TheChek News Flow

In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: AVAV +4.5%, STZ +2.6%, GIS +1.7%, SBLK +0.5%

M&A news: CB +31.9% (ACE (ACE) will acquire Chubb for ~$124.13/share in cash and stock), ACE +7.2%, GPT +3.3% (Gramercy Property Trust and Chambers Street Properties (CSG) to merge; combined company will have an enterprise value of $5.7 bln)

Other news: TLOG +45.3% (announced positive preliminary data from the ongoing Phase 2A study of birinapant in combination with azacitidine in first line higher risk myelodysplastic syndromes), BIOC +19.6% (announced the launch of its FGFR1 amplification testing utilizing a patient's blood sample), ESI +15.9% (disclosed submission of its audited consolidated financial statements to the U.S. Department of Education on June 26, 2015, ahead of the June 30 due date), PRAN +13.7% (cont strength), NBG +13.3% (optimism that Greece will accept latest terms), TBIO +7.8% (announces a private placement of 1.5 mln restricted common shares with Crede Capital Group for $1.42/share), PDEX +6.8% (still checking), MBI +6% (Reuters reporting that Puerto Rico's PREPA utility is close to a deal with creditors to avoid a default; MBI has exposure to Puerto Rican debt), GLNG +5.8% (reached an agreement with Perenco for the floating liquefied natural gas export project in Cameroon), FRO +5.3% (may be benefitting from Greece news), RDHL +5.2% (receives two notices of allowance from the USPTO for RHB-104), KITE +5% (Kite Pharma and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society announce a partnership to enhance the development of Kite's lead product candidate, KTE-C19), TRV +3.8% (CB, ACE peer), TTM +3.6% (reports June 2015 total commercial and passenger vehicle sales), WYNN +2.9% (Macau data), FIT +2.9% (cont vol post IPO), LVS +2.9% (Macau data), KMDA +2.9% (granted patent by the Israeli Patent Office that covers claims regarding the unique combination of Kamada's inhaled alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor with a customized eFlow nebulizer system), AIRT +2.6% (awarded contract in excess of $32 mln for the supply of 2200 aircraft deicing vehicles to American Airlines), IHG +2.5% (still checking), JUNO +1.9% (cont momentum), FEYE +1.6% (cont momentum), MRH +1.5% (Montpelier Re and Endurance Specialty shareholders vote in favor of the proposed merger)

Analyst comments: NVGN +8.5% (initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright; tgt $8.50 ), VIP +4.6% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), CS +1.8% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley ), Z +1.8% ( initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim), AINV +1.3% (initiated with a Buy at Jefferies ), FB +1.2% (raised to $100 from $92 at Cantor Fitzgerald)

Dan McCrum with.....a mystery short seller

Dan McCrum will be joined on the sofa by one of the most high profile and successful short sellers of recent years. They'll be talking about what to look for at companies that are too good to be true, the red flags which catch the eye, companies which are puzzles, the way managements react and short seller bashing in general. They'll also reflect on some of the big campaigns gone by, and may even have some new ideas to share.

• No early stage contacts with Sabadell or BBVA, contrary to reports

• Italy viewed as non-core territory for Sabadell, CaixaBank

• Deal-making not on BMPS's 3 July board meeting agenda

Banco Sabadell [BME:SAB] is unlikely to make a move for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) [BIT:BMPS] in the weeks ahead, said a source, an adviser and two people familiar with the situation.

Sabadell, which is closing its takeover of TSB [LON:TSB] in the UK, is not looking at BMPS, said a person familiar with the situation. The Spanish bank would not be able to close a second deal so soon after the TSB deal, said the sector advisor. Italy has historically proven a tricky market for Spanish banks, he added.

There have been no early-stage contacts between BMPS and Sabadell, nor its peer BBVA [BME:BBVA], said a second person. Both banks were reported by Il Messaggero on 30 June as having recently expressed some interest in the process.

Sabadell raised EUR 1.6bn in a rights issue to fund the TSB deal. The Spanish lender would not want to raise more funds so soon after its last cash call, the source said, adding that the window for capital raising is likely to close soon, with uncertainty surrounding the future of Greece and Spain’s general election, which will take place before year-end, dogging stock markets.

BMPS has a market capitalization of EUR 4.98bn, which is 44% of Sabadell's market value of EUR 11.25bn.

The report that Sabadell had contacted BMPS emerged as a nine-month deadline for the Italian bank to find strategic solutions to its capital and non-performing loan travails comes to an end. The European Central Bank (ECB) gave BMPS until 26 July to strengthen its capital.

But the ECB has not in fact set a hard deadline for any M&A solution, this news service reported on 2 June. The European regulator cannot force a bank to merge against its will, it was reported.

Il Messaggero’s report flagging possible interest from Sabadell also said that BBVA was interested. Although BBVA looks at all bank auctions as a matter of policy, it is particularly interested in markets where it is already present, said a person familiar with its thinking. The bank only has one office in Italy, the person added.

BBVA is unlikely to be interested in a deal and any such move would come as a surprise, the first adviser said. The bank is not particularly interested in European deals at the moment, the adviser added.

Among other acquisitive Spanish banks, Italy is not a priority market for Banco Santander [BME:SAN], said a person familiar with its thinking. The bank exited Italy in 2008. The market is not seen as strategic by CaixaBank [BME:CABK] either, said a person familiar with the thinking of Sabadell’s Catalan peer.

BMPS will hold an ordinary board meeting on 3 July, the second person said, adding that deal-making is not on the agenda. The Italian bank has not had any contacts with any other potential partners, the person added.

Spokespeople for BMPS, Banco Sabadell, BBVA, Santander and CaixaBank declined to comment.

- Have witness some turbulent days

- Greece has not fulfilled obligations