSP will revert to 15% of Legacy's initial interest while Legacy will revert to 85%, and all the remaining undeveloped interests will revert to Legacy but remain available for future development under the agreed structure. 
  • TSSP has initially committed $150 mln to fund the first tranche which, based on Legacy's anticipated two to three rig drilling program, will take ~1 year. Additionally, TSSP has the right to participate in any future identified horizontal development opportunities in the Delaware and Midland Basins under the same economic terms.

4:11 pm Bojangles' signs new multi-unit development agreement intended to bring multiple additional restaurants to markets in West Virginia and Kentucky, starting as early as 2015 (BOJA) : As of March 29, 2015 the chain has 635 restaurants primarily in the Southeast, with 377 of those franchised. The brand intends to open between 50 to 57 new restaurant locations system-wide in 2015.

4:08 pm StoneMor Partners L.P announces a public offering of 2.1 mln common units (STON) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to pay down outstanding indebtedness under its revolving credit facility.

4:06 pm NuVasive elects Daniel J. Wolterman to its Board of Directors (NUVA) : Co announced that Daniel J. Wolterman has been elected to the Company's Board of Directors. It is expected that Mr. Wolterman will also serve on the Board's Compensation Committee. Mr. Wolterman has been President and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System since 2002.

4:06 pm Freshpet announces the promotion of Chief Marketing Officer Scott Morris to Chief Operating Officer (FRPT) : Co announces the promotion of Scott Morris from Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Morris will now be responsible for sales and marketing, innovation, and Freshpet Fridge operations.

4:06 pm Huron Consulting acquired Rittman Mead India on July 1, 2015; terms not disclosed (HURN) :

  • Co announced that on July 1, 2015, the Company acquired the India affiliate (Rittman Mead India) of Rittman Mead Consulting Ltd., a data and analytics consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of enterprise performance management (EPM) and analytics systems.

4:05 pm MSC Industrial Supply names Rustom Jilla CFO, effective July 20 (MSM) : Jillamost recently served as CFO for Dematic Group. Jilla succeeds Jeff Kaczka, who will be retiring from MSC as previously announced following a short transition period.

4:02 pm EnteroMedics announces termination of previously announced offering of 40.2 mln units at $0.87/unit; co also announces new public offering of common stock and warrants (ETRM) :

  • Co announced termination of the underwriting agreement and cancellation of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 40,229,886 units at a price to the public of $0.87 per unit. 
    • Canaccord Genuity was acting as sole book-running manager and Craig-Hallum Capital Group was acting as co-manager for the offering. 
  • Co has commenced an underwritten public offering of units. Each unit will consist of a share of common stock and Series A warrants to purchase common stock. 
    • Canaccord Genuity is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering. 
    • EnteroMedics intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to continue its commercialization efforts, for clinical and product development activities and for other working capital and general corporate purposes.

4:02 pm Cardtronics acquires Columbus Data Services for ~$80 mln; acquisition will be slightly accretive to 2015 earnings and more accretive to 2016 earnings (CATM) : Co completed its acquisition of Columbus Data Services, LLC on July 1.

  • The aggregate purchase price is approximately $80 million, subject to customary closing adjustments; Cardtronics funded the acquisition with borrowings under its credit facility. 
  • The acquisition will be slightly accretive to 2015 earnings and more accretive to 2016 earnings.
  • Cardtronics will provide updated fiscal 2015 financial guidance in conjunction with its upcoming second quarter earnings announcement.

4:01 pm Meadowbrook Ins announces Missouri Department of Insurance approval relating to Fosun International Ltd.'s acquisition of the company (MIG) : Co announces that on July 6, 2015, Fosun International Limited has received the required approval from the Missouri Department of Insurance regarding the acquisition of control of Meadowbrook's insurance company subsidiary, Savers Property and Casualty Insurance Company, domiciled in the state of Missouri. Meadowbrook intends to complete the acquisition as promptly as possible.

4:01 pm TearLab appoints Wes Brazell CFO (TEAR) : Brazell succeeds William Dumencu, who will continue to support the Co in a consulting role until the end of 2015.

4:01 pm Capnia to buy out CoSense royalty rights originally held by BioMedical Drug Development (CAPN) : Co announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to buy out CoSense royalty rights originally held by BioMedical Drug Development. Under terms of the agreement, all royalties on future sales of CoSense, and related payments, due to BDDI or its affiliates under the Capnia Purchase Agreement are eliminated, providing Capnia with 100% of the financial interest in the product. The original Asset Purchase Agreement for the technology signed by BDDI in 2010 required total cash payments of $350,000 and tiered royalties on sales of CoSense. In exchange for elimination of future cash payments of $200,000 and the tiered royalties, Capnia has agreed to make payments of a total of $450,000 over an eighteen month period and has issued 40,000 shares of Capnia Common stock.

4:01 pm Ramco-Gershenson announces the planned acquisition of its partners' ownership interests in seven high quality shopping centers totaling $185.9 mln, including the assumption of its partner's pro rata share of debt of $48.1 mln (RPT) : Co announces the planned acquisition of its partners' ownership interests in seven high quality shopping centers totaling $185.9 million, including the assumption of its partner's pro rata share of debt of $48.1 million. The closing on six of the properties is expected to occur on or before July 15, 2015 with the 7th before August 31, 2015. The net incremental operating income of $12.5 million equates to a 6.7% capitalization rate. In addition, the Company plans to sell to its partner its 20% interest in The Plaza at Delray.

4:00 pm TeleComm Sys announces its Board of Directors has established a Special Committee to explore strategic alternatives to enhance stockholder value (TSYS) : The Special Committee has retained independent legal advisors and has engaged Lazard as its financial advisor. No timetable has been set for TCS's evaluation of strategic alternatives.

4:00 pm Ignyta announces collaboration with University of California San Francisco for clinical trial of Entrectinib; RXDX will contribute $1 mln toward the funding of the clinical trial (RXDX) :

  • Co announces a clinical collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, under which UCSF will study entrectinib in a proof-of-concept clinical trial in cancer patients with metastatic melanoma that is positive for activating alterations to NTRK1/2/3 or ROS1. 
  • Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Ignyta will contribute $1 mln toward the funding of the clinical trial, as well as per-patient fees based on enrollment of NTRK-positive or ROS1-positive patients and their participation in the trial.

3:46 pm Treasury Market Summary (BONDX) : Treasuries Trade up Towards Close

  • The U.S. Treasury complex gapped higher on Sunday night after Greece voters rejected the latest proposal from their government's official creditors. The initial panic faded quickly and governments sold off into mid-morning but found renewed buying interest and ended the session significantly higher in a curve-flattening trade
  • Yield Check:
    • 2-yr: -4 bps to 0.59%
    • 5-yr: -7 bps to 1.56%
    • 10-yr: -9 bps to 2.29%
    • 30-yr: -10 bps to 3.09%
  • News:
    • The ISM Non-manufacturing Index increased to 56.0 in June from 55.7 in May. The Briefing.com consensus was for 56.3 
      • Business activities accelerated as the related index increased to 61.5 in June from 59.5 in May
      • The orders data were strong, which should help keep production growth moving in a positive direction. The New Orders Index rose to 58.3 in June from 57.9 in May. The Backlog of Orders Index exited a contraction and increased to 50.5 from 48.5 in May
      • The Employment Index fell to 52.7 in June from 55.3 in May
    • The ECB will continue the ELA (Emergency Liquidity Assistance) for Greek banks but will alter the haircuts on collateral
    • Greece's finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, resigned his position after the results were released, saying that Prime Minister Tsipras had judged his departure "to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement"
    • The Greek government will present a new proposal to the Eurogroup on Tuesday
      • Three opposition parties have declared their support for Greece's current government in its negotiations with creditors
  • Commodities:
    • WTI crude: -7.40% to $52.72/bbl.
    • Gold: +0.34% to $1,167.40/troy oz.
    • Copper: -3.93% to $2.5275/lb.
  • Currencies:
    • EUR/USD: -0.56% to $1.1053
    • USD/JPY: -0.35% to 122.45
  • Data out Tuesday:
    • May Trade Balance (08:30 ET)
    • May JOLTS -- Job Openings (10:00 ET)
    • May Consumer Credit (15:00 ET)
  • Treasury Auction:
    • $24 bln 3-year note auction (results at 13:00 ET)

3:45 pm Cybersecurity firm Rapid7 (Nasdaq: RPD) sets terms for its anticipated IPO; Initially planning to offer 6.45 mln shares between $13.00-$15.00 for estimated net proceeds of ~$81.1 mln (:IPOXX) : At the midpoint, the company would command a market cap of ~$533 mln

3:35 pm Atwood Oceanics's subsidiary reaches agreement for a six-month extension of its existing contract with Eni S.p.A. (E) for the the Atwood Beacon rig (ATW) : The Atwood Beacon commenced its initial two-year drilling services contract with Eni on December 24, 2013, for operations offshore Italy. The agreement revises the day rate to 117,155, inclusive of equipment upgrade costs, from 135,100 beginning March 1, 2015 and extends the Atwood Beacon's firm commitment from December 24, 2015 through June 2016.

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

  • SHLM
Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report:
  • MSM

2:55 pm Currency Market Summary (:FOREX) : Dollar Edges Higher

  • The U.S. Dollar Index added 0.16% to 96.27 as crude prices fell and financial assets sought direction after Greek voters elected not to agree to the latest proposal from Greece's official creditors
    • The ISM Services Index rose to 56.0 in June, short of the Briefing.com consensus for 56.3, but ahead of May's reading of 55.7
  • EUR/USD: -0.63% to $1.1044
    • Greece voted no in its July 5th referendum on the creditors' latest proposal
    • German Factory Orders fell less than expected in May, declining 0.2% m/m versus a 2.2% rise in April
  • GBP/USD: +0.21% to $1.5604
  • USD/JPY: -0.40% to 122.39
    • Japan's Leading Index fell 0.2% m/m in May after a 1.2% gain in April
  • USD/CHF: +0.28% to 0.9428
    • The Swiss CPI rose 0.1% m/m in June versus a 0.2% jump in May. Market consensus had been for a decline
  • USD/CAD: +0.68% to 1.2658
    • The loonie fell sharply on a 7.68% decline in WTI crude
  • AUD/USD: -0.29% to $0.7496
    • Iron ore fell 5.20% to $51.21/metric ton
  • NZD/USD: -0.06% to $0.6688

2:54 pm Energy closing prices; WTI crude oil, heating oil and RBOB futures all collapse following Greece/China concerns (:COMDX) :

  • August crude oil futures fell -$4.45 (or -7.8%) to $52.48/barrel
  • August natural gas closed $0.06 lower at $2.76/MMBtu
  • RBOB Gasoline closed -5.4% at $1.92/gallon
  • Heating oil futures closed -7.1% $1.71/gallon

2:51 pm Major averages attempting to lift after holding above opening lows -- Dow -96, S&P -14, Nasdaq Comp -37 (:TECHX) : Relative sector strength in recent trade has been noted in Bank KBE, Reg Bank KRE, Finance XLF, Staples XLP, Utility XLU, Medical Supplies.

2:30 pm Index Changes Reminder: Chart Industries (GTLS) will replace iGATE (IGTE) in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading (:INDXCH) :  

2:29 pm Major averages slip to fresh afternoon lows -- Dow -113, S&P -16, Nasdaq Comp -41 (:TECHX) : Relative weakness continues in Crude Oil USO, Energy XLE, Oil Service OIH along with Semi SMH.

2:01 pm RADA Electronic Industries announces purchase by European defense contractor of a Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar (RADA) : This contractor is the second major European defense contractor that purchased RADA's MHR. The radar, which will be embedded in a test system by the contractor, will be delivered before the end of 2015.

1:57 pm Metals closing prices (:COMDX) :

  • August gold ended today's session $9.80 higher at $1173.20/oz
  • September silver closed $0.21 higher at $15.77/oz
  • September copper closed $0.09 lower at $2.54/lb

1:39 pm PDI Inc's Interpace Diagnostics subsidiary announces that effective June 2015, its ThyGenX genetic mutation panel has been approved by Aetna (AET) for assessing fine needle aspiration samples from indeterminate thyroid nodules (PDII) : Aetna covers 46 million lives and its positive coverage decision brings the total number of lives covered for ThyGenX to more than 100 million. Approximately 15-30% of the 525,000 thyroid FNA's performed on an annual basis are indeterminate based on standard cytological evaluation, and thus are candidates for ThyGenX.

1:19 pm Stock indices extend slide off mid-morning bounce highs -- Dow -75, S&P -10, Nasdaq Comp -26 (:TECHX) :  

1:14 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

  • UAL (53.34 +3.57%): Upgraded to Buy from Fair Value at CRT Capital.
  • HUM (191.39 +2.07%): To be acquired by Aetna (AET) for $37 bln, or ~$230/share in cash/stock based on Aetna's July 2 closing price.
  • EW (145.61 +2.22%): Upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
Large Cap Losers
  • CLR (37.56 -6.09%): Weakness in oil & gas names with WTI crude oil futures down 6% to $53.50/bbl (SSL, E, EC also lower).
  • RBS (10.79 -5.1%): Greece referendum vote weighs on European financial names (DB, ING, UBS, ITUB also lower).
  • BG (86.42 -3.46%): Downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital.
Mid Cap Gainers
  • AXLL (35.71 +4.72%): Announced its President and CEO Paul Carrico has retired effective immediately. Co has commenced a search for a new CEO
  • MDCO (32.36 +3.45%): Upgraded to Buy at Mizuho; tgt raised to $41 from $28.
  • BGCP (8.87 +3.02%): Upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James.
Mid Cap Losers
  • SFUN (7.26 -12.74%): Widespread weakness in Chinese ADS's amid continued volatility in Asian exchanges, Chinese policy announcements (WB, SOHU, YOKU, SINA, JMEI, YY, SMI among many lower).
  • CNC (71.53 -3.91%): Downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays.
  • N (88.95 -2.96%): Downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

1:00 pm TEGNA enters into a $1.32 bln revolving credit facility, maturing in June, 2020, and a new five-year $200 mln term loan (TGNA) :  

12:58 pm Midday Market Summary: Cyclical Sectors Lag (:WRAPX) : The major averages hold modest midday losses after climbing off their opening lows. The S&P 500 remains lower by 0.3% after being down 0.9% at the start of the session.

The early weakness came about after the weekend referendum in Greece resulted in a 'no' vote as more than 61.0% of voters rejected the bailout conditions that were previously offered by eurozone creditors. The result allows Greece's Syriza party to remain in power, but Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has resigned from his position in hopes of introducing a fresh voice into the negotiations. That fresh voice will belong to Oxford-educated Euclid Tsakalotos, who is expected to be sworn in today.

However, the negotiations are unlikely to get much easier with the spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying conditions are "not there at present to enter negotiations on a new programme." In the meantime, it was reported that Greek banks will remain closed through Wednesday.

European equities sold off today as the near-term future of the Eurozone remains in question. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks began the day with noteworthy losses, but dip-buyers have been active with the S&P 500 marking a session low roughly three points above its 200-day moving average.

Nine sectors remain in negative territory at this time with heavily-weighted technology (-0.4%) and financials (-0.5%) keeping the market under pressure. Macroeconomic uncertainty has kept a lid on the financial sector while high-beta chipmakers have contributed to the underperformance in technology. To that point, the PHLX Semiconductor Index is lower by 1.0%. That being said, large cap tech names have also retreated with Apple (AAPL 125.71, -0.73) and Microsoft (MSFT 44.24, -0.16) down 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Also of note, the energy sector (-0.8%) was down as much as 1.5% at the start, but the group has narrowed its loss even though crude oil has recently hit a fresh session low, trading lower by 3.4% at $53.61/bbl.

On the upside, the health care sector (+0.1%) hovers just above its flat line thanks to relative strength in biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 371.64, +1.29) has climbed 0.4%. Elsewhere in the sector, Humana (HUM 192.11, +4.61) has jumped 2.5% after agreeing to be acquired by Aetna (AET 117.41, -8.10) as part of a transaction valued at $230/share.

Treasuries have retreated from their highs, but they continue holding gains with the 10-yr yield down six basis points at 2.32%.

Today's economic data was limited to the June ISM Services Index, which increased to 56.0 in June from 55.7 in May while the Briefing.com consensus expected the index an increase to 56.3. Business activities accelerated as the related index increased to 61.5 in June from 59.5 in May.

12:41 pm Dollar Tree completes acquisition of Family Dollar (FDO) (DLTR) : Under the terms of the merger agreement first announced and unanimously approved by each company's Board of Directors in July 2014, Family Dollar shareholders are entitled to receive $59.60 in cash and 0.2484 of a share of Dollar Tree common stock for each share of Family Dollar common stock. Gary Philbin, age 58, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Family Dollar, effective immediately. Additionally, the Company announced that Howard R. Levine, Chief Executive Officer of Family Dollar, has been appointed to Dollar Tree's board of directors, effective immediately.

12:36 pm Mesa Laboratories, Inc. acquires Infitrak for up to ~$21.6 mln; expected to be accretive within first 12 months (MLAB) : Under the terms of the transaction, the co acquired all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Infitrak, whose business involves providing consulting, packaging and measuring solutions for cold chain applications. The acquisition price for Infitrak consisted of cash consideration of $12,000,000 CDN (approximately $9,600,000 USD) which is subject to a minor working capital adjustment, and a future contingent payment of up to $15,000,000 CDN (approximately $12,000,000 USD), based on the growth of Infitrak's cold chain business during the first two years following the acquisition.

  • The acquisition of Infitrak is expected to add approximately $5,500,000 to Mesa's revenues and to be accretive to diluted net income per share during the first twelve months.

12:32 pm TD Ameritrade releases Investor Movement Index for June: registers second largest month-to-month gain since December 2012 (AMTD) : The June 2015 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks ending June 26, 2015, reveals:

  • Reading: 5.32 (vs to 4.91 in May) 
  • Trend direction: Positive 
  • Trend length: 2 months 
  • Score relative to historic ranges: Moderately High 
  • Equity market exposure in TD Ameritrade client accounts rose month-over-month as the IMX increased to 5.32 in June. 
TD Ameritrade clients were net buyers of equities for a second month in a row, which helped the IMX register its second largest month-to-month increase since tracking began in December 2012. Similar to the activity in May, increases in volatility for some of the most widely held names and relatively low volatility in the S&P 500 helped to boost the IMX reading.

12:22 pm PartnerRe: Exor (EXOSF) sends letter to PartnerRe Employees encouraging those who are shareholders to vote the Gold proxy card against the Axis Capital (AXS) amalgamation agreement (PRE) :  

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

  • UK's FTSE:-0.8%
  • Germany's DAX:-1.5%
  • France's CAC:-2.0%
  • Spain's IBEX:-2.3%
  • Portugal's PSI:-3.8%
  • Italy's MIB Index:-4.0%
  • Irish Ovrl Index:-1.3%
  • Greece ASE General Index: CLOSED

11:37 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (317) outpacing new highs (50) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAC, ABCW, AFMD, ALDW, ALJ, ALRM, AMCX, ANAC, ASBB, BOFI, CATB, CFMS, CMRX, CNTY, COLB, CSTE, CTRV, DIS, DY, ESNT, GIII, GIL, GTT, HRTG, JAKK, LJPC, MIDD, MIG, MKL, MPC, MTD, NAT, NBHC, NBIX, NJ, NMR, NVEE, OMG, PRGS, RDUS, SFBS, SP, SPB, STRN, THG, TPX, USPH, VGR, VLO, WRB

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AA, ABAC, ACAS, ACTG, ACTX, ACV, AEGR, AHC, AHGP, AIQ, AIT, AKS, ALLT, AMBC, AMBR, AMID, AMKR, ANDE, APIC, AR, ARP, ASTI, ATL, ATW, AUDC, AUY, AVH, AVP, AXE, BBEP, BBG, BCEI, BCX, BEN, BGR, BHP, BIOS, BLIN, BLJ, BLT, BOXC, BSI, BXLT, CAMT, CAPX, CAR, CBD, CBT, CENX, CGG, CH, CHK, CIDM, CLD, CLDN, CLF, CNAT, CNW, COP, CPA, CPN, CREE, CRK, CSAL, CSG, CSTM, CTCM, CTL, CTRL, CVE, CVR, CVX, CYAD, CZZ, DD, DEX, DHRM, DNN, DNR, DO, DPG, DTLK, EC, ECR, EDD, EGY, EMES, ENLK, ENPH, ERIC, ETSY, EXXI, FAM, FBP, FDML, FELE, FELP, FGB, FHCO, FIF, FMC, FSC, FSFR, FSTR, FTEK, FTR, FUEL, GCH, GCI, GDP, GEF, GER, GGB, GLF, GLRE, GMCR, GNL, GOL, GPT, GRMN, GROW, GRPN, GULTU, GWR, HART, HCLP, HEB, HERO, HK, HKTV, HLX, HMY, HOV, HPJ, HTGC, HTLD, HTZ, HWAY, HZN, IAF, IDE, IEP, IF, IFAS, IGD, IGT, IHD, IIIN, INF, INVE, IRR, ISIG, ITRI, JASN, JOY, KATE, KEM, KLIC, KNDI, KODK, KRO, KYE, LC, LECO, LFL, LGCY, LMIA, LMRK, LOR, LPL, LPTN, MDU, MEI, MEP, MGRC, MHG, MIND, MNTX, MOBL, MOD, MOLG, MSI, MSM, MT, MTR, MUR, MYJ, NATH, NAV, NBL, NFJ, NJV, NOA, NOV, NPO, NRF, NRP, NRT, NSPH, OFG, OHRP, OI, OII, OIS, OKE, OKS, ORIG, OTEX, OUT, PDLI, PDVW, PGH, PGN, PHG, PICO, PJC, PKE, PLG, PLTM, PLUG, PNF, PPT, PSCE, PSUN, PVA, QEP, QRHC, QUAD, RBCN, RCPI, RDS.A, RDS.B, RGDX, RGSE, RIO, RMT, RNN, RSO, RTK, RXN, SD, SDLP, SDPI, SE, SFY, SGI, SGY, SHG, SID, SKM, SLH, SMM, SMRT, SNDK, SONS, SPEX, SRSC, SRV, STX, SVLC, SWC, SWN, SXC, SXCP, SYNL, SZC, TAC, TAL, TBPH, TC, TCK, TDC, TDOC, TEO, TGB, TGP, THM, THW, TIVO, TKR, TROX, TRP, TRUE, TS, TSI, TTF, TTM, TTP, TYC, UNIS, UNXL, UPL, USEG, VCO, VECO, VEDL, VJET, VMEM, VRS, VSH, WAVX, WDAY, WG, WHLR, WHZ, WIN, WLB, WLT, WRES, WRLD, WTS, X, XONE, XRX, YLCO, YZC, ZINC

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: AFK, DBB, ECH, EGPT, EWA, EWC, FXA, JO, KOL, PPLT, REMX, SLX, THD, URA, XME

11:37 am S&P -6 trims the morning rebound in half at 2068 and stabilizes (:TECHX) : The Nasdaq Comp -16 also cut the recovery in half at 4990 while the Dow -50 pulled back near the 38% retracement.

11:33 am Boeing announces deliveries across its commercial and defense operations for the second quarter of 2015 (BA) : In its commercial airplane program, deliveries reached 197 in Q2, and are now at 381 YTD

11:17 am Hill International awarded an ~$8 mln, six year contract from the Maryland Aviation Administration (HIL) : The co announced that it has received an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract from the Maryland Aviation Administration to provide construction management and inspection services on various projects at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Martin State Airport. The six-year contract has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $8.0 million.

11:08 am Stratasys announces that it has expanded to offer the MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer in all 600+ Sam's Club locations nationwide (SSYS) :  

11:07 am CBOE Holdings to list futures with weekly expirations on the CBOE Volatility Index beginning Thursday, July 23 (CBOE) :  

11:06 am Synalloy announces its BRISMET unit is adding a heavy wall welded pipe production shop in Bristol, TN (SYNL) : The heavy wall shop will feature a 4,000 ton press. The press will be supported with an edge preparation station, TIG and submerged arc welding lines, annealing, x-ray, pickling and passivation. This expanded capability will allow BRISMET to manufacture pipe in wall thicknesses greater than 2 inches. The co expects the equipment to arrive in Bristol in early October and to be operational by the end of this year. A new 20-foot plate roll will also be added for thinner gauge material.

11:05 am Chinese ADSs under heavy pressure to start the week amid volatility in Shanghai, China's plan to suspend new IPOs to stabilize stock market (FXI) : Nearly every U.S. listed Chinese company is under heavy pressure this morning following news this weekend that China, among other actions, will temporarily ban the listing of new IPOs in an effort to maintain liquidity for its existing listings.

The Shanghai Composite has lost ~25% of its value in the last month amid bubble fears following a near parabolic run-up over the last 12 months. Prior to the recent weakness, Chinese ADS's had been on fire amid rampant going-private offers in the space, based on management's belief they could buy their company through their U.S. ADS listings and re-list it in their local Chinese market at a substantial premium valuation.

Today's weakness may in part be related to the removal of that going-private catalyst, given China's moves over the weekend. In each case, the going private offers have been non-binding offers, meaning that despite their intention to buy all the shares they don't already own, they have no legal or financial accountability to follow through with their public buyout offer.

  • Some recent Chinese ADS's who have publicly announced receipt of going private offers: NPD -8.18% BONA -6.78% AMCN -6.65% EJ -6.58% CNIT -6.06% VNET -5.95% QIHU -5.72% MOMO -5.28% CO -4.85% DATE -4.47% JASO -4.39% XUE -4.10% KZ -3.85% WX -3.63% HMIN -3.61% MR -3.09% RENN -2.89% CMGE -2.70% PWRD -2.27% VIMC -2.11% GOMO -1.91% TAOM -1.85% DSKY -1.80% GAME -0.3%
  • Additional one's which may have been speculated to receive such an offer: FENG -12.98% YOKU -12.36% CYOU -11.81% WB -11.46% WBAI -11.51% XNET -9.86% STV -9.55% MOBI -9.20% SFUN -9.38% SOHU -9.00% KANG -8.91% SINA -8.64% JMEI -8.26% NPD -8.18% LEJU -7.27% YY -6.89% DANG -6.56% TOUR -6.16% NQ -6.33% DL -6.13% KUTV -5.94% NTES -5.73% CCIH -5.88% BITA -4.68% CMCM -5.16% BZUN -4.50% LITB -3.18% LONG -4.04% JRJC -3.83% EDU -3.78% TEDU -3.69% XRS -3.80% JD -2.96% JOBS -2.57% GSOL -2.38% QUNR -2.12% WUBA -0.54% CTRP +0.00% VIPS +0.10% 
  • Direxion's China A-Share inverse ETF CHAD, which launched in mid-June, is up 22.5% in just over two weeks.

11:01 am Currency Commentary: Euro Tries to Regain Early Losses (:SUMRX) :

  • The Dollar Index was resting on the 96 level as markets awaited the results from the highly anticipated Greek referendum vote over the weekend. A resounding 'No' led to buying in the greenback as the DXY rallied to 96.69. However it was unable to stretch higher and is now giving up some of its early gains. A test of the 96 level for support looks imminent. One headwind for the dollar is the weaker than expected jobs report that was released on Thursday morning. Between the economic data and International issues (Greece and China) investors are seeing a tweak lower in terms of expectations for rate increases in 2015.
  • The euro tumbled 130 pips in reaction to the Greece news. The country saw 61% of the population vote 'No' in a referendum that was dubbed by its government as a vote on austerity. However, EU officials had couched the vote by Greeks to stay in the euro. The two sides will resume negotiations but many see the vote as a rise in the chance that Greece will leave the euro. 
  • The pound continues to hold the 1.55 level. It will be a busy week for sterling as the Bank of England will release its policy minutes on Wednesday. The central bank will also reconvene on Thursday however it is not expected to make any changes to rates or asset purchase programs at this time. 
  • The yen was able to make a push to a fresh five week high at the opening of trade. This helped the currency push above the 50 sma resistance (122.13). Yen was able to push to 121.71 but has since moved back below its 50 sma as it trades at 122.69. The 50 sma will remain in play in the coming sessions (BONDX, FOREX).

10:58 am Wyndham Worldwide's Wyndham Vacation Rentals announced that it has acquired ResortQuest Whistler; financial terms not disclosed (WYN) :  

10:49 am Lagging Dow -3 back vacillating near flat line -- S&P +0.8, Nasdaq Comp +9 (:TECHX) :  

10:39 am Small-Cap Russell 2000 +1.7 reaches positive territory, Dow -45 pushes as much as 130 points off its low (:TECHX) :  

10:33 am Major averages further extend rebound in recent trade -- Dow -41, S&P -4.4, Nasdaq Comp -6.8 (:TECHX) :  

10:17 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : The recovery has been extended in recent trade with Housing / Home Const XHB/ITB helping pace the way (TOP, KBH, LL, OC, SPF, PHM, DHI, TOL, WHR, LEN) along with Biotech (NBIX, MDVN, CLVS, JUNO, CHRS, AMGN, SGEN, BMRN, BIIB, ABMD), Casino (LVS, WYNN, BJK, PENN), Retail XRT (WMT, HD, AEO, JCP).

10:12 am New bounce highs for major averages -- Dow -64, S&P -7.1, Nasdaq Comp -14 (:TECHX) :  

10:07 am Sandvik Mining unit awarded materials handling contract to South Africa; value of the contract exceeds SEK 600 mln (SDVKY) : The value of the contract exceeds SEK 600 mln and was booked in the second quarter of 2015. It will be executed and contribute to Sandvik Mining's business for the period of the years 2015 until 2017.

10:06 am Reg Bank KRE and Bank KBE gap down near 50 day and work off lows (:TECHX) : GS, JPM, MS.

10:04 am Garmin International unit confirmed favorable ruling over Navico in ITC patent infringement case (GRMN) : The ALJ's initial determination concluded that Garmin's DownVTM scanning sonar technology does not infringe upon any patented aspect of Navico's downscan technology. The ruling is subject to review by the ITC.

10:03 am Kraft Heinz (+4%) lifting in market debut after closing merger late last week (:KHC) :  

10:02 am Wi-LAN subsidiary enters into settlement and license agreement with Codman & Shurtleff and Cordis Corporation; resolves litigation, terms of the settlement and license agreement are confidential (WILN) :  

10:01 am Comtech Telecom receives $4.0 mln contract extension for the US Navy; second of four anticipated production year awards on the ATIP contract (CMTL) : SPAWAR has funded $24.9 mln of the $40.2 mln total potential contract value.

10:00 am Enzo Biochem reaches and finalizes settlement with Luminex (LMNX) involving payment of $7.1 mln to Enzo in an infringement action brought by Enzo regarding its patents (ENZ) : Today's settlement resolving the disputes between Enzo and Luminex impacts only one of 12 cases originally brought by Enzo in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware alleging patent infringements against various companies, the remainder of which are still pending.

9:51 am Stock indices extend push off opening lows -- S&P -9.5, Dow -93, Nasdaq Comp -22 (:TECHX) : The S&P held at 2058/2056 support noted in The Technical Take (session low 2058) and has recently been able to extend the rebound attempt (hit 2067). For the very short term resistances are at 2068 and 2071 with a sustained breach needed to improve the pattern off last week's bounce high.

9:45 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : Sectors displaying some relative strength vs. the S&P include: Retail XRT, Gold Miners GDX, Restaurant, Rail, Transports IYT, REITs IYR, Utility XLU.

9:40 am Opening Market Summary: Energy Sector Paces Opening Decline (:WRAPX) : As expected, the major averages began the trading day under pressure as investors respond to yesterday's 'no' vote in the Greek referendum on austerity.

The S&P 500 trades lower by 0.7% with nine of ten sectors trading in the red. The growth-sensitive energy sector (-1.5%) is the weakest performer in the early going as crude oil trades lower by 2.0% at $54.42/bbl. Elsewhere, the top-weighted technology sector trades in-line with the broader market while financials (-0.9%) lag.

Treasuries continue holding solid gains with the 10-yr yield down eight basis points at 2.30%.

The ISM Services Index for June (Briefing.com consensus 56.3) will be released at 10:00 ET.

9:37 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Broad based pressure off the open with the weakest performing sectors on a percentage basis led by: Copper JJC, Solar TAN, Crude Oil USO, Steel SLX, Coal KOL, Oil Service OIH, Social Media SOCL, Casino BJK, Cyber Security HACK, Mining XME, Energy XLE, Materials XLB, Semi XSD.

9:36 am Ferrellgas Partners acquires the assets of Propane Advantage; terms not disclosed (FGP) :  

9:34 am Firmly negative open with S&P -17 near unch for the year and last week's low at 2058/2056 -- session low 2058 (:TECHX) : Dow -151, Nasdaq Comp -45

9:33 am Sysorex Global announces a new IT infrastructure development engagement with a Fortune 500 health care services provider (SYRX) : Sysorex will develop and deploy a new advanced systems architecture that will provide high availability, security and compliance for proprietary health care systems currently under development by the client. The project is worth slightly more than $500,000.

9:31 am SuperCom's M2M division signs contract with a new European government to deploy a new Electronic Monitoring solution (SPCB) : SuperCom expects to deploy this system in the next two months and continue to operate it for the next five years.

9:30 am Priceline to make minority investment in Hotel Urbano; enters strategic partnership, commercial agreement (PCLN) : As part of the partnership, The Priceline Group will provide access to accommodations outside of Latin America from its global network of 680,000+ accommodations partners to Hotel Urbano. In addition, The Priceline Group has made a $60 million investment -- equivalent to approximately R$185 million on this date -- in exchange for a minority interest into Hotel Urbano.

9:20 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • The GEO Group (GEO) announced the activation of three company-owned facilities totaling 4,320 beds in Oklahoma, Michigan, and California. 
  • Western Copper and Gold (WRN) and the Tr'ondk Hwch'in announced that Western's wholly-owned subsidiary, Casino Mining Corp. and TH have entered into an initial Agreement for Co-Operation in Project Assessment and Other Matters relating to the Casino Project. A portion of the Casino property is situated within TH's Traditional Territory.
  • Diana Shipping (DSX) announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it entered into a time charter contract with Sandgate Maritime Ltd for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Coronis. The Company also announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has agreed to extend the present time charter contract with Bunge S.A., Geneva, for one of its Post-Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Amphitrite, for a period of about twenty-two (22) months to about twenty-five (25) months. 
  • The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems (BAESY) a contract worth $110.4 million to convert 36 M88A1 recovery vehicles to the M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift Evacuation Systems configuration.
  • NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has awarded Raytheon (RTN) a five year contract valued at up to $240 million to continue its support of the Earth Observing Systems Data and Information System
  • Vringo (VRNG) announced that the German Patents Court has issued a ruling on the validity of the German part of European Patent 1,212,919, owned by Vringo's wholly-owned subsidiary Vringo Infrastructure, Inc. The Court, following a hearing held on March 4, 2015, held that the '919 Patent claims that read on handover between radio network controllers, a key part of 3G infrastructure technology, were held valid as amended.
  • CA Technologies (CA) announced that it has achieved approval of its Binding Corporate Rules, a comprehensive data privacy and protection framework for the global transfer of personal data originating from the European Economic Area.
  • On July 3, 2015, California Water Service Group's (CWT) largest subsidiary, California Water Service Company, filed a General Rate Case requesting authorization from the California Public Utilities Commission to increase rates to add revenues of $94.8 million in 2017, $23.0 million in 2018, and $22.6 million in 2019.
  • Wyndham Hotel Group (WYN) announced plans to expand its ever growing China portfolio with the signing of three new Wyndham Hotels and Resorts properties. 
  • American Assets Trust (AAT) announced it earned investment grade credit ratings from all three major U.S. credit rating agencies. The Company was assigned a BBB rating from Fitch Ratings, a Baa3 rating from Moody's Investor Service and a BBB- rating from Standard and Poor's Ratings Services. All three credit ratings have a stable outlook.
  • Hansen Medical (HNSN) announced it has completed enrollment in the initial evaluable cohort of the ARTISAN clinical trial.
  • The University of Missouri and Cerner (CERN) announced plans to extend their relationship through 2025.

9:19 am Pure Cycle announces amendment to purchase and sale agreement with Arkansas River Farms and expiration of initial due diligence period (PCYO) : The co announced that it has further amended the Purchase and Sale Agreement with Arkansas River Farms, LLC, an affiliate of C&A Companies, Inc. and Resource Land Holdings, LLC, to sell its approximate 14,600 acres of farm land, and the initial due diligence period in connection with the transaction has expired. Arkansas River Farms has been conducting due diligence on the farms and has agreed with the Company to amend the Purchase and Sale Agreement so that both sides can reach a comfort level with the proposed transaction. The principal terms of the Fourth Amendment to Purchase and Sale Agreement are outlined below:

  • The Company will retain 100% of the oil and gas minerals attributable to the farms (previously, the Company was to retain 75% of the oil and gas minerals);
  • The Company will receive all rents and be responsible for all taxes and other expenses for the farm operations through 2015 (previously, the rents, taxes and other expenses for the farm operations in 2015 were to be prorated between the parties based on the timing of the closing);
  • Within two business days of the Company's delivery of certain closing documents to the title company and approval by Arkansas River Farms of such documents, Arkansas River Farms will distribute to the Company the remaining $975,000 of the earnest money deposit, which will be non-refundable, subject to certain limited circumstances; and
  • The Company will reduce the purchase price to approximately $45.8 million

9:16 am Agria subsidiary PGG Wrightson announces commerce commission investigation (GRO) : Co announces its New Zealand-listed subsidiary, PGG Wrightson, has confirmed that its livestock division is included in a New Zealand Commerce Commission investigation around fees associated with the implementation of National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012 requirements in July 2012.

  • Although PGW is maintaining an on-going dialogue with the Commission in relation to the concerns raised about NAIT-related fees, the Commission has indicated that it has reached the view that the Commerce Act has been breached and has signaled its intention to seek a pecuniary penalty from PGW. In PGW's view and within the context of the New Zealand Stock Exchange rules, the proposed level of that penalty, while significant, is not materially price-sensitive for PGW.

9:12 am S&P futures vs fair value: -15.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -29.00. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a lower open as S&P 500 futures trade 15 points below fair value. Index futures have climbed about X points off their lows, but they remain pressured after the weekend referendum in Greece produced a 'no' vote, rejecting the bailout terms previously proposed by eurozone creditors. The two sides have returned to square one and Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has announced his resignation this morning in hopes of introducing a fresh voice into the negotiations. However, those negotiations are unlikely to get much easier with the spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying conditions are "not there at present to enter negotiations on a new programme."

Similar to U.S. futures, European markets have climbed off their lows, but they remain in negative territory at this juncture.

Meanwhile, Treasuries hold solid gains with the 10-yr yield down seven basis points at 2.31%.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the ISM Services Index for June (Briefing.com consensus 56.3).

9:10 am RCS Capital announces that its wholesale broker-dealer subsidiaries raised $407 mln of total equity capital in the month of June (RCAP) : For the second quarter, total equity capital raised was approximately $1.3 billion, representing a 20% increase from the first quarter. Sales of direct investment programs totaled nearly $376 million for the month of June, and $1.2 billion in the second quarter, representing a 24% increase from the first quarter. Sales of non-traded REITs totaled $324 million for the month of June, and nearly $1.0 billion in the second quarter, representing a 31% increase from the first quarter.

9:07 am Kandi Technologies announces that its Kandi Electric Vehicles JV has signed a sales contract with Zhejiang Shi Kong Electric Vehicle for 4,000 units of Kandi Brand electric vehicles (KNDI) : The co announced that Kandi Electric Vehicles Group, a 50/50 Joint Venture between Kandi and Geely Automobile Holdings has signed a sales contract with Zhejiang Shi Kong Electric Vehicle Co. Ltd. for 4,000 units of Kandi Brand electric vehicles, including 1,500 units of Kandi K11 (Panda) and 2,500 units of Kandi K10 (Mini).

  • The total value of the contract is over RMB540 million (approximately $89 million). 
  • Kandi expects vehicle delivery to be completed by the end of 2015. 

9:04 am Radware announces CFO Meir Moshe has decided to step down (RDWR) : Moshe will be replaced by Mr. Doron Abramovitch. Prior to joining Radware, Abramovitch has been Corporate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Orobotech (ORBK)

9:04 am Silicom Limited sees Q2 and Q3 revenue below consensus (SILC) :

  • Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $16.8-17.2 mln vs. $19.95 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
  • Co issues downside guidance for Q3 (Sep), sees Q3 (Sep) revs of $18-19 mln vs. $21.77 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
  • "Our shortfall for the second quarter reflects a softening of demand from some of our customers, due to longer-than-expected decision making processes together with the slower market deployment of our high-potential design wins and our new solutions for upcoming industry trends. We expect that the second quarter will be the low-point of our revenues."

9:02 am OM Group announces expiration of the 'Go Shop' period; continues to recommend shareholders adopt the Merger Agreement with Apollo Global Management (APO)/subsidiary of Platform Specialty (PAH) (OMG) :

  • During the "go shop" period, the Company engaged in an active and extensive solicitation of 49 potentially interested parties (including 21 potential strategic buyers and 28 potential financial buyers), which resulted in five parties engaging in informal discussions with the Company or its advisors, and three parties negotiating and entering into confidentiality agreements with the Company and being provided information.
  • Prior to the expiration of the "go-shop" period, the Company's Board of Directors received a written "company takeover proposal." After consulting with its financial advisors and legal counsel, the Company's Board of Directors determined that the party submitting the proposal is an "excluded party" under the Merger Agreement with which the Company may continue to negotiate following the end of the "go-shop" period. There can be no assurance that the proposal or any other alternative proposal will ultimately lead to a superior proposal, as negotiations with the excluded party could terminate at any time.

9:01 am National Bank commences self tender offer to repurchase up to $100 mln of its common stock through a modified 'Dutch Auction' tender offer (NBHC) : Co announces it has commenced a modified "Dutch auction" tender offer to purchase up to $100.0 mln of its Class A common stock at a price per share not less than $19.60 and not greater than $22.50. The maximum number of shares proposed to be purchased in the tender offer represents ~14.6% of NBHC's currently outstanding common stock.

9:01 am InnerWorkings appoints Jeffrey Pritchett as CFO, effective August 2015 (INWK) : Pritchett joins InnerWorkings from Cerberus Operating and Advisory Company, LLC, an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., where he has served as a Senior Operating Executive since May 2013 and as Head of the Finance / CFO Practice since early 2015. Ryan Spohn will remain InnerWorkings' Interim CFO through the completion of the Company's second quarter filings, at which point he will resume his role as Senior Vice President and Controller.

9:01 am GoPro launches HERO4 Session -- 50% smaller and 40% lighter than GoPro's best-selling HERO4 Black and Silver cameras (GPRO) :

  • GoGpro launches HERO4 Session -- 50% smaller and 40% lighter than GoPro's best-selling HERO4 Black and Silver cameras, HERO4 Session packs GoPro's image quality and performance into an exciting new low-profile form factor. 
  • HERO4 Session is compatible with existing GoPro mounts and will retail for $399.99 MSRP at authorized GoPro retailers around the world and on GoPro.com beginning July 12, 2015.

9:01 am Euroseas resets the effective date of its 1-for-10 reverse stock split to July 22, 2015 (ESEA) :  

9:00 am Intevac receives a contract for $13 mln for the production of night vision cameras for the Apache Helicopter's Pilot Night Vision Sensor program for the U.S. Army (IVAC) : This contract, from the U.S. Army's PM Apache Office in Huntsville, Alabama, is a follow-on contract to the $27 mln contract announced in 2013 and addresses camera deliveries through February 2017.

8:55 am S&P futures vs fair value: -16.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -31.80. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade 17 points below fair value.

Markets across Asia ended the Monday session on a mostly lower note. In China, the Shanghai Composite outperformed, gaining 2.4%, but that was after the index opened with an 8.0% advance in reaction to news that the People's Bank of China extended a lifeline to equity brokers through China Finance Securities.

  • In economic data: 
    • Japan's May Leading Index ticked down to 106.2 from 106.4, as expected 
    • Hong Kong's June Manufacturing PMI rose to 49.2 from 47.6 
    • Australia's ANZ Job Advertisements rose 1.3% month-over-month (prior 0.1%) while June MI Inflation Gauge ticked up 0.1% (last 0.3%) 
------
  • Japan's Nikkei declined 2.1% on broad-based weakness seen in all sectors. IT, Financials and Materials led the index lower, all down 3%. Utilities outperformed the broader market today, only down a little over 1%. 
  • Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 3.2%, putting the composite into correction territory. Galaxy Entertainment gave back some of the robust gains seen late last week, falling 3.3%. Tencent had a miserable day, outpacing losses to the tune of 5.5%. 
  • China's Shanghai Composite managed to close up 2.4% on a day that saw an 8% range. Financials highlighted the session on the positive side, with the likes of Bank of Communications gaining 9.7% and China Minsheng Banking rising 6.4%. 
Major European indices trade lower across the board with Italy's MIB (-3.1%) showing the largest decline. Despite early reports suggesting very close results in the Greek referendum, the 'no' camp came away with 61.3% of the vote. The rejection of previously offered bailout conditions allows Greece's Syriza party to remain in power, but Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has resigned from his position in hopes of introducing a fresh voice into the negotiations. The short-term focus now shifts to July 20, when Greece will have to make a EUR3.50 billion payment to the European Central Bank.
  • Economic data was limited: 
    • Eurozone July Sentix Investor Confidence rose to 18.5 from 17.1 (consensus 15.0) while Retail PMI ticked down to 50.4 from 51.4 
    • Germany's May Factory Orders +0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior 2.2%) 
    • Spain's May Industrial Production +3.4% year-over-year (consensus 2.6%; last 1.7%) 
    • Swiss June CPI +0.1% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.2%) 
------
  • UK's FTSE is lower by 0.6% with industrials and miners under pressure. Rolls-Royce has tumbled 7.0% after lowering its guidance while Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, and Glencore Xstrata are down between 1.8% and 2.1%. 
  • Germany's DAX trades down 1.5% with all but one component in the red. Financials Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are both down near 3.7% while Deutsche Post outperforms with a gain of 3.0%. 
  • In France, the CAC has given up 1.8% with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale leading the decline. The three financials are down between 3.2% and 3.9% while Alstom is the lone advancer, trading just above its flat line. 
  • Italy's MIB underperforms with a 3.1% loss. Bank shares are on the defensive with BMPS, Banca di Milano Scarl, UBI Banca, Banco Popolare, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Unicredit down between 4.3% and 8.3%.

8:45 am American Apparel announces next phase of its strategic turnaround plan; Redesigned fall merchandise line to drive revenue growth; $30 mln in cost-cutting initiatives (APP) :

  • Co announces the next phase of its strategic turnaround plan, including a redesigned fall merchandise line, ~$30 mln in cost-cutting initiatives, and key additions to its leadership team.
  • In addition, the Company is undertaking a series of cost reduction initiatives to better align its cost structure with the headwinds of today's highly competitive, promotional retail environment and volatile foreign exchange markets. These initiatives are expected to reduce operating expenses by ~$30 mln over the next 18 months.
  • Even if American Apparel increases revenue and cuts costs, there can be no guarantee that the Company will have sufficient financing commitments to meet funding requirements for the next 12 months without raising additional capital, and there can be no guarantee that it will be able to raise such additional capital.
  • Co announced the hiring of Christine Olcu as General Manager of Global Retail and Brad Gebhard as President of Wholesale.

8:43 am European Markets Update: FTSE -0.6%, DAX -1.3%, CAC -1.7%, MIB -3.0% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade lower across the board with Italy's MIB (-3.0%) showing the largest decline. Despite early reports suggesting very close results in the Greek referendum, the 'no' camp came away with 61.3% of the vote. The rejection of previously offered bailout conditions allows Greece's Syriza party to remain in power, but Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has resigned from his position in hopes of introducing a fresh voice into the negotiations. The short-term focus now shifts to July 20, when Greece will have to make a EUR3.50 billion payment to the European Central Bank.

  • Economic data was limited: 
    • Eurozone July Sentix Investor Confidence rose to 18.5 from 17.1 (consensus 15.0) while Retail PMI ticked down to 50.4 from 51.4 
    • Germany's May Factory Orders +0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior 2.2%) 
    • Spain's May Industrial Production +3.4% year-over-year (consensus 2.6%; last 1.7%) 
    • Swiss June CPI +0.1% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.2%) 
------
  • UK's FTSE is lower by 0.6% with industrials and miners under pressure. Rolls-Royce has tumbled 7.0% after lowering its guidance while Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, and Glencore Xstrata are down between 1.8% and 2.1%. 
  • Germany's DAX trades down 1.3% with all but one component in the red. Financials Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are both down near 3.7% while Deutsche Post outperforms with a gain of 3.0%. 
  • In France, the CAC has given up 1.7% with BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale leading the decline. The three financials are down between 3.2% and 3.9% while Alstom is the lone advancer, trading just above its flat line. 
  • Italy's MIB underperforms with a 3.0% loss. Bank shares are on the defensive with BMPS, Banca di Milano Scarl, UBI Banca, Banco Popolare, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Unicredit down between 4.3% and 8.3%.

8:40 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Janssen Biotech unit announces the opening of a daratumumab expanded access program (:EAP) for eligible U.S. patients. Daratumumab is an investigational human anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody being evaluated in clinical trials as a treatment for people with multiple myeloma. The multicenter, open-label EAP is available to multiple myeloma patients who are refractory to both a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory drug or who have received three or more prior lines of therapy, including a PI and an IMiD.
  • Digital Power (DPW) announced the release of its new advanced capacitor chargers product family for powering laser systems in medical and industrial applications.
  • Impax Laboratories (IPXL) announced that Larry Hsu, Ph.D. has resigned from the Company's Board of Directors in order to pursue other business activities. Dr. Hsu was a co-founder of Impax in 1995 and served as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer from October 2006 until April 2014.
  • MOKO Social Media (MOKO) announced that as at the end of June 2015, Monthly Unique Visitors (MUV) surpassed 10 million. MOKO's previous stated MUV target was 10 to 15 million by the end of 2015, the lower end of this target now attained, six months early. 
  • Western Union (WU) in collaboration with the MTN Group (MTNOY) announced the launch of a new mobile money transfer service in Rwanda and Ivory Coast. The new service allows MTN customers in both countries to receive a Western Union Money Transfer transaction in their mobile wallet.
  • Top Image Systems (TISA) announced that it was selected to deploy an automated multichannel and mobile data capture project for an extremely innovative online financing company that provides funds to entrepreneurs and small businesses across India, with future plans to expand their activities worldwide. The total multi-year value of the project was set at some quarter of a million dollars.

8:39 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance
: ALLT -12.1%

M&A news: AET -6.3% (Aetna (AET) to acquire Humana (HUM) for ~$230 per share ), AMCN -2.4% (retains Duff & Phelps to evaluate previously announced going private offer and any potential alternatives), .

Select EU financial related names showing weakness: DB -4.8%, SAN -4.5%, ING -4.5%, RBS -3.8%, BCS -3.8%

Select China related stocks trading lower: SHI -9.6%, ZNH -9.5%, WBAI -7.5%, CHU -5.8%, CHU -5.8%, JMEI -5.5%, SINA -4.5%, TEDU -4.3%, YOKU -4.1%, SFUN -3.8%, CMCM -3.7%, DANG -3.7%, QIHU -3.7%, EJ -3%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness with Crude futures down 4% in pre-mkt: PBR -5.4%, SDRL -5%, GDP -4.9%, OAS -4.3%, STO -4.2%, RIG -3.3%

Other news: BSI -20% (to move forward with a rights offering to its existing holders; also announces Board approval of its proposed arrangement between its Mega Retail subsidiary and its suppliers), NBG -15% (Greek referendum results announced over weekend), PTEN -3.8% (reports that for June, it had an average of 112 drilling rigs operating in the United States and one rig in Canada), DBVT -2.6% (files F-1 to offer of new ADSs), HZNP -2.5% (files patent infringement lawsuits against five cos for filing abbreviated New Drug Applications for PENNSAID), FIT -1.6% (cont vol post IPO), BDSI -1.3% (files for $150 mln mixed securities shelf offering)

Analyst comments: RPTP -6% (downgraded to Underperform at Oppenheimer), AEGR -2.5% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Guggenheim)

8:34 am Zogenix appoints Gail M. Farfel, Ph.D., as EVP and Chief Development Officer and Thierry Darcis, M.D., M.B.A., as EVP and General Manager, Europe (ZGNX) : Dr. Farfel most recently was Chief Clinical and Regulatory Officer of Marinus Pharmaceuticals (MRNS), establishing and overseeing clinical, medical and regulatory strategies for adult and pediatric seizure disorders, including a pediatric epileptic orphan disease. Dr. Darcis led European operations as General Manager for two successful rare disease-focused biopharmaceutical organizations, most recently NPS Pharmaceuticals (NPSP) and prior to that, Viropharma Europe.

8:32 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance
: N/A.

M&A news: WTW +28.6% ( might be a takeover target by activists, according to NY Post), CTCM +11.1% (receives non-binding offer from UTH Russia for the purchase of a 75% interest in co's Russian business operations),HUM +2.3% (Aetna (AET) to acquire Humana (HUM) for ~$230 per share )


Other news: ONCY +24.1% (announces the presentation of final data from REO 017 clinical study in Pancreatic Cancer),ENZN +7.4% (declares a special cash dividend of $0.50/share),ASTI +6.7% (announced the launch of its EnerPlex products in 172 Maplin Electronics stores throughout the United Kingdom),NVIV +5.4% ( reports improvement of second and third patients implanted with Neuro-Spinal Scaffold),XCO +4.8% (still checking),CATB +3.7% (receives FDA Fast Track designation for CAT-1004 for treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy),DHI +1.1% (favorable commentary on Wednesday's Mad Money),CNC +0.9% (AET/HUM peer) 

Analyst comments: EYES +4.9% (initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright ),BITI +4.7% (initiated with a Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt $35 ),AXON +3.8% (initiated with a Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt $40),EW +1.2% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley ),UAL +0.8% (upgraded to Buy from Fair Value at CRT Capital )

8:31 am IntercontinentalExchange June 2015 futures and options average daily volume declined 1% YoY; Commodity ADV increased 7% YoY (ICE) :

  • Commodity ADV increased 7% led by Brent, Gasoil, Other Oil, Nat Gas and Sugar up 1%, 14%, 7%, 6% and 9% respectively, from the prior June. 
  • Financials ADV declined 8% from the previous June primarily due to continued low volatility in Continental European short-term interest rates, partially offset by single stock equities and equity indices up 21% and 2%, respectively.

8:31 am Alexandria RE announces its leasing activity for Q2 2015, aggregating in excess of 1.9 mln rentable square feet, the highest quarterly leasing volume in the co's history (ARE) :

  • The very strong demand for space at Alexandria's unique science and technology campuses reflects the need and growing interest of client tenants to collaborate and translate breakthrough discoveries into high-impact, cost-effective products that save lives, manage disease, and reduce the economic burden of disease on society.

8:31 am Versartis: The FDA has removed the partial clinical hold on the co's Investigational New Drug Application for VRS-317; co will proceed with Phase 3 registration trial, reaffirms anticipated milestones (VSAR) :

  • The US Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) has removed the partial clinical hold on the Company's Investigational New Drug Application for VRS-317. 
  • With this action, the Company will proceed with the Phase 3 registration trial, VELOCITY, of VRS-317 in children with GHD. 
  • The Company reaffirmed its previously stated anticipated milestones for the VELOCITY Phase 3 clinical trial, including interim 6-month mean height velocity data by the end of 2016 and top line data on the 12-month mean height velocity primary endpoint by mid-2017, enabling a potential Biologics License Application submission, followed by a potential FDA approval by late-2018.

8:31 am Axiall announces Paul Carrico has retired as president, CEO and a member of the Axiall BoD, effective immediately (AXLL) : Timothy Mann, Jr., executive vice president of strategy, general counsel and secretary, will serve as Co's interim president and CEO.

8:30 am Grupo Aeroportuario reports June 2015 passenger traffic increases by 16.6% (OMAB) : Co announces that terminal passenger traffic at its 13 airports increased 16.6% in June 2015, as compared to June 2014. Domestic traffic increased 15.9%, and international traffic increased 21.8%. Of total June traffic, 98.4% was commercial aviation and 1.6% was general aviation. Additionally, the number of flight operations (takeoffs and landings) in June increased 3.3% as compared to the same month of 2014. The number of domestic operations increased 1.8% and international operations increased 14.2%.

8:30 am European Yields (BONDX) : Greece Votes No, Varoufakis Resigns

  • The "No" votes carried the day in Greece's national referendum on Sunday, rejecting the official creditors' latest proposal
    • Greece's finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, resigned his position after the results were released, saying that Prime Minister Tsipras had judged his departure "to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement"
      • Euclid Tsakalotos, the Greek government's economic spokesman, will likely be Varoufakis' successor
    • Contagion effects from the "No" vote have so far been muted
      • The 10-yr Spanish Bono/German Bund spread has widened only 18 bps to 161 bps
      • The Greek 10-yr yield is up 342 bps to 17.75%, which is a large move indeed and is its highest level since the fall of 2012
      • EUR/USD: -0.99% to $1.1005
    • The ECB must now decide whether to continue its ELA (Emergency Liquidity Assistance) program
      • Without that crucial support, Grexit would occur in a matter of days
      • The Greek banking system is said to have only 500 mln euro of remaining funds
    • On July 20th, Greece owes the ECB 3.5 bln euroIf the payment is not made, the ECB would most likely end the ELA program and the Greek banking system would collapse, forcing Greece off of the euro
  • German Factory Orders fell 0.2% m/m in May versus a 2.2% gain in April. The market had been looking for a fall of 0.4%
  • The Swiss CPI rose 0.1% m/m in June versus a 0.2% jump in May. Market consensus had been for a decline
  • Yield Check:
    • France, 10-yr OAT: -2 bps to 1.23%
    • Germany, 10-yr Bund: -6 bps to 0.74%
    • Greece, 10-yr note: +342 bps to 17.74%
    • Italy, 10-yr BTP: +10 bps to 2.35%
    • Portugal, 10-yr note: +18 bps to 3.12%
    • Spain, 10-yr Bono: +12 bps to 2.34%
    • U.K., 10-yr Gilt: -2 bps to 1.99%

8:26 am S&P futures vs fair value: -16.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -30.30. (:WRAPX) : U.S equity futures have backed away from their rebound highs with S&P 500 futures surrendering about five points over the past hour. Meanwhile, the Dollar Index (96.76, +0.38) is higher by 0.4% with the bulk of the dollar strength coming at the expense of the euro, which has given up 1.0%, trading at 1.1005 against the greenback. Elsewhere among major currencies, both the pound and yen are little changed against the dollar.

On the commodity side, gold futures have given up 0.4%, sliding to $1,163.60/ozt while crude oil has slumped 1.6%, falling to $54.62/bbl.

Also of note, Treasuries have been inching down from their highs with the 10-yr yield down seven basis points at 2.31%.

8:21 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • ADMA Biologics (ADMA) announced recent multiple senior appointments to the Company's commercial team as part of ADMA's ongoing commercialization activities, in preparation for its planned Biologics License Application filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for RI-002. James Hauert, has been appointed Senior Vice President, Commercialization & Strategy; Doris Connell, Pharm.D. has been appointed Vice President, Medical Affairs; Theresa Gwaltney has been appointed Senior Director, Supply Chain Operations.
  • BG Medicine (BGMD) announced that the ARCHITECT Galectin-3 assay is now available. This automated blood test was cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in conjunction with clinical evaluation as an aid in assessing the prognosis of patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure. 
  • Manulife Bank (MFC) announced the planned installation of approximately 830 automated banking machines in select Mac's, Couche-Tard and Circle K locations across Canada.
  • VolitionRx (VNRX) announced that it has expanded its Scientific Advisory Board with the appointment of four prominent physician and industry experts.
  • China Finance Online (JRJC) announced that the 2015 Annual General Meeting held on June 30, 2015 has approved the elections of Mr. Zheng Chen, Mr. Jian Wang and Mr. Yaowei Zhang as independent directors of the Board of Directors of the Company effective June 30, 2015. Following the appointments of the new directors, the Board now has a total of five directors, including three independent directors.

8:17 am Civeo announces contract award with LNG Canada; raises FY15 CapEx guidance (CVEO) :

  • Co announces that it has been awarded a contract with LNG Canada for the provision of open lodge rooms and associated services in Kitimat, British Columbia. The contract covers up to 400 rooms for approximately fifteen months. 
  • In order to account for the initial construction of the Sitka Lodge, Civeo has increased its 2015 capital expenditure guidance. Civeo's revised capital expenditure guidance for 2015, including the Sitka Lodge, is $80 mln to $90 mln, and revenues from the contract are expected to be largely recognized in 2016.

8:16 am Pershing Gold announces an upgraded NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for its Relief Canyon Project (PGLC) : The upgraded resource shows a Measured and Indicated Resource of 739,000 ounces of gold and an Inferred Resource of 70,000 ounces of gold. This new resource shows a 34% increase in the Measured and Indicated total compared to the 552,000 ounces of Measured and Indicated Resource in our March 2014 estimate

  • The Company is currently in the process of executing its 2015 drilling program, which is planned to include 100 core holes and approximately 75,000 feet (nearly 23,000 meters) of drilling.  Pershing Gold currently has two core rigs drilling on site and expects to add two additional drill rigs later this week. The third core-drill rig will be operating in the Jasperoid Target Area. The fourth drill rig will be working on the Buffalo Pediment, an exploration target located approximately one and a half miles north of the existing pits.  The Relief Canyon deposit remains open in all directions. 
  • The Company plans to incorporate the results of this aggressive 2015 drilling program into a further updated NI 43-101 resource estimate upon completing of the 2015 program.
  • Separately, the company confirmed that its shares will begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Market today

8:16 am Zosano Pharma announces that Novo Nordisk (NVO) has notified of its intention to discontinue the collaboration agreement related to development of a transdermal presentation of select NVO glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues (ZSAN) : Zosano has been notified that the decision relates to a strategic prioritization of NVO's research portfolio despite continued progress during the collaboration period. Upon the expected termination of the agreement, all technology rights licensed to Novo Nordisk related to the field of GLP-1 products will revert to Zosano.

  • Zosano and NVO entered into a collaboration agreement in January 2014 to develop a new transdermal presentation of NVO proprietary human GLP-1 analogues, to be administered once weekly using Zosano's microneedle patch system for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

8:14 am Qihoo 360 Tech.'s Special Committee retains J.P. Morgan Securities to evaluate the previously announced going private proposal (QIHU) :  

8:04 am Olin has received all the foreign regulatory approvals required to close its pending merger of Dow Chemical's (DOW) chlorine value chain with Olin (OLN) : The transaction is still subject to Olin shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

8:04 am Array Biopharma: Encorafenib-Based regimens show promising clinical activity; Phase 2 results show an objective response rate and disease control rate of 29% and 81%, respectively (ARRY) : Data were shared from a Phase 1b trial and preliminary data from a 100-patient randomized Phase 2 expansion of that trial testing the combination of encorafenib and cetuximab, an EGFR inhibitor, with or without the addition of alpelisib (BYL719) 1, an investigational PI3K inhibitor in patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer (BRAFmut CRC). Results from the study indicate that these combinations can be administered with good tolerability and show promising clinical activity in this patient population with high unmet medical needs. Patient enrollment is now complete in the Phase 2 study. The preliminary Phase 2 results show an objective response rate and disease control rate of 29% and 81%, respectively, for patients receiving the combination of encorafenib and cetuximab, and 35% and 79%, respectively, for patients receiving the combination of encorafenib, cetuximab and alpelisib (encorafenib triplet).

8:04 am Maxwell Tech secures $25 million revolving credit facility with East West Bank (MXWL) : Co announced today that it has obtained a three-year, $25 million revolving credit facility for working capital purposes, from East West Bank.

8:03 am Celsion announces 'positive' interim data from its ongoing open-label Phase 2 DIGNITY Trial of ThermoDox in recurrent chest wall breast cancer (CLSN) : The trial is designed to enroll up to 20 patients at several U.S. clinical sites and is evaluating ThermoDox in combination with mild hyperthermia. Of the 17 patients enrolled and treated, 13 were eligible for evaluation of efficacy.

  • Based on data available to date, every patient experienced a clinical benefit of their highly refractory disease within the ThermoDox treatment field, with a local response rate of 69% observed in the 13 evaluable patients, notably five complete responses (CR), four partial responses (:PR) and four patients with stable disease (SD). 
  • The Company will complete enrollment in the study in the third quarter of 2015.

8:03 am Alliance Fiber Optic sees Q2 revs $25 mln vs $23.34 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from prior guidance of $22.5-24.5 mln; sees record quarterly gross margin and operating profits as well (AFOP) :  

8:02 am CB&I awarded a contract in excess of $75 mln by Omaha Public Power District for maintenance, modifications and supplemental labor for its fossil and nuclear plants in Nebraska (CBI) :  

8:02 am Fieldpoint Petroleum announces commencement of temporary reduction in warrant exercise price (FPP) :

  • Co is issuing this reminder that effective with the opening of trading today, July 6, 2015, and continuing until 5:00 p.m. EDT on August 7, 2015 it will temporarily reduce the exercise price of all of its outstanding publicly traded warrants.

8:02 am KBR enters into two new partnerships with Bernhard Capital Partners (KBR) : Co announces that it has agreed to enter into two new partnerships with Bernhard Capital Partners. The first agreement will establish a new, equally owned and managed company, Brown & Root Industrial Services. KBR's Industrial Services Americas, part of the Engineering & Construction Business Group, will become part of the company and will continue to offer maintenance services, turnarounds and small capital expenditure projects. In addition to this partnership, EPIC Piping, a BCP portfolio company, plans to acquire KBR's Canadian pipe fabrication facility.

8:02 am Suffolk Bancorp COO retires (SUBK) : Co announces that effective Friday, July 3, 2015, Frank D. Filipo retired as Executive Vice President and COO of the Company and the Bank. Co also announced that it has promoted Anita J. Nigrel to Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Officer to succeed Filipo.

8:01 am Iao Kun Group rolling chip turnover falls 60% YoY to $0.54 bln for June 2015 (IKGH) :

  • Co announced unaudited Rolling Chip Turnover for the month of June 2015 at the company's VIP rooms in Macau was US$0.54 billion, down 60% year-over-year, compared to US$1.35 billion for the month of June 2014.
  • Win rate for the month of June 2015 was 2.50%. For the first six months of 2015, IKGH's Rolling Chip Turnover was US$3.92 billion (an average of $0.65 billion per month), down 58% year-over-year, compared to US$9.43 billion (an average of $1.57 billion per month) for the first six months of 2014. The Company's VIP rooms are primarily focused on high stakes baccarat.
  • Definition of Rolling Chip Turnover:  Rolling Chip Turnover is used by casinos to measure the volume of VIP business transacted and represents the aggregate amount of non-negotiable chips players purchased.

8:01 am Catabasis Pharmaceuticals receives FDA Fast Track designation for CAT-1004 for treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (CATB) :  

8:01 am InVivo Therapeutics reports improvement of second and third patients implanted with Neuro-Spinal Scaffold; Third patient improves from complete to incomplete Spinal Cord injury (NVIV) : Co announced a one-month post-implant update for the third study patient and a six-month post-implant update for the second study patient in the company's ongoing pilot trial of its investigational Neuro-Spinal Scaffold in patients with complete acute spinal cord injury.

  • In the time between implantation and the one-month post-injury assessment of the third study patient, the patient improved from a complete AIS A spinal cord injury to an incomplete AIS B spinal cord injury. The patient has regained sacral sensation with improved bladder function. 
  • The second patient demonstrated marked improvement in sensory function with partial sensation present five dermatome levels lower on the right side compared to the three-month assessment. This translates to regaining partial sensation from the lower ribs to the hip on the right. The patient continues to make meaningful progress in activities of daily living.

8:01 am Materialise appoints Johan Albrecht as CFO, effective August 12, 2015 (MTLS) : Albrecht joins MTLS from BARC NV, a global central pharmaceutical laboratory, where he served as CFO between 1989 and 2015.

8:01 am Alliance Resource announces agreement to acquire remaining White Oak Equity interests (ARLP) : Co announces that it has reached agreement to acquire from White Oak Finance and other parties all of the equity interests in White Oak Resources LLC not currently owned by ARLP. ARLP will own 100% of the equity interests in White Oak, coal reserves at the White Oak Mine No. 1 that are leased to White Oak and the preparation plant and loading facilities at Mine No. 1. ARLP will pay $50 million cash at closing.

8:00 am ArQule reports interim data from an ongoing investigator-initiated Phase 2 trial with tivantinib in combo with cetuximab in patients with colorectal cancer -- Final results from the 41 patients enrolled are expected by the end of 2015 (ARQL) : Co announced interim data from an ongoing investigator-initiated Phase 2 clinical trial with tivantinib in combination with cetuximab in patients with MET-High, KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) NCT01892527 who recently progressed on anti-EGFR antibodies.

  • These data were presented on Friday, July 3rd at the European Society of Medical Oncology (:ESMO) World GI 2015 (abstract number O-008) by Dr. Lorenza Rimassa, MD, Deputy Director, Medical Oncology Unit at Humanitas Cancer Center, in Rozzano (Milan, Italy). 
  • The ESMO World GI presentation included data from 21 patients enrolled in Stage 1 of this trial. One patient, still on therapy, experienced a complete response (CR) and 2 patients experienced durable confirmed partial responses (PRs). Stable disease was observed in 8 patients, including 2 short duration PRs, for an overall Disease Control Rate (CR + PR + SD) of 52.4%. Having met the Stage 1 endpoint (=2 confirmed responses), the trial continued to Stage 2 and has recently completed enrollment.

8:00 am U.S. Antimony reported record antimony sales for Q2 of 2015 of 637,825 pounds, which is up 92% from Q2 2014 sales of 332,106 pounds, and is an increase of 22% from Q1 2015 sales (UAMY) :  

7:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -17.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -36.10. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade in negative territory after a weekend that featured a referendum in Greece. Despite early reports suggesting very close results, the 'no' camp came away with 61.3% of the vote. The rejection of previously offered bailout conditions allows Greece's Syriza party to remain in power, but Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has resigned from his position in hopes of introducing a fresh voice into the negotiations. However, those negotiations are unlikely to get much easier with the spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying conditions are "not there at present to enter negotiations on a new programme."

The S&P 500 futures have climbed about ten points off their worst levels of the morning, but they remain lower by 18 points against fair value at this juncture.

U.S. Treasuries have rallied, sending the 10-yr yield lower by seven basis points to 2.31%.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the ISM Services Index for June (Briefing.com consensus 56.3).

In U.S. corporate news of note:

  • Humana (HUM 192.75, +5.25): +2.8% after agreeing to be acquired by Aetna (AET 117.40, -8.11) as part of a transaction valued at $230/share. In addition, Humana lowered its Q2 and fiscal year 2015 guidance. 
  • Weight Watchers (WTW 5.50, +1.41): +35.5% after the New York Post reported the company may be a takeover target. 
Reviewing overnight developments:
  • Asian markets ended mixed. China's Shanghai Composite +2.4%, Japan's Nikkei -2.1%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng -3.2% 
    • In economic data: 
      • Japan's May Leading Index ticked down to 106.2 from 106.4, as expected 
      • Hong Kong's June Manufacturing PMI rose to 49.2 from 47.6 
      • Australia's ANZ Job Advertisements rose 1.3% month-over-month (prior 0.1%) while June MI Inflation Gauge ticked up 0.1% (last 0.3%) 
    • In news: 
      • China's Shanghai Composite ended in the green after being up nearly 8.0% at the open in reaction to news that the People's Bank of China extended a lifeline to equity brokers through China Finance Securities
  • Major European indices trade lower across the board. UK's FTSE -0.6%, Germany's DAX -1.5%, and France's CAC -1.8%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -3.1% and Spain's IBEX -2.2%
    • Economic data was limited: 
      • Eurozone July Sentix Investor Confidence rose to 18.5 from 17.1 (consensus 15.0) while Retail PMI ticked down to 50.4 from 51.4 
      • Germany's May Factory Orders +0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; prior 2.2%) 
      • Spain's May Industrial Production +3.4% year-over-year (consensus 2.6%; last 1.7%) 
      • Swiss June CPI +0.1% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.2%) 
    • Among news of note: 
      • Following the referendum in Greece, the short-term focus shifts to July 20, when Greece will have to make a EUR3.50 billion payment to the European Central Bank

7:37 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) : Greece Votes No

  • U.S. Treasuries are green this morning, but have traded down since their opening print last night, as markets digest the potential impact of Greek voters rejecting the creditors' most recent bailout extension plan. The yield curve is flattening
  • Yield Check:
    • 2-yr: -3 bps to 0.60%
    • 5-yr: -7 bps to 1.56%
    • 10-yr: -8 bps to 2.30%
    • 30-yr: -9 bps to 3.10%
  • International News:
    • In Greece, 61% of voters rejected the July 5th referendum on the latest proposal from Greece's official creditors, initially sending financial markets into risk-off mode, but they have since recovered significant ground
      • Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned his post after the referendum results were released. Euclid Tsakalotos, the government's economic spokesperson, will likely take Varoufakis' place
      • The ECB must decided what to do with the ELA (Emergency Liquidity Assistance) program for Greece. The Greek banking system depends on the ELA for life support
      • The ECB has said that it may step up its 60 bln euro/month asset purchase program to help stem contagion
      • German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said that Germany is waiting on Greece's new proposal
    • German Factory Orders fell less than expected in May, declining 0.2% m/m versus a 2.2% rise in April
    • Chinese equities found some buying interest, with the Shanghai Composite rallying 2.4%
      • The state-owned banks led the way as investors bought higher quality names rather than the smaller companies that had led the bull run in the first half of 2015
      • 21 brokerage firms set up a $19 billion fund over the weekend to help support equity prices
      • Chinese stocks have lost roughly $2.3 tln of value since June 12th, but the selling has been vicious and the government is stepping up measures to support the market, so a bounce -- perhaps even a strong multi-week rally -- should not come as a surprise
  • Data out Today:
    • June ISM Services (10:00 ET)

7:36 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • CGI (GIB) announced the signing of a five-year contract with Carrefour. The new agreement is an extension of a partnership that was formed in 2007. 
  • Ideal Power (IPWR) announced it has received 5 MW of orders for its industry leading 30kW Battery Converter, its Grid Resilient 30kW Multi-Port Power Conversion System and its Grid Resilient 125kW Power Conversion System from multiple channel partners. 
  • Global Net Lease (GNL) announced the final results of its tender offer for the purchase of up to 11,904,762 shares of its common stock, which expired at 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, on June 29, 2015. Based on the final count by DST Systems, Inc., the paying agent and depositary for the tender offer, a total of 127,815,754 shares of the Company's common stock were validly tendered and not properly withdrawn at the purchase price of $10.50 per share.
  • PREIT (PEI) announced the successful completion of the disposition of its 50% interest in Springfield Park, an open air center located in Springfield, PA for $20.2 million.
  • XBiotech (XBIT) announced treatment of first patient in its Phase 1/2 clinical study. The study is designed to evaluate dosing, safety and efficacy of a novel antibody therapy intended to treat all forms of Staphylococcus aureus infections, including Methicillin-resistant S. aureus. The Company reports that the first patient to enter the study had confirmed MRSA bacteremia that was life threatening. The study is expected to be completed by Q1 2016.

7:32 am GrafTech Intl: Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) extends expiration date of its tender offer for Graftech shares to July 28 (GTI) : The tender offer was previously set to expire at 12:00 Midnight, New York City time, at the end of July 7, 2015.

7:31 am Palatin Technologies completes $30 million financing involving $20 mln equity and $10 mln debt (PTN) :

  • Co announces that it has closed on a private placement of Series E warrants to purchase ~21.92 mln shares of its common stock and Series F warrants to purchase ~2.191 mln shares of its common stock. 
  • Certain funds managed by QVT Financial LP invested $5 mln and another accredited investment fund invested $15 mln. The funds paid $0.90 for each Series E warrant and $0.125 for each Series F warrant, resulting in gross proceeds to Palatin of $20 mln, with net proceeds, after deducting estimated offering expenses, of ~$19.8 mln. 
  • Palatin also announced the closing of a $10 mln venture loan led by Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN).

7:31 am Marinus Pharmaceuticals: Published data support scientific basis for ganaxolone use; Initial data from the study is anticipated this year with the full data set in 2016 (MRNS) :

  • In his research, Gecz used primary skin fibroblasts from 12 PCDH19 affected females and three transmitting males, to show that steroid metabolism and neurosteroid metabolism is associated with PCDH19 female epilepsy. 
  • Gecz then studied nine additional PCDH19 females and age-matched control subjects to measure their blood allopregnanolone levels using three alternative assays. While allopregnanolone levels varied with age, all PCDH19 females tested had lower blood allopregnanolone levels than their age-matched controls. In conclusion, the study showed that the deficiency of neurosteroid allopregnanolone, one of the most potent GABA receptor modulators, may contribute to PCDH19 female epilepsy. 
  • The primary endpoint of the study is percent change in seizure frequency per 28 days relative to baseline. 
  • Initial data from the study is anticipated this year with the full data set in 2016.

7:19 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • Empresa Ncnl Elec (EOC) announced that on July 1, 2015, the Bocamina II power plant became available for economically dispatch by the CDEC -- SIC Operation Center, after obtaining the required authorizations and completing an operational testing period that began during the first week of June.
  • Gilat Satellite Networks (GILT) announced that Agencia Boliviana Espacial (:ABE), the Bolivian Space Agency, placed an initial order for a SkyEdge II-c hub, high-throughput Gemini VSATs, SatCare maintenance and training as the basis for a national VSAT platform for its Tupac Katari Satellite Program.
  • Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR) announced that it has acquired a 78,280 square foot industrial building in Huntington Park, California, for $14.5 million, or approximately $185 per square foot. Year-to-date acquisition volume has now surpassed $111 million.
  • JA Solar (JASO) announced its standard modules successfully passed the Class A fire test in accordance with UL1703 standard for Type 1 modules.
  • Equifax Workforce Solutions, a business unit of Equifax (EFX), announced that its ACA Management Platform, a software application that automates ACA administrative tasks and helps employers reduce their potential for penalties, is now used to manage compliance for over 10 million employees.
  • Whitestone REIT (WSR) announced that it has acquired Parkside Village North and Parkside Village South, its second and third service-oriented centers in the fast-growing and economically-strong Austin market. Overall, the company has a portfolio of 67 properties with approximately 1,420 tenants. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings with annual "in-place" net operating income for the two Parkside Village properties of approximately $2.9 million
  • Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) announced that PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Tbk, the largest telecommunications services company in Indonesia, has selected Kratos' satID geolocation system as part of a contract with Kratos ISI to upgrade TELKOM's Master Control Station. 

7:15 am Seritage Growth Properties common shares have been listed and will begin trading today on the NYSE under the symbol SRG (SRG) :

  • On July 2, 2015, the rights offering that provided Sears' shareholders the right to purchase Seritage class A common shares of beneficial interest expired and taking into account oversubscriptions, was fully subscribed. 
    • The proceeds from the rights offering will be used to fund a portion of the acquisition of 235 properties and 31 joint venture interests from Sears Holdings, which is expected to close on July 7, 2015. 
    • Under a master lease agreement, Seritage will lease back all but 11 of such properties to Sears Holdings under specified terms, including Seritage's right to recapture certain space from Sears Holdings at each property.

7:03 am Sears Hldg: Seritage Growth Properties (SRG) Rights Offering oversubscribed (SHLD) :

  • Based on preliminary results, Seritage estimates that it will receive aggregate gross proceeds from the offering of Seritage Growth common shares and related transactions of approximately $1.6 billion.
  • Seritage intends to use such proceeds to fund a portion of the $2.72 billion purchase price to be paid for the properties and joint venture interests to be acquired from Sears Holdings Corporation.

7:03 am Silver Standard provides exploration update for recent Mineral Resource development activities at its Marigold mine; additional $2.4 mln allocated for capitalized exploration (SSRI) : Co provided an exploration update for recent Mineral Resource development activities at its Marigold mine in Nevada, U.S.

  • Mineral Resource development drilling at 8 South pit area extends higher-grade gold mineralization. Drillhole MR-6034 intersected 2.48 grams per tonne gold over 91.4 metres from 140.2 metres below surface, as previously reported.
  • Based on the positive results from the exploration and development programs at Marigold, an additional $2.4 million has been allocated for capitalized exploration, for a total of $4.2 million for full year 2015.
  • It is expected that these exploration and development program results will be included in an updated Mineral Resources estimate for Marigold in the fourth quarter of 2015 and reported in our annual 2015 Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves statement to be published in the first quarter of 2016.

7:03 am Linn Energy and LinnCo (LNCO) annouce that LINN has signed agreements with Quantum Energy Partners to fund future oil and natural gas acquisitions (LINE) :

  • Quantum has agreed to initially commit up to $1 billion of equity capital to fund acquisitions and development of oil and natural gas assets. 
  • LINN will have the ability to participate in all acquisition opportunities with a direct working interest ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent. 
  • AcqCo assets will be managed by LINN in exchange for reimbursement of general and administrative expenses. Additionally, after certain investor return hurdles are met, LINN will have the ability to earn a promoted interest in AcqCo. 
  • Upon the sale of any assets within AcqCo, LINN will be given right of first offer to acquire the assets.

7:02 am IAMGOLD provides clarification regarding the vote by the Transitional Assembly on an updated Mining Code in Burkina Faso; does not expect a material impact on its Essakane Mine (IAG) :

  • While the Code has not yet been formalized into law, it reduces regulatory uncertainty, creates an innovative community development fund, and, importantly, respects clauses in existing Mining Conventions. 
  • As a result, IAMGOLD does not expect a material impact on its Essakane Mine, as it has fiscal stability clauses in its existing Mining Convention.

7:02 am Magnum Hunter's Eureka Hunter announces new record throughput volumes of ~700,000 mmbtu per day (MHR) : The company also commented on its recent announcement to consider a sale of its equity ownership in Eurkea Hunter saying that based upon current market conditions, it believes that a sale of all of its equity interest in Eureka Hunter could generate up to approximately $600 - $700 million in gross cash proceeds

7:01 am Horizon Pharma files patent infringement lawsuits against five cos for filing abbreviated New Drug Applications for PENNSAID (HZNP) : Co received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for U.S. patent application number 14/596,919 (U.S. publication number 2015-0126607), entitled "Diclofenac Topical Formulation" that covers Horizon's U.S. approved product PENNSAID.

  • This Notice of Allowance concludes the substantive examination of the patent application and will result in the issuance of a U.S. patent after administrative processes are completed. 
  • The U.S. patent scheduled to issue from this application will expire in 2027.

7:01 am ISIS Pharma's Akcea Therapeutics receives Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for Volanesorsen for the treatment of familial chylomicronemia syndrome (ISIS) : Akcea is currently conducting an international multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study in patients with FCS.

7:01 am Allergan to acquire Oculeve for a $125 mln upfront payment and commercialization milestone payments (AGN) : Under the terms of the agreement, Allergan will acquire Oculeve for a $125 million upfront payment and commercialization milestone payments related to Oculeve's lead development program OD-01. The agreement also includes the acquisition of an additional earlier-stage dry eye device development program. Allergan's 2015 earnings-per-share forecast provided on May 11, 2015 is unchanged as a result of the acquisition. The Company notes it remains committed to de-levering to below 3.5x debt to Adjusted EBITDA by the end of the first quarter of 2016. 

  • The acquisition of Oculeve adds complementary dry eye development programs to Allergan's current eye care research and development programs, including OD-01, a non-invasive nasal neurostimulation device that increases tear production in patients with dry eye disease. Oculeve has completed four clinical studies of OD-01 to date in more than 200 patients, showing positive safety and efficacy of the device.  Allergan plans to conduct two additional pivotal trials prior to FDA submission, which is expected in 2016 with potential commercial launch in 2017.

7:01 am RedHill Biopharma announces authorization for ongoing Phase III RHB-104 Crohn's Disease Study in Australia and New Zealand (RDHL) : Co announced that it has received regulatory authorization to commence patient enrollment in Australia and New Zealand for its ongoing Phase III study with RHB-104 for Crohn's disease (the MAP US study), and has commenced patient screening in New Zealand.  

7:01 am Team acquires the Qualspec Group from Clearview Capital for $255 mln in cash (TISI) : Co has executed a stock purchase agreement to acquire the Qualspec Group from Clearview Capital Fund II, L.P.

  • Qualspec is a leading provider of NDT Inspection services in the United States, with significant operations in the West Coast, Gulf Coast and Mid-Western areas of the country.
  • The acquisition adds about $180 million of annual revenue to Team's operations and nearly 1,000 new employees to Team's human capital resources. The annual EBITDA contribution of the Qualspec business is expected to be about $24 million. 
  • The total cash consideration is $255 million, which could be increased by $10 mln depending upon the operating results of Qualspec through the end of calendar year 2015.

7:00 am Kamada reports the publication of positive data from a Phase 1/2 clinical study of its lead product, intravenous Alpha1-Proteinase Inhibitor-Human, to treat recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes pediatric patients (KMDA) : The study evaluated a pediatric population with recent onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a 37-wk prospective, open-label, phase 1/2 interventional trial, comprised of 24 recently diagnosed subjects who received 18 infusions of 40, 60, or 80 mg/kg/dose of AAT over 28 weeks. The primary endpoints were safety and tolerability and secondary endpoints included glycemic control, C-peptide reserve, and autoantibody levels. Possible responders were defined as individuals with peak C-peptide levels that declined less than 7.5% below baseline.

  • No serious adverse events, diabetic ketoacidosis (:DKA), or severe hypoglycemic episodes were reported. Adverse events were dose-independent and transient. Glycemic control parameters improved during the study in all groups, independent of dosage. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) decreased from 8.43% to 7.09% (mean, p

7:00 am Southcross Energy Partners announces completion of NGL Pipelines; Robstown is currently in the commissioning phase and remains on target to be operational by August 2015 (SXE) :

  • Co announces completion of a 60,000 bbls/d Y-grade pipeline connecting Southcross' Woodsboro processing facility to Southcross Holdings 63,000 bbls/d Robstown Fractionator near Corpus Christi, The NGL Pipelines were part of the drop-down transaction announced in May 2015 with construction expected to be complete in July 2015. 
  • In addition, the first of the two fractionation trains at Robstown is operating at ~32,000 bbls/d of Y-grade. 
  • The second fractionation train at Robstown is currently in the commissioning phase and remains on target to be operational by August 2015.

6:46 am Linn Energy sells remaining Permian Basin Wolfcamp acreage for $281 mln (LINE) : LINN Energy (LINE) and LinnCo (LNCO) announce that LINN has signed a definitive agreement to sell its remaining position in Howard County in the Permian Basin for a contract price of $281 million.

  • The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter 2015 with an effective date of May 1, 2015. 
  • The properties sold include ~ 6,400 net acres prospective for horizontal Wolfcamp drilling and ~ 2.0 MBoe/d of current production from 133 gross wells.

6:45 am Global markets remain lower following "No" vote in Greece... S&P futures -0.6%, European markets down 1% to 2% (SPY) :

  • Global markets are lower after voters in Greece voted 'No' in a referendum vote, rejecting terms of international bailout by a vote of 61% vs 39%. 
  • Following the referendum, Yanis Varoufakis resigned as Greece's finance minister, in a move that is intended to smooth negotiations.
  • S&P futures are -12 vs fair value, Nasdaq futures are -32 vs fair value and DJ futures are -115 vs fair value
  • European Markets: DAX -1.2%, CAC -1.4%, IBEX -1.7%; Greece's market remains closed.
  • Asian Market: Nikkei -2.10%; Hang Seng -3.20%, Shanghai +2.4%.

6:43 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • Ascent Solar (ASTI) announced the launch of its EnerPlex products in 172 Maplin Electronics stores throughout the United Kingdom.
  • OncoSec Medical (ONCS) announced the appointment of Joann V. Lofgren to the newly created position of Vice President of Market Development, effective July 6, 2015. In this role, Lofgren will be responsible for evaluating, designing, and executing on the company's market and product development strategy for all therapeutic products.
  • China Information Technology (CNIT) announced that it launched its mobile app for Healthcare One Pass.
  • MagnaChip Semiconductor (MX) announced that it has started the co-development of an automotive MCU process with ABOV Semiconductor, Automotive Electronic Systems and Semiconductors Lab. of UNIST and Analog & Mixed Signal Integrated Circuit Lab. of SNU using MagnaChip's 0.18 micron automotive process.
  • Statoil (STO) announced that after several years of technology development, construction and testing the first subsea wet gas compressor in the world is now installed at the Gullfaks C platform in the North Sea. Subsea wet gas compression at Gullfaks C will add 22 million barrels of oil equivalent, and extend plateau production by about two years.
  • Blackstone (BX) announced that it has named Liping Zhang as a Senior Managing Director and its Chairman for Greater China. Based in Hong Kong, Mr. Zhang will advise and provide guidance to firm management and its regional business units as the firm continues to expand its presence in the region. Zhang joins from Credit Suisse (CS) where he most recently served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Greater China and Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking.
  • Husky Energy (HUSKF) announced it is undertaking maintenance at its Lloydminster Upgrader that will see operations temporarily suspended for an estimated period of six to eight weeks. Upstream heavy oil production is not expected to be impacted.
  • Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) announced it completed the acquisition of Metalak Benelux B.V. For more than 60 years, Metalak has been the exclusive distributor of Axalta's Spies Hecker refinish coating products sold in the Netherlands and in Flanders, Belgium. 
  • JetBlue (JBLU) announced it operated its first weekly charter flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havana's Jos Mart International Airport. JetBlue is the first major U.S. carrier to fly the route since travel restrictions were eased earlier this year.

6:30 am Oncolytics Biotech announces the presentation of final data from REO 017 clinical study in Pancreatic Cancer (ONCY) : Of the 29 patients evaluable for clinical response, one patient had a partial response (:PR), 23 had stable disease (SD) and five had progressive disease as their best response. This translated into a clinical benefit rate (CBR) (complete response (CR) + PR + SD) of 83%.

6:30 am Sterling Construction announces CFO Thomas Wright steps down for personal reasons; Kevan Blair appointed interim CFO (STRL) :

  • Co announces that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Wright has stepped down effective July 3, 2015 due to personal reasons, but will remain involved with the company on a consulting basis. 
  • The Company plans to launch a search for a new CFO and will evaluate both internal and external candidates. 
  • Kevan Blair, SVP Corporate Finance, has been named interim Chief Financial Officer. 
  • Before joining RLW in December 2004, Blair held senior-level finance positions with Daw Technologies.

6:19 am E-House China's Special Committee retains Duff & Phelps to evaluate previously announced going private offer (EJ) :  

6:15 am Airmedia's Special Committee retains Duff & Phelps to evaluate previously announced going private offer and any potential alternatives (AMCN) :  

6:10 am Petrobras Brasileiro to release its Q2 results on August 6th, 2015, after the market close (PBR) :  

6:06 am China Yuchai's Guangxi Yuchai subsidiary wins competitive bid for nearly 1,300 engines for school buses to be exported to Saudi Arabia (CYD) : China Yuchai's engines represent around 90 percent of the total units awarded in this contract. This is one of the largest Chinese bus engine export orders in 2015 so far.

6:05 am Vimicro's special committee of independent directors of the board retains Duff & Phelps to evaluate previously announced going private offer and any potential alternatives (VIMC) :  

6:05 am S&P futures vs fair value: -9.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -26.00. :

6:05 am European Markets : FTSE...6562.46...-23.40...-0.40%.  DAX...10977.67...-80.70...-0.70%.

6:05 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...20112.12...-427.70...-2.10%.  Hang Seng...25236.28...-827.80...-3.20%.

6:02 am Blue Square-Israel to move forward with a rights offering to its existing holders; also announces Board approval of its proposed arrangement between its Mega Retail subsidiary and its suppliers (BSI) : The co announced that the Board has resolved to move forward with a rights offering to its existing holders of ordinary shares and American Depositary Shares to acquire the Company's ordinary shares and American Depositary Shares, respectively. The Company intends to raise up to NIS 150 million in gross proceeds assuming that all the offered rights are fully exercised. 

  • the co also announced that Mega Retail is proposing an arrangement with its suppliers and service providers as part of its plan of recovery and arrangement and as part of the court proceedings. Under the proposed arrangement, 30% of the existing debt to large suppliers and service providers (suppliers with outstanding debt of NIS 800,000 or greater as of June 30, 2015) would be deferred for two years until June 30, 2017, with the deferred amounts repayable thereafter in 36 equal monthly installments with 3% annual interest without linkage to the CPI.  The balance of payments due to suppliers (minus deferral amount referred to above) would be paid in four equal weekly installments beginning July 31, 2015 or, if later, the original payment date in the case of large suppliers and service providers.

6:01 am ImmunoCellular Therapeutics to establish agreement with Novella Clinical for ICT-107 Phase 3 registration trial in Glioblastoma (IMUC) :

  • Co announces the establishment of an agreement with Novella Clinical, to conduct the phase 3 registration trial of ICT-107 in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Novella is a full-service, global clinical research organization providing clinical trial services to small to mid-sized oncology companies. 
  • The ICT-107 phase 3 trial will include approximately 120 clinical sites in the US, Europe and Canada, and will recruit about 400 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. ImmunoCellular anticipates initiating the phase 3 trial in the fourth quarter of 2015.

6:01 am Ensign Group acquires Buena Vista Hospice; terms not disclosed, expected to be accretive to earnings in 2015 (ENSG) :  

6:00 am Alexion Pharma: Strensiq receives marketing approval in Japan for treatment of patients with Hypophosphatasia; US and Europe Regulatory decisions expected H2 of 2015 (ALXN) :

  • Co announces that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved the Company's New Drug Application for the use of Strensiq as a treatment for patients in Japan with hypophosphatasia. Strensiq, a bone-targeted enzyme replacement therapy, is the first therapy approved in Japan for the treatment of patients with HPP.
  • Alexion expects that initial patients with HPP in Japan will start commercial treatment with Strensiq by late Q3 2015.
  • Alexion has submitted a Biologics License Application for Strensiq with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which was accepted for priority review, and received a positive CHMP opinion recommending marketing authorization for Strensiq for patients with pediatric-onset HPP in Europe. Regulatory decisions in the U.S. and Europe are expected in the second half of 2015.
  • Study results showed that patients with infantile-onset HPP (ages =5 years at enrollment) treated with Strensiq demonstrated rapid and sustained improvements in bone mineralization, as measured by the Radiographic Global Impression of Change scale, which evaluates the severity of rickets based on X-ray images. In addition, infants with HPP treated with Strensiq had 84% overall survival, as estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, at 168 weeks.

6:00 am Magellan Petroleum forms special committee of independent members of the Board to consider various strategic alternatives (MPET) : The co notes the formation of the Special Committee is not in response to any proposal received by the Company or an approach by a third party. The has engaged Petrie Partners, LLC as financial advisor. Petrie will advise the Company as regards to the strategic alternatives review process.

5:17 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • Toshiba (TOSBF) announced that it has developed a flash memory embedded process based on 65nm logic process that uses less power than current mainstream technology, and a single-poly non-volatile memory process based on 130nm logic and analog power process. Sample shipments of the 130nm-NVM and 65nm- flash are scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2015 and the 2nd quarter of 2016, respectively. 
  • On the eve of Amazon's (AMZN) 20th birthday, the company introduces Prime Day, a global shopping event, with more deals than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members 
  • ICL (ICL) announced that its ICL Haifa subsidiary signed a license agreement with MIGAL Galilee Research Institute for the use of proprietary technology related to wastewater treatment.

5:01 am Salem Comms acquires DividendInvestor.com (SALM) : Co announced that it has acquired the website DividendInvestor.com.

  • Adding Dividend Investor to the Eagle Financial Publications' portfolio of investment newsletters and trading services adds a new tool to an additional tool to its group of products.
  • Financial terms were not disclosed

4:06 am China Nepstar Chain Drugstore receives 'Going Private' proposal for $2.60 per ADS (NPD) : Co announced that its board of directors has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter, dated July 6, 2015, from Simin Zhang, chairman of the board of directors of the Company, and China Neptunus Drugstore Holding, an investment vehicle wholly owned by Mr. Zhang, pursuant to which the Buyer Parties propose to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares and the American Depositary Shares of the Company, in both cases, that are not already beneficially owned by the Buyer Parties and their affiliates at a price of $1.30 per Share or $2.60 per ADS, as the case may be, in cash, in a going private transaction, subject to certain conditions.

3:59 am CTC Media receives non-binding offer from UTH Russia for the purchase of a 75% interest in co's Russian business operations (CTCM) : CTC Media (CTCM) announced developments in connection with its response to the amendment to the Russian law "On Mass Media", which will impose further restrictions on non-Russian ownership of Russian television companies beginning January 1, 2016.

  • The Company has received a formal, non-binding offer from UTH Russia, a privately held Russian commercial television broadcasting group, for the purchase of a 75% interest in the Company's Russian (and Kazakhstan) business operations. 
  • Pursuant to the non-binding offer, UTH would acquire a 75% interest in the Company's operating businesses, on a cash- and debt-free basis, for $200 million in cash.
  • Following this transaction, the direct and indirect ownership of the group's operating businesses in Russia would comply with the Russian law requirement that at least 80% of the ultimate beneficial ownership and control of the businesses is held by Russians by the stated deadline of January 1, 2016.

3:25 am Allot Comms sees Q2 and FY revs below consensus; (ALLT) : Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of net loss vs. $0.07 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $21-22 mln vs. $30.43 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues downside guidance for FY15 (Dec), sees FY15 (Dec) revs of $100-105 mln vs. $126.24 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Additionally, co announced strategic wins totaling $8 million from three new tier-1 mobile operators during Q2.

2:39 am Golden Star Resources provides update on its Bogoso Refractory Business; sees negative impact on production and costs for the full year (GSS) : Co announced that due to frequent voltage fluctuations in the grid power supply over the last three months the ball mill at the Bogoso refractory plant has sustained repeated significant damage culminating last week in a complete failure of the ball mill motor. A replacement motor for the ball mill is being refurbished and is expected to be on site next week. This downtime at the plant impacts bacterial activity and gold recovery in the BIOX circuit.

  • The cumulative impact on throughput at the mill and the resulting impact of such throughput issues on the cost structure compels management to review its options at Bogoso and an early closure of the refractory operations is being contemplated. This is expected to have a negative impact on production and costs for the full year. Further guidance will be provided after this review.
  • Expectations were that this operation would produce 145,000 - 155,000 ounces of gold in 2015 at a cash cost of between $870 and $960 per ounce

2:37 am Humana: Aetna (AET) to acquire Humana for ~$230 per share (HUM) : Aetna (AET) and Humana (HUM) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Aetna will acquire all outstanding shares of Humana for a combination of cash and stock valued at $37 billion or approximately $230 per Humana share based on the closing price of Aetna common shares on July 2, 2015.

  • Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, Humana stockholders will receive $125.00 in cash and 0.8375 Aetna common shares for each Humana share. 
  • As a result of the transaction, Aetna's shareholders would own approximately 74 percent of the combined company and Humana's shareholders would own approximately 26 percent. 
  • Aetna expects to finance the cash portion of the transaction with a combination of cash on hand and by issuing approximately $16 billion of new term loans, debt and commercial paper. 
  • Upon closing, which is expected to be in the second half of 2016, the company's debt-capital ratio is projected to be approximately 46 percent, and management has committed to reducing that ratio below 40 percent over the 24 months following the closing. 
  • The transaction is projected to be neutral to Aetna's 2016 Operating EPS and produce mid-single digit percentage Operating EPS accretion in 2017 and low double-digit percentage Operating EPS accretion in 2018.

2:33 am ArcelorMittal issues CHF225 mln of 2.5% notes due 2020 (MT) :  

2:20 am Technip Samsung Consortium awarded two contracts by Shell (RDS.A) for the Browse floating liquefied natural gas (TKPPY) : Technip Samsung Consortium was awarded two contracts by Shell (RDS.A) for the Browse floating liquefied natural gas project in Australia, operated by Woodside.

  • The Browse project covers the realization and installation of three FLNG units to develop the Brecknock, Calliance and Torosa fields in the Browse Basin, 425 kilometers North of Broome, Western Australia.

2:01 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

  • Southwest Airlines (LUV) announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with its Flight Attendants. Terms of the deal were not released, but the airline said they include wage increases, bonus opportunities, and work-rule adjustments. 
  • Infosys (INFY) announced that it has been selected as a strategic partner by Allied Irish Banks, a financial services group operating predominantly in the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Infosys will also make significant investments in the Republic of Ireland. 
  • Bombardier Transportation (BDRBF) has signed two contracts with Transport for London to build and maintain 45 four-car new electric multiple units. Together the contracts are valued at ~GBP358 million ($558 million). 
  • Salesforce (CRM) announced that Shiseido has selected Salesforce Marketing Cloud to support its comprehensive web beauty service community "watashi+," establishing one-to-one connections with members via email and LINE, a mobile messaging platform. Shiseido will launch the system in July 2015.

1:39 am Gilead Sciences receives Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approval for Harvoni (GILD) : Co announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (:MHLW) has approved Harvoni, the first once-daily single tablet regimen for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection in adults. Harvoni combines the NS5A inhibitor ledipasvir with the nucleotide analog polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir, approved by the MHLW under the trade name Sovaldi in March 2015. Harvoni is indicated for the suppression of viremia in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C virus infection with or without compensated cirrhosis, with a treatment duration of 12 weeks.

1:21 am Potash issues statement stating confidence K+S Aktiengesellschaft's (KPLUF) concerns can be addressed through further discussions (POT) : Potash acknowledged the statement issued by K+S Aktiengesellschaft.

  • PotashCorp believes the proposed transaction would combine two best-in-class companies with minimal overlap to create a global producer in the nutrient industry for the long-term benefit of investors, customers, employees and the communities where both companies operate. 
  • The company affirmed that its proposal is not predicated on closing mines, curtailing production, selling the salt business or cutting jobs.

1:09 am Darden Restaurants extends the expiration date of the solicitation of consents from holders of 6.00% Senior Notes due 2035 and the Company's 6.80% Senior Notes due 2037 (DRI) :  

1:08 am LGI Homes closes record amount of homes for both June and Q2 (LGIH) : Co announced an all-time record for closings during a single month in June 2015, surpassing its previous record set in March 2015. Home closings for June 2015 totaled 331, up from 243 homes closed in June 2014, representing year-over-year growth of 36.2%.

  • In addition, the Company announced record-setting quarterly closings of 853 for the second quarter of 2015, finishing out the first six months of the year with a total of 1,524 homes closed, a 32.9% increase over homes closed during the first six months of 2014.

1:07 am AAC Holdings acquires Referral Solutions Group and Taj Media for $35 million in cash and $25 million in stock (AAC) : AAC Holdings (AAC) has acquired Referral Solutions Group and Taj Media for $35 million in cash and $25 million in stock through its operating subsidiary, American Addiction Centers and its indirect subsidiary, Sober Media Group

  • Referral Solutions Group is an online publisher in the substance abuse treatment industry with a comprehensive portfolio of websites and marketing assets. Taj Media, founded in 2007, represents a premier digital marketing agency with addiction treatment industry expertise. 
  • Referral Solutions Group and Taj Media generated combined revenue of approximately $13 million and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $5.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2014. The senior management team of Referral Solutions and Taj Media and over 60 employees will join the AAC team

1:05 am Molycorp (:MCPIQ) receives court approval of $22 mln in new funds to support operations (MCP) : Co reported that it had received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on $22 million in interim debtor-in-possession financing provided by an affiliate of Oaktree Capital Management. The new funds will support operations going forward for an interim period while the Company continues to negotiate with Oaktree and a group representing the secured 10% noteholders, both of which represent secured creditors that have presented competing DIP lending proposals.

  • The Company now has the funds to continue its operations and to move forward on releasing funds to pay post-petition suppliers and some pre-petition essential suppliers, as previously approved by the Court. 
  • Employees will continue to work their usual schedules, and purchasing of goods and services can move forward to ensure Molycorp's customers can be serviced. Between now and the final hearing, the Mountain Pass facility will continue to run in an orderly and controlled way.

12:59 am Crescent Point Energy acquires Coral Hill Energy; raises 2015 production guidance (CPG) : Co announces that it has entered into an arrangement agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Coral Hill Energy.

  • Coral Hill is a privately owned, light oil-weighted producer with ~3,200 boe/d of high-netback productive capacity, primarily in the Swan Hills Beaverhill Lake resource play. 
  • Crescent Point and Coral Hill are partners in this large oil-in-place pool located in west central Alberta. Coral Hill's assets have a low recovery factor to date and growth potential through horizontal drilling and waterflood implementation. The Coral Hill Assets include more than 500 net sections of land. 
  • Coral Hill shareholders will receive 0.0567 of a common share of Crescent Point for each Coral Hill share. Crescent Point will also assume approximately $132 million of estimated net debt (inclusive of transaction costs) as at the time of closing. On a total corporate basis, this values Coral Hill at approximately $258 million, based on a five-day volume weighted average trading price ending June 26, 2015, of $26.90 per Crescent Point common share. 
    • Crescent Point already owns 7.2 million shares of Coral Hill (approximately 8.7 percent of Coral Hill's outstanding shares), and will issue approximately 4.28 million Crescent Point common shares to acquire the remaining Coral Hill shares.
REVISED GUIDANCE FOR 2015
  • Assuming the successful completion of the Coral Hill Arrangement on or about August 14, 2015, and based on current production of approximately 2,600 boe/d, Crescent Point is upwardly revising its 2015 annual average production guidance by 1,000 boe/d to 163,500 boe/d
  • The 2015 capital budget remains unchanged at $1.55 billion. 

12:47 am DBV Technologies files F-1 to offer of new ADSs (DBVT) : Co announced it intends to issue the new securities within the limits of the authorizations granted at the Company's General Meeting held on June 23, 2015, such that a maximum of 30% of the Company's share capital will be issued in the proposed offering at an offering price not less than the volume weighted-average of closing price of the Company's ordinary shares on the Euronext Paris over the three days prior to commencement of marketing of the proposed offering, possibly decreased by a maximum discount of 5%.

12:03 am Greek votes 'No' on referendum to reject terms of international bailout (GREK) :

  • Greece had its highly anticipated referendum to vote on terms of international bailout. Voters in Greece voted 'No' to reject terms of international bailout by a vote of 61% vs 39% (Official Results). Greek Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras was lobbying for a 'No' vote all week and indicated that if the vote goes in that direction he would meet with Eurozone officials and demand a better deal. 
  • The referendum suggest a greater likelihood of the possibility that Greece will leave the Eurozone. Greek banks have been seeing deposit outflows since the crisis began, and may be under continued pressure following these results. 
  • European Commission President Juncker is consulting tonight and tomorrow with the democratically elected leaders of the other 18 Eurozone members as well as with the Heads of the EU institutions. He will have a conference call among the 'Euro-Institutionals' this morning. He intends to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday (EU Statement). 
  • Related Stocks: NBG, ALBKY, FXE, VGK, GREK, SPY
  • Briefing note: S&P Futures opened up -1.5%; Currently at down 1.4% at 2041.
Read the rest of the article at finance.yahoo.com

Ferrellgas

CODE : FGP
ISIN : US3152931008
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Ferrellgas is a producing company based in United states of america.

Ferrellgas is listed in United States of America. Its market capitalisation is US$ 31.1 millions as of today (€ 28.0 millions).

Its stock quote reached its highest recent level on January 09, 2009 at US$ 9.98, and its lowest recent point on January 10, 2020 at US$ 0.20.

Ferrellgas has 97 152 665 shares outstanding.

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