COP, PSX

JNJ, WMT

12:26 PM Cosi (COSI -13.7%) takes a double-digit dive after its Q1 report misses by what might fairly be called a “wide margin”. Revenues fall 13% Y/Y due to store closures and lower comps. Comps breakdown: -6.6% and -1.3% for company-owned restaurants and franchise-operated locations respectively. From the CC: “Dinner [is] where we took the greatest [comp percent] hit.” Summing it up is CEO Carin Stutz: “Q1 results were unacceptable … [if] profitable sales [are] the measure of our success … we have not succeeded.” Northland Capital rubs a little salt in the wound, downgrading the shares to Market Perform from Outperform (see analyst Chris Krueger’s Q&A on the CC). [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

12:25 PM Bank of Montreal (BMO -0.5%) is hit with an “enforcement action” by the Fed for “deficiencies” in complying with money-laundering rules. Examiners at the Chicago Fed discovered the issues during an examination of BMO’s branch in that city. “Our remediation activities are well under way,” says a bank spokesman. [Financials] Comment!

12:23 PM Cempra (CEMP -0.2%) fails to get any reaction out of Jefferies’ initiating coverage today with a Buy rating and $10 price target. The firm cites optimism over its pipeline, saying that its lead drug solithromycin is the key value driver. However, the company has limited capital, which has impacted its ability to conduct Phase 3 trials in an expedited manner. It will likely need to secure additional financing to further advance its programs, leaving the the stock with a potential dilutive overhang. [Healthcare] Comment!

12:20 PM Quicksilver Resources (KWK -4.4%) announces a multi-year profit improvement plan it says will focus on prioritizing its core brands, globalizing key functions and reducing its cost structure, Briefing.com reports. KWK expects the plan will improve EBITDA by $150M by 2016. Also, KWK will be replaced in the S&P 400 after the close of trading May 23. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

12:18 PM Marketo’s (MKTO) IPO is nearly as good as Tableau’s. Shares opened at $20 and are currently moving at $20.24, up 55.7% from an IPO price of $13. That gives the cloud marketing automation software vendor and occasional subject of Salesforce buyout speculation a valuation of $722M, or 12x 2012 sales. (S-1) [Tech, On the Move, Breaking News] Comment!

BRCD, CSCO

12:14 PM A revenue miss and light guidance lead Brocade (BRCD -4.2%) to slump. On its earnings call, Brocade guided for FQ3 revenue of $510M-$530M and EPS of $0.11-$0.13, below a consensus of $556M and $0.15. The company partly blames soft storage array sales from OEM partners (IBM, H-P, and Dell appear to be culprits, NetApp could be another). Brocade’s storage switch division sales (69% of total) fell 10% Q/Q and 6% Y/Y in FQ2, in spite of growing demand for 16G Fibre Channel switches (Brocade has had a big lead on Cisco (CSCO) here, but Cisco is finally catching up). Ethernet switch division sales -4% Q/Q and +15% Y/Y. [Tech, On the Move, Earnings] Comment!

12:06 PM Thoratec Corporation (THOR -1.5%) says it’s received FDA approval to market the HeartMate II Pocket Controller, the small face of the HeartMate II LVAD System. The device controls the left ventricular assist device or LVAD, which is a kind of mechanical heart which is put inside a person’s chest, to help the heart pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

12:00 PM On the hour: Dow +0.4%. 10-yr -0.29%. Euro -0.5% vs. dollar. Crude +0.25% to $95.4. Gold -1.72% to $1363.05. Comment!

BP, RDS.A

11:58 AM Major oil producers launch a joint program to beef up their Arctic oil spill response plan in a bid to convince the Arctic Council they are ready for large-scale development in the region. There are plenty of doubters, of course, and incidents such as BP 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill and Shell’s recent problems north of Alaska with two drill ships don’t help. [Energy] 3 Comments

GLD, IAU

11:57 AM “Do you really think risk-averse central bankers are going to try and catch the knife,” asks Credit Suisse commodity research chief Ric Deverell about gold. “No” is his answer as this crowd only buys when the price is headed higher. Of reports of heavy physical buying, he’s unimpressed, noting investment demand (ETFs) is the gorilla in the gold market. The metal’s (GLD -1.6%) within a few dollars of taking out the 26-month low hit in April. [Commodities] 2 Comments

11:53 AM Orchids Paper Products Company (TIS) declares $0.35/share quarterly dividend, 16.66% increase from prior dividend of $0.30. Forward yield 6.08%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable June 21.Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

11:47 AM MicroVision (MVIS +12.2%) jumps after announcing it has raised $5.85M by selling 2.6M shares and warrants to acquire another 2M shares to investment firm Crede and other buyers. The sale gives MicroVision, which had just $3.8M in cash/investments on its balance sheet as of March 31 (down from $7.3M on Dec. 31), a needed liquidity injection as it continues it efforts to commercialize its PicoP mobile projection tech. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

11:46 AM Spartan Stores (SPTN) declares $0.09/share quarterly dividend, 12.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.08. Forward yield 2.09%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable June 21.Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

AXL, DAN

11:43 AM A broad rally in auto supplier stocks isn’t a shocker after positive news piled in from across the globe. In Europe, a long slide in sales has finally reversed while China is opening up the western part of its territory for manufacturers. Just to top it off quite nicely, consumer sentiment rose briskly in the U.S. Advancers: American Axle (AXL) +4.5%, Dana Holding (DAN) +4.1%, TRW Automotive (TRW) +2.2%, Navistar (NAV) +4.4%, Federal-Mogul (FDML) +4.2%, Magna International +1.9%, Meritor (MTOR) +2%, Johnson Controls (JCI) +1.9%, Exide Technologies (XIDE) +5.5%. [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

11:40 AM EPR Properties (EPR) declares $0.2633/share monthly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 5.30%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable June 17. Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

KMP, EPD

11:38 AM Jim Cramer chooses MLPs Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP) and Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) as antidotes to potential froth in the broader stock market. Cramer likes KMP’s strategic acquisitions during recent years and is bullish on its outlook. On EPD, Cramer praises the management team and likes its track record of executing growth projects and integrating acquisitions. [Energy, Quick Ideas] 4 Comments

11:36 AM FBL Financial Group (FFG) declares $0.11/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.10%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 12. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

11:33 AM U.S. Cellular (USM +5.5%) spikes higher after announcing a $5.75/share special dividend that will be paid on June 25 to shareholders on record as of June 11. The announcement comes as USM states it has closed its $480M deal to transfer spectrum and 420K customers to Sprint. [Tech, On the Move, Breaking News] Comment!

11:32 AM Northrim BanCorp (NRIM) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.69%. For shareholders of record June 6. Payable June 14. Ex-div date June 4. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

11:28 AM Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) declares $0.12/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.99%. For shareholders of record June 12. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 10. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

SSNLF.PK, RFMD

11:27 AM Galaxy S4 sales will top 10M next week (less than a month after launching), says Samsung (SSNLF.PK) co-CEO Shin Jong-kyun. The Galaxy S III took 50 days to crack 10M. Samsung thinks S4 sales could eventually reach 100M, or twice the 50M the S III has seen over its lifetime. Suppliers with decent exposure: RFMD, ANAD, PANL, QCOM, BRCM, SYNA. [Tech] Comment!

FCX, PXP

11:23 AM While a razor-thin margin one way or the either is anticipated in next Monday’s vote on Freeport McMoRan’s (FCX) takeover bid for Plains Exploration (PXP), FCX shares could be poised to rise on either outcome. But all bets are off if FCX sees the bid on the verge of defeat and decides to sweeten the pot after saying it wouldn’t do so. A higher offer could further pressure shares, already -16% since the deal was announced. [Commodities, Energy, M&A] Comment!

11:23 AM United Airlines (UAL +0.1%) debuts a loyalty program aimed at business travelers, marking something of a first for the industry. More expansive than strictly a miles program, the MileagePlus Small Business Network will reward customers who buy goods and services from approved vendors and will include an auction program. [Consumer] Comment!

IPXL, AZN

11:23 AM Impax Laboratories (IPXL -1.2%) says its Generic Division, Global Pharmaceuticals, has begun shipping its generic drug Zomig, which is used for the treatment of migraines in adults, as part of a licensing and distribution agreement with AstraZeneca (AZN). [Healthcare, Global & FX] Comment!

11:22 AM In a late bit of campaigning, JPMorgan’s (JPM) board sends a letter to shareholders urging they vote against the proposal to split the Chairman and CEO roles. The directors also endorse the re-election of … themselves. One large fence-sitter – T. Rowe Price – will vote against the split, with fund manager Brian Rogers suggesting a look at the scoreboard says Dimon and his team know what they’re doing. The annual meeting is set for Tuesday. [Financials] Comment!

11:16 AM Target (TGT +0.5%) tests a new video streaming service with employees as it mulls over entering the streaming game full force. The company says Target Ticket beta already has 15K TV and movie titles in its library. [Consumer] Comment!

BIDU, SOHU

11:14 AM Take this one with a grain of salt: an “industry source” claims Baidu (BIDU +1.6%) has reached a deal to buy Sohu’s (SOHU +2.5%) Sogou search unit for $2B-$2.5B in cash and shares of Baidu’s iQiyi online video unit. Though Sohu is rallying, the entire company still only has a market cap of $2.4B, indicating investors are as skeptical of this report as they were of Qihoo deal reports. Acquiring Sogou would pose integration challenges for Baidu, and (given Baidu’s dominant Chinese search share) could also draw a regulatory response. (previous) [Tech, M&A, On the Move] Comment!

F, GM

11:05 AM A nice little jump in consumer sentiment bodes well for automobile companies, according to CNBC’s Phil LeBeau. The outlook for the industry looks extremely good with fresh models from automakers (F, GM, TM, FIATY.PK, HMC, NSANY.OB, VLKAY.PK) coinciding with structural pent-up demand and the uptick in sentiment. [Consumer] 4 Comments

11:05 AM Triple-S Management (GTS -4.8%) slides after pricing a secondary offering of 5.4M Class B shares at $18.25, a 4.5% discount to Thursday’s close. As part of the Offering, 4,400,368 shares were sold to the public in a conversion from Class A shares, and 1M shares were purchased by the Company. Triple-S will not receive any proceeds from the Offering. [On the Move, Healthcare, Financials] Comment!

SCTY, YGE

11:04 AM SolarCity (SCTY +15.3%) won’t take a breather. Shares are blasting off to new post-IPO highs a day after rallying on news of an expanded financing partnership with Goldman. “We hope [the deal] sends a signal that solar is a stable and reliable asset to invest in,” CEO Lyndon Rive tells Bloomberg. Meanwhile, some Chinese solar names are up following a rally in Shanghai: YGE +4.1%. LDK +5.1%. SOL +6.1%. JASO +3.5%. CSIQ +2.5%. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

DE, CORN

11:01 AM Goldman’s Tuesday bear call on agricultural commodities has implications for Deere (DE -2.7%) which gets a downgrade to Sell from Neutral. Analyst Jerry Revich says “recovering commodity inventories point to lower U.S. farm income and capex.” As recently bearish Barron’s notes (channeling Wells Fargo’s Andrew Casey) “as goes the North American corn crop, so goes DE’s stock price.” For their part, GS says only a “major weather shock” could keep corn crop (CORN +0.1%) prices “near their current levels.” Price target: $85 from $98. [On the Move, Commodities] Comment!

11:00 AM On the hour: Dow +0.36%. 10-yr -0.16%. Euro -0.42% vs. dollar. Crude +0.18% to $95.33. Gold -2.04% to $1358.55. Comment!

10:58 AM Vertex Energy (VTNR +3.1%) is started with a Buy rating and $4 price target at Wunderlich, which cites flexibility in responding to price/supply fluctuations across the collection/resale markets for used oil. In addition to economies of scale and low capital requirement, the spread between VTNR’s feedstock and its end products are more highly correlated than fully re-refined Group II base lube oils, the firm says. [Energy, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

10:57 AM Kansas City Southern (KSU +1.2%) still has a “long runway” of growth opportunities and is a juicy takeover candidate, says Stephens analyst Justin Long. One thing that separates KSU from the pack of railroad tocks is that it’s more of a pure play on growth in Mexico where the upside is higher than the U.S. or Canada. [Consumer] 1 Comment

10:54 AM Capital One (COF +1.8%) is presumably about to save some money on loan servicing, commencing an exchange offer for all of its senior notes maturing in 2017 for a combination of new notes maturing in 2023 and cash. (PR) [Financials] Comment!

10:51 AM Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA +20%) pops after Lazard pounds the table on the stock and ups its price target by nearly 55% to a whopping $17 from $11. The firm cites positive checks from sleep specialists on tasimelteon for non-24 hour insomnia disorder. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

10:49 AM Transocean (RIG) CEO Steve Newman’s people skills have been tested trying to convince shareholders to reject Carl Icahn’s call to replace three board members at today’s annual meeting, but he says it’s nothing compared to visiting the homes of the nine RIG workers who died at the Deepwater Horizon explosion. While Icahn might appreciate the treatment of the families, he disagrees with just about everything else Newman and the board has done. [Energy] Comment!

DATA, QLIK

10:41 AM Tableau’s (DATA) IPO is as good as advertised. Shares opened at $47 and are currently at $49.82, up 61% from a raised IPO price of $31. That gives the analytics/data visualization software vendor a valuation of $2.86B, or a whopping 22x 2012 revenue. Rival Qlik (QLIK +4.6%) is up in sympathy – a bullish BMO note might also be helping. (S-1) (Pac Crest) [Tech, On the Move, Breaking News, Top Stories] Comment!

10:37 AM Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO +1%) continues its run again today, on the back of an 18% gain in yesterday’s regular session. Late Wednesday, the company said that positive clinical data from a Phase 1b trial of PEGPH20 in combination with gemcitabine to treat patients with stage IV metastatic pancreatic cancer will be presented at the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

SPY, TLT

10:35 AM Stocks add to gains (SPY +0.6%) as the mid-May UMich Consumer Sentiment read rises to 83.7 vs. 76.4 at the end of April and against expectations for 78. The current conditions index jumped 7.6 points to 97.5 – a new high for the economic recovery. Treasurys (TLT -0.7%) slide further. [U.S. Economy] 2 Comments

VFC, CAB

10:29 AM Demand is rising for “frackwear” that oil and gas workers can wear to protect themselves from wires and explosions, and retailers and clothes makers are trying to take advantage. VF Corp. (VFC) says it is pulling research teams from malls and placing them alongside workers in oil fields. Retailers including Cabela’s (CAB) say they are seeing rising demand for sturdy shoes and fire-resistant clothing. [Energy, Consumer] Comment!

NBG, GREK

10:27 AM The call option otherwise known as National Bank of Greece (NBG +19.2%) soars again, now closing in on being a 4-bagger in a month. The capital raise plan has been approved – though surely dilutive, it keeps the bank privately-owned – and an upgrade cycle has begun for the country and the banking system. The Greek ETF (GREK +3.1%). [Financials, On the Move, Global & FX] Comment!

10:26 AM BofA delivers a stinging downgrade on Williams-Sonoma (WSM -0.8%) to Neutral from Buy, maintaining the retailer is out of near-term catalysts. A price objective of $60 reflects a 19X 2014 earnings multiple which stands well-above sector peers. Comment!

10:25 AM While Aruba crashes thanks to soft July quarter guidance and worries about Cisco’s efforts to bundle Wi-Fi hardware in enterprise deals, carrier Wi-Fi rival Ruckus (RKUS +2.6%) is adding to yesterday’s Cisco-fueled gains thanks to an upgrade to Buy from Goldman’s Simona Jankowski. She notes shares closed yesterday down 41% YTD and 11% from their $15 IPO price thanks to Ruckus’ Q1 miss and Q2 guidance, and argues Ruckus’ long-term story is intact. Deals with tier-1 carriers such as AT&T and Vodafone are expected, and Ruckus is seen as a “key beneficiary” of efforts to integrate small cell base stations with Wi-Fi access points. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

10:22 AM Jefferies starts Cempra Holdings (CEMP +2.5%) at Buy with a $10 price target. [Healthcare] Comment!

10:16 AM Imperial Holdings (IFT +0.6%) has run more than 50% in a month, but that’s just the “hard money,” says SA Pro’s Whopper Investments. The “easy money” is still out there as all substantial risk has been taken off the table, leaving a company trading below liquidation value. Chairman Phil Goldstein last year believed intrinsic value to be at least $8/share, but warned on risks of shareholder lawsuits, an SEC investigation, not-yet-filed audited statements, and the ability to hold onto its life insurance policies. “Those risks are now behind the company,” says Whopper. [Quick Ideas, Financials] Comment!

ARUN, CSCO

10:16 AM Aruba (ARUN -26.8%) is slammed with 9 downgrades after providing light guidance to go with its FQ3 results. Aruba is “likely dealing with a multi-quarter, if not structural, change in its competitive landscape and growth rate,” writes Needham, cutting shares to Hold. Wells Fargo, downgrading to Market Perform, notes Cisco (CSCO – 27% Y/Y Wi-Fi growth in FQ3) is extending its efforts to bundle Wi-Fi hardware with other enterprise gear to Europe/Asia, and that Aruba plans to invest more to compete better. Along with the report, Aruba announced it’s buying Meridian Apps, a developer of mapping/navigation software for hotels, subways, hospitals, etc. (transcript) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

GT, CTB

10:13 AM Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT +4%) and Cooper Tier & Rubber (CTB +2.9%) trade higher after European car sales turn around finally and with news that China will encourage manufacturing in the western part of the country. [Consumer] Comment!

GM, VLKAY.PK

10:10 AM China says it will encourage investment in vehicle manufacturing in the western part of the nation to reverse a prior decision on the issue. General Motors (GM +2.5%) and Volkswagen (VLKAY.PK) could benefit from the development due to their aggressive expansion plans in the region. [Consumer, Global & FX] Comment!

10:08 AM Stemline Therapeutics (STML +6.2%) ramps higher after it prices its 4.2M share public offering at $14.50 per share, just a 3.3% discount to yesterday’s close. The pricing puts the tally on gross proceeds at around $60M. The company intends to use the proceeds to fund ongoing clinical trials of its potential leukemia and lymphoma treatments SL-401 and SL-701, as well as for other general corporate purposes. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

10:01 AM Pike Electric (PIKE +5.6%) rises after Stifel Nicolaus makes a valuation call, upgrading the shares to Buy and setting a $14.50 price target. Having sold-off ~24% since earnings, including ~9% since announcing its secondary, the stock represents a bargain given that “the fundamental story is sound.” As was the case the last time Stifel made a call on PIKE, the stock is trading on heavy volume (30% of the average 10-day volume has already changed hands in the first ~30 minutes of trading). [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

10:00 AM On the hour: Dow +0.4%. 10-yr -0.19%. Euro -0.5% vs. dollar. Crude +0.87% to $95.99. Gold -1.11% to $1371.45. Comment!

10:00 AM Apr. Leading Indicators: Leading Index +0.6% to 95.0 vs. +0.3% expected, -0.1% prior. Coincident Index +0.1% vs. -0.1% prior. Lagging Index +0.1% vs. +0.3% prior . [U.S. Economy] 3 Comments

BP, RDS.A

9:56 AM The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office says it is “urgently reviewing” whether it has the authority to investigate allegations of price fixing in the oil market, after unannounced inspections earlier this week by EU antitrust authorities of BP, Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) and Statoil (STO). The SFO believes it could be the appropriate body to investigate such allegations. [Energy, Global & FX] 1 Comment

DIS, CBS

9:53 AM Disney’s (DIS -0.3%) ESPN snatched the rights to the U.S. Open tennis tournament for 2015-2025 away from CBS (CBS +2.5%) after the network aired the finals and semifinals for almost 50 straight years. It’s another example of a content grab by the sports juggernaut which helps it land the highest carriage fees in the industry and adds just a bit more to the I-Would-Be-A-Cord-Cutter-If-Not-For-Sports mentality. [Consumer] 2 Comments

9:48 AM Laredo Petroleum (LPI +4.2%) is started with a Buy rating and $23 target price at Topeka Capital, which thinks the market is undervaluing its Anadarko Basin assets: “The story may require patience to get the balance sheet in shape and asset value to be realized, but we believe this could evolve sooner rather than later.” [Energy, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

9:46 AM Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY -0.2%) pares the early gains it racked up after saying preclinical data demonstrate RNAi therapeutics targeting ALAS-1 can suppress the “toxic heme biosynthesis intermediaries that cause the symptoms and disease pathology of acute intermittent porphyria.” The company says the findings support its ALN-AS1 program. (PR) [Healthcare] Comment!

NWS, DIS

9:44 AM Hulu (NWS, DIS, CMCSA) could be even more valuable than people think due its rich user experience and advanced advertising system, reasons BTIG’s Rich Greenfield. The analyst isn’t convinced a cable industry joint venture would work well, but says he could make the case why almost any large media/tech company (Google?) could use Hulu to position itself in the “rapidly fragmenting” video world. [Consumer, Tech] Comment!

UUP, FXY

9:38 AM Did the Fed tighten while we were getting a cup of coffee? The greenback is soaring against all other currencies, with the dollar bull ETF (UUP) gaining 0.6% – an unusually large move for that vehicle. Strength against the yen (FXY -0.3%) and the aussie (FXA -0.9%) are givens of late, but the greenback is up about 1% vs. both the loonie (FXC) and the swissie (FXF), and about 0.6% vs. the euro (FXE) and cable (FXB). Getting hit are Treasurys (TLT -0.5%), the dollar bear ETF (UDN -0.6%) and of course, gold (GLD -0.7%). [Global & FX] 3 Comments

9:35 AM A downgrade to Hold from Maxim’s John Tinker leads Pandora (P -0.2%) to open lower, but shares have quickly bounced. Tinker cites valuation, noting Pandora trades near the $17 PT Maxim set back in Aug. ’11. He’s otherwise positive, noting improved mobile monetization and the fact Pandora support is now built into 95 car models. Piper raised its estimates yesterday. [Tech, On the Move] 1 Comment

9:31 AM At the open: Dow +0.26% to 15273. S&P +0.39% to 1657. Nasdaq +0.55% to 3484. Treasurys: 30-year -0.3%. 10-yr -0.1%. 5-yr -0.04%. Commodities: Crude +0.98% to $96.09. Gold -0.77% to $1376.25. Currencies: Euro -0.6% vs. dollar. Yen +0.38%. Pound +0.55%. Comment!

9:29 AM James River Coal (JRCC) +10.3% premarket after announcing separate exchange agreements in connection with its 4.50% and 3.125% convertible senior notes. JRCC will exchange $243M of existing senior convertible notes for $123M of new senior convertible notes due in 2018. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

THD, SHNZY.PK

9:26 AM Thai stocks (THD) rise 0.62%, helped by 7% gains for Shin Corp. (SHNZY.PK) and Minor International (MNILF.OB) which will both be added to the MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) index. Elsewhere in the region, stocks in Indonesia (IDX) rise 1.32%, continuing to defy analysts’ predictions (I, II) of a steep sell-off, and post-midterm election profit-taking continues in the Philippines (EPHE), where stocks fall 0.42%. [Global & FX] Comment!

9:26 AM The Outdoor Channel Holdings (OUTD) bidding war is over, with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment closing its acquisition for $10.25/share in cash after Intermedia walked away. OUTD will presumably be delisted today. Congrats again to SA Pro’s Whopper Investments and Chris DeMuth who spotted this “Heads You Win, Tails You Tie” proposition at $8.75/share. [M&A] 1 Comment

DATA, MKTO

9:22 AM Tableau Software (DATA) and Marketo (MKTO) are will begin trading today after pricing their IPOs at levels that indicate strong demand. Tableau, set to become the Street’s latest big data/analytics darling, priced its offering at $31, above a prior range (also raised) of $28-$30. The company sold 8.2M shares, up from a prior 7.2M, as insiders used the demand to sell an extra 1M shares. Marketo priced its offering at $13, at the high end of an $11-$13 range. The IPO prices give Tableau a valuation of $1.78B, and Marketo a valuation of $464M. (S-1s: Tableau, Marketo) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

9:20 AM Market preview: The rally looks to be back on track after a one-day pause, with S&P futures +0.3%, but in an otherwise uneventful day the final outcome likely will be dictated by key data on consumer sentiment and leading economic indicators. The dollar is surging early. Gold is on track for a seventh straight loss, which would be the longest such streak in four years. Comment!

9:17 AM Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust (WHLR) declares $0.035/share monthly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 6.94%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable June 30. Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

PNK, ASCA

9:16 AM Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK) announces that the Nevada Gaming Commission approved its acquisition of Ameristar Casinos (ASCA). The company say the transaction will close in either Q2 or Q3 of this year. [Consumer] Comment!

9:15 AM Euroseas (ESEA): Q1 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $10.9M misses by $0.4M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] 1 Comment

BUD, TAP

9:13 AM Big beer companies including Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Molson Coors (TAP), SABMiller (SBMRY.PK), Heineken (HINKY.PK), and Constellation Brands (STZ) support legislation that they say would take away some of the advantages craft brewers have on excise taxes. While separating the big boys like A-B from smaller local players is pretty easy, things get more confusing when trying to label brewers such as Boston Beer (SAM) and Craft Brew Alliance (BREW) with indy roots. What to watch: Though sluggish beer volume in the U.S. is a major concern, the battle over excise taxes could be just as big for bottom lines. [Consumer, Global & FX] Comment!

LEAP, SBAC

9:10 AM Leap Wireless (LEAP) -2.5% after Barclays starts coverage with an Underweight and $4 PT as part of a broader coverage launch of U.S. telecom service providers. Tower owners SBA (SBAC) and American Tower (AMT) have been started at Overweight, and so has Verizon (VZ). AT&T (T) and T-Mobile USA (TMUS) have been started at Equal Weight. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

MHGC, NBG

9:10 AM Premarket gainers: MHGC +20%. NBG +19%. JRCC +8%. HALO +6%. RKUS +5%. Losers: ARUN -27%. ADSK -7%. [On the Move] Comment!

9:09 AM Charles Schwab (SCHW) reverses course, eliminating a requirement customers waive their right to participate in class-action lawsuits against the company. Schwab added the provision in September 2011, but Finra brought a complaint arguing the requirement violated its regulations. [Financials] Comment!

9:08 AM Celsion (CLSN) jumps 14% premarket after the company says data from a Phase III HEAT study suggests ThermoDox combined with radio frequency ablation warrants “further investigation and development … as a first line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma.” (PR) [Healthcare, On the Move] 1 Comment

9:00 AM On the hour: S&P +0.36%. 10-yr -0.02%. Euro -0.47% vs. dollar. Crude +0.85% to $95.97. Gold -0.91% to $1374.25. Comment!

8:59 AM Mack-Cali Realty Corporation. (CLI) declares $0.30/share quarterly dividend, 33.3% decrease from prior dividend of $0.45. Forward yield 4.21%. For shareholders of record July 3. Payable July 12. Ex-div date July 1. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:58 AM Delta Natural Gas Company, Inc. (DGAS) declares $0.18/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.23%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable June 15. Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:57 AM TE Connectivity (TEL) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, 19% increase from prior dividend of $0.21. Forward yield 2.20%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable June 14. Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:56 AM Group 1 Automotive (GPI) declares $0.16/share quarterly dividend, 6.7% increase from prior dividend of $0.15. Forward yield 1.01%. For shareholders of record June 3. Payable June 17. Ex-div date May 30. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

CVX, TOT

8:56 AM Workers in Angola are completing construction of the strongest crane in Africa, with a capacity to lift 2,500 metric tons, to be used at offshore projects for Chevron (CVX), Total (TOT) and SBM Offshore. The second phase of CVX’s $5.6 billion Mafumeira Sul project is expected to produce 110K bbl/day by 2015, and TOT’s Clov project may start pumping crude next year. [Energy, Global & FX] Comment!

8:53 AM Metro Goldwyn Mayer reports revenue more than doubled in Q1 to $481.6M as the TV series Vikings and films Skyfall and The Hobbitt boosted results. There is a feeling in Hollywood (and Wall Street) that something is brewing with MGM as shares continue to rocket higher in private trading and with Daniel Loeb reportedly diving in. Does a major media company have the refreshed MGM with its impressive array of content in its sights? [Consumer] 1 Comment

RSX, ERUS

8:50 AM Russia’s economy expanded by 1.6% in Q1 (consensus was for 1.2% growth), marking the fifth straight quarter of decelerating growth. As in Japan, business investment is weakening even as private consumption remains steady. The problem: demand for commodity exports from the world’s largest energy exporter is flagging amid a seemingly intractable recession in the eurozone — the currency bloc accounts for ~50% of Russian trade. Russian stocks (RSX), which are the cheapest among 21 EMs according to Bloomberg, are trading 1.8% higher but are still off ~5% YTD. [Global & FX] Comment!

8:45 AM Flagstar Bancorp (FBC) announces the appointment of Sandro DiNello as CEO to replace Michael Tierney who moves back to EVP of Personal Financial Services. Flagstar this month settled with MBIA, agreeing to pay $110M relating to the bank’s issuance of $1.1B of MBS in 2006 and 2007. (PR) [Financials] Comment!

8:42 AM Albany International (AIN) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, 0.01% increase from prior dividend of $0.14. Forward yield 1.90%. For shareholders of record June 07. Payable July 08. Ex-div date June 05. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:40 AM Indonesia’s Pertamina is rumored to have made a bid for InterOil’s (IOC) Elk-Antelope discoveries in Papua New Guinea. The Indonesian state-owned company reportedly needs to import LNG to meet existing export commitments because its production was falling. IOC +0.8% premarket. [Energy] Comment!

8:40 AM Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) CEO Michael Jeffries continues to try to defuse the backlash from rehashed comments a 2006 interview when he indicated the retailer went after the “cool” kids at the exclusion of plus-sized consumers. Though the exec went a bit too far in promoting the aspirational aspect of the Abercrombie brand, retail analysts thinks the effect from the resurfaced flap could be neutral on sales as the sound and fury recedes. [Consumer] Comment!

8:39 AM Essex Property Trust (ESS) declares $1.21/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.90%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable July 15. Ex-div date June 26. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:38 AM Schawk (SGK) declares $0.08/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.61%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 12. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

FXE, ULE

8:37 AM First the move then the news? The euro takes a quick tumble, dropping about 50 pips to $1.2821. There’s not much in the news other than the recycling of an old story Germany’s Constitutional Court might reject the ECB’s OMT plan, and chatter the central bank has been calling around to float the idea of negative deposit rates. FXE -0.5% premarket. [Global & FX] Comment!

8:35 AM A. H. Belo Corporation (AHC) declares $0.08/share quarterly dividend, 33.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.06. Forward yield 5.25%. For shareholders of record Aug. 16. Payable Sep. 06. Ex-div date Aug. 14. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:33 AM How things can change in a week. Tesla Motors (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s response during a conference call (transcript) on a question over a capital increase was pretty definitive that the automaker had spent “no time” on the concept and a secondary offering would only be to ensure against an “unexpected supply interruption” or “risk event.” To be fair, an exec being coy is nothing new and shares of Tesla were only in 3rd gear at the time – but the response is still intriguing. (h/t SA contributor George Kesarios) [Consumer] 9 Comments

8:28 AM First Savings Financial Group (FSFG) declares $0.10/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.79%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable July 01. Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

AGNC, MORT

8:27 AM “The issue isn’t if the Fed exits, it’s a question of whether they exit way earlier than expected,” American Capital (AGNC) CIO Gary Kain tells Bloomberg, feeling his portfolio is better positioned now than in Q1, when higher rates took a chunk out of book value. The Fed will be “extremely slow” in its withdrawal, says KBW’s Mike Widner. “That spells an environment that actually gets better for the mREITs (MORT, REM) before it gets worse.” [Financials] 5 Comments

8:25 AM Cimarex Energy (XEC) declares $0.14/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.81%. For shareholders of record Aug. 15. Payable Sep. 03. Ex-div date Aug. 13. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:25 AM Total’s (TOT) Christophe de Margerie confirms medium-term production targets of 3%/year average increases during 2011-15 and 3M boe/day by 2017, noting the acquisition of several deepwater blocks off Brazil as part of a new policy for riskier exploration locations. He also reassures shareholders that TOT won’t explore for oil in Congo’s Virunga National Park. Shares +1.3% premarket. [Energy] Comment!

8:23 AM Integrys Energy (TEG) declares $0.68/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 4.48%. For shareholders of record June 20. Payable May 31. Ex-div date June 18. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:22 AM The FDA clears Oramed Pharmaceuticals’ (ORMP) Investigational New Drug application for the oral insulin capsule ORMD-0801. Earlier this month, SA contributor Len Zehr flagged the IND application as a catalyst. Shares +14.84% premarket. (PR) [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

8:19 AM DeVry (DV) declares $0.17/share semi-annual dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.11%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:19 AM More on Stage Stores (SSI): The retailer misses estimates by a decent margin as the quarter’s stretch cool weather hurt traffic. Execs say they ended the period with a “clean” inventory position and think pent-up demand could help sales recover in Q2. Full-year guidance of 2% to 4% comparable store sales growth and EPS of $1.45-$1.55 is maintained. SSI -1.3% premarket. (PR) [Consumer, Earnings] Comment!

8:13 AM Tidewater (TDW) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.76%. For shareholders of record June 04. Payable June 14. Ex-div date May 31. The board authorizes to repurchase up to $200M of common stock. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

SPY, XSD

8:13 AM Thomas Lee lifts his year-end S&P 500 (SPY) forecast to 1,715 from 1,580 as the bull has already outrun his expectations. His team sees clues economic performance is picking up, including the outperformance of semiconductors (XSD) vs. transports (IYT), and the steepening of the 10 year/30 year Treasury curve. Risk/reward is particularly appealing in tech (XLK), healthcare (XLV), and financials (XLF). Comment!

8:13 AM The FDA approves Thoratec’s (THOR) HeartMate II pocket controller, a lighter, more compact version of the previous controller which pairs with the company’s LVAD system. (PR) [Healthcare] Comment!

8:12 AM The deadline for claims against BP related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is 11 months away, but the overseer responsible for paying the claims says he is already bracing for a late surge in filings. Of more than 165K claims filed as of May 15, nearly 25% have been determined eligible for payments worth ~$3.2B, and 200K claims seems likely before all is said and done. (earlier) [Energy] 2 Comments

8:11 AM Redwood Trust (RWT) declares $0.28/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 5.48%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June12. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:10 AM B&G Foods (BGS) declares $0.29/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.73%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable July 30. Ex-div date June 28. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

SHY, TLT

8:06 AM “Printing of money and the seeking of safe returns” have made cash (SHY) and bonds (TLT) terrible investments, says Ray Dalio (video). The same activity, on the other hand, is great for “other assets,” i.e. stocks. “There will be a tightening ahead.” 1 Comment

8:05 AM EnteroMedics (ETRM) rises 15% before the bell after saying it has concluded a pre-Premarket Approval (so you’re saying its preliminary?) application meeting at which the FDA said that once the company’s application for the Maestro Rechargeable System’s VBLOC vagal blocking therapy is accepted, and once a detailed review of the data is validated, the company can “anticipate presenting the PMA before a future FDA Advisory panel.” Parsing that language: ETRM plans to submit a PMA in Q2. (PR) [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

8:04 AM JBT Corporation (JBT) declares $0.09/share quarterly dividend, 29% increase from prior dividend of $0.07. Forward yield 1.67%. For shareholders of record May 28. Payable June 11. Ex-div date July 24. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:02 AM Knight Transportation (KNX) declares $0.06/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.41%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

8:00 AM On the hour: S&P +0.33%. 10-yr +0.03%. Euro -0.09% vs. dollar. Crude +0.57% to $95.7. Gold -0.68% to $1377.45. Comment!

AGPPY.PK, AGPPF.PK

7:58 AM The head of a major South African mining union threatens to bring the country’s economy “to a standstill” and demands a meeting with President Zuma, ramping up the rhetoric in a long and heated conflict between labor and the government. But a strike seems averted for at least another day, as top platinum producer Amplats (AGPPY.PK) says employees reported for today’s shifts as normal. [Commodities, Global & FX] Comment!

7:57 AM Parkway Properties, Inc. (PKY) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.12%. For shareholders of record June 12. Payable June 26. Ex-div date June 10. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:57 AM AMCOL International (ACO) declares $0.20/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.57%. For shareholders of record June 06. Payable July 09. Ex-div date June 04. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:53 AM China’s top safety agency say Shanghai GM (GM) will recall 2.6K Cadillac SRX vehicles for a potential issue with wheel nuts. Shanghai GM is coming off a roaring April as sales rose 29% to 121,559 units – a faster pace than GM’s other joint ventures in China. [Consumer] Comment!

7:53 AM Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. (HTSI) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.31%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable July 1. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:51 AM Caterpillar and Mining Machinery settle the dispute relating to the Siwei acquistion, with CAT cutting $135M from the $164.5M still owed to MML. It’s a small salve to Caterpillar which had to take a $580M charge after discovering accounting issues. (PR) Comment!

7:48 AM Corrections Corporation of America (CXW) declares $0.48/share quarterly dividend, 9.43% decrease from prior dividend of $0.53. Forward yield 4.94%. For shareholders of record July 3. Payable July 15. Ex-div date July 1. (PR) [Dividends] 3 Comments

7:43 AM KeyCorp (KEY) declares $0.055/share quarterly dividend, 10% increase from prior dividend of $0.05. Forward yield 2.08%. For shareholders of record May 28. Payable June 14. Ex-div date May 24. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:39 AM Compuware Corporation (CPWR) declares its first-ever quarterly dividend of $0.125/share. Forward yield 4.44%. For shareholders of record June 5. Payable June 19. Ex-div date June 3 (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:38 AM Ford (F) plans to shift some Fiesta production to Thailand to free up capacity in North America for other models. It’s a move that makes sense to automobile analysts with the Fiesta selling well in Asia and Ford planning big things for new models in North America. [Consumer] 1 Comment

7:36 AM Stocks at all-time highs aren’t reeling in too many investors to the bullish side on the AAII Investor Sentiment Survey which shows a 2.3 point decline in bulls to 38.5% – just below the long-term average of 39%. Bears gained 1.9 points to 29.3%. also just under the long-term average. 5 Comments

7:35 AM HollyFrontier Corporation (HFC) declares $0.30/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.54%. For shareholders of record June 12. Payable July 03. Ex-div date June 10. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:35 AM HollyFrontier Corporation (HFC) declares special dividend of $0.50/share. For shareholders of record May 29. Payable June 10. Ex-div date May 27. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:32 AM Turkish stocks (TUR) hit record highs after the country receives it first investment grade rating from Moody’s in two decades (previous). The move comes 6-months after Fitch blessed Ankara with an investment grade nod for the first time since 1994. Yields on the country’s two-year bonds hit a record low 4.63% Friday on the news. [Global & FX] Comment!

FXY, JYN

7:29 AM Copy the Goldman aussie forecast to the yen – its quick tumble also forcing the team to revise lower its already bearish forecasts. The analysts now see the dollar buying ¥110 twelve months out vs. ¥105 previously. The yen’s (FXY) marginally stronger this morning, the dollar buying ¥102.40. [Global & FX] Comment!

7:29 AM Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PEI) declares $0.18/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.38%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable June 17. Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

7:26 AM The fast slide in the aussie catches even the bearish Goldman currency team off-guard, and it’s forced to revise lower its 12-month forecast for the currency – now $0.90 vs. $0.98 previously. The reasons are well-known to anyone paying attention: A deteriorating Australian economy and lower commodity prices. FXA -0.4% premarket and the aussie is buying $0.9755. [Global & FX] Comment!

7:22 AM ISoftStone (ISS): Q1 EPS of $0.10 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $95.9M (+11% Y/Y) beats by $1.97M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

7:18 AM Stryker (SYK) is downgraded to Reduce at SunTrust as a bank survey sows ACO’s, CMS bundling, and readmission will negatively impact hips and knees pricing. [Healthcare] Comment!

FXI, CAF

7:16 AM Shanghai (FXI, CAF) completes its biggest week in 4 months, up 1.4% overnight as the government slashes red tape for certain investment projects. A total of 117 “approval items” – including gas fields, airports, and paper pulp – can now move forward without getting an “Ok” from Beijing. [Global & FX] Comment!

7:16 AM Bon-Ton Stores (BONT) prices a $350M offering of 8.00% senior notes at par after upsizing the offering by $50M. The retailer wants to retire other debt with the proceeds. [Consumer] Comment!

DDAIF.PK, VLKAY.PK

7:12 AM More on European car sales (previous): The 18-month losing streak for sales on the continent is over as Daimler (DDAIF.PK) and Volkswagen (VLKAY.PK) show double-digit growth with both putting in strong months in the U.K. and solid showings in Germany. Of the Japanese automakers, Nissan (NSANY.OB) made the most forward progress. [Consumer, Global & FX] 1 Comment

7:11 AM BofA downgrades Williams Sonoma (WSM) to Neutral from Buy. Q1 results due next week. [Consumer] Comment!

7:07 AM Stage Stores (SSI): Q1 EPS of -$0.02 misses by $0.11. Revenue of $379M (+3.5% Y/Y) misses by $9.43M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

TFM, HAIN

7:04 AM The House Agriculture Committee heard some spirited debate this week on if it should be easier for organic food companies to organize industry-wide promotional campaigns, a concept which didn’t sit well with many farm-state Republicans. It’s been a slow process, but more Republicans have been backing amendments and bills that support the organic food industry. Organic-minded: TFM, HAIN, NGVC, HAIN, BNNY, WFM, UNI, STKL, BDBD. [Consumer] 2 Comments

7:03 AM Limited Brands (LTD) is downgraded by Jefferies to Underperform and assigned a lower price target of $40. [Consumer] Comment!

7:03 AM Donaldson (DCI): FQ3 EPS of $0.46 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $619M (-4% Y/Y) misses by $40.41M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

7:00 AM On the hour: S&P +0.3%. 10-yr +0.09%. Euro -0.16% vs. dollar. Crude +0.48% to $95.62. Gold -0.61% to $1378.45. Comment!

6:56 AM S&P affirms India at BBB-, outlook Negative with a 1-in-3 chance of a downgrade within a year. There’s also a chance for an upgrade provided public and private investments are made available to boost economic growth. [Global & FX] Comment!

6:56 AM United-Guardian, Inc. (UG) declares $0.47/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.43%. For shareholders of record May 30. Payable June 14. Ex-div date May 28. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

CMG, JCP

6:54 AM Retail watch: Chipotle (CMG), J.C. Penney (JCP), and Macy’s (M) all hold their annual shareholder meeting today with each company expected to outline channels to find new growth. The trio could also use their meeting to back earnings guidance or tip off current sales trends. [Consumer] Comment!

SPY, QQQ

6:54 AM S&P 500 (SPY) futures +0.3% and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) futures +0.2% as stocks look to shake off yesterday’s minor slide. The big mover overseas was Shanghai, +1.4%. Stocks rose again in Tokyo and Europe is modestly higher. 1 Comment

6:52 AM Lear Corporation (LEA) declares $0.17/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.14%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable June 26. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

6:51 AM McDonald’s (MCD) is considering removing more items from its menu to become streamlined, according to information tipped off by a franchisee. Fruit & Walnut salads, Chicken Selects and Angus burgers have already been selected for elimination while Caesar salads, the McSkillet Burrito, and steak bagels could also be on the copping block. The streamlining moves falls in line with a new focus from the company on costs and its value menu. [Consumer] 4 Comments

6:43 AM Tesla Motors (TSLA) prices its offering of 3.393M shares of common stock at $92.24 per share. [Consumer] 7 Comments

6:42 AM FirstMerit Corporation (FMER) declares $0.16/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.57%. For shareholders of record May 28. Payable June 17. Ex-div date May 24. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

6:35 AM A worldwide poll of investors, analysts, and traders conducted by Bloomberg shows more than two thirds believe the U.S. economic recovery is “sustainable,” while only a little over a quarter of those surveyed see a return to recession within the next two years. Key drivers of the upbeat forecast include increasing energy independence, rising home values, and “a pause in partisan budgetary battles in Washington” (there’s agreement in Washington?). Housing, it seems, is the main talking point: “Anyone who isn’t long real estate housing is a moron,” Axiom Management’s Stan Jonas is quoted as saying. [U.S. Economy] 3 Comments

XLF, EUFN

5:56 AM UBS upgrades global financials to Overweight from Underweight on a healing global economy, rebuilt capital, and the sector’s shift “from being a net issuer to a net distributor of cash.” Furthermore, the U.S. banking sector (XLF) is taken to Overweight as balance sheet strength and attractive valuations play well with the housing market recovery to create compelling opportunities. European banks (EUFN) are lifted to Neutral “with a preference towards Nordic and U.K. banks.” Financials respond in London with LLoyds Banking Group (LYG) +2.3%, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) +3.3%, and Barclays (BCS) up 0.5%. [Financials, Global & FX] 3 Comments

5:44 AM The British parliament will call Amazon (AMZN) back to testify before the Public Affairs Committee to explain how it justifies paying just $9M in income tax on some $23B in sales to British customers over the past six years, Reuters said Friday, citing lawmakers. The company claims it should only pay tax in Luxembourg as it operates a single business in Europe from there, rather than multiple independent subsidiaries across the region. Reuters suggests this is a mischaracterization. [Tech] 2 Comments

5:25 AM New car registrations in Europe rise 1.8% in April, breaking a horrendous streak of monthly declines that dates back to September of 2011. However, even a cursory glance at the numbers reveals that the devil (as always) is in the details. U.K. auto sales jumped 15%, logging their best month since 2008. Stripping out that rather anomalous (at least in terms of the regional big picture) data point shows the European car market contracting again, albeit by a small margin. [Global & FX, Consumer] Comment!

4:31 AM Real, inflation adjusted wages at nonprivate Chinese companies (state-owned and public enterprises) grew 9% in 2012, up from 8.5% in the previous year, while real wages in the private sector rose 14%. On a nominal basis, wages grew at a double-digit pace even as the pace of economic growth decelerated. While the data show the country is continuing to push towards establishing “a normal wage increase system,” manufacturers could feel the heat should wage growth continue to outpace economic growth going forward. [Global & FX] Comment!

12:05 AM Notable earnings before Friday’s open: DCI [Earnings] Comment!

12:00 AM Friday’s economic calendar: 9:55 Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment 10:00 Leading Indicators 1:45 PM Fed’s Kocherlakota: ‘The Future of Financial Regulation and Monetary Policy’ Comment!

10:59 PM A new IMF study says central bank bond buying risks succumbing to a principle taught to first-year economics students around the world: the law of diminishing returns. Extraordinary policy maneuvers were able to restore stability to financial markets in the wake of the crisis and may still “be appropriate in some circumstances,” but there “may be diminishing returns” going forward, the study said. Similarly, the general manager of the BIS suggested in a speech Thursday that the policy mix should be refocused “to rely more on repair and reform” in order to avoid “overburdening monetary policy.” Comment!

10:21 PM Tuesday Morning’s (TUES) ex-CEO Kathleen Mason sues the company, claiming it discriminated against her when she developed breast cancer. Mason alleges the board of directors “regarded her as being disabled” after her diagnosis and “overreacted” when it dismissed her. Mason has rejected a $1.5M settlement offer. [Consumer] Comment!

ATE, PNCOY.PK

9:19 PM Japanese stocks take their cue for their U.S. counterparts to trade lower today. The Nikkei Average is down 0.9% to 14,909.21. Tech-sector blue chips were among the leading decliners: Advantest (ATE -2.9%), Pioneer (PNCOY.PK -4.9%), Sony (SNE -3%) and Nintendo (NTDOY.PK -1.9%). lower. Other blue-chip losers Nomura (NMR -2%) and Sharp (SHCAY.PK -4%). [Global & FX] Comment!

8:01 PM In what has been dubbed as largely a symbolic vote, the House of Representatives did what was expected and opted to repeal the health-care overhaul law, but it’s is likely be dead in Congress’s lower chamber. The vote was 229 to 195 to repeal the measure, with two Democrats voting along with the Republican majority: Mike McIntyre of North Carolina and Jim Matheson of Utah. Sidenote: This is the 37th attempt to repeal the law since it was passed in March 2010. [U.S. Economy] 17 Comments

7:54 PM Some notes from the J.C. Penney (JCP) Q1 earnings call: CEO Mike Ullman has identified 30 to 40 areas to improve, adding that he doesn’t see any structural issues that would prevent a turnaround and thinks margin will return to 2011 levels. He notes that 2013 CAPEX spending is nearing completion, and he plans to bring back 3 or 4 private label brands. Read more on JCP‘s earnings call here: Earnings Call Transcript. Shares -1.7% AH. [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] 1 Comment

7:48 PM Northrop Grumman (NOC) says its board has approved an additional $4B for share buybacks bringing the total outstanding authorization to $5B. Ultimately, the company wants to retire 25% of its outstanding shares (so, some 58.75M) over the next ~30 months. Shares get a modest +0.61% bump AH on the news. (PR) Comment!

7:21 PM Goldman is working with NetApp (NTAP) to explore options, Bloomberg reports in an updated version of its story about Elliott Associates’ stake. Not surprisingly, Elliott is said to be pushing NetApp to return cash, and to be proposing a new director slate. NetApp ($13.9B market cap) had $6.7B in cash/investments on its balance sheet as of Jan. 24, and $2.2B in debt. The company doesn’t pay a dividend. Piper believes NetApp is planning to cut 1,300 jobs (~10% of its workforce) in underperforming areas such as its Engenio high-performance storage unit (acquired in 2011 from LSI). Shares +1.6% AH after jumping 6.1% in regular trading. [Tech] 3 Comments

7:05 PM Integrator checks suggest demand for Salesforce’s (CRM +3%) Service Cloud customer support platform is “picking up significantly,” and that Force.com and the mainstay Sales Cloud continue to see “good growth,” writes Wedbush’s Steve Koenig ahead of next Thursday’s FQ1 report. Koenig also thinks Salesforce has “plenty of running room” to sell to additional divisions within large accounts. He has heard “anecdotal reports” of discounts, but thinks they’re “limited to the low-end.” FBR estimated in January Service Cloud now accounts for 30% of Salesforce’s new deal activity. [Tech] 1 Comment

6:50 PM Apple (AAPL) roundup: 1) Tim Cook is set to testify before Congress during a hearing about corporate offshore cash. He’s defending Apple in advance, and says the company will offer tax reform proposals. 2) Though a number of big hedge funds pared or unwound their Apple positions in Q1, the number of “top-tier” funds with positions held steady at 148, per Insider Monkey’s analysis. 3) A couple of intriguing Apple patent applications: one for an iPhone-based e-wallet with transaction-specific “smart menus,” and one for a large-display touch sensor panel meant to improve response times. [Tech] 16 Comments

6:45 PM The Obama administration is likely to please neither environmentalists nor the oil industry with its new plan to tighten standards for drilling on public lands. The plan offers “flexibility” to drillers by allowing them to use various tools to evaluate cement integrity, and continuing the use of industry-backed website FracFocus.org for the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking. [Energy] 1 Comment

6:34 PM More on Viasat (VSAT): Q4 revenue beats consensus as total sales grow by 28% Y/Y on strong top line growth across all our business segments, including Government Systems despite severe budget pressures. Steady gains in Exede satellite broadband subscribers coupled with 36% growth in contract awards pushed revenues up 30% to over the $1B mark for FY13. Shares +1.7% AH. [Earnings, Tech, On the Move] Comment!

6:30 PM Exxon (XOM) averts a strike at its Baytown refinery, second largest in the U.S., after the United Steelworkers last night ratified a new agreement. Among the changes, XOM will establish a limit on the number of consecutive days an employee can work at the refinery and create a full-time process safety representative to address safety concerns. [Energy] 1 Comment

6:29 PM Electronic Arts (EA) roundup: 1) Denise Warren, the NYT‘s digital chief, is replacing Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei on EA’s board. 2) EA is killing off its Online Pass program, which drew the ire of many gamers due to the fees it charged to enable online features when playing a game for the first time on a console. 3) EA has opened an L.A. studio to develop the Star Wars games that will flow from its recent deal with Disney. 4) EA is working on a mobile version of its Frostbite game engine, used in Battlefield, Need for Speed, and Medal of Honor titles (among others). [Tech] Comment!

6:21 PM Canada’s National Energy Board approves the toll methodology that will be put in place by Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP) if its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion goes ahead. KMP wants to expand the pipeline carrying crude oil from Edmonton, Alberta, to Vancouver to 890K bbl/day; it currently ships ~300K bbl/day. [Energy] 1 Comment

6:14 PM Dell (DELL) has “aligned” its pricing strategy to match a competitive environment, says CFO Brian Gladden during the FQ1 call, explaining the mixed results. He also states Dell repaid ~$2B in debt. The services unit is seeing both rising infrastructure/cloud/security sales (+11% Y/Y), and slumping application/BPO sales (-15%). Networking sales +24%, as Force10 continues gaining share. Asia-Pac sales -12% Y/Y (share loss to Lenovo/Asus?), worse than FQ4′s -9%. But EMEA -2% vs. -14%, and Americas +1% vs. -10%. (slides) (live blog) (sales breakdown) [Tech] Comment!

SRE, MITSY.PK

6:10 PM Sempra Energy (SRE) signs three 4M-ton/year, 20-year agreements with Japanese and French partners to support development, financing and construction of a liquefied natural gas export facility at the site of SRE’s Cameron LNG receipt terminal in Louisiana. The plant will have an export capacity of 12M tons/year and is expected to cost up to $10B; construction will start next year. [Energy] Comment!

KSU, DF

6:06 PM Standard & Poor’s says that Kansas City Southern (KSU) will be replacing Dean Foods (DF) in the S&P 500, following the dairy company’s spinoff of its organic and soy business as WhiteWave Foods (WWAV). The change will take effect after the close on May 23, around the time that Dean is expected to close out its remaining equity interst in WhiteWave. On the flipside, Dean Foods will take KSU‘s place on the S&P MidCap 400, WWAV replacing Quicksilver Resources (KWK). KSU +0.5%, DF -0.7%, WWAV -0.5%, KWK -3.5% AH. [Consumer, Commodities] 2 Comments

6:00 PM On the hour: S&P +0.05%. 10-yr -0.02%. Euro +0.02% vs. dollar. Crude +0.14% to $95.2. Gold flat at $1384.55. Comment!

5:56 PM GT Advanced (GTAT +3.1%) has acquired “substantially all of the business” of Thermal Technology, a developer of thermal/vacuum equipment used to touchscreens, LEDs, medical devices, and other products. GT is issuing 3.4M shares (current value of $14.6M) to buy Thermal. The company asserts Thermal’s annealing tech will help it develop sapphire manufacturing gear, and its spark plasma sintering tech has medical, space, and hybrid car applications. This seems an effort to diversify a bit from the slumping LED/solar equipment markets. [Tech, M&A] Comment!

5:47 PM Neenah Paper (NP) prices its $175M private offering of senior unsecured notes maturing in 2021. The notes will bear an annual interest rate of 5.25%. Net proceeds will be used to redeem the outstanding balance of its existing 7.375% senior unsecured notes due 2014, and to repay all borrowings under its secured revolving credit facility. Any remaining funds will be used for general corporate purposes. [Consumer] Comment!

5:42 PM Four 3D Systems (DDD) insiders sold nearly 1.3M shares between them yesterday, according to fresh SEC filings. CEO Abraham Reichental sold 400K shares, director Walter Loewenbaum sold 800K, CFO Joe Gregoire sold 45K, and director Jim Kever sold 38K. Co-founder/CTO Charles Hull, 73, sold 500K shares in March. DDD -1% AH after falling 4.4% in regular trading thanks to William Blair’s downgrade. Update: The sales are tied to 3D’s recent stock offering. [Tech] 10 Comments

5:42 PM Canadian PM Stephen Harper lobbied for approval of the Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. today, citing Canada’s environmental credentials and saying arguments for the project are “overwhelmingly on the side of approval.” By making the pitch himself, Harper ratchets up the level of government lobbying over the pipeline. Harper’s advocacy “helps cut through the noise and misinformation,” TransCanada (TRP) says. [Energy] 4 Comments

SINA, EA

5:41 PM After-hours top gainers, as of 5:15 p.m.: SINA +4.7%. EA +2.7%. NBG +2.5%. AKAM +2.4%. DYAX +2.4%. After-hours top losers: ARUN -13.7%. ADSK -5.2%. BRCD -4.9%. JWN -3.5%. EGLE -2.4%. [On the Move] Comment!

ARUN, CSCO

5:38 PM Aruba (ARUN) -16.2% AH after guiding on its FQ3 call for FQ4 revenue $148M-$150M and EPS of $0.10-$0.12, below a consensus of $157.1M and $0.17. Management admits it’s seeing tougher competition from Cisco (CSCO), which is now bundling its Wi-Fi solutions with its routers and data center products – Cisco just reported 27% Y/Y growth for April quarter Wi-Fi sales. Aruba now -34% since its May 7 warning. [Tech, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

5:31 PM More on Nordstrom (JWN): Q1 misses across the board. Net earnings fell 2.7% Y/Y as higher input costs masked slightly better revenue. The company also cut its FY14 total sales and same-store sales guidance ranges by half a percentage point each, now expecting 4% to 6% growth, and 3% to 5% growth, respectively. For the current period, it projects its EPS to grow by more than 7%, or around $0.86, just below the $0.87 projected by analysts. Shares -3.5% AH. [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] 1 Comment

5:30 PM Notable earnings before Friday’s open: DCI [Earnings] Comment!

5:28 PM Apache (APA) shareholders vote down a proposal to raise executive pay, a rebuke to top management for recently sagging stock prices and concerns about investment in Egypt. While acknowledging APA has lagged in the last year, CEO Steve Farris praises long-term performance, noting average 12%/year growth over the last 20 years. [Energy] Comment!

5:24 PM Mexico City’s Superior Court of Justice lowers a damages award against Yahoo (YHOO) and Mexican subsidiary in a suit filed by 2 local companies from a surreal $2.75B to a mere $172.5K. A $2.6M award in Yahoo’s favor remains unchanged. The original award, which was tied to breach-of-contract claims for a yellow pages listing service, was easily larger than the value of Yahoo’s Mexican unit. (PR) [Tech] Comment!

5:24 PM The U.S. Senate unanimously confirms Ernest Moniz for energy secretary, but it’s not such a smooth ride for Gina McCarthy, Pres. Obama’s choice to head the EPA. McCarthy won approval by the Senate Environment Committee on a party-line vote, but she may need more Republican support to clear the full Senate. As the EPA’s air quality chief, McCarthy has presided over the adoption of strict environmental rules. [Energy] 1 Comment

5:17 PM More on Applied Materials: FQ3 revenue guidance is for sales to be “up slightly” Q/Q, worse than a consensus for 8% Q/Q growth. EPS is expected to be in a range of $0.16-$0.20 vs. a $0.19 consensus. Backlog +9% Q/Q in FQ2 to $2.3B. EPS was boosted by a 340 bps Q/Q increase in gross margin to 43.2%, as well as $100M in buybacks. Total orders +7% Q/Q but -19% Y/Y to $2.27B. Chip equipment orders +14% Q/Q and -22% Y/Y. Services -12% and -26%. Display +41% and +140%. Solar -43% and -38%. AMAT -0.8% AH. (PR) [Tech, Earnings] Comment!

5:16 PM Bona Film (BONA): Q1 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $43.3M misses by $10.83M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

5:15 PM ViaSat (VSAT): FQ4 EPS of $0.19. Revenue of $308.7M beats by $23.53M. Shares +1.1% AH. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech, On the Move] Comment!

5:12 PM Bruce Berkowitz, whose Fairholme hedge fund looks for long-term value and has low turnover, must feel pretty confident about how things will shake out at Chesapeake (CHK), a rare energy holding. He took Q1′s largest new position in the natural gas producer, worth more than $276M; the fund now owns a 2% stake in CHK after buying 13.4M shares. (13F) [Energy] 1 Comment

5:12 PM Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) declares $0.38/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.02%. For shareholders of record June 17. Payable July 5. Ex-div date June 13 (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:10 PM Coach, Inc. (COH) declares $0.3375/share quarterly dividend, 12.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.30. Forward yield 2.29%. For shareholders of record June 7. Payable July 1. Ex-div date June 5. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:08 PM Sina (SINA): Q1 EPS of $0.02 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $126M (+19% Y/Y) beats by $8.5M. Expects Q2 revenue of $143M-$147M, above $142.7M consensus. Shares +4.6% AH. (PR) [Tech, Earnings, On the Move, Breaking News] Comment!

5:08 PM Western Digital (WDC) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.68%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable July 15. Ex-div date June 26. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:07 PM Universal Health Services, Inc.(UHS) declares $0.05/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.29%. For shareholders of record June 3. Payable June 17. Ex-div date May 30. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:06 PM Tiffany & Co. (TIF) declares $0.34/share quarterly dividend, 6% increase from prior dividend of $0.32. Forward yield 1.77%. For shareholders of record June 20. Payable July 10. Ex-div date June 18. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:05 PM WesBanco (WSBC) declares $0.19/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.99%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable July 1 . Ex-div date June 12 (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:03 PM Time Warner Cable (TWC) declares $0.65/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.67%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable June 17 . Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:00 PM Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, 9% increase from prior dividend of $0.23. Forward yield 2.45%. For shareholders of record July 11. Payable August 15. Ex-div date July 9. The board increased share repurchase program to $1B. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

5:00 PM On the hour: S&P +0.06%. 10-yr -0.02%. Euro 0.% vs. dollar. Crude +0.09% to $95.15. Gold -0.04% to $1384.05. Comment!

4:59 PM Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) is upgraded to Overweight at Simmons, which calls it one of the premier, low-cost producers in the Marcellus shale whose production should grow 40% per year for the next three years. COG is expected to generate nearly $400M in free cash flow next year, rare for an E&P company and “indicative of a high quality company with top tier assets,” the firm says. [Energy, Quick Ideas] Comment!

4:58 PM Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) declares $0.69/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.76%. For shareholders of record May 31. Payable July 1 . Ex-div date May 29. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

4:54 PM Invacare Corporation (IVC) declares $0.0125/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 0.35%. For shareholders of record July 5. Payable July 15 . Ex-div date July 3 (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

4:48 PM More on J.C. Penney (JCP) Q1 earnings: Cash burned through from operations is $752M vs. $577M a year ago. Cash used for capex of $214M vs. $107M a year ago. Totalled together, the company went through nearly $1B in cash in Q4 vs. $684M a year ago. New CEO Mike Ullman: “We are looking forward, not back.” Indeed. Shares are all over the place AH, currently flat. CC at 5 ET. (PR) [Earnings, Financials, On the Move] Comment!

4:47 PM Acadia Realty Trust (AKR) declares $0.21/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.94%. For shareholders of record June 28. Payable July 15. Ex-div date June 26. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

4:46 PM Rayonier (RYN) declares $0.44/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.94%. For shareholders of record June 14. Payable June 28. Ex-div date June 12. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

4:46 PM More on Autodesk: Company blames a “mixed global economy” and a “weak April” for FQ1 miss. FQ2 guidance is for revenue of $550M-$570M and EPS $0.39-$0.44, below a consensus of $597.5M and $0.51. Revenue now expected to grow ~3% in FY14 (ends Jan. ’14), below a 5.9% consensus. Deferred revenue +3% Q/Q and +17% Y/Y to $861M. EMEA -4% Y/Y, worse than FQ4′s -2%. Asia-Pac -3%, much worse than FQ4′s +11%. Americas -3% vs. -2%. Two product weak spots: Platform Solutions & Emerging Business -6%, Media & Entertainment -8%. Construction +4%, manufacturing -4%. $129M in buybacks. ADSK -7.3% AH. CC at 5PM ET (webcast). (PR) (prepared remarks – .pdf) [Tech, Earnings] Comment!

4:45 PM The MDU Resources Group (MDU) declares $0.1725/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 2.57%. For shareholders of record June 13. Payable July 1 . Ex-div date June 11. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

4:41 PM The Hartford (HIG) declares $0.10/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 1.30%. For shareholders of record June 3. Payable July 1 . Ex-div date May 30. (PR) [Dividends] 2 Comments

4:40 PM Air Products (APD) declares $0.71/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 3.06%. For shareholders of record July 1. Payable August 12 . Ex-div date June 27. (PR) [Dividends] Comment!

4:39 PM Consol Energy (CNX) receives regulatory approval to resume full production at its Blacksville No. 2 mine, which was evacuated in March due to a fire. The 21 seals constructed by CNX at the mine are determined to be cured to the strength required by the approved construction plan. CNX +0.9% AH. [Energy] Comment!

4:36 PM J. C. Penney (JCP): Q1 EPS of -$1.31 misses by $0.35. Revenue of $2.64B misses by $0.08B. Shares +1.4% AH. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, On the Move] 3 Comments

4:33 PM Recently emerged from bankruptcy, Ambac Financial (AMBC) gains 1.3% AH as BTIG’s Mark Palmer initiates with a Buy and $31 price target. View the company less as a monoline insurer back on its feet and more as a long-dated call option on numerous sources of value – $4B in NOLs, the tolling agreement between the holding company and its operating sub, and potential recoveries of losses on MBS it insured. [Financials] 1 Comment

4:31 PM Anaren (ANEN) says a committee of independent directors has reviewed and evaluated Vintage Capital Management’s unsolicited $23 bid to acquire all of ANEN‘s outstanding stock, and after careful consideration, has concluded that the offer does not reflect the company’s intrinsic value. The Committee will continue to review all strategic alternatives available, including a possible sale. Shares -1% AH. [M&A] Comment!

4:22 PM Cosi (COSI): Q1 EPS of -$0.15 misses by $0.10. Revenue of $21.56M misses by $1.81M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] 1 Comment

4:22 PM More on Dell: Revenue only fell 2% Y/Y after dropping 11% in FQ4 – Carl Icahn will notice. But gross margin -140 bps Y/Y to 20.6%; Dell was apparently willing to price more aggressively. Spending picked up: SG&A 15.7% of revenue vs. 13.9% a year ago, R&D 2.2% vs. 1.7%. Desktop sales only -2%, much better than FQ4′s -14%. Notebooks -16% vs. -25%. PCs 49% of sales. Servers/networking (19% of sales) still strong, +14% vs. +18%. Storage still weak, -10% vs. -13%. Services +2%, up from -3%. 3rd-party software/peripherals -6% vs. -11%. $295M in Dell software sales (lifted by Quest). No guidance. DELL unchanged. CC at 4:45PM ET (webcast) (PR) [Tech, Earnings] 7 Comments

4:21 PM Heckmann (HEK) receives shareholder approval to change its name to Nuverra Environmental Solutions; shares will begin trading on the NYSE under a new NES ticker effective at the market open on May 20. [Energy] 2 Comments

4:20 PM SciClone Pharmaceuticals (SCLN) says it’s entered into an agreement with Zensun Science & Technology granting SCLN a license and exclusive marketing and distribution rights to sell Neucardin, a treatment for intermediate to advanced chronic heart failure, in China, Hong Kong and Macau. [Healthcare, On the Move, Global & FX] Comment!

4:19 PM Chimera Investment (CIM) names Robert Colligan as CFO to replace A. Alexandra Denehan who is resigning but staying on as the company’s principal financial and accounting officer. Colligan was previously Controller at Starwood Capital. Investors, of course, continue to await Chimera’s quarterly reports from 2012 Q1 on, and the 2012 annual report. (PR) [Financials, Breaking News] 1 Comment

4:18 PM Xueda Education (XUE): Q1 EPS of $0.05 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $83.9M beats by $4.65M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

4:16 PM SMART Technologies (SMT): FQ4 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $105.2M misses by $5.43M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

4:15 PM Iteris (ITI): FQ4 EPS of $0.00 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $15.9M beats by $0.61M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

4:13 PM Tesaro (TSRO +14%) sets a new 52-week high today after the company said it will present data on niraparib, its drug for ovarian and breast cancer, at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology conference. The company says the data shows results from studies into 100 patients with solid tumors that confirms preliminary findings. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

4:13 PM Envestnet (ENV): Q1 EPS of $0.12 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $46.8M (+43% Y/Y) beats by $0.7M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Financials] Comment!

4:10 PM Market recap: Stocks staged a mild retreat from record highs as talk of a Fed wind-down from its bond-buying program grows louder. Downbeat reports on jobless claims and housing starts weighed on sentiment at the open. Most S&P sectors fell, led by health care and utilities, while techs rallied after Cisco (+12.5%) topped expectations. Treasurys rose, pulling the 10-year yield to 1.87%. [Top Stories] 4 Comments

4:10 PM Brocade (BRCD): FQ2 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $538.8M misses by $5.44M. Shares -5.9% AH. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech, On the Move] 1 Comment

4:09 PM 21Vianet (VNET): Q1 EPS of $0.08 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $70.2M (+26% Y/Y) beats by $0.17M. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

4:07 PM Nordstrom (JWN): Q1 EPS of $0.73 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $2.7B (+4.8% Y/Y) misses by $0.1B. Shares -3.9% AH. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, On the Move] 3 Comments

4:06 PM Aruba Networks (ARUN): FQ3 EPS of $0.11 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $147.1M misses by $7.49M. Shares -2.3% AH. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech, On the Move] Comment!

4:04 PM Autodesk (ADSK): Q1 EPS of $0.42 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $570M (-3% Y/Y) misses by $13.4M. Shares -8.9% AH. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech, Consumer] Comment!

4:03 PM More on Groupon: Interim co-CEOs Eric Lefkofsky and Ted Leonsis say Groupon is unlikely to name a new full-time CEO before next year. Leonsis: “We are just starting the process. We want to bring in a world-class leader, but the talent pool is not huge.” The willingness of a candidate to work with Lefkofsky, who (together with his wife) owns 26% of the company and has a controversial history, could end up being a factor. [Tech] Comment!

4:03 PM Applied Materials (AMAT): FQ2 EPS of $0.16 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.97B beats by $0.06B. [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] Comment!

4:03 PM TriMas (TRS +1.3%) finishes higher after announcing earlier that it had promoted A. Mark Zeffiro to executive vice president and chief financial officer. Zeffiro joined TRS June 2008 as acting CFO, with 25 years of financial, operational and business leadership experience with companies such as Black & Decker and General Electric. [On the Move] Comment!

4:02 PM Dell (DELL): Q1 EPS of $0.21 misses by $0.14. Revenue of $14.1B beats by $0.58B. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, Tech] 2 Comments

4:02 PM ACE Limited. (ACE) declares $0.51/share quarterly dividend, 4% increase from prior dividend of $0.49. Forward yield 2.20%. For shareholders of record July 23. Payable August 13. Ex-div date July 19. (PR) [Dividends] 1 Comment

4:00 PM At the close: Dow -0.27% to 15235. S&P -0.48% to 1651. Nasdaq -0.13% to 3467. Treasurys: 30-year +0.76%. 10-yr +0.39%. 5-yr +0.18%. Commodities: Crude +0.73% to $94.99. Gold -0.78% to $1385.25. Currencies: Euro -0.09% vs. dollar. Yen +0.08%. Pound -0.23%. Comment!

RDS.A, RDS.B

3:58 PM Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDS.A, RDS.B) Nigerian unit SPDC declares force majeure on gas supplies to Nigeria LNG following a reported gas leak on one of its pipelines. SPDC only lifted a previous force majeure on gas to Nigeria LNG in mid-April after a leak on a major trunkline caused by saboteurs caused a two-month disruption. [Energy, Global & FX] Comment!

JPM, BAC

3:55 PM Described as a win for Wall Street’s biggest swaps dealers – JPM, BAC, C, MS, and GS – the CFTC approves new swap trading rules 3 years after the passage of Dodd-Frank. The rules mandate new trading platforms making bids and offers public, but require traders send request for bids to just two firms before execution rather than the five some had called for. Smaller exchanges aren’t sweating it, instead happy they now have a defined system to operate under. [Financials] 1 Comment

3:55 PM Anadigics (ANAD +5.1%) is closing sharply higher after announcing 3 of its power amplifiers and a front-end IC (FEIC) for the next-gen 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard are used in versions of Samsung’s Galaxy S4. The announcement comes 2 weeks after Anadigics stated its Wi-Fi FEIC sales grew over 4x Q/Q in Q1 to $4.8M, and made up 18% of revenue. Wi-Fi chipset reference design wins with market leader Broadcom and others have given the business a lift. (PR) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

CHK, HES

3:45 PM Oil production from Ohio’s Utica shale was lower in 2012 than first anticipated but will be “incidental” to gas output in much of the play, Ohio regulators say. Oil production averaged 1,742 bbl/day, while gas totaled 35M cf/day. Chesapeake (CHK) was by far the largest producer, with total 2012 output of 10B cf of gas, followed by Hess (HES) and Gulfport (GPOR); Devon Energy (DVN) produced no gas from its five wells. [Energy] 1 Comment

3:38 PM NeoStem (NBS +1.5%) holds in the green today after the company announced the geographic patent expansion of its lead product candidate, AMR-001, with the notice of a grant in Malaysia and notice of recommendation for allowance in the Philippines. These patents are in the family of US patent titled “Compositions and Methods of Vascular Injury Repair” and protected a chemotactic stem cell product enriched for CD34+ cells that treats injury from acute myocardial infarction. [Healthcare, Global & FX, On the Move] Comment!

CVX, YPF

3:29 PM Chevron’s (CVX) president of Latin American operations says Argentina – not China - has the world’s second largest shale oil deposits after the U.S. Most of the world’s shale gas has been developed from geological layers requiring horizontal drilling, but “everything is in a stack” at Argentina’s Vaca Muerta formation, meaning CVX and YPF may be able to access the oil using vertical drilling techniques, CVX’s Ali Moshiri says. (earlier) [Energy, Global & FX] 3 Comments

3:26 PM Turkey gets investment grade status from Moody’s which upgrades one notch to Baa3 from Ba1, citing recent and expected improvements in key economic and public finance metrics, and progress on structural and institutional reforms which hopefully will cut the country’s exposure to international shocks. TUR -1%. [Global & FX] Comment!

3:23 PM NewLink Genetics (NLNK +2.1%) moves up after being selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, effective prior to the market open on Monday. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

3:16 PM Knocking stocks for a few points is San Francisco Fed President Williams reiterating his hope QE can begin to be tapered this summer and halted by year’s end. This is not the first time Williams has said such, but he does reside in the FOMC’s dovish camp. He notes even without QE, Fed policy would remain extraordinarily stimulative. [U.S. Economy, Breaking News] 19 Comments

3:14 PM Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (AEGR +32%) goes on a tear today, after CEO Marc Beer painted an upbeat picture for its rare-cholesterol-disease drug Juxtapid at a conference late yesterday. According to slides, Juxtapid will cost about $235K at initiation and will increase to $295K as of June 1st. Maintenance-stage costs will be around $295K, which will likely prompt the Street to adjust forecasts higher. View webcast here: (Aegerion Presentation) [Healthcare, On the Move] 5 Comments

PSA, SPG

3:10 PM The dividend payments of Public Storage (PSA), Simon Property (SPG), and HCP make Imperial Capital’s “Fit and Healthy” category as payouts exceed the level of Q4 2008. Remaining in the “Recovery Ward” are Boston Properties (BXP), Equity Residential (EQR), Vornado (VNO), and Kimco (KIM) – they’ve upped dividends but haven’t yet recovered to pre-bust levels. “Still Critical” is Prologis (PLD) which has yet to increase its dividend after slashing it in 2009. [Financials] Comment!

SOL, TSL

3:10 PM ReneSola’s (SOL -14%) larger than expected Q1 loss on falling prices and shipments has shares reeling and is dragging down other Chinese solar stocks. SOL offered an optimistic take on the rest of the year, saying Q2 sales could hit $330M, but investors aren’t impressed. TSL -4.2%, JASO -3.5%, STP -1%, but YGE +2%. [Energy, Tech, On the Move] Comment!

3:04 PM Chembio Diagnostics (CEMI -1.3%) says it’s entered into a six-month follow-on, milestone-based development agreement with a private contracting organization to implement and provide technical oversight relating to pandemic preparedness on behalf of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for a rapid, POC influenza immunity test utilizing CEMI‘s patented Dual Path Platform technology. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

3:02 PM Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (EVT): Q2 NII of $0.299 as of Feb 28, vs. $0.245 as of Feb 29, 2012. Net assets of the fund were $1,415.7M as of Feb 28, vs. $1,323.8M as of Feb 29, 2012. NAV per share was $19.44 as of Feb 28, vs. $18.18 as of Feb 29, 2012. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News] Comment!

3:00 PM On the hour: Dow -0.11%. 10-yr +0.47%. Euro +0.14% vs. dollar. Crude +0.86% to $95.11. Gold -0.63% to $1387.35. Comment!

2:58 PM Red-hot ADA-ES (ADES +6.4%) gets even hotter as new SA author Nick Toor says it’s a matter of when, not if, the company’s refined coal operation (a JV with Goldman Sachs as minority partner) is able to monetize its tax assets. Assigning zero value to the rest of the company, Toor believes there’s another 70% of upside over the next 12 months. [Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

2:55 PM Microsoft (MSFT +0.6%) will launch a 7.9″ Surface tablet at the end of June (presumably at the BUILD conference), says Digitimes; the hit-and-miss site adds Samsung will supply the displays. Given Windows 8.1′s support for smaller displays and past reports (I, II) about a smaller Surface tablet, the question seems to be one of “when,” rather than “if.” All signs suggest 2013 Surface sales have been weak, though the Intel-powered Surface Pro has carved out a niche. [Tech] Comment!

2:55 PM Wal-Mart Q1 aftershocks: Keep an eye on Clorox (CLX -0.4%). According to Bloomberg, the company derives 27% of its revenue from Wal-Mart which puts its Q1 miss in a different light and could raise a few questions about Q2. [Consumer] Comment!

AA, JJU

2:54 PM Aluminum demand is strong despite record-high inventories and will be further buoyed in coming years by increased usage in the automotive and aerospace industries, a top Alcoa (AA +0.6%) and other industry players tell CRU’s World Aluminum congress. Alcoa says it is investing $575M in two new U.S. automotive sheet production facilities to meet North American demand that should quadruple by 2015. [Commodities] 3 Comments

TSO, BP

2:46 PM Tesoro (TSO +0.8%) may take ownership of BP’s (BP -0.2%) 240K bbl/day Carson, Calif., refinery and other assets as early as June 1, Reuters reports. Federal and state regulators have been reviewing TSO’s planned $2.5B purchase of the refinery and assets since the deal was announced in August. [Energy] 1 Comment

2:46 PM Jana Partners discloses a position of 13.814M shares of Office Depot (ODP -2.7%) as of the end of March. The holding becomes more interesting to consider when it’s combined with the sizable stake of Starboard Value to create a 20% hedgie voting block – a bit of a small leash for management. (13F) [Consumer] Comment!

2:45 PM Groupon (GRPN +4%) can eventually produce $100B/year in sales, co-CEO Ted Leonsis insists; the remark could be giving a lift to shares, as tough as it may be to buy into. For reference, Groupon’s 2013 consensus revenue forecast is $2.5B, and Amazon’s consensus is $74.8B. Much like the departed Andrew Mason, Groupon’s leadership sees the company reaching such lofty heights by developing into a soup-to-nuts local commerce services provider for merchants (with a strong mobile component), and expanding into many new product/services categories. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

DXJ, EWJ

2:44 PM It’s Japan and then there’s everything else. Of the top 2013 gainers in assets among ETFs, the Japan Hedged Equity Fund (DXJ) and MSCI Japan Fund (EWJ) have brought in nearly $12B, about equal to the next 5 combined. If we’re talking flows as a percentage of AUM, the rush into Japan funds is even more impressive. The low-volatility sector stands out as well with the USMV garnering $2.5B against a previous base of just $1.1B. Comment!

GOOG, AMZN

2:32 PM Google’s (GOOG -0.6%) I/O news deluge isn’t over. 1) Google Search’s Knowledge Graph feature is being updated to include more stats and anticipate/answer follow-up questions. Echoing Ray Kurzweil’s remarks, Google also plans to use natural language analysis to make results more conversational. 2) The Compute Engine and App Engine cloud infrastructure/app development services (compete against AMZN) have received updates. Compute Engine is also now open to all developers. 3) YouTube’s live streaming service is now available to any channel with 1K+ subs. 4) Facebook and Twitter Glass apps are about to launch. 5) Google has bought a quantum computer, and will use it in an artificial intelligence lab it’s creating with NASA. (previous) [Tech] Comment!

2:30 PM Dara Biosciences (DARA -3%) slips after its Q1 EPS missed estimates yesterday. Bottom line results were negatively impacted by costs incurred in the establishment of a sales and marketing, distribution and regulatory infrastructure to support the promotion of its oncology and oncology supportive care products. [Healthcare, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

2:29 PM Even if the entertainment of a good brawl was denied, Hess (HES -2.3%) shareholders should savor the potential for further gains, Liam Denning writes. Hess has diluted its namesake CEO’s influence by taking the chairmanship away from him, revamped a fossilizing board, raised the dividend for the first time in years, and moved to streamline the company. Plus, it’s now a more realistic takeover target. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

WMT, TGT

2:27 PM Wal-Mart vs. Target in Canada: The Q1 report released by Wal-Mart (WMT -2.2%) is one of the first indications of how Target’s (TGT -0.7%) expansion into Canada is playing out for its rival. During the earnings call, execs didn’t say the T-word (and the company won’t take analyst questions), but they did cite lower traffic and a decline in operating income as well as noting Wal-Mart didn’t leverage expenses in the nation. (transcript) [Consumer] 1 Comment

2:16 PM Shares of Pernix Therapeutics (PTX -5.6%) hits a new 52-week low today, continuing its downtrend following a disappointing Q1 report last week. Additionally, Cantor cut its price target on the stock to $3 from $7, citing concerns that the company could take a year or so to stabilize following the appointment of new CEO Mike Pearce. [Healthcare, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

2:13 PM U.K. government officials say BP (BP -0.2%) has not sought help from PM David Cameron in reducing compensation claims related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Either way, a U.S. President has no sway over the independent U.S. judiciary. A BBC report cited BP sources who worry that cash leakage from compensation claims could put its dividend at risk and make it vulnerable to a takeover (also). [Energy] 2 Comments

2:06 PM Shares of Boulder Brands (BDBD +9.1%) make a strong move higher to reach their highest level since February on what Roberto Pedone considers a technical breakout . On the fundamental side, the maker of Smart Balance, Earth Balance and Bestlife products is starting to capitalize on an increased focus on organic products including “gluten-free” butter. [Consumer] 2 Comments

2:01 PM More on SAP: During a Sapphire Now talk, chairman Hasso Plattner makes clear that Hana is central to SAP’s product strategy, rather than just a part of it. “It’s not about Hana anymore. It’s about the applications on Hana.” To drive home his point, Plattner brags over 60% of Hana deployments involve non-SAP apps, and that the database is supported by software from 431 startups. The comments come shortly after SAP made good on expectations it would begin offering Hana through a managed cloud service that can be used to migrate on-premise SAP workloads. (more on Hana) [Tech] Comment!

2:00 PM On the hour: Dow +0.06%. 10-yr +0.51%. Euro +0.14% vs. dollar. Crude +0.93% to $95.18. Gold -0.69% to $1386.55. Comment!

DGX, HUM

1:55 PM Quest Diagnostics (DGX +0.3%) moves to expand its lab business by acquiring the toxicology and clinical laboratory business of Concentra, a medical center operator owned by Humana (HUM). The business will be transitioned into DGX‘s national laboratory network of regional clinical and toxicology laboratories by the end of 2013. The the company also entered into a long-term agreement with Concentra to be its primary provider of workplace drug toxicology and clinical lab testing. [M&A, Healthcare] Comment!

1:53 PM Near the top of today’s winners list is Lifeway Foods (LWAY +26.4%), up double-digits after reporting earnings that beat analysts EPS expectations Wednesday evening. From the report: Net sales rise 26% and gross profit increases 41%. The reported $0.14 per share is a record. Cash and cash equivalents jump 69% Y/Y. COGS falls 400 basis points. On the CC management says the acquisition of Golden Guernsey dairy plant will allow LWAY to avoid paying processing fees and thereby achieve a “5-10% cushion” against rising prices for milk, the company’s largest raw material input. (PR, CC transcript) [Consumer, Earnings] Comment!

1:49 PM ValueClick (VCLK -2.3%) slumps after Northland starts coverage with an Underperform and $21 PT. Shares are down 17% since the online ad services/tech provider posted mixed Q1 results and offered light guidance on May 7, but remain up 36% YTD. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

REGN, ALXN

1:49 PM Biotech names are weak today on the back of several ASCO data presentation releases: REGN -2.3%, ALXN -4.2%, VRTX -2.3%, CELG -4.5%, ARRY -2.2%, AMGN -1.4%. [Healthcare, On the Move] 1 Comment

INFI, GILD

1:39 PM Infinity Pharmaceuticals (INFI -20.5%) gets slammed by cautious comments out of JPMorgan today, saying that investors are “growing increasingly skittish” ahead of INFI‘s pending presentation at June’s ASCO cancer conference. The company is expected to release Phase 1 clinical safety and tolerability data for IPI-145, its experimental leukemia drug, and while the investment bank predicts “a good showing,” it may not be enough to outshine Gilead (GILD -2.3%), Pharmacyclics (PCYC -2.5%) or Roche (RHHBY.OB -0.6%). [Healthcare, On the Move] 3 Comments

1:39 PM Computer Sciences (CSC -4.4%) adds to yesterday’s post-earnings losses after Deutsche cuts shares to Hold. With CSC forecasting an FY14 cost takeout of $400M (above Deutsche’s estimate of $300M) and investments of $300M (above an estimate of $250M), the firm sees “less room for error and fewer margin expansion opportunities.” Separately, CSC has settled a shareholder lawsuit over its accounting woes for $97.5M. Shares now -14% from Tuesday’s close. (CC transcript) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

1:30 PM Spanish Broadcasting System (SBSA): Q1 EPS of -$0.72 (-$0.85 in Q1 2012). Revenue of $39.103M (+22% Y/Y). Shares +31%. The company also says its New York station has achieved “significant ratings gains” and “strengthened its market position.”(PR) [Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

TWC, CMCSA

1:29 PM More on Time Warner Cable (TWC -1.8%) – Hulu (previous): If Time Warner Cable takes a minority stake in Hulu it will become strange bedfellows with rival Comcast (CMCSA -1%) which owns roughly a third of the company – but the combination could energize the concept of nationally branded TV Everywhere platform, analysts say. Sources indicate another pay-TV company is also considering making a bid for Hulu. Stay tuned. [Consumer, M&A] Comment!

1:29 PM Ariad’s (ARIA -4.5%) slides on reports that a growing number of tools are allowing many cancer patients to skip chemotherapy or other cancer treatments. Also, ongoing trials of its experimental cancer drug AP26113 has only clouded the picture regarding its potential. A smaller proportion of patients saw their tumors shrink than shown in a previous release and it’s unclear whether 2 patient deaths were caused by the drug or something else. Analysts expect more clarity when ARIA presents more-mature data at June’s ASCO cancer meeting. [Healthcare, On the Move] 1 Comment

SAP, HPQ

1:28 PM SAP (SAP -1.3%) makes a flurry of announcements during its Sapphire Now conference. 1) H-P (HPQ) is offering new AppSystems (prepackaged hardware/software) for SAP apps running on its Hana in-memory database. H-P and SAP are also working on Project Kraken, a server able to run Hana with 3x more memory than normal. 2) Hana has been updated to better support the Hadoop big data framework and other diverse data sources, and to include geospatial data. 3) SAP is launching Fiori, a group of “simple, easy-to-use” apps handling basic SAP software functions. 4) SAP’s cloud apps, including SuccessFactors and Ariba’s, have been updated. [Tech] Comment!

BLK, LM

1:28 PM Fund managers like BlackRock (BLK) and Legg Mason (LM) get ahead of what could be a “seismic reallocation of assets” by launching “ultra-short” funds with floating NAVs ahead of new money market regulations. These funds are different than the “ultra-short” funds which ran into trouble in 2008 in that their maturities are even shorter and they can only invest in high-grade debt. Somewhat similar ETF offerings: SHV, MINT, BIL, PVI, GSY, VRD, RAVI. [Financials] 1 Comment

1:12 PM Netflix (NFLX -2.8%) strengthened its position as the leading engagement app on tablets, according to usage data tracked by NPD. In March, Netflix users spent 2.5 hours per active tablet a week on the service and averaged 45 minutes a session. The user tracking also indicated a high percentage of users are accessing Netflix through wi-fi connections which may ease concerns of the NFLX impact on cellular networks. [Consumer] Comment!

NBG, GREK

1:00 PM National Bank of Greece (NBG +23.7%) continues to fly, with the latest catalyst an upgrade of the country’s banking sector by Fitch – the big lenders moved to B- from CCC. The move follows Fitch’s upgrade of the sovereign to B- earlier this week and the bank’s apparent success in raising private capital, thus avoiding nationalization. NBG has tripled in value in the last month. Nothing to see here, move along. GREK +3.1%. [Financials, On the Move] 3 Comments

12:58 PM Analyst love for Foot Locker (FL +0.2%): UBS pegs Foot Locker as an attractive specialty retail stock, citing the sports apparel seller’s potential for double-digit EPS growth and with shares yielding a respectable 2.2%. Janney Capital Markets says channel checks look positive for Foot Locker and notes recent industry sales tracking shows that the total athletic foot wear category is growing sales at a brisk 10.9% clip. The acquisition of Runners Point also sets the company up nicely in Europe. [Consumer] Comment!

ONTY, MRK

12:55 PM Oncothyreon (ONTY -20.7%) tanks today after presenting data as ASCO that showed Phase III trials of its investigational MUC1 antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy L-BLP25 didn’t meet its primary objective. The trial was conducted by Merck Serono, a division of Merck (MRK -0.7%), under a license agreement with ONTY. [Healthcare, On the Move] 3 Comments

12:52 PM Yahoo (YHOO -1.6%) strikes a deal with Twitter to integrate “relevant and personalized Tweets” within its home page news feed. The news feed, launched in February and now supporting ads, is a key part of Yahoo’s efforts to boost slumping user engagement and display ad sales with the help of personalized content culled from a number of different sources. [Tech] Comment!

EGLE, NBG

12:51 PM Midday top 10 gainers: EGLE +46%. NBG +24%. SBSA +23%. DQ +22%. GNK +19%. AEGR +19%. GLBS +17%. SINO +17%. PRGN +16%. LWAY +16%. Midday top 10 losers: NCT -54%. SNFCA -22%. ONTY -21%. INFI -19%. CNIT -15%. CYCC -14%. PTSX -14%. AMD -13%. BDCO -11%. TRIT -11%. [On the Move] 2 Comments

NBL, DKDRF.OB

12:48 PM Noble Energy (NBL) and Israeli partner Delek Drilling (DKDRF.OB) find “significant signs” of gas at an exploratory well at the Karish field off the coastal port of Haifa. An earlier geological report estimated the prospect could contain up to 2T cubic feet, smaller than the massive Tamar and Leviathan fields recently discovered in Israeli waters but still a commercial quantity. [Energy, Global & FX] Comment!

12:45 PM Vivus (VVUS -3.3%) slips today after pricing its $220M private placement of convertible senior unsecured notes due May 1, 2020. The notes will bear interest at a fixed annual rate of 4.50%, payable semiannually in arrears on May 1 and November 1 of each year, beginning on November 1, 2013. The net proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately $213M. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

MORT, WMC

12:43 PM It’s a nice bounce for the mortgage REITs (MORT +1.3%) today as a string of weak economic data leads to a big drop in Treasury yields, the 10-year off 6 bps to 1.88%. Leading gains is Western Asset Mortgage (WMC +3.3%) following yesterday’s 8% post-earnings drubbing. CEO Jim Gavin took advantage, adding 12.8% to his stake by buying about $42K worth of stock at $19.96 each. Other movers include: (CMO +2.1%), (NLY +1.9%), (ARR +2.6%), (IVR +1.8%). [Financials, On the Move] 6 Comments

12:42 PM Tokyo’s High Court has shot down appeals from disgruntled Elpida bondholders to overturn a district court’s approval of Elpida’s organization plan. The decision takes Micron (MU +2.3%) one step closer to acquiring Elpida: a U.S. bankruptcy court still has to sign off. Also: Digitimes reports specialty DRAM prices are due to rise another 10% in May, possibly due to SK Hynix’s decision to allocate more capacity for mobile DRAM production – that market has been seeing enormous growth. [Tech] Comment!

12:33 PM Derma Sciences (DSCI -2.7%) slips after reporting a narrower Q1 loss versus the Street, but revenue comes up short as traditional wound care product sales suffered from seasonality. Advanced wound care products rose 67% over the prior year however – accounting for 40% of net sales – compared with 29% Q112. Gross margin rose to 35.7% from 31.9%. [Healthcare, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

12:33 PM Diamondback Energy (FANG +3.2%) is raised to Buy from Hold with a $35 target price (from $25) at Wunderlich, which believes strong results from 13 Wolfcamp B-targeted horizontal wells (11 operated) shows the operational expertise, asset strength and horizontal potential for FANG, while the recent equity offering puts it in a position to fund and accelerate its growth. [Energy, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

JNJ, WMT

COP, JNJ

CP, MDLZ

12:28 PM Thanks to a $30M payment stemming from a favorable arbitration ruling in a dispute with contract manufacturer Pegatron, InterDigital (IDCC +1.1%) now expects Q2 revenue of $67.5M-$74M, well above a $47.5M consensus. Revenue from current royalties is expected to total $43.5M, and revenue from past sales (largely Pegatron-related) $24M-$30.5M. Shares are up just modestly in response. [Tech, Earnings] Comment!

12:20 PM The housing bubble… the dotcom bubble… is there a carbon bubble? The vast majority of hydrocarbon reserves, the basis for many company’s valuations, could become off limits due to climate change. A vote requesting a report on the issue at this month’s Consol Energy (CNX) shareholder meeting got ~20%, a not insignificant total who saw merit in looking at the question of how much coal CNX will be able to burn. [Energy] Comment!

HPT, CWH

12:18 PM The Portnoys do it again. After Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) director Bill Lamkin fails to win enough votes to stay on and resigns, the board immediately reappoints him, calling his defeat a result of CalPERS’ activism. HPT is managed by Portnoy-controlled Reit Management & Research, the operator of CommonWealth REIT (CWH). Yesterday: Tragicomedy at CommonWealth. [Financials] 1 Comment

EMC, HPQ

12:16 PM Cisco JV partner EMC (EMC +4.5%) joins the list of companies rallying in response to Cisco’s FQ3 beat and guidance. Cisco mentioned on its earnings call integrated hardware solutions such as Vblock (offered by the Cisco/EMC VCE JV) are driving demand for its UCS servers – Cisco’s UCS unit saw 77% Y/Y rev. growth. All in all, it’s a good day for enterprise IT names, who are happy to receive some good earnings news after getting plenty of bad news (I, II, III, IV). HPQ +1.7%. IBM +1.3%. ORCL +1.3%. VMW +2.6%. TIBX +4.1%. CTXS +3.9%. CRM +3.8%. JIVE +4.1%. NTGR +2.7%. CVLT +2.6%. INFA +3%. (others rallying: I, II) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

12:13 PM Wedbush doesn’t find any love in Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO +16.6%) ASCO presentation earlier today regarding clinical data from a Phase 1b trial of PEGPH20 that showed it helps to break down pancreatic cancers. The firm says that a positive tumor response outcome was expected. However, serial comparative PET imaging is a potentially more biologically relevant measure of disease activity, and it continues to expect a negative recommendation from the EMA on the approval of sub-cu Herceptin in Q2. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

12:12 PM Jack in the Box (JACK -4.9%) slips after Wednesday’s Q2 report. Same-store sales at Jack in the Box rose 0.9% Y/Y while comps at Qdoba fell 2%, hit by severe weather. For Q3 the company sees same-store sales growth of 1-3% versus 3.4% in Q3 2012 at Jack in the Box. Qdoba comps should be flat next quarter versus growth of 3.3% in the same period last year. For the full year, JACK sees $1.55-1.65 per share (consensus is $1.61). (PR) [Consumer, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

12:07 PM NetApp (NTAP +7.1%) soars on a report activist firm Elliott Associates has taken a sub-5% stake (could grow larger in time) in the company, and is pushing it to “change its board and study options to boost shareholder value.” Elliott is fresh off a successful push to get BMC Software to sell itself. The news comes ahead of NetApp’s Tuesday FQ4 report. (dealReporter) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

TLT, LQD

12:07 PM Bill Gross pokes some fun at himself, telling Bloomberg TV “We are not always right, but we are always certain.” He reiterates his belief that the 30+ year secular bond bull market is over, but isn’t expecting a 1994-like meltdown in Treasurys. He instead thinks Treasurys (TLT) and corporates – both investment-grade (LQD) and high-yield (HYG, JNK) – won’t move much over the coming 12 months. [U.S. Economy] 2 Comments

BRK.A, BRK.B

11:51 AM More on the Berkshire (BRK.A -0.6%) downgrade: The cut may be more about S&P after the agency revised the criteria used to evaluate the creditworthiness of insurers, writes Erik Holm. Ratings cuts aren’t a new thing at Berkshire, which lost its AAA at the epic March 2009 bottom. Also not new are succession worries, mentioned by S&P in 2009, and again today. [Financials] Comment!

11:50 AM Cubic (CUB +5%) trades up today after pricing a secondary public offering of 2.3M shares at $45.75, just a nominal discount to yesterday’s close. All shares were offered by CUB shareholders comprised of trusts created by its founder, Walter J. Zable, who passed away in 2012. The selling shareholders, who will receive all of the net proceeds from the offering, have granted the underwriters an option for 30 days to purchase up to 350K additional shares. [On the Move] Comment!

11:48 AM TransAtlantic Petroleum (TAT +5.3%) expects Q1 revenues of $33M-$37M and net earnings between a $2M loss and $6M gain. Says it had ~$19M in cash and ~$40M in long-term debt at the end of Q1. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

FB, GOOG

11:45 AM Facebook (FB -1.5%) is down 3.6% over the last 2 days, possibly thanks to concerns about a revamped Google+. The latest update to Google’s (GOOG) oft-mocked social networking platform brings a card-based UI and (more importantly) heavy use of Google’s server farms to automatically enhance/modify images and add tags and links to uploaded content. The imaging tricks include the ability to automatically create animated GIFs and HDR shots, and even adjust skin tone and contrast – some think this also poses a challenge to Adobe (ADBE). But Facebook, the 800-lb. gorilla of online photo-sharing, still has unmatched network effects, and has been willing to borrow ideas from Google+ [Tech] Comment!

11:45 AM Edap (EDAP -3.5%) falls after missing the one available analyst EPS estimate, although revenues beat by a slim margin and rise 23% Y/Y on “strong demand for [the company's] innovative lithotripsy product range in key global markets.” CEO Marc Oczachowski says the “FDA process for Ablatherm-HIFU is on track.” Profit margins fall 220 basis points Y/Y on a negative yen impact and operating expenses increase 9.7% on “continued regulatory expenses associated with the PMA filing for Ablatherm-HIFU, as well as sales and marketing investments.” (PR) [Healthcare, Earnings, On the Move] 1 Comment

XLV, IYH

11:42 AM The Dow and S&P 500 are flat, but the Nasdaq gains 0.4% late morning behind a 12.5% jump in Cisco post-earnings and Apple bouncing from the last 2 days’ drubbing, up 1.5%. Dragging the Dow is a 2.1% decline in Wal-Mart post-earnings. The notably weak sector today is the year’s hottest, healthcare (XLV -0.8%). Comment!

11:39 AM Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ -0.2%) says Simponi, its drug for hard to treat ulcerative colitis being produced by subsidiary Janssen Biotech, has received FDA approval. The injectable drug is used to induce and maintain remission from the chronic inflammatory bowel disease, which is marked by inflammation and ulceration of the innermost lining of the colon. [Healthcare] Comment!

11:39 AM Rosetta Resources (ROSE +3.5%) is upgraded to Outperform with a $63-$67 price target, up from $52-$56, at Wells Fargo, which likes the direction the company is headed. Concerns about inventory and long-term production growth visibility have been effectively removed thanks to the Permian acquisition, and with financing of the transaction addressed, the firm finds shares attractively priced. [Energy, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

11:38 AM Daniel Loeb is doing more than just prod Sony this week with the investor reported to be acquiring shares aggressively in studio MGM. The movie and TV concern has doubled in private trading since emerging from a pre-packaged bankruptcy and could have something else up its sleeves (IPO, private placement?) with earnings getting a boost from recent hits Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. [Consumer] Comment!

FXE, ULE

11:34 AM The euro tumbles about 30 pips as European Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani tabs the currency as too strong and calls on the ECB to manage its level to better-help exports. FXE now up just 0.1%. [Global & FX, On the Move] Comment!

11:32 AM EDAP (EDAP): Q1 EPS of -€0.21 or -$0.27 misses by $0.22. Revenue of €5.9M or $7.8M (+23% Y/Y) beats by $0.15M. (PR) [Healthcare, Earnings] Comment!

11:25 AM Hess’ (HES -2%) deal to resolve its proxy fight with Elliott Management is a win-win, Deutsche Bank’s Paul Sankey says in maintaining his Buy rating and $80 price target. Had Elliott’s dissident director slate lost, lots of activist money in the stock – not just Elliott – might have fled; had Hess’ slate lost, concern about a split board and a long strategy review might have undermined some of Hess’ recent positive moves. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

11:14 AM Burger King (BKW -0.8%) plans to introduce a BK Rib Sandwich this summer as well as pulled pork and other BBQ sandwich offerings at selection locations. The move is an obvious attempt to steal some of McDonald’s thunder over its celebrated McRib launches, but priced at $3.49 per sandwich it cuts against the grain in an increasingly value-oriented sector. [Consumer] Comment!

DTEGY.PK, TMUS

11:07 AM Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY.PK) can sell its 74% stake in T-Mobile USA (TMUS +2.5%) prior to the end of an 18-month lockup period if it receives a buyout offer for the entire stake, says CFO Timotheus Hoettges. The comments seem to be giving a lift to the #4 U.S. carrier. T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter recently stated his company wanted to extend the footprint of the MetroPCS brand by ~100M POPs over the next 6 quarters. T-Mobile is counting on 4G support to give MetroPCS an edge over prepaid rivals such as Leap (LEAP) and AT&T’s 3G-only Aio prepaid service. [Tech, M&A] 1 Comment

11:00 AM Shares of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (CYCC -13.5%) take a hit after it prices its previously announced public offering of 6.7 million shares at $3.00 each, a sharp 13% discount to its previous session close of $3.47. All of the shares are being sold by CYCC, and the proceeds will be used primarily to complete Phase 3 trials of its lead drug candidate, sapacitabine. [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

10:59 AM Amyris (AMRS -5.6%) takes a hit after the company is implicated in a class action lawsuit which claims it misled investors in 2011 and 2012 about its ability to produce Biofene in “commercially meaningful volumes.” When the company changed its tone about production levels, the stock ultimately fell 48% from November 2011 to February 2012. (PR) [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

RDS.A, RDS.B

10:58 AM Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) says it will start producing crude at Iraq’s Majnoon oil field as early as next month and plans to boost energy investments in Saudi Arabia. Output from Majnoon, one of Iraq’s largest oil fields, will start “around mid-year” and increase to 175K bbl/day by year-end; in Saudi Arabia, Shell is holding talks with officials on a project to develop natural gas from the Kidan field. [Energy, Global & FX] Comment!

10:56 AM Another community bank acquisition finds Missouri’s Commerce Bancshares (CBSH +0.1%) buying Oklahoma’s Summit Bancshares for terms yet to be disclosed. That’s three this week by our count. (previous) [M&A, Financials] Comment!

JDSU, RKUS

10:49 AM Plenty of Cisco rivals and suppliers are now rallying in response to the company’s FQ3 beat, guidance, and order activity: JDSU +5.2%. RKUS +5.8%. CAVM +4.8%. PKT +2.9%. ADTN +2.6%. ALLT +1.9%. FN +2%. FNSR +2.4%. BRCM +1.3%. MRVL +1.6%. (previous) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

10:47 AM Chesapeake Energy (CHK -2.6%) is downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan, which cites valuation, a lack of visible catalysts and a “perpetual funding gap” that could total $9.3B by 2015. The firm believes planned asset sales will help CHK fund its cash outspend in 2013 but will need to take on debt in 2014-15. [Energy, Quick Ideas, On the Move] Comment!

10:47 AM Flower Foods (FLO -1.3%) indicates it will consider action on a dividend payout change at its next regularly scheduled meeting when the impact of the purchase of Hostess assets is clearer. [Consumer] Comment!

STEM, CUR

10:46 AM Shares of stem cell research firms are rallying today on the back of an announcement today by the Oregon Health and Science University that they’ve successfully reproduced human stem cells by cloning. Cloning stem cells in this fashion could lead to cell therapies using a patient’s own cells and thereby avoid the problems of immune suppression: StemCells (STEM +2.2%), NeuralStem (CUR +2.1%), NeoStem (NBS +2.2%). [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

10:36 AM Just Energy (JE +4.1%) rises after reporting FQ4 and FY13 results. From the report: Annual customer additions hit a record 1.355M and increase 24% Y/Y while the customer base grows 10% Y/Y to 4.46M. Gross margin expansion and embedded gross margin expansion of 5% and 15% respectively. Outlook: FY14 EBITDA of $220M (previously announced), long-term payout of 60-65% on FFO by H2 2016. (PR) [Energy, Earnings, On the Move] Comment!

10:31 AM EIA Natural Gas Inventory: +99bcf. [Energy] 1 Comment

10:31 AM CBS (CBS +0.2%) made a spirited presentation at the upfront meetings in NYC as the company brought out both David Letterman and Robin Williams to promote new shows while CEO Les Moonves took a number of well-placed shots at competitors. Media analysts see the fall lineup from CBS as strong enough to preserve the network’s ratings lead and bring in more than its share of advertising dollars in FY13. [Consumer] Comment!

EBAY, GOOG

10:25 AM eBay (EBAY -0.2%) roundup: 1) Google (GOOG) is adding the ability to attach money transfers to Gmail messages (via Google Wallet). Though unlikely to have a big impact on PayPal’s merchant transactions, this move could allow Google to grab a chunk of the market for more informal online payments (particularly consumer-to-consumer), given Gmail’s huge reach. 2) CTO Mark Carges recently sold 111K shares at $55.53. 3) Lazard has launched coverage with a Buy and $55 PT. [Tech, Consumer] Comment!

10:20 AM Just Energy (JE): FQ4 EPS of C$1.44. Revenue of C$877.5M (-10.5% Y/Y). FY13 EPS of C$4.30. Revenue of C$2.88B.(PR) [Energy, Earnings] 1 Comment

10:16 AM Mortgage rates moved higher for the second straight week in Freddie Mac’s survey, as the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 3.51% and the 15-year fixed rate climbed to 2.69% vs. 3.42% and 2.61% respectively in the prior week. A year ago, the respective rates were 3.79% and 3.04%. [U.S. Economy] Comment!

NAVB, NDZ

10:16 AM Navidea Biopharmaceuticals (NAVB) says it’s entered into an agreement with Nordion (NDZ -1%) to produce and supply its (123) labeled I-drug NAV5001 for late-phase clinical trials. NDZ will manufacture and supply of NAV5001 clinical trial material by radiolabeling NAVB‘s precursor drug product with Iodine-123 to form (123)I NAV5001, and then manage the logistics and shipping arrangements to third-party clinical trial sites. The agreement could be a precursor to a commercial supply arrangement in the future. [Healthcare, Global & FX] Comment!

10:15 AM The rally in share of SodaStream (SODA -0.3%) might be momentarily out of fizz, according to Deutsche Bank. The investment firm likes the aggressive moves by management but is taking a breather and moving SODA to a Hold rating from Buy with share up close to 20% in a month. [Consumer] Comment!

TLT, TBT

10:10 AM More on Philly Fed: The big miss is another in a line of weak data points this morning. The decline was led by a steep drop in shipments to -8.5 from +9.1. Also notable is a big jump in inventories to +4.1 from -22.2. Employment worsened to -8.7 from -6.7. The percentage of firms reporting employment decreases was 22% vs. those reporting increases at 14% – a number sure to cross the desk of the FOMC doves this morning. Treasurys have had a tough May, but they’re bouncing today, TLT +1.2%. The leveraged bear ETF: TBT -2.4%. Stocks give up early gains (DIA -0.2%). [U.S. Economy] 3 Comments

WMT, SWY

10:08 AM Grocery sales in focus: Retail analysts note something doesn’t add up with Wal-Mart’s (WMT -2.6%) claim per Nielsen data that it’s “winning” market share for its grocery business despite the retailer’s overall sales slip. On a rough comparison, the company’s grocery store sales are growing level with Safeway (SWY +0.2%) – but still trail the pace of Whole Foods Market (WFM -0.1%) and Kroger (KR) by quite a lot. Is Wal-Mart’s grocery share gain at the expense of the dollar store group (DG, DLTR, FDO)? [Consumer] 3 Comments

10:05 AM Piper raises its estimates for Pandora (P +1.9%) ahead of next Thursday’s FQ1 report, citing improved mobile monetization. Strong mobile ad sales growth was a key reason Pandora took off following its FQ4 report, but the company’s mobile ad prices were still only at 56% of PC levels. (eMarketer estimates) [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

10:00 AM May Philly Fed Business Outlook: -5.2 vs. +2.4 expected, +1.3 previous. [U.S. Economy, Breaking News, Top Stories] 6 Comments

10:00 AM On the hour: Dow +0.06%. 10-yr +0.28%. Euro +0.10% vs. dollar. Crude +0.3% to $94.58. Gold -1.23% to $1379.05. Comment!

APA, GDP

9:59 AM T. Boone Pickens added nearly 125K shares in Apache (APA) and more than 500K shares in Goodrich Petroleum (GDP) to his energy fund during Q1. He bought new stakes in MPC, PSX and HK, and sold positions in SWC, RRC and RIG. The fund’s top holding Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD); Pickens added ~43K shares. [Energy] 1 Comment

AMZN, CMCSA

9:57 AM Amazon (AMZN +0.4%) keeps adding to its portfolio of video content by signing a new deal with Comcast (CMCSA -0.4%) for shows from NBC and other NBCUniversal networks. As is standard, the shows will be available on Prime Instant Video several months after they originally air. [Consumer] 3 Comments

9:51 AM SolarCity (SCTY +7.8%) teams up with Goldman to offer $500M+ in lease financing for residential/commercial solar projects, expanding a deal created in 2012. The financing is good for an estimated 110MW, and the companies claim the program “is the largest of its kind announced in the U.S. for homeowners rooftops.” SolarCity is rallying once again thanks to the news. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

9:51 AM Turner Broadcasting says it will stream content for TNT and TBS as part of its TV Everywhere package with major cable companies. The bigger issue: As more media giants join Time Warner (TWX -0.5%) in supporting multi-platform distribution, it increases the odds that mass cord-cutting by consumers can be averted. (Related: Cable companies might buy Hulu) [Consumer] Comment!

9:50 AM Lloyds (LYG +1.2%) expects to return to full-year profitability in 2013, says CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio at the annual meeting, thus allowing the government to being selling its 39% stake in the bank. Profits tripled in Q1 from a year ago, as massive reserves against loan losses continued to flow off the balance sheet and onto the income statement. [Financials] Comment!

9:45 AM The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index slides to -30.2 from -29.5 last week, breaking a 4-week run in the negative 20s. A separate measure of expectations showed 32% say the economy is getting worse, the fewest in a year. Looking at the CCI by age group, it’s those in the 18-34 group with the worst views – a negative 33.6 vs. 35-44 year olds at -10.7. Among regions, the West at -39 compares to all other areas of the country in the -20s. [Breaking News, U.S. Economy] Comment!

9:41 AM Can McDonald’s (MCD -0.6%) reinflate same-store sales with its plan to focus on value pricing and swap in new quarter pounder products for Angus burgers? Many Wall Street profit estimates on McDonald’s bank on a summertime bump from the menu innovation, but the volume of sales will have to be high to offset the shift to lower-margin items. What to watch: An early August release on July sales will be crucial. [Consumer] Comment!

9:40 AM Barrick Gold (ABX -3.2%) is downgraded to Underperform from Neutral with an $18 price target (from $21.50) at Macquarie, which views ABX as a mature company with few opportunities to grow and high debt. The firm calls ABX’s recent amendment to its Dominican Republic mine contract a dangerous precedent. [Commodities, Quick Ideas, On the Move] 3 Comments

TAP, BEAM

9:38 AM Stifel Nicolaus is out with sector notes and attendant upgrades for some names in the alcoholic beverage industry. Rundown: analyst Mark Swartzberg takes Molson Coors (TAP +1.8%) to Buy from Hold and raises his FY13 and FY14 EPS estimates to $3.93 and $4.36 respectively (from $3.91 and $4.28); Beam (BEAM +1.4%) gets a Buy from Hold bump and a price target of $80; Constellation Brands (STZ +3.1%) moves to Buy from Hold (price target $64, see earlier ) on “attractive multiples” relative to peers and (amusingly) a “portfolio of brands that is [characterized] less and less as ‘Corona and those other brands.’” [Consumer] Comment!

9:34 AM AMD (AMD -12.9%) opens sharply lower on a downgrade to Sell from Goldman, which doesn’t see the chipmaker’s giant spring rally as justified. “As has been the case with many of the other rallies in AMD, which have all faded, ultimately, the numbers do not justify the move in the stock … we expect continued disappointing results in the PC segment to mitigate the impact of increased revenue from gaming.” Goldman upgraded AMD to Neutral last September, when shares were at $3.47. [Tech, On the Move, Quick Ideas] 3 Comments

9:31 AM At the open: Dow -0.01% to 15275. S&P -0.08% to 1657. Nasdaq +0.15% to 3477. Treasurys: 30-year +0.46%. 10-yr +0.25%. 5-yr +0.11%. Commodities: Crude +0.47% to $94.74. Gold -1.36% to $1377.15. Currencies: Euro +0.07% vs. dollar. Yen +0.05%. Pound -0.2%. Comment!

9:28 AM RadioShack (RSH) signs a five-year contract with a subsidiary of the National Association of College Stores to install a branded section in campus bookstores with the company’s products. [Consumer] Comment!

9:27 AM Brady Corp. (BRC): Q1 EPS of $0.55 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $305M (+11% Y/Y) misses by $63M. Shares -7.2% AH. (PR) [Earnings, Breaking News, On the Move] Comment!

9:26 AM Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +4% following an upgrade to Overweight from Morgan Stanley. The upgrade comes ahead of Palo Alto’s May 30 FQ3 report. Cisco, which Palo Alto has been taking firewall share from (along with Juniper and Check Point), reported a 4% Y/Y drop in security sales yesterday afternoon. [Tech, On the Move] Comment!

9:23 AM Heard during Wal-Mart’s (WMT) earnings call: 1) The retail giant admits it didn’t see a late quarter sales rush from delayed tax refunds taking a little bit of the wind out of the sail on that excuse. May sales are looking better. 2) CEO Mike Duke mentions weather a few more times than analysts would like (Costco +4% same-store sales?) and also notes a negative impact from lower grocery inflation. 3) The potential for e-commerce is intriguing after sales jumped 30% Y/Y. Walmart.com sees +45M visitors per month and in the U.K. the company is the second largest online grocer. 4) No Q&A. (transcript) [Consumer] Comment!

9:18 AM Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) jumps 7.57% premarket after saying Wednesday evening that data from a Phase 1b study supports the contention that PEGPH20 helps break down a protective matrix which surrounds most pancreatic cancers, making the disease more vulnerable to therapy. (PR) [Healthcare, On the Move] Comment!

9:17 AM Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) continues to slash expenses, announcing another 1.4K job cuts, these coming from the retail division. The bank – 81% state-owned – and hoping to become private again some day, has cut more than 30K positions and shed loads of assets since the financial crisis. Shares +2.1% premarket. [Financials] Comment!

9:15 AM Market preview: Stock futures reversed slight gains to tilt mostly negative as data showed jobless claims posting their biggest increase in six months and housing starts declining far more than expected. S&P -0.1%. Cisco +12% after beating earnings and revenue forecasts; Wal-Mart -2% after coming up short. Still ahead: Philly Fed, EIA natural gas inventories. Comment!

JNPR, FFIV

9:15 AM A few Cisco rivals and suppliers are up premarket after the networking giant beat estimates while reporting strong data center switch/server sales and service provider orders (albeit while cautioning the SP capex environment remains tough). Some others might move higher following the open. JNPR +3.6%. FFIV +3.2%. CIEN +3.9%. EZCH +1.2% – Cisco mentioned on its earnings call sales of its ASR 9000 edge routers, which EZchip supplies network processors for, were up 40%+ Y/Y. [Tech, On the Move] 1 Comment

RGDX, EGLE

9:14 AM Premarket gainers: RGDX +24%. EGLE +23%. EFUT +19%. TSLA +13%. CSCO +13%. SCTY +11%. DQ +9%. HALO +8%. DANG +7%. AV +7%. YRCW +8%. NBG +7%. KSS +7%. SPWR +6%. Losers: NCT -53%. SNFCA -24%. AMD -10%. NQ -7%. CYCC -5%. [On the Move] Comment!

9:09 AM The Dallas Fed’s Richard Fisher covers familiar territory, questioning the efficacy of QE and noting the Fed could soon be buying 100% of MBS issuance. The section on fiscal policy – subtitled “Oy” – is most memorable for inclusion of a classic YouTube video about the ease of spending money when it’s not coming out of your wallet. [U.S. Economy] 2 Comments

9:09 AM Navistar (NAV) announces it will sell its recreational business interests to Allied Specialty Vehicles for an undisclosed amount. The deal won’t include its horse trailer manufacturing operation. [Consumer] Comment!

9:06 AM Total (TOT) says it was awarded 10 exploration licenses on several blocks in Brazil during the country’s oil and gas exploration auction. TOT will be operator for six blocks, five blocks in the Amazonas basin where it will hold a 40% interest, and one in the Ceara basin where it will hold a 45% stake. TOT says the moves are consistent with its strategy of looking for oil and gas in risky areas such as deep offshore sites. [Energy] Comment!

9:03 AM Eagle Bulk Shipping (EGLE) soars 19.1% premarket after the company beat estimates with a large settlement helping to boost results. It’s the first time shares have cleared $4 this year, but it could also be fleeting as the current with shipping stocks can reverse itself quickly. [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

EWM, EPHE

9:03 AM Post election rallies in Malaysian (EWM) and Philippine (EPHE) equities appear to have run their course as stocks in Kuala Lumpur and Manila fall 0.91% and 1.1% respectively. The mood in Malaysia wasn’t helped by GDP data which showed the country’s economy (the third largest in the region) grew by just 4.1% in Q1, the slowest pace in three years. [Global & FX] Comment!

9:00 AM On the hour: S&P -0.1%. 10-yr +0.27%. Euro +0.03% vs. dollar. Crude +0.5% to $94.77. Gold -1.33% to $1377.65. Comment!

8:56 AM KeyCorp (KEY) hikes its quarterly dividend 10% to $0.055/share and reiterates the Fed’s approval of a buyback of up to $426M of stock. The bank also receives no objection from a request to use the after-tax proceeds from the Victory Capital sale (about $120M) for additional repurchases. (PR) [Financials, Breaking News, Dividends] Comment!

8:54 AM Hess (HES) reaches agreement with Elliott Management is end its proxy contest. Hess adds three of Elliott’s director nominees. Elliott withdraws its slate of five nominees and supports election of Hess’ five new directors. The reconstituted Board continues to consist of 14 people. Elliott is represented on the governance and compensation committees. Shares +1.9% premarket. [Energy, On the Move] 1 Comment

8:51 AM Stifel Nicolaus upgrades Constellation Brands (STZ) to a Buy rating from Hold and places a $64 price target on shares. Analysts with the firm think valuation is attractive at current levels with the company’s higher-end beers outperforming peers. STZ +1.5% premarket. [Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

8:47 AM Prestige Brands (PBH): FQ4 EPS of $0.36 beats by $0.01. FQ4 Revenue of $154.5M (+15.3% Y/Y) misses by $3.31M. FY13 EPS of $1.50 beats by $0.01. FY13 revenue of $623.6M misses by 3.43M. Shares -12.38% premarket. (PR) [Earnings, Healthcare, Consumer, On the Move] Comment!

8:46 AM Norfolk Southern (NSC) extends the expiration date of its exchange offer for $600M of senior notes due in 2023 to May 22. [Consumer] Comment!

HD, LOW

8:40 AM Housing starts were a disappointment in April, but building permits surged to a 5-year high. The high level of permit activity could help lift sales for Home Depot (HD) and Lowe’s (LOW). [Consumer] Comment!

8:39 AM HollyFrontier (HFC) announces unplanned downtime to fluid catalytic cracking units at its largest refinery in El Dorado, Kan., and its Cheyenne, Wyo., refinery. Both outages are expected to last 10 days. [Energy] Comment!

SPY, TLT

8:38 AM SPY -0.3% premarket, giving up small early gains after a big jump in jobless claims and a rather shocking decline in housing starts. Starts were off 16.5% from March, but up 13.1% Y/Y. On a more hopeful note, building permits were up 14.3% from March, up 35.8% Y/Y. Treasurys catch a bid, TLT +0.5% premarket. Homebuilders ETF: XHB -0.2%. Comment!

8:36 AM More on E-Commerce China Dangdang’s (DANG) Q1: 2.4M new customers were added during the quarter to help orders rise 21% to 14.8M . The company says its gross margin improved to 17.2% on operational efficiencies, up 300 bps Y/Y and 380 bps Q/Q. Q2 guidance is for revenue growth of 23%. DANG +7.4% premarket. (PR) [Consumer, Global & FX, Earnings] Comment!

8:32 AM April Consumer Price Index: -0.4% vs. -0.3% expected, -0.2% prior. Core CPI +0.1% vs. +0.2% expected, +0.1% prior. [Breaking News, U.S. Economy] Comment!

8:32 AM April Housing Starts: 853K vs. 970K forecast, 1.04M previous. [U.S. Economy, Breaking News] 11 Comments

8:31 AM Initial Jobless Claims: +32K to 360K vs. 330K consensus, 328K prior (revised). Continuing claims -4K to 3.00M. [Breaking News, U.S. Economy, Top Stories] 10 Comments

TRP, TCP

8:28 AM TransCanada (TRP) plans to sell down its stake in two natural gas pipelines to affiliated company TC PipeLines (TCP) in a ~$1B deal including debt, which it says will free up funds for capital investments. TCP -2.8% premarket after saying it would sell 7.7M units in an effort to raise funds for the acquisition. [Energy, On the Move] Comment!

BRK.A, BRK.B

8:26 AM Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) credit rating is cut to AA with negative outlook from AA+ by S&P. “The lower credit rating … better reflects our view of BRK’s dependence on its core insurance operations for most of its dividend income … only Burlington Northern has provided a significant portion of the total dividends paid from the operating companies to the holding company.” [Financials] 12 Comments

8:22 AM Pitney Bowes (PBI) will sell its management services business in the UK and Republic of Ireland to Swiss Post for an undisclosed amount. The company says the businesses don’t align with its European strategy. [Consumer] 1 Comment

GLCNF.PK, GEGYF.PK

8:20 AM Glencore Xstrata (GLCNF.PK) names former BP CEO Tony Hayward as interim chairman, WSJ reports. Hayward was BP’s CEO during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster; he is now CEO of Genel Energy (GEGYF.PK). The appointment comes after shareholders voted against the re-election of former chairman John Bond. [Commodities] Comment!

8:17 AM Shares of Tesla Motors (TSLA) rip 12.9% higher premarket to $95.75 after the company files its mixed shelf and Elon Musk pours in some more capital. Reality check: Tesla now trades with a market cap just under 20% of Ford’s valuation while selling only a fraction of the cars Ford sells indicating investors are betting either Tesla will become a “major” automaker or claim the highest margins in the industry. [Consumer] 17 Comments

DDD, SSYS

8:17 AM 3D Systems (DDD) and Stratasys (SSYS) both catch downgrades from William Bair in a note titled “Waiting for Expectations to Align With Reality.” Neither firm, says Bair, appears well-positioned to be the leader of a “3rd industrial revolution … many investors are buying shares of these two companies, at least in part, for the wrong reasons.” Both are off 1.5-2% in the premarket. [Tech] 13 Comments

8:07 AM NeoStem (NBS) has its patent application for AMR-001 granted in Malaysia and appears close to a similar result in the Philippines. The company also says it has been granted a second patent in South Africa. AMR-001 (which will have 9 total patents after today’s announcement) is the company’s flagship product and NBS intends to complete enrollment in a Phase II trial this year. SA contributor Equity Options Guru is bullish based on what he believes are improving balance sheet dynamics. (PR) [Healthcare] Comment!

NRZ, NCT

8:06 AM The spinoff of New Residential (NRZ) from Newcastle Investment (NCT) has been completed and NRZ will begin trading on the NYSE today. At the moment, NCT is indicated to open at $5.83, NRZ at $6.70 – a total of $12.53 vs. yesterday’s NCT close of $12.33. (PR) [Financials] 3 Comments

8:06 AM Dow Chemical (DOW) says it will appeal an order by a federal judge to pay $1.2B in a price-fixing case involving urethane chemical prices. In February, a jury rendered a $400M verdict against Dow; yesterday, the judge denied Dow’s request to overturn the decision, and damages were tripled under U.S. antitrust law. Shares -0.3% premarket. [Commodities] Comment!

8:05 AM Shares of Costco (COST) are on watch after Sam’s Club puts in a lackluster quarter on lower traffic, but raises some of its membership fees for the first time since 2006. Costco has been slightly above Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club on membership fees, but that hasn’t stopped the retailer from beating its rivals on comparable-store sales growth. [Consumer] 1 Comment