Stockwinners Market Radar for July 14, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

17:33 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $130.3M government contract modification - Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $130,342,972 modification to foreign military sales (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan) contract W31P4Q-17-C-0006 for fiscal 2017 PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 production to increase the total missile segment enhancement quantity by 35, add 130 launcher modification kits with motor control units for the U.S.; add the parts library and missile segment enhancement storage and aging requirements for the U.S.; add the cost and software data reporting requirement for the United States; reduce the missile round trainer quantity by 30 for Qatar, and reduce the empty round trainer quantity by 36 for Qatar. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas; Lufkin, Texas; Camden, Arizona; Chelmsford, Massachusetts; Ocala, Florida; Huntsville, Alabama; Huntingdon Beach, California; and El Paso, Texas; with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2020. Fiscal 2015, 2016 and 2017 other; and other procurement (Army) funds in the combined amount of $130,342,972 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

17:26 EDT Concurrent board approves size reduction, dissolving executive committee - Concurrent's board approved a reduction in the size of the board from seven to four members to eliminate the seats of each of the resigning directors and dissolved the Executive Committee, each action effective immediately.

17:01 EDT GlaxoSmithKline begins shipping 2017-18 influenza vaccines for U.S. market - GSK announced it has begun shipping quadrivalent vaccine doses to U.S. healthcare providers, following licensing and lot-release approval from the U.S. FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Three different options of the four-strain vaccines will be available to customers. FLULAVAL QUADRIVALENT comes in a 5mL, multidose vial containing 10 doses (0.5mL each) and a 0.5mL, single-dose, prefilled syringe, while FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT comes in a 0.5mL, single-dose, prefilled syringe. GSK expects to supply up to 40M doses across both vaccines for the US market in the 2017-18 season. GSK is committed to broad protection against influenza so one hundred percent of GSK supply is quadrivalent.

16:42 EDT Intracoastal Capital reports 8.3% passive stake in Celsion

16:35 EDT Command Security terminates relationship with major transportation company - Command Security announced that beginning on September 1, it will no longer provide security services in the northeastern U.S. for a major transportation company. The Company has performed services for this Customer for the past eight years. During recent pricing negotiations, as part of the Company's efforts to seek recovery of additional costs arising from tightening labor markets and increased minimum wage rates, the Company advised the Customer that it was no longer economically feasible for the Company to continue the work under the Customer's proposed pricing as well as certain other proposed terms. Rather than accept the extension of the agreement on terms that were not economically feasible, we asked the Customer to put the work up for bid and, accordingly, the Company notified this Customer on May 18 of the Company's intent to terminate the existing agreements and cease work on August 31. The Customer subsequently notified the Company on May 26 of its decision to terminate the agreement and invited the Company to participate in the Request for Proposal that followed. During the RFP process which commenced on June 2, the Company and other bidders were advised that any bidder currently performing similar services for certain competitors of the Customer, which includes a customer of the Company, would be disqualified as a bidder in the RFP process. While unfortunate, the loss of this Customer is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations or overall financial position. Based on the three-months ended June 2017, total annual revenues related to this Customer are approximately $21M. The Company intends to modify certain operational activities and implement appropriate cost reductions in response to this reduction in revenues. The Company is grateful for the commitment and hard work of its employees over the many years we provided services to this Customer. The Company understands that changes like this present challenges to the affected employees and the Company is committed to effectively communicate with all our employees through this process as new information becomes available.

16:31 EDT PepsiCo raises quartelry dividend 7% to 80.5c per share - The board of directors of PepsiCo declared a quarterly dividend of 80.5c per share of PepsiCo common stock, a 7% increase versus the comparable year-earlier period. Today's action is consistent with PepsiCo's previously announced increase in its annualized dividend to $3.22 per share from $3.01 per share, which began with the June 2017 payment. This dividend is payable on September 29, 2017 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 1, 2017. PepsiCo has paid consecutive quarterly cash dividends since 1965, and 2017 marks the company's 45th consecutive annual dividend increase.

16:16 EDT Morgan Stanley reports 5.2% passive stake in Applied Optoelectronics

16:10 EDT Gabelli raises Liberty Media stake to 5.55% from 5.22%

15:55 EDT Box Office Battle: Apes taking on Arachnid for top spot - 21st Century Fox's (FOX, FOXA) third film in the rebooted franchise, "War for the Planet of the Apes," which earned over $5M in Thursday night previews, is expected to win this weekend's box office with an estimated $59M-87M at over 4,000 theaters domestically. Sony's (SNE) "Spider-Man: Homecoming," starring Tom Holland as the web-slinging superhero, exceeded expectations in its opening weekend with a $113M domestic debut, and is expected to earn an additional $57M in its second weekend. Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK) subsidiary Universal's "Despicable Me 3," the third film in the animated franchise, is expected to earn an additional $19M in its third weekend at theaters. Also opening this weekend is Lionsgate's (LGF.A, LGF.B) "The Big Sick," a romantic comedy produced by Judd Apatow that is estimated to earn $11M-$13M domestically at almost 2,600 theaters. Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include Disney (DIS), Time Warner (TWX), and Viacom (VIA, VIAB).

15:29 EDT Wells Fargo CFO: 'A lot of work going on in executive accountability'

15:25 EDT Wells Fargo CFO says firm has best ROE in the business

15:24 EDT Dominion Diamond: No decisions have been made regarding strategic alternatives - Dominion Diamond commented on recent media rumours related to the company's review of strategic alternatives. "On March 27, 2017, Dominion announced that its Board of Directors had formed a Special Committee to explore, review, and evaluate a range of potential strategic alternatives focused on maximizing shareholder value. The Special Committee, working together with the company's management team and advisors, is considering alternatives that could include the sale of the company. As previously disclosed, interested parties, including Washington Corporations, have executed confidentiality agreements with the company. The company has not made any decisions related to strategic alternatives at this time and there can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any transaction or change in strategy."

15:01 EDT RiceBran announces sale of Healthy Natural subsidiary for $18.3M - RiceBran Technologies announced that the company has sold its contract manufacturing and packaging subsidiary, Healthy Natural, Inc., to an affiliate of Rosewood Private Investments. RBT was paid $18.3M for the Healthy Natural business. RBT will use a portion of the sale proceeds to eliminate senior debt and subordinated notes with face value totaling $12.5M, to pay transaction-related costs, and to increase cash and cash equivalents. The gain on the sale will also increase shareholders' equity, the company stated. "By eliminating our senior debt and subordinated notes and improving liquidity and our equity funding, we believe we are now positioned to increase our efforts in the markets for stabilized rice bran and derivative products ingredients, and we are excited for the opportunities awaiting us. We view this as an important step in our plans to create improved shareholder value and look forward to updating our progress on these efforts in the future," said CFO Brent Rystrom.

14:44 EDT Himax issues strongly worded rebuke to analyst after downgrade - Himax Technologies (HIMX) responded to a downgrade of its stock by an analyst at Oppenheimer with a strongly worded reply, in which the company said it has not communicated with the analyst in months and questioned the timing of the report. OPPENHEIMER DOWNGRADES: Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz downgraded Himax to Underperform, the firm's lowest rating, with a $4 price target, saying decreased smartphone expectations in China for 2017 will weigh on the company's near-term orders. He added while he expects many new phones to be released in the second half of this year, there will be a shift to 18:9 displays, an area in which he feels Himax lags behind its competitors, and he remains hesitant on the company's Touch and Display Driver Integration, or TDDI, opportunities. Uerkwitz also said forecasts have estimated growing OLED panel shipments but Himax is unlikely to win OLED driver IC business from Samsung (SSNLF) in the near-term. The analyst believes a "smooth" turnaround for Himax's DDIC business is unlikely and notes his estimates for the company have been the lowest on Wall Street for some time. HIMAX RESPONDS: In a statement provided to The Fly, Himax said, "The management have not spoken to the analyst Andrew Uerkwitz from Oppenheimer for three months. Thus, we believe his report recently issued on July 14 is INACCURATE and MISLEADING. This report does not represent the fact of our company at all. Our business is not only on track but also rebounded strongly reflecting market share gain. We will report positively on the 2Q17 earnings call...We question Andrew Uerwitz's intention to set up a low Target Price without facts, especially when Himax just declared dividend where investors only have one week to buy to get dividend. He chose this time to publish a negative report with a ridiculous Target Price without talking to Himax management on the day we announce our EC date is also suspicious." PRICE ACTION: Himax, which spent the early part of the session in negative territory, is up 0.6% to $8.06 in afternoon trading.

14:20 EDT Mallinckrodt's Synacthen Depot sublicense approved by FTC - The Federal Trade Commission said it approved a sublicense submitted by Mallinckrodt granting West Therapeutic Development certain rights to develop and market the specialty drug Synacthen Depot in the United States. Synacthen Depot contains a synthetic version of adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH, and is approved in Europe and elsewhere to treat infantile spasms, nephrotic syndrome, and other disorders. "Mallinckrodt currently has a monopoly in the U.S. ACTH market with its drug H.P. Acthar Gel, which contains naturally derived ACTH," the FTC added. The agency's January order against Mallinckrodt settled charges that the company violated the antitrust laws when its Questcor unit acquired rights to Synacthen Depot. The FTC complaint alleged that Questcor's acquisition stifled competition by preventing any other company from using the Synacthen Depot assets to develop a synthetic ACTH drug for the United States, preserving Questcor's monopoly and allowing it to maintain extremely high prices for Acthar Gel. Under the January order, the FTC approved Marathon Pharmaceuticals as the sublicensee. Marathon has since spun off the assets and personnel related to the development of a synthetic ACTH drug to West Therapeutic Development.

14:05 EDT Cardinal Capital reports 5% passive stake in MGP Ingredients

13:43 EDT American Water subsidiary acquires water district in Illinois - Illinois American Water announced the company's acquisition of the Forest Homes-Maple Park Public Water District. The purchase of the system adds approximately 500 customers to the company's customer base in the Alton District. In a public referendum on Nov. 3, 2016, residents of Forest Homes-Maple Park Public Water District voted in favor of dissolving the water district, and supported the water district selling the water system to Illinois American Water. The Illinois Commerce Commission approved the sale for $900,000 on June 7. On July 14, Illinois American Water acquired the water system. Illinois American Water is a subsidiary of American Water.

13:25 EDT Novartis confirms 5 year efficacy, safety data for Consentyx in psoriasis - Novartis confirmed "positive" 5 year efficacy and safety results for Cosentyx from a Phase III long-term extension study in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Data will be presented at a key medical congress in the second half of 2017. 5 year Phase III data are a recognized milestone for assessing long-term efficacy and safety of innovative treatments. 4 year Phase III data presented at EADV 2016 showed Cosentyx delivered almost clear or completely clear skin in a majority of patients. The data showed that with Cosentyx, 97% of PASI 90 and 99% of PASI 100 response rates were maintained from Year 1 to Year 4. Recently, new label updates announced for Cosentyx in Europe demonstrated long-term superiority of Cosentyx versus Stelara in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis on the basis of 52 week data from the CLEAR study, and expanded the use of Cosentyx for the treatment of moderate-to-severe scalp psoriasis. Cosentyx was launched in 2015 as the first and only fully-human IL-17A inhibitor to treat psoriasis and is now licenced for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis as well. Novartis remains committed to investigating important scientific questions with Cosentyx that address unmet needs and could significantly enhance patients' quality of life.

13:22 EDT US Foods to acquire ROBA Inc distribution companies; terms not disclosed - US Foods announced that it has agreed to acquire broadline distributors, The Thompson Company, Braunger Foods and Variety Foods, owned and operated by TOBA Inc. US Foods will continue to operate all three locations and expects to welcome the combined employee base of approximately 250 team members to the company. The transaction is expected to close by late July. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

13:14 EDT AT&T exec Sambar to testify in congressional Senate hearing - AT&T senior vice president Chris Sambar will testify before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet at a hearing titled, "An Update on FirstNet," according to a statement from the company. The hearing will take place on Thursday, July 20, at the Russell Senate Office Building, room 253 in Washington, D.C. It's scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET.

12:06 EDT Citi sees FY17 efficiency ratio 58%

12:01 EDT Citi sees 'reasonable' environment for cost of credit, December rate hike - Sees NA retail services chargeoff rate 4.6% in 2017.Says softness in collection rates for store cards driving higher net credit losses in retail services. Says core accrual net interest revenue should grow by "a little more than" $2B in 2017 over 2016; still expects this increase to be offset by a roughly $1B decline in the net interest revenue generated in the legacy wind-down portfolio in Corporate/Other. Says assuming December rate hike, expects "reasonable environment" for cost of credit. In North America consumer, expects continued y/y revenue growth in retail banking, excluding mortgage, in Q3, as well as modest organic growth in cards. Sees earnings growing modestly y/yh in North America, with continued momentum in Q4. Says mortgage should continue to be a headwind in Q3. Sees expenses declining sequentially in Q3. Sees 2H tax rate around 32%. Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call. Citigroup is down 1.2% to $66.24 in late morning trading.

11:16 EDT IAC, Angie's List get early HSR termination from FTC - IAC (IAC) and Angie's List (ANGI) were granted an "early termination" of the statutory waiting period by the FTC for their proposed transaction, according to the post to the Federal Trade Commission website. Reference Link

10:59 EDT Wells Fargo sees auto portfolio stabilizing in 1H18 - Says seeing "slow but steady" improvement in retail business.

10:48 EDT Nutanix climbs after Goldman adds to Conviction List, highlights M&A potential - The shares of Nutanix (NTNX) are rallying after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its Conviction List and called the company a potential takeover target. The firm added that the company is "a once-in-a-decade tech infrastructure story," while its results are poised to beat consensus estimates in "coming quarters." POSSIBLE TARGET IN HIGH-GROWTH MARKET: Calling hyperconvergence "the biggest trend in IT since public cloud," Goldman analyst Simona Jankowski estimated that Nutanix has a roughly 30% share of the $2B hyperconvergence market, which she predicted would grow to $20B in a decade. Meanwhile the stock's 30% drop so far this year and the lack of similar companies makes a takeover of Nutanix "increasingly likely," the analyst stated. RESULTS OUTLOOK POSITIVE: Nutanix's strong fundamentals and an accounting change it's making should enable the company to report strong results, wrote Jankowski. Later this year, Nutanix's switch to new accounting rules that will allow it to recognize software revenue up front should significantly boost its results, Jankowski believes. Goldman's checks indicate that adoption trends for hyperconverged infrastructure in general and Nutanix specifically have been strong, according to the analyst. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES: A number of Nutanix's advantages over its competitors should enable it to retain its market share over the longer term even as competition in its category heats up, Jankowski stated. Specifically, while the hypercoverged solutions of Cisco (CSCO) and HP Enterprise (HPE) can only work on their servers, Nutanix's products can work on a number of third party servers, the analyst noted. Additionally, Nutanix's system works with several hypervisors, including its own, free hypervisor, enabling users to avoid paying for VMware's (VMW) product, thereby saving them as much as 30%, according to Jankowski. TARGET: The analyst set a $31 price target on the stock, but she believes that the shares can rise more than 50% above her target. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Nutanix rose 7.5% to $21.79.

10:40 EDT Himax criticizes downgrade as 'inaccurate,' 'misleading' and 'suspicious' - In a statement provided to The Fly, Himax said, "The management have not spoken to the analyst Andrew Uerkwitz from Oppenheimer for three months. Thus, we believe his report recently issued on July 14, 2017 is INACCURATE and MISLEADING. This report does not represent the fact of our company at all. Our business is not only on track but also rebounded strongly reflecting market share gain. We will report positively on the 2Q17 earnings call. We have begun shipping TDDI products and most importantly, WLO/DOE 3D scanning component shipping has begun in June, and will accelerate for the remainder of 2017. Both products will contribute significant upside to our top and bottom lines in 2017. We also expect to launch OLED shipment to major panel makers before end of 2017. Andrew Uerkwitz NEVER had target price for the stock. We question Andrew Uerwitz's intention to set up a low Target Price without facts, especially when Himax just declared dividend where investors only have one week to buy to get dividend. He chose this time to publish a negative report with a ridiculous Target Price without talking to Himax management on the day we announce our EC date is also suspicious. In addition, we also have not spoken to Rosenblatt analyst for more than three years, therefore we do not believe his report accurately describes the company."

10:34 EDT Himax says Oppenheimer downgrade 'inaccurate' and 'misleading'

10:24 EDT Wells Fargo CEO says efficiency ratio 'still too high' - CEO Tim Sloan says efficiency ratio "still too high," adds that operating at this level "just not acceptable." Says "committed" to previously announced efficiency ratio goals. Says rebuilding trust remains the bank's top priority. Says bank has been "very comprehensive" in its approach to customer outreach, remediation, says efforts "ongoing." Says currently processing results from third party staff culture assessment. CFO John Shewsberry sees auto loans continuing to decline in 2H. Expects NII to grow in low to mid single digits for 2017; rate of growth in 2H to be dependent on a variety of factors. Says offering interest-only mortgage to some clients. Says legal costs could possible rose to $1.3B. Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call. Wells Fargo is down 2.5% to $54.21 in morning trading.

10:09 EDT Macau gaming names slide after Daiwa uncovers junket operator warning - Shares of several Macau gaming stocks are lower in early trading after Daiwa analyst Jamie Soo told investors that his checks uncovered that a memo was distributed to customers and key staff by "one of Macau's largest" junket operators warning of recently heightened enforcement of anti-money laundering initiatives in both China and Macau. The junket operator advised its customers to withdraw funds out of "underground" bank accounts, which is the first time such a dissemination has occurred to Soo's knowledge, he informed clients. The expected further heightening of enforcement continues to be reaffirmed given this news and other events over the past six months, added Soo, who said he remains Neutral on the Macau gaming sector. In early trading, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has slid 2.7%, MGM Resorts (MGM) is down 1.5%, Wynn Resorts (WYNN) has fallen nearly 4% and Melco Resorts (MLCO) has dropped over 4%.

10:05 EDT Pitney Bowes announces retirement of CAO Steven Green, effective August 4 - Pitney Bowes announced that Steven J. Green, Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer is retiring, effective August 4. Joseph R. Catapano has been named Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, and will serve as the company's principal accounting officer. Catapano reports to Stanley J. Sutula III, Executive Vice President and CFO.

09:49 EDT Neff trading resumes

09:45 EDT H&E Equipment outlines benefits of Neff acquisition - The acquisition will nearly double the number of H&E (HEES) branches, from 78 to 147, within H&E's existing footprint in the strategically important Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and West Coast regions. Both H&E's and Neff's (NEFF) customers will benefit from best-in-class practices and a wide range of equipment in more locations. As of March 31, 2017, the companies' combined fleet totaled $2.2B based on original equipment cost and consisted of 43,749 units. The addition of Neff's fleet will be highly complementary to H&E's concentration in aerial work platform equipment and the combined company will possess one of the largest earthmoving rental fleets in the industry. As of March 31, 2017, the earthmoving fleet of H&E and Neff on a combined OEC basis totaled $727M and consisted of 8,736 units. The increased geographic expansion and density is expected to allow H&E to better position fleet to regional pockets of higher demand and improve overall utilization. The transaction is expected to increase H&E's penetration in the non-residential construction market. With a significantly larger earthmoving fleet, we believe H&E will be well-positioned to gain from any future governmental infrastructure spending initiatives and will also have a broader exposure to new regional and local customers in the construction markets generally. H&E believes that the earthmoving segment is an under-penetrated segment that may afford enhanced growth opportunities. Neff employees will bring significant industry expertise to H&E, where they will have the opportunity for further career development and advancement in the significantly larger combined company. Both companies share the same best-in-class commitment to customer service and safety.

09:40 EDT H&E Equipment to acquire Neff for $21.07 per share in cash, or about $1.2B - H&E Equipment Services (HEES) and Neff Corporation (NEFF) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which H&E Equipment Services will acquire Neff Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, H&E will pay $21.07 in cash per share of Neff common stock, for a total enterprise value of approximately $1.2B, including approximately $690M of net debt. The per share merger consideration payable to Neff stockholders is subject to certain downward adjustments, not to exceed 44c per share, in the event that H&E incurs certain increased financing costs due to the transaction not being consummated on or prior to January 14, 2018. The transaction is expected to close in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2017, and is subject to customary closing conditions including Hart-Scott-Rodino Act clearance.

09:37 EDT ICE Benchmark Administration to become administrator for LBMA silver price - Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the London Bullion Market Association announced that ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) has been chosen as the new administrator for the LBMA Silver Price. IBA expects to assume responsibility for the LBMA Silver Price in Autumn 2017. IBA will take over as administrator of the LBMA Silver Price from CME Group (CME) and Thomson Reuters (TRI) later this year.

09:29 EDT Town Sports to acquire Lucille Roberts Health Clubs businesses - Town Sports announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Lucille Roberts Health Clubs businesses. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions. The parties expect the transaction to be closed within the next month. The acquisition will add 16 clubs to TSI's portfolio in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The 16 locations will continue to operate under the Lucille Roberts brand. The newly acquired locations are all in the New York City metropolitan area - including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Long Island and New Jersey - where TSI already has a substantial presence. The acquisition will both enhance and expand the offerings for Lucille Roberts' members. The company also plans to retain virtually all club employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

09:17 EDT Hill International receives contract from Port Authority of Allegheny County - Hill International announced that it has received a contract from the Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania to provide construction management services in support of the Authority's $200M capital improvement program. The three-year contract has an estimated value to a pool of four firms, including Hill of approximately $18.5M.

09:03 EDT RH completes $700M share repurchase program - RH announced that the company has completed its $700M share repurchase program, purchasing 12.37M shares during Q2. Combined with the $300M repurchase of 7.85M shares completed in Q1, the company has purchased 20.22M shares representing approximately one-half of the shares outstanding at the beginning of the Q1. As a result, the actual number of shares outstanding after completion of the two repurchase programs is approximately 21.12M. The repurchase programs were completed pursuant to open market purchases under Rule 10b-18.

09:00 EDT Lake 'encouraged' by loan demand breadth despite lowered core growth target - On JPMorgan's Q2 earnings call, CFO Marianne Lake addressed the fact that the bank now expects 2017 net interest income to be "closer to $4B up rather than the previous $4.5B, but with a potential to be higher if we continue to benefit from tailwinds of lower deposit reprice." She added that "none of [this] changes our conviction that we will ultimately deliver $11B plus of incremental NII as rates normalize, and we are well on our way." Turning to the fact that the bank revised down its full year core loan growth view to 8% year-over-year, Lake said while "we are seeing slightly lower growth than we expected coming into the year, it is only modestly lower." She added that "more importantly, we remain encouraged by the consistency and breadth of client demand across products." In mortgage specifically, a smaller market and more competitive environment means fewer loans met the bank's hurdle rates, said Lake. The bank remains "appropriately focused on quality and not quantity of growth. And as such, loan growth is an outcome, not a target," added Lake.

08:56 EDT Sears Canada granted extension of stay period, approval to commence sale process - Sears Canada and certain of its subsidiaries announce that the Sears Canada Group has obtained orders from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that it was seeking in support of its restructuring efforts under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, including to extend the stay period provided by the Initial Order to October 4, 2017 and to launch a Sale and Investment Solicitation Process to seek out proposals for the acquisition of, or investment in, the Sears Canada Group's business or assets. The SISP deadline for binding offers from parties interested in pursuing a transaction is August 31. The Company reached an agreement with a variety of stakeholders and their counsel to maintain special payments to the defined benefit component of the Sears Registered Retirement Plan, payments in support of post-retirement health and dental benefits, and post-retirement life insurance premiums until September 30, 2017. At that time, the Company expects to have further clarity regarding the potential outcome of its restructuring efforts under the CCAA. The Company previously announced that it had obtained debtor-in-possession financing in the aggregate principal amount of $450M, which is expected to provide the Sears Canada Group with sufficient liquidity to maintain business operations throughout the CCAA proceedings. The DIP Financing was approved by the Court on a final basis. The Company has also filed motion materials regarding the commencement of a Liquidation Process at the Sears Canada locations that are closing and expects to seek an order regarding the Liquidation Process on July 18, 2017.

08:41 EDT JPMorgan CFO says M&A backlog remains 'healthy'

08:38 EDT JPMorgan CFO says bank feels 'appropriately reserved' in energy book - JPMorgan CFO Marianne Lake noted that the bank started the year with $1.5B of energy-related reserves and with oil prices "having found a lower but seemingly stable level," JPMorgan feels "appropriately reserved." Lake continues presenting on the company's Q2 earnings call.

08:35 EDT Mobileye announces receipt of Israel Tax Authority ruling, extension of offer - Mobileye (MBLY) announced that the Israel Tax Authority has issued an acceptable tax ruling with respect to the tax treatment of the potential asset sale, liquidation and second step distribution contemplated in connection with the all cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding ordinary shares of Mobileye by Intel (INTC). The tender offer is being made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 12, by and among Mobileye, Intel and Cyclops Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel that was later converted to Cyclops Holdings. Cyclops filed a tender offer statement on Schedule TO with the U.S. SEC on April 5. As a result of receipt of the tax ruling and the adoption of certain shareholder resolutions at the general meeting of Mobileye shareholders in June, the minimum number of Mobileye shares that must be validly tendered and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the tender offer has been lowered from 95% to 67% of outstanding Mobileye shares. Withdrawal rights will terminate following the Expiration Time. Mobileye shareholders who have already tendered their Mobileye shares in the tender offer but whose willingness to tender is affected by the lower threshold for the Minimum Condition should withdraw their Mobileye shares from the tender offer immediately but in any event before the Expiration Time. In connection with the receipt of the tax ruling and the lowering of the Minimum Condition, Mobileye also announced that it and Intel have agreed that Cyclops will extend the offering period of the tender offer. The tender offer, which was previously set to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 20, 2017, is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 28, 2017, unless the tender offer is extended or earlier terminated, in either case pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement. The transaction is currently expected to close during the third quarter of 2017. Mobileye shareholders who have already tendered and not withdrawn their ordinary shares of Mobileye do not have to re-tender their shares or take any other action as a result of the extension of the expiration date of the tender offer. In addition to satisfaction of the revised Minimum Condition, completion of the tender offer remains subject to additional conditions described in the Schedule TO, including the receipt of regulatory approval from the Korean Fair Trade Authority. The tender offer will continue to be extended until all conditions are satisfied or waived, or until the tender offer is terminated, in either case pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement and as described in the Schedule TO. Mobileye shareholders who have already tendered and not withdrawn their ordinary shares of Mobileye do not have to re-tender their shares or take any other action as a result of the extension of the expiration date of the tender offer.

08:32 EDT Intel: ITA issues 'acceptable' tax ruling for Mobileye asset sale - Intel (INTC) announced that the Israel Tax Authority has issued an acceptable tax ruling with respect to the tax treatment of the potential asset sale, liquidation and second step distribution contemplated in connection with the all cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding ordinary shares of Mobileye (MBLY) by Intel. The tender offer is being made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 12, 2017, by and among Intel, Cyclops Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel that was later converted to Cyclops Holdings, LLC, and Mobileye. As a result of receipt of the tax ruling and the adoption of certain shareholder resolutions at the general meeting of Mobileye shareholders in June, the minimum number of Mobileye shares that must be validly tendered and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the tender offer has been lowered from 95% to 67% of outstanding Mobileye shares. Withdrawal rights will terminate following the Expiration Time. Mobileye shareholders who have already tendered their Mobileye shares in the tender offer but whose willingness to tender is affected by the lower threshold for the Minimum Condition should withdraw their Mobileye shares from the tender offer immediately but in any event before the Expiration Time. In connection with the receipt of the tax ruling and the lowering of the Minimum Condition, Intel also announced that Intel and Mobileye have agreed that Cyclops will extend the offering period of the tender offer. The tender offer, which was previously set to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 20, 2017, is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on July 28, 2017, unless the tender offer is extended or earlier terminated, in either case pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement. The transaction is currently expected to close during the third quarter of 2017. In addition to satisfaction of the revised Minimum Condition, completion of the tender offer remains subject to additional conditions described in the Schedule TO, including the receipt of regulatory approval from the Korean Fair Trade Authority. The tender offer will continue to be extended until all conditions are satisfied or waived, or until the tender offer is terminated.

08:31 EDT National Retail Properties raises quarterly dividend 4.4% to 47.5c per share - The Board of Directors of National Retail Properties declared a quarterly dividend of 47.5c per share payable August 15 to common shareholders of record on July 31. The 4.4% increase in the quarterly dividend marks the 28th consecutive annual dividend increase for NNN. National Retail Properties is one of only four publicly traded REITs and 94 publicly traded companies in America to have increased annual dividends for 28 or more consecutive years.

08:06 EDT Biocept: New liquid biopsy test for progesterone receptor now available - Biocept announces the commercial availability of its new liquid biopsy test for progesterone receptor which can be used for the detection and monitoring of a key biomarker in the blood of patients with breast cancer.

08:04 EDT Highpower International announces new strategic partnerships - Highpower International announced that it has reached strategic partnership agreements with industry-leading appliance brands from Europe and the U.S. to develop and supply power solutions for high-end smart vacuum robots. The two agreements are expected to provide Highpower with top-line revenues of $4M in 2017 and $15M in 2018, with which Highpower has been involved in designing power solutions for three new models of smart vacuums, which are expected to be launched in 2018.

08:02 EDT Sohu.com special committee retains financial advisor, legal counsel - Sohu.com (SOHU) announced that the special committee of the company's board of directors has retained Citigroup Global Markets (C) as its financial advisor and Shearman & Sterling as its United States legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the previously-announced non-binding proposal that the board of directors of the company's majority-owned subsidiary Changyou.com Limited (CYOU) received on May 22 from Dr. Charles Zhang, the Chairman and CEO of the company and the Chairman of the Board of Changyou, for the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Changyou, including shares represented by American depositary shares, by an acquisition vehicle to be formed by Dr. Zhang. The Special Committee is continuing its review and evaluation of the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer relating to the Proposal will be made to Changyou, that any definitive agreement relating to the Proposal will be entered into by Changyou and by the company, or that a transaction based on the Proposal or any other similar transaction will be consummated.

08:01 EDT Wells Fargo CEO says 'committed' to reducing expenses, improving efficiency - CEO Tim Sloan said, "Second quarter 2017 results demonstrated the benefit of our diversified business model as we continued to generate strong financial results, invest for the future, and adhere to our prudent risk discipline. We remain committed to reducing expenses and improving the efficiency of our company, and we are very focused on our recently announced goals. As we work to improve our efficiency, we will also continue to innovate for the future. We recently advanced a number of important customer-focused initiatives, such as the launch of the ZelleSM person-to-person payment platform to our 28 million digital customers. As always, our success starts with our customers, and I appreciate the effort of our 271,000 team members in helping our customers succeed financially. We continued to make progress this quarter in our efforts to rebuild trust and build a better Wells Fargo and, while there is still more work ahead of us, we are on the right track and I am confident about our future."

07:51 EDT Nevsun Resources expiration of Cliff Davis's transition period - Nevsun Resources announced that Cliff Davis's two month transition period was completed on July 12. Davis has now retired from the company and has stepped down as a Director of the company.

07:50 EDT Citi reports Q2 return on average common equity 6.8%

07:49 EDT Citi reports Q2 global consumer banking revenues of $8B - GCB revenues of $8.0 billion increased 5%. In constant dollars, revenues also increased 5%, driven by a 5% increase in both North America GCB and international GCB. ICG revenues of $9.2 billion increased 6%, driven by growth across all Banking products, particularly Investment Banking, partially offset by a decline in Markets revenues from the prior year period. Reports Q2 Fixed Income Markets revenue $3.215B, Equity Markets revenue $691M.

07:45 EDT Citi CEO Corbat says saw continued momentum in businesses in Q2 - Citi CEO Michael Corbat said, "During the quarter, we saw continued momentum in our businesses, with loan and revenue growth across both sides of the house. Our Global Consumer Bank posted revenue growth in all three regions. Our Institutional Clients Group had a very strong quarter all-around, including its best Investment Banking performance in seven years." Corbat also commented that "The $3.9 billion of net income helped generate additional regulatory capital. Our Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio grew to 13.0%, well above the 11.5% we believe we need to prudently operate the firm. Our recently announced 2017 capital plan includes a return of $18.9 billion enabling us to reduce the amount of capital we hold. We are clearly on course to increase both the return on capital and return of capital for our shareholders."

07:34 EDT Vince enters deal with Rebecca Taylor for purchase, resale of certain goods - In a regulatory filing, Vince Holding said that on July 13, Vince, LLC, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, entered into an agreement with Rebecca Taylor, Inc. relating to the purchase and resale of certain Vince branded finished goods, whereby RT has agreed to purchase Vince Goods from approved suppliers pursuant to purchase orders issued to such suppliersat a price specified therein and Vince has agreed to purchase such Vince Goods from RT pursuant to purchase orders issued to RT at a price specified therein. The Vince Price is at all times equal to 103.5% of the RT price. Upon receipt of the Vince Purchase Order, RT must issue the RT Purchase Order and apply for a letter of credit to be issued to the applicable supplier in the amount equal to the RT Price, subject to availability under RT's credit facility. When the Vince Goods are ready to be delivered, RT must invoice Vince in the amount equal to the Vince Price, which invoice shall be payable by Vince within two business days of receipt of the invoice, which payment term may be extended by RT. In the event Vince fails to make timely payment for any Vince Goods, RT has the right to liquidate such goods in a manner and at a price it deems appropriate in its sole discretion.

07:30 EDT Daimler, Chery reach deal on EQ brands for electric cars - Daimler and Chery mutually consent on the usage of the EQ/eQ brand name for their respective NEV products and brands. Chery will focus on using the designations eQ and eQ1, as well as further numerical continuations thereof, while Daimler will focus on use in their electric Mercedes-Benz products with the designations EQC and any other alphabetical supplements. Daimler will use the EQ Power designation for Plug-In Hybrids and meanwhile Chery will also use eQ TEC to nominate their car electrification system.Chery has already been using the eQ and eQ1 brand names in China since year 2014 and Daimler has now also granted them the possibility to use this name family in countries outside of China. Daimler established the EQ brand family for electrically driven Mercedes-Benz vehicles almost simultaneously in countries outside of China and Chery has granted the company the possibility to also use this in China now.

07:12 EDT PNC Financial sees Q3 loans up modestly, sequentially - Sees Q3 net interest income up low-single digits; Q3 fee income stable; Q3 non-interest expense stable; Q3 loan loss provision $75M-$125M. All guidance on sequential basis. Guidance from slides presentation.

07:04 EDT Fifth Street Asset signs asset purchase agreement with Oaktree - Fifth Street Asset Management (FSAM) announced that it has signed a definitive asset purchase agreement with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., an affiliate of Oaktree Capital Group (OAK), under which Oaktree will become the new investment adviser to two Business Development Companies: Fifth Street Finance Corp. (FSC) and Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp. (FSFR). Oaktree will pay gross cash consideration of $320M in cash to Fifth Street Management, an affiliate of FSAM, upon the close of the transaction. The shares of common stock of FSC and FSFR owned by Fifth Street Holdings L.P. are not included in the transaction. The transaction is expected to be completed in Q4. The transaction follows a strategic review conducted by the FSAM management team and board, including a Special Committee, in conjunction with legal and financial advisors, of a range of alternatives to maximize the value of the Fifth Street platform. A Special Committee of FSAM's Board of Directors, formed to review the asset sale transaction and related matters, and Board of Directors each unanimously determined that this transaction is in the best interest of FSAM and its stockholders. The new investment advisory agreements, which have been unanimously approved by the independent directors of the boards of directors of FSC and FSFR, are subject to approval by the stockholders of FSC and FSFR. The FSC and FSFR boards of directors unanimously recommend that the stockholders of each BDC vote in favor of the new investment advisory agreement with Oaktree and related corporate governance matters, including the new director nominees. FSH and Tannenbaum have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the proposed investment advisory agreements and related corporate governance matters, including the new director nominees. At the closing of the transaction, all current FSC board members except Richard P. Dutkiewicz, and all current FSFR board members except Richard W. Cohen, will resign. Each BDC board has nominated Marc H. Gamsin, Craig Jacobson, Richard G. Ruben and Bruce Zimmerman as new independent directors and John Frank, Vice Chairman of Oaktree, as a new interested director of the board, each of whom would take office upon approval of the stockholders and closing of the transaction. Mr. Frank is expected to serve as Chairman of each BDC board. The executive officers of FSC and FSFR will resign and will be replaced with certain individuals affiliated with Oaktree at the closing of the transaction. Following the closing of the transaction, FSAM's board currently intends to make an initial cash distribution to FSAM stockholders in the amount of approximately $2.75 per share of Class A common stock. In addition, FSAM's board currently expects that it will seek to approve in the future additional distributions to FSAM stockholders. The declaration of, the record date and timing of payment for, and the form and amount of, any anticipated dividends or distributions will be determined by FSAM's board at an appropriate time following the closing after taking into account all relevant factors, including regarding whether FSAM is able to satisfy the necessary legal tests required to make any such dividend or distribution. FSH and FSM have agreed to reimburse up to $5M of Oaktree's expenses incurred in connection with the transaction upon closing of the transaction. In addition, FSH and FSM have agreed to indemnify Oaktree, FSC and FSFR for certain liabilities following the closing. $42M of the cash purchase price will be escrowed at the closing to support these indemnification obligations. FSH has also agreed to pledge $35M of FSC common stock and $10M of FSFR common stock to support certain of these indemnification obligations.

07:04 EDT JPMorgan reports Q2 Fixed Income Markets revenue down 19% - Markets & Investor Services revenue was $5.8B, down 11%, driven by lower Markets revenue, down 14%. Fixed Income Markets revenue was down 19% compared to a strong prior-year quarter, predominantly driven by lower revenue in Rates, Credit, and Commodities. The decline was due to reduced flows driven by sustained low volatility and tighter credit spreads. Equity Markets revenue was down 1%, compared to a strong prior-year quarter, with continued relative strength in corporate derivatives and Prime Services.

07:03 EDT JPMorgan reports Q2 average core loans up 8% - Reported firmwide revenue of $25.5B and managed revenue of $26.4B. Reports average core loans up 8% YoY and 2% QoQ.

07:01 EDT Abraxas to buy 853 net Delaware Basin Bone Spring/Wolfcamp acres - Abraxas recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire 130 Boepd and 973 net mineral acres -- 853 net mineral acres with Bone Spring and Wolfcamp rights -- for $4.3 million in cash, 2.0 million shares of Abraxas Petroleum Common Stock, Cayanosa Draw and 1/2 of Abraxas' owned minerals under the Cayanosa Draw. The acreage purchased is held by production and includes incremental working interests in Abraxas' Caprito leasehold, additional units in Ward County and interests in Reeves, Winkler and Pecos County. The acreage is prospective for up to four zones across the Wolfcamp and Third Bone Spring. The effective date of this transaction is February 1, 2017 and closing is scheduled for August 2017. Abraxas plans to fund the cash portion of the acquisition using proceeds from the Powder River Basin divestiture. Abraxas' working interest in the Caprito 98-201H and 301HR will move from 88% to 98%. Abraxas' working interest in the Caprito 83-304H and 404H will move from 85% to 100%. Abraxas recently closed the Ward County acquisition announced on May 23, 2017. Following adjustments for title defects, Abraxas acquired 1,894 net acres versus the originally announced 2,008 net acres. The closing purchase price for the acreage was $20.9 million versus the originally announced $22.2 million. Abraxas recently signed a definitive agreement to sell a portion of the Company's Powder River Basin assets for gross proceeds of $4.6 million subject to standard purchase price adjustments. In McKenzie County, North Dakota Abraxas successfully completed the Stenehjem 6H-9H with a 75% working interest. Abraxas recently finished drilling the plugs out on all four wells and is in the process of installing production tubing. Early production has been in line with expectations. All drilling operations in North Dakota remain on schedule.

06:59 EDT JPMorgan reports Q2 provision for credit losses of $1.2B - Q2 net revenue was $26.4B, up 5%. Net interest income was $12.5B, up 8%, primarily driven by the net impact of rising rates and loan growth, partially offset by declines in Markets net interest income. Noninterest revenue was $13.9B, up 2%, driven by a benefit related to a legal settlement in Corporate, higher Banking revenue in the Corporate & Investment Bank, higher auto lease revenue, and higher revenue in Asset & Wealth Management. These increases were predominantly offset by higher Card new account origination costs, lower Mortgage Banking revenue and lower Markets revenue in the CIB. The provision for credit losses was $1.2B, down from $1.4B in the prior-year quarter. This quarter included net reserve releases in the Wholesale portfolio of $241M driven by Energy, offset by a net reserve build in the Consumer portfolio of $252M driven by Card.

06:56 EDT Lannett: FDA approves ANDA for Cyproheptadine Hydrochloride Syrup, 2 mg/5 mL - Lannett announced that it received approval from the FDA of its Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, for Cyproheptadine Hydrochloride Syrup 2 mg/5 mL, the therapeutic equivalent to the reference standard drug, Cyproheptadine Hydrochloride Syrup by Lyne Laboratories, Inc. The product was previously marketed under the brand name Periactin Syrup, 2 mg/5 mL of Merck and Co., Inc. For the 12 months ended May 2017, total U.S. sales of Cyproheptadine Hydrochloride Syrup, 2 mg/5 mL, at Average Wholesale Price were approximately $6M, according to IMS.

06:43 EDT First Horizon reports tangible book value per common share $9.20 - Reports Tier 1 ratio 10.95%.

06:32 EDT Genesee & Wyoming reports June traffic of 274,588 carloads, up 12.4% - Genesee & Wyoming reported traffic volumes for June and the second quarter of 2017. G&W's traffic in June was 274,588 carloads, an increase of 30,391 carloads, or 12.4%, compared with June 2016. G&W's same-railroad traffic in June was 242,763 carloads, a decrease of 1,434 carloads, or 0.6%, compared with June 2016. G&W's traffic in the second quarter of was 810,082 carloads, an increase of 103,166 carloads, or 14.6%, compared with the second quarter of 2016. G&W's same-railroad traffic in the second quarter of 2017 was 705,940 carloads, a decrease of 976 carloads, or 0.1%, compared with the second quarter of 2016.

06:22 EDT ACEA says EU passenger car registrations increased 2.1% in June - In June 2017, passenger car registrations increased only modestly (+2.1%) across the EU, totalling about 1.5 million units, according to industry data published by the ACEA. In volume terms, however, last month's figures come very close to those from June 2007, just before the automotive industry was hit by the economic crisis - thus marking the market's best performance in a decade. Results among the five big markets were rather diverse, with Italy (+12.9%) and Spain (+6.5%) performing very well, while the UK and Germany saw registrations decline (-4.8% and -3.5% respectively). Noteworthy was the strong performance of the new EU member states (+12.0%), making a significant contribution to region's results. Over the first half of 2017, EU demand for passenger cars grew (+4.7%), with more than 8 million new vehicles registered. Italy (+8.9%), Spain (+7.1%), Germany (+3.1%) and France (+3.0%) saw their demand increase, while the United Kingdom registered a slight decline (-1.3%). Among major automotive groups, Toyota recorded the biggest monthly rise with a 12.9% gain, followed by Fiat Chrysler with 7.9% and Daimler with 4.2%. Publicly traded companies in the space include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY). Reference Link

06:08 EDT FCA US voluntarily recalls 442,214 vehicles to replace alternators - FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 442,214 vehicles in the U.S. to replace their alternators. Certain alternators supplied to the company may be subject to premature diode wear following frequent load cycling, at or near maximum amperage, in hot ambient temperatures. The diode wear may cause illumination of an instrument-cluster warning light and/or the presence of a burning odor or smoke. Customers who observe these warning signs should contact their dealers; continued vehicle use may result in engine stall. Premature component wear may also compromise function of a vehicle's anti-lock braking system and/or electronic stability control. However, basic braking capability is unaffected. FCA US is aware of two potentially related accidents, but no injuries. Affected are certain 2011-2014 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans, Dodge Challenger coupes, Dodge Durango SUVs and 2012-2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs. An estimated 29,625 vehicles of the same make, model and year will be recalled in Canada, as will an estimated 7,879 in Mexico, and an estimated 85,929 outside the NAFTA region.

06:00 EDT 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Redbox announce new agreement - Redbox and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment yesterday announced a new agreement that makes Fox content available to Redbox customers seven days after retail sell-through dates. Redbox recently announced a national kiosk expansion that is well on its way to adding 1,500 net new rental kiosks in 2017 and more planned in 2018. By the end of this year, Redbox will have more than 41,500 kiosks nationwide.