10:39 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : Stock indices are vacillating near their lows but have continued to see some relative sector strength in: Crude Oil USO, Gold Miners GDX, Gold GLD, Staples XLP, Telecom IYZ, Utility XLU, Transports IYT.

10:34 am Stock index set new session/weekly lows but follow through lacking thus far -- Dow -225, S&P -22, Nasdaq Comp -63 (:TECHX) : The major averages dropped to new session lows in unison with the S&P probing support in the 1913/1911 area (noted 09:51). Thus far the A/D Line has not confirmed the new low suggesting some loss of momentum as the S&P tests a support zone suggesting watching to see if a bounce attempt can develop.

10:32 am KEYW Holding sells its first KeyRadar product as part of $11 mln in new, competitively-selected awards (KEYW) :  

10:30 am Ocwen Fincl to reduce its workforce at its Waterloo, Iowa residential servicing facility (OCN) : The decision will affect approximately 300 residential servicing employees, which is 10 percent of the Company's approximately 2,900 U.S. employees. All impacted employees will have the opportunity to apply for employment at other Ocwen facilities, including 130 open positions at the Coppell, Texas facility. The Company will also seek to lease approximately half of its 155,000 sq. foot facility in Waterloo, and it is working closely with the City of Waterloo and the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber's office of Economic Development to source a tenant.

10:25 am Stock indices slide back off limited bounce highs and set new session lows -- Dow -226, S&P -24, Nasdaq Comp -61 (:TECHX) : Session low for S&P is 1913.80, probing 1913/1911 support zone. 

10:23 am Juno Therapeutics (+6%) displaying relative strength as biotech (IBB -1.5%) remains under pressure (JUNO) :

• CAR-T peer KITE -2.7% after Maxim and Stifel defended the stock following meetings with mgmt.
  

10:12 am Stock indices extend push off morning lows -- Dow -192, S&P -18.9, Nasdaq Comp -49 (:TECHX) : The S&P held just above support at 1913/1911 (The Technical Take, 09:51) --session low 1914.08.

10:10 am Ormat Tech reports that the second phase of its Don Campbell geothermal power plant in Nevada, has begun commercial operation (ORA) :  

10:04 am Hingham Inst. for Savings increases its dividend by 7% to $0.30/share, up from $0.28/share (HIFS) :  

9:58 am CryoPort acquired certain intellectual property and intellectual property rights to the Cryoportal operating platform from KLATU Networks; no financial terms disclosed (CYRX) : The purchase of this IP and related IP rights enables Cryoport to expand the use of the Cryoportal operating platform into new markets, including different temperature ranges and other modes of transport, as well as to facilitate licensing of the software for other uses.

9:57 am THL Credit: A10 Capital announces receiving a significant follow-on investment from BlackRock (BLK) and THL Credit (TCRD) to fuel the future growth of its loan origination platform (TCRD) :  

9:56 am Intraday relative strength (:TECHX) : Sectors display relative strength as the S&P attempts to stabilize near support (1913/1911) has been noted in: Retail XRT, Utility XLU, Staples XLP, Gold Miners GDX, Gold GLD, Crude Oil USO, Restaurant, Medical Supplies, Casino, Reg Bank KRE.

9:55 am Large cap casinos Wynn Resorts (WYNN +1%), Las Vegas Sands (LVS +0.4%) and MGM (MGM +0.5%) showing relative strength amid broad market losses (WYNN) :  

9:51 am S&P -24 extends back toward short term support zone (:TECHX) : The index has dropped firmly lower off the open to set a new low for the week. The next short term support comes into play in the 1913/1911 area. This marks the Sep close low, 70.7% retracement of the Aug-Sep rally and congest (session low 1914).

9:45 am New session lows -- Dow -200, S&P -20, Nasdaq Comp -54 (:TECHX) :  

9:41 am Limited relative strength (:TECHX) : Sectors posting gains in early trade include: Gold Miners GDX, Gold GLD, Silver SLV, Casino (MCRI +1.7%, MGM +0.7%, LVS +0.7%, WYNN +0.5%).

9:41 am KB Home (-3%) leading homebuilders (ITB -1.4%) lower following earnings -- call at 11:30 (KBH) : HOV -2.7%, BZH -2.5%, WLH -1.8%, LEN -1.7%, PHM -1.4%, SPF -1.7%, DHI -1.7%, TPH -1.5%, UCP -1.4%, TOL -1.4%, MTH -1.3%, ITB -1.3%, MDC -1.2%, RYL -1.2%, XHB -1.2%, TMHC -1.2%, MHO -1%

9:40 am Opening Market Summary: Influential Sectors Pace Opening Slide (:WRAPX) :

As expected, the major averages began the trading day in negative territory. Similar to yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.0%) displays relative weakness while the S&P 500 (-0.8%) trades a little ahead.

Nine of ten sectors trade in the red at this juncture while the utilities sector (+0.1%) hovers just above its flat line thanks to today's downtick in Treasury yields. To that point, the 10-yr note sits on its high with the benchmark yield down six basis points at 2.09%.

On the downside, heavily-weighted health care (-1.0%), technology (-0.9%), and financials (-0.9%) trade near the broader market while industrials (-1.5%) and materials (-1.5%) underperform. Caterpillar (CAT 65.06, -5.14) has kept the industrial sector under pressure, trading lower by 7.2% in the early going.

August New Home Sales (expected 515,000) will be announced at 10:00 ET.

9:38 am Early relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Sectors that are weighing on the market action thus far include: Industrial XLI (CAT -7.3%), Materials XLB, Solar TAN, Steel SLX, Ag/Chem MOO, Home Const ITB, Rail, Transports IYT, Auto CARZ.

9:36 am Nasdaq Comp -36 joins Dow -155 and S&P -14 at new low for the week (:TECHX) :  

9:32 am Negative start with Dow -123 and S&P -12 setting new lows for the week (:TECHX) :  

9:30 am Praxair acquires Tecnogas; terms not disclosed (PX) : Tecnogas is a local producer and distributor of carbon dioxide and industrial gases in Peru. With annual revenue of approximately $10 million, the business serves almost four hundred customers across a variety of end markets including food and beverage, healthcare and metal fabrication

9:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems (BAESY) a contract modification worth $45 million for the low-rate initial production of lightweight torso and side body armor that protects soldiers while reducing their carrying load
• Gilat Satellite Networks (GILT) announced that it has signed a long-term agreement to develop and supply high-performance dual Ku/Ka-band terminals for in-flight connectivity on commercial aircraft.
• ZAGG Inc (ZAGG) announced its commercial launch in India
• Camber Pharmaceuticals announced that it has launched Esomeprazole Magnesium Delayed-Release Capsules, 20 mg and 40 mg, which is the generic version of Nexium (Esomeprazole) capsules from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals (AZN)
• Blue Earth (BBLU) announced that BE Solar, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, entered into a Letter of Intent to purchase all of the membership interests in six separate Special Purpose Entities, comprising the 57.1MWp Oregon solar portfolio, from Pacific Northwest Solar, based in Portland, OR. Construction of projects is scheduled to begin in early Q1 of 2016 with an expected COD date in late Q3 of 2016. The offtaker is Idaho Power Company.
• Bovie Medical Corporation (BVX) announced that it has signed its first group purchasing organization agreement with Amerinet for the use of J-Plasma by its members. The 3-year agreement with Amerinet, one of the nation's largest healthcare GPOs, is in effect now through September 2018.
• Pernix Therapeutics Holdings (PTX) announced that the central patent for Zohydro ER with BeadTek has issued. The patent covers a formulation of a combination of inactive beads with BeadTek abuse deterrent technology and active hydrocodone beads and expires in September 2034. In addition, Zohydro ER with BeadTek will be added to the FDA's Orange Book

9:23 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Neuralstem (CUR) announced that principal investigator, Eva Feldman, MD, PhD, will give an update on NSI-566 Phase I and Phase II trial data in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (:ALS) at the American Neurological Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL
• UOP LLC, a Honeywell (HON) company, announced that a new UOP Russell modular gas processing plant in northern Louisiana has begun processing rich natural gas and recovering valuable natural gas liquids. This is the second turnkey UOP Russell plant commissioned by PennTex Midstream Partners (PTXP), capable of processing 200 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas
• Harris Corporation (HRS) has received a $21 million order from a Latin American nation for Falcon III tactical radios that will be used to establish high data rate networks as part of a military communications modernization program
• Alcoa (AA) announced it has completed an expansion at its Tennessee facility dedicated to supplying aluminum sheet to the automotive industry. The $300 million project in Tennessee- which began customer shipments earlier this month-is Alcoa's second major automotive expansion in North America backed by long-term customer contracts

9:20 am Joy Global follow up: CAT -7% on guidance, layoff plan; peers JOY, DE, CNHI, TEX ticking lower (JOY) :

• CAT is now -7% after issuing downside guidance and a restructuring/layoff plan, citing a convergence of challenging marketplace conditions in key regions and industry sectors -- namely in mining and energy. See 9:01 CAT comment for full details. 
• Peers Joy Global (JOY), Deere (DE), CNH Industrial (CNHI) and Terex (TEX) are all ticking lower in sympathy.
  • JOY now -7% at 14.75
  • DE now -3% at 75.57
  • CNHI now -4% at 6.59
  • TEX has one tick down 2% at 17.42.
• Note that prior to the guidance news, Axiom Capital had initiated coverage of CAT with a Sell and $28 target.  

9:10 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Becton Dickinson (BDX) announced the availability of the FDA-cleared BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel, for use on the BD MAX System
• MaxLinear (MXL) announced that it has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification from UL DQS Inc. for the quality management system it uses in the design and contracted manufacture of its radio-frequency and mixed-signal semiconductors.
• Barnes & Noble (BKS) announced Member Appreciation Days, an in-store savings event for new and current Barnes & Noble Members. From Thursday, September 24, through Sunday, September 27, Members will receive a 20% in-store discount on almost everything in Barnes & Noble stores
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and The Experimental Therapeutics Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced that they have entered into an agreement with the goal of accelerating the discovery of fully human antibodies directed against therapeutic targets being researched by Mount Sinai investigators
• MobileIron (MOBL) announced that Damian Artt is joining the company as SVP of Worldwide Sales. 
• Blue Earth (BBLU) BE Solar subsidiary entered into a Letter of Intent to purchase all of the membership interests in six separate Special Purpose Entities, comprising the 57.1MWp Oregon solar portfolio, from Pacific Northwest Solar. The membership interests of the six Project Companies are 100% owned by PNS. Construction of the projects is scheduled to begin in early Q1 of 2016 with an expected COD date in late Q3 of 2016. The offtaker is Idaho Power Company.

9:09 am S&P futures vs fair value: -18.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -40.00. (:WRAPX) :

The stock market is on track for a lower start as S&P 500 futures trade 18 points below fair value after sliding from their overnight highs. That retreat has coincided with selling in Europe, where Germany's DAX is lower by 2.0% with BMW and Daimler both down near 5.0% amid concerns Volkswagen's issues may not be unique to the Wolfsburg-based automaker.

Domestically, the movements in index futures have been in focus while company-specific news has been limited. That being said, Caterpillar (CAT 66.05, -4.15) has recently dropped to a new pre-market low, trading lower by 6.0%, after lowering its guidance and announcing restructuring plans.

Furthermore, it also is worth noting that crude oil futures have dipped below the $44.00/bbl level, trading down 0.8% near $44.10/bbl at this juncture. The energy component has endured a volatile week and the early indication suggests today will be no different.

The early selling in equity futures has boosted the Treasury market where the 10-yr note sits near its high with the benchmark yield down five basis points at 2.12%.

On the economic front, the latest weekly initial jobless claims count increased to 267,000 from 264,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 271,000. Separately, August durable goods orders fell 2.0%, which is what the Briefing.com consensus expected.

One more data point remains with August New Home Sales (expected 515,000) set to be announced at 10:00 ET.

9:04 am Unilife Corporation amends clinical supply agreement with Novartis (NVS) to supply clinical products from one of its platforms of injectable drug delivery systems for use with one of Novartis' targeted early-stage pipeline drugs (UNIS) : Under this amendment to the agreement, Unilife will supply Novartis with additional batches of its customized delivery device to enable administration of a novel investigational Novartis drug into a targeted organ during an ongoing clinical drug trial. Unilife has granted Novartis an option for exclusivity under this agreement. Under the current stage of this agreement, Unilife will generate revenue on the basis of the clinical product supplies. Both parties anticipate the collaboration will continue to support the clinical development and anticipated approval of this novel therapy, which is targeting a high prevalence disease where no pharmacological treatments are currently available.

9:02 am Kimco Realty and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust to unwind their Canadian joint venture; Kimco to sell its stake (KIM) :

The portfolio of 35 jointly owned properties will be divided into three groups:

• The first group is a collection of 22 properties selected by RioCan that will be acquired in two stages: 19 properties during the third quarter of 2015 and three properties in the first quarter of 2016
• The second group consists of ten institutional-quality retail assets which the partners have agreed to market for sale, one of which is currently under a conditional contract to be sold
• The third group of assets includes three transitional properties that were previously occupied by Target, which will be dealt with at a future date.

RioCan will acquire Kimco's interest in a portfolio of 22 Canadian properties at a purchase price of $715 million. Under the terms of the transaction, RioCan will assume Kimco's share of the existing in place debt, subject to conventional closing conditions, of $231 million, which carries an average interest rate of 4.1% with a weighted average term to maturity of approximately 3.5 years.

9:01 am Caterpillar lowers FY15 guidance; guides down FY16 sales; announces restructuring to lower operating costs by $1.5 bln annually (4-5K permanent job cuts by next year) (CAT) :

• Co announced significant restructuring and cost reduction actions that are expected to lower operating costs by about $1.5 billion annually once fully implemented. The cost reduction steps will begin in late 2015 and reflect recent, current and expected market conditions.
• For 2015, the co's sales and revenues outlook has weakened, with 2015 sales and revenues now expected to be about $48 bln, or $1 billion lower than the previous outlook of about $49 bln and $48.9 bln consensus.
  • The $1 billion decline is a result of broadly weaker business conditions across our three large segments -- Construction Industries, Energy & Transportation and Resource Industries.
  • "We will provide an update of the 2015 profit outlook with our third-quarter financial release in late October."
• For 2016, sales and revenues are expected to be about 5% below 2015 or ~$45.6 bln vs. $47.8 bln consensus.
  • 2016 would mark the first time in Caterpillar's 90-year history that sales and revenues have decreased four years in a row.
  • "We currently expect the decline in sales and revenues in 2016 will occur in all three of our large segments -- Construction Industries, Energy & Transportation and Resource Industries -- with the most significant decline in the oil and gas portion of our Energy and Transportation segment."
• An expected permanent reduction in Caterpillar's salaried and mgmt workforce, including agency, of 4,000 -- 5,000 people between now and the end of 2016, with most occurring in 2015, and with a total possible workforce reduction of more than 10,000 people, including the contemplated consolidation and closures of manufacturing facilities occurring through 2018.
• Slightly less than half of the $1.5 billion of cost reduction is expected to be from lower Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) costs. The reduction in SG&A will largely be in place and effective in 2016 and occur across the company. The remaining cost reductions are expected to come from lower period manufacturing costs, including savings from additional contemplated facility consolidations and closures, which could impact more than 20 facilities and slightly more than 10 percent of our manufacturing square footage. A portion of these cost reductions are expected to be effective in 2016, with more savings anticipated in 2017 and 2018. 
• Peers: DE, JOY, TEX, CNHI.

9:01 am Meta Financial sells 135,625 shares of its common stock to affiliates of Brookside Equity Partners, for $5.7 mln (CASH) :

Co entered into a purchase agreement, under which the Company has agreed to sell to entities affiliated with Brookside Equity Partners, 135,625 shares of the Company's common stock, for aconsideration of ~$5.7 million.

• Co intends to use the net proceeds from this proposed stock issuance to fund increased balance sheet growth and costs associated with recently executed agreements between MetaBank and multiple payment solutions providers with respect to MetaBank's payment solutions division, Meta Payment Systems

9:01 am Aeterna Zentaris announces the dismissal of a class action lawsuit (AEZS) : Co reported the purported class action lawsuit filed against the Company and certain of its current and former officers, brought on behalf of shareholders of the Company in a US District Court has been dismissed with leave to amend. Co stated: ""We are pleased that the Court agreed with our view that the plaintiffs' claims were insufficient to support their allegations that the Defendants violated the federal securities laws."

8:56 am S&P futures vs fair value: -15.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -35.70. (:WRAPX) :

The S&P 500 futures trade 16 points below fair value.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday, yet Japan's Nikkei (-2.8%) was a notable standout for its weakness, which followed a three-day holiday closure. The downturn was labeled a catch-up trade that mirrored the general weakness that has been seen in other regional markets this week, except China, which is outperforming as President Xi Jinping visits the U.S.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's September Manufacturing PMI 50.9 (expected 51.3; prior 51.7) and All Industries Activity Index +0.2% month-over-month (expected +0.1%; prior +0.5%)
  • Hong Kong's August Trade Balance -HKD25.10 bln (expected -HKD23.30 bln; prior -HKD28.40 bln) as Exports -6.1% year-over-year (expected -2.1%; prior -1.6%) and Imports -7.4% year-over-year (expected -4.2%; prior -5.2%)
  • New Zealand's August Trade Balance -NZD1,035 mln month-over-month (expected -NZD850 mln; prior -NZD649 mln); -NZD3,331 mln year-over-year (expected -NZD3 mln; prior -NZD 3 mln)

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• Japan's Nikkei declined 2.8% in its first trading session since last Friday, ending at its lows for the day. The weakness was described a catch-up trade related to the fallout from the Volkswagen scandal and ongoing growth concerns fueled by China's weak manufacturing PMI reading on Wednesday. In the same vein, Japan's manufacturing PMI for September dropped for the first time in three months and added to Thursday's selling pressure. Losses were paced by the industrials (-4.3%), technology (-3.2%), and materials (-3.2%) sectors. The biggest laggards were JTEKT Corp (-10.4%), NSK Ltd (-9.2%), and OKUMA Corp (-9.1%). Shiseido Co (+3.4%), Aeon Co (+2.8%), and Seven & I Holdings (+2.5%) led a small group of winners. Out of the 225 index members, 14 ended higher and 211 finished lower.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.0% and finished near its lows for the session. The weakness followed on the heels of Wall Street's weak showing and was a continuation of the weakness seen throughout the weak. The Hang Seng is down 3.8% since Friday's close. Leading Thursday's losses were Galaxy Entertainment Group (-3.5%), Swire Pacific (-2.8%), and AIA Group (-2.6%). China Mengniu Dairy (+2.5%), China Resources Enterprise (+2.2%), and Power Assets Holdings (+1.9%) topped a small list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 11 ended higher and 39 finished lower.
• China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.9%, bolstered by a burst of buying interest in the final hour that took the Composite up 0.7%. The late spike will drive speculation that it was government-sponsored, particularly with President Xi Jinping in the U.S. right now speaking favorably of China's reform efforts.

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-2.0%) pacing the retreat amid concerns Volkswagen's issues may not be unique to the automaker. On a separate note, the Norges Bank has unexpectedly lowered its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's September Ifo Business Climate Index 108.5 (expected 108.0; prior 108.4). Business Expectations 103.3 (expected 101.5; prior 102.2) and Current Assessment 114.0 (consensus 114.7; last 114.8). Also of note, GfK Consumer Climate 9.6 (expected 9.8; last 9.9)
  • Italy's July Retail Sales +0.4% month-over-month (expected 0.2%: prior -0.4%) while Industrial Sales -1.1% month-over-month (consensus 1.6%; last 0.7%) and Industrial New Orders +0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; previous 3.0%)
  • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 46,700 (expected 46,300; prior 46,300)
  • France's September Business Survey 104 (expected 102; previous 103)

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• Germany's DAX has given up 2.0% with 29 of its 30 components trading in the red. Volkswagen is higher by 1.8% while BMW and Daimler hold respective losses of 6.7% and 4.7%. As for financials, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are both down near 1.4%.
• In France, the CAC is lower by 1.8% amid broad pressure. Peugeot is the weakest performer, trading lower by 4.7%, while growth-sensitive Technip and Solvay are both down near 3.5%. Elsewhere, Unibail Rodamco trades up 0.5% while Societe Generale sits just below its flat line.
• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.6% with miners and energy names showing relative weakness. Anglo American, Glencore, and Royal Dutch Shell hold losses between 1.7% and 7.7%. On the upside, Associated British Foods and Whitbread are both up near 1.2%.

8:53 am Discovery names Paul Guyardo as Chief Commercial Officer effective October 5 (DISCA) : Guyardo most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer at DIRECTV

8:50 am Iron Mountain announces a proposed private offering of $800 mln in aggregate principal amount of its Senior Notes due 2020 (IRM) : The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering and borrowings under its revolving credit facility for the redemption of all of its outstanding 6.75% Euro Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018, 7.75% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2019 and 8.375% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2021.

8:39 am KemPharm expands opioid pipeline with new acetaminophen-free, immediate release hydrocodone and oxycodone prodrug product candidates; Updates on clinical development pipeline and anticipated NDA filings (KMPH) :

KemPharm expects this product candidate to feature the same abuse-deterrent properties demonstrated by KP201/APAP in the most recent clinical trial, KP201.A03.  In addition, the Company announced it has initiated the development of an IR formulation of its oxycodone prodrug, KP606.

• Based on current development timelines, KemPharm anticipates a potential New Drug Application (:NDA) filing for acetaminophen-free KP201 in 2017. KP201/IR would be the first IR, acetaminophen-free hydrocodone option available to physicians. In response to the favorable oral exposure data from the KP201.A01 trial, KemPharm is also preparing additional high strengths of both KP201/APAP and KP201/IR (APAP-free) to provide physicians additional flexibility and choices for pain management.
• Product Development Strategy -   Parent Drug/Product Candidate and anticipated NDA Filing
  • Pain Hydrocodone (IR) KP201/APAP Clinical NDA-Filing Q4 2015; Hydrocodone (IR) KP201/IR (APAP-free) Clinical NDA-Filing 2017 ; Hydromorphone (:ER) KP511/ER Preclinical NDA-Filing 2018 ; Oxycodone (IR) KP606/IR Preclinical NDA-Filing 2019 ; ADHD Methylphenidate (CR) KP415 Preclinical NDA-Filing 2019

8:38 am European Markets Update: DAX -2.1%, CAC -1.8%, FTSE -0.6% (:SUMRX) :

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Germany's DAX (-2.1%) pacing the retreat amid concerns Volkswagen's issues may not be unique to the automaker. On a separate note, the Norges Bank has unexpectedly lowered its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's September Ifo Business Climate Index 108.5 (expected 108.0; prior 108.4). Business Expectations 103.3 (expected 101.5; prior 102.2) and Current Assessment 114.0 (consensus 114.7; last 114.8). Also of note, GfK Consumer Climate 9.6 (expected 9.8; last 9.9)
  • Italy's July Retail Sales +0.4% month-over-month (expected 0.2%: prior -0.4%) while Industrial Sales -1.1% month-over-month (consensus 1.6%; last 0.7%) and Industrial New Orders +0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; previous 3.0%)
  • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 46,700 (expected 46,300; prior 46,300)
  • France's September Business Survey 104 (expected 102; previous 103)

------

• Germany's DAX has given up 2.1% with 29 of its 30 components trading in the red. Volkswagen is higher by 1.8% while BMW and Daimler hold respective losses of 6.7% and 4.7%. As for financials, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are both down near 1.4%.
• In France, the CAC is lower by 1.8% amid broad pressure. Peugeot is the weakest performer, trading lower by 4.7%, while growth-sensitive Technip and Solvay are both down near 3.5%. Elsewhere, Unibail Rodamco trades up 0.5% while Societe Generale sits just below its flat line.
• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.6% with miners and energy names showing relative weakness. Anglo American, Glencore, and Royal Dutch Shell hold losses between 1.7% and 7.7%. On the upside, Associated British Foods and Whitbread are both up near 1.2%.

8:37 am KB Home beats by $0.01, beats on revs (KBH) :

Reports Q3 (Aug) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.22; revenues rose 42.6% year/year to $840.2 mln vs the $819.54 mln consensus. 

• Potential future housing revenues in backlog grew 44% to $1.59 bln at August 31, 2015, from $1.10 bln at August 31, 2014
• Net orders grew 19% to 2,167 for the quarter. Co delivered 2,236 homes, up 25% YoY.
• The overall average selling price rose 9% to $357,200 YoY.
• Co's housing gross profit margin of 16.2% improved by 20 basis points from Q2.

8:34 am Tesaro announces inclusion of VARUBI (rolapitant) in National Comprehensive Cancer Network Antiemesis Guidelines (TSRO) : Results from three Phase 3 trials of VARUBI demonstrated a significant reduction in episodes of vomiting or use of rescue medication during the 25 to 120 hour period following administration of highly emetogenic and moderately emetogenic chemotherapy regimens. TESARO plans to launch VARUBI in the U.S. in Q4 of 2015.

8:33 am Shanda Games enters into amended and restated merger agreement related to the 'going private' transaction (GAME) : Under the terms of the Amended and Restated Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation and becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Merger Agreement, Parent, Merger Sub and the Company agreed, among other things, to extend the "Termination Date", as defined in Section 8.02(a) of the Original Merger Agreement, to December 31, 2015.

8:33 am Xenon Pharmaceuticals initiates its Phase 1 clinical trial of XEN801, as a potential treatment for acne (XENE) : If supported by positive data from the Phase 1 trial, the Company plans to initiate a proof-of-concept Phase 2 trial in patients with moderate-to-severe acne by the end of the year with data expected in 2016.

8:33 am Initial Claims Increase to 267,000; Durable Orders Match Expectations...S&P futures vs fair value: -19.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -47.10. (:WRAPX) :

The S&P 500 futures trade 19 points below fair value.

The latest weekly initial jobless claims count totaled 267,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 271,000. Today's tally was above the unrevised prior week count of 264,000. As for continuing claims, they fell to 2.242 million from 2.243 million.

August durable goods orders fell 2.0%, which is what the Briefing.com consensus expected. This comes after the prior month's revised reading reflected an increase of 1.9% (from 2.2%). Excluding transportation, durable orders were unchanged (consensus 0.2%) to follow the prior month's unrevised increase of 0.4%.

8:32 am Market View: Front-month Dec. eMini stock-index futures remain pressured well below fair values here following the 8:30 am ET economic data points (:TECHX) :

• ESz5 now @ 1909.75 -18.75
  
  
• YMz5 now @ 16019 -168
  
  
• NQz5 now @ 4211.50 -51.25

8:32 am Monarch Finl approved the repurchase of up to 5% outstanding common stock or ~540K shares over the next twelve months (MNRK) :  

8:31 am Signal Genetics granted first European patent for MyPRS (SGNL) :

Co announced the grant of EU Patent Number 2537942 for its proprietary MyPRS genetic test.

• The patent, which was published on September 23, 2015, covers the use of the Company's gene expression profiling assay to predict survival in multiple myeloma patients.
• With the patent in place, the Company plans to seek licensing opportunities with European partners in order to expand its global footprint for MyPRS
  

8:31 am SuperCom approves a one million share repurchase program (SPCB) : The duration of the program is open-ended, does not require the purchase of any minimum number of shares and may be suspended or discontinued at any time.   

8:31 am Minerva Neurosciences announces an update on two ongoing clinical trials of MIN-202 (NERV) : Co provided an update on two ongoing clinical trials with MIN-202 (JNJ-42847922), a selective orexin-2 receptor antagonist under joint development with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. Patient recruitment is ongoing in both trials, which include a Phase 2a trial in insomnia disorder and a Phase 1b trial in adjunctive major depressive disorder (MDD).

8:29 am Gilat Satellite lowers FY15 projections due to recent decisions by its customers to delay several large-scale projects (shares halted) (GILT) :

Based on preliminary estimates, revenues for the second half of 2015 are expected to be between $120-130 million and second half EBITDA is expected to be between $8-10 million. As a result, revenues for the full year of 2015 are expected to be between $210-220 million and EBITDA between $6-8 million.

• The co's CEO detailed, "I am disappointed that we will not meet our management objectives for 2015. Our revision is due to recent decisions to delay several large-scale projects by our customers, mainly in Mexico and Russia and in our defense-related activities. In addition, although our Fitel project in Peru is progressing well, we have extended the initial planning stage to achieve greater efficiency and improved profitability. These factors will mainly impact the third quarter."

8:26 am Gapping down (SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: FUL -6.9%, WOR -3.6%, ACN -2%

Select fan favorites trading lower with weakness in US futures: FB -1.1%, AMZN -0.9%, AAPL -0.9%, TSLA -0.9%, TWTR -0.9%, NFLX -0.8%

Select financial related names showing weakness: HSBC -1.7%, GS -1.1%, C -1%, ING -0.9%, BAC -0.9%, JPM -0.7%, DB -0.7%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower: MT -2.1%, VALE -2%, FCX -1.2%, BHP -1.2%, X -0.5%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness: PKD -4.1%, PBR -3.2%, BHI -1.4%, BP -1.2%, RDS.A -0.5%

Other news: WGBS -7.7% (co filed amended S-1 containing info on previously announced $34.5 mln mixed securities offering), VNDA -3.2% (announces that a Fanapt patent is now listed in the FDA's Orange Book), JOY -2.2% (in sympathy with CAT), ALV -2.1% (still checking), BABA -1.3% (cont weakness), DORM -1.1% (appoints Mathias Barton as CEO, succeeding Steven Berman, who will assumed the role of Executive Chairman), SBRA -1.1% (reports an update on the tenant of the Forest Park Medical Center-Frisco hospital), DE -1% (in sympathy with CAT)

Analyst comments: CAT -3.1% (initiated with a Sell at Axiom Capital; tgt $28)

8:25 am European Yields (BONDX) :

Sovereign Yields Decline

• The German 10-year Bund yield fell to 0.58% today, a level not seen since the August 24th market panic. Investors pushed Bund prices higher despite ECB President Mario Draghi's noncommittal remarks Wednesday regarding an expansion of the ECB's asset purchase program
  
• Germany's Ifo Business Climate Index unexpectedly rose to 108.5 in September from 108.3 in August
  
  • The survey predated the Volkswagen scandal, but did show encouraging signs of resilience in the face of August's market volatility and China's revaluation of the yuan
    
  • The current assessment fell to 114.0 from 114.8, but business expectations jumped to 103.3 from 102.2
    
• Germany's Gfk Consumer Climate Index fell more than expected to 9.6 in October from 9.9 in August
  
• Norway's central bank surprised the markets with a 25 basis point cut in the deposit rate to 0.75% and opened up the door for more easing later in the year
  
• In the U.K., the British Bankers Association reported that the U.K.'s net mortgage lending touched a five-year high of GBP 1.955 bln in August
  
  • Mortgage approvals rose to an 18-month high of 46,473 in August from 46,315 in July
    
  • Gilts rallied this morning anyway as high quality sovereign debt was snapped up and equities were abandoned
    
• Italian retail sales rose 0.4% m/m in July, better than expected and a reversal of June's 0.4% decline
  
• Ukraine's central bank cut its main policy rate by five percentage points to 22%
  
• Yield Check:
  
  • France, 10-yr OAT: -1 bp to 0.89%
    
  • Germany, 10-yr Bund: -2 bps to 0.58%
    
  • Greece, 10-yr note: +8 bps to 8.19%
    
  • Italy, 10-yr BTP: -1 bp to 1.73%
    
  • Portugal, 10-yr note: -6 bps to 2.53%
    
  • Spain, 10-yr ODE: unch at 1.96%
    
  • U.K., 10-yr Gilt: -4 bps to 1.65%

8:23 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• UBIC (UBIC) announced that the Japan Patent Office has recently issued a Notification of Decision of Grant to the Company for a patent application related to High-Resolution Analysis. The patent covers a new ability to scan documents at the paragraph level allows UBIC's software to detect subtle differences across documents that previous searches might have missed
• Glu Mobile (GLUU) announced the commercial availability of its Eternity Warriors 4 game on the App Store and Google Play
• Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ORMP) announced that its patent for its invention, titled "Methods and Compositions for Oral Administrations of Proteins" has been allowed by the USPTO
• Xencor (XNCR) announced that its partner CSL Limited has initiated, through its licensee Janssen Biotech Inc- a unit of Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)-a Phase 2 clinical trial for CSL362 (now called JNJ-56022473), which uses Xencor's XmAb Cytotoxic Fc Domain. Xencor will receive an undisclosed milestone payment for the initiation of Phase 2 testing and is also eligible to receive additional milestone payments and royalties on sales
• Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) announced that it is currently developing, and plans to launch, two new configurations of its FCvelocity-HD7 fuel cell module in 2016. The two new module configurations will seek to address a range of emerging power needs in heavy-duty transit applications, such as buses. The Company is in advanced discussions for initial orders
• Exelixis (EXEL) announced three high-level appointments as the company prepares for the potential commercialization of its lead compound, cabozantinib, for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. William Berg, M.D. has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs, Jonathan Berndt as Vice President of Sales, and Gregg Bernier as Vice President of Marketing
• Trovagene ( TROV) announced upcoming the presentation of clinical results featuring the use of its Precision Cancer Monitoring platform to detect and monitor driver mutations in both pancreatic cancer and lung cancer patients, at the 2015 European Cancer Congress
• UTi Worldwide (UTIW) has opened a new contract logistics facility in Mexico to support the growth of its clients in the automotive and high-tech/electronics industries

8:21 am Gapping up (SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance: SCS +4.9%

Other news: ARWR +36.6% (reports peak reduction in HBsAg of up to 99% after a single dose with Hepatitis B candidate ARC-520),CNAT +23.9% (announces top-line results from multicenter Phase 2 Portal Hypertension clinical trial in patients with liver cirrhosis),KERX +17.1% (announces the European Commission has approved Fexeric),PHMD +16% (still checking),XCO +9% (to hold a special meeting of shareholder on November 16; among proposals, shareholders will vote to authorize the Board to commence a reverse split),AMRS +8.3% (Total S.A. (TOT) discloses a 41.4% stake, raised from August 6's stake of 33.98%),ACI +8.3% (announces additional extension of private debt exchange offers and support agreement),SNCR +4.9% (reiterated that it has a multi-year contract in place with Verizon Wireless (VZ), focused primarily on the company's Personal Cloud offering and related services; no change in the agreement between Synchronoss and Verizon),MPLX +4.9% (co's Pipe Line unit amended its existing Patoka, Illinois tank farm Storage Services Agreement with Marathon Petroleum (MPC) to increase the shell capacity),ABGB +4.3% (to convene Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting to approve a capital increase of at least EUR 650 mln; Chairman Felipe Benjumea steps down),ALIM +3.5% (announces ILUVIEN Study Results),BSQR +1.0% (entered into a two-year, $12 million credit agreement)

Analyst comments: N/A

8:16 am Dominion Midstream: Dominion (D) to purchase up to $50 mln common units representing limited partner interests in DM over the next 12 months (DM) : Dominion owns 11,847,789 Dominion Midstream common units representing limited partner interests.

8:14 am Clean Diesel Technologies issues statement in response to numerous inquires questions regarding recent emissions compliance issues within the automotive industry, says will accelerate commercialization (CDTI) : "The strong reaction to the negative aspects of non-compliance makes it crystal clear that governments intend to strictly enforce stringent emission regulations as they urgently and aggressively tackle the enormous environmental, social and economic costs stemming from harmful vehicular pollutants. We believe our proprietary technologies that include MPC, Spinel, BMARS and SPGM, offer vehicle manufacturers superior emission reduction performance at substantially lower cost. We intend to accelerate commercialization of our breakthrough compliance-enabling technologies."

8:12 am Arrowhead Research +35% at eleven month high premarket following positive Phase 2a ARC-520 data for Hepatitis B (:HBV) (ARWR) : HBV peers: ABUS, GILD.

8:08 am Casella Waste files definitive proxy materials in connection with its 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, urges shareholders to vote the WHITE proxy card (CWST) : Casella is being advised in connection with the proxy contest by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. Mackenzie Partners, Inc. is serving as Casella's proxy solicitor.

8:07 am New Media Investment acquires Monroe Publishing for $5.2 mln in cash (NEWM) :  

8:06 am NCI awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee task order valued at $14.5 mln to provide a diverse range of engineering, architecture, integration and readiness support services to the U.S. Army (NCIT) : This task order represents new work for NCI and consists of a 10-month base period and two 12-month option periods under NCI's R2-3G indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract.

8:04 am TICC Capital sends letter to stockholders, reiterating benefits of the agreement with Benefit Street Partners, and urges them to vote the White proxy card at the upcoming annual meeting (TICC) :  

8:03 am Capnia announces publication of CoSense clinical data in the journal Neonatology; study demonstrates superiority of CoSense in detecting hemolysis and reducing jaundice-related readmissions (CAPN) : This peer-reviewed paper, which is expected to appear in the January 2016 print issue, discusses recent clinical research demonstrating the superiority of CoSense End-Tidal Carbon Monoxide (:ETCO) Monitor at detecting hemolysis in jaundiced newborns. The results of the study conducted in neonates with bilirubin above the 75th percentile show that CoSense is more effective at identifying hemolysis than traditional measures, such as the Coombs test. Of the 100 high-risk neonates studied at three hospitals in the Intermountain Healthcare System, CoSense showed evidence of hemolysis in 37%, while Coombs testing showed several false negative results. None of the neonates studied with CoSense were readmitted to the hospital. In the same period of time, approximately 3% of the 3,535 neonates on whom CoSense was not used prior to discharge from the hospital, were readmitted for jaundice.

8:03 am Coca-Cola Bottling Co. confirms details of LOI to acquire manufacturing facilities and definitive agreement to expand franchise distribution territory (COKE) :

• The transactions proposed in the Manufacturing Letter of Intent are subject to the parties reaching a definitive agreement, with a series of transaction closings for these facilities expected to begin in the first half of 2016. The Definitive Agreement represents the first phase of the proposed franchise territory expansion described in the previously-announced Letter of Intent dated May 12, 2015 between the Company and The Coca-Cola Company.
• The Company is continuing to work towards a definitive agreement with The Coca-Cola Company for the remainder of the proposed franchise territory expansion described in the May 2015 Letter of Intent, including distribution territories in parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.
• See 7:46 for additional details from The Coca-Cola Comp (KO). 

8:02 am Celator Pharma reports successful R&D efforts to apply the CombiPlex technology platform, to optimize the efficacy of anticancer drug combinations (CPXX) :

Co announced their successful R&D efforts to apply the CombiPlex technology platform to optimize the efficacy of anticancer drug combinations incorporating molecularly targeted agents. Recent results from preclinical studies conducted by Celator suggest the technology may significantly improve the therapeutic index of combinations containing MTAs.

• Celator's efforts have focused on two combinations: the heat shock protein 90 inhibitor AUY922 combined with docetaxel and the MEK inhibitor selumetinib combined with the Akt inhibitor ipatasertib. In both cases, the drug combinations were stably co-formulated in Celator's proprietary hydrophobic prodrug nanoparticle delivery systems which provided well-coordinated plasma concentrations over 24 hours that were orders of magnitude higher than observed for the free drug combinations.
• For both combinations, the CombiPlex formulations provided significant improvements in efficacy over the free drugs in human xenograft tumor models including breast, colorectal and ovarian. Furthermore, there was evidence of strong drug ratio-dependent efficacy and in vivo synergy.
• Another benefit observed during this research was the versatility and modular nature of the nanoparticle technology. Once formulation conditions were optimized for the two initial combinations, the drug components could be "mixed and matched," rapidly generating additional CombiPlex products with coordinated PK.

8:02 am Assurant names CFO Christopher Pagano to Chief Risk Officer, begins external search for CFO (AIZ) :

• Risk Management: Christopher Pagano, Assurant's executive vice president, CFO and treasurer, is to be named Chief Risk Officer. . Assurant has begun an external search for a CFO and treasurer to succeed Pagano, who will remain in the role until a successor is in place.
• Technology: A search is underway to fill the newly created enterprise role of chief technology officer.

8:02 am Xylem outlines five year growth strategy at Analyst Day, which includes accelerated acquisition activity; reaffirms FY15 guidance (XYL) :

• Co will outline its five-year strategy to drive profitable growth. Xylem President and CEO Patrick Decker will provide an overview of the Company's plans to drive above-market organic growth and its balanced capital deployment strategy, which includes accelerated acquisition activity. 
  • "First, the combination of improving end-market conditions and diligent execution will enable us to deliver faster than market growth. Second, we expect to further expand operating margins by more than 300 basis points over the next five years through focused business simplification and continuous improvement initiatives. And finally, we plan to execute a balanced capital deployment strategy. With strong cash flow and a solid capital structure, we expect to deploy up to $3.5 billion for disciplined M&A and opportunistic share repurchases over the plan period."
• Xylem also reaffirmed its full-year outlook, including full-year 2015 revenue of ~$3.7 bln vs. $3.66 bln consensus, a decrease of six to seven percent from the full-year 2014 results. On an organic basis, Xylem expects to generate revenue growth of ~one to two percent.
  • Full-year 2015 adjusted operating income is expected to be in the range of $470 million to $483 million, resulting in adjusted earnings per share of $1.82 to $1.87 vs. $1.84 consensus.

8:01 am Comstock Mining advances underground portal (LODE) :

• Co announced that construction of the underground exploration portal ("Harris Portal") and development of the exploration drift ("tunnel") in the existing Lucerne Surface Mine is progressing on schedule and has reached a linear distance of ~200 feet.
• Additionally, the first drill platform has been constructed and the underground drilling of the previously discovered, dike-like masses of quartz porphyry (PQ), commenced today.
• The first phase of the tunnel development, with a planned investment of $3 million, is expected to be ~800 feet, running parallel to the PQ target. This phase includes ~20,000 feet of Diamond-core definition drilling and is scheduled for completion before year-end.

8:01 am Autodesk acquires netfabb; terms not disclosed- not expected to impact previously issued guidance (ADSK) : Co will also make a strategic investment in FIT Technology Group, the parent company of netfabb and provider of additive manufacturing software and services. The two companies will collaborate to increase adoption of technology for industrial additive manufacturing. Co plans to use foreign capital for the transaction, which is expected to close in Autodesk's Q4 FY2016. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

8:01 am ClearSign Combustion promotes Dr. Roberto Ruiz to the position of Chief Operating Officer (CLIR) : Co announced the promotion of Dr. Roberto Ruiz to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Previously ClearSign's Senior Vice President of Product Development, Dr. Ruiz is a combustion industry veteran with experience at companies including OnQuest, Inc., John Zink Company, LLC, and the Gas Research Institute. In his new role, Dr. Ruiz will lead ClearSign's growing field engineering and technical sales functions.

8:00 am S&P futures vs fair value: -16.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -41.00. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures trade near their pre-market lows after sliding from their overnight highs alongside equity indices in Europe. The S&P 500 futures currently trade 16 points below fair value.

The recent slide in equity futures has coincided with demand for Treasuries that has sent the 10-yr yield lower by four basis points to 2.11%.

On the economic front, weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 271K) and August Durable Orders (expected -2.0%) will be reported at 8:30 ET while August New Home Sales (expected 515,000) will be announced at 10:00 ET.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Accenture (ACN 97.86, 0.00): beat estimates but guided Q1 revenue below consensus. Also of note, the company raised its dividend 8.0% to $1.10/share and approved $5 billion to conduct additional share buybacks. Industrial names have faced more selling pressure this morning, suggesting the presence of continued concerns about China's economic growth.
• Caterpillar (CAT 68.25, -1.95) and Joy Global (JOY 15.40, -0.35) are currently lower by 2.8% and 2.2%, respectively.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mixed. China's Shanghai Composite +0.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.0%, and Japan's Nikkei -2.8%
  • In economic data:
    • Japan's September Manufacturing PMI 50.9 (expected 51.3; prior 51.7) and All Industries Activity Index +0.2% month-over-month (expected +0.1%; prior +0.5%)
    • Hong Kong's August Trade Balance -HKD25.10 bln (expected -HKD23.30 bln; prior -HKD28.40 bln) as Exports -6.1% year-over-year (expected -2.1%; prior -1.6%) and Imports -7.4% year-over-year (expected -4.2%; prior -5.2%)
    • New Zealand's August Trade Balance -NZD1,035 mln month-over-month (expected -NZD850 mln; prior -NZD649 mln); -NZD3,331 mln year-over-year (expected -NZD3 mln; prior -NZD 3 mln)
  • In news:
    • Bank of China economists have lowered their Q3 GDP estimate to 6.8%, expecting a rebound to 7.0% in Q4, according to press reports
    • The Taiwan central bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate to 1.75% from 1.875%, representing the first cut since 2011

• Major European indices trade lower across the board. Germany's DAX -1.7%, France's CAC -1.4%, and UK's FTSE -0.6%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -1.1% and Spain's IBEX -1.3%
  • Participants received several data points:
    • Germany's September Ifo Business Climate Index 108.5 (expected 108.0; prior 108.4). Business Expectations 103.3 (expected 101.5; prior 102.2) and Current Assessment 114.0 (consensus 114.7; last 114.8). Also of note, GfK Consumer Climate 9.6 (expected 9.8; last 9.9)
    • Italy's July Retail Sales +0.4% month-over-month (expected 0.2%: prior -0.4%) while Industrial Sales -1.1% month-over-month (consensus 1.6%; last 0.7%) and Industrial New Orders +0.6% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; previous 3.0%)
    • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 46,700 (expected 46,300; prior 46,300)
    • France's September Business Survey 104 (expected 102; previous 103)
  • Among news of note:
    • The Norges Bank has unexpectedly lowered its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%

8:00 am Jive Software appoints David Puglia as Chief Marketing Officer (JIVE) :

• Co named David Puglia as its new chief marketing officer.
• Puglia record's including tenures at Alcatel-Lucent (ALU).

7:59 am Galectin Therapeutics begins phase 2a psoriasis study with GR-MD-02 (GALT) :

• Co announces the start of a 10-patient pilot study with GR-MD-02 in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The genesis of this study is the apparent remission of a patient with severe psoriasis who participated in the Company's Phase 1 study cohort of 4 mg/kg of GR-MD-02 for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

7:59 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Otonomy (OTIC) announced the upcoming presentation of results from two of its programs; Phase 3 trials evaluating AuriProTM in pediatric patients with middle ear effusion undergoing tympanostomy tube placement surgery, and a Phase 2b trial evaluating OTO-104 in patients with unilateral Mnire's disease. Clinical results from the studies will be presented at the 2015 American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting
• Caladrius Biosciences (CLBS) announces that it has received a $300,000 contract from the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute to wholly fund the first phase of a project for process optimization of its therapeutic agent targeting tumor-initiating cells (often referred to as cancer stem cells). The contract anticipates an additional $2 million in funding for the project should both the government and Caladrius agree to proceed at the conclusion of the first phase which is expected in June 2016.
• Rouse Properties (RSE) announced the closing of a new $135 million first mortgage loan for NewPark Mall, a 1 million square foot retail property located in Newark, California
• Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM) announced two new underground awards totaling $28 million in Southern California. The first award is with a large utility customer for a high pressure natural gas supply line that goes under the Santa Ana River. The second award is with a large EPC customer for the removal, abandonment and replacement of over 22,000 feet of 8" high pressure jet fuel line
• Shopify Inc. (SHOP) announced the launch of Shopify Shipping. Merchants can now buy and print discounted shipping labels directly within the Shopify platform. the integration with USPS represents the first step towards improving shipping for Shopify's merchants.

7:51 am Omnova Solutions misses by $0.01, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 earnings outlook (OMN) :

Reports Q3 (Aug) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.14; revenues fell 16.3% year/year to $210.9 mln vs the $262 mln consensus. 

• Outlook: During the fourth quarter, the Company expects to incur charges of ~$4.0 mln to $5.0 mln, of which $1.0 mln to $2.0 mln is cash related to the manufacturing realignment and SG&A restructuring announced in June 2015, which are expected to deliver $14.0 mln to $17.0 mln of annual savings by 2017. Despite an uncertain global economy and challenges in a few of OMNOVA's end markets, the Company continues to expect significant growth in Adjusted Diluted EPS in FY15 (reaffirmed form prior guidance).

7:49 am General Electric reaches an agreement with UK Export Finance, to access export financing for up to $12 Billion (GE) :

Co reached an agreement with the UK export credit agency UK Export Finance to access export financing for up to $12 Billion. This agreement will initially support both confirmed and potential orders in a number of international markets including Brazil, Ghana, India and Mozambique.

• Under the terms of the memorandum with UKEF, GE has pledged ongoing support for its UK supply chain. In addition to providing export finance support, UKEF has agreed to add GE as a member of its Direct Lending Facility Partnership Panel which will allow the company to provide technical, commercial and financial solutions to customers. UKEF is also offering GE a new 'top-up' support facility of up to $750 million

7:47 am Tandy Leather Factory announces an agreement for a $6 mln revolving credit facility (TLF) : This credit facility replaced the company's prior line of credit and expires in September 2017. Further, the lender is providing a line of credit facility of up to $10 million for the purpose of repurchasing the company's common stock. Amounts drawn under either facility accrue interest at LIBOR plus 1.85%

7:46 am Coca-Cola signs LOI to implement national product supply system in the US; each NPSS bottler will acquire certain production facilities within their transitioning distribution territories (KO) :

• Under the new NPSS, three existing independent producing bottlers, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (COKE), Coca-Cola Bottling Company United , and Swire Coca-Cola USA , as well as the Company-owned Coca-Cola Refreshments along with Coca-Cola North America, will be members of Coca-Cola's National Product Supply Group. The NPSG will administer key national product supply activities for these NPSS bottlers, which currently represent approximately 95 percent of the U.S. produced volume.
• Under the initial terms of the Letters of Intent, it is anticipated that each NPSS bottler will acquire certain production facilities from CCR within their transitioning distribution territories. Initially, it is contemplated that CCR will divest the following nine production facilities with an estimated net book value of $380 million. The transition of these production facilities from CCR to NPSS bottlers is anticipated to take place between 2016 and 2018.

7:38 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• NewLink Genetics Corporation (NLNK) announced that data from a phase 1a study of GDC-0919, an IDO checkpoint inhibitor being developed in collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, will be presented at the European Cancer Congress 2015
  • Co also announced that it will present early stage clinical data from its indoximod program in melanoma at the European Cancer Congress 2015
• Summit Therapeutics plc (SMMT) announced that it will present additional clinical data from its Phase 1b modified diet trial of SMT C1100 for the treatment of DMD, as well as preclinical data supporting SMT C1100 and the broader utrophin modulation pipeline, at the 20th International Congress of the World Muscle Society
• Alphaeon Corporation and NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NBY) announced that they have formed a partnership that will add NovaBay's Avenova to the products that Alphaeon makes available to patients and doctors
• Dealertrack Technologies (TRAK) announced that as part of an agreement between incadea and Michelin Headquarters, Michelin China will deploy the tire and fast-fit business solution based on Dealertrack's incadea.fastfit tire business management solution in more than 2,000 TYREPLUS Service Centers across China by 2018
• Sino-Global Shipping America (SINO) appointed by Rong Yao International Shipping Limited to oversee the ship management operation for the 8,818 gross tonnage oil/chemical transportation tanker, the "Rong Zhou". In addition, Sino-Global has reached an agreement with the third-party charterer of the Vessel pursuant to which Sino-Global will become the exclusive general shipping agent for the Vessel. Based on available information, the Company believes that the new general shipping agency services will generate revenues to Sino-Global of approximately $0.5 million in fiscal year 2016.
• TiVo (TIVO) entered into an agreement with Millicom International Cellular S.A. (MIICF). The agreement relates to the deployment of multiple TiVo products and services to MIC-owned pay television platforms in certain Latin American territories.
• Daegis (DAEG) announced a strategic partnership with Toronto-based Rivit Technology Partners. Through this partnership, Rivit will offer customers Daegis' Composer Technologies migration software and services for Lotus Notes Applications

7:37 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) :

Treasuries Rally on Risk Aversion

• The Treasury complex spiked higher this morning as European equities traded lower on fears that Volkswagen's emissions test scandal would spread to BMW and other automakers. The yield curve is flattening ahead of Janet Yellen's public remarks this afternoon. After a week light on economic data, we will receive orders of durable goods and new home sales for August this morning
  
• Yield Check:
  
  • 2-yr: -2 bps to 0.68%
    
  • 5-yr: -4 bps to 1.44%
    
  • 10-yr: -4 bps to 2.11%
    
  • 30-yr: -4 bps to 2.90%

• International News:
  
  • Norway's central bank surprised the markets with a 25 basis point cut in the deposit rate to 0.75% and opened up the door for more easing later in the year
    
    • The Norwegian krone dropped below parity against the Swedish krona on the news
      
  • Taiwan's central bank also unexpectedly cut rates, trimming its main policy rate to 1.75% from 1.875%
    
  • Japan's flash PMI fell to a lower-than-expected 50.9 in September from 51.7 in August. New order growth slowed in September and panelists blamed weakening demand in China
    
  • Germany's Ifo Business Climate Index unexpectedly rose to 108.5 in September from 108.3 in August
    
    • The survey predated the Volkswagen scandal, but did show encouraging signs of resilience in the face of August's market volatility and China's revaluation of the yuan
      
    • The current assessment fell to 114.0 from 114.8, but business expectations jumped to 103.3 from 102.2
      
  • Germany's Gfk Consumer Climate Index fell more than expected to 9.6 in October from 9.9 in August

• Data Out Today:
  
  • Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending 9/19 and Continuing Jobless Claims for the week ending 9/12 (08:30 ET)
    
  • August Durable Goods Orders and Durable Goods ex-transportation (08:30 ET)
    
  • August New Home Sales (10:00 ET)
    
  • Natural Gas Inventories for the week ending 9/19 (10:30 ET)
    
• Treasury Auction:
  
  • $29 bln 7-year note auction (results at 13:00 ET)
    
• Fed Speaker:
  
  • Fed Chair Yellen (17:00 ET) (FOMC Voter)

7:36 am Cempra to present data from its Phase 3 clinical trial for oral solithromycin, at the European Respiratory Society International Congress (CEMP) : A poster presentation will be made on Cempra's Phase 3 clinical trial for oral solithromycin in which oral solithromycin was found to be non-inferior to and have a comparable safety and tolerability profile versus oral moxifloxacin for treatment of adult community acquired bacterial pneumonia. In elderly patients and those with COPD or asthma, compared to moxifloxacin, the number of responders on solithromycin was numerically greater.

7:32 am Alimera Sciences announces ILUVIEN Study Results Presented At 15th Euretina Congress: Well tolerated and effective in reducing retinal thickness and increasing visual acuity (ALIM) :

• Co revealed interim six-month data on ILUVIEN (Fluocinolone Acetonide 190 micrograms intravitreal implant in applicator) from the ongoing study referred to as RESPOND, a non-Randomised, open-label, multicenter phase 4 pilot study on the Effect and Safety of ILUVIEN Fluocinolone Acetonide in chronic diabetic macular edema Patients cOnsidered iNsufficiently responsive to available therapies with or without intravitreal corticosteroiD therapy. The study is focused on the efficacy and safety of ILUVIEN, the first sustained release pharmaceutical product for the treatment of vision impairment associated with chronic diabetic macular edema (:DME), considered insufficiently responsive to available therapies. The study data were presented at the 15th EURETINA Congress in Nice, France on Sept 17, 2015.
• The interim 6-month results showed that ILUVIEN was well tolerated and effective in reducing retinal thickness and increasing visual acuity. Of 11 patients completing their six-month visit, nine (82%) maintained or improved their Best Corrected Visual Acuity (:BCVA) from baseline and 10 patients (91%) experienced a decrease in central subfield thickness (CST). The 11 patients with six months of follow up gained an average of 7.1 letters in BCVA from baseline and experienced an average decrease in CST of 300.6 microns from baseline.
• "From clinical practice, we now understand that ILUVIEN provides a confirmed, sustained and fast efficacy with less safety concerns than initially presumed,"

7:31 am TASER announces an order for 2000 Axon Flex body cameras, and a five-year subscription to Evidence.com by the Memphis Police Dept. (TASR) : The order was received in the third quarter of 2015 and is expected to ship in the third and fourth quarter of 2015.

7:31 am Arrowhead Research reports peak reduction in HBsAg of up to 99% after a single dose with Hepatitis B candidate ARC-520 in treatment nave cohort of Phase 2a study; single-dose reductions in HBeAg of up to 98% also achieved (ARWR) :

• HBV E-antigen positive (HBeAg-positive) patients on a background of chronic entecavir receiving a 4 mg/kg single-dose of ARC-520 showed a mean maximal 92% (1.2 log) reduction in circulating HBeAg and a best reduction of 98% (1.7 log).
• Similar mean maximal reductions were also demonstrated in HBV core-related antigen (HBcrAg) from both HBeAg-negative and -positive patients. ARC-520 is designed to silence all gene products expressed by HBV cccDNA, so this data suggests that it may be substantially disrupting additional viral functions.
• Arrowhead identifies a large target HBV population for ARC-520 and describes a new paradigm for the HBV lifecycle: While it is unknown what impact ARC-520's broad based effects on HBV biology will have on the sero-clearance process in any of the HBV subgroups, the effect on HBsAg in NUC-nave HBeAg-positive patients makes this group especially attractive to study and a key focus for multi-dose studies going forward.
• Arrowhead expands its HBV portfolio by nominating an additional clinical candidate that is complementary to ARC-520; The Company expects to file an IND or equivalent for ARC-521 by mid-2016.
  

7:30 am BIND Therapeutics announces that Pfizer (PFE) has exercised its option to obtain an exclusive license, to develop and commercialize an Accurin drug candidate to treat solid tumors (BIND) :

The actively targeted Accurin is designed to impart cellular targeting capability and was engineered by BIND using one of Pfizer's (PFE) proprietary kinase inhibitors and one of BIND's proprietary ligands. As a result of the option exercise, BIND will receive a $2.5 million option exercise fee from Pfizer. In parallel with exercising its first option, Pfizer informed BIND that it will not exercise its option for the second compound in the collaboration.

• In addition to the $2.5 million option exercise fee, BIND received an upfront payment of $4.0 million in 2013 and achieved a $1.0 million preclinical development milestone for the selected Accurin in December 2014. BIND has the potential to receive additional milestone payments for the selected Accurin of up to $86.0 million in aggregate upon the achievement of additional specified development and regulatory events under the Pfizer collaboration agreement.
• BIND may also receive additional milestone payments for the selected Accurin of up to $110 million in aggregate for specified commercial events as well as royalties in the low single to high single digit percentages on potential future sales

7:13 am RAVE Restaurant Group reports Q4 results above single analyst estimate (RAVE) :

• Q4 EPS ($0.05) vs ($0.07) Capital IQ single estimate; revs +27% to $13.9 mln vs $13.00 mln Capital IQ single est
  • Pie Five comps +6.7%
  • Pizza Inn comps +0.2%
• "We are on track to finish the current quarter at 68 total restaurants. Given the current leases executed for new co-owned and franchised restaurants, we expect to end the second quarter of the 2016 fiscal year with around 90 total restaurants open in the Pie Five system, which includes an estimated 38 total company-owned restaurants,"

7:09 am Myriad Genetics to present new studies on the myChoice HRD and Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx companion diagnostic tests and final results from the EMPATHY-P clinical utility study on Prolaris (MYGN) :

• myChoice HRD: Homologous recombination deficiency was assessed on tumors obtained from 318 patients enrolled in the NOVA study, a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the PARP inhibitor niraparib as a treatment in patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. The results show that 100 percent of patients with a germline BRCA mutation and 55 percent of patients without a BRCA mutation were HRD positive as determined by the myChoice HRD test. These findings support the use of the myChoice HRD test to more effectively identify patients who may benefit from therapy with DNA-damaging agents, such as platinum drugs and PARP inhibitors. 
• Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx: Tumor tissue was available from 54 patients to evaluate the Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx test. In all 54 cases, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx correctly identified the deleterious BRAC1/2 mutations, demonstrating 100 percent sensitivity. The study also showed that tumor cells have de novo somatic mutations not identifiable via germline testing alone. For example, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx found 12 somatic BRCA1/2 mutations, which represents an increase of 22 percent over germline testing in a sample set that had been specifically enriched for germline mutations. Importantly, patients with germline and tumor BRAC1/2 mutations showed similar treatment response to olaparib, suggesting that tumor testing effectively identifies patients appropriate for treatment with PARP inhibitors.
• Prolaris: The EMPATHY-P data show that overall the Prolaris test identified 54 percent of the European men with a risk profile that was different than would be expected using standard clinical pathology. Specifically, the EMPATHY-P study demonstrated that the Prolaris test score found 24 percent of European men had less aggressive prostate cancer and 30 percent of patients had more aggressive disease compared to standard clinical pathology measurements. These data demonstrate that the Prolaris test score can be used to personalize risk assessment for men with localized prostate cancer and identify good candidates for active surveillance.

7:08 am Scholastic Corp beats by $0.07, beats on revs; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance, revs guidance (SCHL) :

Reports Q1 (Aug) loss of $1.44 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($1.51); revenues rose 0.4% year/year to $191.2 mln vs the $187.3 mln consensus.

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $1.35-1.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.49 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $1.7 bln vs. $1.65 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co continues to expect free cash flow in the range of $35 to $45 mln, excluding taxes paid as a result of the sale of the EdTech business.

7:07 am Accenture beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs below consensus; guides FY16 ~in-line; raises dividend 8%; adds $5 bln to buyback (ACN) :

• Reports Q4 (Aug) earnings of $1.15 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.12; revenues rose 1.4% year/year to $7.89 bln vs the $7.69 bln consensus, an increase of 1 percent in U.S. dollars and 12 percent in local currency and above the company's guided range of $7.45 billion to $7.70 billion.
  • New bookings for the fourth quarter were $8.8 billion and reflect a negative 13 percent foreign-exchange impact compared with new bookings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. Consulting new bookings were $4.1 billion, or 46 percent of total new bookings. Outsourcing new bookings were $4.7 billion, or 54 percent of total new bookings.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $7.70-7.95 bln vs. $8.12 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $5.09-5.24 vs. $5.22 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs +1-4% (+5-8% local currency) to ~$31.36-32.29 bln vs. $32.6 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
  • Accenture expects operating margin for the full fiscal year to be in the range of 14.6 percent to 14.8 percent, an expansion of 10 to 30 basis points from the adjusted operating margin of 14.5 percent in fiscal 2015.
• Accenture's Board of Directors has declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $1.10 per share, an increase of $0.08 per share, or 8 percent, over its previous semi-annual dividend, declared in March.
• The Board also approved $5 billion in additional share repurchase authority. 

7:04 am China Techfaith Wireless reports Q2 results; guides Q3, sees significant negative impact of reduced orders from one customer (CNTF) :

• Co reports Q2 EPS of ($0.03) vs. ($0.04) in prior year; revs of $23.6 mln vs. $23.7 mln in prior year period. 
• Co sees Q3 total net revenues of US$4.5 million to US$8.0 million. 
• The decline in expected total net revenues for the Q3 as compared to Q2 reflects the expected significant negative impact of reduced orders from one of the Company's large enterprise customers. 

7:03 am Insys Therapeutics enters into an exclusive license agreement and partnership with Senzer Ltd. for the development of inhaled synthetic pharmaceutical cannabinoid products (INSY) :

The co announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement and partnership with U.K. based Senzer Ltd. for the development of inhaled synthetic pharmaceutical cannabinoid products including dronabinol and cannabidiol using Senzer's proprietary inhalation delivery technology.

• Insys also announced that it has recently hired new key managers with substantial pharmaceutical and manufacturing experience to advance this project. Lein-Lung (LL) Sheu, Ph.D. joins Insys as Senior Vice President, Manufacturing, where his responsibilities will include overseeing the Insys cannabinoid manufacturing facility. Dr. Sheu brings over two decades of manufacturing experience with pharmaceutical companies such as Ikaria, Inc. and Baxter International, where he oversaw global supply chain operations. Additionally, Brent Donovan, Ph.D., Senior Director, Pharmaceutical Research, and Oscar Liu, Ph.D., Director, Pharmaceutical Research, both join Insys with over thirty years of collective experience in inhalation and oral drug delivery development experience with companies such as Merck, Par Pharmaceutical and Pfizer Inc.

7:02 am Air Transport Services Group announces the establishment of a sino-foreign express air cargo JV (ATSG) :

Okay Airlines, ATSG West Limited, Vipshop (VIPS) and others totaling five parties announced the establishment of an express air cargo joint venture serving multiple destinations within the Peoples Republic of China and surrounding countries.

• The JV company will be named United Star Express Airlines Co. Ltd., registered in Tianjin's free trade zone, with registered capital of $63 mln. It will be established pending approval by related government parties and plans to commence flight operations in mid-2016.

7:01 am Starpharma receives overnight, marketing approval in the European Union for VivaGel BV, to treat bacterial vaginosis (SPHRY) : The phase 3 clinical trial programme for the VivaGel BV product for the prevention of recurrent BV is also progressing smoothly in North America, Europe and Asia, and is now well in excess of 50% recruited.

7:01 am Dorman Products appoints Mathias Barton as CEO, succeeding Steven Berman, who will assumed the role of Executive Chairman (DORM) : Barton currently serves on the Company's Board of Directors and as the Company's President, a position he has held since August 2013

7:00 am Keryx Biopharma announces the European Commission has approved Fexeric for the control of hyperphosphatemia, in adults with chronic kidney disease-including dialysis & pre-dialysis patients (KERX) :  

6:59 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei -2.8%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.0%; China's Shanghai Composite +0.9% (:SUMRX) :

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday, yet Japan's Nikkei (-2.8%) was a notable standout for its weakness, which followed a three-day holiday closure. The downturn was labeled a catch-up trade that mirrored the general weakness that has been seen in other regional markets this week, except China, which is outperforming as President Xi Jinping visits the U.S.

Economic data

• Japan
  • September Manufacturing PMI 50.9 (expected 51.3; prior 51.7)
  • All Industries Activity Index +0.2% month-over-month (expected +0.1%; prior +0.5%)
• Hong Kong
  • August Trade Balance HKD -25.1 bln (expected HKD -23.3 bln; prior HKD -28.4 bln)
    • Exports -6.1% year-over-year (expected -2.1%; prior -1.6%)
    • Imports -7.4% year-over-year (expected -4.2%; prior -5.2%)
• New Zealand
  • August Trade Balance NZD -1,035 mln month-over-month (expected NZD -850 mln; prior -649 mln); NZD -3,331 mln year-over-year (expected NZD -3 mln; prior NZD -- 3 mln)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei declined 2.8% in its first trading session since last Friday, ending at its lows for the day. The weakness was described a catch-up trade related to the fallout from the Volkswagen scandal and ongoing growth concerns fueled by China's weak manufacturing PMI reading on Wednesday. In the same vein, Japan's manufacturing PMI for September dropped for the first time in three months and added to Thursday's selling pressure. Losses were paced by the industrials (-4.3%), technology (-3.2%), and materials (-3.2%) sectors. The biggest laggards were JTEKT Corp (-10.4%), NSK Ltd (-9.2%), and OKUMA Corp (-9.1%). Shiseido Co (+3.4%), Aeon Co (+2.8%), and Seven & I Holdings (+2.5%) led a small group of winners. Out of the 225 index members, 14 ended higher and 211 finished lower.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.0% and finished near its lows for the session. The weakness followed on the heels of Wall Street's weak showing and was a continuation of the weakness seen throughout the weak. The Hang Seng is down 3.8% since Friday's close. Leading Thursday's losses were Galaxy Entertainment Group (-3.5%), Swire Pacific (-2.8%), and AIA Group (-2.6%). China Mengniu Dairy (+2.5%), China Resources Enterprise (+2.2%), and Power Assets Holdings (+1.9%) topped a small list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 11 ended higher and 39 finished lower.
• China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.9%, bolstered by a burst of buying interest in the final hour that took the Composite up 0.7%. The late spike will drive speculation that it was government-sponsored, particularly with President Xi Jinping in the U.S. right now speaking favorably of China's reform efforts.
• India's Sensex increased 0.2%, led by gains in the technology (-2.0%), health care (+1.3%), and consumer discretionary (+1.0%) sectors that helped offset losses in the energy (-2.3%), industrials (-2.0%), and materials (-1.7%) sectors. Lupin Ltd (+3.6%), GAIL India (+2.3%), and Infosys (+2.2%) were the best-performing stocks while Oil & Natural Gas Co (-3.8%), Coal India (-2.9%), and Tata Steel (-2.7%) brought up the rear. Out of the 30 index members, 16 ended higher and 14 finished lower.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 increased 1.5% in a rebound effort from losses earlier in the weak. Gains were paced by the gold (+3.8%), REIT (+2.8%), and consumer staples (+2.2%) sectors. Out of the 200 index members, 166 ended higher, 27 finished lower, and 9 were unchanged.
• Regional advancers: South Korea +0.1%
• Regional decliners: Taiwan -0.9%, Thailand -0.1%, Vietnam -0.4%, Philippines -0.1%
• Closed for holiday: Indonesia (Celebration of HAJJ), Malaysia (Hari Raya Haji), Singapore (Hari Raya Haji)

FX

• USD/CNY -0.03% at 6.3823
• USD/INR +0.3% at 66.1675
• USD/JPY -0.5% at 119.72

6:57 am Scorpio Tankers reports an agreement to sell STI Highlander, newbuilding vessel deliveries, and the upsizing of its previously announced credit facility (STNG) :

Co reached an agreement to sell its 2007 built Handymax product tanker, STI Highlander, for ~$19.35 mln - expected to close in October 2015.

• The Company took delivery of two newbuilding product tankers in September 2015: The STI Carnaby, an LR2 product tanker, which began a voyage for 53 days at ~$41,000 per day. STI Black Hawk, an MR product tanker, which began a voyage in the Scorpio MR Pool for 13 days at ~$31,000 per day
• The Company executed an agreement to upsize its previously announced $52.0 million credit facility with ING Bank N.V. to $87 million.

6:53 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Novartis (NVS) announced the launch of Novartis Access, a portfolio of 15 medicines to treat chronic diseases in low- and low-middle-income countries. The portfolio addresses cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer and will be offered to governments, non-governmental organizations and other public-sector healthcare providers for $1 per treatment, per month. It will be launched first in Kenya, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Over the coming years, Novartis plans to roll out Novartis Access to 30 countries, depending on demand.
• Toshiba (TOSBF) Lifestyle Products & Services announced reforms of sales strategy and operations for white goods in China and ASEAN and for countering the impacts of the stagnating Japanese market and yen depreciation. In China, the unit will tie-up with consumer appliance manufacturer Skyworth taking effect in October, will give Skyworth nationwide sales rights for the three products.

6:45 am Arch Coal announces additional extension of private debt exchange offers and support agreement (ACI) : As of 5:00 p.m. New York City time on September 23, 2015, approximately $421 million aggregate principal amount of 2020 Notes have been validly tendered pursuant to the 2020 Exchange Offer, and approximately $500 million aggregate principal amount of Old 7.000% 2019 Notes, $173 million aggregate principal amount of Old 9.875% 2019 Notes and $478 million aggregate principal amount of Old 7.250% 2021 Notes have been validly tendered pursuant to the Concurrent Exchange Offer.

6:31 am Aerie Pharma commences dosing in its fourth Phase 3 clinical trial of Rhopressa, called Rocket 4; on track to file Rhopressa NDA mid-2016 (AERI) :

Aerie anticipates total enrollment of approximately 700 patients in this two-arm 90-day efficacy study, comparing once-daily Rhopressa for non-inferiority to twice daily timolol.

• "Based on our prior discussions with the FDA, and the successful Rocket 2 results we announced last week, we remain on track to file our RhopressaTM NDA in mid-2016. The Rocket 4 clinical trial design includes the same clinical endpoint ranges used for our successful Rocket 2 clinical trial, from above 20 mmHg to below 25 mmHg, and is designed to provide additional clinical data for RhopressaTM and adequate six-month safety data to prepare us for our future expected European regulatory filings."

6:31 am Yingli Green Energy signs several agreements with Qingdao New Energy Solutions for the supply of 130 megawatts of 'high quality' solar panels (YGE) : Yingli has begun to deliver the first 30 MW and expects to complete the delivery by the end of September 2015. According to the terms of the companies' supply agreements, Yingli will supply the remaining 100 MW of solar panels by the end of the second quarter of 2016. These panels will be used in utility-scale projects, industrial rooftop systems as well as BIPV agricultural solutions, in Zhejiang, Inner Mongolia, Shandong and other provinces in China.

6:30 am Atara Biotherapeutics reports clinical data on cytotoxic T lymphocytes, activated against Wilms' Tumor 1; demonstrates encouraging results in patients with Plasma Cell Leukemia (ATRA) :

Co announced that its collaborating investigators at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center presented clinical data on cytotoxic T lymphocytes activated against Wilms' Tumor 1 at the 15th International Myeloma Workshop. The data is derived from the treatment of patients with relapsed-refractory Multiple Myeloma (MM), including Plasma Cell Leukemia (PCL), with WT1-CTL after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Top-line clinical data from an ongoing phase 1 study:

• WT1, the tumor associated antigen, was detected on malignant plasma cells in those patients tested.
• By one year, of seven subjects with relapsed-refractory MM or PCL receiving an alloHCT and treated with WT1-CTLs, three achieved a complete remission (CR), one achieved a partial response (:PR), two had stable disease (SD) and one had progressive disease.
• Adverse events reported were consistent with those typically observed in this transplant population.

6:07 am Pendrell announces that certain claims of five digital rights management patents asserted by its subsidiary against Samsung and Google were found valid, but that SSNLF and GOOG do not infringe on them (PCO) :

On September 23, 2015, a jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found that certain claims of five digital rights management patents asserted by Pendrell Corporation's subsidiary, ContentGuard Holdings, against Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) and Google (GOOG). are valid, but that Samsung products and Google products accused in the lawsuit do not infringe the asserted patents.

• ContentGuard is assessing the jury's findings and evaluating its options to challenge the verdict. ContentGuard's claims against Samsung and Google are part of a larger lawsuit filed by ContentGuard against several companies that have not paid for a license to use ContentGuard's patented digital rights management solutions, including Apple, DirecTV, HTC, Huawei and Motorola Mobility.
• The jury verdict does not impact ContentGuard's August 2015 settlement and license agreement with Amazon.com (AMZN); nor does ContentGuard believe the jury verdict will impact or delay ContentGuard's upcoming November trial against Apple (AAPL).

6:04 am Mines Management's compliance plan accepted by the NYSE Mkt, granted extension until December 30, 2016 to regain compliance with listing standards (MGN) :  

6:01 am Korn/Ferry to acquire the Hay Group for ~$452 mln (KFY) :

Hay Group is a 'leader' in people strategy and organizational performance. Immediately following the closing of the transaction, Korn Ferry will combine Hay Group with Korn Ferry's Leadership and Talent Consulting segment and brand the combined advisory business as Hay Group. Stephen Kaye, CEO of Hay Group, will continue to serve in this capacity with Korn Ferry.

• Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Korn Ferry has agreed to acquire Hay Group for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $452 million, consisting of (i) approximately $252 million in cash, net of estimated acquired cash and after giving effect to estimated purchase price adjustments as described in the Purchase Agreement, and (ii) $200 million in the Company's common stock. The completion of the transaction, which is subject to Hay Group shareholder approval, receipt of antitrust clearance and other customary conditions, is expected to close before the end of calendar year 2015. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings per share in the first full year after adjusting for purchase accounting deferred revenue write-offs, intangible asset amortization, retention bonuses and restructuring and transaction costs.
• On a current annual run-rate basis, Hay Group is generating approximately $500 million of revenue and EBITDA, adjusted for historical expenses that will not continue in the combined segment, of almost $40 million. Korn Ferry is targeting annual cost synergies of at least $20 million within the first year of the closing of the transaction with longer-term EBITDA margins of the combined segment of approximately 14% to 18% (operating margins of 9% to 13%). The targeted cost synergies relate primarily to operating efficiencies expected to be realized by leveraging technology platforms and reducing general, administrative and real estate costs.

5:52 am S&P futures vs fair value: -4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -8.50. :

5:52 am European Markets : FTSE...6017.77...-14.50...-0.20%.  DAX...9533.45...-79.20...-0.80%.

5:52 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...17571.83...-498.40...-2.80%.  Hang Seng...21095.98...-206.90...-1.00%.

5:42 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Xtera Communications and State Grid Information & Telecommunication of China, announced the demonstration of record unrepeatered transmission distances using Xtera's commercial Wise Raman solution and large effective area ultra-low loss fiber from Corning (GLW).
• NTT Communications (NTT) announced that the Japan-U.S. capacity of its Tier-1 Global IP Network exceeded 1Tbps in September 2015, marking this the first time a Japan-U.S. network has reached that speed.
• AXESS International Network, owned by Japan Airlines, and Travelport (TVPT) jointly announced they are on schedule to roll out a new, superior agency desktop in Japan.
• JD.com (JD) announced the opening of an office in Hong Kong and the signing of a strategic agreement with COSCO Logistics to address growing customer demand for imported goods from leading brands from Asia and around the world. The company also announced that Sa Sa, Asia's leading cosmetics retailer, will launch a flagship store on JD Worldwide.
• Alba Leasing, one of Italy's top leasing companies, has chosen Accenture (ACN) to support its digital transformation program under a new agreement the companies have signed.
• CME Group (CME) announced the first Aluminium European Premium Duty-Unpaid futures contracts were traded on Tuesday, 22 September 2015 by Crunch Risk. A total of 10 futures contracts traded at a price of $72.50 per metric tonne.
  

5:33 am Exco Resources to hold a special meeting of shareholder on November 16; among proposals, shareholders will vote to authorize the Board to commence a reverse split (XCO) : At the special meeting, EXCO will seek shareholder approval of two amendments to EXCO's Amended and Restated Certificate of Formation: (1) an amendment to effect, at the discretion of EXCO's Board of Directors, a reverse share split at a ratio of up to 1-for-10 common shares to be determined by the Board and a proportional reduction in the total number of common shares authorized for issuance and (2) an amendment to limit the benefits of EXCO's waiver of the corporate opportunities doctrine solely to C. John Wilder, Jr.

4:50 am Alliance Healthcare reaffirms FY15 guidance; provides business update (AIQ) :

Co reaffirms its FY15 guidance of Revenues of $470-505 mln and Adjusted EBITDA of $125-150 mln

Business Update:

• Further Background on Fujian Thai Hot Investment - As previously announced on September 16, 2015, Fujian Thai Hot Investment Co agreed to purchase ~51.5% of the outstanding common stock of the Company. Management does not believe that any of Thai Hot's investments create any conflicts for the Company.
• Co states: "The recent news regarding a change in ownership for approximately 51.5% of the company's shares does not imply a change in strategic direction or financial outlook for the company. As we noted in last week's press release related to the sale of shares by Oaktree Capital Management, and other parties, the company remains very focused on executing the strategic initiatives in the U.S. that we have previously articulated. In making its investment, Thai Hot performed extensive due diligence utilizing world-class advisors and confirmed their strong support for the company's strategic direction and leadership."

4:01 am GlaxoSmithKline and Theravance (THRX) intend to file Relvar Ellipta for COPD in Japan (GSK) :

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Theravance (THRX) announced the intention to file a supplemental Japanese New Drug Application for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with the Japanese regulatory authority during the first quarter of 2016. This decision follows results from an additional global phase III efficacy and safety study.

• As previously announced, Study 200820 was designed to provide additional data for the combination, FF/VI, compared with its component, VI, in Japanese patients with COPD, as there were insufficient efficacy data in this specific COPD patient group within the FF/VI phase III clinical development programme.
  

3:39 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Pfizer (PFE) announced that the company's injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press, is now available to women in the United Kingdom for administration by self-injection. This follows the recent approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of an update to the Sayana Press label, adding the option for self-injection by women when considered appropriate by a healthcare professional.
• IBM (IBM) expanded the industry's largest and most diverse set of cognitive APIs, technologies and tools for developers who are creating products, services and applications embedded with Watson.
• Proto Labs (PRLB) announced that it has reached agreement in principle to acquire select assets and operations of Alphaform, AG subject to standard terms and conditions of purchase.

2:57 am Digital Realty Trust prices $500 million of 3.400% Notes due 2020 and $450 million of 4.750% Notes due 2025 (DLR) :  

2:56 am Q2 Holdings launches follow-on public offering by co and certain shareholders (QTWO) : Q2 and certain of its stockholders are proposing to sell an aggregate of 3,798,996 shares, consisting of 853,409 shares to be offered by Q2 and 2,945,587 shares to be offered by the selling stockholders.

2:52 am GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes issues 105,000 Debentures, at a nominal unit value of R$10,000 (GOL) :  

2:49 am Ballantyne Strong appoints Kyle Cerminara Executive Chairman (BTN) : Co announced that its Board of Directors appointed Kyle Cerminara as Ballantyne Strong's Executive Chairman. Cerminara has been a member of Ballantyne Strong's Board of Directors since February 2015 and its Chairman since May 2015.

2:00 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Uranium Resources (URRE) held its URI Annual Meeting of Stockholders today at which the URI shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the issuance of shares to effect the combination with Anatolia Energy. Of the votes cast regarding the share issuance, 98.6% voted in support of the share issuance.
• TSYS (TSS) announced that The Premier Bank Limited, a commercial bank in Bangladesh, has signed an agreement to upgrade to PRIME 4, the latest version of TSYS' PRIME payment solutions platform.