TARGET LOWERS EARNINGS OUTLOOK

Target again lowered its earnings outlook for the year, still reeling from data breach of its customers' credit and debit card information and slower traffic at its stores. Target also posted a 62% decline in 2Q earnings. Shares fell 1% premarket.

WALGREEN SHAKEUP FOLLOWED BAD PROJECTION

A billion-dollar forecasting error in Walgreen's Medicare-related business has cost the jobs of two top executives and alarmed big investors.

STAPLES PUSHES TURNAROUND BID AS SALES FALL AGAIN

Staples' fiscal 2Q profit fell to $82 million, or 13c a share, while it pushed ahead in its plans to close underperforming stores and spark sales growth online. Sales fell 1.8% to $5.22 billion. The top line beat analysts' view. Shares up 2% early.

LOWE'S TRIMS GUIDANCE EVEN AS RESULTS TOP EXPECTATIONS

Lowe's reported a fiscal 2Q profit of $1.04 billion, or $1.04 a share, as net sales improved 5.7% to $16.6 billion. Still, the retailer scaled back its sales guidance for the year and share were down 3% in premarket trading.

GLENCORE SWINGS TO PROFIT

Glencore, which swung to a net profit of $1.72 billion during the first half of the year, said it would launch a $1 billion share buyback, signaling the mine-to-market group's commitment to returning cash to shareholders.

RUSSIA TENSIONS MAY HURT NORWAY OIL FUND EARNINGS

Norway's oil fund, the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, reported a 3.3% profit on its investments in the second quarter but its investment in European equities could prove challenging due to Ukraine-Russia tensions.

MISSING CHAIRMAN COMPLICATES IPO

China International Capital Corp. is said to have dropped CCB International (Holdings) from the list of underwriters on its planned IPO after a company the bank floated early this year recently said its chairman had gone missing.

AMAZON TO OPEN IN SHANGHAI'S FREE-TRADE ZONE

Amazon said it plans to set up operations in Shanghai's new free-trade zone, a major move that will allow it to sell more merchandise from abroad in China and help boost competition against rivals like Alibaba.

COCA-COLA AMATIL FACES CHALLENGES IN INDONESIA

When Coca-Cola Amatil sold its first soda in Indonesia, it reckoned that rising incomes in Southeast Asia's most populous nation would help build a thirst for soft drinks. Now, the Australian company's profits there are rapidly losing their fizz.

EUROPE'S BREWERS HURT BY RUSSIA

Some of Europe's biggest brewers are being walloped by lower consumer spending in Russia, amid its standoff with the West over Ukraine and in the wake of Moscow's recent drive to restrict beer marketing.

BALFOUR BEATTY REJECTS CARILLION'S LATEST MERGER OFFER

Balfour Beatty rejected Carillion's latest takeover offer and said it won't seek an extension to the so-called "put-up or shut-up" deadline.

LG CHEM IN DEAL TO SUPPLY BATTERIES TO AUDI

South Korean battery maker LG Chem has reached a deal to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles to Audi, a unit of German auto maker Volkswagen.

CHINA FINES 12 JAPANESE AUTO-PART MAKERS

China levied $202 million in fines against 12 Japanese auto-part makers for alleged price manipulation in the latest effort to wield its power against multinational companies.

CHINA'S GEELY STRUGGLES WITH DOMESTIC CAR SALES

Geely said its first half net profit fell 20% largely due to Chinese customers' preference for foreign car brands over domestic car brands. The Chinese automaker offset some of that decline by selling more Volvo cars in China.