Below is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day -- it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. Apply for daily AM access by clicking here or email [email protected].

Macro Focus

U.S. stock futures struggled for direction on Tuesday, with investors opting for the sidelines ahead of the closely watched Federal Reserve meeting and a deluge of earnings. This are also a number of key economic data scheduled for the day.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.74 percent to trade at $44.39 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also dropped 1.04 percent to trade at $42.67 a barrel.

The Federal Open Market Committee will begin two-day policy meeting today.
The Markit Services PMI for July will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Data on new home sales for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for July is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The Treasury will auction 5-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.

BZ News Desk Focus

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

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Reports Q2 Adj. EPS $0.94 vs $0.92 Est., Sales $30.5B vs $30.9B Est.
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) Reports Q2 GAAP EPS $1.25, Rev. $6.265B vs. Est. $6.27B

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) Reports Q2 EPS $1.09 vs. Est. $0.96, Rev. $10.34B vs. Est. $10.11B

Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD) Reports Q2 EPS $3.08 vs. Est. $3.02, Rev. $7.776B vs. Est. $7.79B
Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) Reports Q2 EPS $0.52 vs $0.56 Est., Sales $2.65B vs $2.76B Est.
Express Scripts (NASDAQ: EXPR) Reports Q2 EPS $1.57 vs. Est. $1.57, Rev. $25.2B vs. Est. $25.42B
Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) Reports Q2 EPS $0.76 vs. Est. $0.73, Rev. $3.273B vs. Est. $3.2B
DuPont (NYSE: DD) Q2 EPS $1.24 vs $1.10 est, Revenue $7.1B vs $7.0B est

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is scheduled to announce its Q3 results after Tuesday's market close. Here is a quick look into what notable firms think about the stock.

Earnings are also expected from Twitter (NYSE: TWTR).

Sell-Side Themes

Goldman Sachs upgraded Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM), but downgraded Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM) to Sell.

Stifel expects a recession within 3-9 months and is bearish on the restaurant sector.

Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls

Deal Talk

Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) has sweetened its offer for rival SABMiller, increasing its promised cash payment by £1 per share after a sharp decline in the pound stoked investor unrest over the deal. If the takeover is completed, SABMiller investors now stand to receive a cash payment of £45 ($58.83) per share.

Everbank Financial (NYSE: EVER) confirmed talks with Financial Services Co to be acquired for $19.50 per share in cash.

In The News

Michelle Obama cast the presidential race as one between a positive role model for children (Hillary Clinton) and a damaging one (Donald Trump) in the marquee speech on the Democratic National Convention's opening night.

Obscure hedge fund Arjun LP reports annual returns as high as 91 percent since 2013. Joseph A. Meyer Jr. guarantees clients will never lose money with his system

Blogosphere

Were you confused by the credit swap talk in "The Big Short"?

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