Dollar Tree Deal, Q2 Earnings on Deck - Ahead of Wall Street

(This is Mark Vickery covering for Sheraz Mian, who has the day off.)

Family Dollar FDO is being bought by rival Dollar Tree DLTR, and FDO shares in the pre-market are up over 24%. Dollar Tree shares are also up — often the acquiring firm will sell off on acquisition news — and now the latest is that Dollar General DG may not be done vying for Family Dollar, itself. A price war for a discount retailer? Nice irony.

This news is especially notable in that this will be the busiest week for Q2 earnings reports and economic data of this entire earnings season. Today, in fact, will be the calmest of the market week: the “only” things on the docket for today are June Pending Home Sales (sometime after the opening bell) and 94 companies reporting quarterly earnings numbers, 10 of which are members of the S&P 500.

Compare this with tomorrow, when 230 companies will report earnings, in addition to the Case-Shiller home price index, the July Consumer Confidence and the first day of the FOMC meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It will be the biggest week of Q2 earnings and economic data of this entire quarter; the non-farm payroll report comes out on Friday, among a slew of other metrics — along with all the latest earnings numbers, of course. In fact, the results that we see from this week should equip our investment decisions through to when the weather starts cooling off.

In earnings reports this morning, engine-maker Cummins CMI reported a 7.7% gain in earnings, and revised revenue guidance upwards. Tyson Foods TSN posted record quarterly earnings and expects 10% earnings growth in 2015.

Finally, Zillow's Z acquisition of Trulia TRLA has completed this morning, causing a temporary halt in Zillow share trading in the pre-market; Trulia shares are up 18%. Zillow is buying its rival for $3.5 billion in an all-stock deal.