4:22 am Arkansas Best misses by $0.20, reports revs in-line (ARCB) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.20 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.41; revenues fell 2.5% year/year to $648.1 mln vs the $650.24 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Additional metrics
  • ABF Freight's fourth quarter 2015 revenue was impacted by lower fuel surcharges.
  • Tonnage per day decrease of 4.9 percent versus fourth quarter 2014.
  • Total billed revenue per hundredweight decreased 1.1 percent compared to the prior year which included the impact of lower fuel surcharges in 2015. Excluding fuel surcharge, the percentage increase on ABF Freight's traditional LTL freight was in the mid-single digits.
  • Operating income of $8.3 million and operating ratio of 98.2% excluding adjustments for pension settlement charges compared to similarly adjusted operating income of $15.8 million and an operating ratio of 96.8 percent in fourth quarter 2014.
    

4:19 am Color on tonight's action - S&P Futures: 1907.50 +10.00 (SPY) :

• Nikkei closed down 3.2% - putting initial pressure on US futures
  • Somewhat of follow-through move, Nikkei crushed on the open, giving most of the gains that were spurred the BOJ last Friday
  • This came despite comments from BOJ's Kuroda reaffirming the notion that the central is not out of ammo and is ready to push rates further into negative territory if needed
• Shanghai outperformed Asian peers, down just 0.2%
  • China Jan Services PMI hit a 6-month high at 52.4 vs 50.2 in Dec
  • PBOC continued to inject liquidity - CNY40 bln in rev repos
• Oil recovers from sub-$30 level, helping firm stocks
  • Currently trading ~$30.50
• EU shares open stronger
  • led by spike in Sengenta (SYT) - confirming acquisition by ChemChina
• US futures rose in tandem with both EU bourses and Oil

3:56 am AstraZeneca receives EU approval for TAGRISSO (AZN) :

Co announced that the European Commission has granted conditional marketing authorisation for TAGRISSO 80mg once-daily tablets for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor T790M mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

• Osimertinib is indicated for patients with T790M mutation-positive NSCLC, irrespective of previous treatment with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor.
• Eligibility for treatment with osimertinib will be dependent on mutation status, to be determined through a validated diagnostic test based on a tumour tissue sample or plasma.
• Availability of a blood-based test for circulating tumour DNA means that physicians and patients have multiple options to test for a T790M mutation.

3:53 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Dialog Semiconductor plc (DLGNF) announced that the company is entering the smart TV and set-top box market with a family of highly integrated PMICs that leverage its power management leadership in smartphones and tablet computing. 
• Sky PLC (SKYAY) announces it has invested 0.3 million in mobile fan engagement and sports marketing company InCrowd. The investment in the UK-based company follows a series of Sky partnerships with pioneering technology companies in the U.S., helping to accelerate innovation.
• SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation has awarded Lockheed Martin (LMT) a contract for JCSAT-17, a satellite based on the A2100 common design.
• Accenture (ACN) has completed its acquisition of Formicary, a leading provider of systems integration and technology consulting services for trading platforms in the UK and North America.

3:50 am Novo Nordisk reports in-line results; proposes 28% dividend raise and new repurchase program (NVO) :

Reports FY15 EPS of DKK13.52 vs DKK13.56 Capital IQ consensus; revs increased 22% YoY to DKK107.9 bln vs DKK107.8 bln consensus

• Sales of modern and new-generation insulin increased by 22% (9% in local currencies)
• Sales of Victoza increased by 34% (18% in local currencies)
• Sales in North America increased by 32% (11% in local currencies)
• Sales in International Operations increased by 19% (15% in local currencies)
• Sales in Region China increased by 22% (4% in local currencies)
• Dividend/buy back announced: Co will propose a 28% increase in dividend to DKK 6.40 per share of DKK 0.20 and intends to initiate a new 12-months share repurchase programme of up to DKK 14 billion
• Outlook:
  • For 2016, sales growth is expected to be 5-9% measured in local currencies.
  • Growth in operating profit is also expected to be 5-9% measured in local currencies, adjusted for the non-recurring impact of the partial divestment of NNIT and the income related to the out-licensing of assets for inflammatory disorders, both in 2015.
  • Growth reported in DKK, for both items, is expected to be around 1 percentage point lower than the local currency levels.

3:23 am Syngenta confirms it will be acquired by ChemChina for over $43 bln; reports better than expected earnings, revs in-line (SYT) :

Syngenta announced that ChemChina has offered to acquire the company at $465 per ordinary share plus a special dividend of CHF5 to be paid conditional upon and prior to closing.

• The offer is equivalent to a Swiss franc value of CHF 480 per share1. Syngenta shareholders will in addition receive the proposed ordinary dividend of CHF 11 in May 2016. It is planned to make a facility available for the conversion of US dollar sales proceeds into Swiss francs on closing.
• The Board of Directors of Syngenta considers that the proposed transaction respects the interests of all stakeholders and is unanimously recommending the offer to shareholders. There is committed financing for the deal and a strong commitment to pursue regulatory clearances. A Swiss and U.S. tender offer will commence in the coming weeks and the transaction is expected to conclude by the end of the year.
• Co also proposed ordinary dividend of CHF 11 to be paid in addition
  

Earnings:

• FY15 EPS of $17.78 vs $17.48 Capital IQ consensus
• FY15 Revs declined 11% YoY to $13.4 bln vs $13.5 bln consensus

3:09 am Veolia Environnement acquires Kurion for $350 mln (VEOEY) :

• The acquisition completes a critical part of Veolia's strategy in the nuclear cleanup sector. Its objectives in this area were outlined in 2013 when the company signed a collaboration agreement with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and formed Asteralis.
• Synergies may be deployed in the medium term to develop an integrated offer for facility cleanup and restoration, as well as the treatment of solid and liquid waste. The offer will be proposed to the nuclear sector (facilities and research centers, that are in operation or being decommissioned), as well as to the oil industry and the pharmaceuticals industry.
  

2:57 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• National Gas & Electric, owned by Keith Maxwell III, who is also the Founder and Chairman of Spark Energy (SPKE) has entered into agreements for the purchase of retail energy companies with over 500,000 of combined residential customer equivalents. Contingent upon closing, along with the previously announced acquisitions dated November 24, 2015, NG&E could house over 600,000 RCEs that are within a similar geographic footprint to its affiliate, Spark Energy.
• Cooper-Standard Holdings (CPS) announced the official opening of two facilities in China. The new facilities -- one in the Huai'an, Jiangsu province and the other in Chongqing -- further demonstrate Cooper Standard's commitment to the strategic importance of China and its automotive market.
• Toshiba (TOSBF) announced the release of the English edition of "Toshiba Semiconductor & Storage Products Company Environmental Report 2015," its annual review of environmental policy, measures and activities. Co also announced the development of an on-chip switched-capacitor DC-DC converter for wireless ICs that offers up to 95.8% efficiency with a 0.85-to-3.6V wide input voltage range, and a 0.1-to-1.9V wide output voltage range.
• General Electric (GE) announced that its previously announced cash tender offers for any and all of the securities, pursuant to its offer to purchase dated January 26, 2016. 
• Boeing (BA) and Saudia, Saudi Arabia's national airline, announced the triple delivery of two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and a 777-300ER. A third Dreamliner will be delivered to Saudia within the next week. The airline ordered eight 787-9s in 2010.
• CGG (CGG) announced that it has been awarded an extension to a major 3D seismic survey it successfully completed on the Caribbean coast offshore Colombia in late 2015. The new survey follows on from the original over 16,000-km2 survey CGG conducted over portions of the Col-1 and Col-2 blocks, which was the largest survey ever recorded offshore Colombia. This major extension is expected to start in February 2016.
  

2:45 am China Ming Yang Wind Power to go private for $2.51 per ADS (MY) :

China Ming Yang Wind Power Group announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement on February 2, 2016 pursuant to which the Company will be acquired by a consortium of investors, including Chuanwei Zhang , the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, in an all-cash transaction which values the Company's equity at ~$408 million.

• Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the merger, each of the Company's ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the merger will be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive $2.51 in cash

2:39 am Editas Medicine prices 5.9 mln share IPO at $16.00 per share, at the low end of the $16-18 expected range (EDIT) :

• The company's common stock has been approved for listing on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and is expected to begin trading on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 under the ticker symbol "EDIT."
  

2:37 am BeiGene prices 6.6 mln ADS IPO at $24.00 per share, at the high end of the $22-24 expected range (BGNE) :

• The initial offering consisted of 5.5 mln ADSs
• All of the ADSs are being offered by BeiGene. The ADSs are expected to begin trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on February 3, 2016 under the ticker symbol "BGNE."

2:34 am Empresas ICA confirms sale of OMA shares pledged as collateral to secure a loan to ICA's wholly-owned subsidiary, Aeroinvest (ICA) : Co confirmed that Deutsche Securities (DB) foreclosed on collateral in the form of OMA Series B shares pledged to secure a loan to ICA's wholly-owned subsidiary, Aeroinvest, after a Mexican federal judge granted Deutsche Bank a suspension of the injunctions sought by ICA related to the pledged shares. In connection with the foreclosure on the pledged shares, Deutsche Bank sold a total of 33,162,600 OMA Series B shares, representing 8.29 % of OMA's equity capital in the form of Series B and Series BB shares.

2:06 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Juniper Networks (JNPR) announced that Japan's leading social networking service and smartphone gaming provider mixi, has selected Juniper Networks to implement their data center solution utilizing Juniper Networks QFX5100 Ethernet Switches to support MPLS/VRF in conjunction with Juniper Networks MX480 3D Universal Edge Routers and EX Series switches to help eliminate critical operational bottlenecks.
• Equinix (EQIX) announced the expansion of its data center in Jakarta, known as JK1, through its partnership with DCI Indonesia