2:33 pm Currency Commentary: Lingering Below 97 (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index has been trading in a tight range over the course of the U.S. trading session. The greenback came under early selling pressure as New Home Sales data saw a double digit decline. But the DXY held 96.70 and continues to do so over the session. Trade is likely to remain quiet as markets await the latest Fed directive (Wed). But we do have Durable Orders and Consumer Confidence due out tomorrow.
• The euro was able to steady itself at the 1.10 level and was able to move over 60 pips from the low. The single currency is showing signs of stabilizing following the post-ECB sell off. Money Supply and Private Loans data is due out tomorrow morning but it is unlikely to have a big impact on the euro trade.
• The pound is sitting on its 200 sma (1.5360) in uneventful trade. The Q3 GDP number will be released tomorrow with expectations for a 0.6% increase from Q2. This is a slight decline from the Q2 sequential increase of 0.6%.
• The yen is sitting on the 121 level. The yen has been under some pressure in the risk on environment but it has been able to hold the 121 level throughout the course of the trading sessions (BONDX, FOREX).

1:12 pm Vivendi comments on stakes in Ubisoft (UBSFY) and Gameloft (GLOFY), says is considering continuing to acquire shares, cannot rule out possibility of considering a takeover (VIVHY) :

In commenting on its recently raised stakes in Ubisoft (UBSFY) and Gameloft (GLOFY), Vivendi clarified the following:

• Its acquisitions were financed through its disposable cash.
• Vivendi is not acting together with any third party in connection with its investments in Ubisoft and Gameloft and has not entered into a temporary sale agreement concerning the shares or voting rights of either of the two companies.
• The Group is considering continuing to acquire shares depending on market conditions. These acquisitions were not specifically designed as a preparatory step for a plan to takevover Ubisoft and Gameloft. Nevertheless, over the six coming months, Vivendi cannot rule out the possibility of considering such a plan.
• Vivendi might request, in due time, to be represented on the Board of Directors of the two companies.

12:55 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

• CTRP (89.48 +20.37%): Announced a share exchange transaction with Baidu (BIDU) to acquire shares it owns in Qunar (QUNR), now holds 45% of Qunar's aggregate voting interest; also entered into a business cooperation with Baidu and was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• YPF (19.42 +7.12%): Argentinian stocks boosted following election results which pushed the president race into a runoff.
• VFC (66.53 +4.36%): Upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray, upgraded to Outperform at Telsey Advisory Group.

Large Cap Losers

• SWKS (77.99 -5.52%): Semiconductors underperforming after Dialog Semi (DLGNF) reported its Q3 sales which landed near the low end of its previous guidance range and fell short of analyst estimates, guided for Q3 revs below expectations (NXPI, AVGO, BRCM, FSL, MU, ADI also lower).
• TSN (44.76 -5.65%): Slumping following a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer which stated that processed meats can cause cancer; downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
• WFM (30.63 -5.11%): Downgraded at Cleveland Research and OTR Global.

Mid Cap Gainers

• PNY (57.52 +36.24%): Announced it would be acquired by Duke Energy (DUK) for $60/share or ~$4.9 bln.
• P (13.46 +8.64%): Upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.
• NTI (26.15 +7.93%): Received a non-binding acquisition proposal from Western Refining (WNR) for aggregate consideration of $17.50 in cash and 0.2266 of a share of Western common stock, or ~$27.62 /share; Western already owns ~38% of NTI's common units

Mid Cap Losers

• SFM (20.44 -8.73%): Downgraded to Negative at OTR Global.
• ATHN (151.11 -7.5%): Downgraded to Hold at Topeka Capital Markets, downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Leerink Partners.
• RRC (29.32 -6.39%): Energy companies with heavy exposure to natural gas underperforming as the commodity drops over 8% on warmer fall forecasts (SM, CHK also lower).

12:53 pm Nasdaq Comp +10 and Nasdaq 100 +11 set new session highs -- Dow -8, S&P -1.9 (:TECHX) :  

12:52 pm Midday Market Summary: Little Changed (:WRAPX) :

The major averages are little changed at midday after spending the first half of the trading day inside narrow ranges. The S&P 500 is lower by 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) trades a bit ahead.

The benchmark index has meandered in the red amid losses in eight of ten sectors with energy (-1.8%) trading well behind its peers. The cyclical sector has been pressured by a 0.9% decline in crude oil, which hovers near $44.17/bbl at this juncture.

Similar to energy, four of the remaining five cyclical groups trade in the red with top-weighted technology (-0.3%) and financials (-0.4%) trailing the broader market. To be fair, today's underperformance in the tech sector comes after the top-weighted group surged 3.1% on Friday. Accordingly, today's weakness has been broad-based with the likes of Apple (AAPL 115.60, -3.48) and Cisco Systems (CSCO 28.90, -0.45) down 2.9% and 1.5%, respectively, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has surrendered 1.8%.

That being said, the relative weakness in the tech sector has been offset by a rebound in health care (+0.7%) with biotechnology contributing to the strength in the countercyclical sector. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 319.88, +3.60) is currently higher by 1.1%, helping the Nasdaq stay above its flat line.

Broadly speaking, corporate news has been limited today, but it is worth noting that IntercontinentalExchange (ICE 244.21, -4.59) has agreed to acquire Interactive Data Corporation for $5.20 billion.

Treasuries hover near their session highs with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 2.06%.

Today's economic data was limited to the New Home Sales report for September, which hit an annualized rate of 468,000. This was down from the revised August rate of 529,000 (from 552,000), and worse than the rate of 550,000 that had been broadly expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The September report was a bit surprising, considering the latest homebuilder surveys have shown strong improvement in current and expected sales growth. The September drop in sales brought inventories back into alignment with sales trends.

12:46 pm European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:-0.4%
• Germany's DAX:+0.1%
• France's CAC:-0.5%
• Spain's IBEX:+0.1%
• Portugal's PSI:-0.2%
• Italy's MIB Index:-0.5%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-0.7%
• Greece ASE General Index: +0.8%

12:19 pm IAMGOLD files a draft friendly public tender offer in France to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of EURO Ressources that it does not already own for cash consideration of EUR 2.84/share (IAG) :  Presently, IAMGOLD owns approximately 86% of the share capital of EURO representing 86% of the voting rights.

12:17 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (129) outpacing new lows (95) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAME, ABCB, ACN, ADBE, ADP, AGII, AMSWA, AMWD, ATNI, AZO, BBCN, BLKB, BNCL, BSQR, CACB, CALL, CB, CBNJ, CBZ, CCU, CEVA, CHDN, CINF, CNBKA, CNO, CONE, CORE, CTAS, CTRP, CTXS, DRAD, EBF, EDGW, EDN, EFSC, ENVI, EVC, EXLS, EXPD, FB, FBIZ, FBNC, FISV, FLO, FONR, FRC, FSBW, GABC, GAME, GGAL, GIG, GSBC, HBNC, HCKT, HCSG, HOMB, HRB, HSIC, HTBI, ICE, IGLD, IPG, JAXB, JBT, JKHY, JNPR, KEP, KRNY, LMT, MANH, MATW, MCD, MEET, METR, MLHR, MO, MTN, MTS, NBBC, NBHC, NKSH, NWBI, ORLY, OZRK, PAM, PAYX, PBY, PCBK, PCLN, PNY, POOL, PSA, PSCU, QTS, RAI, RCL, ROP, SBUX, SHBI, SIFI, SIGI, SIRI, SIRO, SKYW, SSS, STL, STRS, SVBI, TBNK, TFSL, TOWN, TRV, TSS, TTC, TTWO, UFCS, ULTI, V, VIRT, VNTV, VVI, WAFD, WAL, WGL, WNS, WSFS, WSO, XRAY, XUE 

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AIMT, AMS, ATLS, ATOS, AVH, BDR, BKD, BOOT, CAB, CBYL, CRDC, CRR, CSTM, CUR, DECK, DK, DOM, ENZN, ERA, ESMC, FCFS, FDEU, FMSA, FOSL, FREE, FRGI, GLRE, GNK, GNMK, GNVC, GOGL, HBI, HBIO, HEB, IFON, JMP, JWN, KIQ, KODK, LPSN, M, MCEP, MHR, MPLX, MWE, NC, NETE, NGL, NM, NNBR, NRG, NRP, NSPR, NTG, OLLI, ORIG, ORN, OSTK, OZM, PSG, PSUN, PTCT, PULM, PXLW, QDEL, RCKY, REDF, REE, RGNX, RICE, RKDA, RLOC, ROYT, RPRX, RRC, SAVE, SCON, SDPI, SIEN, SVU, SXC, SYRX, TLN, TOR, TST, TWER, UNIS, UPL, USAP, USG, VCEL, VOXX, WDC, WLB, WMT                                   

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: FDN

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: UNG

12:08 pm iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF pauses at top of range (IBB) : The IBB provided leadership on the market's move off first hour lows but it stalled at resistance at the top of the Oct range (321-323, session high 322) and has drifted back. Movers on the upside include: CELG, JUNO, PROG, AMGN, REGN, SGEN, MDVN, OTIC, GILD, CHRS, CLVS, VRTX. Underperforming stocks include: VRX, GENE, ALXN, NBIX, ABMD, MYGN, ICPT, BIIB.

12:02 pm Northrim Bank announces that Joe Schierhorn will become CEO; effective January 1, 2016 (NRIM) :

Co announces that Marc Langland will be retiring from the Board of Directors of both the Bancorp and Northrim Bank effective December 31, 2015.

• Joe Beedle, President, CEO and a director will assume the duties of Chairman of the Board for both the Bancorp and Northrim Bank.
• Joe Schierhorn, COO and co's President, will be appointed to fill Langland's seat on both the Bancorp and Northrim Bank's boards and will become the CEO of co.
• The appointments for Mr. Beedle and Mr. Schierhorn will become effective January 1, 2016.

12:02 pm Cerner: Truman Medical Centers and Cerner announce expansion of strategic relationship (CERN) : Truman Medical Centers ("TMC") and Cerner have formed a strategic relationship dedicated to, "The transformation of health care in Kansas City and across the world. By working closely, the organizations will pilot innovations using progressive health care information technology (IT). The expanded relationship will promote opportunities to create and research advancements in technology to enhance cutting-edge patient care, and will further support TMC's mission to provide quality, safe and customer-focused care in both of its hospitals and its growing number of clinics throughout the area."

11:31 am Air Products announces it will invest $350-$400 mln, to build, own and operate a steam methane reformer in Baytown, Texas (APD) :  

11:27 am Market action mixed with top performing Nasdaq 100/Comp stalling shy of Friday's highs -- Dow -24, S&P -5, Nasdaq Comp +1.8 (:TECHX) :  

11:11 am Currency Commentary- DXY Challenging 97 (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index begins the week testing the 97 level for resistance. A weak New Home Sales report that showed an 11% fall month over month is helping keep the dollar below the 97 level. Market focus will be on the Wednesday Fed meeting. The FOMC is not expected to take any action but market participants will be looking closely at the language for any hints of a potential rate hike in the December meeting.
• The euro is holding the 1.10 level after seeing a 2% decline last week. The single currency is finally showing signs of stabilizing after seeing some aggressive selling following a dovish ECB meeting. A slightly better than expected German Ifo survey has helped provide some temporary support. It will be a busy week on the data front for the region with Consumer and Business surveys, CPI and Employment Data (Tue-Thu) providing further evidence into the health of the region.
• The pound is settling on its 200 sma as we enter the week. Tomorrow's first look at Q3 GDP data will help set the tone for the pound direction this week.
• The yen is also challenging its 200 sma for support to start the week. The Bank of Japan will also meet this week (Thu). Expectations for the central bank to further ease have dried up despite concerns of a China slow down and general weakness in the area (BONDX, FOREX).

11:01 am General Electric to invest up to $1 bln in Indonesia's power, oil and gas, and healthcare sectors (GE) :  

10:55 am Nasdaq Comp +12 pushes to new session high along with Nasdaq 100 +11 (:TECHX) :  

10:51 am Blue Square-Israel issues a proposed framework to holders of its Series C Debentures, regarding short-term payments to creditors (BSI) :  

10:41 am Carlyle and Vinci Partners acquire the stock of Uniasselvi, a subsidiary of the Kroton Educacional group (CG) : Equity for the investment will come from Carlyle's South America Buyout Fund and Fundo Brasil de Internacionalizao de Empresas II FIP, a local fund advised by Carlyle and Banco do Brasil. The transaction is expected to close in the next several months. Additional financial terms were not disclosed.

10:36 am Stock indices attempting to work off morning lows -- Dow -16, S&P -5, Nasdaq Comp -5 (:TECHX) : The S&P has thus far held above support at 2065/2063 (10:00, The Technical Take) with the S&P/Dow not confirming the new Nasdaq Comp low (10:19). This set-up is potentially constructive intraday while above 2067 (currently at 2070). Initial resistance of interest to breach/hold above is at 2072/2073.

10:21 am Vringo's fliCharge subsidiary, will extend and expand its license agreement with Bretford Manufacturing, for integration of fliCharge's wire-free tech into furniture applications (VRNG) :  

10:19 am New session low for Nasdaq Comp -16, S&P -7 and Dow -28 are still hovering just above their lows (:TECHX) :  

10:09 am Homebuilders fall ~2% after September New Home Sales miss expectations (ITB) : DHI -3.2%, TOL -2.4%, CAA -2.7%, TPH -2.3%, MTH -2.5%, LEN -2.1%, WLH -2.1%, HOV -2.1%, MDC -1.8%, ITB -1.7%, TMHC -1.6%, MHO -1.1%, BZH -1.2%, PHM -1.7%, XHB -0.9%, UCP -0.3%.

10:06 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Housing XHB / ITB pressured after data with relative weakness (underperforming the S&P) also noted in Semi SMH, Materials XLB, Energy XLE, Casino (MPEL -3.3%, WYNN -2.5%, LVS -1.8%, MCRI -1%, IGT -1%).

10:01 am Comtech Telecom is awarded a $3.2 mln contract from a U.S. military integrator, for the supply of traveling wave tube amplifiers (CMTL) :  

10:00 am Relatively limited pullback thus far for major averages -- Dow -28, S&P -67, Nasdaq Comp -14 (:TECHX) : First level support from The Technical Take is in the 2065/2063 area for the S&P (session low 2067).

9:50 am IntercontinentalExchange to acquire Interactive Data Corporation for ~$5.2 bln, expects adj-earnings accretion of ~5% in first year post-closing (shares halted) (ICE) :

The co announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Interactive Data Corporation, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related trading solutions, from Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus. The acquisition is valued at approximately $5.2 billion, including $3.65 billion in cash and $1.55 billion in ICE common stock. The deal is expected to close by yearend 2015 Highlights of the transaction include:

• Last twelve months revenues for IDC are expected to be $945 million and LTM adjusted EBITDA was $378 million. For the third quarter of 2015, IDC revenues are expected to be $238 million and adjusted EBITDA was $99 million.
• IDC's recurring revenue, which excludes any revenue derived from hardware sales, set-up and implementation fees, and one-time sales such as historical data files, has exceeded 98% of total revenue in each of the years from 2011 to 2014.
• Expense synergies of $150 million to be largely completed by year three post-closing. Adjusted earnings accretion of approximately 5% is expected in the first year post-closing, excluding deal-related amortization. 

Earlier this month, Interactive Data filed an S-1 to pursue an IPO

9:40 am Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico reports that no major damages have been sustained from Hurricane Patricia; expects continued operation to be ongoing (PAC) :

Co undertook preventive emergency measures as Hurricane Patricia moved over the states of Jalisco and Colima, with the potential to impact the Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara airports. The aviation authorities announced the suspension of operations at the Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta airports on the morning of Friday, October 23.

• The hurricane caused no damage to the Puerto Vallarta airport and minimal damage to the Manzanillo airport, where GAP has already begun repairs. The Puerto Vallarta airport reinitiated operations with commercial flights on Saturday at 8:00 am, and the Manzanillo airport reinitiated operations at 3:00 pm that same day.
• Operations at the Guadalajara airport were not affected. This airport operated normally and without interruptions, reporting no damage as a result of the storm.

9:38 am Sector Watch (:TECHX) : Sectors on the defensive have been led by: Biotech IBB, Crude Oil USO, Gold Miners GDX, Semi XSD / SMH, Utility XLU, Pharma PPH, Energy XLE. Sectors displaying some early relative strength include: Coal KOL, Home Const ITB, Casino, Retail XRT, Silver SLV, Internet FDN.

9:38 am Opening Market Summary: Energy Sector Paces Opening Dip (:WRAPX) :

The major averages have dipped in the early going with the S&P 500 trading lower by 0.2%.

Seven sectors sport opening losses with energy (-0.6%), health care (-0.4%), and technology (-0.3%) pacing the move lower while consumer discretionary (+0.1%), industrials (+0.2%), and materials (+0.1%) hover just above their flat lines.

The energy sector has slipped to the bottom of the leaderboard amid a pullback in crude oil. To that point, WTI crude has surrendered 1.0%, sliding to $44.18/bbl.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have ticked to new highs with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 2.06%.

9:34 am Mixed start turns slightly weaker -- Dow -3, S&P -3, Nasdaq Comp -4 (:TECHX) :  

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

• PRA Health Sciences (PRAH)  announced the opening of its brand new Bioanalytical Laboratory in Assen, the Netherlands
• AudioCodes (AUDC) entered into a global distribution agreement with Fujitsu Network Solutions Limited (FJTSY). Fujitsu will sell co's products and solutions with a particular focus on AudioCodes One Box 365 all-in-one Microsoft UC appliance. The collaboration has already yielded positive results, having secured a significant order from a leading Japanese telecom service provider
• Southern Company (SO) subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy, announced the acquisition of the 15 MW Morelos del Sol Solar Facility from Solar Frontier Americas
• Triple-S Management Corporation (GTS) announced the appointment of Hernando Ruiz-Jimenez, as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, effective October 5, 2015.
• Harte Hanks (HHS) announced the appointment of Frank Grillo as its Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately
• Jaguar Animal Health (JAGX) announced that the USPTO has issued Notices of Allowance in two pending patent applications, licensed exclusively by the Company for veterinary use, covering NP-500 and its use
• XBiotech (XBIT) announced the launch of a research and development program to develop a first-in-class oral monoclonal antibody against Clostridium difficile infection. Using its proprietary True Human technology, the co has begun screening human blood samples from donors to identify and clone a therapeutic antibody candidate from individuals with natural immunity to C. difficile infection

9:20 am Eros International comments on the recent volatility in its stock, states that nothing has materially changed to its business fundamentals (EROS) :

Highlight's of the company's statement include:

• "Given the recent price volatility in our stock, we would like to confirm that nothing has materially changed to the strong business fundamentals of the Company communicated previously.....The positive growth and momentum in our Q1 results continued into Q2 with a further string of hits under our belt. We will be announcing what we expect to be strong second quarter results in the first half of November (specific date to follow), which will allow us to demonstrate growth in revenues, profitability and cash flow from operations. As previously announced, we expect that the Company will be free cash flow positive by the end of fiscal 2016."

9:18 am Edgewater: AMERI Holdings delivers a merger proposal to Edgewater valuing it at a price of $8.50/share (EDGW) :

Ameri notes that based on Edge's rejection of Ameri's previous proposal that was submitted privately, and its refusal to engage in discussions, they are concerned that Edgewater's incumbent Board of Directors will once again reject this now public proposal, despite the significant premium and strategic benefits to Edgewater shareholders.  Therefore, Ameri100 is announcing the formation of a group with Lone Star Value Management, LLC for the purposes of reconstituting the Edgewater Board for the benefit of all Edgewater shareholders.  The Shareholder Group owns 625,000 shares of EDGW, representing an approximate 5.3% ownership stake in Edgewater.

• "As a result of the Edgewater Board rejecting our $8.50 per share proposal and refusing to even meet with us to discuss a potential business combination, we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that Edgewater shareholders need a new independent Board for shareholder value to be maximized.  If elected as the new directors of Edgewater, our nominees will work to create an independent special committee, retain a reputable financial adviser, and conduct a full and fair process to explore strategic alternatives, including the sale of the Company to the highest qualified bidder."

9:14 am Rexahn Pharmaceuticals receives a US patent, for claims related to the synthesis of RX-3117 (RNN) :  

9:09 am S&P futures vs fair value: -2.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.70. (:WRAPX) :

The stock market is on track for a modestly lower open with S&P 500 futures trading two points below fair value after spending the night in a tight range.

Overall, the pre-market action has been very quiet with participants responding to just a handful of quarterly reports. Most notably, LendingTree (TREE 116.59, +18.59) has surged 19.0% in pre-market in reaction to better than expected earnings and upbeat guidance.

Unlike stocks, Treasuries have inched higher, pushing the 10-yr yield down three basis points to 2.06%.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the September New Home Sales report (Briefing.com consensus 550K).

9:09 am Lockheed Martin confirms the award of a $784 mln contract from the Missile Defense Agency to develop, build and test the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LMT) : The radar system will support a layered ballistic missile defense strategy to protect the U.S. homeland from ballistic missile attacks.The nine-year contract, with options, will have the potential contract value of approximately $784 million. Work on the contract will be primarily performed in New Jersey, Alaska, Alabama, Florida, and New York.

9:03 am Manitowoc to close Cleveland facility and Irwindale, CA distribution warehouse (MTW) :

• Co announced the next steps in its global Foodservice manufacturing strategy that includes the company's intention to move products currently manufactured at its Cleveland, Ohio facility to other locations, along with an anticipated shutdown of this facility. These operational changes are part of a strategic initiative to address production overcapacity and align the company's global manufacturing footprint for improved operational agility, enhanced product quality, and financial performance.
• In addition to the intended closure of the Cleveland facility, The Manitowoc Company expects to close its Irwindale, California distribution warehouse.
• The company will discuss these restructuring activities in its third-quarter 2015 earnings release and conference call, as well as the anticipated costs and potential savings generated by these efforts.

9:03 am Vermillion announces registration of the CE mark for its OVA1 test, for marketing in the European Union (VRML) : Co announced registration of the CE mark for and clearance to market in the European Union the next generation of Vermillion's OVA1 test for detecting risk of malignancy for ovarian cancer. The next-generation test, previously referred to as OVA2, has been trademarked "Overa." Results of validation testing for Overa were made public with the presentation of two posters at the 2015 American Society for Clinical Oncology's Annual Meeting in May.

9:03 am Digi Intl sells its Etherios unit for $9 mln (DGII) : Co announces the sale of Etherios for $9 mln in cash payable ($4 mln at closing, $3 mln on the first anniversary of closing and US$2 million on the second anniversary of closing) to West Monroe Partners.

9:02 am Green Plains acquires an ethanol production facility in Hopewell, Virginia, located ~20 miles south of Richmond, from Future Fuels LLP; terms not disclosed (GPRE) : Operating at full capacity, the facility's dry mill ethanol plant will increase the company's annual production capacity by ~60 mln gallons to nearly 1.1 bln gallons per year. Production is expected to resume by the end of the year and corn oil processing is expected to be operational during the second quarter of 2016

9:02 am TASER announces partnership agreement with Microsoft (MSFT) to bring together the combined capabilities of the Microsoft Azure's cloud platform, and Windows 10 devices with TASER's Axon Platform and Evidence.com solution (TASR) : This partnership will provide a security-enhanced digital evidence management experience for law enforcement in an efficient and low-cost environment. As part of their work together, TASER and Microsoft will create an integrated approach to capturing and managing evidence including ingesting, retrieving, sharing, analyzing and archiving video, sensor and other data to support law enforcement and criminal justice officials as they work toward creating safer communities.

9:02 am Bank of Hawaii misses by $0.16 (BOH) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.79 per share, $0.16 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.95.
• NIM was 2.77% for Q3 of 2015, a 4 basis point decrease from the net interest margin of 2.81% in the second quarter of 2015.

9:01 am Legacy Reserves: Board of Directors has decided to reduce the distribution from an annualized $1.40 per unit to $0.60 per unit. (LGCY) :

• "The management team and Board of Directors have decided to reduce the distribution from an annualized $1.40 per unit to $0.60 per unit. This difficult decision was not based on this quarter's, next quarter's or next year's distribution capability. It was also not based on our financial liquidity as we project more than ample headroom to run the business. However, as commodity prices and our financial markets have continued to erode, we believe the right step for Legacy is to better position the balance sheet in the event this depressed market persists. While we expect higher commodity prices over time as a result of a more balanced supply and demand environment, we have prioritized a number of objectives including reducing debt, maximizing liquidity, and being positioned to capitalize on opportunities in the current market environment. We intend to monitor our markets actively and may further alter our distributions accordingly.
  
• Legacy will provide additional context of its decision to reduce its distribution along with details of its third quarter 2015 operating and financial performance with its earnings report which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, following the close of NASDAQ trading.

9:01 am DS Healthcare Group Names Renee Barch-Niles CEO (DSKX) :

Prior to joining DS Healthcare, Barch-Niles held the position of President & General Manager of Emilia Personal Care.

• Barch-Niles succeeds Daniel Khesin, co's founding CEO.
• Khesin will continue to serve as Chairman and will lead product innovation.

9:01 am Merck announces topline results from the Keynote-010 study of Keytruda; Keytruda associated with longer overall survival compared with docetaxel treatment (MRK) :

• Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced topline results from the KEYNOTE-010 study of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (:NSCLC) demonstrating that the trial met its primary objective.
• KEYNOTE-010 is a randomized, pivotal Phase 2/3 trial comparing two doses of KEYTRUDA (the FDA-approved 2mg/kg dose and a higher, investigational 10mg/kg dose, each given every 3 weeks), to docetaxel, a commonly used chemotherapy.
• Outcomes were assessed in patients whose tumors were strongly PD-L1 positive (defined as TPS of 50% or more), and in all PD-L1 positive patients.
• A topline analysis revealed that treatment with KEYTRUDA was associated with longer overall survival (:OS) compared with docetaxel treatment.
  
• This was true for both the approved and the investigational dose of KEYTRUDA, which showed similar efficacy. It was also true in both the first set of patients analyzed -- those with a TPS of 50% or greater -- and for all enrolled patients, all of whom had a TPS of 1% or greater.
• Treatment with KEYTRUDA, at both doses, also provided superior progression-free survival (PFS) versus that achieved following treatment with docetaxel in patients whose tumors had TPS values equal to or greater than 50%.
• For PFS, KEYTRUDA treatment was numerically but not statistically superior to docetaxel in the all PD-L1 positive group, again at both doses. The safety profile of KEYTRUDA in this trial was consistent with that observed in previously reported studies in patients with advanced NSCLC.

9:01 am Mannkind announces the termination of a stock lending agreement with Bank of America, whereby 9 mln common shares were returned to the company (MNKD) : The stock lending agreement was entered into to facilitate the establishment of hedge positions by investors in MannKind's offering Senior Convertible Notes due 2015. 

8:57 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• CareFusion, a BD company (BDX), announced its Vital Signs anesthesia delivery and patient monitoring business has entered into an exclusive agreement with AAM Healthcare to distribute its APA video laryngoscope in the U.S. and 12 other countries
• Corning Incorporated (GLW) announced that Samsung (SSNLF) has chosen Corning Lotus NXT Glass for its line of low- temp. polysilicon, organic light-emitting diode panels
• Carver Bancorp (CARV) announced today that Michael Pugh, the Company's President and CEO, has been appointed to the Board of Directors, effective October 23, 2015

8:55 am S&P futures vs fair value: -2.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -2.00. (:WRAPX) :

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

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region started the new week on a somewhat mixed note. Profit-taking efforts kicked in for some markets while other markets saw only modest gains after some big moves last week. Chinese officials began their fifth plenum planning meetings. Market participants are anxious to hear if officials temper China's GDP growth target. In the interim, the Shanghai Composite logged a 0.5% gain to begin the week, drawing a measure of support from the PBOC easing measures announced following the close of trading on Friday.

• In economic data:
  • Singapore's September Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 1.0%; prior -3.7%); -4.8% year-over-year (consensus -4.6%; last -7.1%)

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• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.7% after being up 1.4% earlier in the session. Gains in the technology (+1.3%), health care (+1.1%), and materials (+0.8%) sectors helped pace the advance. Panasonic (+6.1%), Hitachi (+6.1%), and Minebea (+5.1%) were the top-performing issues while Nippon Yusen (-3.3%), Haseko (-2.9%), and Yokogawa Electric Corp (-2.4%) were the worst-performing issues. Out of the 225 index members, 169 ended higher, 46 finished lower, and 10 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2%, giving back all of a 1.2% opening gain. There wasn't a specific news catalyst for the turnaround, which was viewed as a general profit-taking effort. China Resources Power Holdings (-4.8%), BOC Hong Kong Holdings (-2.5%), and PetroChina (-2.1%) paced the losers. Sands China (+2.5%), Belle International holdings (+2.3%), and China Resources Land (+2.1%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 18 ended higher, 31 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.5%, benefiting from a late-day bump to finish in positive territory. The market was up 1.3%, but fell prone to selling efforts through much of the post-lunch session. The early push was helped along by the stimulus measures the PBOC announced after the market closed on Friday. Separately, Chinese officials started the fifth plenum planning session for economic and social policies. It is thought officials could lower the GDP growth target coming out of the meeting.

Major European indices trade mostly lower while Germany's DAX (+0.3%) outperforms. According to the Ifo Institute, the Volkswagen scandal has had no impact on Germany's auto industry as the domestic economy remains vigilant.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's October Ifo Business Climate Index 108.2 (expected 107.8; prior 108.5) as Business Expectations rose to 103.8 from 103.3 (expected 102.4) and Current Assessment fell to 112.6 from 114.0 (consensus 113.5)
  • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 44,500 (expected 46,200; prior 46,600) and CBI Industrial Trends Orders fell to -18 from -7 (consensus -8)
  • Spain's PPI -3.6% year-over-year (prior -2.2%)

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• Germany's DAX has added 0.3% thanks to gains in about 70% of its components. Lufthansa, Fresenius SE, Linde, and Adidas appear among the leaders, having added between 0.3% and 1.2%.
• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.1% with media and consumer names on the defensive. Burberry Group, Barratt Developments, Sky, and ITV are all down between 1.2% and 2.3%. On the upside, Aberdeen Asset Management has jumped 3.8%.
• In France, the CAC is lower by 0.4% with most components in the red. Peugeot, Safran, Valeo, and Total hold losses between 1.3% and 2.0%. On the flip side, Credit Agricole outperforms with a gain of 1.0%.

8:37 am EZchip mails letter to shareholders, reiterates its support for the merger proposal with Mellanox Tech (MLNX), says Raging Capital's interests are not aligned with other EZChip shareholders (EZCH) : Since the public announcement of the merger agreement on September 30, 2015, the Board has not been approached by any other potential buyer.

8:33 am XOMA initiates a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study to evaluate XOMA 358, in patients with congenital hyperinsulinism (XOMA) :

Co initiated a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study to evaluate the safety and ability to prevent hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar) of a single dose of XOMA 358 in patients with congenital hyperinsulinism.

• Two cohorts of patients are planned, with the first cohort receiving a dose of XOMA 358 chosen based on the results from XOMA's Phase 1 study in healthy subjects. The second cohort of patients may receive a higher or lower dose dependent on the results seen in cohort 1. Patients will serve as their own control.
• The study is open for patient enrollment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and an additional international site is expected to open in the near-term.

8:32 am VBI Vaccines to be acquired by SciVac Therapeutics (shares halted) (VBIV) :

Pursuant to the Agreement, a newly-formed wholly owned subsidiary of SciVac will merge with and into VBI, with VBI surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of SciVac, and SciVac will change its name to VBI Vaccines Inc. At the effective time of the Merger, each share of VBI common stock will be converted into the right to receive 20.808356 common shares of SciVac. In aggregate, VBI stockholders will receive approximately 541,573,712 common shares of SciVac, representing approximately 42% of the issued and outstanding shares and voting power of the combined company after giving effect to the Merger. Holders of options and warrants to purchase VBI common stock will receive options and warrants to purchase common shares of SciVac in exchange for their VBI options and warrants, as adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio but otherwise on the same terms and conditions as in the original VBI options and warrants. 

• In total, upon consummation of the Merger, holders of VBI's securities will receive shares, options and warrants of SciVac representing approximately 46% of the fully diluted outstanding shares of the combined company. 
• OPKO Health (OPK) will be the largest shareholder of the combined company, with approximately 14% of the issued and outstanding shares of the combined company. 

8:31 am Gapping down (SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: SOHU -1.3%, GLRE -0.6%

Select EU financial related names showing weakness (Credit Suisse (unchanged) priced its capital raise - share offering today) : NBG -5.4%, DB -2.7%, SAN -1.4%, HSBC -1%

Other news: ZINC -11.9% (announces $50 mln at-the-market equity program), VRX -5.2% (conference call amid flurry of articles this weekend discussing Philidor and Valeant's purported relationship; issues a statement, confirming the appropriateness of related revenue recognition and accounting treatment for its arrangement with Philidor), X -1.9% (in symp with peer AKS dg), MA -1.8% (USAA to switch accounts to Visa (V) from Mastercard (MA)), SNY -1.6% (still checking), KMI -1.3% (offering of 32 mln depositary shares,), ASML -1.1% (small pullback following last week's strength)

Analyst comments: AKS -6% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), JNPR -3.5% (downgraded to Hold at Stifel), ATHN -2.5% (downgraded to Hold at Topeka Capital Markets), AXP -2.1% (downgraded to Sell at UBS), JOE -2% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James), DSW -1.7% (downgraded to Hold at Canaccord Genuity), KORS -1.6% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen), M -1% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen), C -0.9% (downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley), VTR -0.8% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Evercore ISI)

8:31 am Pep Boys to be acquired by Bridgestone Americas for $15.00/share or ~$835 mln; expected to close in the beginning of 2016 (PBY) :

• This represents a premium of 23% over Pep Boys' closing price of $12.15 on October 23, 2015 and a premium of 62% over Pep Boys' unaffected (prior to market speculation of a potential transaction) price of $9.25 on May 19, 2015.
• The transaction is structured as a tender offer. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of both Bridgestone and Pep Boys, a wholly owned subsidiary of BSRO will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Pep Boys at $15.00 per share in cash.  The transaction is expected to close in the beginning of 2016. 

8:31 am Kimco Realty redeems its 6.90% Class H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (KIM) :

Co announces redemption of all 7,000,000 outstanding depositary shares of the Co's 6.90% Class H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value per share on November 25, 2015.

• The Class H Preferred Stock will be redeemed at the redemption price of $25.00 per depositary share plus $0.191667 in accumulated and unpaid dividends.

8:30 am Pericom Semi's Board unanimously rejects the unsolicited revised offer from Montage Technology Group; reaffirms recommendation in support of transaction with Diodes (DIOD) (PSEM) :

Co's Board of Directors, after continued consultation with its independent financial advisors and outside legal counsel, has unanimously rejected the unsolicited revised acquisition offer that Pericom received from Montage Technology Group Limited. 

• Consistent with its fiduciary duties to the Company's shareholders, the Board determined that Montage's revised offer is inferior to the transactions contemplated by Pericom's previously announced Merger Agreement with Diodes Incorporated (DIOD) and that Montage's revised offer is not in the best interests of Pericom's shareholders.
• The Board cited Financing and Regulatory and Timing risk as factors in its decision

8:27 am Gapping up (SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: TREE +14.3%, CSIQ +6.1%, FBP +3.3%, XRX +1.4%, CXRX +1.1%, CHKP +0.7%

M&A news: PNY +36.2% (to be acquired by Duke Energy (DUK) for $60/share or ~$4.9 bln), NTI +7.1% (announces the receipt of a buyout proposal from Western Refining (WNR) for consideration valued at $27.62/unit)

Select Brazil related names showing strength: YPF +11.4%, BFR +8.7%, GGAL +8%, TEO +7.4%, OIBR +5% (receives proposal from Letter One to enter into exclusive negotiations with respect to a potential transaction with the objective of a possible consolidation of the Brazilian telecommunications sector),TSU +3.2%, VIV +2.5%, ITUB +1.6%

Chinese names involved in trasnaction: QUNR confirms Baidu (BIDU) share exchange with Ctrip.com (CTRP): QUNR +27.3%, CTRP +20.4%, BIDU +7.4%

Other news: OPTT +35.5% (Ocean Power Tech and Gardline Environmental announced a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop innovative metocean monitoring and maritime security systems),BDSI +16.1% (received a $50 million milestone payment from Endo International (ENDP) for FDA approval of Belbuca),TOUR +10.3% (likely in symp with CTRP),RDHL +4.9% (positive top-line results from its Phase 1 study of Yeliva),WTW +2.7% (cont strength),SKX +1.5% (modestly higher pre-mkt after last week's decline),V +0.9% (USAA to switch accounts to Visa (V) from Mastercard (MA))

Analyst comments: VFC +2.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray),PYPL +2.7% (added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman),AWAY +2.5% (upgraded to Outperform at Cowen),P +1.7% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie),AMAT +1.3% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura),CVLT +0.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray),GS +0.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley)

8:26 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.50. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures remain just below their flat lines as the quiet morning continues.

The trading week is on course for a subdued start with investors responding to a few quarterly reports that have crossed this morning; however, none of today's reports have come from market-moving names.

Last week, the Dollar Index (96.95, -0.18) returned to levels last seen in August, but today, the index is lower by 0.2% with the dollar giving up 0.5% to the Japanese yen (120.90) and trading lower by 0.1% against the euro (1.1023).

8:25 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Matinas BioPharma Holdings (MTNB) announced that it received a Notice of Allowance from the USPTO for U.S. Patent Application entitled, "Cochleate Compositions Directed Against Expression of Proteins." The allowed patent claims cover the Company's proprietary methods related to the composition and the formation of encochleated siRNA for potential use as therapy for regulating gene expression
• Amunix Operating, a company operating in the area of protein half-life extension, announced that its partner Roche (RHHBY) has extended the collaborative evaluation of Amunix's XTEN technology. This evaluation with focus on an undisclosed indication was initiated in 2013 and has now been extended into 2017
• Allscripts (MDRX) has expanded its business relationship with Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation's largest nonprofit health systems. Beginning in Autumn, 2015, Allscripts Managed Services, through its TouchWorks EHR and Allscripts Practice Management solutions, will provide CHI complete system support and operational management. CHI also added the Allscripts FollowMyHealth patient engagement platform
• Northern Trust (NTRS) Asset Management has named Hazel McNeilage as Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa
• Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) announced the recent publication of two peer-reviewed manuscripts that summarize the structural and biological assays used to evaluate equivalence between Glatopa and daily COPAXONE 20 mg
• TiVo Research, a subsidiary of TiVo (TIVO) confirmed that it will be giving away basic TV ratings data for free for anyone starting in the first quarter of 2016
• Vericel Corporation (VCEL) announced that it has signed a long-term supply agreement with Matricel GmbH for the ACI-Maix collagen membrane used in the manufacture of MACI, Vericel's investigational third-generation autologous cultured chondrocyte implant
• Chanticleer Holdings (HOTR) announced today that it has received an additional $180K in cash distribution from its investment in Hooters of America, bringing the total 2015 distribution received to $543K

8:22 am Silicom Limited beats by $0.13, beats on revs (SILC) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.13 better than the single analyst estimate of $0.44; revenues rose 22.3% year/year to $19.41 mln vs the $18.5 mln single analyst estimate.

8:16 am Exterran Partners raises its cash distribution to $0.5725/unit, up from $0.5675/unit (EXLP) :  

8:16 am European Markets Update: DAX +0.2%, FTSE -0.1%, CAC -0.5% (:SUMRX) :

Major European indices trade mostly lower while Germany's DAX (+0.2%) outperforms. According to the Ifo Institute, the Volkswagen scandal has had no impact on Germany's auto industry as the domestic economy remains vigilant.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's October Ifo Business Climate Index 108.2 (expected 107.8; prior 108.5) as Business Expectations rose to 103.8 from 103.3 (expected 102.4) and Current Assessment fell to 112.6 from 114.0 (consensus 113.5)
  • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 44,500 (expected 46,200; prior 46,600) and CBI Industrial Trends Orders fell to -18 from -7 (consensus -8)
  • Spain's PPI -3.6% year-over-year (prior -2.2%)

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• Germany's DAX has added 0.2% thanks to gains in about 70% of its components. Lufthansa, Fresenius SE, Linde, and Adidas appear among the leaders, having added between 0.3% and 1.2%.
• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.1% with media and consumer names on the defensive. Burberry Group, Barratt Developments, Sky, and ITV are all down between 1.2% and 2.3%. On the upside, Aberdeen Asset Management has jumped 3.8%.
• In France, the CAC is lower by 0.5% with most components in the red. Peugeot, Safran, Valeo, and Total hold losses between 1.3% and 2.0%. On the flip side, Credit Agricole outperforms with a gain of 1.0%.

8:16 am Pearson Plc names former Eli Lilly (LLY) CEO Sidney Taurel as Chairman (PSO) : Sidney Taurel is a board director and chairman of the Compensation Committee at both IBM Corporation and McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.

8:13 am Sharp sees H1 EPS of (JPY 50.78) vs 2.80 last year -- lowers H1 rev guidance to JPY 1.27 trillion from JPY 1.30 trillion prior vs JPY 1.327 trillion last year (SHCAY) :

• Co also lowers FY16 revenue guidance to JPY 2.7 trillion vs 2.8 trillion prior guidance vs 2.786 trillion last year.
• Operating results downturned from the previous announce, due to sales decline and further drop in the market price from intensified competition in small- and medium- size LCDs for the smartphone business in the Chinese market.  
• Sharp Group intends to announce the forecast of net income attributable to Sharp Corporation, once it becomes possible to make a reasonable estimate of the impact on consolidated financial statements arising from materialization of structural reforms currently under consideration or in progress.

8:11 am Treasury Market Morning Summary: Slow and Flatter Start (BONDX) :

• Some early flattening action with longer-dated maturities showing some modest gains and shorter-dated securities pretty much unchanged.  Not much conviction, though, in the early going as participants wait to see how the stock market trades.  Additionally, central bank meetings later in the week for the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan have also capped the participation rate to begin the week.
  
  
• Yield check:
  • 2-yr unch at 0.65%
  • 5-yr unch at 1.42%
  • 10-yr -2 bps at 2.07%
  • 30-yr -2 bps at 2.88%
    
    
• International news
  • Germany's Ifo Business Climate Index for October was better than expected at 108.2 (expected 107.8), but down slightly from the prior month's reading of 108.5
  • Spain's Producer Price Index declined 3.6% year-over-year versus a 2.2% decline in the prior reading
  • Singapore's Industrial Production increased 0.5% month -over-month (expected +1.0%), which marked an improvement from thje prior month's 3.7% decline
  • Chinese officials began their fifth plenum planning meetings.  It is thought that officials will eventually communicate a curtailed GDP growth target.
  • European sovereign bonds are sporting modest gains to begin the week
    • Germany's bund -2 bps at 0.49%
    • France's OAT -1 bp at 0.84%
    • Spain's Bonos unch at 1.64%
    • UK's gilt -1 bp at 1.75%
      
      
• Commodity Check
  • Crude oil +0.1% at $44.66/bbl
  • Gold +0.4% at $1167.10/troy oz.
  • Copper +1.0% at $2.37/lb.
    
    
• Dollar losing a little steam this morning after a big run last week.  US Dollar Index -0.2% at 96.95.
  • EUR/USD unch at 1.1016
  • USD/JPY -0.5% at 120.98
    
    
• Today's data
  • September New Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET)

8:08 am Silicom Limited to delist its ordinary shares from trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (SILC) :  

8:06 am Theravance Biopharma announces the purchase of ~3.85 mln common shares at $14.25/share, by Woodford Investment Management, through a registered direct offering (TBPH) : The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes

8:05 am Canadian Solar follow-up; co raises guidance to reflect higher than expected solar demand (CSIQ) :

• Co issues upside guidance for Q3 (Sep), sees Q3 (Sep) revs of $805-815 vs. $610.54 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from previous guidance for $570-620 mln.
  • For the third quarter of 2015, Canadian Solar now expects its total solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately 1.18 GW to 1.23 GW, compared to its previous guidance, which was in the range of 970 MW to 1.02 GW.
  • Gross margin for the third quarter of 2015 is expected to be at or slightly above the high end of previous guidance, which was in the range of 12% to 14%.
• Updated guidance reflects higher than expected solar demand in the quarter and the sale of 51% of the 200 MW Tranquillity solar power project in California by the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, to Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (SO).

8:04 am Alaska Air signs codeshare and lounge agreement with Emirates (ALK) : Emirates today announced a new codeshare and lounge agreement with Alaska Airlines (:AS). Pending governmental approval, Emirates will begin marketing up to 300 daily Alaska Airlines flights, which will allow customers to purchase connecting flights on both airlines using one reservation, and a seamless ticketing, check-in, boarding and baggage check experience during the entire journey.

8:03 am Mast Therapeutics initiates a Phase 2 study of Vepoloxamer for the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure (MSTX) :

• Co announced that it has initiated its Phase 2 study of vepoloxamer for the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure.
• Dr. Edwin L. Parsley, Chief Medical Officer of the Company, said: "Previously-announced positive results from multiple randomized, placebo-controlled studies of vepoloxamer in a well-established model of chronic heart failure, including a repeat-treatment study, as well as recommendations from medical experts in the field, strongly support clinical development of vepoloxamer in this setting. If the promising results observed in non-clinical studies translate to patients with chronic heart failure, vepoloxamer may offer a novel way of directly improving left ventricle contractile function by restoring cardiomyocyte membrane integrity and increasing cardiomyocyte survival."

8:03 am Old Ntnl Bancorp beats by $0.01 (ONB) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) adj earnings of $0.26 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.25.
• Co reported Q3 NIM of 3.94% vs 3.75% last year.

8:03 am Vertex Pharma and CRISPR Therapeutics enter strategic research collaboration (VRTX) : Vertex Pharma and CRISPR Therapeutics announce that the two cos have entered into a strategic research collaboration focused on the use of CRISPR's gene editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9, to discover and develop potential new treatments aimed at the underlying genetic causes of human disease. Vertex made an up-front commitment of $105 mln to CRISPR, including $75 mln in cash and a $30 mln equity investment. CRISPR is also eligible to receive future milestones and royalty payments on future sales.

8:02 am Recro Pharma provided a clinical and regulatory update on its pipeline candidates; intends to initiate a pivotal Phase III clinical development program with IV meloxicam (REPH) :

In the first quarter of 2016, the Company intends to initiate a pivotal Phase III clinical development program with IV meloxicam, a long-acting, preferential COX-2 inhibitor, for the treatment of moderate to severe acute post operative pain. For Dex-IN, Recro's intranasal formulation of the selective alpha-2 agonist analgesic, dexmedetomidine, the Company plans to continue to study Dex-IN in painful conditions with a focus on the treatment of peri-procedural pain.

• Co recently met with the U.S. FDA to obtain feedback for its proposed IV meloxicam Phase III clinical development program. Co expects that the Phase III program will include two pivotal clinical trials, as well as other trials. We expect to enroll a total of approximately 1,300 patients in all these trials. One pivotal clinical trial will be designed to demonstrate pain relief over a 48-hour period in a hard tissue, post op pain model, and the other pivotal trial will be designed to demonstrate pain relief over a 24-hour period in a soft tissue, post op pain model. Co expects to commence the Phase III clinical program during the first quarter of 2016.

8:02 am First Bancorp misses by $0.02 (FBP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.09. 
• Net interest income decreased by $1.6 million to $124.9 million. Adjusted net interest income, excluding fair value adjustments on derivative instruments of $0.1 million, decreased by $1.7 million to $124.8 million. The related net interest margin remained almost flat, an increase of 1 basis point to 4.19% in the third quarter of 2015.
• As of September 30, 2015, the Corporation has $371.1 million of direct exposure to loans and obligations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico central government and instrumentalities, of which $199.5 million, or 54%, represents exposure to municipalities.

8:02 am FedEx predicts it will move 317 mln shipments between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, up 12.4% y/y (FDX) : The season, which includes one more day than last year, is expected to be bolstered by three volume spikes, including Cyber Monday and the first two Mondays in December, in which the company expects to move more than double its average daily volume. Peak projections are included in FedEx earnings guidance for FY16.

8:01 am Lakeland Financial reports Q3 net income per share of $0.69 vs $0.70 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; NIM 3.16% vs 3.31% year ago (LKFN) :  

8:01 am RedHill Biopharma announces positive top-line results from its Phase 1 study of Yeliva in advanced solid tumors; successfully met its primary and secondary endpoints (RDHL) :

Co announces positive top-line results from the Phase I study with YELIVA in patients with advanced solid cancers.

• The study successfully met its primary and secondary endpoints.The top-line results from the Phase I study with YELIVA , demonstrating achievement of primary and secondary endpoints, were provided to RedHill by Apogee Biotechnology Corporation and remain subject to the completion of an independent review and analysis of the underlying data, including all safety, secondary and other outcome measures, and completion of the clinical study report, expected by the end of the year or early 2016. 
• The primary objectives were all met and the drug was found to be safe and well tolerated, with grade 1-2 fatigue and nausea being the most common side effects.
• The secondary objectives of the study, to determine the pharmacokinetic (:PK) and pharmacodynamic (:PD) properties of YELIVA and to assess its antitumor activity, were also met.
• The results demonstrated that YELIVA can be safely administered to cancer patients at doses that provide circulating drug levels that are predicted to have therapeutic activity, based on levels required in preclinical models.
• A Phase I/II study with YELIVA for the treatment of refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma is planned to be initiated by early 2016.

8:01 am Catabasis Pharmaceuticals: European Commission grants orphan medicinal product designation for CAT-1004 (CATB) :

Co announces that the European Commission (EC) has granted orphan medicinal product designation to CAT-1004 for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). CAT-1004 is designed to inhibit activated NF-kB, a protein that plays an important role in muscle health. The FDA has previously granted Fast Track, Orphan Drug, and Rare Pediatric Disease Designations for CAT-1004 for the treatment of DMD.

"We look forward to presenting our clinical development program for CAT-1004, including the ongoing Phase 1 / 2 MoveDMDSM trial, at the Action Duchenne International Conference in London on November 6." Co says it's highly encouraged by the European Commission's leadership in their designation of CAT-1004. Co feels this may facilitate the future development of the compound in Europe, and most importantly, may give the boys a different treatment approach for Duchenne.

7:58 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• TPG Specialty Lending (TSLX) sent a letter to all stockholders of TICC Capital Corp (TICC) negatively commenting on the ordered postponement of the upcoming TICC special meeting of stockholders, originally scheduled for October 27, 2015. Co also urged shareholders to vote for its Gold proxy card against TICC mgmt's proposals
• Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM) announced a new water contract valued at $16 million with a municipal customer.The project consists of the construction of a new re-use treatment train for the City of Sunrise Florida's Sawgrass facility The work is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2015 and should be completed in the third quarter of 2017
• Cellceutix Corporation (CTIX) announced that the Kevetrin trial for advanced solid tumors is providing important data on the pharmacokinetic profiles of the drug when administered in single doses over a wide range of concentrations and over differing durations of the intravenous infusion. The dose-ranging trial is near completion. Data is being used to design the Kevetrin dosing regimen for the planned studies in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma. The FDA meeting request is planned to be submitted this week
• Yahoo (YHOO) announced that Bob Lord will join as the Company's Chief Information Security Officer. Lord was most recently the CISO-in-Residence at Rapid 7

7:54 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.50. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures trade modestly lower amid mixed action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover five points below fair value after spending the night in a six-point range.

Meanwhile, Treasuries hold slim gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 2.07%.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the September New Home Sales report (Briefing.com consensus 550K).

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Check Point Software (CHKP 80.80, +0.37): +0.5% after beating earnings estimates.
• Lending Tree (TREE 108.90, +10.90): +11.1% in reaction to better than expected earnings and upbeat guidance.
• Xerox (XRX 10.48, +0.14): +1.4% after reporting a one-cent beat on below-consensus revenue. The company's Board of Directors has authorized a review of business portfolio and capital allocation options.
• Sohu.com (SOHU 44.77, -0.58): -1.3% after below-consensus revenue and below-consensus revenue guidance overshadowed earnings of $1.27/share that may not compare to estimates.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.2%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.5%, and Japan's Nikkei +0.7%
  • In economic data:
    • Singapore's September Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 1.0%; prior -3.7%); -4.8% year-over-year (consensus -4.6%; last -7.1%)
  • In news:
    • China's Premier Li Keqiang said that the country's 7.0% growth target is not one that should be "defended to the death," and that 6.9% Q3 growth represents a reasonable reading

• Major European indices trade mostly lower. Germany's DAX +0.1%, France's CAC -0.6%, and UK's FTSE -0.2%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.5% and Spain's IBEX -0.2%
  • Participants received several data points:
    • Germany's October Ifo Business Climate Index 108.2 (expected 107.8; prior 108.5) as Business Expectations rose to 103.8 from 103.3 (expected 102.4) and Current Assessment fell to 112.6 from 114.0 (consensus 113.5)
    • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 44,500 (expected 46,200; prior 46,600) and CBI Industrial Trends Orders fell to -18 from -7 (consensus -8)
    • Spain's PPI -3.6% year-over-year (prior -2.2%)
  • Among news of note:
    • According to the Ifo Institute, the Volkswagen scandal has had no impact on Germany's auto industry as the domestic economy remains vigilant

7:53 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei +0.7%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.2%; China's Shanghai Composite +0.5% (:SUMRX) :

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region started the new week on a somewhat mixed note. Profit-taking efforts kicked in for some markets while other markets saw only modest gains after some big moves last week. Chinese officials began their fifth plenum planning meetings. Market participants are anxious to hear if officials temper China's GDP growth target. In the interim, the Shanghai Composite logged a 0.5% gain to begin the week, drawing a measure of support from the PBOC easing measures announced following the close of trading on Friday.

Economic data

• Singapore
  • September Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected +1.0%; prior -3.7%; -4.8% year-over-year (expected -4.6%; prior -7.1%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.7% after being up 1.4% earlier in the session. Gains in the technology (+1.3%), health care (+1.1%), and materials (+0.8%) sectors helped pace the advance. Panasonic (+6.1%), Hitachi (+6.1%), and Minebea (+5.1%) were the top-performing issues while Nippon Yusen (-3.3%), Haseko (-2.9%), and Yokogawa Electric Corp (-2.4%) were the worst-performing issues. Out of the 225 index members, 169 ended higher, 46 finished lower, and 10 were unchanged.

• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2%, giving back all of a 1.2% opening gain. There wasn't a specific news catalyst for the turnaround, which was viewed as a general profit-taking effort. China Resources Power Holdings (-4.8%), BOC Hong Kong Holdings (-2.5%), and PetroChina (-2.1%) paced the losers. Sands China (+2.5%), Belle International holdings (+2.3%), and China Resources Land (+2.1%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 18 ended higher, 31 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged.
  
  
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.5%, benefiting from a late-day bump to finish in positive territory. The market was up 1.3%, but fell prone to selling efforts through much of the post-lunch session. The early push was helped along by the stimulus measures the PBOC announced after the market closed on Friday. Separately, Chinese officials started the fifth plenum planning session for economic and social policies. It is thought officials could lower the GDP growth target coming out of the meeting.
  
  
• India's Sensex declined 0.4% after being up 0.5% shortly after the start of trading. The Sensex closed near its lows for the day, led by declines in the energy (-1.5%) and financials (-1.2%) sectors. Coal India (-2.5%), Bharti Airtel (-1.9%), and Housing Development & Finance Corp (-1.9%) led all declining issues while Bharat Heavy Electricals (+3.6%), Vedanta (+2.6%), and Bajaj Auto (+2.4%) paced the winners. Out of the 30 index members, 15 ended higher and 15 finished lower.
  
  
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.1% after being 0.6% at the start of trading. A steady retreat took place after the opening push and the market closed at its lows for the session. The telecom services (-1.1%), industrials (-0.7%), and utilities (-0.6%) sectors paced the pullback. Out of the 200 index members, 86 ended higher, 95 finished lower, and 19 were unchanged.
  
  
• Regional advancers: South Korea +0.4%, Taiwan +0.8%, Indonesia +0.8%, Singapore +0.5%, Thailand +0.7%, Philippines +1.2%
• Regional decliners: Malaysia -0.2%, Vietnam -0.5%

FX

• USD/CNY +0.02% to 6.3521
• USD/INR +0.2% to 64.9650
• USD/JPY -0.4% to 120.99

7:45 am WPX Energy Promotes Clay Gaspar to COO (WPX) :

• Co has promoted Clay M. Gaspar to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective Nov. 2, 2015
• Gaspar joined WPX in October 2014 as Senior Vice President of Operations and Resource Development
• Under Gaspar's leadership, WPX has significantly decreased its development costs and operating expenses in support of the company's plan to increase margins

7:31 am Ocean Power Tech and Gardline Environmental announced a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop innovative metocean monitoring and maritime security systems (OPTT) : Under this agreement, Co and Gardline will work closely to investigate, develop, test and market advanced innovative solutions enabled by both companies' technologies.

7:31 am Medical Staffing reports key observations from patients enrolled in its ongoing study evaluating Ganaxolone, to treat PCDH19 female pediatric epilepsy (MRNS) :

Observations included:

• To-date, 63% (5/8) of patients have experienced a greater than 50% reduction for at least one 28-day treatment period compared to baseline.
• Safety data to-date are consistent with earlier studies where ganaxolone has been shown to be generally safe and well-tolerated and the most commonly reported side-effects were sedation, agitation and dizziness. One seizure-free responder discontinued treatment due to a rash that was deemed to be possibly drug related, and another responder showed large variability in response and later discontinued from the study. Two patients were non-responders.
• Patients enrolled in the study are continuing to receive treatment and have received ganaxolone for durations ranging from one to four months of the planned six month treatment period. Improvements in behavior and cognitive skills have been reported to and observed by investigators for some patients.
• Enrollment is continuing in the study with full data expected in 2016.

7:28 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• JA Solar Holdings Co (JASO) announced the launch of its 400MW photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia
• FLY Leasing Limited (FLY) has acquired a new Boeing 777-200LRF aircraft in a sale and 12-year leaseback transaction with a leading flag carrier
• xG Technology (XGTI) received an order from Department of Defense agency for xMax mobile broadband wireless equipment and services. The order was received following field evaluations conducted at a Technical Experimentation Event that took place at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Indiana
• Solaria announced that SunEdison (SUNE) has agreed to license Solaria's manufacturing technology to cost effectively mass produce its new line of UH efficiency 400 watt solar modules
• Casella Waste Systems (CWST) announced that Institutional Shareholder Services (:ISS), an independent proxy advisory firm, has issued a report recommending that Casella stockholders vote the White proxy card for all three of Casella's director-nominees
• CEVA Technology Symposium (CEVA) announced that Vatics Inc., a multimedia SoC solutions provider in Taiwan, has licensed the CEVA imaging and vision DSP for its next-generation SoCs targeting surveillance and smart network cameras. 

7:23 am Comcast announces its Board has approved a proposal to reclassify each share of Class A Special Common Stock (CMCSK) into one share of Class A Common Stock, subject to shareholder approval (CMCSA) : The co believes that the Reclassification will benefit Comcast's shareholders by, among other things, eliminating investor confusion caused by having two classes of publicly traded stock and improving the trading liquidity of Comcast's publicly traded stock.

7:15 am Qunar confirms Baidu (BIDU) share exchange with Ctrip.com (CTRP), announces changes to the Board (QUNR) :

The co confirmed the sale by Baidu (BIDU) of 178,702,519 Class A ordinary shares and 11,450,000 Class B ordinary shares of its ownership interest in the Company to Ctrip.com I(CTRP). The exchange ratio is 1 Qunar ADS to 0.725 Ctrip ADSs. After the completion of the transaction, Ctrip will own 190,152,519 Class B ordinary shares of Qunar.

• Qunar also announced today the changes to its Board composition following the sale of Baidu's ownership interest. Mr. James Jianzhang Liang, Ms. Jane Jie Sun, Ms. Maria Maohua Sun and Mr. Xing Xiong have been appointed to the Board of Qunar. Ms. Helen He, Mr. Liang Zeng, Mr. Yuming He and Mr. Fang Wei have stepped down from the Board. These changes became effective on October 26, 2015.

7:11 am OCI Resources to change its name to Ciner Resources LP, ticker will become CINR effective November 6 following completion of OCI Enterprises' sale of General Partner and Limited Partner interests in OCIR (OCIR) :  

7:06 am LendingTree beats by $0.21, beats on revs; raises FY15 rev & EBITDA guidance; sees FY16 revs above consensus (TREE) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.79 per share, $0.21 better than the two analyst estimate of $0.58; revenues rose 69.0% year/year to $69.8 mln vs the $60.54 mln two analyst estimate. Co reported Q3 Adjusted EBITDA of $11.0 million; up 90% YoY. My LendingTree enrollment exceeds 2 mln users.
• Co issues raised guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $244-247 mln from $225-230 mln vs. $228.33 mln two analyst estimate. Co sees FY15 Adjusted EBITDA of $38.3-38.8 mln vs prior guidance of $35-36 mln
• Co issues upside guidance for FY16, sees FY16 revs of $315-320 mln vs. $284.52 mln two analyst estimate. Co sees FY16 adjusted EBITDA of $50-52 mln

7:06 am Anavex (AVXLD) approved for uplisting to Nasdaq (AVXL) : Anavex's common stock will begin to trade on NASDAQ under the symbol "AVXL" at the opening of market hours on October 28, 2015.

7:04 am Nu Skin changes Q3 reporting date to Thursday, Oct 29 from November 5 (NUS) : Co lowered Q3 guidance on October 6.

7:04 am Spectrum Pharma initiates a Phase 3 clinical study for Apaziquone, with the first patient having been already dosed (SPPI) :

Co stated: "This Phase 3 study has been specifically designed to address important lessons learned from the previous apaziquone Phase 3 studies, as well as recommendations from the FDA that improve chances of a successful study outcome."

• In accordance with the SPA agreement, this Phase 3 trial will be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial that will enroll patients with Ta, G1-G2 NMIBC. Patients will be randomized to receive either one instillation of apaziquone, two instillations of apaziquone, or placebo with a primary endpoint of Time to Recurrence.

7:04 am Concordia Healthcare sees 2016 prelim revenue at $1.02-1.06 bln vs. $964.5 mln Capital IQ Consensus Est, sees prelim EPS at $6.29-6.77 vs $6.87 consensus (CXRX) :

• With the close of the acquisition of Amdipharm Mercury Limited on Oct 21, 2015, Concordia is expected to more than double the size of its business, with expected revenues of more than $1 bln.
• In 2016, the Co anticipates that ~60% of revenues will be generated outside the U.S., with U.S. government payors expected to account for less than 10% of overall revenue
• Management expects high single-digit revenue growth of the combined business over the next three years (2015-2018), driven primarily by expected organic volume growth through continued promotion of its legacy products and up to 60 new product launches.
• During this period, the Co's non-U.S. revenues are expected to grow at mid-teen rates, with anticipated double-digit organic volume growth, while Concordia's U.S. base legacy business is expected to remain stable, growing at low single digits, in roughly equal parts price and volume.

7:04 am BioDelivery Sciences announces it has received a $50 million milestone payment from Endo International (ENDP) for FDA approval of Belbuca (BDSI) :  

7:03 am Ctrip.com completes Qunar (QUNR) share exchange transaction with Baidu (BIDU); Ctrip will own ~45% of Qunar, Baidu will own 25% of Ctrip representing ~25% (CTRP) :

CTRP announced that it has completed a share exchange transaction with Baidu (BIDU), and as a result of the transaction, Baidu will own ordinary shares of Ctrip representing approximately 25% of Ctrip's aggregate voting interest, and Ctrip will own ordinary shares of Qunar (QUNR) representing approximately 45% of Qunar's aggregate voting interest?  

• The share exchange ratio for the transaction is 0.725 Ctrip ADSs per Qunar ADS.
• Baidu and Ctrip have also agreed to a business cooperation across a broad base of products and services. Baidu expects to continue its existing business cooperation with Qunar.

7:02 am Opus Bank reports Q3 net income per share of $0.44 vs $0.51 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (OPB) : Additionally, Opus announced that its Board of Directors approved increasing its quarterly cash dividend by 20% to $0.12 per share payable on November 19, 2015 to common and preferred shareholders of record as of November 5, 2015.

7:01 am ISIS Pharm receives a $5 mln milestone payment from GSK, related to the initiation of a Phase 1 study of ISIS-GSK4-L (ISIS) :  

7:00 am Roper beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line; acquires CliniSys for GBP 170 mln (ROP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.61 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.57; adj. revenues rose 0.1% year/year to $886 mln vs the $891.82 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.83-1.89, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "We have now deployed over $1.7 billion in acquisitions in 2015. We continue to execute on our disciplined acquisition strategy focused on companies with leadership positions in niche markets with high recurring revenue, strong cash returns and excellent management teams."
• Roper has signed a definitive agreement to acquire CliniSys Group Ltd., a leading European provider of laboratory information management systems, for 170 million. CliniSys expands Roper's suite of diagnostic-related software.

6:59 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) announced that it has made a minority investment in Mediant Communications, a provider of electronic and printed shareholder communications. Under the terms of the agreement, which formalizes and expands an existing strategic partnership, the companies will continue sales and development of their joint proxy services and post-sale fulfillment offering to broker dealers and advisors.
• Microsoft Corp (MSFT) opened the doors to its first flagship store in the heart of Manhattan at Fifth Ave. and 53rd St. The five-floor, 22,369 square-foot store features an assortment of products and in-store services familiar at the company's more than 110 retail locations, while offering new interactive experiences to customers

6:56 am ExOne enters into a five-year, $15 mln revolving credit agreement with RHI Investments (XONE) :

Co entered into a five-year revolving credit agreement with RHI Investments, which is controlled by ExOne's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, S. Kent Rockwell. The agreement provides for a $15 million revolving credit facility with the opportunity, subject to certain conditions, to increase the facility by an additional $15 million.Loans drawn against the facility will bear interest at LIBOR plus 7%.

• The credit agreement permits ExOne to use loan proceeds for providing lease financing to customers of its 3D printing machines, which will increase its global installed base beyond the current 200+ machines in service, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

6:52 am Primero Mining announces an update on drilling at its Black Fox mine (PPP) :

Co announced further extensions to the Deep Central Zone at the Company's Black Fox mine, located near Timmins, Ontario, Canada.

• Co stated that Black Fox continues to grow at depth; wide intercepts demonstrate the continuation of high-grade mineralization at depth and include highlights of 16.0 grams per tonne gold over 11.9 metres (520-EX482-76) and 15.4 g/t gold over 10.9 metres (located over 800 metres below surface.
• Results from the Deep Central Zone including 10.9 g/t gold over 10.5 metres, 8.7 g/t gold over 9.1 metres and 9.2 g/t gold over 8.4 metres have given co increased confidence in the wide, high-grade mineralization characteristics of this zone.
• Recent drilling from the Froome zone, located 1 kilometre west of the Black Fox open-pit, include long mineralized intercepts of 5.1 g/t gold over 56.7 metres

6:52 am Laboratory Corp beats by $0.01, beats on revs; narrows FY15 guidance (LH) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $2.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.06; revenues rose 46.3% year/year to $2.27 bln (total revs including Reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses of $2.317 bln) vs the $2.25 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Co reported Q3 Net orders of $811 mln, representing a net book-to-bill of 1.21.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, narrows EPS to $7.80-7.95 from $7.75-8.00 vs. $7.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• FY15 Guidance Details: Net revenue growth (assuming foreign exchange rates effective as of September 30, 2015) of ~41%, after the impact from ~220 basis points of negative currency. Net revenue growth in LabCorp Diagnostics of 4.5% to 5.5%, after the impact of ~90 basis points of negative currency. The change in net revenue in Covance Drug Development is expected to be -0.5% to 0.5% versus full year 2014 revenue after the impact of ~350 basis points of negative currency.

6:50 am Xerox beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line; Board authorizes review of business portfolio and capital allocation options (XRX) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.23; revenues fell 7.2% year/year to $4.45 bln vs the $4.55 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.28-0.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.29 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Xerox expects full-year 2015 cash flow from operations of $1.6 to $1.7 billion and free cash flow from operations of $1.3 to $1.4 billion.
• Board of Directors has authorized a review of the company's business portfolio and capital allocation options, with the goal of enhancing shareholder value.
  • "Xerox's Board of Directors and management team continually review the company's strategy and consider a range of opportunities regarding our businesses and operations with the goal of maximizing value for shareholders," said Ursula Burns, Xerox Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Although we already have taken steps to accelerate cost reductions and prioritize investments to drive improved productivity and higher margins, our Board determined that undertaking a comprehensive review of structural options for the company's portfolio is the right decision at this time."

6:46 am Penn Virginia announces the retirement of President and CEO Baird Whitehead (PVA) : Whitehead had previously indicated his intention to retire this year. Edward B. Cloues, II, who has served as the Company's Chairman of the Board since May 2011 and a director since 2001, will assume the additional role of interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Whitehead will continue to serve as a director of the Company.

6:46 am Energy Transfer increases its quarterly cash distribution by $0.02 to $1.055/unit; Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) increases its quarterly cash distribution by $0.02 to $0.285/unit (ETP) :  

6:45 am Oi SA receives proposal from Letter One to enter into exclusive negotiations with respect to a potential transaction with the objective of a possible consolidation of the Brazilian telecommunications sector (OIBR) : The co announced that it received a letter from a company of the investment group Letter One, containing a proposal for the Company to enter into exclusive negotiations with Letter One with respect to a potential transaction with the objective of a possible consolidation of the Brazilian telecommunications sector, involving a potential business combination with TIM Participacoes S.A. In accordance with the proposal from Letter One, sent by BTG Pactual to the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company's board of directors, Letter One would be willing to make a capital contribution of up to $4.0 bln in the Company, subject to the consolidation activities. The proposal will be carefully evaluated by the Company, jointly with its legal and financial advisors.

6:41 am Del Taco announces a secondary offering of 3,372,016 shares of common stock by entities affiliated with Goldman Sachs, Leonard Green & Partners and Charlesbank Capital Partners (TACO) :  

6:31 am Piedmont to be acquired by Duke Energy (DUK) for $60/share or ~$4.9 bln (PNY) :

Duke Energy (DUK) and Piedmont Natural Gas announced the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive agreement for Duke Energy to acquire Piedmont for approximately $4.9 billion in cash. Duke Energy expects the transaction to be accretive to its EPS in the first full year after posting. Duke further believes the merger will enchance its long-term 4-6% EPS growth rate target

• Upon transaction closing, Piedmont shareholders will receive $60 in cash for each share of Piedmont Natural Gas common stock. This represents an approximate 40 percent premium to Piedmont's Oct. 23, 2015, closing stock price.
• Duke Energy will also assume approximately $1.8 billion in Piedmont Natural Gas existing net debt, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $6.7 billion. A fully underwritten bridge facility is in place with Barclays to complete the transaction. Duke Energy will finance the transaction with a combination of debt, between $500 million and $750 million of newly issued equity and other cash sources.
• Duke Energy will add one member of Piedmont's board of directors to its board after the transaction is closed. An existing member of Piedmont's management team will lead Duke Energy's natural gas operations in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky, and report to Good. 

The companies are targeting a closing by the end of 2016.

6:27 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Dehaier Medical Systems (DHRM) announced that it has been awarded a medical equipment procurement agreement from China's Health & Anti-Poverty Program Committee. According to the agreement, Dehaier will provide anesthesia equipment systems, mobile C-Arm X-Ray machines and medical molecular sieve oxygen generators to hospitals that are financed by the HAPP
• Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) announced it has partnered with Hi-Rel Group, a manufacturer of highly specialized metal components for the microelectronic packaging industry, to offer SigNature DNA-marked hermetic lids and support components to manufacturers of electronic devices

6:24 am Johnson & Johnson's Janssen announced the CHMP adopted a positive opinion recommending a change to the terms of the marketing authorisation for EDURANT in the European Union (JNJ) : Janssen-Cilag International NV announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion recommending a change to the terms of the marketing authorisation for EDURANT (rilpivirine) in the European Union, to extend the indication to adolescent patients aged 12 to

6:20 am Pepco Hldgs misses by $0.13, misses on revs (POM) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 3.7% year/year to $1.36 bln vs the $1.77 bln single analyst estimate. 
• "Our earnings continue to be impacted by increased operation and maintenance costs, primarily driven by higher system maintenance costs and the implementation of a new customer information system. We continue to invest and spend to further improve electric system reliability while our merger with Exelon is pending."
• On October 15, 2015, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities issued an order extending the effectiveness of its merger approval until June 30, 2016.

6:16 am Valeant Pharma issues a statement, confirming the appropriateness of related revenue recognition and accounting treatment for its arrangement with Philidor (VRX) :

Co announced that its Audit and Risk Committee and the full Board of Directors have reviewed the company's accounting for its Philidor arrangement and have confirmed the appropriateness of the company's related revenue recognition and accounting treatment.

• Based on its review conducted to date, Valeant also believes that the company is in compliance with applicable law. In light of the recent allegations made regarding Philidor, however, the Board of Directors has decided to establish an ad hoc committee of the board to review allegations related to the company's business relationship with Philidor and related matters.
  • The committee will be chaired by Robert Ingram. Other members will include Norma Provencio, chairman of the audit and risk committee; Colleen Goggins; and Mason Morfit, who has been appointed to the Board as an independent director.

6:10 am Equity Res beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; raises FY15 FFO in-line (EQR) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) normalized funds from operations of $0.89 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.88; revenues rose 4.8% year/year to $696.3 mln vs the $689.79 mln Capital IQ Consensus. On a same store third quarter to third quarter comparison, which includes 97,737 apartment units, revenues increased 5.4%, expenses increased 2.8% and NOI increased 6.7%.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, raises FFO of $3.43-3.47 from $3.39-3.45 vs. $3.44 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co sees FY15 NOI of +6.2% vs +5.5-6.0% prior guidance.

6:06 am Pacific Exploration and Production updates on Q3 operational results (PEGFF) : Total net production for the quarter is expected to be in the range of 152 to 154 Mboe/d, approximately 5% higher than during the same period in 2014. Sales volumes in the third quarter are expected to be in the range of 140 to 142 Mboe/d, which remained stable in comparison with the previous quarter. The OFT volumes are expected to be in the range of 2 to 3 Mbbl/d (compared to 10.8 Mbbl/d in the second quarter 2015). The volumes acquired for dilution were approximately 53 bbl/d (compared to 600 bbl/d in the second quarter 2015). During the third quarter of 2015, the Company drilled or was a partner in one exploration well and three appraisal wells in Colombia and Papua New Guinea. All wells encountered economic hydrocarbons, for an overall success rate of 100% for the period and 87% year to date.

6:04 am JAKKS Pacific beats by $0.01, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance (JAKK) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.12 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.11; revenues fell 3.5% year/year to $337 mln vs the $344.12 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Gross margin improved 390 basis points
  • Operating margin improved 70 basis points
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $0.71-0.75 vs. $0.78 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $730-740 mln vs. $744.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

6:04 am Valeant Pharma adds President of ValueAct Capital G. Mason Morfit to its Board effective immediately (VRX) : Morfit had originally served on the Valeant Board of Directors from May 2007 to May 2014.

6:04 am Check Point Software beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line (CHKP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.98; revenues rose 9.0% year/year to $403.9 mln vs the $402.88 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• As of Sept. 30, 2015, deferred revenues were $772 mln compared to $660 million as of Sept. 30, 2014.

6:02 am BioDelivery Sciences and Endo Intl (ENDP) announce that the FDA has approved BELBUCA buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain; expected to be commercially available in US during 1Q16 (BDSI) :

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ENDP) and BioDelivery Sciences International (BDSI) announces that the FDA has approved BELBUCA buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

• BELBUCA is expected to be commercially available in the U.S. during the 1Q16 in seven dosage strengths.
• The FDA approval of BELBUCA was based on two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, enriched-enrollment Phase 3 studies in patients with moderate to severe chronic low back pain.
• In both studies, BELBUCA demonstrated a consistent, statistically significant improvement in patient-reported pain relief at every week from baseline to week 12, compared to placebo. The most common adverse reactions (>5%) reported by patients with BELBUCA in the clinical trials were nausea, constipation, headache, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, somnolence, diarrhea, dry mouth, and upper respiratory tract infection.

6:01 am Equity Res confirms it will sell 72 properties, consisting of 23,262 apartment units to Starwood Capital Group for $5.365 bln; proceeds to be used to pay a special dividend between $9-11/share (EQR) :

Equity Residential is selling assets in the following markets: South Florida 33 properties (10,742 units), Denver 18 properties (6,635 units), Washington DC 10 properties (3,020 units), Seattle 8 properties (1,721 units) Inland Empire, CA 3 properties (1,144 units).

• In 2016, Equity Residential intends to sell an additional 26 assets located in various submarkets, consisting of 4,728 apartment units, 3,364 of which are all of the company's assets in Connecticut and in non-core submarkets in Massachusetts. Co expects to sell these assets in individual and small portfolio sales for ~$700 million
• Equity Residential intends to use the majority of the proceeds from these sales to pay a special dividend to its shareholders of between $9.00 and $11.00 per share and anticipates that dividend being paid during the second quarter of 2016.
• The company also expects to use proceeds from this sale to reduce aggregate indebtedness in order to make the transaction leverage neutral.

6:01 am Cesca Therapeutics appoints as Michael Bruch Chief Financial Officer (KOOL) : Bruch was appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer in May 2015. Prior to that he had served as Controller since joining the Company in 2003.

6:01 am Sinovac Biotech's subsidiary Sinovac Dalian receives approval by the China FDA, to begin human clinical trials on its varicella vaccine candidate (SVA) : In preparation to begin human clinical trials, Sinovac Dalian is currently finalizing the trial protocol, confirming the site, training staff and preparing for volunteer screening. The Company expects to complete the trial in 2017. Simultaneously, Sinovac Dalian is renovating of an existing building on its Dalian campus, which will serve as the commercial production plant for the varicella vaccine. The plant will have a designed annual capacity of 5 million doses.

6:00 am Blackstone to acquire MB Aerospace; terms not disclosed (BX) : Co announced that its funds have agreed to acquire MBAe, a Tier I engine component manufacturer and repair business, from Arlington Capital Partners.

5:52 am S&P futures vs fair value: -6.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.60. :

5:52 am European Markets : FTSE...6429.47...-14.60...-0.20%.  DAX...10822.69...+28.20...+0.30%.

5:52 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...18947.12...+121.80...+0.70%.  Hang Seng...23116.25...-35.70...-0.20%.

5:50 am Qunar announces partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT) (QUNR) : Under the new partnership, Qunar's travel user base will get instant and direct access to Starwood's global hotel inventory through Qunar's mobile and PC transaction platform.

5:46 am Northern Tier Energy announces the receipt of a buyout proposal from Western Refining (WNR) for consideration valued at $27.62/unit (NTI) :

Co received a non-binding proposal from Western Refining (WNR) whereby Western would acquire all of NTI's outstanding publicly traded common units in exchange for aggregate consideration of $17.50 in cash and 0.2266 of a share of Western common stock.

• Western currently owns approximately 38% of the common units and 100% of the general partnership interest of NTI. According to the proposal, Western intends to fund the cash portion of the offer with a combination of cash-on-hand, capital markets debt or a bank-sponsored bridge loan.
• It is anticipated that the Board of Directors of NTI's general partner will delegate to its Conflicts Committee, the authority to consider and respond to the proposal and that the Conflicts Committee will engage its own independent legal and financial advisors in connection with considering the proposal.

5:29 am Credit Suisse increases rights offering to up to CHF4.7 bln; prices offering of 58 mln new shares at CHF22.75 (CS) :  

5:09 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• The Este Lauder Companies (EL) announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase an interest in Have & Be Co. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in December 2015.
• Oracle (ORCL) introduced its Exa Your Power Program to help customers migrate Oracle Database from IBM Power systems to Oracle Engineered Systems using Intel technology.
• Platts, McGraw Hill Financial (MHFI) company announced the launch of Platts Analytics. The new offering combines the company's analytical capabilities into a new product portfolio which helps customers to make better informed trading and business decisions.
• The Royal Australian Air Force has extended its contract with Northrop Grumman (NOC) to provide logistics support for its F/A-18 Hornet Target Designation Systems, which use the AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod.
• Agilent Technologies (A) introduced the Agilent 5977B High Efficiency Source GC/MSD System, a tandem gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer that delivers lower limits of detection than any other instrument in its class.
• FXCM (FXCM) announced that is has upgraded its Index CFD and Spread Bet market making technology which enhances its index trading offering. 
• Infoblox (BLOX) announced enhancements to its carrier-grade DNS solution portfolio to block more types of attacks against service providers and deliver a better subscriber experience. These attacks can reduce network performance or even disrupt subscriber services, damaging brand reputation and reducing revenue. 
• TASER International (TASR) announced its disruptive entry into the in-car video market with Axon Fleet. Axon Fleet will be available for pre-orders starting this week and available for shipment in Q1 2016.

3:46 am Manchester United appoints Cliff Baty as CFO (MANU) :

Co announced that Cliff Baty will be joining the Club as Chief Financial Officer.

• Since 2013, Baty has served as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Sportech plc, a pool betting operator and technology supplier

3:39 am Transocean to delay the operating and delivery contracts of two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships (RIG) :

Transocean (RIG) announced a mutual agreement with its customer, Shell EP Wells Equipment Wells Services B.V. (RDS.A), and the shipyard, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co, to delay the operating and delivery contracts of two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships - the Deepwater Pontus and the Deepwater Poseidon - by 12 months each.

• The delay has no impact on the duration or dayrate of the original 10-year operating contracts for each of the two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships. Parties will be compensated for the postponement. The specific terms are not disclosed.
• The delivery and operating agreements for Shell's two other contracted Transocean newbuild, ultra-deepwater drillships, the Deepwater Thalassa and Deepwater Proteus, are not impacted by this agreement.

3:30 am Genmab receives $3 mln from JNJ's Jansen for DuoBody platform milestone achievement (GNMSF) :

Genmab A/S announced today it has achieved a milestone in its DuoBody technology platform collaboration with Janssen Biotech, a unit of JNJ, triggering a $3 million milestone payment.

• The milestone payment is for pre-clinical progress with a DuoBody product candidate targeting cancer. Janssen has optioned 11 programs out of a total of 20 programs under the bispecific DuoBody platform collaboration with Genmab.
• Including the collaboration with Janssen, Genmab has five commercial partnerships for its DuoBody technology.

3:23 am Diebold divests its North Am electronic security business to Securitas (DBD) :

Diebold announced it has entered into an agreement to divest its North America-based electronic security business to accelerate its transformation and better position the company to pursue growth opportunities in the dynamic self-service industry.

• Securitas has agreed to acquire the business in a transaction with a purchase price of $350 million.
• Ten percent of the price is contingent on successful transference of certain customer relationships to Securitas.

3:19 am Randgold Resources reports Tongon gold mine has paid off shareholder loans, moving it into dividend paying position (GOLD) : Co announced its Tongon gold mine has paid off its shareholders' loans of $448 million, used to partially fund its capital investment of $580 million, thereby moving it into a dividend-paying position

3:11 am GNC Holdings reponds to Oregon Attorney Gen'l claims; believes suit filed without merit (GNC) :

Co announced that it has filed a motion to remove to Federal Court the lawsuit filed against it by the Oregon Attorney General. In making the filing the company issued the following statement: "GNC believes that the lawsuit filed by the Oregon Attorney General is without merit, and the Company intends to defend itself vigorously against this unfair action.

• Co also states it was unable to reach an agreement with the Oregon Attorney General. As a next step, the Company filed to have the action moved to Federal court. Products sold by GNC are regulated by the FDA.
• GNC's vendors certify that they are in full compliance with the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and to guarantee that their products meet all applicable Federal and state laws.

3:08 am AstraZeneca confirms FDA committee recommends approval of Lesinurad (AZN) :

AstraZeneca announced that the FDA's Arthritis Advisory Committee voted 10-4 to recommend the approval of lesinurad 200 mg tablets for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout, in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor.

• The AAC reviewed safety and efficacy data from the pivotal Phase III combination therapy program trials, representing the largest clinical trial data set of gout patients treated with combination urate lowering therapy.
• The FDA is not bound by the Advisory Committee's recommendation but takes its advice into consideration when reviewing the application for a potential medicine.
• The PDUFA target goal date for lesinurad is December 29, 2015

3:03 am U.S. Concrete hires Ronnie Pruitt as COO (USCR) :

Co announced that it has hired Ronnie Pruitt as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

• Pruitt comes from Martin Marietta Materials (MLM), where he served as Vice President of Cement Sales, and has over 20 years of industry experience.

2:49 am Celgene reports positive results from the maintenance phase of the TOUCHSTONE phase 2 clinical trial of Ozanimod (CELG) :

Co presented results from the maintenance phase of the TOUCHSTONE phase 2 clinical trial of Ozanimod, an investigational compound, in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis

• The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients in remission at week 8. Secondary endpoints were: the proportion of patients achieving a clinical response, the proportion of patients with mucosal improvement and the change from baseline in Mayo score.
• Previously reported results showed TOUCHSTONE met its primary endpoint and secondary endpoints with statistical significance for patients on the 1 mg dose of Ozanimod versus placebo in the 8-week induction phase.

2:33 am Sandstorm Gold acquires new royalty package on from Alexandria Minerals (SAND) :

Sandstorm announced it has acquired a royalty package on properties in Quebec, Canada from Alexandria Minerals for consideration of C$300,000.

• The royalty package consists of a 1% NSR on certain claims in Alexandria's Cadillac Break property group, the assignment of a 2% NSR on the Roc d'Or claim owned by Integra Gold Corp, and the assignment of existing NSR buy-back rights, ranging from 1% to 1.25% on select claims in the Val d'Or area.
• In addition, Sandstorm has subscribed for C$1 million in Alexandria common shares as part of a non-brokered private placement that is expected to close within the next 30 days

2:27 am Blue Square-Israel Board approves sale of Dor Alon shares for NIS50 mln (BSI) :  

2:25 am Keysight initiates exhange offer (KEYS) : Co offers to exchange up to $500 million of 3.300% Senior Notes due 2019 for a like principal amount of its outstanding $500 million unregistered 3.300% Senior Notes due 2019 and $600 million of 4.550% Senior Notes due 2024

2:14 am TICC Capital receives favorable ruling; Court finds that NexPoint Directors not eligible for election at the special meeting (TICC) :

TICC Capital announced that the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut has denied NexPoint Advisors, L.P.'s motion for preliminary injunction seeking to have its director nominees recognized on the ballot for TICC's previously announced special meeting of stockholders.

• The Court recognized that, as disclosed in TICC's proxy materials, TICC's board would only be expanded if TICC's stockholders voted in favor of the new investment advisory agreement with an affiliate of Benefit Street Partners.
• The Court rejected NexPoint's claim that it had the right to put six directors up for election at the special meeting.