11:54 am Small-caps providing leadership, Russell 2000 +2.2 set new session high -- Dow -17, S&P -6.6, Nasdaq Comp +9.5 (:TECHX) :  

11:51 am European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:-0.2%
• Germany's DAX:+0.9%
• France's CAC:+0.1%
• Spain's IBEX:+0.2%
• Portugal's PSI:-0.3%
• Italy's MIB Index:+1.4%
• Irish Ovrl Index:+1.1%
• Greece ASE General Index: -1.3%

11:38 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (157) outpacing new lows (136) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAP, ABCB, AEGN, AIZ, AMZN, AOS, AROW, ARQL, AZO, BABY, BANC, BANR, BBCN, BBSI, BDGE, BECN, BHLB, BKU, BNCN, BOCH, BOH, BOKF, BRKL, BUSE, BXS, BYD, CAC, CALD, CBF, CBOE, CBU, CDW, CEVA, CFFN, CFNL, CHFC, CHFN, CMN, CNO, COLB, CPS, CSFL, CTRP, CUBI, CVBF, DRAD, EBAY, EBSB, EGBN, EGOV, ERII, EVC, EVR, EXTR, FCB, FCBC, FCF, FDEF, FFBC, FFNW, FIBK, FNBC, FNWB, FRBA, FRBK, FRC, FRME, FSB, FULT, FUNC, GSBC, GWB, HA, HAFC, HFWA, HOMB, HTLF, IBOC, ICE, INDB, IRMD, KCLI, KINS, KMPR, LKFN, LTXB, LUV, MBWM, METR, MPWR, MSCC, MXL, NBBC, NBHC, NBTB, NILE, NOW, NTGR, NVDA, OLBK, ONFC, ORI, OSBC, OZRK, PAYX, PCBK, PCTY, PFBC, PGND, PNFP, PPBI, PRMW, PSTB, PVTB, QABA, QCRH, RATE, RNST, RTEC, RYAAY, SBNY, SFBS, SFNC, SGBK, SHOR, SNBC, SNV, SOCB, SRI, SSB, STBA, STL, STMP, TCBK, THFF, TMP, TPX, TRMK, TRV, TTWO, UCBI, UFCS, UFPI, VC, VLO, VLY, VMC, VRSN, WAFD, WAL, WCN, WK, WSFS, WST, YCB, YDKN, ZSPH 

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AGNC, AGTC, AMBR, AMFW, APT, ARCW, ARPI, ASPN, ATRS, AVID, BBRG, BEP, BIOL, BITI, BREW, BRFS, BVN, CBIO, CCO, CDE, CETC, CGIX, CKH, CMG, CMLS, CMO, CNP, CTIC, CVA, CX, DAVE, DDD, DRH, DUK, DXYN, EAC, EFF, EMMS, ENOC, ENPH, ERA, ETRM, ETSY, EVGN, EVH, FC, FDEU, FE, FRPT, FSP, FTD, GEN, GG, GKOS, GLRE, GLUU, GNRT, GRPN, GTIM, HAIN, HCP, HIFR, HMHC, HTS, ICON, IGOV, ITC, KBIO, KMI, KRNT, LBY, LEU, LNG, LXU, MBSD, MDVN, MGH, MITT, MRNS, MW, MYRG, NEPT, NGL, NM, NRX, NUS, OGE, OKE, ONCS, ORN, PHI, PPP, PRAA, PSO, PXLW, RAS, RBY, RCPI, REXI, RGLD, RLOC, RWT, SCX, SEMG, SGM, SIEB, SJT, SKM, SKUL, SMRT, SNAK, SNH, SNR, STRP, SWIR, SYRX, TAT, TCPI, TDOC, TGD, THST, TIME, TLN, TLYS, TNGO, TRGP, TWI, URG, UUU, VALE, VTR, VVR, WAB, WING, WMC, WPT                      

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: KRE                                                                                                                                                             

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: BND, BWX, COW, DJP, EPOL, TIP

11:32 am Northrop Grumman 'disappointed' that its competitors filed a protest regarding the Long Range Strike-Bomber decision (NOC) :  

11:25 am Opko Health closes on a new five-year $175 million secured revolving credit facility, to replace its prior $120 mln facility (OPK) :  

11:24 am Qorvo leading RFMD (and Apple suppliers) chip stocks higher following better than feared results/guidance from QRVO and SWKS (QRVO) :

• QRVO +19%, SWKS +7% following earnings; peer AVGO +6%
• Sentiment in the space soured over the sumemr due to slowing growth in smartphones, China and FX exposure.
  
  • QRVO also announced a $1 bln share repurchase (and a $1 bln debt offering this morning).
  • Qorvo is the result of the RFMD and TQNT merger of Jan 2015: it now trades at 11.7x FY16 (March) earnings estimates.

11:23 am Volkswagen AG Head of Group Design Walter Maria de Silva to retire at the end of November (VLKAY) : De Silva assumed design responsibility for all passenger car brands within the Volkswagen Group in February 2007. Walter de Silva will continue his links with the Group in an advisory capacity.

11:04 am Stock indices erasing rebound attempt -- Dow -39, S&P -9.8, Nasdaq Comp -2.4 (:TECHX) : Watching the initial thrust highs off the lows (2089 S&P, 17816 Dow and 5113 Nasdaq Comp) for an intraday read.

11:02 am Virgin America reports October, 2015 operational results, showing increased RPMs by 11.9% to ~906 mln (VA) : The airline's traffic (RPMs) increased 11.9 percent to 906,628,000 on capacity (ASMs) that was 11.5 percent higher to 1,101,399,000 from the same month in 2014. Load factor was 82.3 percent, an increase of 0.3 points from October 2014.

10:54 am ComScore reports September 2015 smartphone market share; Apple (APPL) the top manufacturer with 43.6% OEM market share (SCOR) :

• Apple (AAPL) ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 43.6 percent OEM market share, while Google (GOOG) Android led as the #1 smartphone platform with 52.3 percent platform market share. Facebook (FB) ranked as the top individual smartphone app.
• Additionally: Samsung (SSNLF) had 28.1% of the smartphone OEM market share, and Apple had a 44.1% of the smartphone platform market share

10:44 am Cyber-Ark Software down 2% despite beating Q3 estimates and raising guidance (CYBR) :

• CYBR has crushed quarterly estimates and guided higher all five quarter since its September 2014 IPO.
• The stock trades at 53x next year's earnings estimate and 7.6x next year's sales est.

10:42 am Rebound continues, Nasdaq Comp +5 first to reach positive territory -- Dow +5, S&P -4 (:TECHX) : Semi SMH, Technology XLK, Internet FDN has provided leadership for Nasdaq.

10:33 am Semiconductor Hldrs ETF display additional relative strength, notches new session high (SMH) : NVDA +15%, AVGO +5.8%, LSCC +3.2%, BRCM +2.7%, MRVL +1.5%, ADI +1.4%, LLTC +1%, AMKR +0.8%.

10:31 am Casella Waste reports that based on a prelim vote count at its annual meeting, all three of its director nominees have been re-elected to the Board (CWST) :  

10:30 am Stock indices edge up near initial rebound highs -- S&P -11, Nasdaq Comp -11, Dow -53 (:TECHX) :  

10:18 am LyondellBasell hires Thomas Aebischer as EVP and CFO, effective Jan. 1, 2016. (LYB) : Aebischer joins LyondellBasell after having served in a variety of positions, including CFO, over a nearly 20-year career with Holcim. Holcim merged with Lafarge (LFRGY) in 2015.

10:11 am Chinese names on watch following news that China will allow IPOs to resume by the end of the year amid continued strength in its indices (FXI) :

Chinese American Depositary Shares (ADS) are on watch today amid news that China will allow IPOs to resume by the end of the year. This news comes as China's Shanghai Composite index has rallied noticeably in recent weeks, recovering from the massive sell-off seen late this summer.

Recall that earlier this year, when the Shanghai Composite was rallying consistently, a large number of U.S. listed Chinese companies received 'going private' offers from groups that often included internal management. The belief was that American investors were improperly valuating the Chinese companies, or at least it was implied that they could receive higher valuations with a listing in China. A CEO, or Chairman, often with the help of a hedge fund, would offer to acquire the shares they already don't own, in an attempt to take the company private, off U.S. exchanges, and re-list in China to receive a substantially higher valuation. This idea led to over 30 U.S. listed Chinese companies receiving 'going private' offers. This trend ceased when the Shanghai Composite suffered the well-publicized steep selloff as valuation and growth fears took over. During this time, China suspended the issuance of new IPOs, due to the belief by some that those new issues would divert capital away from existing ones.

From the start of 2015 through June 12, the Shanghai Composite rose over 60% to 5178. Then, in a little over two months, the index fell nearly 45% to 2850, erasing all of its gains for the year. Since August though, Chinese investors have regained confidence and the Shanghai Composite has rallied 26% off the lows seen on August 26th, with an 18% gain alone since the end of September.

Into today, the following companies have each received going-private offers in the last 12 months: 

• MR, YOKU, EJ, MY, CNYD, JST, AMCN, RENN, GAME, CCSC, VIMC, MCOX, KANG, QIHU, GAI, CNIT, LONG, JASO, HMIN, NPD, LONG, YY, DANG, MOMO, CMGE, PWRD, MOMO, BONA, KZ, CO, TAOM, DSKY, VNET, GOMO, DATE, CMGE, XUE
• Most of these deals remain outstanding, and it is unclear if the non-binding proposals will ever be completed. 
• If deals do heat up again, other Chinese stocks could also see interest.
• Also worth considering, a few of the names mentioned above have seen revised going-private offers at a lower price than original proposed. 

Some other names to monitor, as the potential for additional 'going private' offers increases as market conditions in China continue improving: FENG, CYOU, WB, XNET, STV, WBAI, MOBI, SFUN, SOHU, SINA, JMEI, TOUR, NQ, DL, KUTV, NTES, CCIH, BITA, CMCM, LITB, JRJC, EDU, TEDU, XRS, JD, JOBS, GSOL, WUBA, CTRP, VIPS, QUNR, etc...

10:07 am Dow -93 and Nasdaq Comp -34 join S&P -15 under previous session lows (:TECHX) :  

10:01 am United Continental and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers enter into contract negotiations a year ahead of schedule (UAL) :  

9:56 am Tsakos Energy up 3% after beating Q3 estimates (TNP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 17.2% year/year to $141.7 mln vs the $115.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $69.1 million for the third quarter 2015 against $41.1 million in the 2014 third quarter, a 68.3% increase
  • Time charter equivalent increased by 38.1% to $25,462 per day in third quarter 2015 versus $18,435 per day in third quarter 2014

9:55 am New session lows -- S&P -8.9, Dow -47, Nasdaq Comp -14 (:TECHX) : The indices were unable to build on the initial bounce attempt with the S&P back near yesterday's low (2090).

9:55 am McEwen Mining appoints Rob McEwen as Interim Chief Financial Officer, while it searches for a permanent candidate (MUX) :  

9:53 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Sector that are on the defensive have been led by: Gold Miners GDX, Utility XLU, Coal KOL, REITs IYR, Silver SLV, Gold GLD, Pharma PPH, Crude Oil USO, Health XLV, Retail XRT Energy XLE.

9:52 am Boeing and Lockheed Martin (LMT) file a formal protest with the US Gov't Accountability Office- asking for review of the award of the Long Range Strike-Bomber contract to Northrop Grumman (NOC) (BA) :  

9:51 am Stock indices pullback back after initial bounce attempt -- Dow -13, S&P -5.4, Nasdaq Comp -4.8 (:TECHX) :  

9:39 am Opening Market Summary: Financial Sector Displays Early Strength (:WRAPX) :

As expected, the major averages began the trading day in the red, but they have been quite resilient in the early going. The S&P 500 hovers just below its flat line while the Dow Jones (+0.1%) outperforms.

Seven sectors display opening losses, but their weakness has been masked by a 1.7% surge in financials as bank shares benefit from the rising expectations that the Fed will hike the fed funds rate at the December meeting.

On the flip side, the utilities sector (-2.1%) is the weakest performer in response to higher yields. To that latter point, the 10-yr note sits on its low with the benchmark yield higher by eight basis points at 2.32%.

Also of note, the Dollar Index (99.13, +1.20) is higher by 1.2%, hovering near its best level of the session, which represents the highest mark since mid-April.

9:39 am Sector watch (:TECHX) : As noted earlier financials are pacing the way in the Dow amid increased expectation for a rate hike. The top performing sectors on a percentage basis include: Reg Bank KRE, Bank KBE, Broker IAI, Finance XLF, Semi SMH, Airline JETS.

9:38 am York Water beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line (YORW) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.02 better than the single analyst estimate of $0.26; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $12.4 mln vs the $12.49 mln single analyst estimate.

9:36 am Slightly weaker tone off the open turns firmer with Dow +37 outperforming -- S&P +0.4, Nasdaq Comp +3 (:TECHX) : Dow components that are pacing the way include: JPM +3.8%, GS +3.1%, DIS +2.8%, AXP +1%.

9:32 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company (SKBI) announced that it received a letter from the Nasdaq Hearings Panel that granted the request of Skystar Bio-Pharmaceutical Company to extend the automatic 15-day stay of suspension from The Nasdaq Stock Market, until the hearing on the merits scheduled for December 3, 2015, and a determination regarding the Company's listing status.
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHVYF) has begun mulling a concrete proposal toward making a minority stake investment in AREVA NP, a group company of the French comprehensive nuclear energy firm AREVA. AREVA NP specializes primarily in nuclear power plant services, fuel supply and equipments supply, and MHI's potential investment in the company aims to contribute to further enhancement of the safety and reliability of NPPs through a stronger alliance between France and Japan based on the development of the latest nuclear reactor by a joint venture established by MHI and AREVA NP.
• Anoto Group AB and HP Inc (HPQ) signed a technology license agreement for the development of products based upon Anoto's micro dot pattern digital writing technology. The companies have agreed not to disclose product details or launch dates at this point in time.

9:23 am Neptune Technologies provides a business update, stating it continues to see strength in business fundamentals (NEPT) :

• Neptune anticipates a positive net operating cash flow position for the third quarter ending November 30, 2015. The quarter-end nutraceutical cash balance is expected to be approximately $4.5 - $5.0 million, up from $3.4 million at the end of the second quarter ended August 31, 2015.
• The higher cash balance is due to the recent receipt of $1.3 million in Quebec Investment Tax Credits, along with $0.5 million in business interruption insurance recovery relating to the 2012 Sherbrooke plant incident.
• The Quebec Investment Tax Credits are for equipment purchased for manufacturing and processing at the Corporation's Sherbrooke plant in 2014. An additional $1.0 million investment tax credit is expected to be received in 2016.
• For the six-month period ending February 29, 2016 the Corporation anticipates to be in no less than a neutral cash flow position. This compares to a cash burn of $5.8 million for the six-month period ending August 31, 2015.
• Neptune's Sherbrooke plant has proven it can outperform the Corporation's internal target of 150 metric tons annually. For the months of September and October, the plant's output was equivalent to an annualized rate of 160 metric tons.

9:10 am Marinus Pharmaceuticals prices offering of 5 mln shares of common stock for a public offering price of $6.00/share (MRNS) :  

9:09 am S&P futures vs fair value: -10.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -19.90. (:WRAPX) :

The stock market is on track for a lower open with S&P 500 futures trading ten points below fair value. Index futures spent the bulk of the night near their flat lines, but slid to lows in reaction to the October Employment Situation report, which came in well ahead of expectations. Specifically, October nonfarm payrolls came in at 271,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 181,000. Also of note, hourly earnings rose 0.4% while the consensus expected an uptick of 0.2%.

The solid report was met with a spike in the dollar while stocks and Treasuries have stumbled. Altogether, the reaction was indicative of a market that is preparing for a fed funds rate hike as early as the December meeting. To that point, the probability of a December hike has increased to 71.7%, according to fed funds futures.

One more data point will be released later today with the September Consumer Credit report (consensus $18.00 billion) set to cross the wires at 15:00 ET.

On the corporate front, DreamWorks Animation (DWA 22.44, +2.23) and NVIDIA (NVDA 30.03, +2.32) are on track to open with respective gains of 11.0% and 8.3% in reaction to better than expected results while Men's Wearhouse (MW 24.82, -15.34) has plunged 38.3% after cutting its guidance.

Treasuries sit near their lows with the 10-yr yield up eight basis points at 2.31%.

9:09 am PDL BioPharma provides additional information on royalties for Glumetza and its relationship with Depomed (DEPO) and Valeant Pharma (VRX) (PDLI) :

The co announced that it has received numerous inquiries on its reported royalties from royalty rights it acquired from Depomed (DEPO). Specifically, the nature of the questions were about royalties for Glumetza, which is currently marketed and sold by Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX). As part of Valeant's acquisition of Salix Pharma, Valeant assumed the commercialization agreement between Santarus and Depomed dated August 22, 2011. Valeant is required to provide a detailed report regarding sales of Glumetza and make royalty payments on a monthly basis in accordance with the commercialization agreement.

• Under PDL's agreement with Depomed, any communication with royalty payors is made on PDL's behalf by Depomed. When PDL did not receive reports and payments for July and August 2015 for Glumetza, Depomed contacted Valeant to request the contractually required reports and to inquire when payment would be made. Depomed did not receive a response from Valeant until late October when it received notification that $18.9 million in cash payments had been made to the Depomed account which would then be sent to PDL. Around that time, Depomed and PDL received monthly reports for July, August and September. The reports detailed $18.9 million in royalties due for July and August, but also included a report with $2.0 million negative royalties due for September. For this reason, PDL reported on its earnings conference call both cash received ($18.9 million) and net reported royalties ($16.9 million).
• Since PDL elected the fair value option to account for the Depomed royalty assets, and as a result of the delay in payments and reporting, the Glumetza royalty cash flows received were included in the fourth quarter cash flow projections and no cash payments were recorded in the third quarter.
• In June of 2015, Valeant implemented a price increase on Glumetza, and subsequently increased the price of Glumetza again in July 2015.
• Under its agreement with Depomed, PDL has the right to cause Depomed to initiate an inspection of the books and records of Valeant in accordance with the terms of the commercialization agreement and, subject to the confidentiality obligations of Depomed in the commercialization agreement, obtain the results of such inspection. PDL further has the right cause Depomed to take such actions as may be necessary to cure any discrepancy which is identified in the audit. In this case, PDL expects to work with Depomed to exercise its rights to audit Glumetza sales and royalties paid to PDL for accuracy while also insuring that future royalties and reporting are in accordance with the commercialization agreement. In light of the sales and marketing of Glumetza having twice changed hands since PDL acquired the royalty assets in October of 2013, the untimely reporting by Valeant, Salix's issues with excess supply sold to distributors, and the changes in gross-to-net revenue reporting as a result of price increases of Glumetza, PDL believes it is in its best interest to exercise its audit rights. PDL expects to begin this process by year end 2015. 

9:08 am Tracon Pharmaceuticals reports updated positive results from a Phase 1b clinical trial combining TRC105 with Inlyta, in patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (TCON) :

Co announced updated positive results from a Phase 1b clinical trial combining TRC105 with Inlyta (axitinib) in patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Data were presented at the 2015 Kidney Cancer Association meeting.

• The objective response rate seen in the large subgroup of VEGFR TKI-refractory patients treated with Inlyta (n=194) in the Inlyta AXIS Phase 3 study in second line clear cell RCC patients (a separate trial) was 11.3%, and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.8 months. All patients in TRACON's Phase 1b study have now completed treatment and the randomized Phase 2b TRAXAR clinical trial of TRC105 in combination with Inlyta is currently enrolling patients with advanced or metastatic RCC.
• The following key additional data from the study were also presented at the meeting:
  • The recommended Phase 2 dose of TRC105 of 10 mg/kg dosed weekly was well-tolerated with Inlyta and no dose limiting toxicities were observed. The most common adverse events were low grade epistaxis, headache, fatigue, diarrhea, and gingival bleeding.
  • Common adverse reactions expected with Inlyta treatment as a single agent such as diarrhea, hypertension, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, and proteinuria, did not increase in frequency or severity when combined with TRC105.

9:04 am Calithera Biosciences to present preclinical data for CB-1158 that demonstrated single agent efficacy in animal models at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference (CALA) :

Co to announce preclinical data today for CB-1158 at the 2015 AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference in Boston.

• CB-1158 demonstrated single agent efficacy in animal models. Inhibition of tumor growth was accompanied by a rapid increase in the local concentration of arginine, and the induction of multiple pro-inflammatory changes in the tumor microenvironment, and the induction of multiple pro-inflammatory changes in the tumor microenvironment.
• CB-1158, when administered with anti-CTLA-4, increased CD8+ T-cell infiltrates in the tumor.
• The addition of CB-1158 to anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1, significantly inhibited tumor growth in a mouse model that was resistant to dual checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
• CB-1158 was well tolerated as a single agent and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in animal studies.

9:03 am Synopsys acquires Protecode; terms undisclosed (SNPS) : Protecode is a software company that provides solutions for detecting and managing open source software and the associated license and security risks. 

9:02 am Ultragenyx Pharma reports an update on its development plan for UX007 in Glut1 DS patients; following FDA meeting, co now plans to initiate a Phase 3 study in mid-2016 (RARE) :

Co announced an update to its development plan for UX007 in Glut1 DS patients. Following an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA, the company now plans to initiate a Phase 3 study in Glut1 DS patients with the movement disorder phenotype in mid-2016.

• The ongoing Phase 2 study in patients with the seizure phenotype will continue to enroll up to 40 patients as the movement disorder study progresses. If positive, the two studies are intended to support an NDA filing for the treatment of Glut1 DS.

9:01 am Rexahn Pharmaceuticals reports entering a $7 mln registered direct offering of 16.7 mln shares (RNN) :

Co enters into a definitive agreement with a single institutional investor to purchase ~16.7 mln shares of its common stock and warrants exercisable for up to ~12.5 mln shares of its common stock for gross proceeds of ~$7.0 mln.

• The shares and warrants are being sold in units, consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.75 of a share of common stock, at an offering price of $0.42 per unit.

9:01 am China Green Agriculture announces that it retained 33 new distributors in fiscal Q1 (CGA) : During this quarter, Jinong has 127 fertilizer products available in market. Jinong brought on board 27 new distributors during this quarter, and now has a total of 1,037 distributors.

9:00 am Qorvo announces a $1 bln offering of senior notes due 2023 and 2025 (QRVO) :

Co proposes to offer $1 bln aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2023 and 2025.

• Co expects to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, including share repurchases and repayment of any amounts outstanding under its revolving credit facility.

8:55 am S&P futures vs fair value: -7.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.70. (:WRAPX) :

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

The Asian equity markets closed mixed heading into the final day of the week and all-important Non-Farm Payrolls release. The markets were extremely tame with light volumes, but the Nikkei managed to extend gains for a 5th straight day, finishing up 0.8% for the session. The BOJ's Kuroda continued to reiterate his stance that the central bank is willing to do what's necessary to obtain the 2% inflection objective, while maintaining the notion that the current measures are currently adequate. This may have been validated by a couple of economic data points released last night. Both the September Leading and Coincident Indexes that came in above expectations. China closed out the week with some follow on momentum as well, with the Shanghai closing nearly 2% higher. There were no significant macro news out of the Mainland, but there were comments by China's premier that indicated the movement to a more investment type growth model is difficult process to implement. Furthermore, a local press report highlighted the rise of NPLs in several of the top Chinese Provinces.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's September Preliminary Leading Index 101.4 (expected 102.1; prior 103.5) and September Coincident Indicator -0.3% month-over-month (prior -0.6%)
  • Australia's October AIG Construction Index 52.1 (prior 51.9)

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• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.8%. The Nikkei had been modestly lower earlier in the day in the wake of the NFP release later today. The indexes strong finish to the week was led by Health Care (+1.2%), Utilities (+1.7%), Financials (+1.2%), with only the Energy sector closing negative, down 0.8%. Stock specifically, Yamada Denki was better by 5.8% after it released its H1 results.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.8% and finished close to the lows of the session, with the sentiment feeling like much profit taking heading into the headline risk event. Trading in the afternoon was accented by a steady downtrend in the market, with losses in the auto groups weighing on the index. Geely Automobile Holdings finished the session with a 2.7% loss after the company reported October sales.
• China's Shanghai Composite posted a solid 1.9% day. With no macro data to speak of, the index was led by better than expected October sales results from some Consumer Discretionary cos like SAIC Motor Corp (+10.0%), while brokerage names such as Everbright Securities (6.8%), GF Securities (+3.4%) and China Merchants Securities (+2.7%) all outpaced the benchmark.

Major European indices trade mostly lower with Germany's DAX (+0.7%) showing relative strength. On a separate note, the British pound has extended yesterday's decline following a dovish policy statement from the Bank of England and comments from Governor Mark Carney with rate hike expectations shifting past 2016. The pound has surrendered 1.2% against the dollar today, trading near 1.5035 at this juncture.

• Economic data was plentiful:
  • Germany's September Industrial Production -1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; prior -0.6%)
  • UK's September Industrial Production -0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.9%); +1.1% year-over-year (consensus 1.3%; previous 1.8%). Separately, September Manufacturing Production +0.8% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; previous 0.4%); -0.6% year-over-year (consensus -0.9%; last -0.9%). Also of note, September trade deficit narrowed to GBP9.35 billion (expected deficit of GBP10.60 billion; previous deficit of GBP10.79 billion).
  • France's September Trade Balance -EUR3.40 billion (expected -EUR3.10 billion; previous -EUR3.0 billion) while government budget deficit narrowed to EUR74.50 billion from EUR89.70 billion in September.
  • Spain's September Industrial Production +3.8% year-over-year (consensus 2.8%; prior 2.8%).

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• UK's FTSE hovers just below its flat line with roughly half of its components trading in the red. Miners and consumer names lag with BHP Billiton, Glencore, Burberry, and Sainsbury down between 0.4% and 6.0%. On the upside, airlines outperform with International Consolidated Airlines, easyJet, and TUI up between 1.1% and 3.0%.
• France's CAC remains lower by 0.3% after trimming a portion of its loss. Sanofi is the weakest performer, trading lower by 6.0% in reaction to cautious guidance. Consumer names also lag with Louis Vuitton, Pernod Ricard, Danone, and L'Oreal down between 0.8% and 3.1%. On the flip side, Societe Generale has climbed 2.5% and BNP Paribas trades up 1.5%.
• Germany's DAX outperforms with a gain of 0.7% thanks to broad strength. Exporters lead with BMW and Daimler up 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively, while Deutsche Bank is higher by 0.6%.

8:53 am European Markets Update: FTSE -0.1%, CAC -0.3%, DAX +0.7% (:SUMRX) :

Major European indices trade mostly lower with Germany's DAX (+0.7%) showing relative strength. On a separate note, the British pound has extended yesterday's decline following a dovish policy statement from the Bank of England and comments from Governor Mark Carney with rate hike expectations shifting past 2016. The pound has surrendered 1.2% against the dollar today, trading near 1.5035 at this juncture.

• Economic data was plentiful:
  • Germany's September Industrial Production -1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; prior -0.6%)
  • UK's September Industrial Production -0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.9%); +1.1% year-over-year (consensus 1.3%; previous 1.8%). Separately, September Manufacturing Production +0.8% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; previous 0.4%); -0.6% year-over-year (consensus -0.9%; last -0.9%). Also of note, September trade deficit narrowed to GBP9.35 billion (expected deficit of GBP10.60 billion; previous deficit of GBP10.79 billion).
  • France's September Trade Balance -EUR3.40 billion (expected -EUR3.10 billion; previous -EUR3.0 billion) while government budget deficit narrowed to EUR74.50 billion from EUR89.70 billion in September.
  • Spain's September Industrial Production +3.8% year-over-year (consensus 2.8%; prior 2.8%).

------

• UK's FTSE hovers just below its flat line with roughly half of its components trading in the red. Miners and consumer names lag with BHP Billiton, Glencore, Burberry, and Sainsbury down between 0.4% and 6.0%. On the upside, airlines outperform with International Consolidated Airlines, easyJet, and TUI up between 1.1% and 3.0%.
• France's CAC remains lower by 0.3% after trimming a portion of its loss. Sanofi is the weakest performer, trading lower by 6.0% in reaction to cautious guidance. Consumer names also lag with Louis Vuitton, Pernod Ricard, Danone, and L'Oreal down between 0.8% and 3.1%. On the flip side, Societe Generale has climbed 2.5% and BNP Paribas trades up 1.5%.
• Germany's DAX outperforms with a gain of 0.7% thanks to broad strength. Exporters lead with BMW and Daimler up 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively, while Deutsche Bank is higher by 0.6%.

8:50 am Lockheed Martin closes its acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft (LMT) :  

8:40 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Discovery Laboratories (DSCO) will announce top-line results from its Aerosurf Phase 2a expansion clinical trial in premature infants 29 -- 34 gestational age with respiratory distress syndrome on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 7 a.m. ET.
• VBI Vaccines (VBIV) is scheduled to present at the 16th Annual World Vaccine Congress Europe. The company will provide an overview of VBI's eVLP Platform and new data supporting the company's respiratory syncytial virus and cytomegalovirus vaccine programs during his presentation
• Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) announced that results will be presented from its ongoing Phase I Dynamic (Dilated cardiomYopathy iNtervention with Allogeneic MyocardIally-regenerative Cells) clinical trial evaluating CAP-1002 in patients with advanced heart failure. The data will be presented in a poster presentation at the 2015 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

8:39 am Gapping down (SCANX) : Gapping down 
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: MW -38.3%, TNGO -20.2%, GLUU -19.9%, SWIR -18.9%, CMLS -18.6%, CPST -16.3%, PXLW -14%, SKUL -13.4%, GDOT -11.3%, AAOI -9.8%, TRIP -9.6%, ALDR -7.6%, MFLX -7.4%, MMI -7.1%, NEWR -5.6%, CLVS -4.9%, SNTA -4.4%, FICO -4%, GEVO -3.6%, PRAA -3.5%, ACET -3.5%, AMTG -3.4%, MHK -3.3%, TCPI -3.2%, DIOD -3.1%, CLDX -3%, GST -2.4%, SYN -2.1%, BIOC -2.1%, VIP -2%, HAIN -1.9%, KHC -1.9%, INSM -1.8%, HNSN -1.6%, EFC -1.4%, AKAO -1.3%, BBG -1.1%, EOG -1.1%, ABUS -1%

M&A news: NSR -2.3% (agrees to acquire MarketShare Partners for $450 mln ), AZN -1% (acquired ZSPH of ~2.7 bln)

Other news: KBIO -51.8% ( to reduce workforce by ~61%, will explore strategic alternative), CGIX -17.6% (prices 3 mln shares of its common stock at $4.00/share; gross proceeds expected to be $12.0 mln), MRNS -15.9% (to offer and sell shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering), MCZ -13.6% (entered into $25 mln ATM common stock offering agreement with Ascendiant Capital, reported Q3 results), XOMA -12.6% (Agenus enters into three transactions, including agreement to acquire XOMA's (XOMA) antibody pilot plant manufacturing facility and capabilities ), RDY -12.4% (receipt of a warning letter from the FDA), SNY -6.2% (sets long-term growth objectives at IR seminar; targets sales CAGR between +3-4% 2015-2020), BSTC -5.8% (BioSpecifics Tech reports that Endo International (ENDP) has exercised its early opt-in for CCH to include two new potential indications; lateral thigh fat and plantar fibromatosis), BHP -5.1% (following Samarco incident), EYES -3.7% (disclosed that Medicare payment rate for the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System may be cut), TCPI -3.2% (announced delay in reporting third quarter 2015 financial results; due to a pending Audit Committee investigation; offers prelim Q3 results), VALE -3% (BHP Billiton and Vale (VALE) are 50 per cent shareholders in the Brazilian company and joint venture, Samarco), SERV -2.3% (announces the sale of ~28.96 mln shares of its common stock by a selling stockholder associated with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and StepStone Group)

Analyst comments: CREE -5.6% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman), SEAS -2.2% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman), CMG -1.6% (downgraded to Neutral at Robert W. Baird)

8:36 am Gapping up (SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance: ECOM +19.4%, WTW +18.7%, STMP +18.5%, VRNS +17.7%, FNGN +17.6%, SREV +16.9%, UBNT +16.8%, LPTH +16.7%, DATA +16.2%, QRVO +15.4%, RATE +15%, YUME +12.9%, AXGN +12.5%, MITK +10.5%, TRUE +10.4%, AIRM +10.1%, KTOS +9.8%, NVDA +9.7%, SXE +9.7%, BLDR +9.7%, DWA +9.6%, RPTP +9.4%, PODD +8.8%, MNST +8.3%, OLED +7.7%, TTI +7.4%, AGTC +6.9%, SHAK +6.8%, OCLS +6.6%, BCEI +6.6%, ICUI +5.7%, WING +5.5%, PCTY +5.5%, ELON +4.8%, AEZS +4.6%, MSCC +4.5%, VTL +4.5%, CYTX +4.4%, AEE +4.4%, SWKS +4.3%, ANET +3.7%, TTWO +3.6%, GSVC +3.4%, ABTL +3.2%, ABCO +3.2%, GERN +3%, ETM +2.7%, ERII +2.4%, CBI +2.1%, JOE +2%, CYBR +1.8%, AL +1.6%, NKTR +1.5%, SEMG +1.4%, BETR +1.3%, PBA +1.3%, ACHN +1.2%, CSOD +1.1%, MDVN +1%, RBA +1%

M&A news: ZSPH +40.8% (to be acquired by AstraZeneca (AZN) for $90/share, or ~$2.7 bln),LXRX +30% (Lexicon Pharma and Sanofi (SNY) set up collaboration on sotagliflozin),YOKU +10.1% (to be acquired by Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) for $27.60/ADS share in cash),RLYP +6.7% (ZSPH peer)

Other news: PVCT +28.7% (reported results that reveal a clinically relevant immunoadjuvant pathway triggered by tumor cell death secondary to ablation with RB),MHR +23.3% (reported refinancing of its existing senior secured revolving credit facility),SHAK +7.1% (still checking),AGEN +4.4% (Agenus enters into three transactions, including agreement to acquire XOMA's (XOMA) antibody pilot plant manufacturing facility and capabilities ),CLLS +4.2% (FT discusses benefits and possible success of cancer genetic therapy),BLUE +4.1% (slightly rebounding following recent weakness),VRX +3.2% (Pershing Square Holdings releases complete communication sent from Bill Ackman to Valeant Pharm'a (VRX) CEO),MNKD +2.9% (still checking),MOMO +2.7% (still checking),OXGN +2.4% (reports initial data from a Phase 1b/2 study of CA4P in combination with Votrient; results are 'encouraging and we expect to move into the phase 2 portion of the study in early 2016' ),.

Analyst comments: WM +0.9% (initiated with a Outperform at Credit Suisse).

8:35 am Market View: Dec. E-mini stock-index futures recover much of the initial post Oct. Employment report sell-off with ESz5 now -4.00 & NQz5 now -3.00 (:TECHX) :  

8:33 am Dollar index spikes sharply following jobs data, causing precious metals to sink (gold dropped $16/oz) (:COMDX) :

• Dollar index is now +1.3% at 99.20
• Dec gold is -1% at $1093.20/oz
• Dec silver -1% at $14.83/oz

8:32 am Futures Slide After October Nonfarm Payrolls Beat Estimates...S&P futures vs fair value: -7.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.00. (:WRAPX) :

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

October nonfarm payrolls came in at 271,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 181,000. The prior month's reading was revised down to 137,000 from 142,000. Nonfarm private payrolls added 268,000 against the 160,000 expected by the consensus. The unemployment rate slipped to 5.0% from 5.1%, while the Briefing.com consensus expected no change at 5.1%.

Hourly earnings rose 0.4% while the consensus expected an uptick of 0.2%. The average workweek was reported at 34.5, which is what the consensus expected.

8:31 am Market View: Dec. E-mini stock-index futures see a notable sell-off following the 8:30 am ET release of the Oct. Employment Report (:TECHX) :

• ESz5 now -8.50
  
  
• NQz5 now -13.00
  
  
• YMz5 now -71

8:31 am Relypsa reports data from a sub-group analysis of its Phase 3 OPAL-HK trial of Veltassa; data showed Veltassa significantly reduced and maintained control of blood potassium levels in hyperkalemic CKD patients (RLYP) :

Co announces results of a pre-specified sub-group analysis from the Phase 3 OPAL-HK trial of Veltassa for oral suspension.

• Data showed Veltassa significantly reduced and maintained control of blood potassium levels in hyperkalemic CKD patients age 65 and older who were also receiving renin angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitor therapy.
• A separate post-hoc analysis also from the OPAL-HK trial showed Veltassa's efficacy in treating hyperkalemia was not diminished by concomitant use of diuretics. Veltassa was well tolerated in both sub-groups, with mild-to-moderate constipation as the most common adverse event.
• Veltassa significantly reduced the % of patients age 65 and older with recurrent hyperkalemia compared with placebo over eight weeks (p
• Veltassa was well tolerated, and its safety profile was consistent with that observed in other clinical trials

8:30 am Pericom Semi receives a revised acquisition offer from Diodes (DIOD) for $17.75/share; up from $17/share prior (PSEM) : Co received a revised acquisition offer from Diodes Incorporated (DIOD) for $17.75 per share in cash for an aggregate consideration of $413 million. The new purchase price in the Revised Diodes Offer is an increase from Diodes' previously announced $17.00 per share purchase price. The Pericom Board intends to meet promptly to evaluate the Revised Diodes Offer and will communicate its recommendation to Pericom shareholders as soon as possible. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015

8:26 am Warren Resources appoints Brian Gelman as Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately (WRES) :

Stewart Skelly, the current Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has resigned, effective immediately, in order to pursue other opportunities in connection with the relocation of his family to Ireland.

• Gelman served as Warren's Controller immediately prior to his appointment as Interim CFO and has been with the Company in various financial and accounting roles since 2002.

8:20 am Abengoa Yield misses by $0.10, beats on revs; co reaffirms dividend guidance (ABY) :

Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.26 per share, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.36; revenues rose 169% year/year to $267.3 mln vs the $232.5 mln consensus.

Guidance Reaffirmed:

• Abengoa Yield reaffirms its guidance on Dividend per Share of $1.60 for 2015 and Dividend per Share in the range of $2.10-2.15 for 2016. We believe that this guidance is achievable with the current portfolio of assets.

8:19 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Cytokinetics Incorporated (CYTK) announced that results from the expansion phase of COSMIC-HF will be presented in the Late Breaking Clinical Trial Session at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2015
• Pieris Pharmaceuticals (PIRS) announced the presentation of new preclinical data from its lead immuno-oncology program demonstrating that its Anticalin-based CD137/HER2 bispecific PRS-343 drug candidates stimulate tumor-targeted immune responses distinct from conventional anti-CD137 monoclonal antibodies and possess desirable drug-like properties. The data demonstrated that PRS-343 drug candidates drive tumor-targeted T cell activation on multiple HER2 high-expressing tumor cell lines but not on HER2 low-expressing tumor cell lines, confirming the requirement of tumor-expressed HER2 binding to trigger the CD137-mediated anti-tumor immune response.
• Diana Shipping (DSX) announced that it has agreed to extend the present time charter contract with RWE Supply & Trading GmbH for one of its Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Maia, for a period of 17-20 months. The gross charter rate is $7,500 per day, and is anticipated to generate a minimum of $3.8 million of gross revenue

8:19 am TrovaGene will report clinical data on its Precision Cancer Monitoring platform at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference (TROV) :

Co announced the presentation of clinical data featuring the use of its Precision Cancer Monitoring platform for monitoring treatment response in patients diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer. The data are an interim analysis from an ongoing 30-patient, blinded biomarker study.

• The dynamics of ctDNA KRAS mutation burden in urine demonstrated a stronger correlation with clinical course as compared to plasma, and asignificant decrease in urinary ctDNA KRAS signal was observed as early as two weeks after starting chemotherapy. Increases in urinary ctDNA KRAS signal was observed two months prior to radiographic imaging.

8:14 am Portola Pharma to present results for Phase 3 ANNEXA-R part 2 study results; top line data showed the ability of andexanet alfa to sustain reversal for the duration of the infusion (PTLA) :

Co announces that full data from the second part of its Phase 3 ANNEXA-R study of the investigational agent andexanet alfa will be presented during a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial oral session at the upcoming American Heart Association in Orlando.

• Part 1 of the study demonstrated rapid reversal with an IV bolus infusion, and topline data from Part 2 showed the ability of andexanet alfa administered as an IV bolus followed by a continuous two-hour infusion to sustain that reversal for the duration of the infusion.
• In the study, andexanet alfa was well tolerated, with no serious or severe adverse events, no thrombotic events, and no antibodies to Factor X or Xa observed.

8:09 am Reading Intl reports Q3 results, revs fell 11% YoY (RDI) :

• Co reports Q3 (Sep) EPS of $0.02 vs $0.17 in the prior year period with approximately $0.09 of the decrease attributed to weaker foreign exchange rates against the US dollar and legal and insurance expenses. Operating revenue fell 11% YoY to $57.8 mln. There are no analyst estimates.

8:09 am European Yields (BONDX) :

European Sovereigns Rally

• European government notes and bonds are trading higher today after Germany reported weaker-than-expected industrial production data for September. European interest rate traders are highly focused on the December meeting of the European Central Bank. The guidance from the ECB, particularly ECB President Mario Draghi, has been that the central bank will decide about whether or not to provide more monetary accommodation based on the economic data and markets are reacting appropriately. European sovereign debt, however, is also caught in a cross-current with the sell-off in U.S. Treasuries, so there has been some steepening of the yield curves in France and Germany over the past two weeks. The short EUR/USD trade is getting crowded but may have more room to run. Weaker terms of trade would help stimulate eurozone exports 
• German industrial production fell 1.1% m/m in September, confounding economists' expectations for a gain. IP dropped 0.6% in August, revised up from -1.2%
  
• Spanish industrial production unexpectedly jumped 3.8% in the year to September after gaining an upwardly-revised 2.8% in August
  
• Manufacturing production in the U.K. grew a better-than-expected 0.8% m/m in September after rising a downwardly-revised 0.5% in August
  
  • Industrial production, which is 80% manufacturing but adds in mining and utility activity, fell 0.2% m/m in September reversing a 0.9% gain in August
    
  • The trade deficit narrowed more than expected to GBP -9.35 bln in September from GBP -10.79 bln in August
    
• Yield Check:
  
  • France, 10-yr OAT: -2 bps to 0.94%
    
  • Germany, 10-yr Bund: -2 bps to 0.60%
    
  • Greece, 10-yr note: -1 bp to 7.62%
    
  • Italy, 10-yr BTP: -3 bps to 1.57%
    
  • Portugal, 10-yr note: +1 bp to 2.62%
    
  • Spain, 10-yr ODE: unch at 1.80%
    
  • U.K., 10-yr Gilt: -3 bps to 1.94%

8:04 am Ameren beats by $0.11, beats on revs; raises bottom end of FY15 guidance (AEE) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.41 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.30; revenues rose 9.8% year/year to $1.83 bln vs the $1.78 bln two analyst estimate.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, raises top end of EPS to $2.55-2.65 from $2.45-2.65 vs. $2.56 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

8:04 am TICC Capital misses by $0.05; Adopts new stock program (TICC) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.23. In the third quarter, co also recorded net realized capital gains of $0.4 million, and unrealized depreciation of $41.0 million.
• In total co had a net decrease in net assets from operations of approximately $29.7 million, or $0.50 per share.
• Core net investment income for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 was approximately $0.34 per share. Core NII represents that portion of estimated annual taxable net investment income available for distribution to common shareholders attributable to the quarter. The Company's distribution policy is based, to a significant extent, on our Core NII.

New Stock Program 

• Co announced that the Company's board of directors has authorized a new program for the purpose of repurchasing up to $75 million worth of its common stock. Under the new repurchase program, the Company may, but is not obligated to, repurchase its outstanding common stock in the open market from time to time through June 30, 2016.
  

8:04 am Osiris Therapeutics misses by $0.11, beats on revs (OSIR) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.02 per share, $0.11 worse than the single analyst estimate of $0.09; revenues rose 41.3% year/year to $24.3 mln vs the $24 mln single analyst estimate.

8:04 am Eli Lilly to report top-line renal results from the EMPA-REG Outcome study; data showed that Jardiance significantly reduced the risk of CV death, non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke by 14% versus placebo (LLY) :

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and LLY anounces that top-line renal results from the EMPA-REG OUTCOME study will be presented during American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2015 in San Diego.

• Over a median of 3.1 years, JARDIANCE significantly reduced the risk of CV death, non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke by 14% versus placebo.
• Risk of CV death was reduced by 38%, with no significant difference in the risk of non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke.
• Treatment with JARDIANCE also resulted in a 32% reduced risk of all-cause mortality and a 35% reduced risk of hospitalization for heart failure.
• The overall safety profile of JARDIANCE was consistent with that of previous trials.

8:03 am Market View: Dec. E-mini stock-index futures move to new pre-market highs here in recent trade with all eyes on the 8:30 am ET Oct. Employment Report (:TECHX) :

• ESz5 now +3.00
  
  
• NQz5 now +10.25
  
  
• YMz5 now +5

8:03 am PharMerica beats by $0.03, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance (PMC) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.39 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.36; revenues rose 6.1% year/year to $498.8 mln vs the $487.65 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $1.55-1.65, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.63 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $1.95-2.05 bln vs. $2.00 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

8:01 am BioTime and Hepregen Corporation announced the formation of Ascendance Biotechnology; to focus on next-gen metabolism and safety screening of new drugs/chemicals (BTX) :

Co and Hepregen Corporation, a privately held company engaged in the development and marketing of proprietary drug screening products, announced the formation of Ascendance Biotechnology. Ascendance combines Hepregen's application-directed, cellular micro-patterning drug and chemical screening technologies with BioTime's ESI BIO research products and proprietary stem cell technologies.

• The asset combination will allow Ascendance to offer a broad portfolio of current and new stem-cell-derived assays and other products and services to Hepregen's major pharmaceutical and chemical company customers. Ascendance will market Hepregen's well-known HepatoPac and HepatoMune micro-patterned liver products.
• In exchange for its contribution of certain assets relating to its research products and related patents and technology, BioTime will acquire a majority equity position in Ascendance.

8:01 am Echostar Holdings misses by $0.05, misses on revs (SATS) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.32 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.37; revenues fell 15.1% year/year to $761 mln vs the $797.64 mln Capital IQ Consensus.

8:01 am Physicians Realty Trust reports FFO in-line (DOC) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) funds from operations of $0.26 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.26.
• The Company expects to acquire between $700 million and $900 million of real estate during 2015. This guidance is inclusive of any previously announced acquisitions.

8:01 am Valeant Pharma issues a statement on sales of its stock; 1,297,399 shares pledged to Goldman Sachs to secure loans made to CEO Michael Pearson were sold (VRX) :

• Co stated that 1,297,399 shares pledged to Goldman Sachs to secure loans made to chairman and chief executive officer J. Michael Pearson were sold by Goldman Sachs on November 5, 2015. Goldman Sachs held the shares as collateral for loans extended to Pearson.
• As disclosed in the company's proxy statement filed on April 22, 2014, the company's board permitted Pearson to pledge approximately two million shares. As of the company's most recent proxy statement, filed April 9, 2015, those shares represent approximately 20.19% of his shares beneficially owned. Pearson pledged those shares to Goldman Sachs as collateral for loans of approximately $100 million that he used for, among other things, financing charitable contributions, including to Duke University, and helping to fund a community swimming pool, purchasing Valeant shares, and meeting certain tax obligations related to the vesting and payment of Valeant compensatory equity awards.
• In January 2015, Pearson agreed to not receive a base salary and instead be compensated exclusively through cash and stock incentive awards tied to performance.

8:01 am Moog misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance, guides FY16 revs in-line/just above (MOG.A) :

• Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $0.92 per share, excluding $0.17 on items, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.94; revenues fell 7.2% year/year to $623.2 mln vs the $626.78 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues guidance for FY16, sees EPS of ~$4.00 vs. $4.02 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs up ~2% to ~$2.58 bln vs. $2.56 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Year-end 12-month backlog was $1.3 billion.

8:00 am Fuel-Tech announces it has been awarded air pollution control orders totaling ~$2 mln (FTEK) : Co announced the receipt of multiple air pollution control contracts from customers in the US, Europe and China. These awards have an aggregate value of $2 million. In China, four orders were received for multiple ULTRA systems that will be installed on utility coal-fired units being retrofitted with NOx reduction technology.

7:59 am Teekay Shipping prices its $200 million add-on offering of senior unsecured notes due 2020 at 8.5% (TK) : Co intends to use a portion of the net proceeds to repay a portion of indebtedness outstanding under its $500 million revolving credit facility and the balance to replenish cash reserves used to repay the outstanding principal balance of Teekay's NOK Bonds that matured in October 2015.

7:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -0.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.50. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures trade little changed amid cautious action overseas; however, the current standing is all but sure to change within the next 30 minutes once the October Employment Situation report crosses the wires at 8:30 ET. The Briefing.com consensus expects the report to reveal the addition of 181,000 payrolls while hourly earnings are expected to have increased 0.2% in October.

One more data point will be released later today with the September Consumer Credit report (consensus $18.00 billion) set to cross the wires at 15:00 ET.

Similar to stocks, Treasuries are flat with the 10-yr yield at 2.23%.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Disney (DIS 112.61, -0.39): -0.4% despite beating bottom-line estimates.
• NVIDIA (NVDA 30.40, +2.69): +9.7% after beating estimates and guiding Q4 revenue above analyst expectations.
• Shake Shack (SHAK 54.31, +3.20): +6.3% in reaction to better than expected earnings and upbeat guidance.
• Humana (HUM 179.50, +0.45): +0.3% after beating earnings expectations on below-consensus revenue.
• TripAdvisor (TRIP 75.12, -7.99): -9.6% after missing estimates and receiving a downgrade from Guggenheim.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mixed. China's Shanghai Composite +1.9%, Japan's Nikkei +0.8%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.8%
  • In economic data:
    • Japan's September Preliminary Leading Index 101.4 (expected 102.1; prior 103.5) and September Coincident Indicator -0.3% month-over-month (prior -0.6%)
    • Australia's October AIG Construction Index 52.1 (prior 51.9)
  • In news:
    • Reserve Bank of Australia's latest quarterly policy statement lowered the 2015 GDP growth forecast to 2.25% from 2.50% and cut the 2017 outlook to a range of 3.0-4.0% from 3.0-4.5% while keeping the 2016 forecast unchanged at 2.5-3.5%. Also of note, the 2015 inflation forecast was lowered to 2.0% from 2.5% while inflation expectations for 2016 and 2017 remain unchanged at 2.0-3.0%.

• Major European indices trade mostly lower. France's CAC -0.8%, Germany's DAX -0.1%, and UK's FTSE -0.1%. Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX -0.8% and Italy's MIB +0.3%
  • Participants received several data points:
    • Germany's September Industrial Production -1.1% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; prior -0.6%)
    • UK's September Industrial Production -0.2% month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.9%); +1.1% year-over-year (consensus 1.3%; previous 1.8%). Separately, September Manufacturing Production +0.8% month-over-month (expected 0.4%; previous 0.4%); -0.6% year-over-year (consensus -0.9%; last -0.9%). Also of note, September trade deficit narrowed to GBP9.35 billion (expected deficit of GBP10.60 billion; previous deficit of GBP10.79 billion).
    • France's September Trade Balance -EUR3.40 billion (expected -EUR3.10 billion; previous -EUR3.00 billion) while government budget deficit narrowed to EUR74.50 billion from EUR89.70 billion in September.
    • Spain's September Industrial Production +3.8% year-over-year (consensus 2.8%; prior 2.8%).
  • Among news of note:
    • The British pound has extended yesterday's decline following a dovish policy statement from the Bank of England and comments from Governor Mark Carney with rate hike expectations shifting past 2016. The pound has surrendered 0.6% against the dollar today, trading near 1.5125 at this juncture

7:56 am Furmanite reports Q3 results; No longer holding earnings conf call as it is merging with TISI (FRM) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.01 lower than dual analyst estimate of $0.05; revenues rose 2.4% year/year to $97.4 mln.
• On November 1, 2015, the Company and Team (TISI) entered into a definitive merger agreement in which Team will acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company in a stock-for-stock transaction. The agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The transaction is subject to the required approvals of the stockholders of both companies, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is anticipated that the closing of the transaction will occur in the first quarter of 2016. In light of the pending transaction with Team, the Company is discontinuing its quarterly conference calls for the investment community.

7:38 am Idera Pharma reports Q3; announces the first two gene targets for third generation antisense technology platform (IDRA) :

• Q3 EPS ($0.10) vs ($0.11) single analyst estimate
• "As we announced yesterday, we will be presenting the clinical and safety data analysis from our Phase 1/2 clinical trial of IMO-8400 in Waldenstrm's macroglobulinemia at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in December. We also are initiating our clinical studies of our TLR9 agonist, IMO-2125 in combination with ipilmumab in patients with metastatic melanoma and IMO-8400 Phase 2 study in dermatomyositis, this quarter
• Co has selected NLRP3 (NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing protein 3) and DUX4 (Double Homeobox 4) as gene targets to advance into IND-enabling activities, which will occur throughout 2016. Potential disease indications include, but are not limited to interstitial cystitis, uveitis and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (:FSHD), respectively. The company intends to describe these programs in more detail during the 2016 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference early next year.

7:36 am TETRA Tech beats by $0.10, beats on revs (TTI) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.17 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.07; revenues fell 0.2% year/year to $304.7 mln vs the $295.39 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Total 2015 free cash flow for TETRA is expected to be in excess of $80.0 million, or $1.00/share, reflecting the Company's focus on managing working capital, reducing costs, and generating revenue from a broad, diversified customer base.

7:33 am Scripps misses by $0.26, beats on revs (SSP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.29 per share, $0.26 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.03); revenues rose 54.1% year/year to $189.7 mln vs the $186.69 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Q4 outlook:
  • Television revenue to be down low to mid teens. Political revenue to be about $4 million, compared to $43.9 million in the prior-year period.
  • Television expenses to increase about 10 percent, primarily due to higher programming fees.
  • Radio revenue to be down mid-single digits.

7:30 am TransCanada to sell a 49.9% interest in Portland Natural Gas Limited Partnership to TC PipeLines, LP (TCP), for $223 mln (TRP) :

Co entered into an agreement to sell a 49.9% interest in Portland Natural Gas Limited Partnership to its master limited partnership, TC PipeLines (TCP), for a purchase price of $223 million. The sale is expected to close at the end of 2015. The transaction includes $188 million in cash together with the assumption of a proportionate share of PNGTS debt in the amount of $35 million.

• The EBITDA from th 49.9 percent interest in PNGTS is expected to be $23 million in 2016. The sales agreement also provides for additional payments from TC PipeLines, LP if PNGTS is expanded in the future.

7:30 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Nobilis Health (HLTH) announced that it has closed a transaction to jointly own and operate the former Freedom Pain Hospital located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Nobilis acquired a 60% stake and management control of the joint venture entity which was formed to own and operate the successor hospital.
• Galena Biopharma (GALE) announced the final data from the Company's GALE-401 (anagrelide controlled release) Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial will be presented at the upcoming 57th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition

7:28 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) :

Treasuries Subdued Ahead of Employment Report

• Treasuries are mostly unchanged this morning ahead of the 08:30 ET release of the October Employment Situation Report. The U.S. Dollar Index touched a 3-month high of 98.17 overnight, but the greenback's strength came against the British pound and the Japanese yen, giving the euro a respite from the 6-cent beating it's taken against the dollar over the past three weeks. The Briefing.com consensus for October's change in nonfarm payrolls is +181K following a reported gain of 142K jobs in September. The Briefing.com consensus for growth in hourly earnings is 0.2%
  
• Yield Check:
  
  • 2-yr: unch at 0.83%
    
  • 5-yr: unch at 1.63%
    
  • 10-yr: unch at 2.23%
    
  • 30-yr: -1 bp to 2.99%

• International News:
  
  • Manufacturing production in the U.K. grew a better-than-expected 0.8% m/m in September after rising a downwardly-revised 0.5% in August
    
    • Industrial production, which is 80% manufacturing but adds in mining and utility activity, fell 0.2% m/m in September reversing a 0.9% gain in August
      
    • The trade deficit narrowed more than expected to GBP -9.35 bln in September from GBP -10.79 bln in August
      
  • German industrial production fell 1.1% m/m in September, confounding economists' expectations for a gain. IP dropped 0.6% in August, revised up from -1.2%
    
  • Spanish industrial production unexpectedly jumped 3.8% in the year to September after gaining an upwardly-revised 2.8% in August
    
  • Brazilian inflation came in higher than expected. The consumer price index for that country rose 9.93% in the year to October, just higher than estimates. The CPI climbed 9.49% y/y in September
    
  • Japan's Leading Index declined more than expected to 101.4 in November from 103.5 in October, according to preliminary data
    
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia released its quarterly statement on the economy
    
    • The statement said that the Australian economy continues to rebalance away from resource production
      
    • The RBA forecast consumption to increase despite "subdued" wage growth
      
    • Net service exports have benefited from a much weaker Aussie dollar

• Data out Today:
  
  • October Employment Situation Report (08:30 ET)
    
  • September Consumer Credit (15:00 ET)
    
  • Fed Governor Brainard (FOMC voter) participates in forum at IMF conference (17:15 ET)

7:25 am Telecom Italia reports YTD results; schedules Special Meeting to vote to convert saving shares into ordinary shares (TI) :

• The Group closed the first nine months of 2015 with consolidated turnover of 14.9 billion euros, down 6.9% on the first nine months of 2014 (-3.9% in organic terms). EBITDA comes to 5.6 billion euros, down 14.8% on the first nine months of 2014 (-13.0% in organic terms) and suffers the negative impact of non-recurring charges for a total of 460 million euros. Without these, the organic change in EBITDA would have been -4.8%.
• For the current financial year, ongoing gradual improvement in operating performance is expected in the domestic market, consistent with the dynamics described in the three-year Plan for 2015-2017. As regards the Tim Brasil group, the recent negative evolution of the reference context does nonetheless leave room to pursue "data-centred" commercial initiatives and cost reduction activities, which will lead to a recovery in turnover performance and profitability in the direction indicated in the 2015 - 2017 Plan.
• Those entitled to vote in the Special Meeting of the holders of saving shares of Telecom Italia S.p.A. are hereby called to the Special Shareholders' Meeting which will be held on 17 Dec 2015 to discuss and resolve upon the following:
  • Conversion of the saving shares into ordinary shares: (i) granting to the holders of saving shares the right to receive one ordinary share in exchange for each saving share held plus a cash payment; and (ii) the mandatory conversion of the saving shares not so exchanged at the end of the period for the exercise of the optional conversion referred to in point (i) into ordinary shares.

7:15 am Global Eagle reports Q3; reaffirms 2015 revenue outlook, in-line (ENT) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of ($0.09) per share, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.01; revenues rose 7.3% year/year to $110.1 mln vs the $109.3 mln Capital IQ Consensus
• Co reaffirms 2015 revenue guidance at $415-435 mln vs $423.4 mln consensus.

7:11 am LoJack reports Q3 EPS of $0.08 vs $0.09 single analyst estimate; revs flat y/y at $32.6 mln vs $34.85 mln single analyst estimate (LOJN) :

• Sees 2015 revenue slightly down from the prior year, with Adjusted EBITDA for full-year 2015 in the range of $8.0 million to $9.0 million.

7:06 am Natl Bankshares increases semi-annual dividend to $0.61/share from $0.53/share (NKSH) :  

7:05 am EZchip; Raging Capital sends letter to EZchip shareholders stating that Co may be downplaying in order to obtain shareholder approval of buyout offer from Mellanox Tech (MLNX) (EZCH) : Raging Capital Management, LLC, owns ~6.7% of shares outstanding, issued a letter to Co shareholders today highlighting a key disclosure that Co may be downplaying in its effort to obtain shareholder approval of the $25.50/share buyout offer from Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (MLNX). Raging Capital notes that EZchip has secured two additional major data center win, and that this info "was buried in a press release issued yesterday outlining the purported benefits of the merger."

7:04 am Horizon Pharma beats by $0.31, beats on revs; raises FY15 guidance above consensus (HZNP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) adj. earnings of $0.70 per share, $0.31 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 201.6% year/year to $226.5 mln vs the $192.58 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • This was driven by strong growth in each of Horizon's business units: primary care, orphan and specialty, as well as the addition of new medicines to the orphan and primary care business units.
• Co issues upside guidance for FY15, raises FY15 revs to $750-760 mln from $660-680 mln vs. $681.50 mln Capital IQ Consensus; raises adj. EBITDA $350-360 mln from $265-280 mln.
• "Additionally, our Phase 3 trial for ACTIMMUNE in Friedreich's ataxia is more than 30 percent enrolled, on track to complete enrollment in the second quarter of 2016 and we continue to expect results by the end of 2016." 

7:04 am LMI Aerospace misses by $0.07, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY15 revs guidance (LMIA) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) net of breakeven, $0.07 worse than the two analyst estimate of $0.07; revenues fell 1.7% year/year to $95.6 mln vs the $95.65 mln two analyst estimate.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $377-387 mln vs. $383.65 mln two analyst estimate.
  • Sees FY15 Operating profit of between $20.0 million and $24.0 million
  • Sees FY15 Free cash flow of between $10.0 million and $15.0 million.
    

7:02 am Celldex Therapeutics announces new preclinical data on Varlilumab, suggesting that cancers may respond to CD27 immune modulation by independent mechanisms (CLDX) :

Co presented new preclinical data on varlilumab, a fully human monoclonal agonist antibody that binds and activates CD27, a critical co-stimulatory molecule in the immune activation cascade. Results suggest that cancers may respond to CD27 immune modulation by independent mechanisms, such as immune co-stimulation and regulatory T cell (Treg) depletion.

• The data indicated that potent co-stimulation activity was required for therapeutic activity in a BCL1 lymphoma model, whereas control of Tregs was required for activity in several other models, such as E.G7 thymoma, CT26 colorectal and colon 26. Importantly, varlilumab has a combination of immune co-stimulation and Treg depleting activity and demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in all the models.
• The immune stimulating and Treg depleting effects of varlilumab were also observed in Celldex's Phase 1, single-agent clinical trial of varlilumab in patients with refractory, advanced cancers. The study also demonstrated promising clinical activity. Two patients experienced durable objective responses including a complete response in Hodgkin lymphoma (18.9+ months) and a partial response in renal cell carcinoma (13.6+ months). Thirteen patients experienced stable disease (3-36.2+ months). Varlilumab was very well tolerated and demonstrated minimal toxicity, even in elderly patients. There was no indication of immune-mediated adverse events often seen with other immunotherapies.

7:01 am Westmoreland Coal issues open letter to its shareholders in response to a letter from Venor Capital Management, disputing connection between share price and shareholder communication (WLB) :

Co released an open letter to its shareholders in response to a letter from Venor Capital Management:

• "We carefully reviewed the thoughts and suggestions presented in its public letter. we appreciate your support and acknowledgement of the efficacy of our business model. Your assessment cuts through the "fog" of the many issues surrounding and affecting coal company valuations including socially-inspired disinvestment, a herd trading mentality, and the so-called "war on coal."
• While we are concerned with our stock price, we do not agree with the implication that our current share price is mainly attributable to a lack of effective communication with our shareholders.We have instituted a national search for an Investor Relations executive.We are well down the path on this process. While the board is open to the idea of a stock/debt repurchase program, we continue to remain cautious at this time."

7:01 am Heat Biologics announces results from its Phase 1 trial of HS-410; HS-410 had a positive safety profile and was well-tolerated with no patients discontinuing the trial due to adverse events (HTBX) :

Co announced results from its Phase 1 trial to evaluate safety and immune response to HS-410 (vesigenurtacel-L), after standard of care Bacillus Calmette-Gurin , for the treatment of high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. HS-410 had a positive safety profile and was well-tolerated with no patients discontinuing the trial due to adverse events. Furthermore, no serious adverse events were reported, and 7 out of 10 patients had no documented recurrence of cancer >1 year after standard of care surgery.

• Significantly, 3 out of 4 patients with carcinoma in situ, the patient population least responsive to standard of care, did not recur. HS-410 elicited a broad-based expansion of patient T cells and a high level of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Moreover, third-party analysis of blinded samples demonstrated a strong correlation between baseline characteristics of TILs by T cell receptor (:TCR) sequencing and clinical outcome.
• Specifically, the 7 patients who remain disease free exhibited the greatest clonal expansion of intratumoral T cells. For its ongoing Phase 2 trial, Heat announced that it has completed enrollment of the full 75 patients in the three blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled arms evaluating HS-410 in combination with BCG. Heat remains focused on enrolling the additional 25 patients for the one unblinded, open-label monotherapy arm.
• Topline efficacy, immune-response and safety data are expected in the fourth quarter of 2016.

7:00 am Threshold Pharma announces new preclinical data demonstrating that tarloxotinib bromide may overcome resistance to generations of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (THLD) : Co announced new preclinical data demonstrating that tarloxotinib bromide, or tarloxotinib, may overcome resistance to first- and second- and third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (:EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The data will be reported today in two scientific posters at the AACR-NCI-EORTC Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Meeting.

6:58 am Willis Group issues a statement re-affirming its support of a merger with Towers Watson (TW) following recommendations by the proxy advisory firm ISS (WSH) : Co stated: "Naturally we are pleased that ISS recognises the 'strategic merits and long-term benefits of the merger', and with their recommendation that Willis shareholders vote for the transaction. However, we are disappointed with their conclusion that Towers Watson (TW) shareholders should not support the merger. We believe that this perspective neglects the estimated $4.7 billion in incremental value for shareholders that we expect through clearly-identified cost, tax and revenue synergies."

6:57 am William Lyon Homes misses by $0.07, misses on revs (WLH) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.38; revenues rose 21.7% year/year to $251.7 mln vs the $288.45 mln two analyst estimate.
• Net new home orders of 628, up 49%
• "We continue to see healthy demand and limited supply across our markets, and we believe that we are well positioned to finish the year strong as we remain focused on executing our financial and operational objectives." 

6:54 am Brookfield Asset Mgmt beats by $0.05, beats on revs (BAM) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) funds from operations of $0.48 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 8.5% year/year to $5.06 bln vs the $4.7 bln two analyst estimate. 
• "We experienced favourable operating results across virtually all of our businesses, reflecting the contribution from recent acquisitions and other growth initiatives and improved pricing and volumes at many of our operations. Our share of disposition gains on the sale of mature assets was $88 million in the quarter, resulting in the realization of $15 million of accumulated carried interest. The comparative quarter in 2014 included $202 million of disposition gains."

6:47 am Pentair reaffirms Q4 adj. EPS $1.03-105 vs $1.04 Capital IQ Consensus at Analyst Day in New York (PNR) :  

6:47 am Cancer Genetics prices 3 mln shares of its common stock at $4.00/share; gross proceeds expected to be $12.0 mln (CGIX) : Co prices an underwritten public offering of 3 mln shares of its common stock $4.00/share, w/ five year warrants to purchase 3 mln shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.00/share.

6:47 am Willbros Group reports winning two projects worth $29 mln under its Utility T&D segment (WG) : One project is for the installation of 115KVA duct bank in a congested urban setting. Project work is expected to begin in January 2016 and scheduled for completion in 12 months. The second project is for the replacement of both steel and plastic gas mains and 1,900 gas service connections, also in an urban setting. Project work is anticipated to start in the first quarter of 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2017.

6:45 am AmerisourceBergen increases qtrly dividend 17% to $0.34 from $0.29/share (ABC) :  

6:43 am Enerplus reports Q3 (Sep) results, raises FY15 production guidance, trims dividend, expects FY16 production to be flat vs. FY15 (ERF) :

Reports Q3 (Sep) GAAP loss of $1.42 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ GAAP Consensus of ($0.19).

• Production was up 3% q/q averaging 110,794 BOE per day primarily driven by growth in North Dakota oil production, which +20% q/q as a result of continued strong well performance and higher activity levels in Q2/Q3.
• Subsequent to the quarter, the co entered into an agreement to sell a portion of its non-operated North Dakotaproperties for proceeds of $80 million.
• As a result of the strong production performance year to date, the co is increasing its 2015 annual avg production guidance to 106,000 BOE per day (from 100,000-104,000 BOE per day), with ~46,000 barrels per day of crude oil and natural gas liquids (from 44,000-46,000 barrels per day). This increased guidance assumes the non-operated North Dakota divestment closes in the fourth quarter of 2015.
• To enhance the financial strength and sustainability in an extended low commodity price environment, the Board approved a reduction in monthly dividend to $0.03/share from $0.05 per share, effective with the December 2015 dividend payment.

Enerplus expects 2016 production to be relatively flat to 2015, despite the announced divestments, with capital spending levels significantly below those of 2015.
The co has based its 2016 budget on commodity prices of $50 per barrel WTI and $3.00 per Mcf NYMEX. Under these assumptions, and including the proceeds of the fourth quarter divestment, the co expects capital expenditures and dividend payments to be fully funded.

• The 2016 capital budget is $350 million (down ~30% from 2015), with production of 100,000 -- 105,000 BOE per day, including crude oil and natural gas liquids of 44,000 - 47,000 barrels per day.

6:38 am Youku Tudou to be acquired by Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) for $27.60/ADS share in cash (YOKU) :

Upon completion of the Transaction, the shareholders of Youku Tudou, will have the right to receive $27.60 per American Depositary Share in cash. Alibaba's (BABA) previous offer had been $26.60/ADS share

• Youku Tudou's board of directors, acting on the recommendation of an independent special committee of the Youku Tudou Board, unanimously approved the merger agreement and the Transaction and recommends that Youku Tudou's shareholders vote to authorize and approve the merger agreement and the Transaction. 
• Alibaba has entered into a support agreement with Youku Tudou's Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Victor Koo, Chengwei Capital pursuant to which such shareholders have agreed to vote all of their ordinary shares in favor of the Transaction. Alibaba and the parties to the support agreement collectively beneficially own 60.6% of the total voting power of the Youku Tudou shares.

6:37 am LSB Industries misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; raises El Dorado facility expansion cost estimate; announces strategic investment in the project, on track to be completed in early 2Q16 (LXU) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.36 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.34); revenues fell 7.8% year/year to $157.7 mln vs the $157.7 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co has now determined that the total cost to complete the El Dorado Expansion projects is estimated to be in the range of $831 million to $855 million ($564 million spent as of Sept and $197 million to $216 million to be spent in the fourth quarter of 2015 and between $70 million to $75 million to be spent in 2016).
• It is expected that the new ammonia plant will be mechanically complete by early February 2016 and should begin production early in the second quarter of 2016. As it relates to the new nitric acid plant and concentrator, the concentrator went into production in June 2015 and the nitric acid plant is expected to be in production beginning the week of November 9th.
• Co executed a commitment for financing for the purpose of completing its El Dorado Expansion project. The commitment is from Security Benefit Corporation and one or more of its affiliates and provides for $260 million of capital in the form of debt and equity.
• Co also guides Q4 chemical volume. 

6:31 am Milacron Holdings acquires CanGen Holdings consisting of subsidiaries Canterbury Engineering Company and Genca; will be immediately accretive to Adjusted EPS (MCRN) :

CanGen is a supplier of aftermarket process control components for extrusion and injection molding applications with ~$20 mln in sales.

• This acquisition will be immediately accretive to Co's Adjusted EPS and enhances Co's aftermarket capabilities .
• Transaction is expected to close by the end of 2015.

6:30 am Southwest Air reports October Traffic; RPMS were 10 bln, a 10.8% increase Y/Y and ASMs were 11.6 bln, up 7.2% Y/Y (LUV) : The October 2015 load factor was a record for the month of October at 85.9 percent, compared with 83.1 percent in October 2014. Based on these results and current trends, the Company continues to estimate its fourth quarter 2015 operating revenue per ASM will increase approximately 1.0 percent, compared with fourth quarter 2014.

6:29 am CNH Industrial wins nationwide tender for firefighting vehicles in Austria; secures an order volume of up to 150 mln EUR over the next five years (CNHI) :  

6:29 am Square provides terms for its pending IPO; Offering will consist of 27 mln shares, expected price $11.00-13.00 (:SQ) : The company disclosed in an amended IPO prospectus that its offering will consist of 27 mln shares; 25,650,000 shares being sold by the company itself, and 1,350,000 shares by selling shareholders. Square expects its IPO will price between $11-13/share, and its stock has been approved for listing on the NYSE under the symbol SQ. The mobile payment service expects net proceeds of ~$284.6 mln from the offering, which it will primarily use for working capital and general corporate purposes. After the offering, Jack Dorsey will hold 23.6% of the total voting power. After the offering, there will be ~322.9 mln Class A and Class B common stock outstanding. As mentioned earlier this week, Square is aiming to complete its IPO before Thanksgiving. 

6:26 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Black Stone Minerals (BSM) announced that it has commenced its cash tender offer to purchase up to 100% of the 117,963 outstanding Series A Preferred Units
• Tencent Holdings Limited (TCEHY) has reached an agreement to be the exclusive TVOD (transactional video on demand) and SVOD (subscription video on demand) distributor in China for Paramount Pictures' new theatrical releases starting April 2016. Under the deal, Tencent will have exclusive SVOD and TVOD rights in mainland China for upcoming Paramount feature films for 12 months following their theatrical releases. The company also announced that it has acquired the online rights to the complete James Bond franchise from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
• Veolia (VEOEY) successfully signed a multicurrency Revolving Credit Facility for 3 billion. This Multicurrency Revolving Credit Facility refinances the Group's main syndicated back-up facilities which were signed in 2011.
• Hutchison China MediTech Limited (Pending HCM) announced that its drug R&D subsidiary has initiated the Phase I clinical trial of sulfatinib in the United States. Its U.S. Investigational New Drug application was submitted and cleared earlier this year and the first patient was dosed on 4 November 2015. HMP is also planning to initiate two Phase III registration studies for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours and a Phase Ib study for the treatment of thyroid cancer with sulfatinib in China by the end of 2015.

6:22 am Hi-Crush Partners amends its revolving credit facility agreement; reduces commitment level from $150 mln to $100 mln (HCLP) : Amendment provides for a reduction in the commitment level from $150 million to $100 million, waives the compliance ratios through June 30, 2017, establishes certain minimum quarterly EBITDA covenants, allows distributions to unitholders up to 50% of quarterly distributable cash flow after quarterly debt payments on the term loan, and increases the pricing to LIBOR plus 4.50% during the Effective Period.

6:17 am Titan Intl misses by $0.04, misses on revs; announced licensing agreement with Goodyear (GT) (TWI) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.09); revenues fell 31.3% year/year to $308.8 mln vs the $353.57 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• "The third quarter for our end markets was worse than anyone forecasted. This was consistent with our large customers and competitors. We continue to be focused on what we can control. This can be seen in our third quarter results... While unfortunate, we continue to make the difficult decisions to reduce headcount as production continues to slow. In addition to our focus on reducing manufacturing costs, we are exploring wheel and tire designs to both reduce cost and improve performance..."
  
• TWI separately announced that it entered into a licensing agreement with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT). The license agreement allows Titan to distribute and sell Goodyear-brand farm tires in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States countries, as well as manufacture such farm tires in parts of the licensed territory outside the European Union.

6:15 am HMS Holdings reports EPS in-line, misses on revs (HMSY) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 4.0% year/year to $118.4 mln vs the $119.92 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Coordination of benefits products in the third quarter accounted for 73.8% of total revenue, excluding Medicare RAC, compared to 77.0% in the prior year third quarter and 73.5%

6:14 am Chambers Street Properties beats by $0.01 (CSG) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) funds from operations of $0.19 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.18.
• As previously announced, due to the pending merger with Gramercy, the Company is not providing earnings guidance.

6:14 am Canadian Oil Sands says it will continue to 'defend shareholders and the protections put in place in its Shareholder Rights Plan' in response to Suncor Energy Inc (SU) hostile take-over bid (COSWF) : "Make no mistake, we will defend our shareholders' rights. Suncor's application is simply a smokescreen intended to obscure the weakness of its offer and its attempt to complete the bid before COS can share important and encouraging information from Syncrude. As an insider of Syncrude, Suncor knows that news is coming. It knows royalty and environmental changes are coming to the industry. It knows changes are coming to takeover regulations. And it knows COS has strategic interests in a valuable asset so it is trying to limit the ability of the COS Board to pursue and consider strategic alternatives for the benefit of COS shareholders."

6:13 am TRI Pointe Homes beats by $0.08, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (TPH) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 36.2% year/year to $642.4 mln vs the $559.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • New home orders increased to 996 compared to 803, an increase of 24%
• Q4 outlook: For the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company anticipates delivering approximately 75% - 80% of its 1,856 units in backlog as of September 30, 2015. The Company anticipates expanding homebuilding gross margin for the fourth quarter sequentially from the third quarter and ending with a full year 2015 homebuilding gross margin of approximately 21%.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $1.15-1.30 vs. $1.21 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 

6:11 am CIGNA beats by $0.08, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus; guides FY15 revs in-line (CI) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $2.28 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.20; revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $9.39 bln vs the $9.54 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.61-1.81 vs. $1.93 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of +9% YoY to ~$37.88 bln vs. $38.09 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees full year total government medical care ratio of +84.5-85.5%.
• The Q3 Total Government medical care ratio of 83.6%
  

6:11 am Humana beats by $0.03, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance; being acquired by AET, as previously announced (HUM) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $2.16 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.13; revenues rose 9.2% year/year to $13.36 bln vs the $13.68 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $7.75 vs. $7.76 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• '"As we look to 2016, we anticipate marked improvement in our Medicare and individual commercial businesses as a result of actions taken during 2015," added Brian A. Kane, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "However, we remain cautious with regard to our expectations around 2016 earnings growth due to the ongoing challenges in the individual commercial business and as we continue to evaluate the impact of the Medicare financial recovery process changes made during 2014."
• As previously announced, Humana has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Aetna (AET) on July 2, 2015 under which, at the closing, Aetna will acquire each outstanding common share of Humana for $125 in cash and 0.8375 of an Aetna common share.

6:09 am Suncor Energy asks the Alberta Securities Commission to strike down Canadian Oil Sands' (COSWF) new shareholder rights plan (SU) :

Suncor Energy announced it has been informed that the Alberta Securities Commission will hold a hearing on November 26, 2015. The purpose of the hearing is to consider the new shareholder rights plan adopted by the Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COSWF) board of directors on October 6, 2015 in response to Suncor's offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of COS made to COS shareholders on October 5, 2015. The hearing is a result of Suncor's application for an order to cease trade the new shareholder rights plan, which is in addition to COS' original shareholder rights plan which was in place prior to Suncor making its Offer.

• "We are asking the ASC to strike down the new rights plan so that COS shareholders can decide for themselves - and in a timely fashion - whether to tender their shares to our full and fair Offer."

6:08 am Lexicon Pharma beats by $0.02 (LXRX) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.34 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.36).
• Lexicon has initiated enrollment in three Phase 3 clinical trials of sotagliflozin in patients with type 1 diabetes and expects to have top-line results from its two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials in the second half of 2016.
  • With the initiation of the collaboration with Sanofi (SNY), sotagliflozin is now expected to be studied in Phase 3 clinical trials in patients with type 2 diabetes starting in 2016. Lexicon will continue to be responsible for clinical development activities relating to type 1 diabetes and Sanofi will be responsible for clinical development activities relating to type 2 diabetes.

6:08 am Vaalco Energy announces it will reschedule its Q3 earnings release/conference call; earnings now scheduled for after-market on November 9th, with a call at 9 AM November 10th (EGY) :  

6:06 am City Office REIT reports FFO in-line (CIO) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) funds from operations of $0.33 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.33.

6:03 am Merck enters into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Viralytics Limited for a Phase 1b clinical trial of Cavatak, in combination with Keytruda (MRK) : The Phase 1b clinical trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of this novel immunotherapy combination in patients with either advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer or metastatic bladder cancer. Viralytics, in collaboration with MSD, will be the sponsor of the study, which is planned to begin in 2016.

6:01 am Baker Hughes reported international and U.S. rig counts for October; international rigs were down 29 to 1,111, US rigs were down 57 to 791 (BHI) :

• Co reported the international rig count for October 2015 was 1,111, down 29 from the 1,140 counted in September 2015, and down 197 from the 1,308 counted in October 2014.
• The average U.S. rig count for October 2015 was 791, down 57 from the 848 counted in September 2015, and down 1,134 from the 1,925 counted in October 2014.
• The worldwide rig count for October 2015 was 2,086, down 85 from the 2,171 counted in September 2015, and down 1,571 from the 3,657 counted in October 2014.

5:59 am Affimed Therapeutics presented data on its NK- and T-cell TandAbs, at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer conference (AFMD) :

Co presented first data on the Company's proprietary NK- and T-cell TandAbs generated against the tumor-specific variant III of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor.

• Results showed that the Company's TandAbs against EGFRvIII, AFM21 (T-cell-engager targeting EGFRvIII and CD3) and AFM22 (NK-cell-engager targeting EGFRvIII and CD16A) were similarly potent as measured in killing assays, displaying cytotoxicity towards EGFRvIII+ F98 glioma, transfected CHO or human DKMG cells with an EC50 in the range of 1 pM-10 pM.
• No cytotoxicity was observed on EGFR wild type cells or EGFRvIII-negative cells, demonstrating the high selectivity of EGFRvIII TandAbs for the tumor-specific EGFRvIII variant. Importantly, in vitro, in the absence of EGFRvIII+ target cells, TandAbs did not elicit NK- or T-cell activation, as demonstrated by their lack of proliferation.
• Both the NK- and T-cell TandAbs against EGFRvIII will be further investigated for candidate selection, which Affimed anticipates to take place around year-end 2015. IND-enabling studies are expected to begin in 2016.

5:57 am Quality Systems appoints Jeff Margolis as Independent Chairman of the Board, effective immediately (QSII) : Margolis succeeds Sheldon Razin, founder, who has served as the chairman of the board since the Company's inception in 1974. Razin will continue to serve on the board as chairman emeritus. 

5:55 am Dr. Reddy's issues a statement regarding the receipt of a warning letter from the FDA (RDY) :

Co issued a statement acknowledging that it has received a warning letter issued by the US FDA dated November 05, 2015 relating to its API manufacturing facilities at Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh and Miryalaguda, Telangana, as well as Oncology Formulation manufacturing facility at Duvvada, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

• It stated: "We take quality and compliance matters seriously and stand by our commitment to fully comply with the cGMP quality standards across all of our facilities. We will respond with a comprehensive plan to address these observations within the stipulated time-frame of 15 days. We will continue to actively engage with the agency to resolve these issues and we have also embarked on an initiative to revamp our quality systems and processes."

5:54 am S&P futures vs fair value: -1.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +0.80. :

5:54 am European Markets : FTSE...6366.60...+1.70...+0.00%.  DAX...10861.70...-26.00...-0.20%.

5:54 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...19265.60...+149.20...+0.80%.  Hang Seng...22867.33...-183.70...-0.80%.

5:36 am ZS Pharma to be acquired by AstraZeneca (AZN) for $90/share, or ~$2.7 bln; expected to become accretive to AZN's core earnings from 2018 (ZSPH) :

• The transaction will give AstraZeneca access to the potassium-binding compound ZS-9, a potential best-in-class treatment for hyperkalaemia, a condition associated with increased mortality in CKD and CHF. ZS-9 is under regulatory review by the FDA with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of 26 May 2016. A submission for European Marketing Application Authorisation is planned by the end of 2015. Current estimates for global peak year sales of ZS-9 exceed $1 bln.
• Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of ZS Pharma for $90 per share in an all-cash transaction, or approximately $2.7 billion in aggregate transaction value.  Upon completion, ZS Pharma which has around 200 employees across three sites in California, Texas and Colorado, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca.
• The transaction does not impact AstraZeneca's financial guidance for 2015. It is expected to generate Product Sales from 2016, with minimal earnings dilution over 2016 and 2017, becoming accretive to AstraZeneca's core earnings from 2018.

4:56 am Silver Standard misses by CAD0.03, misses on revs (SSRI) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of CAD0.13 per share, CAD0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of (CAD0.10); revenues fell 2.6% year/year to CAD77.2 mln vs the CAD107.25 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Produced 41,262 ounces of gold at the Marigold mine and 2.6 million ounces of silver at the Pirquitas mine, for silver equivalent production of 5.6 million ounces.
• Continued trend of low gold cash costs: Reported $719 per payable ounce of gold sold at the Marigold mine.
• A total of 39,525 ounces of gold was sold at an average price of $1,110 per ounce during the third quarter of 2015, a decrease of 18% from the 48,121 ounces of gold sold during the second quarter of 2015 at an average price of $1,205 per ounce.
  • The decrease in sales is primarily a function of lower production, however we also had approximately 2,700 ounces of gold bullion that remained unsold due to timing of production, and was sold early in the fourth quarter.

4:39 am Int'l Consolidated Airlines reports Oct traffic rose 16.6% YoY (ICAGY) :

Co reports Group traffic in October, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres, increased by 16.6% versus October 2014 (up 7.6% on a pro-forma basis);

• Group capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres rose by 13.2% (up 4.3% on a pro-forma basis)
• Group premium traffic for the month of October increased by 5.7% on a pro-forma basis.

3:37 am Sanofi-Aventis sets long-term growth objectives at IR seminar; targets sales CAGR between +3-4% 2015-2020 (SNY) :

Sanofi will host an Investor Relations seminar at which it will set out its strategic roadmap for the period 2015-2020. The objectives include:

• Sales CAGR between +3% and +4% at CER over 2015-2020
• Six major launches expected to generate aggregate peak sales of 12 bn to 14 bn
• Business EPS(3) at CER expected to grow faster than sales beginning in 2018
• Targeting cost savings of 1.5 bn to be largely reinvested for growth
• Increase annual R&D investments up to 6 bn at CER by 2020
• Explore strategic options for Merial, European generics business

3:34 am Lexicon Pharma and Sanofi (SNY) set up collaboration on sotagliflozin (LXRX) :

Sanofi (SNY) and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (LXRX) announced today that they have entered into a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of sotagliflozin, an investigational new oral dual inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporters 1 and 2 (SGLT-1 and SGLT-2), which could be a potential treatment option for people with diabetes.

• The developmental medicine sotagliflozin is currently being studied in two pivotal Phase 3 trials in type 1 diabetes, which are expected to report top- line results during the second half of 2016.
• Under the terms of the agreement, Lexicon will receive an upfront payment of $300 million and is eligible to receive development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to $1.4 billion. Lexicon is also entitled to tiered, escalating double digit percentage royalties on net sales of sotagliflozin.

3:31 am Towers Watson issued a statement in response to ISS and Glass, Lewis & Co regarding merger with Willis Group Holdings (WSH) (TW) :

owers Watson (TW) issued a statement in response to the recommendations issued by Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co regarding the proposed merger of Towers Watson and Willis Group Holdings (WSH).

• Company recommends shareholders vote for the proposed transaction
• "We respectfully disagree with the conclusion reached by ISS and Glass Lewis. While clearly acknowledging the sound strategic rationale and synergy potential of the transaction, they focus on short-term trading, take a narrow view of relative value contribution and unduly discount the significant long-term value creation potential of the proposed merger with Willis..."

3:24 am LendingTree prices public offering of 850,000 shares of its common stock, of which 725,000 sold by the Company and 125,000 shares by selling stockholder, at $115.00 per share (TREE) :  

2:15 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Statoil (STO) has received an Expert calculation of revised tract participations for the Agbami field in Nigeria. Assuming implementation, this calculation will result in a reduction of 5.17% in Statoil's equity interest in the field from 20.21% to 15.04%. 
• DSM (RDSMY) and Syngenta (SYT) announced an R&D partnership to develop microbial-based agricultural solutions, including bio-controls, bio-pesticides and bio- stimulants. The companies aim to jointly commercialize solutions from their discovery platform.