The Market In 5 Minutes: Where's The Oil?

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Macro Focus

Asian stocks tumbled to near 2-1/2-month lows as investors continue to re-asses the suitability of investments in the region given the likelihood of a U.S. interest rate hike next month.

The U.S. dollar index rose slightly to 95.33, within striking distance of Thursday's peak of 95.520 - the highest level it has traded at since March 29.

The price of oil was lower for the fifth consecutive day and on track for the longest losing streak since January.

Reuters noted that Iraq's oil output reached 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) while exports are at a record high of 3.9 million bpd. Meanwhile, Iran's narrative hasn't changed and the country is hoping its crude export capacity will reach 2.2 million barrels by the middle of summer.

Brent crude futures fell $0.25 to $48.10 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude futures fell $0.15 to $47.93 a barrel.

BZ News Desk Focus

Some of last night's and this morning's notable earnings:

Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) Reports Q1 Adj. EPS $0.44
AutoZone (NYSE: AZN) Reports Q3 EPS $10.77 vs $9.57 in Same Qtr. Last Year, Sales $2.6B
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) Reports Q2 EPS $0.51 vs $0.46 Est; Revenue $1.115B vs $1.04B Est

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Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

MoffettNathanson downgraded Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) to Sell.
Cowen downgraded VMware (NYSE: VMW) to Market Perform.
Iberia upgrades Jones Energy (NYSE: JONE) to Outperform.
Chardan initiates Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SAGE) at Sell.

Deal Talk

Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR) announced it has agreed to acquire HandStands Holding from Trivest Partners for an aggregate cash purchase price of $340 million, subject to certain adjustments. HandStands is a leading designer and marketer of automotive fragrance and appearance products.

EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) has acquired Ticketbis, an online ticket marketplace based out of Bilbao, which it plans to roll into StubHub, its own ticket marketplace. The deal will expand StubHub outside of its existing core U.S. base into 47 more markets, specifically with an emphasis on Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Sources tell TechCrunch it was a $165 million transaction.

In The News

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) told a U.S. senator an internal investigation had found "no evidence of systematic political bias" against conservatives in its trending topics tool, but that it will revamp how the feature works to minimize the potential effects of individual biases.

Use of electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices has stalled in the United States as more Americans question their safety, according to a new online Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Blogosphere

Is Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) facing a German invasion? Read what Shelly Banjo and Andrea Felstead have to say.

Michael Batnik analyzed the birth dates of the most important investors of all time. Ten observations were made.

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