5:42 pm FedEx: Air Line Pilots Association announces FedEx pilots have reached a tentative agreement with FedEx management on an amended collective bargaining agreement (FDX) : The parties have been actively negotiating since 2011. The new agreement is subject to review and finalization of contract language. Terms of the tentative agreement are not being released, as they first must be reviewed and approved by the FedEx ALPA Master Executive Council (:MEC). If approved by the FedEx MEC leadership, the TA will be subject to a ratification vote of over 4,000 FedEx pilots. If ratified, the contract would become amendable in 2021. 5:36 pm Freightcar America announces preliminary settlement of retiree benefits litigation; to make a one-time cash payment of $32.75 mln (RAIL) : Co announces it has reached a preliminary settlement agreement with the United Steel Workers International Union and other plaintiffs in connection with the pending litigation relating to certain disputed retiree medical coverage and life insurance benefits. Under the terms of the preliminary settlement agreement, FreightCar America will make a one-time cash payment of $32,750,000 in exchange for full and final resolution of the matter. The preliminary settlement is subject to the execution of definitive documentation and court approval. 5:18 pm Raptor Pharma to acquire Quinsair from Tripex Pharmaceuticals for $68.4 mln upfront, reaffirms 2105 guidance (RPTP) : The co announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Tripex Pharmaceuticals to acquire Quinsair, the first inhaled fluoroquinolone approved for the management of chronic pulmonary infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in adults with cystic fibrosis, expanding its portfolio of rare disease therapies. Quinsair received marketing authorization by the European Commission and Health Canada in March 2015 and June 2015, respectively. Quinsair, a twice-a-day treatment, contains levofloxacin, a proven antimicrobial active against a wide range of gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Raptor plans to launch Quinsair in Europe and Canada in the first half of 2016, and to discuss the path to potential approval in the same indication in the U.S with the FDA in 2016.Under the terms of the agreement, Raptor will pay $68.4 million upfront, with up to $34.2 million of the closing consideration payable in Raptor common stock at Raptor's election plus contingent payments of up to $350 million associated with development, regulatory and commercial milestones, a portion of which is payable in Raptor common stock at Raptor's election, and a single-digit royalty on future global net sales. In addition, Raptor will have single-digit contingent obligations to two additional parties involved in Quinsair's development. Raptor is acquiring exclusive global rights and assets to develop, manufacture and commercialize Quinsair.With this acquisition, Raptor is reiterating its 2015 revenue guidance of $80-90 million and also maintaining its 2015 guidance for non-GAAP operating expenses, which exclude cost of goods and non-cash expenses, such as stock-based compensation and amortization of transaction-related intangible assets, of between $115-125 million. 5:03 pm Oceaneering Intl names Alan R. Curtis as CFO (OII) : Curtis joined Oceaneering in 1995 as a Financial Controller and since December 2014 has served as Senior Vice President, Operations Support The co also announced the promotion of Eric A. Silva to Senior Vice President, Operations Support.The co further announced the promotion of Clyde Hewlett to Chief Operating Officer. 5:02 pm Dominion Diamond reports Q2 sales and production results: Diamond sales were $209.7 mln (DDC) : Highlights: Second quarter diamond sales were robust at $209.7 million ($277.3 million in Q2 fiscal 2015), despite a cautious market and a time of seasonal weakness in demand. During Q2 fiscal 2016, the Ekati Diamond Mine recovered 0.9 million carats from 1.0 million tonnes of ore processed (0.8 million carats from 1.1 million tonnes in Q2 fiscal 2015). Misery Main pipe is still on track for first production in Q1 fiscal 2017. 5:01 pm Brinker increases quarterly dividend to $0.32/share from $0.28/share; adds $250 mln to repurchase program (EAT) : With the additional amount, Brinker will have approximately $567 million in available authorization as of today's date. 4:56 pm Dillard's increases quarterly dividend to $0.07/share from $0.06/share (DDS) : 4:49 pm America's Car-Mart misses by $0.34, beats on revs (shares halted, will resume at 17:00 ET) (CRMT) : Reports Q1 (Jul) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.34 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.86; revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $142.69 mln vs the $140.93 mln consensus. Same store revenue growth was 8.9%Allowance for credit losses at 23.8% of finance receivables at July 31, 2015 Debt to equity of 45.3% and debt to finance receivables of 24.6% 4:44 pm Teradata adds $500 mln to its share repurchase program (TDC) : The company now has total Board of Directors authorization of approximately $860 million when the new $500 million authorization is combined with the $360 million still remaining from the current outstanding authorization. 4:33 pm InterActiveCorp announces that Gary Swidler has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer of its Match Group subsidiary (IACI) : Co announced today that Gary Swidler will join The Match Group as Chief Financial Officer. Swidler is being appointed to this newly created group position in anticipation of The Match Group's previously announced initial public offering. Swidler joins The Match Group from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he has been an executive at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and its predecessors for nearly 18 years in various capacities. Most recently, he served as a Managing Director where he led the Financial Institutions Investment Banking Group. 4:33 pm Amazon to open a fifth Texas fulfillment center in San Marcos (AMZN) : 4:33 pm Nordson misses by $0.09, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus (NDSN) : Reports Q3 (Jul) earnings of $1.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.25; revenues rose 0.9% year/year to $462.73 mln vs the $476.27 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.01-1.13, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.22 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. At the midpoint of guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, total sales volume is expected in the range of down 7 percent to down 3 percent compared to the prior year.Operating margin is expected to be approximately 22 percent at this midpoint. GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.00 to $1.12, inclusive of a $0.01 per share short term purchase accounting charge related to the step-up in value of acquired inventory. This outlook is also inclusive of an unfavorable currency translation effect of approximately $0.14 per share at current exchange rates. 4:31 pm Sysco names Nelson Peltz and Josh Frank from Trian Fund Management to its Board effective Aug. 21, 2015 (SYY) : With the election of Peltz and Frank, the Sysco Board of Directors expands to 12 members, 10 of whom are independent. Peltz and Frank will be included in the company's slate of nominees for election to the Board at the 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Peltz will join the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and Frank will join the Compensation and Finance Committees of Sysco's Board. 4:30 pm Gilead Sciences: European Medicines Agency validates co's marketing application for single tablet regimen containing rilpivirine, emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide for HIV treatment (GILD) : Co announces that its Marketing Authorization Application for an investigational, once-daily single tablet regimen that combines emtricitabine 200 mg, tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg and rilpivirine 25 mg (R/F/TAF) has been fully validated and is now under evaluation by the European Medicines Agency. Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide are marketed by Gilead Sciences and rilpivirine is marketed by Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). A fourth investigational TAF-based regimen containing Gilead's TAF, emtricitabine and cobicistat, and Janssen's darunavir (D/C/F/TAF) is also under development under a separate licensingagreement. 4:30 pm Cinemark names Mark Zoradi to succeed Tim Warner as CEO effective August 24, 2015 (CNK) : Warner has been named as Cinemark's Executive Vice-Chairman. Cinemark Director Mark Zoradi most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer of Dreamworks Animation SKG (DWA) 4:27 pm GigOptix announces a public offering of common stock;size and terms not disclosed, but to include up to 282K shares offered by certain officers and directors (GIG) : Co expects to use the net proceeds from the offering of the shares which it is selling for potential acquisitions for strategic growth, including the acquisition of critical technologies and scalable businesses. The focus will be on multiple attractive global targets, including entities that the company has been tracking for the last couple of years. 4:21 pm The Fresh Market misses by $0.04, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; announces $200 mln repurchase program (TFM) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.40; revenues rose 4.7% year/year to $442.1 mln vs the $458.6 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.55-1.65, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.84 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $1.84-1.88 bln vs. $1.94 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "Our second quarter results reflect changes in our pricing and promotional investments, which were less effective than anticipated in a more challenging macro environment. However, the financial health of the business remains sound as we continue to deliver some of the strongest adjusted EBITDA margins and returns on invested capital in the industry."In August, the Company's Board of Directors authorized a $200 million stock repurchase program. 4:15 pm Pioneer Power Solutions consolidates its dry-type transformer production activities, to a new and larger facility located in Reynosa, Mexico. (PPSI) : The new facility will be near Pioneer's existing location in Reynosa, which will be vacated by the second quarter of 2016. In addition, production at Pioneer's facility located in Farnham, Quebec, will be transitioned in stages to Reynosa, by June 2016. The plant consolidation is anticipated to significantly reduce Pioneer's manufacturing cost, make the Company more competitive in its standard and custom product offerings, and assist Pioneer to better serve its North American distribution, OEM and industrial and commercial customers 4:15 pm Mentor Graphics beats by $0.22, beats on revs; guides OctQ EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; raises FY16 guidance; stock halted, set to re-open at 16:40 ET (MENT) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.22 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14; revenues rose 8.0% year/year to $281.1 mln vs the $250.1 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3 (Oct), sees EPS of approx $0.27, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.32 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of approx $290 mln vs. $299.85 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co raises guidance for FY16, sees EPS of approx $1.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.89 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of approx $1.285 bln vs. $1.28 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate."Revenue was an all-time second quarter record and Mentor exceeded non-GAAP earnings per share guidance for the 26th consecutive quarter...Customer need for increased amounts of software drove early renewal activity and the upside in the quarter. Demand was strongest in both Design to Silicon and Scalable Verification. During the quarter we added five new emulation customers, including both a Top Ten chip company and a start-up." 4:13 pm American Eagle announces the resignation of Chief Marketing Officer Michael Leedy, effective September 15, 2015 (AEO) : Co stated that Chief Marketing Officer, Michael Leedy, will step down from his position, effective September 15, 2015, with a commitment to serve in an advisory role if needed to ensure a smooth transition. The company has an active search for a successor underway. 4:13 pm Salesforce.com beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guides FY16 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (CRM) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.19 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.17; revenues rose 23.5% year/year to $1.63 bln vs the $1.6 bln consensus. Cash generated from operations for the fiscal second quarter was $304 million, an increase of 24% year-over-year. Total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities finished the quarter at $2.07 billion. Deferred revenue on the balance sheet as of July 31, 2015 was $3.03 billion, an increase of 29% year-over-year, and 33% in constant currency. Unbilled deferred revenue, representing business that is contracted but unbilled and off balance sheet, ended the quarter at approximately $6.2 billion, up 24% year-over-year. Billings were +19.4% y/y Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.18-0.19, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.18 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $1.69-1.70 bln vs. $1.68 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues mixed guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $0.70-0.72, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.71 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $6.660-6.625 bln (Prior $6.52-6.55 bln) vs. $6.55 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 4:12 pm Brocade beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line (BRCD) : Reports Q3 (Jul) adj earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.22; revenues rose 1.2% year/year to $551.8 mln vs the $550.53 mln consensus. Co reported Q3 Non-GAAP gross margin of 68.6% vs 67.2% last year. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.23-0.25 vs. $0.24 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $565-585 mln vs. $573.73 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Guidance: "For Q4 15, we expect SAN revenue to be up 1% to 5% Qtr./Qtr....We typically see stronger buying patterns from our OEM partners in our fiscal Q4....We expect our Q4 15....IP Networking revenue to be up 6.5% to 11% Qtr./Qtr., principally driven by our IP growth initiatives....We expect our Global Services revenue to be flat to up 1% Qtr./Qtr....We expect Q4 15 non-GAAP gross margin to be between 67.5% to 68.5%" 4:11 pm Hewlett-Packard beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS below consensus; separation on track (HPQ) : Reports Q3 (Jul) earnings of $0.88 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.85; revenues fell 8% YoY (-2% ex-FX) to $25.35 bln vs the $25.45 bln consensus.Personal Systems revenue was down 13% YoY with a 3.0% operating margin. Commercial revenue decreased 9% and Consumer revenue decreased 22%. Total units were down 11% with Notebooks units down 3% and Desktops units down 20%. Printing revenue was down 9% YoY with a 17.8% operating margin. Total hardware units were down 2% with Commercial hardware units down 6% and Consumer hardware units flat. Supplies revenue was down 6%. Enterprise Group revenue was up 2% YoY with a 13.0% operating margin. Industry Standard Servers revenue was up 8%, Storage revenue was down 2%, Business Critical Systems revenue was down 21%, Networking revenue was up 22% and Technology Services revenue was down 9%. Enterprise Services revenue was down 11% YoY with a 6.0% operating margin. Infrastructure Technology Outsourcing revenue was down 13%, and Application and Business Services revenue declined 7%. Software revenue was down 6% YoY with a 20.6% operating margin. License revenue was down 11%, support revenue was down 3%, professional services revenue was down 8% and software-as-a-service (SaaS) revenue was down 4%. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.92-0.98, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.00 Capital IQ Consensus. "I am very pleased that we have continued to deliver the results we said we would, while remaining on track to execute one of the largest and most complex separations ever undertaken." 4:11 pm AAC Holdings to hold a conference call tonight at 5:30 PM ET to comment on the California Legal case and preview its Q3 operations (AAC) : On the call, the Company will comment on various matters, including: Its plan to engage third-party industry experts to independently review and assess its admission procedures, operating policies and procedures, and its clinical care Timeline of disclosures from 2013 to 2015 concerning the California case In previewing its Q3 earnings, the co disclosed the following: New admissions through August 15, 2015 are 932, up 5% from the comparable first 45 days of the second quarter of 2015 Average daily residential census through August 15, 2015 is 545 compared with 539 in the second quarter of 2015 Outpatient visits through August 15, 2015 are 1,670, up 47% from the comparable first 45 days of the second quarter of 2015 Bed count for the third quarter to date is 663 compared with 587 in the second quarter of 2015 The acquisition of 76-bed The Oxford Centre in Etta, Mississippi and three outpatient facilities for $35 million was completed on August 10, 2015, and the Company disclosed it will pursue a significant expansion at this facility over the next 18 months Construction of the Company's lab expansion in Brentwood, Tennessee is completed and expected to begin processing samples by the end of the week Construction of the Company's 162-bed River Oaks facility outside Tampa is completed, and the Company is applying for its license; the facility is on track for an opening in the fourth quarter of 2015 4:11 pm Closing Market Summary: Stocks Return to February Levels Amid Global Worries (:WRAPX) : The stock market registered its third consecutive decline on Thursday with the S&P 500 (-2.1%) slashing below its 200-day moving average (2,078). The benchmark index slid to levels not seen since early February while the Nasdaq Composite (-2.8%) displayed relative weakness throughout the day. The daylong selloff was brought on by a heightened sense of uncertainty among investors, pulling the S&P 500 into the red for 2015 (-1.1%). To be sure, some of the uncertainty (rate-hike speculation, concerns about the global economy, plunging commodity prices) had been brewing for a while, whereas today's session reminded investors about ongoing concerns related to China and Greece. Overnight, China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 3.4% amid reports the country's official GDP target could be lowered to 6.5% from 7.0%. Sellers maintained control despite a CNY120 billion injection from the People's Bank of China into capital markets. As for Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned from his post and called for a snap election, set for September 20, just three days after the FOMC concludes its September meeting. It is worth noting that there are indications Greece's minority parties could try to form a coalition government, which would block the September 20 vote. All ten sectors ended the day in negative territory with cyclical sectors pacing the retreat while two of four countercyclical groups (consumer staples and utilities) posted losses slimmer than 1.0% apiece. The rate-sensitive utilities sector (-0.6%) ended ahead of its peers thanks to lower Treasury yields (10-yr yield -4 bps to 2.08%). The utilities sector is the only group that will enter the Friday session with a razor-thin week-to-date gain (+0.02%) while the remaining nine groups hold weekly losses between 0.9% (telecom services) and 5.4% (energy). The energy sector has paced this week's retreat, but the growth-sensitive group finished today's session just behind the broader market after showing some relative strength in the early going. That brief strength coincided with an intraday gain in crude oil, but the energy component retreated during the afternoon to end the pit session little changed at $41.26/bbl. Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, heavily-weighted consumer discretionary (-2.8%) and technology (-2.5%) underperformed throughout the day, which prevented the market from stringing together a rebound, considering the two groups represent more than 30% of the entire market. The top-weighted technology sector suffered from broad weakness with large cap names like Apple (AAPL 112.65, -2.36), Google (GOOGL 679.48, -14.56), Facebook (FB 90.56, -4.75), and Microsoft (MSFT 45.75, -0.86) losing between 1.9% and 5.0%. High-beta chipmakers also registered sharp losses with the PHLX Semiconductor Index diving 3.8% with all 30 components ending in the red. Today's selloff invited above-average participation with more than 900 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor. Economic data included Initial Claims, Existing Home Sales, Leading Indicators, and Philadelphia Fed Survey: Initial claims for the week ending August 15 were 277,000, up from the prior week's downwardly revised level of 273,000 (from 274,000) while the Briefing.com consensus estimate expected a reading of 272,000 The four-week moving average for claims increased by 5,500 to 271,500, but remains near multi-decade lows Existing Home Sales for July increased 2.0% from June to an annualized rate of 5.59 million units while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 5.42 million Sales in July were at their highest level since February 2007 and were up 10.3% from the year-ago period, which marked the tenth consecutive month in which existing home sales increased year-over-year The Leading Indicators report for July was down 0.2% while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 0.2% The Philadelphia Fed Survey for August rose to 8.3 from 5.7 while economists polled by Briefing.com had expected an improvement to 7.0 There is no economic data on tomorrow's schedule. Nasdaq Composite +3.0% YTD S&P 500 -1.1% YTD Russell 2000 -2.6% YTD Dow Jones Industrial Average -4.7% YTD 4:09 pm Targacept completes merger with Catalyst Biosciences; combined co to be renamed Catalyst Biosciences and trade under symbol CBIO effective tomorrow (TRGT) : Together with approximately $35 million net cash on Targacept's balance sheet, the combined company has approximately $39 million in cash to advance its research and development efforts, including the clinical development of CB 813d, Catalyst's next-generation and long-acting coagulation Factor VIIa. 4:08 pm ScanSource beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides SepQ EPS below consensus, revs in-line (SCSC) : Reports Q4 (Jun) earnings of $0.66 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.58; revenues rose 13.0% year/year to $856.7 mln vs the $820.4 mln consensus. For Q1 (Sep), co sees EPS of $0.50-0.58, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.73 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $820-880 mln vs. $876.7 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "Fiscal year 2015 was a year where we accomplished the successful go-live for our SAP ERP global system in Europe, completed strategic acquisitions of two value-added international communications distributors, and returned cash to shareholders through share repurchases." 4:08 pm Hennessy Advisors announces commencement of a self tender offer, to purchase up to 1 mln shares of its common stock, for a price of $25/share (HNNA) : Co intends to finance this self-tender offer with an expansion of its current loan as well as with a portion of available cash from its balance sheet 4:07 pm Gap reports Q2 results in-line with preannouncement; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance (GPS) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.64 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.64; revenues fell 2.1% year/year to $3.9 bln vs the $3.97 bln consensus. Preannounced: EPS $0.63-0.64 vs. $0.66 consensus; rev $3.9 bln vs. $3.97 bln consensus on Aug 10. Q2 comps fell 2%.Gap Global: negative 6 percent versus negative 5 percent last year Banana Republic Global: negative 4 percent versus flat last year Old Navy Global: positive 3 percent versus positive 4 percent last yearCo reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $2.75-2.80, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.74 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 4:07 pm Intuit beats by $0.06, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs below consensus; sees FY16 below consensus; to divest Demandforce, QuickBase and Quicken (INTU) : Reports Q4 (Jul) loss of $0.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.11); revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $696 mln vs the $735.93 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.03-0.04, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.03 Capital IQ Consensus; downside Q1 revs of $660-680 mln vs. $776.13 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.Co sees FY16 EPS of $3.40-3.45, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.82 Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY16 revs of $4.53-4.60 bln vs. $5.04 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.The co also announced its intent to divest Demandforce, QuickBase and Quicken to focus on and invest in businesses that strengthen the ecosystem and align with two strategic goals: to be the operating system behind small business success, and to do the nations' taxes in the U.S. and Canada."Divesting Demandforce, QuickBase and Quicken enables both Intuit and these businesses to focus on meeting the needs of their respective customers, while allowing Intuit to accelerate our ability to deliver on our objectives," said Neil Williams, chief financial officer. "We are confident about finding the right outcome for each business. Until then, we will continue to sell and support all of our current products; we will not waver in our commitment to customers' success." As a result of this decision, revenue in fiscal 2016 will be reduced by ~$250 million and non-GAAP earnings per share will be reduced by ~$0.10, as the co reports these held-for-sale assets as discontinued operations." 4:06 pm Ross Stores beats by $0.01, beats on revs; maintains cautious outlook for the second half (ROST) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.63 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.62; revenues rose 8.7% year/year to $2.97 bln vs the $2.94 bln consensus. "While we hope to do better, we are maintaining a cautious outlook for the second half when we face more challenging sales and earnings comparisons. In addition, the macro-economic and retail landscapes remain uncertain." Guidance for Q3: sees EPS of $0.48-0.50 vs. $0.50 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees Same Store Sales up 1% to 2% on top of a 4% increase in the prior year.Guidance for Q4 (Jan): sees EPS of $0.60-0.63 vs. $0.65 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Sees Same Store Sales flat to up 1% versus a 6% gain in the prior year.Guidance for FY16: sees EPS of $2.40-2.45 vs. $2.45 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 4:05 pm Credit Acceptance Corp. completes a $300.2 mln asset-backed non-recourse secured financing (CACC) : Pursuant to this transaction, the co contributed loans having a net book value of approximately $375.5 million to a wholly-owned special purpose entity which will transfer the loans to a trust, which will issue three classes of notes 4:05 pm Ryman Hospitality announces Board authorization for a $100 million share repurchase authorization, using cash on hand and borrowings under its revolving credit line (RHP) : 4:05 pm Intrexon announces a public offering of common stock; size and terms not disclosed (XON) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes as well as for strategic acquisitions or investments. 4:05 pm Accuray misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides FY16 revs in-line (ARAY) : Reports Q4 (Jun) loss of $0.07 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.05); revenues fell 0.2% year/year to $101.8 mln vs the $102.4 mln consensus. Total gross profit margins expanded to 40 percent from 38 percent in the prior fiscal year fourth quarter.Ending product backlog was $375.0 million, approximately 3 percent higher than backlog at the end of the prior fiscal year fourth quarter, or a growth of 10 percent on a constant currency basis. Guidance: Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees FY16 revs of $395-$410 mln vs. $405.91 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Accuray expects fiscal 2016 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $25 million to $35 million. This represents growth of 112-197% over adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2015, reflecting flat to moderately improving gross margins and ongoing expense control. 4:05 pm New York & Co beats by $0.01, beats on revs (NWY) : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.03 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.02; revenues rose 4.3% year/year to $235.7 mln vs the $231.9 mln consensus. For Q3 (Oct), co says net sales and comparable store sales are expected to increase by a low to mid-single-digit percentage versus last year.Same store sales in Q2 (Jul) increased +3.8%. 4:03 pm Two Harbors Investment names Jeffrey Hurley as Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer (TWO) : Prior to joining the company, Mr. Hurley served as Managing Director, Head of Technology, at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board since 2011. 4:03 pm Fuwei Films reports Q2 EPS of RMB1.12 or $0.18 vs RMB1.76 year ago; net sales -4.7% to RMB66.7 mln ($10.8 mln) (FFHL) : 4:03 pm Tuesday Morning misses by $0.09, misses on revs (TUES) : Reports Q4 (Jun) loss of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.01); revenues rose 0.2% year/year to $213.03 mln vs the $219.48 mln consensus. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, Tuesday Morning reported gross profit of $73.2 million and gross margin of 34.4% compared to $74.7 million of adjusted gross profit and adjusted gross margin of 35.2% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. This reduction was primarily due to increased supply chain freight costs, partially offset by reductions in markdowns. Inventories at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 were $210.0 million compared to $207.7 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, up $2.3 million or 1.1%. The Company's inventory turnover for the trailing five quarters is 2.6 turns, consistent with our prior year trailing five quarter turnover of 2.6 turns. 4:02 pm Arbor Realty Trust closes a $350 mln commercial real estate mortgage securitization (ABR) : An aggregate of approximately $268 million of investment grade-rated notes were issued and Arbor retained an equity interest in the portfolio of approximately $82 million. The $350 million of collateral includes approximately $47 million of additional capacity to finance future loans for a period of up to 120 days from the closing date of the Securitization. 4:02 pm Astec Industries announces a $30 mln agreement to build, deliver and install the first production line of a new turnkey wood pellet production facility (ASTE) : The $30 million agreement with Highland Pellets, LLC includes the option to add additional production lines, related equipment and installation services which could bring the total order amount to $143 million. Astec expects to deliver the first production line and related equipment no later than early 2016. 4:01 pm Argan's Gemma Power Systems subsidiary receives an Interim Notice to Proceed, to construct a 475 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Middletown, OH, for NTE Energy (AGX) : 4:01 pm Constellium announces West Virginia Economic Development Authority approval for a partial financing of its $35 million investment in its Ravenswood plant (CSTM) : Co announced that the West Virginia Economic Development Authority has approved partial financing of its previously communicated investment of $35 million at its Ravenswood plant. The $15 million, 15-year loan financing will contribute to the installation of a new, 800 Kt furnace, primarily dedicated to the manufacturing of advanced aluminium alloys. The new equipment is due to start production mid-2016 4:01 pm Civitas Solutions announces that Executive Chairman Edward Murphy has elected to retire at the end of the current calendar year (CIVI) : Murphy's decision completes the transition of the Company's executive leadership that began on January 1, 2014 when Bruce F. Nardella succeeded Murphy as Chief Executive Officer. Murphy has also informed the Company's Board of Directors that he will not seek re-election as a Director at the Company's 2016 annual meeting of stockholders scheduled for next March. 3:50 pm Casella Waste prices its offering of $15 mln in Finance Authority of Maine, Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds Series 2015 at 5.125%, with maturity at 2035 (CWST) : The net proceeds of the Bonds will enable Casella to finance or refinance the costs of certain of its solid waste landfill facilities and solid waste collection, organics and transfer, recycling and hauling facilities 3:36 pm Earnings Calendar (:SUMRX) : Today after the close look for the following companies to report: HPQ, GPS, ROST, CRM, SCSC, INTU, BRCD, NDSN, TFM, MENT, NWY, TUES, JBSS, UEPS, CRMT, ARAY Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report: DE, FL, HIBB, GMAN, DSKY 3:33 pm Treasury Market Summary (BONDX) : Treasuries Rally on Global Risk Aversion The Treasury complex rallied hard for a second straight day after global equities were repriced lower on falling commodity prices and Asian growth worries. The yield curve flattened sharply with 10's and 30's making the big gainsYield Check:2-yr: +1 bp to 0.67%5-yr: -2 bps to 1.49%10-yr: -5 bps to 2.08%30-yr: -6 bps to 2.75% News:Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended 8/15 edged higher to 277K from 274K in the prior week. The Briefing.com consensus estimate was 272KContinuing Jobless Claims for the week ended 8/8 fell to 2254K from 2273K. The Briefing.com consensus was 2265KExisting Homes Sales rose to their highest level since February 2007. For July, sales were 5.59 mln versus the Briefing.com consensus of 5.42 mln and 5.49 mln in JuneThe Philadelphia Fed also surpassed expectations, rising to 8.3 in August from 7.0 in July. The Briefing.com consensus was for 5.7After the Empire State index, released on Monday, cratered to its lowest level since the recession, market analysts speculated that the same weakness might show up in the Philly Fed. It did notThe details of the survey showed a deceleration in the pace of expansion for the new orders index (to 5.8 from 7.1), but a strong acceleration in shipments (to 16.7 from 4.4), the number of employees (to 5.3 from -0.4), inventories (to 0.2 from -5.7), and the average employee workweek (to 8.5 from 4.0) indexesJuly Leading Indicators fell 0.2% in July, below the Briefing.com consensus for a gain of 0.2% and the prior reading of 0.6%The much weaker-than-expected level of building permits seen in the July Housing Starts report accounted for the sharp difference between the actual number and what was expected by economists as it subtracted 0.54 percentage points from the LEI. (Note: the consensus estimate was not redone between the time of the Housing Starts report and the release of the LEI.)The $16 bln 5-year TIPS auction (reopening) was met with solid demand:High yield: 0.305%Bid-to-cover: 2.58Indirect bid: 76.4% (largest on record)Direct bid: 0.5%Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned to set off an election on September 20th. Greek law says that the largest opposition party, New Democracy, gets three days to try to form a government. Evangelos Meimarakis, New Democracy's leader, may try to do so and thereby avoid an election Commodities:WTI crude: -0.48% to $41.07/bblGold: +2.07% to 1,151.30/troy oz.Copper: +2.00% to $2.3215/lb. Currencies:EUR/USD: +0.72% to $1.1202USD/JPY: -0.34% to 123.51 Data Out Friday:There are no market-moving events scheduled 3:31 pm Ecology and Environment is one of seven firms awarded a three year, $90 mln shared capacity IDIQ MATO contract by the US Army (EEI) : Co is one of seven firms awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity, Multiple Award Task Order Contract to provide Architect-Engineer services in support of the Northwest Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste and environmental missions. The three-year contract includes one optional two-year extension period and has a shared capacity of $90 million among the firms awarded contracts. 3:28 pm SPX 500 poised for the lowest daily close in nearly 5 months; SPX now @ 2045.01 -34.60 (-1.66%) (SPY) : Price is now well below the widely followed 200d moving avg.The Jul. daily close low stands @ 2046.68. Any close below that challenges the Mar. 11, 2015 daily close @ 2040.24. 3:09 pm Penn Natl Gaming receives approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission to complete its acquisition of Tropicana Las Vegas; purchase completion expected on August 25, 2015 (PENN) : 3:02 pm FirstMerit Corp increases quarterly dividend to $0.17 from $0.16/share (FMER) : 3:01 pm First Financial prices its $120 mln offering of subordinated notes due 2025 at 5.125% (FFBC) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including potential stock repurchases and capital to support growth 2:57 pm Currency Market Summary (BONDX) : Dollar Drops Against Safe Havens The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.36% to 96.02 today in response to lower Treasury yields which reduced the rate of return on long-dollar carry trades. The Treasuries had not declined on the basis of U.S. economic data, which was better than expected on balance, but in response to declining U.S. equities which are finally reacting to developments abroadExisting Homes Sales rose to their highest level since February 2007. For July, sales were 5.59 mln versus the Briefing.com consensus of 5.42 mln and 5.49 mln in JuneThe Philadelphia Fed surpassed expectations, rising to 8.3 in August from 7.0 in July. The Briefing.com consensus was for 5.7July Leading Indicators fell 0.2% in July, below the Briefing.com consensus for a gain of 0.2% and the prior reading of 0.6%EUR/USD: +0.69% to $1.1198Germany's Producer Price Index showed no change in July after a 0.1% fall in June. The market had been expecting another declineGreek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned following the lack of Syriza support for the austerity measures he had agreed to with Greece's creditorsThe elections are to be on September 20th. The election, no matter the result, may create concern about implementation of the bailout agreement and, consequently, further money from the European Stability MechanismGBP/USD: -0.06% to $1.5673In the U.K., Retail Sales rose 0.1% m/m in July, worse than expected but better than the 0.1% decline in June USD/CHF: -0.40% to 0.9617The Swiss trade surplus rose to a better-than-expected 3.741 bln francs in July from 3.509 bln francs in JuneUSD/JPY: -0.39% to 123.44In Japan, the Reuters Tankan Index rose to 17 in August from 14 in JulyUSD/CAD: -0.15% to 1.3100Canadian Wholesale Sales jumped 1.3% m/m in June, better than both expectations and the 0.9% fall in MayAUD/USD: -0.23% to $0.7339NZD/USD: +0.35% to $0.6623 2:54 pm Floor Talk (:TALKX) : The U.S. stock market has gotten hit hard today by a battery of concerns that all tie back into a heightened feeling of uncertainty that has promoted a risk-off disposition: There is uncertainty about the Federal Reserve -- not just the timing of the rate hike, but about the Federal Reserve's credibilityThere is uncertainty about the global economy -- tied up in the recognition that commodity prices of just about every stripe have been hit hardThere is uncertainty about the Greek bailout again -- wrapped up in today's announcement that Prime Minister Tsipras has submitted his resignation and is seeking a snap electionThere is uncertainty about the market's behavior -- driven by the stepped-up selling interest in former leaders (eg. Disney and Apple), momentum stocks (eg. Netflix), the inability of the energy sector (-1.7%) to find a bottom, and the financial sector (-1.7%) rolling over There is uncertainty about the U.S. economy -- linked to a yield curve that continues to flatten despite all of the prior talk about how the U.S. economy is gathering steam The uncertainty and a general sense of concern about current matters has manifested itself in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 18.01, +2.76), which is up 18% today and 40% for the week, and the outperformance of gold (+2.2% at $1153.00/troy oz.) and gold mining stocks. The test of investor confidence is on as the S&P 500, trading above 2100 just three sessions ago, is now flirting with 2040, which is the bottom of the trading range that has held intact since early February. The market either holds that line or another wave of selling follows. 2:44 pm Community Bank increases its quarterly dividend to $0.31/share, up from $0.30/share (CBU) : 2:32 pm Twitter... More