TOP NEWS

* will not be ableto meet thegoal of having 1billion monthly active Windows 10 devices by June 2018, The Wall Street Journal reports,citing a company statement. While the software giant said it was pleased withthe progress, it reportedly noted that the company needed more time to reachthat goal because of the "focusing of our phone hardware business."Microsoft did not set a new deadline for activating 1 billion Windows 10devices, according to the report.

*Yahoo! Inc.'s newowners could pursue layoffs in a bid to cut "some bloated costs" atthe company, Bloomberg News reports,citing Robert Peck, an analyst with Suntrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. Peck saidif Yahoo's assets areacquired by a buyer like VerizonCommunications Inc. or AT&T Inc. then the company could see nearly 3,000layoffs mainly due to redundant operations in areas such as human resources ormarketing.

Internet & OTT

*Apple Inc. with the CopyrightRoyalty Board to submit a new proposal for songwriting royalty rates paid bymusic streaming services, The New YorkTimes reports,citing a government filing. The iPhone makersuggested setting a songwriting royalty rate of 9.1 cents per 100 streams for asong. The filing was submitted as part of the Copyright Royalty Board'sproceeding to set statutory rates for downloads and interactive streamingservices from 2018 to 2022.

*Netflix Inc.introduced a newservice, called Flixtape, to let users create a short playlist of Netflixtitles. According to a poston the Flixtape website, the playlist can feature a few movies and shows, withan option to personalize it by adding a theme or message.

Technology 

*Alphabet Inc. unitGoogle Inc.ended an internalproject to build a high-end stand-alone virtual reality headset, Recode reports,citing "sources familiar with the plans." The move comes as thecompany is shifting focus toward mobile VR, and the resources required fordevelopers to create apps, services and games for supporting smartphones.

* Asexpected, to buy U.K.-basedsemiconductor firm ARM Holdings Plc for £24.3 billion in cash, according to acompany newsrelease. Under the agreement, the Japanese conglomerate will purchaseeach ARM share for £17.

Multichannel

*The FCC said 62 bidders made qualifying down payments to participate in the forward-auction portionof the 600 MHz incentive auction. Among them are AT&T, VerizonCommunications, T-Mobile USInc., DISH NetworkCorp. and ComcastCorp., according to an official filing.

Film & TV Programming

*Universal's "The Secret Life Of Pets" continued to dominate thedomestic box office by pulling in $50.6 million for the July 17 weekend,followed up by SonyCorp.'s "Ghostbusters" at No. 2 with $46 million, andWarner Bros.' "The Legend Of Tarzan" at No. 3 with $11.1 million,according tocomScore Inc.Walt Disney Co.'s"Finding Dory" took the fourth spot with $11 million, while 20thCentury Fox's "Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates" was No. 5 with $7.5million.

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher openingfor the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.66% to 21,803.18. In Europe,around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.25% to 6,685.84 but the Euronext 100 0.23%lower to 862.86.

On the macro front  

The National Association of Home Builders' housing marketindex and the Treasury International Capital report are due out today.

Featured news

: SoftBank offered to acquireU.K.-based ARM Holdings for $31.4 billion, while named deputy CFOMark Reid as the new CEO of its UPC unit.

: Entertainment giantsAMC Entertainment HoldingsInc. and Lions GateEntertainment Corp. notched share gains after announcinginvestments in British companies during the week ended July 15. 

:Twitter will live stream the 2016 political conventions, but any long-termthreat to linear ratings is yet to be seen. 

: Take a look at the media and communications editor's topfive picks for the week ended July 15.

: S&P Global Market Intelligence presents the five mostread media and communications articles for the week ended July 15.

Featured research

: Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. continued spinning offstations to comply with FCC regulations in its Media General acquisition. Thedeal volume of the sales announced in June far exceeded May's count.