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

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

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

In U.S. corporate news of note:

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

Reviewing overnight developments:

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

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

7:55 am Ryder Expands Natural Gas Vehicle Solution to Arkansas with Alpha Packaging, Inc. and Boyd Metals Transportation LLC (R) : .....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Economic data

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

Equity Markets

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

FX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 73.9% year/year to $188.3 mln vs the $117.73 mln consensus.
• Comps +3%.
• Co issues guidance for Q2, sees EPS of ($0.13)-(0.10) vs. ($0.04) Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q2 revs of $115-116 mln vs. $115.78 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Comps  +5-7%.
• Co issues guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $1.18-1.23 from $1.15-1.20 vs. $1.19 Capital IQ Consensus; reaffirms FY16 revs +10-12% to ~$558-569 mln vs. $561.88 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• Comps +3-5%.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transaction Highlights:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highlights

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