PSX, COP

COP, PTR

ABBV, ABT

12:30 PM Stocks bounce from a sizable early loss, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each off 0.35% in the noon hour. It’s a broad decline with no sector in the green and the only big S&P 500 gainers being P&G and Intuitive Surgical. Has Apple become a Treasury bond? It’s up today and seems to outperform every time there’s a selloff. 2 Comments

12:28 PM Barrick Gold (ABX -0.5%) is halted on news Chile’s environmental regulator has imposed a $16M fine – the maximum allowed under Chilean law – and stopped construction on its $8.5B Pascua-Lama project, citing “serious violations” of its environmental permit. [Commodities] 5 Comments

ACE, RNR

12:22 PM The pressure on reinsurance pricing isn’t set to dissipate anytime soon, says Credit Suisse, after talking with 9 of the firms this week. Faring best will be those with higher exposure to Florida (say ACE) – where price pressure will ease somewhat – as opposed to those with more of a national presence (say RNR). Rated Outperform are Aspen (AHL) – with less than 25% of the portfolio exposed to industry headwinds – and Validus (VR) – trading near book despite a more diverse revenue line. [Financials] Comment!

TAN, KWT

12:21 PM Solar stocks (TAN +0.8%; KWT +1.5%) wrap up a banner week, as Chinese solar panel makers begin to shift emphasis from their overcrowded home market in favor of lucrative exports. The rally was sparked by JA Solar’s better than expected shipments, but analysts call for caution: The stocks are addicted to momentum, and stock moves are often disconnected from dire market prospects most of the companies face. [Tech, Energy] Comment!

12:21 PM Valeant (VRX +12.3%) is nearing a deal to acquire Bausch & Lomb for ~$9B, WSJ says. [Healthcare, M&A, Breaking News] Comment!

12:20 PM Shares of Melco Crown (MPEL) shrug off a downgrade from Macquarie to trade higher than their opening level as traders bet yesterday’s selloff on worries about China’s economy was a bit overdone. Though it’s not up and running in the Philippines just yet, Melco Crown will be more than a pure Macau play in the future. [Consumer, On the Move] 1 Comment

12:06 PM Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST -1.5%) slips on a downgrade to Neutral on valuation at Janney Capital. Despite the downgrade – not to mention a 36% runup in the shares since last November – the firm raises its price target on the stock by another 10% to $55 from $50. Separately, CBST‘s CEO Mike Bonney is scheduled to present at Jefferies 2013 Global Healthcare Conference on Monday, June 3, to discuss it’s pipeline, financial outlook, and recentdevelopments. Tune into the live presentation here: (Webcast) [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

12:00 PM On the hour: Dow -0.23%. 10-yr +0.06%. Euro -0.12% vs. dollar. Crude -0.48% to $93.8. Gold -0.39% to $1386.35. Comment!

11:57 AM Gasoline prices in Minnesota are the highest in the continental U.S., a dubious honor usually reserved for California and odd considering the state borders North Dakota, now the no. 2 U.S. oil producer. Minnesota drivers were paying $4.29/gal. on May 20, $0.62 above the U.S. average. Planned and unplanned maintenance at Midwest refineries have cut into gasoline production and available supplies are depleted, the EIA says. [Energy, Consumer] 1 Comment

HYG, JNK

11:54 AM A bit of selling by investors in high-yield ETFs (HYG, JNK) has Wall Street banks stepping in – their holdings of junk paper rising 37% to $7.7B in the last 2 weeks. Also at work suggests JPMorgan’s team is banks’ – used to being cautious the past few years – becoming a little more comfortable with trading activity. [Financials] Comment!

11:52 AM Venaxis (APPY -5%) slips today after pricing its 10M shares and related warrants to purchase 3.5M shares at a combined public price of $1.25 per share with an exercise price of $1.36. The offering is expected to close on May 30. Venaxis should realize approximately $11.1M in net proceeds from the sale, for which it intends to use primarily for funding of further clinical development and seeking FDA clearance for APPY1, as well as for initial commercialization of the drug in the U.S. and the E.U. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

11:48 AM AirAsia, which has already ordered 475 Airbus (EADSF.PK +1%) A320s, may order 50 more, CEO Tony Fernandes says. The airline has “bought a lot of planes but [is] still short” as far as supplying aircraft to its Indian subsidiary which will launch in Q4. Comment!

11:46 AM Iranian hackers have escalated a campaign of cyberassaults against U.S. companies and were able to gain access to control-system software that could allow them to manipulate oil or gas pipelines, proceeding “far enough to worry people,” WSJ reports. Sources don’t name the companies targeted but were energy companies along the Canadian border, where many firms have operations. [Energy, U.S. Economy] 1 Comment

11:45 AM QEP Resources (QEP) declares $0.02/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.28%. For shareholders of record June 3. Payable June 22. Ex-div date May 30. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

11:39 AM Tupperware Brands Corporation (TUP) declares $0.62/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.02%. For shareholders of record June 19. Payable July 8. Ex-div date June 17. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

11:24 AM Brazil plans to auction off its largest-ever offshore oil discovery in October at the country’s first presalt-bid round, selling exploration and production rights for the Libra prospect estimated to hold 8B-12B barrels of recoverable crude oil. Petrobras (PBR) will be required to take a minimum 30% stake in any winning bid group – unrealistic, critics say, since it lacks the necessary personnel and financial resources. [Energy, Global & FX] Comment!

11:22 AM China Biologic (CBPO -5.3%) slides on the news that on May 21 two of its shareholders sold its competitor, Shanghai RAAS, about 2.7M of its shares representing 9.9% of equity. CBPO says it had no knowledge of the deal, nor had there been any discussions with Shanghai RAAS. The sale looks to be questionable at best, considering that one of the shareholders’ shareholding status was under dispute in a pending case in Hong Kong, and Shanghai RAAS was aware of that fact. [Global & FX, Healthcare] Comment!

PNRA, JACK

11:14 AM Fast-casual chain Noodles files for IPO of an undetermined size. In its released financials, the company indicated revenue grew from $170M in 2008 to $300M in 2012. At current growth rates, Noodles could expand to 2.5K restaurants over the next 15 to 20 years and eventually give Panera (PNRA -0.5%), Qdoba (JACK -0.4%), and Chipotle (CMG -1.3%) something to think about. Noodles is expected to trade under the symbol NDLS. (S-1) [Consumer] Comment!

11:11 AM Hibbett Sports (HIBB -4.1%) sinks after Q1 earnings and revenue miss estimates. From the report: Sales and comps rise 3% and 0.8% Y/Y respectively (Q1 2012 comps were +12%). Product margin was up during the period, but an 18 basis point rise in warehouse expenses hurt HIBB’s gross margin, which fell slightly (10 basis points Y/Y). FY14 EPS outlook is reiterated at $2.85-3.05 versus consensus of $3.03. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

11:05 AM Heard during Abercrombie & Fitch’s (ANF -10.1%) earnings call: 1) The biggest takeaway is that ten percentage points of the large drop in comparable store sale is attributable to inventory issues. 2) China isn’t the problem behind slumping sales. Comp sales in the nation were +40% despite difficult inventory issues. 3) On share buybacks, the retailer says it will remain consistent with past policy – but will have a goal of maintaining a cash position of $350M. 4) Analysts take a pass on asking about the recent flap over the stance of CEO Michael Jefferies on plus sizes. (webcast) [Consumer] Comment!

11:03 AM National Bank of Greece (NBG) may have to up its offers after results of tenders for 5 preferred securities show decent, but not fantastic participation, with about €80M of the paper set to still be outstanding after the May 27 settlement date. Shares (and presumably the ADRs) are halted from trading until May 30. (PR) [Financials] Comment!

11:01 AM Taro Pharmaceutical (TARO -7%) slides after earlier reporting Q1 earnings of $1.10 per share on net sales of $165.1M, an increase of 13.8%, from a year ago. Gross margin grew to 72.4% from 68.3%, offsetting an increase in Research and development expenses by 23.9% to $12.2M. Settlements and loss contingencies totalled $33.3M, dragging down operating income to $63.1M, or 38.2% of net sales, compared to $66.2 million, or 45.6% the year prior. [Healthcare, Earnings, On the Move] 2 Comments

11:00 AM On the hour: Dow -0.3%. 10-yr +0.12%. Euro -0.03% vs. dollar. Crude -0.75% to $93.54. Gold -0.38% to $1386.45. Comment!

10:59 AM Statoil (STO) says its plans for the Johan Castberg oilfield in the Barents Sea are being undermined by unexpected regulatory changes that threaten to limit development in the far north, as the project needs new infrastructure and already was a challenge in terms of costs. CEO Helge Lund says a stable political and regulatory environment has been Norway’s “most important competitive advantage” during the past 20 years. [Energy] Comment!

10:51 AM Vivus Pharmaceuticals (VVUS +3.6%) extends yesterday’s gains, bringing its two-day run to ~13% as Carl Icahn’s former head of health care investments Alex Denner is added to First Manhattan’s proposed slate of directors. Denner and First Manhattan, who own some 12% of the outstanding shares between them, are critical of VVUS’ handling of Qsymia (I, II), and want to get “the best people behind a great asset,” First Manhattan says. SA contributor Brian Wilson thinks any weakness in the business is “unlikely to be reflected in the stock price as short sellers worry about a potential bidding war between activist shareholders and management.” [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

10:47 AM Marvell’s (MRVL +0.3%) price target is lifted $2 to $15 by RBC’s Doug Freedman post-earnings, noting the low-end of FQ2 guidance is above both his and Street estimates. Needham ups its PT $3 to $15. Both maintain Buy ratings. Something didn’t sit well with JMP Securities which cuts to Sell with $8 PT. Perhaps the stock’s 57% YTD run has priced the good news in. Shares have given up big premarket gains. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

MAGOF.PK, GUCG.PK

10:46 AM Luxury retail companies seem to be seeing something more than economists do as they ramp up investments and marketing on expectations for increased high-end spending in the U.S. Even with all the focus on the growth potential for the luxury sector in China and Hong Kong, by sales the U.S. market is still twice as big and has plenty of upside, according to industry insiders. A wildcard in the mix is the impact from some relaxed rules on visa approvals for wealthier tourists from emerging markets. On watch: Hermes, LVMH Moet Hennessy (MAGOF.PK), Gucci (GUCG.PK), Louis Vuitton (LVMUY.PK), Coach (COH), Tiffany (TIF), Ralph Lauren (RL), Burberry (BURBY.PK), Saks (SKS), Hugo Boss, Christian Dior (CHDRF.PK). [Consumer, Global & FX] Comment!

10:43 AM L.B. Foster Company (FSTR) declares $0.03/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.26%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable June 21. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

RLNIY.OB, BP

10:38 AM Reliance Industries (RLNIY.OB), BP and Niko Resources say they made a significant gas and condensate discovery at their Krisha Godavari D6 deepwater block off eastern India. Reliance, which operates the venture and holds a 60% interest with BP holding 30%, says the data suggests good flow potential and will evaluate development options. [Energy] Comment!

10:33 AM Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP +39.1%) soars on huge volume. The stock is now up ~68% since Wednesday. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

10:32 AM Salesforce.com (CRM -7.8%) is cut to Hold with price target reduced $9 to $42 at Wedbush post-earnings. Analyst Steve Koenig views “deferred commission expenditures” as the best indicator of new sales activity, and they fell 46% Y/Y. Asked about it on the CC (transcript), CFO Graham Smith suggests a tough comp as the reason for the big dip. Needham’s Mike Huang reiterates his Buy and $50 PT: “We don’t detect any meaningful deterioration of sales cycles or close rates.” [Tech, On the Move] 5 Comments

10:30 AM An opinion piece titled “The Other Government Motors” from the WSJ isn’t too subtle about taking apart the Q1 profit Tesla Motors (TSLA +1.4%) reported as it hitched a free ride with U.S. taxpayers. The zero-emission tax credits Tesla can sell to other automakers and the generous $7.5K federal tax credits to motivate buyers are the big two complaints. But what isn’t entirely clear is why other car companies selling EVs aren’t lumped into the same discourse? [Consumer] 19 Comments

10:27 AM Shoe Carnival (SCVL +10%) hits a 52-week high after Q1 results top estimates. From the report: Q1 was challenging thanks to colder weather, but trends improved in April helping comps growth which, although still negative (-0.8%), was better than the company anticipated. Revenues rise 4.3% Y/Y, profit margin falls 130 basis points, SG&A falls $2.8M. Guidance: Q2 revenue of $217-220 and EPS of $0.26-0.30 against consensus of $218.88 and $0.28/share. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

10:20 AM Pandora (P +6.2%) gets a couple of more sell side boosts post-earnings, with Wells Fargo maintaining a Buy and upping its price target to $20-$22 from $15-$17. “Conversion of consumers impacted by mobile cap exceeded company estimates.” Needham ups its FY14 EPS estimate a penny to $0.05 and reiterates its Buy and $20 PT. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

NWS, CMCSA

10:18 AM A group of broadcasters including Fox (NWS), NBCU (CMCSA), ABC (DIS), and Telemundo filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in Washington DC against a similar outfit to Aereo that is also offering re-transmission services to consumers. The target, subtly called Aereokiller, appears to be an easier case for the broadcasting companies to win a decision over – right in the backyard of politicians. [Consumer] Comment!

10:15 AM Campbell’s Soup (CPB -0.8%) trades lower after announcing it will acquire Plum Organics, a maker of organic foods for kids, for an undisclosed amount. CPB is apparently looking to cash in on a growing market for premium and organic baby food and says that with the addition, the company’s “portfolio of kids-focused soups, beverages and snacks will have annual sales of more than $1B.” Plum is the No. 4 baby food brand in the country, with $93M in gross sales during 2012. (PR) [Consumer, M&A] Comment!

10:11 AM Should there be a cap on oil spill payouts? A group of accounting professors essentially says yes and is backing BP‘s fight to cap the U.S. oil spill compensation payouts it must fund, which threatens to add billions of dollars to its bill for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. “Identifying revenues and expenses requires more than a mere consideration of cash receipts and disbursements,” the profs say. [Energy] 4 Comments

10:11 AM Iconix Brand (ICON -1.1%) acquires the 49% interest in Ecko Unlimited and Marc Ecko Cut & Sew that it doesn’t own for $45M. As part of the deal, a $52M note payable by the sellers will be erased. [Consumer, M&A] Comment!

10:05 AM Wal-Mart (WMT +0.5%) thinks it has the answer on how to keep its shelves stocked adequately at stores as it introduces a new measure to link executive compensation to the issue. In the past, the company audited its on-shelf performance internally but will now turn it over to outside auditors. What started as anecdotal complaints on a lack of items at stores has turned into a larger flap which was even addressed during the firm’s recent earnings call. (transcript). [Consumer] 3 Comments

10:00 AM On the hour: Dow -0.45%. 10-yr +0.13%. Euro +0.15% vs. dollar. Crude -1.09% to $93.22. Gold -0.25% to $1388.35. Comment!

9:58 AM Teche Holding (TSH) declares $0.37/share quarterly dividend, 1.38% increase from prior dividend of $0.365. Forward yield 3.5%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 12. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

9:57 AM Dow Chemical (DOW -0.3%) announces plans to deploy part of its recent payment from Kuwait’s chemicals company to reduce up to $2B in debt in 2013. Dow says its current and planned actions should deliver more than $100M in annual interest expense savings, and are expected to bring its net debt to total capital ratio to well below 40%. [Commodities] Comment!

GURU, SPY

9:52 AM AUM at the year-old Global X Top Guru Holdings ETF (GURU) are up more than 1,000% YTD as its strong performance (up more than 40% since inception vs. about 30% for the SPY) lures investors. The fund invests by studying 13F filings and rebalances quarterly. Other funds based on hedge fund positions – ALFA and QAI – are also trailing GURU. Comment!

MSFT, GME

9:51 AM Microsoft (MSFT -0.3%) and other publishers will take a cut of every sale on pre-owned Xbox One games, according to gaming website MCV. Under a new arrangement, retailers will tap into Microsoft’s cloud servers for a transfer of rights on sales of pre-owned games. Though the games can be sold at any price the retailers wish, estimates on the percentage of the sale they can keep are drifting steadily lower. Shares of GameStop (GME -2.4%) are lower on the day. [Tech, Consumer] Comment!

XOM, IOC

9:47 AM Exxon’s (XOM -0.4%) arrival as a tentative partner gives InterOil’s (IOC +6.9%) Elk/Antelope resource a blue chip “stamp of approval,” Raymond James writes, but “the market’s enthusiasm will be tempered by the fact that a deal has yet to be finalized.” Still unknown: how much of the resource will be monetized; the timing of a final deal; and “most importantly,” the purchase price. [Energy, On the Move] 1 Comment

9:41 AM Sherwin-Williams (SHW +0.7%) gets an upgrade from Baird to Outperform from Neutral (price target $205). Q2 margins in the Global Finishes segment were “very, very strong” in 2012, analyst Ghansham Panjabi noted on the most recent CC, before asking management if they believed they could beat the tough comp next quarter. “Yes, [but] we don’t give guidance by segment,” CFO Sean Hennessy said, before turning the conversation back to Q1. (transcript) [Consumer] Comment!

9:38 AM Phillips 66 (PSX) says it plans to use more domestic shale oil at its New Jersey Bayway refinery and could consider exporting gasoline from the facility thanks to lower costs and as U.S. fuel demand wanes. PSX is in the process of building an offloading facility that will allow it to receive 75K bbl/day of additional Bakken crude directly to the refinery. [Energy] Comment!

JCP, SHLD

9:37 AM Polar Capital’s Brad Ginesin indicates the read-through for J.C. Penney (JCP -0.7%) from Sears Holdings’ (SHLD -17.4%) shoddy quarter isn’t too pretty. The hedge fund manager’s laundry list of JCP/SHLD headaches: “…no consumer traction, drifting strategy, murky profit outlook, victim to strong competition.” [Consumer, On the Move] 1 Comment

9:31 AM “Apple’s (AAPL) sorta cheap,” says Jeff Gundlach, admitting he’s now long the stock he famously shorted 100-200 points ago. He doesn’t seem terribly excited about the company’s business prospects, but – selling for 7x earnings (excluding cash) – a hot new product isn’t necessary to make the investment profitable. “(Apple) can keep selling a whole bunch of expensive new phones and iPads, and they’ll be a cash cow.” [Tech] 20 Comments

9:31 AM At the open: Dow -0.41% to 15232. S&P -0.63% to 1640. Nasdaq -0.56% to 3449. Treasurys: 30-year +0.22%. 10-yr +0.08%. 5-yr +0.03%. Commodities: Crude -1.06% to $93.25. Gold -0.43% to $1385.85. Currencies: Euro +0.04% vs. dollar. Yen -0.96%. Pound +0.06%. 5 Comments

BREW, HINKY.PK

9:29 AM Beer market winners and losers: Tracking data from Citi Research showed Boston Beer was the big winner over the four-week period ending May 11, although Craft Brew Alliance (BREW) and Heineken (HINKY.PK) also made solid gains, sales up 10.7% and 7.1% respectively. The market share gains came at the expense of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) and MillerCoors (SBMRY.PK, TAP) which saw sales slip during the same period. [Consumer, Global & FX] Comment!

9:28 AM Deutsche Bank starts Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) at Buy with a $40 price target representing a 42.5% premium to Thursday’s close. Analyst Alethia Young says the company “has the chance to unlock significant long-term value as they commercialize their assets in the clinic during 2017 and beyond, leading to $4B+ in unadjusted sales.” [Healthcare] Comment!

PBR, STO

9:28 AM Petrobras (PBR) agrees to sell a stake in an oil and gas exploration block offshore Tanzania to Statoil (STO) for an unspecified amount. PBR will continue to operate the block with a 38% stake, while Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) will retain a 50% share and STO 12%. The deal is part of $9.9B in planned divestments as PBR focuses on developing offshore fields in Brazil. [Energy] 1 Comment

9:24 AM Boston Beer (SAM) increased sales by over 40% during a four-week tracking period, according to Citi Research. A combination of seasonal specials, higher promotional spending, and attractive pricing helped beer sales shoot up 18% in dollar terms. [Consumer] Comment!

9:19 AM Bank lobbyists cut out the middleman, writing legislation softening financial regulations on their own instead of leaving it to lawmakers to draft the paperwork. A bill exempting broad swathes of trades from new regulation – which cruised through the House Financial Services Committee this month – was essentially written by Citigroup (C), according to emails reviewed by the NYT. Is this even news? Fans of The Aviator have seen it before. [Financials] 3 Comments

9:15 AM Market preview: Stock futures are off early lows following a durable goods report that was stronger than expected, but remain on the defensive amid uncertainty over the Fed’s future course. S&P -0.6%. Investors may be inclined to book profits ahead of the long weekend, and Japan’s volatile session adds to the sense of unease. Sears and ANF are lower after deep Q1 losses; P&G +3.8% after a change at the top. Comment!

9:15 AM Shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) look set to post solid gains for a second straight day after a jury determined the company was not negligent in its training of surgeons. The $8.45M civil suit revolved around one Fred Taylor who passed away four years after having his prostate removed by ISRG’s da Vinci robot. Shares +3.67% premarket. [Healthcare, On the Move] 1 Comment

BLOX, IOC

9:10 AM Premarket gainers: BLOX +17%. IOC +15%. YGE +13%. P +11%. MRVL +5%. Losers: DF -52%. SHLD -16%. AVEO -15%. RSOL -13%. TITN -11%. APPY -7%. ANF -7%. CRM -5%. [On the Move] 2 Comments

GDX, GLD

9:06 AM After spending years and billions eliminating their hedge books, gold producers (GDX) may need to return to their old habit - selling production forward – thanks to the metal’s (GLD) sharp decline. “We think producers are under pressure to put on hedging,” says SocGen’s Robin Bhar. “The problem is it needs a cultural change … Guys who used to hedge have lost their jobs.” Renewed producer selling could put even more pressure on prices. [Commodities] 7 Comments

EPHE, IDX

9:04 AM Stocks in the Philippines (EPHE) add 0.62% to yesterday’s losses, bringing Thursday/Friday’s decline to 1.6%, erasing Tuesday/Wednesday’s combined gains entirely (I, II). Indonesian equities (IDX) rise 0.66% as the JCI closes the week at 5,155, down 1.1% from Monday’s close (See: IDX rises on new Fin. Min.). Elsewhere in the region, Vietnamese stocks (VNM) rise 0.41% and Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore are closed for a local holiday. [Global & FX] Comment!

9:02 AM Gardner Denver (GDI) declares $0.05/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.27%. For shareholders of record June 11. Payable June 25. Ex-div date June 7. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

9:00 AM On the hour: S&P -0.48%. 10-yr +0.1%. Euro -0.01% vs. dollar. Crude -0.71% to $93.59. Gold -0.09% to $1390.55. Comment!

NWS, NWSA

8:58 AM News Corp. (NWS, NWSA) says its board of directors formally approved the split of the company into two entities to be called 21st Century Fox and the new News Corporation. After the separation, the new News Corp. will be have an authorization to buy back $500M in stock in its back pocket. A rights agreement was also adopted to protect shareholder interests. NWS +0.6% premarket. (PR) [Consumer] Comment!

8:58 AM CoreSite Realty Corporation (COR) declares $0.27/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.16%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable July 15. Ex-div date June 26. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:57 AM Whiting Petroleum (WLL) is upgraded to Buy from Neutral with a $58 price target, up from $51, at SunTrust, due to valuation and upcoming catalysts that include results from its first Bakken Silt and Sanish down-spacing tests, Niobrara results and potential monetization of its Potle EOR field. Shares +1.5% premarket. [Energy, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

8:55 AM Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) declares $0.40/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.48%. For shareholders of record June 3. Payable June 28. Ex-div date May 30. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:54 AM Morgan Stanley (MS) shakes up its Asia equities team, naming Jerome Leleu and Mille Cheng as co-heads of the business to replace Justin Jaik who’s moving to a new role. Cheng is rejoining Morgan from Barclays – where she headed the China equity business since 2011. [Financials] Comment!

8:52 AM Dillards (DDS) declares $0.05/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.21%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable August 5. Ex-div date June 26. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:49 AM More on Tsakos Energy’s (TNP) Q1 results: Profit improvement was primarily driven by a 6% increase in the average time charter rate per vessel, and a drop in the fleet’s overall expenses of 7.4% Y/Y on a per-ship basis while the fleet’s total voyage expenses fell 24.1% Y/Y. Utilization rate was 98%. Shares +22.8% premarket. [Energy, Earnings, On the Move] 1 Comment

8:49 AM MOCON (MOCO) declares $0.11/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.79%. For shareholders of record August 2. Payable August 16. Ex-div date July 31. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:46 AM Douglas Kass cuts against the grain on the wave of analyst love following Procter & Gamble’s (PG) move to bring back A.G. Lafley as its CEO, saying he will short P&G between $81.50 and $82 based on an over-reation to the news and the lower guidance he thinks is coming from the company. PG +2.6% to $81.33, nearing Kass’ entry point. [Consumer] 2 Comments

8:46 AM CONMED Corporation (CNMD) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.79%. For shareholders of record June 17. Payable June 8. Ex-div date June 13. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:44 AM Cinemark Holdings (CNK) declares $0.21/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.79%. For shareholders of record June 6. Payable June 20. Ex-div date June 4. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

MCD, CBS

8:41 AM Annual shareholder meeting headaches: An increasing trend at this year’s round of shareholder meeting for major companies is a rash of negative publicity from loud activist shareholders looking to score points on political issues. McDonald’s (MCD) had to engage in spirited debate and a shareholder vote on childhood obesity – while CBS (CBS) had its meeting nearly taken over by a pro-Israel group. During the Q&A session of Time Warner’s (TWX) meeting, CEO Jeff Bewkes was bombarded with complaints over CNN’s coverage on major issues. Though the companies won all the important shareholder votes, execs appeared a little more bedraggled than normal. [Consumer] 7 Comments

8:39 AM Gramercy Property Trust (GPT) closes on a $14.5M 5-year mortgage at 3.28% on its recently-acquired (for $27.1M) 540K square foot industrial property portfolio in the Indianapolis area. (PR) [Financials] 4 Comments

8:36 AM Yingli Green Energy (YGE) +13.5% premarket after announcing it will supply 10.269 MW of multicrystalline photovoltaic modules to Amcorp Power in Malaysia in what the company calls the country’s largest single site PV power plant. The plant will be able to generate ~13.6M kWh of clean electricity per year. [Energy, Tech, On the Move] 1 Comment

8:35 AM Procter & Gamble’s (PG) new (or “old,” depending on how you look at it) CEO A.G. Lafley will get a base salary of $2M annually. Comment!

FNMA.OB, JPM

8:33 AM What’s Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) up to? It’s snatching profits away from banks as it increasingly purchases loans directly from lenders, cutting out those used to making good money by packaging mortgages into securities. “We don’t play this big of a role because we want to,” modestly says CEO Tim Mayopoulos. “(We have) no goal relative to market share, except to reduce it,” says another spokesman. The lenders (JPM, WFC) seeing profits vanish aren’t so sure. [Financials] 6 Comments

FL, NKE

8:31 AM Shares of Foot Locker (FL) slip 2.2% premarket after the retailer’s Q1 earnings came in just ahead of estimates but it didn’t give investors any meaty guidance to bite on. The quarter from Foot Locker doesn’t appear to raise any alarm bells for Nike (NKE) or Under Armour (UA), although the firm’s conference call could tip off some buying trends for the athletic apparel sector. [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

8:31 AM Apr. Durable Goods: +3.3% vs. +1.1% expected, -5.9% prior (revised). Ex-transport +1.3% vs. +0.4% expected, -1.7% prior (revised). [U.S. Economy] Comment!

8:30 AM Baird downgrades Titan Machinery (TITN) to Neutral from Outperform and lowers its price target to $23 from $28. It seems likely the stock won’t “outperform” much of anything today as Thursday’s AH profit warning has the shares under pressure to the tune of 13.47% premarket. [On the Move] Comment!

8:27 AM Eni (E) could spend more on acquisitions in Belgium as it looks to close the gap on the power retail leader in the country, GDF Suez-owned Electrabel. CEO Paolo Scaroni isn’t deterred by the 2008 purchase of Belgium’s Distrigas; Eni overpaid but only in the context of the global economic meltdown, Scaroni says. [Energy] Comment!

8:27 AM Globe Specialty Metals (GSM) declares $0.0625/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.00%. For shareholders of record June 10. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 6. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:24 AM Medical Properties Trust (MPW) declares $0.20/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 4.83%. For shareholders of record June 13. Payable July 11. Ex-div date June 11. (PR) [Dividends] 1 Comment

8:21 AM Speculation over Google (GOOG) making a bid for Waze doesn’t ring true to TechCrunch with its sources indicating no plans of a Google acquisition of the sat-nav smartphone app are in the works. If anything, TechCrunch ponders if Waze investors aren’t trying to leverage more out of talks with Facebook. [Tech, M&A] Comment!

8:19 AM There’s new life in ING‘s attempt to sell its South Korean life insurance unit as Kyobo Life Insurance – SK’s 3rd largest – says it has made a bid. The country’s 2nd largest insurer – Hanwha – is also expected to make a bid, as are at least 2 P-E funds. KB Financial had been lined up to buy the unit for $2.1B last year, but dropped out. [Financials] Comment!

8:18 AM Janney Montgomery Scott cuts Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) to Neutral and takes its price target to $50 from $55, bringing its rating and PT largely in line with those of Cantor’s Irina Rivkind who upgraded the stock to Hold from Sell (price target $49) on Tuesday. [Healthcare] Comment!

8:18 AM CME Group (CME) declares $0.45/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.81%. For shareholders of record June 10. Payable June 25. Ex-div date June 6. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:14 AM Precision Castparts (PCP) declares $0.03/share quarterly dividend, 71.42% decrease from prior dividend of $0.105. Forward yield 1.02%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable July 1. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] 2 Comments

8:11 AM Canaccord Genuity downgrades Cirrus Logic (CRUS) to Hold from Buy and lowers its price target to $18 from $25. For clarification, the gross margin forecast of “mid- 40s” from yesterday’s investor conference disappointed those expecting 50-52% and Stifel downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy ($32 price target removed), citing customer AAPL’s “significant challenges [and] headwinds.” Nevertheless, investors (perhaps sensing a buying opportunity) have bid the stock up 1.3% premarket. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

8:11 AM Tsakos Energy (TNP): Q1 EPS of $0.02 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $97.69M beats by $29.96M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:10 AM Rio Tinto (RIO) cuts ~100 jobs at its Kennecott copper operation in Utah and warns more positions will be cut to reduce operating costs after April’s pit-wall collapse. Rio estimates more than 165M tons of earth slid into its open-pit Bingham Canyon mine, and will reduce planned copper production there by about 50% this year. RIO -1.2% premarket. [Commodities] Comment!

8:07 AM Shares of Wendy’s (WEN) are up 2.6% premarket after a juicy upgrade from Janney Montgomery Scott to a Buy rating. The company’s new store design has been drawing praise and is viewed by some as a differentiator between the chain and the beaten-down look of some other rivals. [Consumer, On the Move] 1 Comment

USO, BNO

8:07 AM Oil traders might have an opportunity in the recently-narrowed spread between WTI crude (USO) and Brent (BNO), says Goldman. Though expecting further narrowing in the near-term, the team recommends selling WTI Dec. 2014 contracts and buying equivalent Brent as rising Gulf Coast supplies later this year and in 2014 should pressure WTI prices. [Commodities] Comment!

8:01 AM Ford (F) plans to retire the Ford Falcon model with production shutting down in Australia. The automaker says it hasn’t decided what to do with the Ford Territory, also sold Down Under. [Consumer] Comment!

8:00 AM On the hour: S&P -0.46%. 10-yr +0.07%. Euro +0.19% vs. dollar. Crude -0.65% to $93.64. Gold -0.08% to $1390.65. Comment!

8:00 AM Three Breakfast Reads 1) SA Pro: Used Game Virtuous Cycle Game Over, Good Night GameStop 2) I’m An Irrationally Exuberant Investor In Tesla 3) Youku Tudou: An Investment Opportunity That Won’t Last For Long [Consumer, Tech] Comment!

ALPMY.PK, MDVN

7:58 AM Astellas (ALPMY.PK) and Medivation (MDVN) say a marketing approval application for enzalutamide (its friends call it XTANDI and it’s FDA approved) has been submitted to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare for the treatment of prostate cancer. (PR) [Healthcare] Comment!

7:58 AM Chrysler (FIATY.PK) says software issues held up production this year which led to a nasty cut of the automaker’s profits, but a bigger issue could be lying under the surface. Sources tell the Detroit News that the large number of rookie workers on the assembly line were the real bug in the system. [Consumer, Global & FX] Comment!

7:58 AM Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) declares $0.20/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.47%. For shareholders of record June 3. Payable June 18. Ex-div date May 30. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

RSX, ERUS

7:54 AM JPMorgan wins some work from the Russian government, beating out a number of banks for a contract to help boost the country’s credit rating. The last agency move on Russia was Fitch cutting to BBB amid the February 2009 panic and Putin in the past has called his country’s ratings an “outrage” boosting borrowing costs for the government and corporations. RSX -9.3% YTD. [Global & FX] Comment!

IOC, XOM

7:53 AM InterOil (IOC) +10.1% premarket on news it has entered into exclusive negotiations with ExxonMobil (XOM) to develop the Elk and Antelope gas fields IOC owns in Papua New Guinea. The discussions include the possibility of XOM purchasing a stake in Petroleum Retention License 15 and providing funding to drill additional wells in the Elk and Antelope fields. [Energy, On the Move] 6 Comments

TRV, CB

7:46 AM Tornados striking the U.S. this week are expected to cause anywhere from $2B-$5B in insured losses, according to Eqecat, obviously with most of the damaged coming from the Moore, OK disaster. At the top end of the range, this week would rank as the 2nd worst ever, behind only the April 2011 tornados in Alabama. TRV, CB, ALL all dropped amid the tornado news early in the week and have held steady since. [Financials] Comment!

7:45 AM The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine grants Sangamo BioSciences (SGMO) a $6.4M award to develop its ZFP-genome editing technology for the treatment of beta-thalassemia with the ultimate goal of eliminating the need for chronic blood transfusions in patients. SGMO says “the four year grant provides matching funds for preclinical work that will support an IND application and a Phase 1 clinical trial.” A recent article by SA contributor Life Sciences Report favorably mentions companies (like SGMO) with platform technologies. (PR) [Healthcare] Comment!

7:40 AM Bank of America (BAC) is seeking bids for about 40 branches in rural NY and PA, reports Bloomberg. The branches hold about $1B in deposits and could go for $20M-$30M, according to a source. On a cost-cutting drive, BofA has been closing or selling outlets for a couple of years, its branch count now at 5,389 vs. about 6K when Brian Moynihan took over in 2010. [Financials] Comment!

7:37 AM Retail reporter Sapna Maheshwari delivers a sobering thought on Abercrombie & Fitch’s (ANF) sub-par quarter (SSS -15%). She notes the rehashed “fat” comments from CEO Michael Jeffries didn’t go viral until after the reporting period. The exec was trying to highlight the aspirational aspect of the ANF brand, but made a bit of a mess of it all. The conference call at 7:30 AM EST could be interesting. ANF -7.5% premarket. (webcast) [Consumer] Comment!

EFC, EARN

7:34 AM Ellington Management hires Steven Abreu from GMAC Mortgage as the MBS specialist (EFC, EARN) founded by Mike Vranos gets into the mortgage origination business. Ellington Financial (EFC) will wade into the market with the purchase of small or medium-sized originators says CFO Larry Penn, but the goal, says Vranos, is to build a top-tier national lender with $20B/year or more in originations. [Financials] Comment!

7:30 AM UBS upgrades Procter & Gamble (PG) to a Buy rating following the company’s appointment of a new CEO. It could be a cavalcade of analyst upgrades and commentary as the consumer products giant gets teed up again as a growth story due to the management change. (Previous: Citi wants P&G to put the band back together) PG +2.3% premarket. [Consumer] Comment!

7:30 AM Some details for Covidien’s (COV) pharmaceuticals business spin-off (previous): Shareholders will receive one share of the new publicly traded company (Mallinckrodt) for every share of COV they own. Mallinckrodt is expected to begin trading on the NYSE on July 1 (ticker: MNK). (PR) [Healthcare] 2 Comments

PFE, ZTS

7:27 AM Pfizer’s (PFE) price target is hiked a buck to $29 at MKM Partners as the earlier-than-expected Zoetis (ZTS) spinoff has the team cutting their 2013 EPS forecast to $2.17 from $2.23, but raising estimates from 2014-17. The company remains a Hold however, as it’s trading just above what MKM considers fair-value. [Healthcare] Comment!

7:23 AM More on Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF): The company was selling, but not as many people were buying in Q1. Comparable store sales fell 15% including direct-to-consumer sales with Hollister off 18% and the Abercrombie & Fitch brand falling 13%. Sales weakened at the end of the quarter even with improving weather patterns. The retailer says “external pressures” led to significant inventory issues during the period. Full-year EPS guidance is taken down to $3.15-$3.25 and Q2 is adjusted to $0.28-$0.33. ANF -7.5% premarket. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings] Comment!

7:18 AM Janney Montgomery Scott upgrades Wendy’s (WEN) to Buy from Neutral; price target $7 from $5.25. [Consumer] Comment!

7:18 AM Goldman Sachs (GS) has gotten the nod from the Indian government to help it raise money by creating and launching ETFs of state-run companies, according to a senior official. The government initially aims to have 15-20 state-run firms in a basket of ETFs. Remember, this program was only made necessary by the government’s inability to interest P-E and other investors in buying stakes. Price matters. Caveat emptor. [Global & FX, Financials] Comment!

7:12 AM More on Foot Locker’s (FL) Q1: Comparable-store sales rose 3.8% during the period. The company says it didn’t repurchase any shares during Q1 due to negotiations to buy Runners Point Group, but will start up buybacks again in Q2. Net store count fell by 14. (PR) [Consumer] Comment!

7:12 AM Pandora (P) gets a post-earnings upgrade to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC. “Is there something now that makes you think … you’ll have a more subscription mix in the model going forward [considering] the increase in that Pandora One revenue?” analyst Mark Mahaney asks on the call. “From a product perspective it doesn’t change,” CFO Michael Herring says, but “we will always look into optimizing our business and finding that balance between how much we want to emphasize the subscribers versus focus on ad sales.” Price target to $24 from $16. Shares +11.6% premarket. (earnings summary, CC transcript) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

MTB, HCBK

7:11 AM Remember M&T Bank’s (MTB) proposed purchase of Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK)? Regulators have put the merger on ice and it’s sending a chill through the executive suites of other regional banks (KRE) who were considering doing deals, but now figure it’s not worth the regulatory scrutiny. In the past, conditions such as we’re in – slow economy, weak loan growth – have prompted waves of bank mergers (it’s happening in community banks). “I am not buying another bank for as long as I can see,” sees one unnamed top executive. [Financials, M&A] Comment!

7:06 AM Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF): Q1 EPS of -$0.09 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $838.8M (-9% Y/Y) misses by $102.86M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

GM, F

7:06 AM May is an important month for the automobile industry after the last three years saw a post-Q1 dip in sales. Industry forecasts are for May volume to top 1.4M units, which would mark a 9% Y/Y improvement. If May comes in strong, annual forecasts are likely to be raised as the threat of another late spring swoon is lifted. What to watch: A pickup in housing could help lift sales of full-sized pickups, while the average selling price for automakers (GM, F, FIATY.PK, NSANY.OB, TM, HMC, VLKAY.PK) should look strong as they take their foot off the promotional pedal. [Consumer] Comment!

7:04 AM Destination XL Group (DXLG): Q1 EPS of $0.02 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $93.6M misses by $5.99M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:04 AM Hibbett Sporting (HIBB): Q1 EPS of $1.00 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $240M (+3% Y/Y) misses by $6.41M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:03 AM Foot Locker (FL): Q1 EPS of $0.91 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.64B (+3.8% Y/Y) beats by $0.01B. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

FXY, SPY

7:01 AM Stock index futures are shaky after an ugly session in Japan. Following its 7.3% plunge on Thursday, shares bounced nearly 4% as the yen resumed sinking. This soon reversed and shares plunged anew – dropping about 7% from their session high. The Nikkei eventually eked out a small gain as the yen (FXY) closed stronger again, dollar/yen falling 0.6% to ¥101.46. S&P 500 (SPY) futures -0.5%, Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) -0.5%. Japan: EWJ -2.6%, DXJ -3.7% premarket. Europe (FEZ) -0.5%. 2 Comments

7:00 AM On the hour: S&P -0.52%. 10-yr +0.05%. Euro +0.19% vs. dollar. Crude -0.75% to $93.55. Gold -0.42% to $1385.95. Comment!

6:57 AM Sony (SNE) plans to sell $1.5B in five-year bonds in June. Of the total $1.1B is slated to be used to pay existing debt and $400M is planned for capital investment. SNE -1.5% premarket. [Global & FX, Consumer] Comment!

DIS, NWS

6:52 AM Hulu (DIS, NWS, CMCSA) has received buyout offers from DirecTV and Time Warner Cable in the first round of bidding, according to the New York Post. Guggenheim Partners, which is helping the tech concern sell itself, isn’t saying if P-E firms are joining the chase. [Consumer] Comment!

6:47 AM Citigroup thinks new Procter & Gamble (PG) CEO A.G. Lafley will lower the company’s FY14 growth estimates as takes the helm. The investment firm would like to see Lafley put the old band back together by hiring some P&G alums from under his previous tenure. [Consumer] 1 Comment

6:30 AM UTStarcom Holdings (UTSI): Q1 EPS of $0.13. Revenue of $36.7M (-6.9% Y/Y). (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

LMT, BA

6:00 AM The costs of a U.S. Air Force heavy rocket launch program have more than doubled to $70.7B after the Pentagon added 60 more launches and extended the schedule by a decade. Lockheed (LMT) and Boeing (BA) joint venture United Launch Alliance should benefit even though the project is being opened up to competition. 1 Comment

6:00 AM Overseas: Japan +0.89%. Hong Kong -0.23%. China +0.57%. India +0.31%. London -0.61%. Paris +0.11%. Frankfurt -0.62%. Comment!

5:59 AM The estimated development and production costs of the F-35 fighter program have actually fallen for a change, dropping 1.1% to $391.2B as the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin (LMT) start to get a grip on a project whose expenses had soared out of control. Comment!

5:52 AM America’s Car-Mart (CRMT): FQ4 EPS of $0.92 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $125.5M beats by $6.3M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

5:37 AM IBM (IBM) CFO Mark Loughridge has forecast that the company’s earnings will rise 8% Y/Y this quarter, which would be in line with market expectations. The prediction suggests that EPS will increase to about $3.79 from $3.51 last year. Loughridge reiterated that H2 growth will be stronger, with “double-digit performance” in Q4. Meanwhile, IBM will reportedly lay off 270 people in the U.K. and Ireland. [Tech] Comment!

5:27 AM Elan (ELN) intends to issue $850M worth of senior notes with a coupon of 6.25%. The offer for the debt, which matures in 2021, is due to close on Friday next week. The pricing of the bonds comes a day after Elan rejected a sweetened takeover bid from Royalty Pharma. Shares +0.65% premarket. (PR) [Healthcare] Comment!

5:20 AM U.S. and Chinese regulators have signed a memorandum of understanding that gives U.S. authorities increased access to documents from Chinese audit firms. The agreement comes after scores of U.S.-listed Chinese companies faced questions over their accounting practices, with the SEC suing around a dozen for fraud and other charges. However, the new deal is limited and doesn’t cover routine inspections of audit firms. [Global & FX] 1 Comment

KKR, CG

5:08 AM KKR (KKR) and Carlyle Group (CG) are among several investment funds that are reportedly expected to bid for shares in Panasonic’s (PCRFY.OB) healthcare business, for which the Japanese conglomerate hopes to raise up to $1B. Toshiba is among the strategic investors that could make an offer. The deadline for first-round bids is Monday. [Healthcare, M&A] Comment!

4:35 AM U.S. District Judge Denise Cote has dealt a blow to Apple (AAPL) over charges that it manipulated e-book prices, giving a “tentative view” that the Department of Justice will be able to show “direct evidence” that Apple took part in a conspiracy with publishers to raise prices. Apple is the last man standing in the case after all the publishers involved settled. The trial is due to start on June 3. [Tech, Consumer] 6 Comments

GOOG, FB

4:26 AM Google (GOOG) could reportedly enter the fray for Israeli start-up Waze, which provides a mobile phone app that helps drivers avoid traffic jams and has over 40M users. Waze has been holding talks with Facebook (FB) for a $1B deal while there was chatter earlier this year of Apple offering $500M. Waze could disappoint them all by raising more venture-capital money and staying independent. [Tech, Consumer, Top Stories] Comment!

FXE, FGM

4:11 AM German Ifo index of business confidence rises to 105.7 in May from 104.4 in April and tops estimates of 104.5. Current conditions 110 vs 107.3 and 107.2. Expectations static at 101.6, as forecast. The euro (FXE) spikes vs the dollar is now +0.1% after being lower, while the DAX is +0.1%. [Global & FX, Top Stories] Comment!

4:03 AM District Court Judge John Gleeson is reportedly considering rejecting HSBC’s (HBC) $1.9B deal with authorities over money laundering charges involving terrorists and drug dealers. Should Gleeson quash the agreement, HSBC could be left open to criminal prosecution and a ban from operating in the U.S., although the DOJ is questioning whether the judge has the authority to reject the deal. We could hear more details at HSBC’s annual meeting today. Shares -0.9% in London. [Financials, Top Stories] 2 Comments

3:47 AM European shares enjoy a technical bounce and broadly follow Japanese stocks higher following yesterday’s sharp sell-off in both regions. Things got a “bit scary,” says technical analyst Valerie Gastaldy. “But my advice to clients is that we shouldn’t panic and we should try to buy.” EU Stoxx 50 flat, London +0.2%, Paris +0.2%, Frankfurt +0.3%, Italy +0.1%, Madrid -0.2%. [Global & FX, On the Move] Comment!

JGBT, JGBL

3:41 AM The yen is higher vs the dollar as volatility in the currency markets somewhat echo the gyrations in Japanese stock markets. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda says that the BOJ has no set target for the yen and that stability in Japanese debt market is “extremely desirable.” His comments follow the extreme instability yesterday, when 10-year JGB yields rose as high as 1%, prompting the BOJ to step in with a fund-supplying operation. Dollar -0.5% at -¥101.54. [Global & FX, Top Stories] Comment!

3:17 AM German Q1 GDP (second reading) +0.1% Q/Q (flash +0.1%) vs -0.6% in Q4. On year, -1.4% (-1.4%) vs +0.1%. Private consumption adds 0.4 percentage point but gross capital investment cuts 0.3 point. (PR) [Global & FX] Comment!

EWJ, NKY

3:08 AM Japanese shares end +0.6% following a volatile session in which stocks rose and fell by over 3% vs the close yesterday, when they slumped 7.3%. The plunge on Thursday was “just a speed bump” given this year’s strong returns, says U.S. fund manager Audrey Kaplan. Improving economic conditions “will support the market going forward.” Hong Kong flat, China +0.6%, India +0.3%. [Global & FX, Top Stories, On the Move] 2 Comments

ANF, FL

12:05 AM Notable earnings before Friday’s open: ANF, FL, TNP [Earnings] Comment!

12:00 AM Friday’s economic calendar: 8:30 Durable Goods Comment!

ABBV, ABT

ABT, JNJ

12:27 PM New Gold (NGD +1.8%) is initiated with a Buy rating and $9.50 price target at Global Hunter. NGD is a mid-cap gold producer with four operating mines which also gets a significant portion of its revenue and earnings power from copper and silver exposure, which the firm believes gives it an advantage over peers in a declining gold price environment. [Commodities, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

12:17 PM Cirrus Logic (CRUS -17.2%) plummets after an investment presentation (Barclays Global Tech, Media, and Telecommunications Conference) in which it mentions “increased pricing pressures in the smartphone markets” and says “revenue for the fiscal year [will] likely [be] impacted by an expected decline in average selling prices” (slide 18). [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

DOV, NOK

12:13 PM Dover (DOV +4.8%) is upgraded to Buy from Neutral with a $90 price target at BAML following news it is spinning its Knowles and Sound Solutions businesses into a new public company. The firm had been concerned about DOV’s exposure to Nokia (NOK) and Blackberry (BBRY) platforms as well as the pace of the value ramp up on Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. [Tech, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

12:11 PM Shares of small-cap, generic pharmaceutical maker Lannett Company (LCI +5%) get a boost today after being initiated at Needham with a Buy rating and a price target of $15. The firm calls FY13 a transition year for LCI as its operations are positioned for strong future growth, with potentially significant upside coming from additional generic approvals/product launches, and progress around key product filings. Technical note: The stock is currently in the process of breaking out of its 52-week range of $3.72 – $12.57. [Healthcare, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

DIA, DOG

12:04 PM Stocks have mostly erased big early losses, with the Dow (DIA, DOG) just nosing into the green – its outperformance a result of H-P’s 14% jump. The S&P 500 is off 0.3% and the Nasdaq off 0.1%. Comment!

12:00 PM On the hour: Dow -0.02%. 10-yr +0.01%. Euro +0.61% vs. dollar. Crude -0.73% to $93.59. Gold +1.21% to $1383.95. Comment!

11:59 AM Apache (APA -2.1%) should sell its assets in Egypt, which have dragged the company’s valuation by 20%-30% and is likely to get worse given the country’s “dysfunctional government, deteriorating economy, polarized society and exploding population,” Oppenheimer says, adding APA should use the proceeds to buy back 15% of its shares and reduce debt. [Energy, On the Move] 1 Comment

GLD, IAU

11:55 AM “The Real Bubble is Gold: and It’s Deflating,” writes MKM’s Mike Darda, who says the key turning point was the metal’s (GLD. IAU) failure to rally in wake of last fall’s QE∞ inception. “Investors simply took it at face value that gold was soaring and would continue to rise because of (the Fed).” Inflation picking up will be even worse for gold, he says, as this would make the Fed an aggressive tightener of policy. [Commodities] 8 Comments

11:46 AM HEICO (HEI +10.8%) jumps to new 52-week highs today, after the company reported late Wednesday FQ2 earnings that easily topped Street estimates. Revenue grew by 10% Y/Y, driven by strong organic growth in both its Flight Support and Electronic Technologies segments, as well as better margins. Looking ahead, the company says it sees increases in airline capacity and maintenance spending to yield moderate organic growth, and it raises FY13 growth guidance from around 6% to 8% to between 8% and 10%. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

11:46 AM While controversy continues over the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, construction of the $2.3B southern section connecting the Cushing, Okla., hub with the Texas coast is more than 75% complete and proceeding on schedule, TransCanada (TRP -0.7%) says. The 485-mile southern leg will be able to move 700K bbl/day of oil when completed. [Energy] 1 Comment

11:45 AM Kadant (KAI) declares $0.125/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.72%. For shareholders of record July 11. Payable August 8 . Ex-div date July 9. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

GME, NTDOY.PK

11:42 AM More from GameStop’s (GME -1%) earnings call (previous): 1) Mobile is highlighted as a growth area. 2) Execs flex their muscles, noting GameStop has $1B of trade credits a year to give it some leverage. 3) On the Wii U (NTDOY.PK), despite sales trailing off the company is convinced the console system shouldn’t be written off with new innovation coming. 4) Guidance was lowered due to Q1 results and based on new assumptions on the console cycle. (webcast) [Consumer] Comment!

11:38 AM Nordion (NDZ +9%) ramps higher this morning after the company says it will divest its Target Therapies business to BTG for around $200M. That means, after fees, NDZ should rake-in nearly $185M on the closing. The sale its part of the company’s larger strategic reorganization, and it’s hefty price tag for a business whose sole product is its targeted liver cancer therapy, TheraSphere. [Healthcare, Global & FX] Comment!

11:36 AM ChannelAdvisor (ECOM) trades 38% higher than its IPO price of $14 per share on its public debut. The e-commerce software firm plans to use the IPO funds to help it expand international operations and grow its marketing services. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

11:36 AM ING. U.S. (VOYA +1.3%) is reiterated a Buy with $31 price target at BTIG following earnings. Analyst Mark Palmer holds that retirement services and asset management – not life insurance – are VOYA’s dominant businesses (they command a higher multiple) and he’s impressed 76% (vs. his modeled 70%) of adjusted operating earnings came from those units. ROE was up 120 bps to 9.5%, ahead of a 110 bp management goal. [Earnings, Financials, On the Move] Comment!

11:34 AM Firstbank Corporation (FBMI) declares $0.06/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.83%. For shareholders of record June 11. Payable June 27 . Ex-div date June 7. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

FTI, RDS.A

11:33 AM FMC Technologies (FTI -0.6%) receives what is likely to be a lucrative subsea contract from Shell (RDS.A) for work at its Stones field project in the ultra-deepwater Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico. Shell is targeting peak output of 50K boe/day under the first phase of development at the field, which holds ~2B boe and is believed by tShell to have “significant upside potential.” [Energy] Comment!

11:30 AM Heard during GameStop’s (GME -1.7%) earnings call: 1) The retailer expects the wave of next-gen consoles to have lower opening prices, but doesn’t provide estimates. 2) The game cycle is expected to regain traction in 2014 as adoption rates of new systems hit critical mass. 3) On the outlook for used games, execs think new consoles will kickstart a fresh round of buying/trading – but acknowledge long-term trends will be influenced by digital alternatives. 4) The company says it will maintain its previously announced pace of share buybacks. 5) In an important note, GameStop says it’s partnering closely with Microsoft and Sony to ensure a “seemless transition” to next consoles. But at what cost to profits? (webcast) [Consumer] 1 Comment

KOL, CLD

11:20 AM Coal (KOL) has been gaining on natural gas in U.S. power generation, but coal producers aren’t enjoying the benefits, buffeted by headwinds including increased regulations. Simmons analysts say most coal names do not screen as cheap, and the firm sees near-term volatility as investors trade around macro events; its sector favorites are Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) and Walter Energy (WLT). [Energy, Quick Ideas] 3 Comments

HPQ, DELL

11:11 AM The broad selloff isn’t touching H-P (HPQ +14.2%) following last night’s earnings. Jefferies’ Peter Misek weighs in with an upgrade from Sell to Hold. He praises H-P for having the discipline to sacrifice PC market share to retain profitability (unlike DELL; Whitman (transcript): “Maybe that’s what you do when you’re about to go private.”) Misek also likes the cash flow guidance of $7.5B – “(it) materially changed our view of H-P margin, cash flow, and EPS prospects.” [Tech, On the Move] 1 Comment

DISH, SFTBF.PK

11:02 AM Dish Network (DISH -1.4%) warns the Committee on Foreign Investment review of the proposed SoftBank (SFTBF.PK)-Sprint (S +0.1%) transaction highlights the serious national security risks the deal could pose. In particular, the company points to the potential use of Chinese-manufactured equipment on a foreign-controlled Clearwire network. [Consumer, Tech, Global & FX] 1 Comment

11:01 AM May Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey: +2 vs. consensus of -2; -5 in Apr. [U.S. Economy] Comment!

11:00 AM On the hour: Dow -0.48%. 10-yr 0%. Euro +0.33% vs. dollar. Crude -1.65% to $92.72. Gold +1.22% to $1384.15. Comment!

10:59 AM Chembio Diagnostics (CEMI +0.2%) bucks a weak tape after saying it won a $750K cooperative research agreement with a US government agency to develop rapid point-of-carediagnostic tests for five infectious diseases associated with febrile illness and to multiplex them into one assay. The eight-month project also hopes to optimize the test for use with a mobile reader that incorporates cell phone technology to enable the results to be recorded, transmitted and monitored remotely via a cloud system, in real-time. [Healthcare, On the Move] 1 Comment

10:56 AM Color from today’s Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT +1.5%) upgrades (I, II): BofA/ Merrill Lynch moves its price target to $84 from $70, noting the company’s “solid fundamental positioning and accelerating capital returns,” while Morgan Stanley sets a price target of $79 and says HOT’s “asset ownership/ property mix position it well given current trends [and] its selling mandate allows it to capitalize on near peak real estate values.” Like BofA, MS also highlights capital returns. Comment!

GM, NSANY.OB

10:52 AM Electric vehicle roundup: 1) The tiny plug-in car market segment will have two entrants with lease options at $199 per month – the Chevrolet Spark (GM -1.3%) and the Nissan Leaf (NSANY.OB) – as the automakers appear willing to take some losses to keep the segment alive and kicking. 2) In China, an EV rental project in Beijing draws solid interest. Electric vehicles in the city are already popular for short commutes with over 2.7K electric taxis slated for service by the end of the year. 3) An Elon Musk interview on Bloomberg TV dissects the Tesal Motors (TSLA +1.8%) DOE loan payoff in great detail. He also says he thinks the automaker has enough capital to avoid future capital raises. (audio) [Consumer] 8 Comments

10:51 AM Mortgage rates rise for the third straight week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.59%, up from last week’s 3.51%, while the 15-year fixed averaged 2.77% vs. 2.69% a week ago. The respective rates were 3.78% and 3.04% a year ago. [U.S. Economy] Comment!

10:49 AM CIT Group (CIT +0.2%) is reiterated a Buy at BTIG, with price target raised to $55 from $45. Mark Palmer sees 3 paths to a higher price: 1) Organic growth should allow the company to reverse a $1.6B allowance against a deferred tax asset that may end up being able to be used. 2) The company transitioning from deep-turnaround story to capital-return story. 3) Its status as an attractive acquisition target. [Financials] Comment!

10:43 AM Gordmans Stores (GMAN): Q1 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $131.4M (-1.9% Y/Y) beats by $2.04M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

OISHF.PK, XOM

10:43 AM The fastest revenue growth in the oil industry is putting Papua New Guinea’s Oil Search (OISHF.PK) in line for Asia’s largest-ever energy takeover, Bloomberg speculates. Its $19B PNG LNG venture with Exxon, sure to spin off lots of cash, starts shipments to Asia next year, and the 80%-complete project is supported by the government and local communities. XOM, TOT and Australia’s Woodside could be interested. [Energy] Comment!

STML, STEM

10:36 AM Shares of Stemline Therapeutics (STML -2.2%) slip this morning after Jefferies and Aegis Capital announced an exercise of their option to purchase around 620K additional shares in connection with STEM‘s previously announced 4.1M share public offering. The option’s exercise at $14.50 per share will add around $69M in total gross proceeds to STEM‘s coffers before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Closing is expected on or about May 28. [Healthcare, On the Move] 1 Comment

10:35 AM Art meets Finance: Lions Gate (LGF +2.4%) trades higher as enthusiasm builds for the company’s prospects after a strong performance at the Cannes Film Festival. The crown jewel for the studio this year will be the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire next November and in a nice little twist of cross-selling the movie’s teaser trailer displays the LGF stock symbol at the closing. (trailer) [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

10:34 AM The sale of the rest of its stake in Industrial Bank doesn’t mean Goldman Sachs (GS) isn’t committed to growing in China, says Lloyd Blankfein, speaking from Salt Lake City – site of Goldman’s annual meeting today. Roll this one around: Goldman reaped about $12B in sales proceeds and dividends from its $2.58B investment made in 2006 just ahead of the IPO. [Financials] 1 Comment

10:30 AM EIA Natural Gas Inventory: +89bcf. Futures -0.08% to 4.18. [Energy] Comment!

YPF, REPYF.PK

10:26 AM A year after Argentina expropriated Repsol’s majority stake in YPF, there’s little prospect of a deal on compensation even though both sides would rather avoid a costly, drawn-out legal battle. Argentina’s lack of funds and its limits on the control private firms have over their investments, which could deter Repsol from accepting assets such as the Vaca Muerta shale field in any settlement, pose major obstacles. [Energy, Global & FX] Comment!

10:25 AM Quality Systems (QSII -6%) slips after its FQ4 missed across the board earlier this morning. Total sales grew by 2% Y/Y, but net earnings took a hit from reorg charges and a goodwill impairment charge for the quarter due to an operational review of its hospital unit. Separately, the company says it’s appointed Michael Aghajanian to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Aghajanian fills one of the two vacancies on the Board after recent resignations. [Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

10:23 AM Buckle (BKE -5.3%) is having a tough day after reporting earnings and revenue that missed expectations. Sales rose 2.3% Y/Y during the period but SG&A expense jumped 2.8%, more than offsetting the revenue increase. Comps growth was 1.2% and online sales growth came in at 6%. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

10:21 AM Hasbro (HAS) declares $0.40/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.44%. For shareholders of record August 1. Payable August 15. Ex-div date July 30. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

SPY, QQQ

10:19 AM Off the lows. Forty-five minutes into the session finds stocks posting just moderate losses. S&P 500 (SPY -0.7%), Nasdaq 100 (QQQ -0.4%) – with Apple a notable gainer, +0.7%. George Soros’ reflexitivity: Worry of tapering sends stocks lower, thereby lessening chances of tapering. 2 Comments

HYHG, HYLS

10:12 AM The ProShares High Yield-Interest Rate Hedged ETF (HYHG) starts trading today joining the likes of HYLS and THHY. The fund will short Treasurys to offset its exposure to high-yield corporate debt and comes with an expense ratio of 0.50% – significantly lower than THHY (1.45%) and HYLS (1.19%). Comment!

10:10 AM Target (TGT -0.1%) appears to have a few aces up its sleeve as continues its rollout in Canada. The retailer has been conservative with food offerings, but has tipped off that is likely to change. It is also ahead of its expected pace of REDcard penetration which sets up nicely for repeat shopping trends. Also, execs are quick to note that expenses are heavy on the front side as the company is overly-cautious in order to make sure store openings go smoothly. (CC transcript) [Consumer] Comment!

10:10 AM Perry Ellis (PERY -3.3%) slides after the company misses on the top line in Q1. Management reaffirms its FY14 outlook for revenue growth of 3-5% and for adjusted EPS of $1.50-1.60, but cuts guidance slightly for GAAP earnings to $1.58-1.68 versus a previous range of $1.60-1.70. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

XHB, ITB

10:07 AM More on New Home Sales: The March print was revised sharply higher – to 444K from 417K. April sales were 2.3% higher than March and 29% higher than a year ago. The median sales price was $271.6K, the average $330.8K. Inventory stands at 156K, representing a supply of 4.1 months. Homebuilders ETF (XHB -0.4%). (full report) [U.S. Economy] Comment!

10:02 AM Children’s Place (PLCE +6.7%) posts strong gains after beating on both the top and bottom line. From the report: CEO Jane Elfers says — in what is now a familiar refrain from retailers this quarter — that the company “had a difficult start [before] April sales improved significantly.” Comps growth was negative (-5.5%) as was sales growth (-3.5%). $56.2M remains under the company’s share repurchase program. PLCE also raises its EPS guidance for FY13 to $3.05-3.20 against consensus of $3. (PR) [On the Move, Consumer, Earnings] Comment!

10:01 AM Approach Resources (AREX -3.6%) reports a temporary curtailment of production due to a power failure at the Phillips 66 Sweeny refinery; as a result, AREX expects Q2 production of 8.7M-9.1M boe/day vs. prior guidance of 9.3M-9.6M boe/day. Power has been restored to the affected fractionation units at Sweeny, and AREX expects a full return to service by the end of this week. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

10:00 AM April New Home Sales: 454K vs. 425K expected, 444K prior (revised from 417K). [Breaking News, U.S. Economy, Top Stories] 2 Comments

10:00 AM On the hour: Dow -0.63%. 10-yr +0.09%. Euro +0.31% vs. dollar. Crude -2.03% to $92.37. Gold +1.02% to $1381.35. Comment!

9:59 AM Also hit by something resembling a flash crash is Two Harbors (TWO -2.5%), which printed $10.91 (from last night’s $11.63 close) before quickly bouncing to its current level of $11.33. (previous) [Financials, On the Move] Comment!

FIGY, FEEU

9:54 AM Launching this week is the Barclays ETN + FI Enhanced Global High Yield ETN (FIGY), focused – as its name implies – on high yield stocks around the world. Also coming to market is the Barclays ETN + FI Enhanced Europe 50 ETN (FEEU) – composed of 50 European blue-chippers, making it similar to the Stoxx Europe 50 ETF (FEU). Comment!

NEE, AEP

9:52 AM Trading is temporarily halted in NextEra Energy (NEE) and American Electric Power (AEP) after early trades printed as low as $30.37 and $22.28, respectively. Yesterday’s respective closing prices were $79.16 and $48.59. [Energy] 4 Comments

RUE, ZUMZ

9:52 AM Rue21 (RUE +22.7%) trades just a shade under its buyout offer of $42 as the potential for competing bids keeps interest high. Of its retail peers, Zumiez (ZUMZ +0.7%) seems to be getting the biggest lift from the M&A buzz in the sector. [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

9:48 AM Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR -7.3%) slumps again in early trading to briefly dip below $70. The report from the options pit is that action has intensified over the stock. Somewhere in the GMCR equation, the forecast for higher coffee commodity prices also needs to be factored in. [Consumer, On the Move] 2 Comments

9:45 AM The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rises to -29.4 from -30.2 last week. Notably, the index climbed to -20.7 among homeowners, the highest level since January 2008 and 24 points higher than the level among renters. For the first time since November 2007, those earning $75K-$100K have joined those earning more than $100K in reporting a positive index score. [U.S. Economy, Breaking News] Comment!

9:37 AM Shares of Melco Crown (MPEL -4.5%) take a lashing in early trading on concerns growth in China will sputter. Citigroup’s favorite gaming sector name trades at roughly 9X 2014 EBITDA estimates. [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

FN, SANM

9:35 AM Deutsche’s upbeat outlook for HDD names comes in a note which also contains cautious words from analyst Sherri Scribner on contract manufacturers. Fabrinet (FN -9.6%) may suffer from “continued struggles in the optical market,” she says, and Sanmina’s (SANM -5.9%) “lack of revenue growth” is disconcerting. Both names are downgraded as is Flextronics (FLEX -2.9%), whose price target is maintained at $8, but is cut from Buy to Hold. [Tech] Comment!

9:32 AM Ally Financial takes another step towards an IPO as it agrees to pay $2.1B towards the settlement of the ResCap bankruptcy. The move, says Ally, essentially removes the threat it would have to pay billions more in private claims related to its subprime mortgage arm. It’s also a victory for MBIA (MBI), whose share of the proceeds could be $600M, according to hedge funder Manal Mehta (he’s long). [Financials] 1 Comment

9:31 AM At the open: Dow -0.62% to 15213. S&P -0.84% to 1641. Nasdaq -0.98% to 3429. Treasurys: 30-year +0.6%. 10-yr +0.25%. 5-yr +0.11%. Commodities: Crude -1.6% to $92.77. Gold +1.52% to $1388.25. Currencies: Euro +0.4% vs. dollar. Yen -1.67%. Pound -0.21%. 1 Comment

9:29 AM Sempra Energy (SRE) slightly narrows its FY 2013 EPS guidance to $4.30-$4.60 from $4.30-$4.80 vs. $4.48 analyst consensus. Sets guidance at $4.25-$4.55 for 2014 and $5.10-$5.60 for 2017, and reaffirms its long-term compound annual earnings growth target of 6%-8%. [Energy] Comment!

9:22 AM Shares of Dollar Tree (DLTR) move 2.5% higher premarket as the retailer’s “impressive” Q1 results brings in buyers. Margins improved slightly during the quarter and the company seemed to navigate around some of the tax refund and weather ripples that hit Wal-Mart and Target. [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

WETF, DXJ

9:21 AM WisdomTree (WETF) tumbles 5.2% premarket following Japan’s overnight crash. The stock’s more than a double this year as money has poured into its Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ), which is off 7.3% premarket. Another yen-hedged Japan fund – Deutsche’s far smaller DBX ETF Trust (DBJP) – is off 8.3%. [Financials, On the Move, Global & FX] Comment!

9:20 AM Market preview: U.S. markets are indicated to open sharply lower, as jitters over when the Fed will begin to taper its bond purchases, an unexpected contraction in China’s manufacturing sector, and the Nikkei’s 7.3% overnight plunge combine to make a toxic brew. S&P -1%, Dow -0.8%. Basic resource stocks in Europe saw a selloff on the news. Still ahead: new home sales, EIA natural gas. Comment!

9:15 AM SABMiller (SBMRY.PK) CEO Alan Clarke says most of the brewer’s markets are growing, although North America remains sluggish. In Q1, revenue for SABMiller grew 10% to $34.5B while profit came in at $3.27B. The company notes MillerCoors sales were weak but higher-margin Tenth & Blake craft beer sold well. Latin America is a concern as growth slowed to 3% from a 9% pace a year ago. [Global & FX, Consumer] Comment!

EWS, THD

9:14 AM An upward revision to Q1 GDP did little for stocks in Singapore (EWS) as the Straits Times tumbles 1.77% to its lowest level in in two weeks amid global selling. Across the region: Thai equities (THD) fall 1.5%, amid “caution” before next week’s central bank meeting (on down days it’s “rate cut caution” on up days its “rate cut speculation“), Malaysian shares (EWM) drop 0.61% in Kuala Lumpur, and Philippine stocks (EPHE) sink 0.96% in Manila, erasing three quarters of a two-day rally. [Global & FX] Comment!

9:13 AM OFG Bancorp (OFG) declares $0.06/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.40%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable July 15. Ex-div date June 26. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

RUE, PSUN

9:12 AM Premarket gainers: RUE +24%. PSUN +11%. HPQ +10%. VVTV +7%. Losers: STP -12%. CLNT -11%. NMR -9%. JRCC -9%. MTU -8%. SAAS -8%. DRYS -8%. SOL -8%. SMFG -7%. NBG -7%. SNE -6%. TSL -6%. RSOL -6%. WETF -5%. [On the Move] Comment!

9:10 AM ING. U.S. (VOYA): Q1 operating EPS of $0.73 vs. $0.68 a year ago and within the range the company announced prior to its IPO earlier this month. (PR) [Earnings, Financials] Comment!

9:05 AM Unum Group (UNM) declares $0.145/share quarterly dividend, 11.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.13. Forward yield 2.10%.The dividend is expected to be paid in 3Q. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

9:03 AM Sanmina (SANM) -3.6% premarket after Deutsche Bank downgrades shares to Sell from Hold after rising 23% YTD “without a change in fundamentals or an improvement in profitability or revenue growth.” The firm also is more conservative on a back-half recovery in the telecom and networking markets, which comprise ~50% of SANM’s sales. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

9:02 AM US May PMI Manufacturing fell to 51.9 vs consensus of 50.8, 52.0 in Apr. Comment!

9:00 AM Lincoln National Corporation (LNC) declares $0.12/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.38%. For shareholders of record July 10. Payable August 1. Ex-div date June 6. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

9:00 AM On the hour: S&P -0.96%. 10-yr +0.13%. Euro +0.32% vs. dollar. Crude -1.53% to $92.84. Gold +1.26% to $1384.65. Comment!

8:57 AM More on GameStop (GME): The retailer says comparable store sales fell 6.7% Y/Y during Q1 with new hardware sales down 30.6% and pre-owned sales slipping 7.5%. Looking for channels for future growth? During Q1, mobile sales grew 290% to $46.8M and digital sales rose 47.3%. FY13 EPS is pegged at $2.90-$3.15 vs. $2.75-$3.15 previous and the company’s outlook for comparable store sales is improved slightly. GME +1.5% premarket. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] 2 Comments

8:54 AM Marathon Oil (MRO) -2.5% premarket after saying it failed to reach a deal with a prospective buyer for a portion of its 20% outside-operated interest in Alberta’s Athabasca Oil Sands Project. MRO says its goal of divesting $1.5B-$3B in assets during 2011-13 remains intact. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

8:54 AM More on Stein Mart’s (SMRT) Q1: Net income, revenue, and comps post 35.6%, 3.8%, and 1.2% gains respectively. Comps rose 8% in April as the retailer closed out the quarter on a positive note. Lower markdowns contributed to higher gross profit and SG&A as a percentage of sales fell. Inventories were higher by ~$16M Y/Y “to support higher sales.” (PR) [Consumer, Earnings] Comment!

8:49 AM OneBeacon Insurance Group (OB) declares $0.21/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 6.04%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable June 27. Ex-div date June 12. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

NCT, NRZ

8:49 AM Just spun off from Newcastle Investment (NCT), New Residential (NRZ) gets busy, announcing a co-investment with Nationstar Mortgage (NSM) in a recent acquisition of MSRs with UPB of about $23B. New Residential is investing about $38M in exchange for one-third of the monthly cash flow, net of a fee paid to Nationstar, which will perform all servicing functions. All of the mentioned companies are in the portfolio of Fortress Investment (FIG), which has also acquired one-third of the cash flows. (PR) [Financials] Comment!

ARO, ZUMZ

8:48 AM Though it’s shaping up to be a tough market day, a couple of Rue21 peers could get a lift after the retailer lands a sweet premium in a takeover bid. On watch: ARO, ZUMZ, WTSL, EXPR. [Consumer] Comment!

8:45 AM More on Rue21 (RUE): An initial 40-day “go-shop” period process will start today during which the retailer can try to reel in another bid. A low termination fee of ~$10M makes this a feasible option. If Apax Partners lands Rue21 it will have its work cut out for it after the company reported a tough comparable store sales decline of 4.6% for Q1. (PR) [Consumer, M&A] Comment!

8:44 AM Bel Fuse (BELFA) declares $0.06/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.71%. For shareholders of record July 15. Payable August 1. Ex-div date July 11. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

TLT, TBT

8:40 AM More on jobless claims: The big decline nearly erases last week’s large and unexpected jump, and will do nothing to ease concern about “tapering.” The 4-week moving average is little-changed at 339,500. S&P 500 futures remain lower by 0.95%, but bond prices continue to give up some of their big early gains, TLT +0.3%. [U.S. Economy] 3 Comments

PTR, XOM

8:39 AM PetroChina (PTR) says it will seek to increase cooperation with companies including Exxon (XOM), BP, Shell (RDS.A), Chevron (CVX) and Eni (E), potentially teaming up to make acquisitions or joint exploration activities, as it makes expansion abroad a priority. PTR plans to invest ~$60B this decade in global oil and natural gas assets to increase the share of overseas output to half of its total. [Energy] Comment!

8:38 AM Apax Partners acquires Rue21 (RUE) for $42 per share. The deal price is a 23% premium over the retailer’s closing price from yesterday. [M&A, Consumer] Comment!

8:36 AM Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.70%. For shareholders of record June 17. Payable July 15. Ex-div date June 13. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:35 AM STEALTHGAS (GASS): Q1 EPS of $0.26. Revenue of $29.4M (+1% Y/Y). (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:35 AM Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) Pharmaceuticals Business Review is just getting underway (webcast) (agenda) (presentation). The company anticipates more than 10 new product filings and 25 significant brand extensions by 2017. Shares -1.2% premarket. [Healthcare, Breaking News] Comment!

8:34 AM Toro (TTC): FQ2 EPS of $1.32 beats by $0.15. Revenue of $704M beats by $3.65M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:33 AM Advance Auto (AAP): Q1 EPS of $1.65 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $2.01B. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:32 AM Gamestop (GME): Q1 EPS of $0.46 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.87B (-6.8% Y/Y) beats by $0.03B. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:30 AM Initial Jobless Claims: -23K to 340K vs. 345K consensus, 363K prior (revised). Continuing claims -112K to 2.91M. [U.S. Economy, Top Stories, Breaking News] 5 Comments

DPZ, PXP

8:23 AM Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) +3.3% premarket on news it will replace Plains Exploration (PXP) in the S&P MidCap 400 after the close on May 30. Cynosure (CYNO), which will replace NCI Building Systems (NCS), +4.3%. NCS -5.5%. [Consumer, Tech, On the Move] Comment!

8:22 AM Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (RMCF) declares $0.11/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.30%. For shareholders of record June 4. Payable June 14. Ex-div date May 31. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

STX, WDC

8:19 AM Deutsche Bank’s Sherri Scribner (who likes the HDD space) upgrades Seagate Technology (STX) to Buy from Hold and raises the price target on it ($46 from $40) and shares of Western Digital (WDC). She says outperformance stemming from “the impact of the Thailand floods, which reset pricing and profitability higher” and industry consolidation will continue to benefit the two companies which Jim Chanos recently called value traps (STX is his favorite short). Meanwhile, SA contributor Sneha Shah also likes the industry consolidation thesis. (See also: Lazard’s PT boost for WDC) STX +.85% premarket. [Tech] 1 Comment

8:19 AM Forest Labs (FRX) expects to name a successor to Howard Solomon by the end of the year as the CEO announces his retirement, effective Dec. 31 (he’ll be 86). Solomon expects to remain Chairman through the 2014 annual meeting, at which a new one will be elected. (PR) [Healthcare] Comment!

8:18 AM Jefferies thinks Limited Brands (LTD) still looks an underperformer after it dissected the retailer’s Q1 results. Analyst Randal Konik calls out the slowing same-store sales growth trends for the company and notes it will run up against some tough margin comparables later in the year. [Consumer] Comment!

8:14 AM More on Ralph Lauren’s (RL) Q1: An efficient quarter from the retailer but a tad light on revenue. The company says strong retail segment growth was offset in part by unfavorable currency swings and a dip in sales for its wholesale segment. Operating expenses as a percentage of sales were flat Y/Y and 50 bps lower M/M. Consolidated comparable store sales rose 3% during the period. The FY14 outlook includes a 4% to 7% forecast for revenue growth and capex spending of $350M-$450M. RL -3.8% premarket. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

8:13 AM McDonald’s (MCD) declares $0.77/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.03%. For shareholders of record June 3. Payable June 17. Ex-div date May 30. (PR) [Dividends] 2 Comments

BASFY.PK, MON

8:11 AM BASF (BASFY.PK) and Monsanto (MON) plan to commercially launch a drought-tolerant variety of genetically modified corn in the U.S. next year, a senior BASF official says. The two companies have a revenue sharing arrangement, with 60% of revenue going to MON and the rest to BASF. [Commodities, Consumer] Comment!

8:09 AM Trans World Entertainment (TWMC): Q1 EPS of $0.05. Revenue of $93.9M (-16.3% Y/Y). (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:09 AM Apollo Investment Corporation (AINV) declares $0.20/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 9.37%. For shareholders of record June 20. Payable July 5. Ex-div date June 18. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:08 AM KeyCorp (KEY) names Donald Kimble CFO, effective June 3. He’s currently the CFO of Huntington Bancshares (CFO) which presumably is now on the hunt for one. (PR) [Financials] Comment!

MGM, MPEL

8:06 AM Macau-sensitive stocks could swing lower as a subpar reading on China PMI casts doubts on the strength of the economy in the nation. Any type of sustained slowdown in China would rattle the sector with double-digit gaming revenue from Macau baked into valuations. On watch: MGM, MPEL, WYNN, LVS. [Consumer] Comment!

8:05 AM Stein Mart (SMRT): Q1 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $321.3M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:04 AM Asia Entertainment (AERL): Q1 EPS of $0.36 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $64.3M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

8:02 AM Polo Ralph Lauren (RL): FQ4 EPS of $1.37 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.6B misses by $0.1B. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Consumer] Comment!

8:01 AM Limited Brands (LTD) (now going by L Brands) could trade higher when it opens after raising its full-year EPS guidance to $2.95-$3.15 from $2.92-$3.12 on top of a minor EPS beat with its Q1 report. The retailer saw steady sales gains across its brands during the last quarter while expenses and inventory only rose moderately. [Consumer] Comment!

8:01 AM On the hour: S&P -1.02%. 10-yr +0.19%. Euro +0.22% vs. dollar. Crude -1.11% to $93.23. Gold +1.74% to $1391.25. Comment!

8:00 AM More on Apollo Investment (AINV) FQ4 earnings: NAV of $8.27/share vs. $8.14 on Dec. 31 and current price of $8.54. Gross investment activity of $428M, net activity of $199M. Investment portfolio of $2.85B, up from $2.68B a year ago. CC at 10 ET. (PR) [Financials, Earnings] Comment!

7:55 AM The Republican-controlled House last night approved a bill saying a presidential permit was not needed to approve the Canada-to-Nebraska leg of the Keystone XL pipeline (TRP), but the vote may have emboldened opposition, as 50 fewer Democrats backed the bill than a similar one a year ago. The bill’s fate in the Senate is uncertain, and Pres. Obama has promised a veto. [Energy] 5 Comments

7:54 AM The FDA grants priority review to Celgene’s (CELG) NDA for the supplemental use of ABRAXANE alongside gemcitabine for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. (PR) [Healthcare] 1 Comment

7:51 AM Volvo (VOLVY.PK) may sell its U.S. construction-equipment rental business, according to Bloomberg. P-E firms and several companies are reported to be sniffing around [Consumer, Global & FX] Comment!

7:51 AM Right on cue for the market dip, the AAII Investor Sentiment Survey shows a surge in bulls, their number jumping 10.5 points to 49% – the highest since mid-January, and against the long-term average of 39%. Bears jumped ship, their number dropping 7.8 points to 21.6% vs. the long-term average of 30.5%. 2 Comments

7:47 AM More on Dollar Tree’s (DLTR) Q1: Comparable store sales rose 2.1% during the period and operating margin improved by 70 bps. A net 92 stores were opened during Q1. For Q2, the retailer expects sales of $1.81B to $1.86B and EPS of $0.52-$0.57, higher than prior guidance but a bit short of Street estimates. DLTR +1.3% premarket. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings] Comment!

7:45 AM More on Alkermes’ (ALKS) FQ4 : Revenues from five key commercial products rise +26% Y/Y and free cash flow jumps to $48M from $8.4M. For the full year (the first full year that reflects the Elan Drug merger) revenues and (non-GAAP) net income rise 48% and 285% to $575.5M and $1.31/share respectively. AMPYRA/FAMPYRA revenues were $65M for the full year vs. $24.6M for FY12 and VIVITROL revenues rose 41% Y/Y to $58.1M. Operating expenses ex a one-time restructuring charge were essentially flat. (PR) [Healthcare] 1 Comment

7:44 AM Gap Inc (GPS) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.46%. For shareholders of record July 10. Payable July 31. Ex-div date July 8. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:44 AM Dover (DOV) will spin off certain of its communication technologies businesses into a standalone, publicly traded company. The transaction should be completed early next year. Upon completion, Dover’s annual revenue, on a pro-forma basis for 2013, will be $7.4B-$7.6B. [Tech] Comment!

7:35 AM Following Dimon’s big victory, it’s back to business at JPMorgan (JPM) and a subsidiary – JPMorgan International Bank – is today fined £3.1M (not a typo) by U.K. authorities for systems and controls failings related to its provision of retail-investment advice and portfolio-investment services. Shares -1.2% premarket, inline with the broader market swoon. [Financials] Comment!

7:34 AM Perry Ellis (PERY): Q1 EPS of $0.62 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $262.3M misses by $3.52M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Consumer] Comment!

7:33 AM Bon-Ton Stores (BONT): Q1 EPS of -$1.41 beats by $0.32. Revenue of $646.9M (+1% Y/Y) misses by $18.33M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:32 AM Apollo Investment (AINV): FQ4 NII of $0.21 in-line. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Financials] Comment!

7:31 AM Motorola Solutions (MSI) is maintained a Neutral at MKM Partners despite upbeat management comments at an analyst meeting yesterday. MKM sees the potential for more guidance cuts this year, noting the company maintained H2 forecasts despite missing its Q1 target and cutting its Q2 outlook. MKM notes more significant news from the meeting: The implementation of a holding-company structure for overseas units that should lower the 2013 effective tax rate to 10-15% from 32-33%. [Tech] Comment!

7:30 AM Dollar Tree (DLTR): Q1 EPS of $0.59 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.87B (+8.3% Y/Y) in-line. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:28 AM Columbus McKinnon (CMCO): FQ4 EPS of $0.37 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $144.6M misses by $6.6M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:27 AM Children’s Place (PLCE): Q1 EPS of $0.83 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $423.2M (-3.5% Y/Y) beats by $6.62M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

TSLA, FIATY.PK

7:26 AM Slow down there Tesla Motors (TSLA). A blog post from Chrysler (FIATY.PK) says the EV automaker is “unmistakably incorrect” in its statement on being the only U.S. automaker to have fully repaid its government loans, noting Chrysler paid off U.S. and Canadian government loans ahead of schedule. On Tesla, Chrysler asks if it’s a short memory or a short-circuit that led to the disputed claim? [Consumer] 26 Comments

7:26 AM BofA/ Merrill Lynch upgrades Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) to Buy from Neutral. That’s two upgrades (previous) for the stock this morning. Shares are up slightly premarket. [Consumer] Comment!

7:26 AM Shiloh Industries (SHLO): FQ2 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $182.1M beats by $19.M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:25 AM Kirklands (KIRK): Q1 EPS of $0.10 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $101.2M (+3.5% Y/Y) beats by $0.5M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:24 AM Medtronic (MDT) announces regulatory approval for VIV procedures using CoreValve and CoreValve Evolut TAVI systems in degenerated bioprosthetic surgical aortic valves. It’s the first-ever approval for VIV procedures, a minimally-invasive option for at-risk patients. Shares -1% premarket. [Healthcare] Comment!

7:23 AM Patterson Companies (PDCO): FQ4 EPS of $0.62 in-line. Revenue of $964.9M (+3.1% Y/Y) misses by $4.54M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:23 AM Cato (CATO): Q1 EPS of $1.05 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $269.7M misses by $5.M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:22 AM Alkermes (ALKS): FQ4 EPS of $0.40. Revenue of $163.4M beats by $35.39M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Healthcare] Comment!

7:20 AM Buckle (BKE): Q1 EPS of $0.78 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $269.7M (+2.3% Y/Y) misses by $2.78M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:18 AM Morgan Stanley upgrades Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) to an Overweight rating from Equalweight. [Consumer] Comment!

7:18 AM Coinstar (CSTR) CFO Galen Smith says the company will see better results in the second half of the year as it benefits from a strong slate of summer movies. Box office total in the U.S. have slumped so far this year with a relatively weak slate of films partially to blame. Execs with Coinstar presented yesterday at the B. Riley & Co. Investor Conference. (webcast) [Consumer] Comment!

7:14 AM Cisco (CSCO) is reaffirmed a Buy with $26 price target at Citigroup which says the firm’s economic leverage is under-appreciated. More earnings surprises could drive the shares to $30, says the team. Cisco off 1% premarket, inline with the Nasdaq 100. [Tech] Comment!

7:09 AM Nissan (NSANY.OB) says it will recall 841K vehicles due to a glitch with the steering wheel of the automaker’s Micra compact model. The repair job will involve tightening a potentially misbehaving steering wheel bolt. [Consumer, Global & FX] Comment!

7:08 AM The Fed trots out St. Louis’ Jim Bullard who says it’s been awhile since the FOMC discussed an exit from QE, and he doesn’t think the group is about to start talking about it anytime soon. In fact, making Mr. Bullard nervous these days is inflation that is too low. S&P 500 futures are well off the lows, now -0.7%. 9 Comments

7:02 AM “I’ll take ‘Kiss of Death Magazine Covers’ for minus 7%, Alex,” tweets a clever fellow as this week’s The Economist cover shows Japan PE Shinzo Abe flying through the air like Superman. DXJ -6.9% premarket. [Global & FX] 4 Comments

UAL, DLAKY.PK

7:02 AM European regulators accept the concessions made by United Continental (UAL), Lufthansa (DLAKY.PK), and Air Canada (AIDIF.PK) on their existing agreement to share transatlantic routes. The carriers will give up airport slots in Frankfurt and New York City as part of the negotiated arrangement to open up competition. [Consumer] Comment!

7:00 AM On the hour: S&P -0.79%. 10-yr +0.11%. Euro +0.22% vs. dollar. Crude -0.85% to $93.48. Gold +1.56% to $1388.75. Comment!

6:56 AM General Motors (GM) says the Chevrolet Spark EV will have a starting price of $27,495 when it goes on sale in California and Oregon next month which will make it one of the budget leaders in the category. The model’s price falls to $19,995 after factoring in the a $7,500 federal tax credit. [Consumer] Comment!

6:56 AM Prepping for the government possibly classifying it as a “systematically important financial institution,” AIG is on the lookout to hire a director with regulatory experience. On the list are those who have run regulated financials as well as former regulators, according to sources. It’s a new regulatory day, and an insurance company whose board is heavy with insurance people won’t cut it anymore. [Financials] Comment!

6:52 AM More on Signet Jewelers’ (SIG) FQ1: Same-store sales rose 6.4% Y/Y, led by a 10.2% gain by Kay in the U.S. E-commerce sales in the U.S. division increased 48% to $25.6M. Average transaction prices rose during the quarter. The retailer expects to open 70 to 80 new Kay and Jared stores in FY14. (PR) [Earnings, Consumer] Comment!

SPY, QQQ

6:48 AM S&P 500 futures (SPY) -1%, Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) -1% following the Nikkei’s 7.3% crash overnight. In Europe, the Stoxx 50 (FEZ) -2.2%. Shanghai fell 1.2% as its PMI slipped into contraction territory for the first time in 7 months. Treasurys catch a bid, the 10-year yield off 5 bps to 1.99%, TLT +0.8% premarket. 9 Comments

6:47 AM More on Hormel Foods’ (HRL) Q1: Volume was up 4% during the quarter. Revenue gains were led by a 49% Y/Y increase in Grocery Products, while Refrigerated Foods and Jennie-O Turkey Store sales both fell back. Segment operating profit slipped 2%, partially due to higher grain costs and weaker commodity turkey prices. The company backs its full year EPS guidance of $1.93-$2.03. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings] Comment!

6:42 AM More on TD Bank (TD) FQ2 earnings: Adjusted EPS of $1.90 vs. $1.78 a year ago. Canadian retail banking net income of $877M up 5% Y/Y. U.S. retail banking net income of $392M up 9%. Wholesale banking net income of $220M up 12%. Provision for credit loses of 0.39%, up from 0.35% last quarter, 0.37% a year ago. Tier 1 capital ratio of 10.8%. Book value/share of $50.18 vs. $45.19 a year ago. Bank has applied to repurchase up to 12M shares on TSX, more than 1% of the float. (PR) [Earnings, Financials] 1 Comment

6:40 AM Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) announces a secondary offering of 19M shares will price at $21.50 per share. [Consumer] Comment!

6:35 AM Signet Jewelers (SIG): Q1 EPS of $1.13 beats by $1.13. Revenue of $993.6M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

6:33 AM Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD): Q1 EPS of C$1.90 in-line. Revenue of C$6.0B misses by C$0.07B. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Financials] Comment!

6:32 AM Hormel Foods (HRL): Q1 EPS of $0.46 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $2.15B (+7% Y/Y) misses by $0.04B. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Consumer] Comment!

6:31 AM Goldman drops a Sell rating on Realty Income (O): “We believe upside earnings surprise risk is larger in small-cap healthcare and traditional net lease REITs due to their smaller asset bases. Additionally, O trades at a 38% premium to our net lease and healthcare names on a 2013E AFFO multiple basis. Although we believe O’s record of a sustainable and growing dividend will continue, we also think material dividend increases are more likely across the REIT sector (average AFFO payout of 77%) than for O (92%).” O fell 4.8% yesterday and is off 1.3% premarket. [Quick Ideas, On the Move] 3 Comments

6:13 AM Pactera Technology (PACT): Q1 EPS of $0.12 in-line. Revenue of $152.3M misses by $7.02M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

6:09 AM Taomee (TAOM): Q1 EPS of $0.04 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $9.6M beats by $1.4M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

6:06 AM Quality Systems (QSII): FQ4 EPS of $0.21 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $111.3M misses by $6.01M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

6:00 AM Overseas: Japan -7.3%. Hong Kong -2.5%. China -1.1%. India -1.9%. London -1.9%. Paris -2.4%. Frankfurt -2.7%. 1 Comment

5:41 AM The preliminary Markit composite PMI for the eurozone prints at 47.7 in May which, albeit still squarely in contraction territory, is still a three-month high. Both services and manufacturing “saw an easing in the rate of decline” and employment dropped for the seventeenth straight month. Ultimately, “the eurozone’s second recession in five years looks set to drag into a seventh successive quarter,” Markit’s chief economist Chris Williamson says. [Global & FX] Comment!

5:30 AM Japan’s economy minister isn’t worried about Thursday’s sell-off . “I thought the pace of the Nikkei’s rise recently was faster than expected [and] the weak Chinese data prompted investors to take profits all at the same time,” Akira Amari says. As for the yen: of course it rose, stocks were down, he notes. [Global & FX] 1 Comment

LNVGY.PK, LNVGF.PK

5:18 AM Lenovo (LNVGY.PK): FQ4 net profit of $127M beats by $20M. FQ4 revenue of $7.83B (+4% Y/Y) misses by $140M. Full year net profit of $635.15M beats by $16.91M. Full year Revenue of $33.87B (+15% Y/Y). [Tech, Earnings] Comment!

4:57 AM Monitoring the global sell-off: European markets are down sharply following the Japanese session with the FTSE -1.87%, DAX -2.6%, CAC 40 -2.45%, IBEX 35 -2.17%. [Global & FX] Comment!

EWJ, DXJ

4:42 AM Even Japanese stocks are subject to the law of gravity (who knew?) as a confluence of factors sends the Nikkei (EWJ, DXJ) plunging 7.3% on the session (the swing from intraday high to low was ~9%). Yields on JGB 10s (JGBL) spiked above 1% at one point as an already skittish and volatile market was further rattled by what have generally been perceived as hawkish comments out of Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials on Wednesday. Yields pulled back in late trading. Compounding the problem for Japanese stocks was the yen (FXY), which has strengthened some 2% against the dollar to 101.16 most recently. (See also: China HSBC flash PMI shows contraction) [Global & FX, On the Move] 8 Comments

FXI, GXC

3:17 AM China PMI shrinks for the first time in seven months, dropping to 49.6 from 50.4 in April, missing expectations. HSBC, who collect the data, didn’t mince words in an appeal to Beijing: “The cooling manufacturing activities in May reflected slower domestic demand and ongoing external headwinds. A sequential slowdown is likely in the middle of Q2, casting downside risk to China’s fragile growth recovery. Moreover, the further signs of labor market slackness call for more policy support. Beijing still has fiscal ammunition to do so.” ETFs: FXI, GXC, PGJ, YAO, FCHI, PEK, CAF, YXI, XPP, FXP, MCHI, YINN, YANG, TCHI, CHXF; BONDS: RMB, DSUM, CHLC, CNY, CYB, FXCH [Global & FX] 1 Comment

3:08 AM Equity futures turn sharply lower overnight, possibly in reaction to weak manufacturing data out of China and a mini-crash in Japan that left the Topix -6.9%. Factory activity in China shrunk for the first time in 7 months, reflecting “slower domestic demand and ongoing external headwinds.” S&P futures currently -1.1% to 1637.50 after dropping below 1634 when European markets first opened. [Global & FX, Breaking News, On the Move] 12 Comments

ARO, BLOX

12:10 AM Notable earnings after Thursday ’s close: ARO, BLOX, CRM, GPS, MENT, MRVL, P, ROST, SHLD, SVM, WSM, ZUMZ Comment!

AAP, AINV

12:05 AM Notable earnings before Thursday’s open: AAP, AINV, ALKS, BKE, BONT, DLTR, GME,HRL, QSII, RL, SLF, TD Comment!