Amazon be warned, the online 'war' is on with Wal-Mart, analyst says

Wal-Mart's second-quarter results make it crystal clear the retailer is committed to growing its e-commerce business, with Jet.com Founder Marc Lore at the helm of it all. Faced with the threat of Amazon encroaching on its turf, Wal-Mart has been rolling out initiatives like "easy reorder," free two-day shipping with no membership required, and an online grocery service, which is slated to hit 1,100 Wal-Mart stores by the end of the year. Unlike Amazon, Wal-Mart can use its physical assets — its stores — to the retailer's advantage in order to grow digital sales, Cowen & Co. analyst Oliver Chen highlighted in a Thursday note to clients. Offerings like "ship-from-store," discounted pick up in store, and Wal-Mart's associate delivery tests are "competitive weapons" that will help the traditionally brick-and-mortar retailer steal a larger share of the online market, Chen said.

• 
  Wal-Mart's margins fall on price cuts, spending on e-commerce

  Reuters
• 
  It’s Time for Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT) Stock to Shine

  InvestorPlace

Alibaba is popping after earnings

Alibaba crushed its first quarter earnings report, released before the market opened Thursday. The Chinese e-commerce giant posted earnings of $0.82 per share, compared to Wall Street's estimate of $0.61. Shares of Alibaba are up 4.68% in early trading Thursday after the earnings beat.

• 
  Alibaba Sees Huge Growth From the Cloud

  247wallst.com
• 
  Here's the most important number to watch for in Alibaba's Q1 report

  The Street

LabCorp prices $1.2 billion debt offering - Greensboro

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) announced that it has priced a $1.2 billion debt offering. LabCorp, based in Burlington, said it plans to use the funds from the senior notes for “general corporate purposes,” including refinancing of upcoming debt maturities. The offering comes two weeks after LabCorp announced it will buy Chiltern International Ltd. for about $1.2 billion in cash, a deal that broaden’s LabCorp’s reach into the contract-research sector. Moody’s assigned a Baa2 rating to LabCorp’s offering of senior unsecured notes, saying the rating “ reflects the company's significant scale and market presence as one of the two largest independent lab operators in the U.S.”