4:34 pm Andatee China Marine Fuel Services receives Nasdaq continued listing deficiency notice due to failure to file Form 10-K (AMCF) : As the Company disclosed in its Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 31, 2015, the Company expects the completion of the 2014 audit and filing of the 2014 Annual Report by no later than April 30, 2015.

4:33 pm Aon increases quarterly dividend 20% to $0.30 from $0.25 per share (AON) :  

4:33 pm GAMCO Investors announces it will soon file a registration statement to pursue a separation of its business into two publicly traded companies (GBL) : Co announced that its will soon file a registration statement to pursue a separation of its businesses into two publicly traded companies.

• "We believe it will further enhance the long-term value-creation of both businesses. The separation would provide each company with increased strategic flexibility to pursue its own distinctive business plan and allow each to have a capital structure and capital return policy that is appropriate for its business. This structure is designed to enhance shareholder value by allowing us greater visibility in terms of our business plan as well as to attract the most talented individuals and align their interests with the respective operations. It will also provide greater clarity regarding enhancing returns for all who have entrusted a portion of their assets to us."
  
• It is contemplated that both companies will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. More details will follow in a regulatory filing.
  

4:31 pm Resource Capital announces Northport Capital, its middle market lending team, has increased its credit facility to $190 mln from $125 mln (RSO) :  

4:15 pm Capstone Turbine announces organization structure changes; will eliminate three executive positions for annual estimated savings of $2 mln (CPST) : As one part of the organizational change, Capstone's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Edward Reich will be leaving the company to seek other opportunities. Jayme Brooks has been newly promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer from her long-standing role as the company's Vice President Finance and Chief Accounting Officer as the two positions are being merged into one leadership role under the new structure

4:12 pm Closing Market Summary: Stocks End Strong Week on Upbeat Note (:WRAPX) : The major averages ended the week on an upbeat note with the S&P 500 adding 0.5%. The benchmark index extended its weekly advance to 1.7% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) underperformed today, but still gained 2.2% for the week, ending ahead of the benchmark index.

Equity indices climbed through the first two hours of today's session and inched to fresh highs during late afternoon action. Nine sectors ended in the green while the financial sector closed on its flat line. Interestingly, the influential sector underperformed throughout the week, adding just 0.1%.

Unlike financials, six sectors registered weekly gains of at least 1.0% with the industrial space (+1.8%) climbing 3.3% for the week. Fittingly, the growth-sensitive group spent today's session in the lead, which was mainly due to a 10.8% surge in the shares of General Electric (GE 28.51, +2.78). The Dow component soared after announcing restructuring plans, including the sale of GE Capital real estate assets for about $25.60 billion. In addition, the company authorized a new buyback program of up to $50 billion.

General Electric drove the industrial sector higher while transport stocks also pulled their weight. The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 0.7% for the day and climbed 1.9% during the week, but the complex remains lower by 4.1% since the end of 2014.

The industrial sector was the only group that added more than 0.9% while most of the remaining cyclical sectors settled behind the broader market. The top-weighted technology sector (+0.4%) was among the early laggards, but was able to finish just behind the broader market. The sector narrowed the gap during afternoon action as Apple (AAPL 127.10, +0.54) erased its early loss brought on by a Raymond James downgrade to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform.'

Moving to the countercyclical side, health care (+0.9%) and utilities (+0.8%) outperformed with the health care sector receiving support from biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 357.44, +4.38) jumped 1.2%, extending its weekly gain to 5.2%.

Treasuries notched their highs right around 9:30 ET and spent the day in a retreat from their highs. The 10-yr note eked out a slim gain, lowering the benchmark yield by a basis point to 1.95%.

Today's participation was relatively light with fewer than 700 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to import/export prices:

• Export prices, excluding agriculture, increased 0.2% in March after increasing 0.1% in the prior reading 
  • Excluding oil, import prices fell 0.4%, which followed last month's 0.3% decline 

Monday's data will be limited to the 14:00 ET release of the Treasury Budget for March.

• Nasdaq Composite +5.5% YTD 
• Russell 2000 +5.0% YTD 
• S&P 500 +2.1% YTD 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.3% YTD 

Week in Review: S&P 500 Bounces Off 50-Day Moving Average

The major averages began the week on an upbeat note after shaking off their opening losses that were brought on by a disappointing jobs report for March. The S&P 500 spiked 0.7% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%) followed not far behind. The Nonfarm Payrolls report for March was released on Friday and it disappointed on all fronts. Only 126,000 payrolls were added while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 250,000. Since the cash market was closed on Friday, the news weighed on the futures market, sending futures on the S&P 500 down 20 points. Index futures were able to cut their losses in half by Monday's opening bell and the S&P 500 erased a ten-point deficit just 15 minutes into the session. The index spent the rest of the day in a steady climb with all ten sectors logging gains. Once again, the market interpreted bad news as good, rallying on the belief that the disappointing jobs report will cause the Federal Reserve to postpone its first rate hike.

Equity indices halted their two-day win streak on Tuesday with the S&P 500 shedding 0.2%. The benchmark index surrendered its modest intraday gain during the final hour while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%) settled just ahead. The major averages climbed out of the gate and hit their session highs during the initial 90 minutes; however, relative weakness among influential sectors like consumer discretionary (-0.5%), financials (-0.4%), and consumer staples (-0.4%) prevented the market from eclipsing the early high. Instead, equities spent the afternoon in a sideways drift and slid into negative territory shortly ahead of the close. Only two sectors finished the day in the green with health care (+0.3%) holding the lead into the afternoon. The countercyclical group underperformed on Monday, but Tuesday's strength was fueled by biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) jumped 0.9% and helped the Nasdaq Composite display relative strength throughout the day. In addition to receiving support from biotechnology, the tech-heavy Nasdaq benefited from strength among chipmakers.

The stock market ended Wednesday on a higher note, but not before making a couple appearances in the red. The S&P 500 added a modest 0.3% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.8%) outperformed. Equity indices climbed out of the gate with the Nasdaq receiving major support from biotechnology. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 notched its session high during the initial 30 minutes, but returned to its flat line shortly thereafter amid significant weakness in the energy sector (-1.0%). The growth-sensitive energy space was pressured by a tailspin in crude oil futures after latest data from the American Petroleum Institute revealed that crude inventories increased by 10.9 million barrels since last week. As a result, total inventories have reached levels not seen at this time of the year in at least 80 years. WTI crude fell 6.5% to $50.44/bbl, erasing its Tuesday advance, and cutting into its gain from Monday.

Thursday ended on a modestly higher note after the market endured a volatile session. The S&P 500 added 0.5% after finding support at its 50-day moving average (2,076) while small caps struggled with the Russell 2000 sliding 0.4%. Equity indices rallied out of the gate after index futures erased their overnight losses. However, the cash market did not escape without making its own appearance in the red, but the morning pullback was limited in scope. The S&P 500 briefly dipped below its 50-day moving average and returned into the green in short order. The bulk of the afternoon saw the index range near its unchanged level, but the final hour of action featured a surge to a fresh high for the day. Eight of ten sectors registered gains with all six cyclical groups ending higher. The growth-sensitive bunch was led by energy (+1.6%), which held the lead throughout the day. The sector held its own while crude oil slumped from its intraday high, but still rose 0.7% to $50.81/bbl.

4:07 pm NASDAQ announces that at end of settlement date of March 31, 2015, short interest in 2,260 NASDAQ Global Market securities totaled ~7.68 bln shares (NDAQ) : Co also announced that short interest in all 2,930 NASDAQ securities totaled 8,405,537,307 shares at the March 31, 2015 settlement date, compared with 2,930 issues and 8,415,103,958 shares at the end of the previous reporting period. This is 4.52 days average daily volume, compared with an average of 4.48 days for the previous reporting period.

4:06 pm Top Ships announces update regarding the delivery of M/T StenaWeco Evolution (TOPS) : The Company took delivery of the M/T StenaWeco Evolution, a 50,000 dwt fuel efficient ECO MR product tanker, the second of six vessels under construction in the Company's fleet. The remaining four vessels are scheduled for delivery between the third quarter of 2015 and the third quarter of 2016.

• The sale and leaseback of M/T StenaWeco Evolution was consummated concurrently with delivery of the vessel. 
• The net proceeds after taking into account the vessel's delivery installment and relevant fees and expenses are approximately $8.0 million and will be used to finance part of the Company's shipyard installments in relation to its newbuilding vessels and for working capital and general corporate purposes
  

4:05 pm Artisan Partners Asset Mgmt reports March 2015 AUMs of $108.7 billion (APAM) :

• Separate accounts accounted for $48.1 billion of total firm AUM, while Artisan Funds and Artisan Global Funds accounted for $60.6 billion.
  

4:05 pm Jetblue Airways reports March traffic increased 9.2% from prior year, on a capacity increase of 6.2% (JBLU) :

• Load factor for March 2015 was 87.2%, an increase of 2.4 points from March 2014. 
• JetBlue's preliminary completion factor was 98.0%and its on-time (1) performance was 71.5%. 
• JetBlue's preliminary passenger revenue per available seat mile (:PRASM) for the month of March increased approximately eight percent YoY
• Based on preliminary information for the first quarter of 2015, PRASM is expected to increase ~4.5% year over year, up from our prior guidance of between three and four percent due to stronger than expected close-in bookings and yield.

4:01 pm Marrone Bio Innovations receives NASDAQ notice regarding late Form 10-K filing (MBII) :

• The NASDAQ letter states that the Company is required to submit, no later than April 17, 2015, an update to its plan to file any delinquent reports by May 13, 2015 and to regain compliance with NASDAQ's filing requirements for continued listing.
  

4:01 pm UCP announces appointment of Timothy Baker as Chief Accounting Officer; Baker joined the co in 2014 as its Corporate Controller (UCP) :  

3:30 pm Earnings Preview for the week of April 13 - 17 (:SUMRX) : Of the companies reporting earnings for the week of April 13 - 17 some of the bigger names include:

• Monday:
  • Pre Market - CBSH
  • After Hours - PBY, LAYN, TPLM, OZRK
• Tuesday:
  • Pre Market - JPM, WFC, JNJ, SJR, FAST
  • After Hours - INTC, CSX, LLTC, MRTN
• Wednesday:
  • Pre Market - BAC, DAL, PGR, USB, PNC, ASML, WSO, TITN, MEA
  • After Hours - NFLX, SNDK, UFPI, UMPQ, WTFC, CNS
• Thursday:
  • Pre Market - UNH, C, GS, PM, PPG, TSM, BLK, SHW, GWW, BX, ADS, SON, KEY, FRC, FCS, PBCT, WBS, NORD, PVTB, IIIN, HOMB, SASR
  • After Hours - SLB, AXP, CCK, CE, AMD, MAT, CYT, ASB, NOW, EGP, COBZ
• Friday:
  • Pre Market - GE, HON, STX, SYF, CMA, FHN

3:00 pm American Water Works subsidiary California American Water announces approval by the California Public Utilities Commission for rate increases on California customers (AWK) : The average revenue increase statewide is 1.2 percent in 2015 and approximately 2 percent each in 2016 and 2017. The CPUC decision includes funding for over $126 million in infrastructure replacement and improvements over the next three years

2:21 pm Fractional new highs for the major averages -- Dow +91, S&P +9.9, Nasdaq Comp +19 (:TECHX) : Recent intraday relative sector strength has been noted in: Casino BJK, Coal KOL, Defense PPA, Health XLV, Internet FDN, Pharma PPH, Biotech IBB.

2:10 pm Mitel Networks files amendment to registration statement in connection with pending acquisition of Mavenir Systems (MVNR) (MITL) : Co announced that it has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission an amendment to its registration statement in connection with its pending acquisition of Mavenir Systems, Inc., so that the calculation of Cash Consideration and Share Consideration (each as defined in the registration statement) will be based on the average of the volume weighted average price of a Mitel common share on the Nasdaq Global Market on each of the ten (10) consecutive trading days ending on and including the second trading day prior to the expiration date of the offer to exchange.

2:01 pm Anika Therapeutics announces Hyalomatrix is now eligible for reimbursement as a skin substitute through CMS coverage in 11 states (ANIK) : The states eligible for coverage include: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington D.C

12:57 pm Midday Market Summary: Industrials Lead (:WRAPX) : The major averages sport modest midday gains with the Dow (+0.4%) and S&P 500 (+0.4%) trading just ahead of the Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%).

Equity indices rallied through the first two hours of today's session with most sectors taking part in the advance. Most notably, the industrial sector (+1.5%) surged out of the gate thanks to significant strength in General Electric (GE 27.96, +2.22) after the company announced restructuring plans, including the sale of GE Capital real estate assets. In addition, GE has authorized a new buyback program of up to $50 billion.

The industrial sector is the only group with a gain larger than 1.0% while other influential sectors trade in mixed fashion with respect to the broader market. Technology (+0.2%) and financials (+0.1%) lag while the health care sector (+0.6%) outperforms with help from biotechnology.

In fact, biotechnology has represented a pocket of strength throughout the week. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 356.72, +3.65) is higher by 1.0% today and up 5.0% since the end of last week versus a 2.7% gain for the health care sector.

Elsewhere, the top-weighted tech sector has struggled to stay positive amid mixed action in large cap components. For instance, Apple (AAPL 126.59, +0.03) is little changed after being down near 1.0% in the early going after Raymond James downgraded the stock to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform.'

Also of note, the high-beta PHLX Semiconductor Index has spent the morning near its flat line, but the group is now up 0.2%. Notably, Altera (ALTR 44.53, +1.20) trades higher by 2.8% even though it was reported yesterday that Intel (INTC 31.72, +0.48) is no longer looking to acquire ALTR.

Treasuries have slipped from their morning highs, but they continue holding half of their gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 1.94%.

Today's economic data was limited to import/export prices:

• Export prices, excluding agriculture, increased 0.2% in March after increasing 0.1% in the prior reading 
  • Excluding oil, import prices fell 0.4%, which followed last month's 0.3% decline 

The Treasury Budget for March was expected to cross at 14:00 ET, but the release has been postponed until Monday.

12:45 pm Notable movers of interest (:SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).
Large Cap Gainers

• GE (27.88 +8.36%): Co announced plan to sell GE Capital Real Estate assets for ~$26.5 bln; Board authorized a new buyback program of up to $50 bln; reaffirmed guidance for operating earnings of $1.10-1.20 per share for industrial business
• NOK (8.04 +3.95%): Seeing reports that co is considering a sale of its HERE maps business
• NFLX (452.91 +3.05%): Upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup; mentioned positively at Oppenheimer

Large Cap Losers

• FIS (64.2 -5.7%): Lowered Q1 EPS guidance to $0.64-0.66 (from $0.67-0.72), lowered FY15 EPS guidance to $3.27-3.37 (from $3.37-3.49), lowered FY15 rev guidance to +1-3% (from +5-7%); mentioned cautiously at Oppenheimer
• GPS (41.22 -3.53%): Reported March comparable sales rose 2% vs 0.5% Retail Metric Consensus; Gap Global comparable sales declined 7%
• CTXS (63.28 -2.13%): Sees Q1 EPS of $0.63-0.65 ex items vs $0.72 estimate, revs of $755-760 mln vs $786.65 mln estimate; target lowered to $67 from $69 at RBC Capital Markets; target lowered to $70 from $75 at Mizuho

Mid Cap Gainers

• AU (10.12 +6.30%): Strength in mid-cap gold companies: GFI, AEM also higher
• HZNP (28.59 +4.65%): Announced it received FDA Fast Track Designation for ACTIMMUNE to treat Friedreich's Ataxia
• SUNE (26.9 +3.28%): Mentioned positively by Jim Cramer on Mad Money

Mid Cap Losers

• RDC (19.04 -4.51%): Disclosed that while working for Cobalt International Energy (CIE) in the Gulf of Mexico, the Rowan Reliance drillship experienced a loss of seal in the riser connection system
• CMP (91.75 -4.03%): Reported that average Q1 snow events in the company's core North American service area offset mild weather in December
• PSMT (83.28 -2.30%): Reported Q2 EPS of $0.98 per share, revs rose 11.3% yoy to $750.3 mln vs $741.43 mln estimate; March comparable store sales +7.3% vs +3.6% Retail Metric Consensus

12:08 pm Imation: Clinton Group issues letter to Imation shareholders; Clinton Group seeking shareholder support to elect its nominees for co's Class I slate of Directors (IMN) : Clinton Group, a stockholder of Imation (IMN), issued an open letter to shareholders of Imation. Clinton Group is seeking shareholder support to elect its nominees for the Company's Class I slate of Directors. "We are disappointed that the Company and its host of advisors (Houlihan Lokey, ICR, Innisfree and Dorsey & Whitney) have chosen the manner in which to debate the future of Imation evident in their shareholder letter this morning. We look forward to a referendum from shareholders regarding change that we believe is clearly warranted, and our nominees look forward to collaborating with the continuing Directors of the Company in a productive and professional manner," said Joseph A. De Perio, Senior Portfolio Manager at Clinton Group.

11:56 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : Sectors displaying relative strength in recent trade include: Biotech IBB, Pharma PPH, Health XLV.

11:54 am European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:+1.1%
• Germany's DAX:+1.7%
• France's CAC:+0.6%
• Spain's IBEX:+0.0%
• Portugal's PSI:+1.3%-0.26
• Italy's MIB Index:+0.3%0.31
• Irish Ovrl Index:-0.1%
• Greece ASE General Index: Closed -- Good Friday

11:50 am Slow but steady climb pauses -- Dow +76, S&P +8.9, Nasdaq Comp +14 (:TECHX) :  

11:50 am Alliant Energy will reaffirm FY15 adj. EPS $3.45-3.75 vs $3.62 Capital IQ Consensus at Chicago Investor Meeting on April 14 (LNT) :  

11:40 am Russell 2000 +6.8 notches new weekly high of 1265.90 (:TECHX) : Its all time close and intraday highs from March are at 1266.37 and 1268.16.

11:32 am Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (153) outpacing new lows (19) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ABC, ABG, ACWI, ADXS, AFSI, AGO, AMOT, AN, ANAC, AOD, APB, ARAY, ATRO, AWH, AZO, BAM, BCV, BHB, BIO, BLKB, BLMT, BONA, BRO, BSET, BX, BXMT, CBM, CCA, CDW, CEA, CEB, CHMT, CLAC, CMPR, CNXR, CRRC, CRUS, CSGP, CSII, CSU, CUDA, CYNO, CYT, DDS, DEG, DL, DLPH, DRA, DXCM, DXGE, EEMA, EGRX, EIGI, ELOS, ENR, EPAM, ERI, ESCA, ESRX, EURN, EXL, FBR, FDP, FICO, FSRV, FWP, GE, GIMO, GNE, GRX, GSH, HAS, HBIO, HIFR, HLT, HMHC, HNI, HRC, HW, IBP, INAP, INUV, JEQ, JTPY, KYO, LAMR, LAZ, LBY, LO, LULU, LUX, MASI, MMS, MNTA, MYCC, NCLH, NHTC, NLS, NOAH, NORD, NOW, NSEC, NTES, NVO, OLED, ORBK, PARR, PF, PKBK, PNQI, PRFT, PRTO, PSCH, PZE, QLIK, QTM, RDI, REPH, RGA, ROL, SABR, SCMP, SGC, SHOO, SHW, SIGM, SIMO, SNE, SPR, SRCL, ST, STRZA, SUNE, TERP, THOR, TLMR, TRIL, TRK, TWC, TYL, UA, UTHR, VASC, VICR, VLGEA, VLRS, VLTC, VRSN, WM, WWAV, XRM, ZBRA, ZNH

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: CDNA, CIDM, EAC, EXTR, GALE, IKAN, IMUC, IRG, ITEK, LC, LFVN, NURO, PRKR, RRM, SHOS, SVLC, VRS, XPL, YUMA

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: PIN, TAN

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: FXB, VXX

11:25 am Sprint announces its International Value Roaming plan; allows for unlimited texting, $0.20/minute calls and 2G data speed for customers traveling to Latin America, Europe and Japan (S) :  

11:22 am Currency Commentary: DXY Continues Strong Week (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index has continued its strong run this week as it is now up 3% since early Monday. The DXY has now recovered all its post FOMC losses. The move suggests the upward trend remains firmly in place. Aiding the move was the release of the March meeting minutes which may have suggested that the dovish outlook provided was not with out its fair share of hawkish debates. The DXY will still need a strong push to break it above the multi-year high of 100.39 set on March 13. But the dollar bulls may be emboldened by the move this week. 
• The euro fell back to the 1.0568 level but has recovered approx 57 pips to move back above 1.06. The euro has been under selling pressure as it failed to find any buyers above the 1.10 level. Greece was able to make its latest IMF payment but that has failed to provide buying interest. The multi-year low of 1.0461 will start to move on to radars. Of particular interest will be the April 15 ECB meeting. Some are speculating that Mario Draghi will provide an upbeat assessment of the economy which may lead to believe QE will end sooner than expected. 
• The pound has tumbled to a fresh multi-year low following a poor round of Industrial and Manufacturing Production numbers. There are growing concerns over the impact the weaker euro is having on sterling. This is leading to expectations of the Bank of England perhaps turning slighting more dovish. Sterling has fallen approx 7% against the dollar since February 26. 
• The yen continues to test the 120 level for support. Yen is seeing its 20- (102.01), 50- (119.64), and 100 sma (119.22) converging which could lead to the currency breaking in a direction after seeing tight consolidation over the past two months (BONDX, FOREX). 
  

11:17 am S&P +7.5 grinds steadily higher (:TECHX) : Slow but steady climb in the S&P leaves it at first level resistance from The Technical Take in the 2098/2100 area (session high 2099). Intraday support is at 2096/2095.

11:10 am Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria subsidiary Compass Bank announced the sale of $700 mln of its 3.875% unsecured subordinated notes at ~99.02% of par (BBVA) : Company intends to use the proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes and as a source of diversification of its funding base

11:01 am Caterpillar announces new Analytics & Innovation division (CAT) : Co announced the formation of a new division, Analytics & Innovation (AI), which will be led by Caterpillar Vice President Greg Folley. "The division will bring together the people and resources that will foster a culture with innovation at the core, form a broad and connected analytics ecosystem and manage strategic third party relationships with providers like Chicago, Illinois-based Uptake, a start-up with which the company recently announced a technology and predictive analytics agreement."

10:37 am Major averages again notch minor new session highs -- Dow +58, S&P +7, Nasdaq Comp +11 (:TECHX) :  

10:23 am Park City announces a registered direct offering of 570K shares of common stock at $12.5/share; expected to close on April 15, 2015 (PCYG) : Proceeds from the registered direct offering will be used for general corporate working capital purposes

10:15 am Microsoft edges up toward this week's recovery high at 41.91 -- session high 41.87 (MSFT) :  

10:13 am Home Loan Servicing declares a liquidating distribution of $1.2 bln or $16.613 per share (HLSS) : Co announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a liquidating distribution in the aggregate amount of approximately $1.2 billion or $16.613 per share. The Distribution Amount represents the net proceeds received by the Company in connection with the sale of substantially all of the Company's assets pursuant to the Stock and Asset Purchase Agreement with New Residential Investment (NRZ) entered into and consummated on April 6, 2015, less a cash reserve in the amount of $50 million. Holders of record of ordinary shares of the Company at the close of business on April 20, 2015 will be entitled to receive the Distribution Amount, which the Company expects to be paid on April 27, 2015.

10:09 am Gold Fields announces a three year wage agreement with trade unions at its South Deep mine in South Africa (GFI) : The agreement, which was signed with the National Union of Mineworkers and UASA today, will result in average annual wage increases of 10% over the three-year period of the deal. The first increase will take effect on April 1, 2015

10:06 am Major averages notch minor new session highs -- Dow +31, S&P +3.9, Nasdaq Comp +6.8 (:TECHX) : Thus far the small-/mid-cap and A/D Line have not confirmed the move.

10:04 am General Electric extends aggressive gap higher start as high as 28.00 (GE) : The announced restructuring plans and buyback have triggered a strong run off the open. The intraday extension as high as 28.00 leaves it just under its multi-year close high from Dec 2013 at 28.03 with the multi-year intraday peak just above at 28.09.

9:44 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Groups that are underperforming include: Casino, Coal KOL, Health XLV, Pharma PPH, Broker IAI. 

9:40 am Opening Market Summary: Industrials Pace Opening Advance (:WRAPX) : The major averages began the Friday session with modest gains. The S&P 500 trades higher by 0.2% with eight sectors trading higher in the early going.

As expected, the industrial sector (+1.2%) has spiked into the lead with significant help from General Electric (GE 27.50, +1.77), which has jumped 6.8% after the company announced restructuring plans and authorized a $50 billion buyback program.

Outside of industrials, the remaining sectors display gains of no more than 0.3%. Utilities (+0.3%) and materials (+0.3%) outperform while heavily-weighted financials (-0.1%), technology (-0.2%), and health care (-0.1%) display opening losses.

Treasuries remain near their best levels of the day with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 1.92%.

9:39 am Relative sector strength (:TECHX) : Sectors providing some early early strength include: Gold Miners GDX, Silver SLV, copper JJC, Gold GLD, Crude Oil USO, Paper, Rail, Industrial XLI (GE +7.3%), REITs IYR.

9:37 am Limited upside off in early action for major averages -- Dow +1.4, S&P +2.9, Nasdaq Comp +5.7 (:TECHX) :  

9:32 am American Electric announces recommendation that shareholders reject the 'mini-tender' offer by TRC Capital that represents a discount to its current market price (AEP) :  

9:08 am S&P futures vs fair value: +4.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.20. (:WRAPX) : The stock market is on track for a modestly higher open with futures on the S&P 500 trading four points above fair value. Index futures spent the bulk of the night in negative territory, but climbed to fresh highs shortly after markets in Europe opened for action. Fittingly, European equities sport solid gains at this juncture while the euro has extended yesterday's decline, trading lower by 0.7% against the dollar (1.0590).

In turn, the resulting greenback strength has put the Dollar Index (99.49, +0.34) on track for its fifth consecutive advance. It is worth noting that the Index now hovers not far below its March high.

Interestingly, the return of dollar strength has not stopped equities from rallying. The S&P 500 will enter today's session up 1.2% for the week while the Nasdaq has climbed 1.8% since last Friday.

The industrial sector is expected to display early strength after its top component-General Electric (GE 27.58, +1.85)-announced restructuring plans, including the sale of GE Capital real estate assets. In addition, the company has authorized a new buyback program of up to $50 billion.

Treasuries hover near their highs with the 10-yr yield down four basis points at 1.92%.

9:05 am Buenaventura SA reports Q1 production and FY15 guidance (BVN) : Co reported Q1 production and FY15 guidance for each metal (gold, silver, zinc and copper) and mine; gold production at Yanacocha 248K ox, sees FY15 880-940K oz.

9:05 am Echelon announces appointment of Mike Marszewski to CFO, effective April 24,2015 (ELON) : Marszewski will succeed William Slakey, Echelon's executive vice president and chief financial officer, who is leaving to take a position with another company.

8:54 am S&P futures vs fair value: +4.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.40. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region closed the week on a winning note. China's Shanghai Composite led the way with a 1.9% gain, which was fueled by renewed thoughts that further policy stimulus might be provided following some relatively soft CPI and PPI inflation data for March. Hong Kong's Hang Seng capped off a huge week with a 1.2% gain.

• In economic data: 
  • China's March CPI -0.5% month-over-month (expected -0.6%; prior 1.2%); +1.4% year-over-year (consensus 1.3%; last 1.4%). Separately, PPI -4.6% year-over-year (expected -4.8%; prior -4.8%) 
  • Australia's February Home Loans +1.2% month-over-month (consensus 3.0%; previous -1.7%) 

------

• Japan's Nikkei flirted with a close above 20,000, but declined 0.2% to miss the mark. Relative weakness in the consumer non-cyclical (-0.9%), basic materials (-0.7%), financial (-0.5%), and industrial (-0.4%) sectors weighed. Top gainers included Aeon Co (+5.5%), Pioneer Corp (+5.4%) and Alps Electric Co (+4.5%). Eisai Co (-5.0%) led the decliners along with Mitsumi Electric Co (-3.8%) and Tokyo Electric Power (-3.1%). Out of the 225 index members, 53 ended higher, 165 finished lower, and 7 were unchanged. For the week the Nikkei gained 2.4%. 
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng kept on running, adding another 1.2% on continued buying activity from mainland investors. For the week, the Hang Seng surged 7.9%. Friday's gains were led by the influential financial sector (+2.2%). Individual standouts included Ping An Insurance (+6.1%), Belle International Holdings (+4.6%), and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (+3.9%). Out of the 50 index members, 38 ended higher, 9 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged. 
• China's Shanghai Composite broke its one-day losing streak with a 1.9% gain following CPI and PPI reports for March that seemingly supported the case for more policy stimulus. Gains were broad-based with the consumer non-cyclical (+3.1%) and industrial (+2.2%) sectors leading the Chinese market. For the week the Shanghai Composite gained 4.4%. 

Major European indices trade higher across the board with Germany's DAX (+1.8%) trading well ahead of its peers. In the foreign exchange market, the euro has extended yesterday's retreat, dropping below 1.0575 against the dollar (-0.8%).

• Participants received several data points: 
  • UK's February Industrial Production +0.1% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; prior -0.1%) while Manufacturing Production +0.4% month-over-month, as expected 
  • France's February Industrial Production was unchanged month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.3%) 
  • Spain's February Industrial Production +0.6% year-over-year (last 0.1%) 
  • Swiss March Unemployment Rate held at 3.2%, as expected 

------

• Germany's DAX leads the region with a 1.8% gain. Deutsche Boerse is a standout performer, up 3.1% following upbeat analyst commentary. Other financials trade behind the index with Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank both up near 0.5%. Also of note, health care names display solid gains with Bayer, Fresenius Medical, and Merck up between 1.8% and 2.4%. 
• France's CAC trades higher by 0.5% with growth-sensitive names in the lead. ArcelorMittal, Renault, Technip, and Solvay show gains between 1.6% and 2.1%. On the flip side, financials lag with BNP Paribas down 0.9% while Societe Generale trades little changed. 
• UK's FTSE has added 0.5% with homebuilders contributing to the strength. Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey hold respective gains of 2.9% and 2.1%. Drugmaker Shire also outperforms, trading higher by 5.5%. 
• Spain's IBEX holds a slim gain of 0.1% with several financials under pressure. Bankinter, BBVA, and Banco Popular display losses between 0.3% and 2.0%.

8:50 am Habit Restaurants announces pricing of 5 mln share public offering by selling stockholders at $30.96/share; closing expected on April 15, 2015 (HABT) :  

8:45 am Golub Capital announces pricing of its public offering of 3.5 mln shares of common stock at $17.42/share (GBDC) : The offering is expected to close on April 15, 2015. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to invest in portfolio companies in accordance with its investment objective and strategies and for general corporate purposes.

• The Company will also pay operating expenses, including management and administrative fees, and may pay other expenses such as due diligence expenses relating to potential new investments, from the net proceeds of the offering. 
• A portion of the net proceeds from the offering may be utilized to capitalize Senior Loan Fund LLC, an unconsolidated Delaware limited liability company that invests in senior secured loans of middle-market companies and is co-managed by the Company and RGA Reinsurance Company. 
• The Company may also use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to repay amounts outstanding under its credit facilities.
  

8:41 am Gapping down (:SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: EXTR -19.8%, MDCO -7.3%, ANGO -5.8%, CTXS -5.7%, TSRI -4.5%, DHRM -3.9%, FIS -3.6%, PSMT -2.8%, GPS -2%

Select China related names showing weakness (likely related to profit taking after recent run up) : YZC -3.8%, CHU -3.6%, PTR -2.5%, SNP -2.3%, CHL -2%, SHI -1.7%, LFC -1.6%

Other news: GALE -7.9% (disclosed it received a Warning Letter from the FDA relating to certain matters identified in previous Form 483 Notice),CMP -4.4% (reports that above average Q1 snow events in the company's core North American service area offset mild weather in December),AZN -3.2% (Briefing documents released ahead of Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting on AZN and Takeda (TKPYY)),AMRN -3.1% (filed for ~35.215 mln share ordinary share offering and for a ~352.15 mln Series A preference share offering by selling shareholders),QURE -2.9% (prices 3,000,000 ordinary shares at $29.50 per ordinary share),GBDC -2.6% (announced public offering of 3.5 mln shares of its common stock),RDC -1.5% (disclosed that the Rowan Reliance drillship experienced a loss of seal in the riser connection system)

Analyst comments: RESI -1% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Keefe Bruyette), LPX -1% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill), SEE -0.9% (initiated with a Market Perform at BMO Capital), WLL -0.7% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity)

8:40 am Essex Rental announces evaluation of strategic alternatives for Essex Crane Rental Corp (ESSX) : The Board has authorized the initiative and the hiring of RBC Capital Markets in January of this year in order to assess alternatives for creating shareholder value. The co will provide periodic updates on the initiative as warranted

8:40 am CryoLife announces founder and Chaiman Steven Anderson will retire, effective immediately; CEO Pat Mackin appointed as new Chairman (CRY) :  

8:36 am Gapping up (:SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: QTM +17.4%, SYNC +3.8%, BXMT +3.7%, RT +2.8%, DQ +1.5%, .

M&A news: EXL +14.9% (enters into agreement to be acquired by Blackstone (BX) for $15.85 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at ~$2 billion),BXMT +3.7% (announces acquisition of $4.6 billion loan portfolio from GE Capital (GE)),BX +1.9%,WFC +0.7% (WFCand Blackstone (BX) to buy GE (GE) Capital's real estate assets for $23 bln)

Select metals/mining stocks trading higher: GFI +4%, AU +2.1%, PAAS +2.1%, AUQ +2.1%, AU +2.1%, TSM +2%, IAG +2%, SLV +1.5%, GG +1.1%, EGO +0.9%, AEM +0.9%, ABX +0.8%

Other news: VLTC +9.3% (cont momentum higher),ACUR +8.4% (announced intent to initiate development of an abuse deterrent Hydrocodone with acetaminophen tablets),GE +7.3% (sells GE Capital Real Estate assets to Blackstone, (BX, BXMT) and Wells Fargo (WFC) for ~$26.5 bln; reaffirms Industrial earnings gudiance; announces new $50 bln buyback),KOOL +5.3% (announces an update on its clinical trials of critical limb ischemia and acute myocardial infarction),EURN +4.8% (still checking),CNIT +4.8% (announced that the Company signed a strategic agreement with the Luoyang municipal government to install 300 units),HZNP +3.5% (announces it has received FDA Fast Track Designation for ACTIMMUNE to treat Friedreich's Ataxia),IBIO +2.9% (cont strength),CMG +2.7% (still checking),JRJC +2.3% (likely benefitting from increased interest in Chinese/HK equities),SSLT +2.1% (reports Q4 production results),SNE +2.1% (hearing of a couple of target increases in Japan),PZG +1.9% (provided spin-off transaction update: SEC has declared effective the Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed by co's subsidiary Paramount Gold Nevada),SUNE +1.9% (favorable commentary on Thursday's Mad Money),AAL +0.9% (releases March traffic data)

Analyst comments: GIMO +3.2% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at William Blair),NFLX +2.6% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup),M +2% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Buckingham Research),BMS +1.3% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill),UNP +1.2% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel),GM +1.1% (added to Focus List at Citirgroup),VRTX +1.1% (initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity)

8:32 am Adamas Pharmaceuticals announces Orphan Drug designation for ADS-5102 (ADMS) : The FDA has granted orphan drug status to ADS-5102 for the treatment of levodopa-induced dyskinesia associated with Parkinson's disease. Adamas currently has multiple Phase 3 studies underway evaluating ADS-5102 for this indication, which currently has no FDA-approved treatment options

8:32 am Mavenir Systems lowers Q1 revenue guidance to $27.0-28.5 mln vs $40.1 mln Capital IQ Consensus Est, from $39-41 mln; lowers non-GAAP EPS guidance to a loss of (0.47)-(0.41) vs consensus of a loss of ($0.15), down from ($0.15)-(0.12) (MVNR) :

• The revenue shortfall is primarily the result of shifts in projects with existing purchase orders, specifically:
• Projects where acceptances were delayed as customers moved their VoLTE network launch timelines
• Projects where acceptance was delayed due to the announcement of the pending acquisition of Mavenir by Mitel Networks Corporation
• Additionally, impact from foreign exchange rates was a negative factor. The shortfall in revenue results in non-GAAP gross profit margin percentages in the range of 50-53% which is also below the guidance range of 60-62%.
  

• The co is also reconfirming previously announced guidance for the Full Year 2015
• Co confirms FY15 EPS guidance of $0.28-0.36, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; confirms FY15 revs of $185-195 mln vs. $190.0 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  

8:32 am Tekmira Pharma announces the FDA has modified its partial clinical hold on TKM-Ebola IND (TKMR) : The U.S. FDA has notified the Company that the partial clinical hold on the company's Investigational New Drug application for TKM-Ebola has been modified to permit repeat dosing of healthy volunteers at a dose of 0.24 mg/kg/day. The IND remains on partial clinical hold with regard to doses above 0.24 mg/kg/day in healthy volunteers. Tekmira plans to resume the TKM-Ebola Phase I clinical trial in the coming weeks. Results from the study are expected in the second half of 2015.

8:32 am S&P futures vs fair value: +4.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.70. (:WRAPX) : The S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value.

Export prices, excluding agriculture, increased 0.2% in March after increasing 0.1% in the prior reading. Excluding oil, import prices fell 0.4%, which followed last month's 0.3% decline.

8:32 am Market View: Jun. stock-index futures see little initial reacion, trade slight above fair values following the 8:30 am ET economic data points (:TECHX) :

• ESm5 now @ 2088.50 +2.75
  
  
• YMm5 now @ 17913 +26
  
  
• NQm5 now @ 4399.50 +0.25

8:31 am CTC Media and Magnit retail chain announce cooperation (CTCM) :

• Cos announced the start of cooperation on the launch of a new customer loyalty program under the brand of the 'Kukhnya' series. 

8:30 am Financial Inst. announces upsizing of its subordinated notes offering due 2030 from $40 mln to $35 mln (FISI) : Co increased the aggregate offering amount of the Notes to $40 million from the previously announced amount of $35 million. The Notes will bear a fixed rate of interest at a rate of 6.00% per year, from and including April 15, 2015 to but excluding April 15, 2025.

• From April 15, 2025 to the maturity date, the interest rate shall be a floating rate equal to the three-month LIBOR determined on the determination date of the applicable interest period plus 3.944%. The Notes were priced at 100% of their face amount. 
• The offering is expected to close on or about April 14, 2015
  

8:24 am European Markets Update: DAX +1.6%, CAC +0.4%, FTSE +0.3%, IBEX +0.1% (:SUMRX) : Major European indices trade higher across the board with Germany's DAX (+1.6%) trading well ahead of its peers. In the foreign exchange market, the euro has extended yesterday's retreat, dropping below 1.0575 against the dollar (-0.8%).

• Participants received several data points: 
• UK's February Industrial Production +0.1% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; prior -0.1%) while Manufacturing Production +0.4% month-over-month, as expected 
• France's February Industrial Production was unchanged month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.3%) 
• Spain's February Industrial Production +0.6% year-over-year (last 0.1%) 
• Swiss March Unemployment Rate held at 3.2%, as expected 

------

• Germany's DAX leads the region with a 1.6% gain. Deutsche Boerse is a standout performer, up 3.1% following upbeat analyst commentary. Other financials trade behind the index with Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank both up near 0.5%. Also of note, health care names display solid gains with Bayer, Fresenius Medical, and Merck up between 1.8% and 2.4%. 
• France's CAC trades higher by 0.4% with growth-sensitive names in the lead. ArcelorMittal, Renault, Technip, and Solvay show gains between 1.2% and 2.0%. On the flip side, financials lag with BNP Paribas down 0.9% while Societe Generale trades little changed. 
• UK's FTSE has added 0.3% with homebuilders contributing to the strength. Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey hold respective gains of 3.1% and 2.4%. Drugmaker Shire also outperforms, trading higher by 5.5%. 
• Spain's IBEX holds a slim gain of 0.1% with several financials under pressure. Bankinter, BBVA, and Banco Popular display losses between 0.3% and 2.0%.
  

8:04 am New Source Energy announces change to borrowing base from $90 mln to $84 mln (NSLP) :

• Co announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Bank of Montreal, as administrative agent, and the other lenders that are parties to the credit agreement governing the Partnership's revolving credit facility to postpone the April 1, 2015 scheduled semi-annual redetermination of the borrowing base until May 1, 2015.
• In addition, the borrowing base available under the revolving credit facility was reduced, effective April 8, 2015, from $90 mln to $84 mln, which was the amount of borrowings outstanding as of April 8, 2015.
• The agreement further provides that, prior to the borrowing base redetermination on May 1, 2015, the Partnership will not declare or make any distributions on its common units until the total outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility is at or below $55 mln.
  

8:04 am Sungy Mobile announced that Aihua Huang has tendered his resignation as officer in charge of technology of the co, effective 4/10, due to personal reasons (GOMO) :  

8:03 am Gain Capital announces March, 2015 metrics: sees retail OTC trading volume of $296 bln, an increase of 32.8% M/M and 58.7% Y/Y (GCAP) : Co additionally announced: average daily retail OTC trading volume of $13.5 billion, an increase of 20.1% M/M and 51.5% Y/Y and total institutional trading volume of $527.9 billion, an increase of 51.2% M/M and 19.0% Y/Y

8:03 am Dicerna Pharmaceuticals presents new Catenin data, showing robust silencing of CTNNB1 gene in patient-derived Xenograft and other cancer models using RNAi (DRNA) : Co announced promising new in vivo data for CTNNB1 DsiRNA in multiple patient-derived xenograft (:PDX) and other models of diverse tumor types. CTNNB1 DsiRNA is an extended Dicer substrate short interfering RNA (DsiRNA-EX) therapeutic targeting -catenin delivered using Dicerna's proprietary next generation EnCore lipid nanoparticle (:LNP) technology. -catenin, encoded by the CTNNB1 gene, is a well-studied oncology target that is validated by human genetic and functional evidence in a variety of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), colorectal carcinoma (CRC), and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (:IHCC).

• The findings demonstrate CTNNB1 DsiRNA's favorable pharmacokinetic (:PK) and biodistribution properties as well as robust messenger RNA (mRNA) knockdown and tumor exposure in models of HCC, CRC, melanoma, leukemia, genetic hepatoblastoma, and other tumor types including PDX models.
  
• In an orthotopic HCC PDX model, a single dose of CTNNB1 DsiRNA yielded up to 90% knockdown of CTNNB1 and downstream effectors. 
• Furthermore, Dicerna scientists observed rapid dampening of Wnt signaling in the tumor cells, but not in the adjacent normal liver tissue. 
• In addition to the HCC findings, Dicerna showed mRNA knockdown in models of hepatoblastoma, melanoma, leukemia and CRC, providing further insights into the efficacy and delivery of EnCore mediated CTNNB1 DsiRNA in other tumor types.
  

8:02 am KBR Awarded $300 mln construction contract for Flint Hills Resources' project Eagle Ford (KBR) : announced today it has been awarded a reimbursable contract by Flint Hills Resources for the modification and expansion of its Corpus Christi West refinery.

• Revenue associated with the project is estimated to approximate $300 million and will be booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's Engineering and Construction segment as individual work orders are received.
  

8:02 am Intl Game Tech. PLC announces offers to purchase and consent solicitations with respect to $800 mln notes due 2020 and 2023 (IGT) :

• Co and its wholly-owned subsidiary, International Game Technology, announced that the Issuer is making offers to purchase for cash $800 million aggregate principal amount of the two series of the Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount thereof plus any accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the date of purchase of such Notes.
• The Offers are being made to satisfy the requirements of the respective indentures governing the Notes as a result of a change of control transaction. As previously announced, GTECH S.p.A. and the Issuer completed the combination of their businesses under IGT on April 7, 2015.
  

8:02 am Dehaier Medical Systems reports FY14 EPS of $0.23 vs. $0.43 in FY13; revs declined 29% YoY to $12 mln - no estimates (DHRM) :  

8:01 am CombiMatrix announces New England Journal of Medicine article supports importance of follow-up diagnostic testing following positive Noninvasive Prenatal screening test (CBMX) : Co announced that an article and a letter to the editor published online on April 1, 2015 in the New England Journal of Medicine support the need for follow-up confirmatory diagnostic testing following a positive noninvasive prenatal screening test (:NIPT) result. In a prospective, multicenter study of 15,841 women, Norton et al., found that despite NIPT's high sensitivity and specificity compared to standard screening, the positive predictive value of NIPT is limited, making it essential to follow up a positive NIPT result with confirmatory prenatal diagnostic testing. In a letter to the editor in the same issue, Cheung, Patel, and Leung discussed some of the biological causes of the inherent limitations of NIPT and recommend that such assays be referred to only as "DNA-based noninvasive prenatal screening" to emphasize the screening nature of the testing.

8:01 am American Airlines March RPMs -0.6% YoY; sees Q1 PRASM -1 to -3%; lowers pretax margin guidance to 12-13% from 12-14% (AAL) : Total revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for March were 18.4 billion, down 0.6 percent versus March 2014.

• Total capacity was 22.4 billion available seat miles (ASMs), down 0.9 percent versus March 2014. Total passenger load factor was 82.1 percent for the month of March, up 0.3 percentage points versus March 2014. 
• The Company expects its first quarter 2015 consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (:PRASM) to be down ~one to three percent. 
• The recent strengthening of the dollar resulted in higher than anticipated foreign exchange losses. 
• As a result, the Company now expects its first quarter pretax margin excluding special charges to be ~12 to 13 percent, down from its previous guidance of 12 to 14 percent. 
  

8:01 am Excel Trust to be acquired by Blackstone (BX) for $15.85 per share (EXL) : EXL announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Blackstone Property Partners L.P., under which Blackstone will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Excel Trust for $15.85 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2 bln

7:58 am AstraZeneca: Briefing documents released ahead of Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting on AZN and Takeda (TKPYY) (AZN) : This is a two part meeting of the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee: Briefing documents can be found here

• AZN:During the morning session, the committee will discuss the results of the cardiovascular outcomes trial (:CVOT), Saxagliptin Assessment of Vascular Outcomes Recorded in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus, for new drug application (:NDA) 22350, Onglyza (saxagliptin) and NDA 200678, Kombiglyze XR (saxagliptin and metformin HCl extended-release) tablets manufactured/marketed by AstraZeneca (AZN). 
• Takeda (TKPYY):During the afternoon session, the committee will discuss the results of the CVOT, Examination of Cardiovascular Outcomes with Alogliptin versus Standard of Care, for NDA 22271, Nesina (alogliptin); NDA 022426, Oseni (alogliptin and pioglitazone); and NDA 203414, Kazano (alogliptin and metformin) tablets marketed by Takeda Pharmaceutical (TKPYY).
  

7:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: +5.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.60. (:WRAPX) : U.S. equity futures trade modestly higher amid upbeat action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover five points above fair value after climbing off their lows at the start of the European session.

Meanwhile, the greenback has continued its recent strength with the Dollar Index (99.55, +0.40) working on its fifth advance in a row. Including today's gain, the index hovers within a couple points of its March high.

Import/Export Prices for March will be released at 8:30 ET while the March Treasury Budget (Briefing.com consensus -$44.00 billion) will cross the wires at 14:00 ET.

Treasuries hold slim gains with the 10-yr yield lower by a basis point at 1.95%.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Apple (AAPL 126.00, -0.56): -0.4% after Raymond James downgraded the stock to 'Market Perform' from 'Outperform.' 
• General Electric (GE 27.67, +1.94): +7.5% after announcing restructuring plans, including the sale of GE Capital real estate assets. In addition, the company has authorized a new buyback program of up to $50 billion 
• Medicines Company (MDCO 25.75, -2.07): -7.4% after issuing below-consensus guidance for the first quarter. 
• Netflix (NFLX 449.55, +10.05): +2.3% after Citigroup upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.'

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mostly higher. China's Shanghai Composite +1.9%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.2%, and Japan's Nikkei -0.2% 
  • In economic data: 
    • China's March CPI -0.5% month-over-month (expected -0.6%; prior 1.2%); +1.4% year-over-year (consensus 1.3%; last 1.4%). Separately, PPI -4.6% year-over-year (expected -4.8%; prior -4.8%) 
    • Australia's February Home Loans +1.2% month-over-month (consensus 3.0%; previous -1.7%) 
  • In news: 
    • Shanghai is expected to raise its mortgage loan allowance to CNY1 million from CNY600,000. This increase will apply to Shanghai's housing fund program.

• Major European indices trade higher across the board. UK's FTSE +0.4%, France's CAC +0.5%, and Germany's DAX +1.6%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB +0.4% and Spain's IBEX +0.1% 
  • Participants received several data points: 
    • UK's February Industrial Production +0.1% month-over-month (consensus 0.3%; prior -0.1%) while Manufacturing Production +0.4% month-over-month, as expected 
    • France's February Industrial Production was unchanged month-over-month (expected -0.1%; prior 0.3%) 
    • Spain's February Industrial Production +0.6% year-over-year (last 0.1%) 
    • Swiss March Unemployment Rate held at 3.2%, as expected 
  • Among news of note: 
    • The euro has extended yesterday's retreat, dropping below 1.0600 against the dollar, which represents a 0.7% decline for the single currency.

7:46 am Drew Industries announces that CFO Joseph Giordano will leave to company to pursue other opportunities effective August 31, 2015 (DW) : Co has retained the services of executive search firm Korn Ferry to lead the search for Giordano's successor

7:31 am HRG Group announced the price of its add-on $100 million, 7.875% senior secured notes offering due 2019 at 104.5% of par (HRG) : The offering is expected to close on or about April 14, 2015. The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the issuance of the New Notes for working capital by it and its subsidiaries and for general corporate purposes, including further investments in HRG's existing businesses and the financing of future acquisitions and businesses.

7:17 am Imation issues letter to shareholders, urging them to vote for the company's White proxy card at its upcoming annual meeting (IMN) : Letter highlights stated:

• "The Imation Board of Directors and management team are firmly committed to further improving the Company's operating and financial results and delivering short and long-term shareholder value. 
• It is critical not to allow the considerable progress your Company has achieved over the past three years to be destroyed by nearsighted individuals with self-serving interests who offer NO SPECIFIC PLAN for Imation's future or any way to create value for shareholders other than The Clinton Group and its affiliates. 
• Clinton has provided no discussion of what this acquisition "plan" would entail -- what would be the targets, pricing, size and financing. 
• We believe clinton is seeking to take control of your company for their own benefit clinton has submitted a slate of nominees that do not know imation and is attempting to gain control of your company without paying any control premium to pursue its own, undefined, self-interested goals
  
• We believe the experience and expertise of your current Directors will be drivers of Imation's future success. As such, the Board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote the WHITE proxy card to elect ALL THREE of our Director nominees."
  

7:16 am Pacira Pharma highlights new data regarding Exparel for postsurgical pain control following knee replacement surgery (PCRX) : Key findings associated with the use of EXPAREL included: shorter length of hospital stay with 50% of patients in the EXPAREL group vs. 19% in the control group were discharged =2 days after surgery, greater mobility after surgery, measured by mean distance walked and savings of $366 per patient on direct hospital costs

7:00 am RRSAT Global announces acquisition of Romanian company Eastern Space Systems (RRM) :  

7:00 am Horizon Pharma announces it has received FDA Fast Track Designation for ACTIMMUNE to treat Friedreich's Ataxia (HZNP) : Co announced plans to begin a Phase 3 study in the second quarter in collaboration with the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance and a sub-set of FARA's Collaborative Clinical Research Network study centers in FA

6:59 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei -0.2%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng +1.2%; China's Shanghai Composite +1.9% (:SUMRX) : Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region closed the week on a winning note. China's Shanghai Composite led the way with a 1.9% gain, which was fueled by renewed thoughts that further policy stimulus might be provided following some relatively soft CPI and PPI inflation data for March. Hong Kong's Hang Seng capped off a huge week with a 1.2% gain.

Economic data

• Japan
• March Bank Lending +2.6% year-over-year (prior +2.5%)
• China
• March CPI -0.5% month-over-month (expected -0.6%; prior +1.2%); +1.4% year-over-year (expected +1.3%; prior +1.4%) o March PPI -4.6% year-over-year (expected -4.8%; prior -4.8%)
• Australia
• February Home Loans +1.2% month-over-month (expected +3.0%; prior -1.7%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei flirted with a close above 20,000, but declined 0.2% to miss the mark. Relative weakness in the consumer non-cyclical (-0.9%), basic materials (-0.7%), financial (-0.5%), and industrial (-0.4%) sectors weighed. Top gainers included Aeon Co (+5.5%), Pioneer Corp (+5.4%) and Alps Electric Co (+4.5%). Eisai Co (-5.0%) led the decliners along with Mitsumi Electric Co (-3.8%) and Tokyo Electric Power (-3.1%). Out of the 225 index members, 53 ended higher, 165 finished lower, and 7 were unchanged. For the week the Nikkei gained 2.4%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng kept on running, adding another 1.2% on continued buying activity from mainland investors. For the week, the Hang Seng surged 7.9%. Friday's gains were led by the influential financial sector (+2.2%). Individual standouts included Ping An Insurance (+6.1%), Belle International Holdings (+4.6%), and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (+3.9%). Out of the 50 index members, 38 ended higher, 9 finished lower, and 3 were unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite broke its one-day losing streak with a 1.9% gain following CPI and PPI reports for March that seemingly supported the case for more policy stimulus. Gains were broad-based with the consumer non-cyclical (+3.1%) and industrial (+2.2%) sectors leading the Chinese market. For the week the Shanghai Composite gained 4.4%.
• India's Sensex ended Friday's session flat. Gains in the consumer non-cyclical (+0.8%) and energy (+0.7%) sectors were offset by losses in the financial (-0.8%) and industrial (-0.2%) sectors. Sesa Sterlite (+4.0%) and State Bank of India (+1.7%) led the winners while Cipla Ltd (-2.5%) and Hindalco Industries (-1.4%) paced the losers. For the week the Sensex was up 2.2%.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.6% and ended near its best levels of the session. The energy (+1.7%), consumer staples (+1.6%), and information technology (+1.0%) sectors led the gains. For the week the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.1%.
• Regional advancers: Taiwan +0.5%, South Korea +1.4%, Singapore +0.4%, Thailand +0.2%, Philippines +0.9%, Vietnam +0.6%
• Regional decliners: Malaysia -0.3%, Indonesia -0.2%

FX

• USD/CNY +0.1% at 6.2091
• USD/INR -0.01% at 62.306
• USD/JPY -0.3% at 120.28
  

6:55 am Gas Natural announces it has secured a $5 mln bridge loan, during process to refinance long term debt obligations (EGAS) : The unsecured $5 million loan has a 180-day term with interest at 7.5% per annum. Proceeds were used to repay $2.2 million of intercompany loans between the Company and its subsidiary, Energy West Incorporated, and will also be used for general working capital needs.

6:43 am General Electric follow up: GE to sell GE Capital Real Estate assets to Blackstone, (BX, BXMT) and Wells Fargo (WFC) for ~$26.5 bln; reaffirms Industrial earnings guidance; announces new $50 bln buyback (GE) : Co will create a simpler, more valuable company by reducing the size of its financial businesses through the sale of most GE Capital assets and by focusing on continued investment and growth in its world-class industrial businesses.

• GE and its Board of Directors have determined that market conditions are favorable to pursue disposition of most GE Capital assets over the next 24 months except the financing "verticals" that relate to GE's industrial businesses.
• The GE Capital businesses that will remain with GE will account for about $90 billion in ending net investments (ENI) excluding liquidity -- about $40 billion in the U.S. -- with expected returns in excess of their cost of capital. 
• As part of the execution of this new plan, GE announced today an agreement to sell the bulk of the assets of GE Capital Real Estate to funds managed by Blackstone (BX). Wells Fargo (WFC) will acquire a portion of the performing loans at closing. The Company also has letters of intent with other buyers for an additional $4 billion of commercial real estate assets. In total, these transactions are valued at ~$26.5 billion. 
• GE to take ~$16 billion after-tax charge in 1Q'15, $12 billion non-cash 
• GE expects that by 2018 more than 90% of its earnings will be generated by its high-return industrial businesses, up from 58% in 2014. 
• In 2015, GE's industrial businesses remain on track for operating earnings per share of $1.10-$1.20, up solid double digits, in line with expectations. 
• Will work with regulators to terminate GE Capital's SIFI designation 
• GE expects to get ~$35 billion in dividends from GE Capital from this plan 
• Board authorizes new buyback program of up to $50 billion

6:32 am General Electric Industrial businesses remain on track for operating earnings per share of $1.10-$1.20 in 2015, in line with expectations; Board authorizes new buyback program of up to $50 billion (GE) :  

6:32 am General Electric announces restructuring; Announces sale of GE Capital Real Estate assets for ~$26.5 billion; High-value industrials to comprise more than 90% of GE earnings by 2018; Plans to retain financing "verticals" that relate to GE's industrial businesses (GE) :  

6:31 am Wells Fargo and Blackstone (BX) to buy GE (GE) Capital's real estate assets for $23 bln (WFC) :

• Wells Fargo has agreed to purchase performing first mortgage commercial real estate loans valued at $9.0 billion in the United States, UK and Canada. 
• Blackstone's global real estate fund, BREP VIII, has agreed to purchase the US equity assets for $3.3 billion. These assets are primarily office properties in Southern California, Seattle and Chicago. 
• Blackstone's European real estate fund, BREP Europe IV, has agreed to purchase the European equity real estate assets, for 1.9 billion. These consist of office, logistics and retail assets, largely in the UK, France and Spain. 
•  BREDS, Blackstone's real estate debt fund, has agreed to purchase performing first mortgage loans in Mexico and Australia for $4.2 billion. 
• BXMT, Blackstone's publicly traded commercial mortgage REIT, has agreed to purchase a $4.6 billion portfolio of first mortgage loans primarily in the US with Wells Fargo providing the financing. 
• The initial closings will take place in the second and third quarter of the year.
  

6:30 am Blackstone Mortgage Trust announces acquisition of $4.6 billion loan portfolio from GE Capital (GE) (BXMT) : The acquisition is a part of the larger $23 billion acquisition of the majority of GE Capital's real estate business by investment vehicles managed by Blackstone and Wells Fargo. The portfolio to be acquired by BXMT consists of 82 first mortgage loans secured by a diverse set of commercial property types across its core and target markets, including the United States (68%), Canada (15%), the United Kingdom (10%), and Germany (7%).

• WBXMT expects the acquisition to result in a stabilized $0.24 - $0.28 accretion to annual Core EPS, benefiting from an attractive average portfolio credit spread of 4.21% combined with an efficient financing structure. The weighted average final maturity of the acquired portfolio is approximately three years. 
• BXMT will pay $4.4 billion for the funded loan portfolio and assume $0.2 billion of unfunded commitments. Wells Fargo has agreed, subject to customary terms and conditions, to provide a $4.0 billion acquisition financing package of which $3.8 billion will be funded at closing. 
• In addition to the Wells Fargo facility, BXMT intends to use available liquidity and/or raise additional capital to fund the acquisition
  

6:01 am RF Industries announces resignation of its COO and founder Howard Hill (RFIL) : Co announced that its Chief Operating Officer and Founder, Howard Hill, will take an indefinite medical leave of absence. In connection with his medical leave of absence, Hill resigned as the Company's Chief Operating Officer. Hill will remain a member of the Company's Board of Directors.

6:01 am Cesca Therapeutics announces an update on its clinical trials of critical limb ischemia and acute myocardial infarction (KOOL) :

• Critical Limb Ischemia: The Company determined that in order to meet the FDA's request for additional data it would process and evaluate a number of fresh donor bone marrow samples through each individual step of the SurgWerks-CLI kit and VXP cell automation system. The primary endpoint will be major amputation free survival at 12 months following enrollment and the study will be conducted across approximately 60 sites 
• Acute Myocardial Infarction: The Acute Myocardial Rapid Stem Cell Therapy study is anticipated to be a randomized active control multi-center phase two feasibility study including approximately 40 patients with a 1:1 randomization. The primary endpoint for safety will be major adverse cardiovascular events and the secondary endpoint for efficacy will be left ventricular ejection fraction changes.
  

6:00 am Malibu Boats announces the preliminary results of its dutch auction tender offer; ~8.3 mln tendered at $21/share (MBUU) :  

5:49 am S&P futures vs fair value: +1.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.30. :

5:49 am European Markets : FTSE...7034.44...+19.10...+0.30%.  DAX...12291.98...+124.50...+1.00%.

5:49 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...19907.63...-30.10...-0.20%.  Hang Seng...27272.39...+328.00...+1.20%.

4:25 am Sesa Sterlite reports Q4 production results (SSLT) : Co reports Average gross production for FY2015 was 211,670 barrels of oil equivalent per day, 3% lower than the previous year. This was largely on account of planned maintenance activity at Mangala Processing Terminal at Rajasthan, higher than expected water cut at Bhagyam in Rajasthan and suspension of gas sales at Ravva for around three months. 

• Both offshore assets have performed exceptionally during the year. The Ravva block achieved over 30,000 bopd in Q4 FY2015 after three and a half years, driven by successful application of 4D seismic technology, better than expected results from the infill drilling program and the contribution from the RE-6 exploration well. Production at Cambay grew 8% year on year and 3% quarter on quarter, driven by successful well interventions and well ramp-up.
• In Q4 FY2015, average gross operated production and working interest production were 4% and 7% lower year on year at 215,553 boepd and 132,929 boepd, respectively. At Rajasthan, fourth quarter production was lower at 174,206 boepd due to higher than expected water cut at Bhagyam field. 

4:02 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Coach (COH) and InterparfumsSA announced that they have entered into an 11-year exclusive worldwide fragrance license agreement. 
• Calamos Investments (CLMS) announced the expansion of its London office capabilities, adding trading, research and portfolio management functions along with enhanced business development and relationship management.

2:49 am Alexion Pharma receives approval for important updates to the European Label for Soliris (ALXN) : Co announced that the European Commission has approved updates to the EU label for the therapeutic indication of Soliris in the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria to now include patients without a history of transfusion. With this approval, the revised Summary of Product Characteristics now indicates that evidence of clinical benefit is demonstrated in patients with high disease activity as defined by elevated haemolysis and the presence of related clinical symptom(s), such as fatigue, haemoglobinuria, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, anaemia, major adverse vascular event (including thrombosis), dysphagia or erectile dysfunction.1 This update further reinforces that transfusions do not impact the underlying disease process in PNH and that haemolysis plays the central role in disease activity.

2:27 am Ducommun beats on top and bottom lines (DCO) : Reports Q4 net income of $0.46 per share vs $0.30 Capital IQ consensus; revs were $187.6 mln vs $185.0 mln consensus. 

• The Company's DAS segment reported net revenue for the current quarter of $78.3 million, compared to $80.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2013. The lower revenue was primarily due to a 27% decrease in military and space revenue that was partially offset by a 18% increase in commercial aerospace revenues.
  
• The Company's DLT segment reported net revenue for the fourth quarter of $109.3 million, compared to $107.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2013. The higher revenue reflected a 61% increase in commercial aerospace revenue, partially offset by lower military and space revenue.
  

2:15 am Vanda Pharma announces listing of a new Fanapt patent in the FDA Orange Book (VNDA) : Co announced that a Fanapt patent, number 8,999,638, is now listed in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration publication Approved Drug Products With Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book. The '638 patent was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on April 7, 2015 and expires in October 2030. Prior to this newly listed '638 patent, the Fanapt Orange Book listed patents were the U.S. composition of matter patent and the '610 patent, expected to expire in November 2016 and November 2027, respectively.

1:13 am Paramount Gold and Silver receives listing approval for SpinCo on the NYSE MKT (PZG) : Co announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Paramount Gold Nevada Corp has received approval from NYSE Regulation, Inc. for listing of Paramount Gold Nevada on the NYSE MKT, subject to SpinCo being in compliance with all listing standards on the date it begins trading on the Exchange.

• Paramount intends to spin-off of Paramount Gold Nevada as a separate, publicly traded company in connection with the previously announced merger of Paramount and Coeur Mining (CDE). Paramount stockholders of record at the close of business on April 14, 2015 will be entitled to receive one share of common stock of SpinCo for every 20 shares of Paramount common stock held by such stockholder, payable or issuable upon the closing of the merger, provided that they continue to hold their Paramount shares at the time of closing of the merger. Cash will be paid in lieu of issuing fractional shares of stock. 
  

1:10 am uniQure prices 3,000,000 ordinary shares at $29.50 per ordinary share (QURE) :  

1:09 am Enterprise Products offering additional capacity on Aegis Ethane Pipeline System (EPD) : Co announced the start of a supplemental binding open commitment period to determine shipper demand for incremental capacity being added on the Aegis pipeline between Mont Belvieu, Texas and the Napoleonville, Louisiana area along the Mississippi River corridor. The initial 60-mile segment from Mont Belvieu to Beaumont, Texas began service in September of 2014. The remainder of the Aegis pipeline will be completed in two phases, which are scheduled for completion by the end of 2015. The incremental capacity associated with this open season will be achieved through the installation of additional pumps. The additional capacity is being offered in response to continued interest from potential shippers and is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2018.