Bank of America (BAC) this morning reported better than expected earnings and revenue. This afternoon, Dow stock IBM (IBM) as well as Netflix (NFLX) and Yahoo (YHOO) issue their results. Yahoo, meanwhile, is said to be taking final bids today in the auction of its core internet business. (CNBC)
Japanese telecommunications and internet giant Softbank has agreed to acquire ARM Holdings, the U.K. tech group that supplies the chips used in iPhones, in a deal worth over $32 billion. Shares of ARM were up more than 40 percent in London trading. (CNBC)
Apple (AAPL) is proposing a simpler but more lucrative music-streaming royalty plan for artists. The tech giant is proposing a 9.1 cent fee for every 100 times a song is played on its one-year-old Apple Music service, which is significantly more than Spotify's rates. (NY Times)
An unmanned rocket from SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, blasted off from Florida this morning to send a cargo ship to the International Space Station, then turned around and landed itself back at the launch site. (Reuters)
As the Republican National Convention opens today, Donald Trump trails Hillary Clinton by five points nationally, even after a period of negative news for the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Trump, appearing on "60 Minutes" with vice presidential running mate Mike Pence, said he "doesn't care" that the Indiana governor supported the Iraq war when he was in Congress, even though the billionaire has take Clinton to task for the same thing. (CBS)
Trump, on "60 Minutes," also seemed to shift the parameters of his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, calling for "extreme vetting." Syrian refugees, however, appear to still be on Trump's banned list. (CBS)
A failed military coup in Turkey gives the administration of President Tayyip Erdogan the opportunity to intensify a crackdown on dissenters, according to analysts. Since the weekend takeover attempt, some 6,000 armed forces and judiciary members have been rounded up. (CNBC)
The gunman who killed three Baton Rouge police officers did not lure them to their deaths, but instead carried out Sunday's ambush after a member of the public called 911. On social media, the suspect Gavin Long, who was killed by police, wrote about standing up to "injustice." (NBC News & CNBC)
Antidoping officials from at least 10 nations and 20 athlete groups are preparing the extraordinary step of requesting that the entire Russian delegation is barred from the Summer Olympics over allegations of a state-sponsored doping program. (NY Times)
BY THE NUMBERS
As investors gobble up any clues on the economy ahead of next week's Fed meeting, they turn to the 10 a.m. ET release of the monthly sentiment index from the National Association of Home Builders. Forecasts call for a reading of 60 for July, unchanged from June.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Exxon Mobil (XOM) is bidding at least $2.2 billion for Papua New Guinea InterOil (IOC), focusing on abundant natural gas supplies in the region. InterOil said it finds the Exxon bid superior to an offer from Papua New Guinea-based Oil Search.
Volkswagen (VLKAY) is promising restitution for U.S.-based dealers damaged by the automaker's diesel emissions scandal, according to dealers who met with the company last week. Volkswagen plans to unveil details on the program within a month.
Certain Monsanto (MON) shareholders want Germany's Bayer to raise its takeover bid to at least $130 per share from the current $125 per share, or $64 billion, according to a report in Germany's Handelsblatt.
Google (GOOGL) has abandoned an internal project aimed at creating a virtual reality headset, according to Re/code. The decision likely stems from Google's effort to streamline its more ambitious projects.
WATERCOOLER
Sony's female-led "Ghostbusters" opened this weekend with an estimated $46 million in North American ticket sales. The reboot debuted in second place, behind Universal's "The Secret Life of Pets," which stayed on top for the second week with $50.6 million. (AP)
Elon Musk's rival in the commercial space race, Jeff Bezos, got to live out every Trekkie's fantasy by playing an alien in the new "Star Trek" movie. The Blue Origin founder, who also started Amazon (AMZN), is listed in the credits for the third installment of the reboot. (AP)
