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MARKET CURRENTS

  • 7:28 PM EMC is buying Israeli storage software startup ScaleIO for $200M-$300M, TechCrunch and Geektime report. ScaleIO's software allows the storage found inside servers to be pooled and managed like storage arrays on a SAN. This can lead to both cost savings and (esp. when flash memory is used) performance gains. Acquiring ScaleIO would be the latest in a string of moves from EMC to de-emphasize its traditional focus on array sales. Last month, EMC announced ViPR, a software platform for managing storage hardware/services from both EMC and rivals, and in March, the company showed off new server flash cards and caching software. Comment! [Tech, M&A]
  • 6:41 PM Apple (AAPL) roundup: 1) Apple TV has received a software update that adds support for HBO GO, WatchESPN, and 3 other sources. iTunes Radio will arrive this fall. 2) Apple patent chief Boris Teksler has left to join France's Technicolor. 3) Apple has won a $30M contract to supply iPads for L.A. schools; iPad education sales have been a priority for Apple. 4) After using iOS 7 for a week, BGR's Zach Epstein offers a critical take that doesn't revolve around icons. "Apple’s mobile platform just isn’t getting any smarter ... What meaningful, innovative functions can iOS 7 perform that iOS 6 could not?" Dan Frommer, another early user, isn't as harsh, but offers a similar take. "The big-picture reality is that iOS 7 really isn’t very different." 2 Comments [Tech]
  • 6:33 PM For the first time in its 27-year history, the prestigious World Food Prize for enhancing the global food supply has gone to a creator of genetically modified crops, a top scientist at Monsanto (MON). The prize has some PR value for MON, potentially aiding the case for bio-engineered food and deflecting some criticism of one of the world's most controversial companies. Comment! [Commodities, Consumer]
  • 6:17 PM Some S&P 600 changes: CalAmp (CAMP) is replacing Palomar Medical as of the June 24 close, WageWorks (WAGE) is replacing National Financial Partners as of the June 25 close, and Associated Estates (AEC) is replacing Websense as of the June 25 close. Palomar, NFP, and Websense are all being acquired.camp. CAMP +1.5% AH. WAGE +1.5%. AEC +3%. Comment! [Tech, Consumer, Financials]
  • 6:12 PM InvenSense (INVN -1%) is "likely shut out of the iPhone opportunity this year," says Maxim's Ashok Kumar, countering several reports claiming the opposite. Kumar, who's still reiterating a Buy, says checks point to the iPhone 5S using most of the components found in the iPhone 5, which suggests current motion sensor suppliers STMicroelectronics (STM) and AKM won't be kicked out. However, he adds checks do point to a next-gen Nexus 7 design win for InvenSense, and considers a next-gen iPad Mini win possible. InvenSense only fell in line with the market today, which suggests investors (like many of Kumar's peers) are still expecting a 5S win. Comment! [Tech]
  • 6:10 PM Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) says it could scrap its Bloom Lake expansion project in Canada's iron-rich Labrador Trough region if iron ore prices fall back to $90/metric ton. The mine is seen by analysts as a key future growth driver, but "at $90, the project doesn't go, which is consensus right now," CEO Joseph Carrabba tells Reuters; at $110 or $120, roughly the current price, it's a go. 1 Comment [Commodities]
  • 5:57 PM Micron (MU) -2.1% AH in spite of its FQ1 beat, as investors take profits following a 120% YTD run-up. DRAM sales +23% Q/Q in FQ1, thanks to a 16% ASP increase and 6% volume growth. NAND flash sales +7%, largely due to an 8% increase in trade NAND ASPs. The ASP gains led gross margin to jump 600 bps Q/Q and 1300 bps Y/Y to 24%. Capex was $235M (10% of revenue), and free cash flow was $389M, a big improvement from FQ4's $78M and a reversal from the cash burn reported in many recent quarters. RBC notes DRAM sales were better than expected, but adds NAND shipments were light. SanDisk (SNDK) +0.8%. 1 Comment [Tech, Earnings]
  • 5:54 PM Zion Oil & Gas (ZN) says its Board of Directors has approved in-well testing at its Elijah #3 well in the Asher-Menashe License in Israel, in which an application was submitted the country's Petroleum Commissioner for a third one-year extension on April 26. The testing is a key method of obtaining information on the formation fluid and establishing whether a well has found a commercial hydrocarbon reservoir. Comment! [Commodities, Global & FX, On the Move]
  • 5:48 PM Pinnacle West Capital Corporations (PNW) declares $0.545/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous. Forward yield 4.01%. For shareholders of record August 1. Payable September 3. Ex-div date July 30. (PR) Comment! [Dividends]
  • 5:45 PM "I have become Mr. Linn Energy (LINE). I don't want to be. I happen to like the stock" Jim Cramer writes, citing the Berry Petroleum (BRY) merger: "It's an incredibly valuable property, much more than I think most people realize." Short-term traders should stay away, but for long-termers, the Berry deal - if it goes through - is a huge win for LINE shareholders. "If it doesn't, it will be because the bear raid worked." 1 Comment [Energy, Quick Ideas]
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TOP ARTICLES7:35 PM ET WEDNESDAY JUN 19
DIA -1.19%
SPY -1.27%
QQQ -1.09%
GLD -1.19%
ETF Movers
BUND PIMCO Germany Bond Index ETF 1.33%
CCX WisdomTree Commodity Currency ETF 1.22%

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