Stockwinners Market Radar for July 17, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:20 EDT Sundance Energy to sell Dimmit County assets for $29.5M - Sundance Energy Australia announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its assets in Dimmit County, TX for a purchase price of $29.5M. The Assets comprise 19 gross producing wells on ~6,100 net acres and contributed 1,051 boepd in average daily sales volumes for the first quarter of 2019. The sale is anticipated to close prior to the end of September 2019.

18:56 EDT Iberiabank authorizes 1.6M share repurchase program - Iberiabank announced the completion of its previously announced share repurchase plan of 2.765M, or approximately 5%, common shares outstanding. The company also announced today that the board authorized a new repurchase plan of up to 1.6M shares of the company's outstanding common stock. The repurchase authorization equates to approximately 3% of the total common shares outstanding.

18:42 EDT Netflix says will add $5B in incremental sales this year

18:17 EDT Netflix says European shows reaching 12M-15M viewers - Says European shows reaching 12M-15M viewers. Says regional shows in Europe reaching broader audiences. Says seeing steady progress in growth in India.

18:08 EDT Netflix says overall additions have returned to normal in Q3 - Says it's easy to overinterpret quarterly membership additions. Says executing forward for the most part. Says saw higher churn in areas where prices were raised. Says slowdown in subscriber growth was across all regions. Says overall additions have returned to normal in Q3. Comments taken from Q2 earnings interview.

17:50 EDT VAALCO Energy pays $4.5M to ANPG - VAALCO Energy announced that the Company has paid $4.5M to Angola National Agency of Petroleum, Gas, and Biofuels, as National Concessionaire, under the terms of the previously announced Settlement Agreement executed earlier this year that finalized the termination of VAALCO's rights, liabilities and outstanding obligations for Block 5/06 in Angola. The Settlement Agreement provided for a cash payment of $4.5M from VAALCO to the National Concessionaire as well as the elimination of the receivable from Sonangol P&P that was related to joint-interest billings. The cash payment was made after the recent publishing of an executive decree from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum. The financial impact of the Settlement Agreement was recognized in the first quarter of 2019.

17:41 EDT KeyCorp increases dividend 9% to 18.5c per share - KeyCorp has increased its dividend 9% to 18.5c per share. The dividend is payable on September 13 to holders of record of such common shares as of the close of business on August 27.

17:33 EDT General Dynamics, Serco Group awarded piece of $2.45B Navy contract - General Dynamics (GD), Serco Group (SECCF) and others have been awarded a combined $2.45B indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive fee, fixed-price-incentive-firm-target, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price multiple award contract to provide worldwide installation services for all afloat command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or C4ISR, and supporting systems, current and future, under the cognizance of the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, or NAVWAR. C4ISR installation services include decommissioning and modernization of existing platforms, as well as installation design and installation of integrated C4ISR systems, program and project management, engineering design, industrial work, troubleshooting, operational verification, end-user training and other installation services and material necessary to accomplish NAVWAR C4ISR maintenance, modernization and new system installation. Work will be performed in various worldwide locations based on the requirement for each task order placed and work is expected to be completed July 2024. If the option is exercised, ordering could continue until July 2029. No contract funds will be obligated at the time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $5,000 will be obligated on the first task order under each contract utilizing FY19 operations and maintenance. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. The types of funding to be obligated include FY19 operations and maintenance; FY19 other procurement; FY19 shipbuilding and conversion and FY19 research, development, test and evaluation. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This requirement was solicited using full and open competition via the NAVWAR e-commerce central website and the Federal Business Opportunities website, with seven offers received. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:31 EDT IBM says gross margins expanded across its portfolio in Q2 - Says will return to targeted leverage ratios "within a couple of years" after suspending share repurchases following Red Hat acquisition closing on July 9th. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

17:10 EDT Morgan Stanley reports 5% passive stake in Extraction Oil & Gas - In a regulatory filing, Morgan Stanley disclosed a 5% stake in Extraction Oil & Gas, which represents about 8.2M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

17:05 EDT Wayfair COO James Savarese, CTO John Mulliken to retire - Wayfair announced that James Savarese, COO, and John Mulliken, CTO, will retire from the company. Both served the company for more than a decade each. As part of a planned transition, Wayfair has appointed Thomas Netzer, current COO of Wayfair's European operations, to succeed Savarese as COO. Netzer will relocate from Wayfair's Berlin office to Boston headquarters this summer. Wayfair has also promoted Allan Lyall to the new role of chief global supply chain officer with responsibility for the company's global supply chain. Savarese will remain with the company to support the transition through October 15. Netzer steps into the COO role after serving as one of Wayfair's most senior leaders responsible for growing Wayfair's European sales and service organization, overseeing the European CastleGate warehousing business and managing all European supply chain functions. Prior to Wayfair, Netzer spent more than 20 years working in global transportation and infrastructure for McKinsey & Company. Lyall joined Wayfair in 2018. Prior to Wayfair, Lyall built and led physical operations during rapid growth phases for a number of companies. With Mulliken's planned departure, current Wayfair board member Jim Miller will serve as interim CTO while Wayfair conducts an external search. Miller brings decades of experience in technology and product innovation to the Wayfair team. Mulliken will remain with the company to support the transition through October 15.

17:01 EDT JetBlue names Teri McClure to Board of Directors - JetBlue (JBLU) announced the appointment of Teri McClure to its board of directors. The independent director appointment is effective immediately, following unanimous approval by the company's board of directors. McClure most recently served as chief human resources officer and senior vice president of labor at United Parcel Service (UPS).

16:53 EDT Advance Auto Parts names Jason McDonnell as Chief Marketing Officer - Advance Auto Parts (AAP) announced that Jason McDonell will join the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, effective July 29. McDonell joins Advance from PepsiCo where he most recently served as Canada President and General Manager for PepsiCo (PEP) Foods.

16:41 EDT Stanley Black & Decker raises quarterly dividend to 69c from 66c per share - The dividend is payable on September 17 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 3.

16:35 EDT Legacy Housing appoints Cornelius Van Den Handel CFO - Legacy Housing Corporation announced that Cornelius Van Den Handel has been appointed as its new CFO and Corporate Treasurer, effective July 12. He most recently served as the Managing Principal of Vector Enterprises, LLC.

16:33 EDT US Ecology, NRC Group granted early termination of HSR waiting period - The Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the final waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended,or the HSR Act, with respect to the pending merger transaction involving US Ecology (ECOL) and NRC Group (NRCG). The termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the pending merger, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including approval of both US Ecology's and NRCG's stockholders. The merger is expected to close in Q4.

16:27 EDT Genuine Parts to acquire Todd Group, terms not stated - Genuine Parts announced an acquisition for its European Automotive business. Alliance Automotive Group, the company's wholly-owned automotive distribution company based in London, U.K., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Todd Group. The transaction is expected to close in Q4. Todd, based in Normandy, France, is a distributor of truck parts and accessories for the independent heavy-duty aftermarket. The company expects the acquired business to generate annual revenues of approximately $85M.

16:22 EDT eBay reaches commercial agreement with Paytm Mall - eBay has taken two actions in the last several weeks to strengthen its portfolio. First, the company has reached a commercial agreement with Paytm Mall to bring eBay's global inventory onto one of the largest marketplaces in India. Second, eBay has reached an agreement to sell its flash sale German business brands4friends. The company is also actively reviewing the role and value of StubHub and Classifieds in its portfolio to determine the best path forward to maximize shareholder value.

16:20 EDT eBay grew active buyers by 4% across its platforms in Q2 - In the second quarter, eBay grew active buyers by 4% across its platforms, for a total of 182 million global active buyers. Underlying total eBay performance, the Marketplace platforms delivered $2.2 billion of revenue and $21.5 billion of GMV. Marketplace revenue growth was 1% on an as-reported basis and 3% on a FX-Neutral basis, and GMV was down 5% on an as-reported basis and down 1% on a FX-Neutral basis. StubHub platforms drove revenue of $264 million, up 7% on both an as-reported and FX-Neutral basis, and GMV of $1.1 billion, up 5% on an as-reported basis and up 6% on a FX-Neutral basis. Classifieds platforms delivered revenue of $271 million, up 5% on an as-reported basis and up 12% on a FX-Neutral basis. Based on these results and increased confidence in the year, eBay raised EPS guidance for the full year for the second quarter in a row.

16:13 EDT Netflix down 11% in afterhours after Q2 net subscriber adds miss forecast - Netflix shares are down $38.54, or 10.6%, to $323.90 at time of writing.

16:09 EDT Alector reports initial data from INFRONT trial subset at AAIC - Alector reported initial data from a subset of patients in the company's INFRONT clinical study of its product candidate, AL001. AL001 is being evaluated for the treatment of patients with frontotemporal dementia with a granulin mutation, or FTD-GRN. The data were presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference, or AAIC. The data presented are from 50 healthy volunteers and four patients with FTD-GRN Based on these initial findings in the INFRONT clinical study, AL001 was seen to be generally safe and well-tolerated up to the highest dose level. Data show that AL001 elicited a dose-dependent increase in PGRN levels in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, of healthy volunteers and FTD-GRN patients. Specifically, AL001 tripled the level of PGRN in the plasma and doubled the level of PGRN in the CSF of both asymptomatic and symptomatic FTD-GRN patients, restoring the level of PGRN back to the normal range. A Phase 2 clinical trial in FTD-GRN patients is expected to start in the second half of 2019.

16:08 EDT Netflix backs FY19 forecast for FCF of -$3.5B - Netflix said: "Free cash flow totaled -$594M vs. -$559M in Q2'18. We're still forecasting FCF of approximately -$3.5B for the full year 2019 and expect improvement in 2020. From there, we'll continue to reduce our free cash flow deficit as we intend to continue growing our member base, revenues, and operating margin, which provides a clear path towards positive FCF. In the meantime, our plan is still to use high yield debt to fund our content investments as we did in April."

16:07 EDT Intermolecular stockholders approve acquisition by Merck KGaA - Intermolecular's (IMI) stockholders have approved the previously announced proposed acquisition of all outstanding shares of common stock of Intermolecular by Merck KGaA /MKGAY), through its subsidiary EMD Group Holding II. The holders of approximately 72% of Intermolecular's outstanding common stock voted in favor of the proposed merger transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2019. Upon completion, Intermolecular stockholders will be entitled to receive $1.20 in cash subject to the terms of the definitive merger agreement. Intermolecular's common stock will no longer be publicly traded following the closing and will be delisted from NASDAQ.

16:06 EDT Netflix says speculation about selling advertising 'false' - Netflix said in its quarterly investor letter: "Over the next 12 months, Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia, NBCU and others are joining Hulu, Amazon, BBC, Hotstar, YouTube, Netflix, and many others in offering streaming entertainment. The competition for winning consumers' relaxation time is fierce for all companies and great for consumers. The innovation of streaming services is also drawing consumers to shift more and more from linear television to streaming entertainment. If you watch Our Planet on a new TV with Dolby Vision or HDR10, you will see why: the quality of streaming television is spectacular. In the US, our most developed market, we still only earn about 10% of consumers' television time, and less of their mobile screen time, so we have much room for growth. We, like HBO, are advertising free. That remains a deep part of our brand proposition; when you read speculation that we are moving into selling advertising, be confident that this is false. We believe we will have a more valuable business in the long term by staying out of competing for ad revenue and instead entirely focusing on competing for viewer satisfaction."

16:04 EDT Netflix reports Q2 streaming paid net additions of 2.7M members - Netflix said: "Paid membership grew by 2.7M, less than the 5.5M in Q2 a year ago and our 5.0M forecast...Our missed forecast was across all regions, but slightly more so in regions with price increases. We don't believe competition was a factor since there wasn't a material change in the competitive landscape during Q2, and competitive intensity and our penetration is varied across regions (while our over-forecast was in every region). Rather, we think Q2's content slate drove less growth in paid net adds than we anticipated. Additionally, Q1 was so large for us (9.6m net adds), there may have been more pull-forward effect than we realized. In prior quarters with over-forecasts, we've found that the underlying long-term growth was not affected and staying focused on the fundamentals of our business served us well. Q3 has started with Stranger Things season 3, and the first two weeks of Q3 are strong."

15:31 EDT Viasat wins IP suit against Acacia - Viasat (VSAT) announced a jury in the Superior Court for San Diego County found that Acacia Communications (ACIA) violated intellectual property law by misusing Viasat's proprietary technology. Viasat was awarded $49.3M in damages stemming from Acacia's breach of contract and unauthorized use of Viasat's soft decision forward error correction technology, which Acacia used in the development of its Sky, Denali and Meru products. Viasat licensed its SDFEC technology to Acacia a decade ago in an agreement that required Acacia to pay royalties for its use of any of Viasat's encoding and decoding methods. Acacia paid royalties on the first generation of its products using Viasat's SDFEC technology, but stopped paying for subsequent generations. During the trial, Viasat presented evidence that Acacia copied its SDFEC technology to create derivative, backwards-compatible products. Viasat expects to seek additional royalty damages under the breach of contract, as well as attorney's fees, including cost of proof sanctions. Such requests will be decided by the Court in subsequent proceedings. Acacia has the option to appeal the decision.

15:18 EDT Citron Capital short Chewy, Wayfair on 'challenges of achieving profitability' - In its first half of 2019 investor letter, Citron Capital says that, "Our biggest loser was Wayfair (W), which we remain short along with Chewy (CHWY). These are two business models with valuations that do not reflect the challenges of achieving profitability in the e-commerce market." On the other hand, "going into the second half of 2019, on the long side we're most excited about our position in Invitae (NVTA)," the letter reads. "While Invitae was a contributor to fund performance during 1H 2019, we continue to add to our position at current levels. One of Citron's biggest mistakes in our 17- year history was shorting Exact Sciences (EXAS). We underestimated the multiple premium that the market was willing to award to differentiated diagnostic testing businesses. Citron is now turning lemons into lemonade. We see Invitae as the clear winner within the mega trend of the genetic testing market and expect the stock to trade to $100 in the next 24 months." Reference Link

14:57 EDT Potomac Capital reports 5.1% passive stake in Harvard Bioscience - In a regulatory filing, Potomac Capital disclosed a 5.1% stake in Harvard Bioscience, which represents about 1.9M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

14:36 EDT Zion Oil & Gas announces binding agreements for 3-D seismic services - Zion Oil & Gas announces it has entered into binding agreements for 3-D seismic landowner permitting services and for consulting services in connection with the required approvals from the Israel Ministries of Transportation and Communication for importation of the seismic equipment. The company additionally announced that in both the shareholder class action litigation in federal district court in Dallas, Texas, and in the consolidated derivative litigation in federal district court in Delaware, Zion, through its attorneys, has filed Motions to Dismiss all litigation, which Motions are now under consideration by the respective courts. Zion CEO, John Brown, and Zion COO, Robert Dunn, stated: "Our planned 3-D seismic program demonstrates Zion's long-term commitment to our dedicated shareholders and to the citizens of Israel. We are enthusiastic about the progress we have made to date with the 3-D program permitting process and other required approvals."

14:26 EDT Phillips 66 Partners boosts quarterly distribution to 85.5c from 84.5c - Phillips 66 Partners announces that the board of its general partner declared a Q2 cash distribution of 85.5c per common unit, an increase of 1c per common unit from Q1. The quarterly distribution is payable August 13, to unitholders of record as of July 31.

14:13 EDT EssilorLuxottica confirms talks to purchase ownership interest in GrandVision - EssilorLuxottica confirms it is having discussions to purchase the 76.72% ownership interest in GrandVision N.V. of HAL Holding N.V. "No agreement has yet been reached and no assurance can be provided that these discussions will lead to such an agreement. In addition, completion of the transaction would be subject to customary conditions precedent including approval by regulatory authorities in various jurisdictions. The purchase price per share indicatively discussed among the parties to date is Euro 28.00 per share. The terms of the potential transaction, including with respect to price, will be subject to continued evaluation and discussion during the coming weeks and further review by the parties' boards of directors," the company stated.

13:55 EDT Covenant Transportation trading halted, news pending

13:13 EDT SharpSpring says added 290 new customers in Q2 - SharpSpring earlier said it secured 290 new customers for its core marketing automation platform during the second quarter of 2019. The new customer additions are expected to generate approximately $2.1M in annual recurring revenue, the company said in a statement. At quarter-end, the company had 1,854 agency partners using and reselling its marketing automation platform. SharpSpring plans to report its complete financial results for the second quarter of 2019 in August.

12:00 EDT Cincinnati Bell falls -9.5% - Cincinnati Bell is down -9.5%, or -45c to $4.27.

12:00 EDT First Majestic rises 6.2% - First Majestic is up 6.2%, or 53c to $9.10.

12:00 EDT Fortuna Silver Mines rises 11.6% - Fortuna Silver Mines is up 11.6%, or 37c to $3.55.

11:36 EDT Corning announces new $5B share repurchase authorization - Corning announced that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 20c per share on the company's common stock payable on Sept. 30, 2019, to shareholders of record on Aug. 30, 2019. The board also approved a new $5B share-repurchase authorization effective July 17, 2019. The actions serve as initial milestones under the priorities for 2020 to 2023, introduced as Corning's new Strategy and Growth Framework at the company's Investor Day last month, the company said in a statement. As stated at that time, Corning expects to deliver $8B-$10B in shareholder distributions under the new Framework, including an annual dividend increase of at least 10% and share repurchases in the range of $5B-$7B. Under the company's 2016-2019 plan, the Strategy and Capital Allocation Framework introduced in October 2015, Corning met its goal of returning more than $12.5B to shareholders before its formal conclusion at the end of 2019. Through June 2019, the company increased dividends per share by 67% and reduced outstanding shares by more than 37%."Today's approval of a regular quarterly dividend of 20c and a new $5B share-repurchase authorization demonstrates the board's commitment to and confidence in Corning's ability to continue creating shareholder value well into the future," said CFO Tony Tripeny.

11:30 EDT PNC Financial says sees two rate cuts for the rest of 2019

10:48 EDT United Continental expects MAX jet to return to service no later than Nov. 3 - Management says flights to resume from Newark to Delhi and Mumbai on September 6.

10:44 EDT PNC Financial says sees two rate cuts for the rest of 2019

10:35 EDT PNC Financial notes 'uncertainty' in economy, outlook for rates - Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:00 EDT Great Western falls -7.5% - Great Western is down -7.5%, or -$2.62 to $32.39.

10:00 EDT Navios Maritime rises 5.8% - Navios Maritime is up 5.8%, or 31c to $5.67.

10:00 EDT Orion Group rises 9.3% - Orion Group is up 9.3%, or 35c to $4.13.

09:52 EDT Park Electrochemical changes its name to Park Aerospace Corp. - Park Electrochemical Corp. announced that, at its Annual Meeting on July 16, 2019, the company's shareholders approved the change of the company's name from "Park Electrochemical Corp." to "Park Aerospace Corp." The name change became effective on July 16, 2019 upon the filing of an Amendment to the company's Certificate of Incorporation reflecting the name change with the Department of State of the State of New York. Park changed its name to reflect its transformation from an electronics company to an aerospace company. Park also announced that, effective today, Park Aerospace Technologies Corp., the company's wholly owned and principal operating subsidiary located in Newton, Kansas, has merged into Park Aerospace Corp., the parent company. As a result of this merger, Park Aerospace Corp. and Park Aerospace Technologies Corp. are now one entity and company, and Park Aerospace Technologies Corp. will hereafter be known and conduct its business as Park Aerospace Corp.

09:47 EDT CooTek falls -12.7% - CooTek is down -12.7%, or -$1.16 to $8.00.

09:47 EDT Centrais Electricas rises 4.2% - Centrais Electricas is up 4.2%, or 43c to $10.59.

09:47 EDT Orion Group rises 8.0% - Orion Group is up 8.0%, or 30c to $4.08.

09:45 EDT U.S. Bancorp sees NIM down in high single digits in Q3

09:42 EDT U.S. Bancorp says forecast assumes two rate cuts for rest of 2019

09:38 EDT Boeing dedicates $50M to provide NT financial assistance for families - Boeing announced that it has dedicated $50M of a previously announced $100M fund to provide near-term financial assistance to families of the victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Flight 302 accidents. Boeing also announced that it has retained Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros to design and administer the fund. "The tragic loss of life in both accidents continues to weigh heavily on all of us at Boeing, and we have the utmost sympathy for the loved ones of those on board," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. "Through our partnership with Feinberg and Biros, we hope affected families receive needed assistance as quickly and efficiently as possible." The $50M fund represents the initial expenditure of a $100M pledge by Boeing to address family and community needs of those affected by the accidents. All monies distributed by Feinberg and Biros will be independent from any resolution provided through the legal process.

09:33 EDT ClearOne announces distribution agreement with Almo Professional A/V - ClearOne announced a new distribution agreement with Almo Professional A/V, the nation's largest professional audio visual distributor. Under the terms of the new distribution agreement, the companies will work together to sell ClearOne's complete line of audio conferencing, visual collaboration, and AV networking products to professional audio/visual integrators, dealers and consultants throughout the USA.

09:32 EDT Centro, FreeWheel Advertisers announce strategic partnership - Centro announced a strategic partnership with FreeWheel Advertisers, a division of FreeWheel, a Comcast company. The partnership powers end-to-end digital media automation in one system, pairing Centro's Basis, a comprehensive platform for buying digital media, with FreeWheel's Strata, a platform trusted by over 1,200 advertising agencies for planning, activation, optimization and billing management. In addition to Centro's Basis, FreeWheel's Strata platform also continues to support Adazzle, its own cloud-based global platform for digital media management, as well as Strata Buying Management System Digital, a suite of tools for planning, buying, stewardship, optimization and billing across all forms of digital media.

09:32 EDT Boeing dedicates $50M to provide NT financial assistance for family relief - Boeing announced that it has dedicated $50M of a previously announced $100M fund to provide near-term financial assistance to families of the victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Flight 302 accidents. Boeing also announced that it has retained Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, renowned experts in establishing and overseeing victims' compensation funds, to design and administer the fund. "The tragic loss of life in both accidents continues to weigh heavily on all of us at Boeing, and we have the utmost sympathy for the loved ones of those on board," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. "Through our partnership with Feinberg and Biros, we hope affected families receive needed assistance as quickly and efficiently as possible." The $50M fund represents the initial expenditure of a $100M pledge by Boeing to address family and community needs of those affected by the accidents. All monies distributed by Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros will be independent from any resolution provided through the legal process.

09:29 EDT Amazon says Prime Day sales surpassed Black Friday, Cyber Monday combined - Amazon announced the following: "This year, Prime Day was once again the largest shopping event in Amazon history with more than one million deals exclusively for Prime members. Over the two days of Prime Day, on July 15 and 16, sales surpassed the previous Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Prime members purchased more than 175 million items throughout the event. Prime Day was also the biggest event ever for Amazon devices, when comparing two-day periods - top-selling deals worldwide were Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, and Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote." Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said, "We want to thank Prime members all around the world. Members purchased millions of Alexa-enabled devices, received tens of millions of dollars in savings by shopping from Whole Foods Market and bought more than $2 billion of products from independent small and medium-sized businesses. Huge thank you to Amazonians everywhere who made this day possible for customers." Millions of people around the world streamed Prime Day events including the Prime Day Concert presented by Amazon Music and headlined by 10-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist Taylor Swift.

09:25 EDT eXp Realty surpasses 500 agents across Canada - eXp Realty announced it has surpassed 500 agents across Canada and is now open for business in Quebec, Canada. eXp Realty now operates in five Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

09:23 EDT Party City appoints Brad Weston as president, CEO of Party City Retail Group - Party City Holdco announced that Brad Weston has been appointed as president of Party City Holdco and CEO of Party City Retail Group, effective July 25, 2019. In this newly formed role, Weston will report directly to James Harrison, CEO of PCHI. As president of PCHI, Weston will play a key role in driving the company's strategic growth initiatives across its vertically integrated business. And as CEO of Party City Retail Group, Weston will lead all aspects of the company's retail operations, replacing Ryan Vero who left in early July. Weston most recently served as CEO at Petco.

09:18 EDT VANTIQ announces strategic partnership with SoftBank - VANTIQ announced a three-pronged strategic partnership with SoftBank encompassing the following components: SoftBank and VANTIQ will jointly integrate their existing and future technologies to address rapidly growing market opportunities for real-time systems involving IoT and AI. The combined solutions will be marketed by SoftBank to systems integrators and independent software vendors for building next-generation applications. VANTIQ and SoftBank have initiated the joint development of applications for SoftBank's Smart Building and Smart City initiatives. To solidify this strategic partnership, SoftBank will lead VANTIQ's Series B investment round. As part of that transaction, Hironobu Tamba, VP and Head of SoftBank's Smart IoT and AI Division, will join the VANTIQ Board of Directors.

09:16 EDT Telos Corp's Xacta added to DHS' CDM approved product list - Telos Corporation announced that their cyber risk management solution, Xacta, is available on the Department of Homeland Security's approved product list under the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program. The DHS CDM program strengthens government systems and networks by enabling federal agencies to quickly acquire the cybersecurity products and services needed to operate more securely and efficiently. The Xacta suite of enterprise cyber risk management and compliance automation solutions helps meet the complex challenges of managing IT risk with continuous compliance monitoring, security and risk assessment, and ongoing authorization

09:14 EDT Diebold expands services across First Horizon's ATM network - Diebold Nixdorf (DBD) expanded its services with First Horizon (FHN) by incorporating more than 250 branches and the company's network of nearly 500 ATMs under an umbrella solution integrating hardware, software and services, Diebold Nixdorf's Vynamic Connection Points terminal application software. Security is provided through Diebold Nixdorf's ActivEdge card reader, which is featured on the bank's entire fleet of ATMs. Diebold Nixdorf will continue to provide maintenance for the bank's entire network as part of a renewed, five-year Maintenance & Availability Services agreement. The upgrades to First Horizon's self-service network are expected to be complete by the end of the year.

09:11 EDT Abbott says all four business 'exceeded expectations' in Q2 - Says: Well positioned with portfolio and product pipeline... Key growth platforms delivering "impressive results." Comments from company's Q2 earnings conference call.

09:09 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Qualcomm (QCOM), up 4% after the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to halt the enforcement of a broad antitrust ruling against the company... Orion Group (ORN), up 8% after announcing contract awards totaling approximately $52M. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Abbott (ABT), up 2%... ASML (ASML), up 6%... Seattle Genetics (SGEN), up 9%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Textron (TXT), down 3%... Comerica (CMA), down 3%... Nu Skin (NUS), down 23%... CSX (CSX), down 7%. LOWER: Immuron (IMRN), down 15% after its 339K share spot secondary priced at $4.00 per share.

09:08 EDT Inspired Entertainment integrating casino content onto SBTech Platform - Inspired Entertainment has signed a five-year global agreement with SBTech, a provider of sports betting and iGaming solutions, to integrate Inspired's RGS casino content onto the SBTech platform. SBTech currently serves over 50 global operators. This agreement deepens Inspired's relationship with SBTech which currently includes Virtual Sports distribution to operators across Europe. The suite of RGS casino content is targeted for an initial launch in July in the UK shortly followed by expansion into New Jersey.

09:05 EDT Microsoft and AT&T enter multiyear alliance for cloud, AI and 5G innovation - Microsoft (MSFT) and AT&T (T) are entering an extensive, multiyear alliance. Microsoft will be the preferred cloud provider for non-network applications, as part of AT&T's broader public cloud first strategy, and will support AT&T as it consolidates its data center infrastructure and operations. AT&T is becoming a "public cloud first" company by migrating most non-network workloads to the public cloud by 2024. As part of the agreement, AT&T will provide much of its workforce with cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools available with Microsoft 365, and plans to migrate non-network infrastructure applications to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. AT&T expects to have nationwide 5G by the first half of 2020. The companies will bring to market integrated industry solutions including in the areas of voice, collaboration and conferencing, intelligent edge and networking, IoT, public safety, and cyber security. The companies already have joint enterprise solutions for networking, IoT, and blockchain in market, and expect to announce additional services later in 2019

09:04 EDT Greene County Bancorp raises quarterly cash dividend 10% to 11c per share - Greene County Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 11c per share on the Company's common stock. The dividend reflects an annual cash dividend rate of 44c per share, which represents a 10% increase from the previous annual cash dividend rate of 40c per share. The cash dividend for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 will be paid to shareholders of record as of August 15, 2019, and is expected to be paid on August 30, 2019.

09:02 EDT Seelos Therapeutics announces IND application submission for SLS-005 - Seelos Therapeutic announced that it has submitted an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the initiation of a Phase IIb/III clinical study of SLS-005 for the treatment of Sanfilippo syndrome. Seelos is working in collaboration and under a grant with Team Sanfilippo Foundation, a nonprofit foundation founded by parents of children with Sanfilippo syndrome. In May, Seelos announced the intention to expand this IND to be a combined Phase IIb/III, multicenter study designed to assess safety, tolerability and efficacy of trehalose IV in Sanfilippo A and B based on functional outcomes, biomarkers, neuro-cognitive assessments and quality of life measurements. Additionally, based on an overwhelming response from the Sanfilippo community worldwide, TSF, in collaboration with Seelos Therapeutics, has decided to expand inclusion of Sanfilippo type C and D patients as well as type A and B patients who do not meet the trial entry criteria into a separate expanded patient access study.

08:54 EDT Bank of America says NII could grow 2% vs. FY18 with stable rates - The company previously forecast FY19 NII up 3% vs. FY18.

08:48 EDT Agraflora expects Cantura to receive cannabis research license in 'coming weeks' - AgraFlora Organics International provided the following operational guidance and corporate development updates pertaining to its wholly-owned, vertically integrated cannabinoid-infused cosmetics/topicals subsidiary, Canutra Naturals. U.S. expansion of Canutra's trusted consumer brand suite, including its Whole Hemp Health line of all natural skin care products, derived from 100% Organic Canadian hemp seed oil.Exclusive partnership with leading digital marketing firm, Covault Technologies. Definitive discussions to secure national listings of its product portfolio through prominent, high traffic U.S. distribution channels. Achievement of shelved Canutra products in over 20 Canadian brick and mortar locations, augmented by forecasted Q3 purchase orders expanding its retail product footprint to 100 unique locations. Initiation of multifaceted social media and e-commerce influencer marketing campaigns, targeting select U.S. marketplaces primed for mass adoption. Architecture of a network of temporary Canutra/Whole Hemp Health branded pop-up shops, further expanding the Company's retail footprint and brand presence in an economical and contemporary manner/ Continued collaboration with the Universite de Moncton with the objective of augmenting Canutra's portfolio of intellectual property. Imminent expected award of Canutra's 2019 cannabis research license from Health Canada. By way of its wholly-owned, cannabinoid-infused cosmetics/topicals subsidiary, Canutra, AgraFlora is equipped with robust cultivation, extraction, manufacturing and distribution capabilities from the Company's flagship facility in Kent County, New Brunswick. Canutra owns and operates 76 acres of unzoned, arid agricultural land, including 1,000 feet of river frontage. The Company's New Brunswick facility, formerly a Federally owned farm and research facility, boasts over 17,500 square feet of commercial-grade production facilities, as well as 12 separate free-standing structures. Canutra was granted an industrial hemp licence by Health Canada for its New Brunswick land parcel and expects the imminent award of its 2019 Health Canada cannabis research license in the coming weeks.

08:39 EDT GenTech plans to establish second CBD-infusion Cafe in New Jersey - GenTech Holdings announced plans for the establishment of its second CBD-infusion Cafe location in Red Bank, NJ. The company said, "Located along the bank of the Navesink River in Monmouth County, Red Bank is a vibrant tourist destination with a demographic profile that mirrors the Company's overall strategy of focusing on trendy, progressive, and affluent areas with high regional foot traffic"

08:35 EDT Wipro sees Q2 IT Services revenue $2.039B-$2.08B

08:35 EDT Gilead CSO John McHutchison to leave the company - Gilead announced that John McHutchison, chief scientific officer, or CSO, and head of research and development, has decided to leave the company, effective next month. The company will immediately commence a search for his successor. McHutchison joined Gilead in 2010 and with him the company has developed five medicines that have been used by more than 3.2M people.

08:34 EDT Curaleaf Holdings acquiring Grassroots for $875M - Curaleaf Holdings has signed a definitive agreement to acquire GR Companies - Grassroots -, the largest private vertically-integrated multi-state operator, in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $875M. Grassroots has a portfolio of 61 dispensary licenses. The proposed transaction will expand Curaleaf's presence from 12 to 19 states, and the combined company will have 131 dispensary licenses, 68 operational locations, 20 cultivation sites and 26 processing facilities. Upon completion of the proposed transaction, Curaleaf will be the largest medical and adult-use cannabis company with access to a total population of approximately 177 million people. Curaleaf will acquire Grassroots for total consideration of approximately $875M, composed of $75M in cash, 102.8 million subordinate voting shares of Curaleaf, and $40M in Curaleaf shares priced at the 10-day volume-weighted average price prior to closing of the transaction. At closing, securityholders in Grassroots will have approximately 16% pro forma ownership of Curaleaf on a fully-diluted basis after giving effect for the Select acquisition. The proposed transaction is expected to close in early 2020. At closing of the proposed transaction, the core securityholders of Grassroots will have, as a group, the right to appoint one person to serve on the Curaleaf Board of Directors. Mitch Kahn, co-founder and CEO of Grassroots, will fill the allotted board seat. Kahn co-founded Grassroots in 2014.

08:32 EDT OSI Systems awarded $8M contract for cargo van, vehicle inspection systems - OSI Systems announced that its Security division was awarded a contract valued at approximately $8M by a U.S. government customer to provide cargo and vehicle inspection systems.

08:27 EDT ConvaTec, Beta Bionics partner to bring Unomedical's infusion set to iLet system - Beta Bionics and ConvaTec Group announced that ConvaTec's Unomedical subsidiary and Beta Bionics have entered into a collaboration and development agreement that will make portions of Unomedical's infusion sets available for use with the iLet Bionic Pancreas System. The arrangement between Beta Bionics and ConvaTec creates a deep and meaningful partnership between the two companies for the benefit of the diabetes community. The arrangement is non-exclusive, consistent with other Beta Bionics partnerships designed to protect patient choice. The Unomedical sets will be deployed in two pivotal trials testing the iLet in its insulin-only and bihormonal configurations in 2020. ConvaTec's Unomedical subsidiary develops, produces, and supplies a range of disposable infusion sets used in insulin infusion therapy, including their flexible-cannula sets currently used with insulin pumps.

08:18 EDT CorMedix presents on LPAD at FDA public meeting - CorMedix announced that Phoebe Mounts, EVP and general counsel, presented at a public meeting on July 12, 2019 hosted by FDA discussing the Limited Population Pathway for Antibacterial and Antifungal Drugs. In her presentation, Dr. Mounts recommended several ways in which the LPAD draft guidance for industry issued by FDA could be strengthened, and emphasized the public health importance of the LPAD pathway for novel antimicrobial products such as Neutrolin. The LPAD pathway was established by the 21st Century Cures Act and is intended to encourage the development of certain antibacterial and antifungal drugs to help address the critical public health and patient care concern that has resulted from the current decline in antibacterial drug research and development as serious antibacterial and antifungal drug-resistant infections increase. In February 2019, the Company reported that the FDA agreed the Company can request consideration of Neutrolin for approval under LPAD at the time of the filing of the NDA.

08:09 EDT Scott Carmilani joins Fairfax Insurance to promote organic growth - Fairfax Financial announced that Scott Carmilani has joined Fairfax Insurance Group, in a new role established to promote organic growth and collaboration initiatives across Fairfax's insurance and reinsurance operations worldwide. Scott will work closely in this capacity with Andy Barnard, president of Fairfax Insurance Group, and Paul Rivett, president of Fairfax Financial. Over the past 20 years, starting with a very small Bermuda operation, Scott, as CEO, built Allied World, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fairfax in 2017. In his new role at Fairfax Insurance Group, Scott will build on his network of contacts and broker and customer relationships in order to foster new growth initiatives, such as Fairfax Worldwide, and new collaboration initiatives with our insurance and reinsurance leaders around the globe. Contemporaneously with this announcement, Lou Iglesias will become CEO of Allied World, reporting to Andy Barnard. Lou was previously the president of Allied World, working under Scott for over seven years.

08:07 EDT Kohl's to hire seasonal associates across 500 stores - Kohl's announced the company's hiring plans to add candidates to its team of associates to help deliver an experience to customers during the back-to-school, fall and holiday seasons. Kohl's is now hiring for an early wave of seasonal positions across 500 stores, nearly double the number of stores with early hiring positions compared to last year. All Kohl's stores, distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers will begin seasonal hiring later this summer in August. The company is also now hiring for full- and part-time store associates to support omnichannel and customer service functions.

08:04 EDT Durect's response to FDA letter for Posimir considered complete resubmission - Durect announced that the FDA has acknowledged that the submission of Durect's full response to the Complete Response Letter it previously received from FDA related to Posimir is considered by the FDA to be a complete class 2 response to the CRL. The user fee goal date is December 27. The submission is intended to address the issues raised in the CRL and seeks FDA approval of Posimir based on what the company and its advisors believe is adequate evidence of both safety and efficacy. Posimir is the company's investigational post-operative pain relief depot product that utilizes Durect's patented Saber technology.

08:03 EDT MarketAxess announces election of Richard Prager to board of directors - MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX) announced the election of Richard Prager to the Board of Directors, effective July 16, 2019. Prager is a former senior managing director of BlackRock (BLK) and served on the firm's Global Executive Committee.

08:00 EDT Yatra trading resumes

07:50 EDT EU passenger car registrations down 7.8% in June - In June, new car registrations in the European Union fell by 7.8% to 1,446,183 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association reported. "To a large extent, this drop can be attributed to a negative calendar effect. On average, June only counted 19 working days across the EU this year, compared to roughly 21 days in 2018. As a result, the five major EU markets all posted declines, especially France and Spain," the ACEA said. Publicly traded automakers include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VWAGY).

07:44 EDT Cushman & Wakefield announces strategic partnership with Fifth Wall - Cushman & Wakefield announced its strategic partnership with Fifth Wall, a venture capital firm focused on technology solutions for the global real estate industry. Fifth Wall fosters collaboration between technologies for the built world and incumbents from all sectors of the real estate industry. Cushman & Wakefield's property technology strategy focuses on strategic partnerships across its global platform with a variety of organizations.

07:42 EDT U.S. Bancorp says payment services revenue growth due to seasonally higher sales - Says average total loan growth was driven by growth in total commercial loans, residential mortgages and seasonal growth in credit card balances. Says average total savings deposits increased 3.8% linked quarter, primarily driven by growth within wealth management and investment services. Says net interest margin declined, primarily due to the inversion of the yield curve in Q2, seasonally lower credit card revolving rates and higher cash balances, partially offset by higher securities yields and interest recoveries. Comments taken from Q2 earnings presentation slides.

07:40 EDT Ebix, Yatra see merger accelerating growth potential as international provider - Ebix, (EBIX) and Yatra Online (YTRA) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Ebix will acquire Yatra via merger. The companies said, "Strategic and Financial Benefits of the Transaction: Accelerates Growth Potential as a Premier International Travel Services Provider. Under Ebix's leading travel platform, the combined company will leverage Yatra's large and loyal existing customer base, comprehensive service offering and multi-channel platform to take advantage of the dynamic and growing multibillion-dollar opportunity in India. The combined company will have an international footprint with more than 11,000 employees and a travel expanse spanning GCC, ASEAN and Asia Pacific countries. The transaction also provides the necessary scale to extend its travel business to North America, Latin America and Europe. Together, Ebix and Yatra will be a comprehensive global platform with "on-the-ground" presence in major markets worldwide. Creates World's Leading End-to-End Enterprise Financial and Insurance Services Provider. Given the highly complementary nature of each company's travel platform, the combined entity will create India's largest end-to-end travel industry provider, offering distribution, travel insurance, forex, MICE, Visa, and travel technology services. Combining Yatra's loyal customer base, comprehensive service offering and multi-channel platform with Ebix's complementary Via and Mercury businesses, creates a leading online travel platform that will capture cross selling growth opportunities across the EbixCash portfolio of products an customers, while delivering enhanced value to shareholders. Delivers Short and Long-Term Financial Benefits. The transaction is expected to be 40c to 75c accretive to Ebix's non-GAAP earnings per share within a period of 6 to 12 months from closing, once all the mutual synergies have been executed. Ebix has a proven track record of successfully integrating acquired products, services and companies in a highly disciplined and efficient manner, with resulting cash flow and earnings per share being key endpoint metrics and generating significant shareholder value. Creation of India's Largest Financial and Travel EbixCash Exchange. Ebix intends to make Yatra an integral part of the EbixCash financial and travel exchange portfolio, while targeting an EbixCash IPO in the second quarter of 2020. The synergies and the cross-selling opportunities can create tremendous economic value for the shareholders, once the IPO is done."

07:38 EDT Abbott CEO says 'Our sales growth accelerated and is sustainable' - "Our sales growth accelerated and is sustainable," said Miles D. White, chairman and CEO, Abbott. "We have great momentum and are raising our guidance above the strong outlook we previously set for the year."

07:35 EDT Ebix sees 40c-75c of accretion to non-GAAP EPS following Yatra transaction - Ebix (EBIX) chairman, president and CEO Robin Raina commented, "The acquisition of Yatra (YTRA) would lend itself to significant synergies and the emergence of EbixCash as India's largest and most profitable travel services company, besides being the largest enterprise financial exchange in the country. Over the last few months, we have evolved a detailed synergistic plan, that once fully executed can provide between 40c to 75c of accretion to the Ebix non-GAAP EPS. We are excited by the cross-selling opportunities that this combination provides us, while further strengthening our future EbixCash IPO offering."

07:33 EDT Axon receives significant orders for Taser weapons from U.S. police departments - Axon has received significant orders for its Taser Conducted Energy Weapons for agencies across the U.S. These orders were placed in Q1 and Q2, will ship in multiple phases, and represent only those agencies who granted permission to be named. The agencies include Toledo Police Department for 486 TASER 7 weapons, St. Louis County Police Department for 400 TASER X2 CEWs and El Paso County Sheriff's Office for 388 TASER 7 weapons.

07:33 EDT Abbott raises FY19 outlook

07:30 EDT Yatra trading halted, news dissemination

07:19 EDT Ctrip to upgrade Global SOS Emergency Response platform with UNDP - Ctrip.com International recently held a joint ceremony at the United Nations building in Beijing in a pledge to upgrade its Global SOS Emergency Response platform. The pledge to improve the platform, which provides assistance to overseas travelers in times of crisis, was made in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme, the China International Centre For Economic & Technical Exchanges and the China Tourism Academy, and includes the release of a new handbook for safety for global travel. The jointly developed "Global Travel Safety Handbook" has been compiled under the guidance of professionals from 64 countries, and includes critical travel information regarding local laws, security issues, religious taboos and more.

07:14 EDT Vectura Group continues to seek partner for VR647 Phase III development - The company said, "Vectura made a positive start to trading in 2019, with flutiform in-market demand and partner supply chain management resulting in product supply revenues being ahead of the Board's expectations for H1 2019. Given the Group's visibility of flutiformproduct supply volumes for the rest of 2019, the Group expects this strong performance to continue into the second half of the year. Following a constructive end of Phase II meeting with the FDA in May, Vectura continues to seek a partner for VR647 Phase III development and commercialisation. Irrespective of the outcome of these discussions the Group maintains its financial guidance and outlook expectations for 2019. Vectura will report its interim results for the six-months ended 30 June 2019 on Tuesday 10 September 2019."

07:11 EDT Vectura Group confirms R&D investment priorities - The company said, "Vectura is a provider of innovative inhaled drug delivery solutions that enable partners to bring their medicines to patients. With differentiated proprietary technology and pharmaceutical development expertise, Vectura is one of the few companies globally with the device, formulation and development capabilities to deliver a broad range of complex inhaled therapies. Following the successful build out of its generics portfolio, Vectura will continue to focus on securing new partner contracts for the development of inhaled therapies, including novel molecules. For these contracts the Group will move towards offering development services where a smaller proportion of the overall contract value is delivered through contingent milestones. The Group will continue to invest in new proprietary platform technologies, creating intellectual property to drive future licensing and royalty income. In 2018, the Group invested approximately 55% of its total R&D spend in platform technologies and existing partnered programmes.The R&D investment that has historically been focused outside these priorities will be progressively re-deployed towards new partner contracts."

07:07 EDT Guardion Health Sciences receives patent for MapcatSF in Hong Kong - Guardion Health Sciences announced that it has received a patent from the Patents Registry in Hong Kong for its proprietary medical device, the MapcatSF. The MapcatSF measures the macular pigment density in the human eye, thus facilitating treatment for several ocular conditions and diseases that affect a large number of patients. Guardion previously reported that it received trademark registration from the People's Republic of China for its proprietary medical food product Lumega-Z and its medical device the MapcatSF.

07:04 EDT AC Immune initiates Phase 1 study of ACI-3024 - AC Immune SA (ACIU) announced dosing of the first subject in a Phase 1 study of ACI-3024, an investigational oral small molecule Tau Morphomer inhibitor that will be studied in neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by the presence of pathological Tau aggregates. This is the first significant advancement in AC Immune's collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company (LLY). ACI-3024 is the primary focus of a license and collaboration agreement between AC Immune and Lilly to research and develop small molecule Tau aggregation inhibitors for the treatment of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. The collaboration combines AC Immune's proprietary Morphomer discovery platform and early development experience with Lilly's established clinical development expertise and commercial capabilities in central nervous system disorders. AC Immune will conduct the initial Phase 1 development of the Morphomer Tau aggregation inhibitors while Lilly will fund and conduct further clinical development. The Phase 1 trial is a randomized, placebo controlled, double blind, sequential single and multiple ascending dose study with open label food effect and pharmacodynamics assessment arms to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ACI-3024 in healthy volunteers.

07:03 EDT Bruker comments on block trade transaction - Bruker has been advised that former board member, Joerg Laukien, has authorized a block sale of Bruker shares as part of his retirement planning and portfolio diversification. Joerg Laukien retired from the Bruker board of directors effective November 5, 2018. He is the brother of Bruker's President and CEO Frank Laukien, who is not selling any shares in this transaction.

07:02 EDT Choom Holdings to acquire 19.9% equity interest of Coastal Green - Choom is pleased to announce that, pursuant a convertible debenture issued to Choom by Coastal Green Holdings Ltd., Choom will, on conversion of the debenture, acquire a 19.9% equity interest in Coastal Green. Choom's investment includes various rights, including the right in certain circumstances to acquire 100% of Coastal Green, subject to regulatory restrictions on the number of cannabis retailers Choom may own over time. This investment provides another avenue for Choom to expand its growing cannabis retail footprint in British Columbia and Alberta. Coastal Green has submitted its application to the British Columbia Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch to become an approved retailer with the intention of opening 8 retail stores mostly localized on the islands off the west coast of British Columbia. Choom will assist Coastal Green by providing support with its cannabis retail operational expertise and store development. Terms are not material.

07:00 EDT PNC Financial sees Q3 NII 'stable' vs. Q2 - Sees average loans up approximately 1% in Q3 vs. Q2, with fee income up in the low single digits. Sees "stable" noninterest income and loan loss provision of $150M-$200M. Comments from slides being presented on the Q2 earnings conference call.

06:58 EDT Bank of America says plans to return $37B of capital over next four quarters - Bank of America, in slides being presented on the Q2 earnings conference call, says it plans to return $37B of capital to shareholders over the next four quarters. The company said Merrill Lynch mobile channel usage increased 39% from 2Q18.

06:55 EDT U.S. Bancorp reports Q2 book value per common share $29.63 - Compared to $27.02 a year ago.

06:54 EDT U.S. Bancorp CEO says '"We delivered strong results this quarter' - Andy Cecere, Chairman, President and CEO said, "We delivered strong results this quarter and we feel good about underlying momentum heading into the second half of the year. In the second quarter, we delivered a return on tangible common equity of 19.2% and returned 79% of our earnings through dividends and share buybacks. Despite a more challenging interest rate environment, our loan and deposit trends were healthy and drove good growth in net interest income. Fee income growth was supported by solid results across our payments services, trust, wealth management, and commercial products businesses. Expense growth was well controlled even as we continued to invest in our digital initiatives, and credit quality was stable. We remain focused on creating value for our customers, communities and shareholders and appreciate the efforts of our employees who make it possible."

06:53 EDT U.S. Bancorp reports Q2 return on average assets of 1.55% - Reports Q2: Return on average common equity of 15.0%; Return on tangible common equity of 19.2%; Average total loans grew 1.1% on a linked quarter basis and 3.8% (4.5% excluding the impact of loan sales) year-over-year.

06:51 EDT U.S. Bancorp reports Q2 net interest margin 3.13% vs. 3.13% a year ago

06:51 EDT Bank of America CEO says had best quarter, 1H of earnings in company's history - Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan said: "Our commitment to responsible growth resulted in the best quarter and first-half year of earnings in our company's history. In the second quarter, we generated $7.3 billion in earnings and delivered $7.9 billion back to shareholders. Our return on assets was over 120basis points and our return on equity was well above the firm's cost of capital. Our view of the economy reflects the activity by the one-in-two American households we serve, which points to a steadily growing economy. We see solid consumer activity across the board, with spending by Bank of America consumers up five percent this quarter over the second quarter of last year."

06:49 EDT Corindus announces regulatory approval of CorPath GRX System - Corindus announced that it received approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration to commercialize its CorPath GRX System for neurovascular interventions in Australia and New Zealand. The CorPath GRX System is already approved for percutaneous coronary and peripheral vascular interventions in the region. In March, Corindus received CE mark to commercialize CorPath GRX for neurovascular interventions in 33 countries in Europe and the Company plans to initiate clinical cases with select partners in Europe as early as this summer. The CorPath GRX System is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by LifeHealthcare, a leading medical devices distributor in the region.

06:46 EDT Quest Diagnostics enters partnership with Catholic Health Services - Catholic Health Services, or CHS, is teaming up with Quest Diagnostics "to enhance the quality and value of diagnostic services to patients and their doctors." Within the new partnership, "Quest will provide laboratory and supply chain expertise, as well as perform laboratory reference testing." Under the agreement, Quest will manage laboratory equipment, supplies and procurement processes for six hospitals, a core lab, a cancer center and an infusion center within the CHS system, in addition to providing reference testing. This partnership allows CHS to offer a single source laboratory solution to its physician community at the highest quality and value.

06:36 EDT Textron reports Q2 operating margin 10.5% vs. 9.3% a year ago

06:34 EDT Textron CEO says 'we continued to have solid margin performance' - "Operationally, we continued to have solid margin performance across our businesses with improvements in the quarter at Aviation and Industrial, and we remain on track for growth in the second half of the year," said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly.

06:32 EDT Textron raises FY19 EPS view to $3.65-$3.85 from $3.55-$3.75, consensus $3.70 - Textron reiterated its expectation for cash flow from continuing operations of the manufacturing group before pension contributions of $700M-$800M with planned pension contributions of about $50M. CEO Donnelly continued, "We remain on target for a strong 2019 as we continue our focus on execution and earnings growth through the balance of the year."

06:03 EDT On Deck Capital, Upserve announce financing partnership - OnDeck and Upserve, a restaurant management platform, announced a partnership to provide Upserve's restaurant customers with online financing options from OnDeck. Over 10,000 restaurants currently use Upserve's restaurant management platform and point of sales, or POS, software to manage relationships with more than 57M active diners. For Upserve, the alliance with OnDeck enables them to provide an online financing option to its customers that other restaurant management platforms currently lack. The partnership is the first of its kind for both companies and will enable Upserve restaurant customers to be pre-qualified for credit offerings from OnDeck, including online term loans and lines of credit.

05:17 EDT SPI Energy appoints Anthony Chan as CFO - SPI Energy announced that the appointment of Anthony Chan as its CFO, effective July 15. Since 2013, Chan has advised public and private companies across various industries as their CFO or CFO consultant.