NASDAQ VRTX 408,18 US$ 0,32%

2:40 pm Major averages slip under initial post Fed lows, Nasdaq Comp -70 sets new session low -- Dow -146, S&P -12 (:TECHX) :  

2:31 pm Currency Market Summary (:FOREX) :

FOMC Has Little Effect on FX Rates

• The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.34% to 99.02 today as the Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the main policy rates unchanged but took a slightly more cautious tone on the economy than Treasury investors had expected. The decline in the dollar came long before the release of the decision and statement
  
• EUR/USD: +0.21% to $1.0886
  
  • GfK's German Consumer Climate Index confounded pessimistic expectations, remaining at 9.4 in February
    
  • An index of French consumer confidence beat expectations, climbing to 97 in January from 96 in December
    
  • Italy agreed to a deal with the European Union to help Italian banks sell portfolios of non-performing loans to private investors
    
    • Italy's consumer confidence beat estimates and rose to 118.9 in January from 117.7 in December
      
    • The Italian Business Confidence Index fell to 103.2 in January from 104.0 in December, worse than expected
      
• GBP/USD: -0.63% to $1.4259
  
  • The United Kingdom's Nationwide House Price Index rose 0.3% m/m in January, less than both expectations and the 0.8% jump in December
    
    • The British Bankers' Association reported that mortgage approvals unexpectedly fell to 44.0K in December from 45.5K in November
      
• USD/CHF: -0.05% to 1.0166
  
  • UBS's Switzerland Consumption Indicator rose to 1.62 in December from 1.55 in November
    
• USD/JPY: +0.43% to 118.81
  
  • Japan's Shoko Chukin Bank survey of small business confidence touched a 7-month low, falling to 47.2 in January from 48.3 in November
    
• USD/CAD: -0.13% to 1.4098
  
• AUD/USD: +0.24% to $0.7045
  
  • Australia's consumer price index rose a greater-than-expected 0.4% q/q in the fourth quarter of 2015 after growing 0.5% in Q3
    
• NZD/USD: -0.13% to $0.6505

2:23 pm Typical post Fed chop with S&P back flirt with flat line (:TECHX) :  

2:09 pm Major averages extend slip back after Fed headlines are digested -- Dow -69, S&P -2, Nasdaq Comp -46 (:TECHX) :  

2:01 pm Major average begin to work higher after Fed headlines -- Dow +56, S&P +11, Nasdaq Comp -13 (:TECHX) :  

1:21 pm DeVry Education issues statement on actions taken by the FTC, intends to vigorously contest the complaint (DV) :

DeVry Education Group announced that it intends to vigorously contest a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, challenging the employment and earnings outcomes of DeVry University graduates. DeVry Group also learned that the Department of Education has taken an administrative action related more narrowly to certain DeVry University records for the period 1975 to 1983. The co says it intends to request a hearing on the Department's decision, and will collaborate closely with the Department to demonstrate our compliance and resolve this matter satisfactorily.

• DeVry Group believes that the FTC's complaint -- filed 40 years after DeVry University began publishing accurate graduate employment statistics -- is without a valid legal basis. In addition, the FTC's complaint contains anecdotal examples that exaggerate the allegations but do not prove them. DeVry University measures the employment and earnings results of its graduates on a sound, rational and transparent basis, and has published these results in a consistent manner over the years to provide students meaningful information.
• There is no national standard for calculating employment statistics among higher education institutions, and the measures and standards used by DeVry University to support its statistics are appropriate. Indeed, a taskforce of 39 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia recently developed a methodology very similar to the one DeVry University has had in place for years. And while many other institutions of higher education provide employment statistics, DeVry University's measures are more rigorous and further substantiated than most.
• DeVry Group has sought to fully cooperate with the FTC staff throughout the FTC's 24-month inquiry, and has provided extensive documentation disproving the FTC's claims and demonstrating the value of a DeVry University education. Despite this compelling evidence, a fully satisfactory resolution could not be reached.

1:05 pm Auction Out (BONDX) :

Treasury Auction Results

• The $35 bln 5-year note auction tailed by 1.3 basis points indicating weak demand
  • Results
    • High yield: 1.496%
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.44
    • Indirect bid: 53.5%
    • Direct bid: 8.6%
  • Average results of prior 12 auctions:
    • High yield: 1.519%
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.46
    • Indirect bid: 58.7%
    • Direct bid: 7.1%

1:05 pm Midday Market Summary: Indices Trade in Lockstep with Oil (:WRAPX) :

The S&P 500 (+0.3%) and the Dow Jones (UNCHF) hold slim gains at midday while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (-0.4%) underperforms. Today's trade has been true to recent form with the stock market moving in lockstep with the trajectory of crude oil. Other noticeable influences have been:

• A continued rebound effort in financials
• Weakness from corporate giants Apple (AAPL 95.30, -4.70) and Boeing (BA 118.22, -9.79); and
• Cautious trading ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's policy statement

Crude oil began its day under heavy pressure after yesterday's API report. Despite a second bad data point in the form of the EIA report, which showed a 8.383 million barrel build (expected 3.277 million barrel), WTI crude rallied in late morning trade. This bullish response to two negative reports has some participants speculating that the worst of the downside has been seen. Recent reports of OPEC and non-OPEC states discussing possible agreements on production cuts have added to this speculation. Oil currently trades higher by 2.2% at $32.14/bbl.

The energy sector (+1.0%) has been able to capitalize on the recent price swing in oil as it outperforms the other groups. The commodity-sensitive sector is followed by telecom services (+1.0%), materials (+0.9%) and financials (+0.9%).

Elsewhere, the top-weighted technology space (-0.9%) is the only sector remaining in negative territory. Influential component, Apple (AAPL 95.30, -4.70) has led the decline in the space with a 4.6% nosedive. This decline comes on the heels of the company issuing Q2 guidance below analyst expectations after reporting a revenue miss on their Q1 earnings report.

For its part, the financial space continues to rebound from its difficult start to 2016. Including today's gain the sector is down 10.3% in the month of January. Capital One (COF 63.45, +3.07) has outpaced the advance in the group with a 5.0% climb after reporting a Q4 beat on EPS and revenue. Meanwhile, money center banks Bank of America (BAC 13.62, +0.31), Citigroup (C 41.41, +0.91), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 57.91, +0.83) have shown relative strength with advances between 1.5% and 2.3%.

The industrial space (+0.1%) is being dragged lower by heavyweight Boeing (BA 118.22, -9.79) which shows the worst decline in the sector. Boeing has plummeted 7.6% after the company issued below consensus earnings guidance. Elsewhere, United Technologies (UTX 86.50, +0.86) has climbed 1.0% after the company reported an EPS beat on light revenue.

Treasuries have notched new lows as the rally in equities continues. The yield on the benchmark note is higher by four basis points at 2.04%.

Today's economic data included the weekly MBA Mortgage Index and the New Home Sales report. Later today the FOMC policy statement for January (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%) will be announced at 14:00 ET

• The MBA Mortgage Index showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 8.8% in mortgage application from last week's 9.0 increase.
• New home sales were up 10.8% month-over-month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544,000 (Briefing.com consensus of 506,000) versus 491,000 in December (revised from 490,000).
• An estimated 501,000 new homes were sold in 2015, which is up 14.5% from 2014.

12:27 pm SPDR S&P Insurance ETF follows through on break of recovery high (KIE) : Yesterday noted that the ETF was challenging its recovery high from last week at 64.06 with the breakout reaching as high as 64.30 today. PGR has provided leadership with its breakout reaching up near its 50 day ema/sma at 30.83/30.92 (session high 30.74). MET has climbed back near its 20 day ema and recovery high at 44.24/44.28 (session high 44.16).

12:17 pm Currency Commentary: DXY Testing 99 Support Ahead of Fed (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index is under some pressure ahead of today's FOMC meeting. 99 remains the key level ahead of the Fed. Market expectations are for the Fed to strike a more dovish tone in today's directive. It is setting up for high expectations as it would force the Fed to change course without the benefit of its 'dot plot' or a press conference from Chair Yellen. The Fed is likely to tweak its comments enough to give a nod to the developments over the past six weeks. But it remains to be seen if it is enough to placate risk on traders. Housing data remains strong as New Home Sales followed the solid Existing Home Sales number from last week with a solid beat of expectations.
• The euro saw an early rally to 1.09 but those gains have nearly all been reversed. The single currency is now 50 pips off its highs as it dips to 1.0863.
• The pound is giving up some of its recent gains as it has tumbled 100 pips from its early session highs. Sterling is attempting to find footing in the 1.4230 area against the dollar but that area is preparing for another test here.
• The yen continues to slide as we see risk on trade sift into markets. Some of the selling is also coming ahead of the Thursday night Bank of Japan meeting in which there has been heavy whispers of more stimulus coming from the central bank. The yen is preparing for its first test of the 119 level for the first time in three weeks (BONDX, FOREX).

12:10 pm Mid-Session Treasury Update (BONDX) :

Yields Move Higher

• Treasury prices are near session lows as WTI crude trades up 2.89% to $32.36/bbl., just below its Friday high. The S&P 500 has rallied in sympathy, making a one-week high and gaining 0.5% to 1,914.1
  
• The U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.25% to 99.12 and gold is down 0.28% to $1,117.10/troy oz.
  
• There will be a $35 bln 5-year Treasury note auction at 13:00 ET, but all eyes are on the FOMC statement which will be released at 14:00 ET
  
• High yield bonds created from leveraged buyouts of U.S. retailers are trading at deep discounts
  
  • Many of the deals left companies with debt of more than 6 times EBITDA, and some of those bonds are now trading at distressed levels. The migration of commerce to online retailers has been blamed
    • Troubled issuers include Toys "R" Us, J.Crew, Nine West, and Claire's Stores
      
• High yield bond ETFs JNK and HYG are seeing only minor gains today despite a sharp rally in crude and equity markets. While they are trading at very low levels, the price of oil may have to rally further to help marginal energy producers (by far the most troubled issuers of junk bonds) repay their debts
  • JNK: +0.12% to $33.00
    
  • HYG: +0.25% to $78.95
    
• Yield Check:
  
  • 2-yr: +3 bps to 0.88%
    
  • 5-yr: +4 bps to 1.47%
    
  • 10-yr: +4 bps to 2.04%
    
  • 30-yr: +4 bps to 2.82%

12:07 pm Boeing climbs back to last week's low (BA) : Aggressive slide after reporting held on a test of its Aug low at 115.14 (noted at 10:02 ET, session low 115.02) with the recovery stalling near last week's low at 119.82 (session high 119.90).

12:01 pm Takeda Pharma confirms FDA approval of Dexilant SoluTab delayed-release orally disintegrating tablets (TKPYY) : (New melt in your mouth tablet for appropriate adult patients with heartburn associated with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease)

12:00 pm Box unveils three new integrations with Microsoft (MSFT) that enable 'seamless collaboration' across devices and platforms (BOX) :  

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

• UK's FTSE:+1.3%
• Germany's DAX:+0.6%
• France's CAC:+0.5%
• Spain's IBEX:+0.6%
• Portugal's PSI:+1.2%
• Italy's MIB Index:-0.4%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-0.8%
• Greece ASE General Index: -0.2%

11:46 am S&P breaks above last week's recovery high at 1908 -- session high 1913 (:TECHX) : The 38% retrace of the late Dec to Jan slump is at 1915 with the next area of interest at 1918/1921.

11:40 am Energy Select Sector outperforming market again (XLE) : The XLE has outperformed the S&P the last two days with it working up toward resistance at last week's recovery high and its 20 day ema at 56.12/56.19 (session high 56.02) -- XOM, CVX, SLB, VLO, EOG, OXY, COP, PXD, TSO, PSX. 

11:35 am S&P +1.2 edges slightly above opening high -- Dow -23, Nasdaq Comp -28 (:TECHX) : Yesterday's high and last week's recovery high for the S&P are at 1906/1908.

11:27 am New Supply on the Way (BONDX) :

Treasury Auction Preview

• $35 bln 5-year Treasury auction (results at 13:00 ET)
  • Prior auction results (12/29/2015):
    • High yield: 1.785%
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.32
    • Indirect bid: 52.5%
    • Direct bid: 11.0%
  • Average results of prior 12 auctions:
    • High yield: 1.519%
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.46
    • Indirect bid: 58.7%
    • Direct bid: 7.1%

11:25 am Major averages build on recovery off first hour lows -- Dow -65, S&P -4, Nasdaq Comp -40 (:TECHX) : Relative strength in Energy XLE, Bank KBE, Reg Bank KRE, Crude Oil USO, Oil Service OIH has underpinned. Nasdaq Comp off low but lagging significantly amid relative weakness in Technology XLK, Semi SMH, Software IGV, Networking IGN and Biotech IBB.

11:10 am Netflix continues to slide this week below its 200-day moving averages, drawing closer to its September lows near 93.55/93.61. (NFLX) :  

10:50 am Iconix Brand Board adopts a short-term shareholder rights plan; intended to reduce the likelihood that any person or group gains control of co through open market accumulation or other tactics without paying an appropriate control premium (ICON) :

Co adopts a short-term shareholder rights plan, which will expire following the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders, absent an extension being approved by shareholders.

• The Board adopted the Rights Plan in light of recent activity in the Company's shares, including the recent accumulation of meaningful positions by holders of derivative securities, and what the Iconix Board and management believes is a currently depressed share price for the Company's common stock.
• The Rights Plan is intended to protect the interests of the Company and Iconix shareholders by reducing the likelihood that any person or group gains control of Iconix through open market accumulation or other tactics without paying an appropriate control premium and by providing the Board and shareholders with time to make informed decisions.
• Pursuant to the Rights Plan, one preferred stock purchase right will be distributed for each share of common stock held by shareholders of record on February 12, 2016.
• The rights will become exercisable only if a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of the Company's common stock.
• In that situation, each holder of a right (other than, as detailed in the Rights Plan, the person or group triggering the rights) will be entitled to purchase, at the then-current exercise price (which was initially set at $30 per right), shares of common stock (and, in certain circumstances, other consideration) having a value of twice the exercise price of the right (a 50% discount).

10:43 am Stock indices edge off session lows -- Nasdaq Comp -48, S&P -7.8, Dow -109 (:TECHX) : The Nasdaq Comp slipped to another new session low (4503) at 09:30 to retest yesterday's low (4503).  The S&P/Dow and the A/D Line did not move to new lows with the Nasdaq Comp suggesting loss of downside momentum as Nasdaq held at support with some upticks developing. Initial intraday resistance for the S&P at 1897/1898 needs to be cleared on a sustained basis to improve the morning pattern. 

10:18 am Mattel and Disney (DIS) renew relationoship for the Cars Franchise; gives Mattel continued worldwide rights to manufacture, market and distribute toys and products based on the Cars franchise (MAT) :  

10:09 am Johnson & Johnson builds on strong open, pauses at its late Dec bear gap at 102.69 -- session high 102.69 (JNJ) : Positive commentary yesterday has provided a boost this morning with it reaching up to and stalling at its Dec gap.

10:04 am Major averages slide to new session lows -- Dow -151, S&P -11, Nasdaq Comp -47 (:TECHX) :  

10:02 am Boeing gaps down after earnings and extends to its Aug low at 115.14 -- session low 115.02 (BA) :  

9:59 am iShares DJ Transports ETF outperforming, pushes above last week's high (IYT) : The IYT has broken above last week's high at 123.32 amid relative strength in Airline JETS (HA, AAL, VA, RJET, DAL, JBLU, ALK) with Rail +1.4% and Trucking +1% also providing a lift. The next short term zone of interest above for the IYT is at 125.09 (20 day ema) and 125.81.

9:50 am Opening Market Summary: Indices Open Lower (:WRAPX) : The major averages have started their day in negative territory with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.5%) trailing the Nasdaq (-0.5%) and the S&P 500 (-0.1%).

Technology (-1.0%) sits well behind the other sectors as energy (-0.2%) trimmed its opening loss courtesy of WTI crude climbing above the 31.00/bbl price level. Meanwhile, most sectors trade close to their flat lines as countercyclical consumer staples (+0.3%) and health care (+0.1%) outperform. On that note, biotechnology has shown relative strength early on, evidenced by the 0.5% gain in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 283.49, +1.41).

Treasuries have inched lower with the yield on the benchmark note higher by three basis points 2.03%.

9:49 am iShares DJ Transports ETF showing relative strength as price lifts above last week's high along 123.32 (IYT) : Note this marks the first "higher high" on a Weekly timeframe since early November.  Top holdings include FDX, UPS, UNP, NSC, KSU. 

9:46 am McGraw-Hill Financial increases qtrly dividend to $0.36 from $0.33/share (MHFI) :  

9:45 am Sector Watch (:TECHX) : Nasdaq Comp is lagging amid AAPL -4.7 and Technology XLK underperformance. Other sectors in the red include: Defense PPA (BA -8%), Steel SLX, coal KOL, Cloud Comp SKYY, Solar TAN, REITs IYR.

9:43 am Modestly weaker tone for the start with Nasdaq Comp -26 underperforming -- Dow -97, S&P -4.3 (:TECHX) :  

9:42 am Hawaiian Holdings (+8%) leading airlines (JETS +1.2%), transports (IYT +1.3%) higher following better than expected Q4 report (HA) : HA +8.53% AAL +2.17% VA +1.91% RJET +0.94% DAL +1.52% JETS +1.16% JBLU +1.25% ALK +1.71%

9:41 am Total S.A. acquires a majority 70% interest in the leading Dominican fuel retailer from Putney Capital Management ; terms not disclosed (TOT) : Putney Capital Management will continue to play an important role as Total's local partner in the Dominican Republic, retaining a 30% stake. The joint-venture will be named Total Dominicana and managed as part of Total's network of 600 service stations throughout nine countries in the Caribbean.

9:41 am SanDisk pushes above yesterday's high at 65.34, vacillating near its 200 day sma at 65.50 (SNDK) :  

9:20 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• 1st Detect Corporation, a subsidiary of Astrotech (ASTC) awarded 3 patents by the USPTO enabling the miniaturization of ion trap chemical analyzers used for detection and analysis.
• United Insurance Holdings (UIHC) placed a new property aggregate excess of loss reinsurance program effective January 1, 2016 and expiring December 31, 2016. These new contracts replace the $22 mln excess of $3 mln per occurrence coverage UPC had in place for 2015 and are designed to protect the Company against accumulated losses from all catastrophe events except windstorms named by the National Hurricane Center. For 2016, co will now retain the first $15 mln of aggregate catastrophe losses and then transfer the next $20 mln of catastrophe losses in the aggregate, excluding named windstorms.
• CBS (CBS) and Stan announce long-term exclusive licensing agreement that will bring all future SHOWTIME series and SHOWTIME programming to the Australian streaming service
• MRV Communications (MRVC) adopted a rights plan as a measure to protect the Company's existing net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) and to reduce its potential future tax liabilities. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had NOLs of ~$180 mln.
• Points (PCOM) renewed and extended its multi-year agreement with Southwest Airlines (LUV) beginning January 1, 2016. Points will continue to work w/ Southwest Airlines' Buy, Gift and Transfer program and its business incentive program
• Wanda Cinema Line and Dolby (DLB) announced a collaboration to open 100 Dolby Cinema locations in China in the next five years, with the first location scheduled to open this spring.
• Stonegate Mortgage (SGM) announced that David Dill has been named EVP, Loan Servicing, and that Kelly Henry has been named Chief Risk Officer
• Lombard Medical (EVAR) announced that on January 27, 2016 its new Altura Endograft System successfully treated a patient with an abdominal aortic aneurysm in a live clinical case presentation for the first time at the 12th annual Leipzig Interventional Course
• Authentidate Holding (ADAT) and AEON Clinical Laboratories amended their agreement and plan of merger. The transaction was modified to remove the issuance of any preferred stock of Authentidate and provide that the consideration will instead be comprised of shares of Common Stock of Authentidate. The parties anticipate closing the transaction within the next 24 hours. Authentidate expects to receive notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market of its delisting, and expects to submit a listing application to The Nasdaq Stock Market in the near future to regain its listing.

9:17 am 1st Constitution Bncrp announced up to a 5% buyback of outstanding shares (FCCY) :

• Replaced existing repurchase program from Aug 3, 2005 which had 106,236 shares of common stock still remaining to be bought
• Co will retire all shares purchased during repurchase program to treasury

9:11 am S&P futures vs fair value: -4.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.00. (:WRAPX) :

The stock market is on track for a flat open with S&P 500 futures trading within four points of fair value. Index futures picked up off their pre-market lows heading into the U.S. open, as European indices experienced a similar uptick.

In specific company news, U.S. Steel (X 7.01, -0.76) has plummeted 9.8% after the company announced that it expects to see "lower results" in each of their operating segments compared to 2015. In the biotechnology space, Biogen (BIIB 274.47, +14.60) has climbed 5.6% after the company reported an earnings beat.

Crude oil has trimmed some of it loss in recent trade, as the energy component trades lower by 1.8% at $30.87/bbl. This move comes ahead of the EIA crude oil inventories report, which will cross the wires at 10:30 ET 

Treasuries sit on their lows as equity futures pulled back from their worst levels. The yield on the benchmark note is higher by two basis points at 2.02%. 

9:08 am Meredith beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides FY16 EPS in-line, revs in-line (MDP) :

• Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.78; revenues rose 1.6% year/year to $406.4 mln vs the $406.94 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $3.05-3.25 (prior range $2.90-3.25) vs. $3.10 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of mid single digits (cons +3%) vs. $1.64 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• FY16 Details: Total Company revenues are expected to be up in the mid-single digit range (cons +3%). Total National Media Group revenues are expected to be up slightly. Total Local Media Group revenues are expected to be up in the low-double digit range.

Note: Earlier this morning, Nexstar Broadcasting (NXST) announced it will acquire Media General (MEG) for $4.6 bln in accretive cash/stock transaction (values Media General at $17.14/share -- $10.55 per share in cash and 0.1249 of share of Nexstar Class A common stock). MDP agreed to terminate binding merger agreement with MEG.

9:06 am General Dynamics beats by $0.02, misses on revs (GD) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $2.40 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.38; revenues fell 6.6% year/year to $7.81 bln vs the $8.24 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• General Dynamics' total backlog at the end of 2015 was $66.1 billion. It was another strong quarter for the Aerospace group, with order activity in each of the Gulfstream products and across their global market. The estimated potential contract value, representing management's estimate of value in unfunded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (:IDIQ) contracts and unexercised options, was $24.5 billion. Total potential contract value, the sum of all backlog components, was $90.6 billion at the end of the year.

9:06 am Cullen/Frost misses by $0.08 (CFR) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.90 per share, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.98.
• For the fourth quarter of 2015, returns on average assets and common equity were 0.78 percent and 8.07 percent respectively, compared to 1.02 percent and 10.36 percent for the same period in 2014.
• During the fourth quarter of 2015, average deposits rose by 3.2 percent to $24.5 billion, up $760 million from the $23.7 billion reported in the fourth quarter of 2014.
• Average loans increased 4.2 percent to $11.4 billion compared to $10.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014.
• "We remain focused on the volatility in energy prices and are in close communication with our energy-related customers. In addition to reserves already allocated, we provided $22 million for possible energy industry exposure primarily based on our sensitivity stress test. In this volatile market, we are comfortable that our energy exposure is manageable."
• The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.18 percent at December 31, 2015, compared to 0.97 percent last quarter and 0.91 percent at year-end 2014. Non-performing assets were $85.7 million at year end, compared to $58.2 million the previous quarter, and $65.2 million at year-end 2014.

9:05 am Neuralstem provided an update on the Co's ongoing NSI-566 cell therapy clinical programs at the Phacilitate Cell & Gene Therapy World conference (CUR) :

• Dr. Johe highlighted the consistent biological activity and multiple modes of therapeutic actions, including the rescue of motor neurons, motor improvement, and neuronal integration in NSI-566 animal and human clinical data. He concluded that the collective trial data analysis showed the cells consistently demonstrated biological activity in all three indications.
• Neuralstem's NSI-566 cells have been safely administered to 40 patients, in dosing ranges of 1.2 million to 24 million cells per patient, in four investigational safety trials. The consistent safety profile continues to validate Neuralstem's physiologically relevant stem cell technology platform. The company and its collaborators from leading research institutions conclude that the data supports the advancement of clinical development in each of the three indications.

9:05 am Mannkind to host a conference call to discuss company developments on February 3 at 5 PM ET (MNKD) :  

9:05 am Stonegate Mortgage names Kelly Henry Chief Risk Officer (SGM) : Henry originally joined the Stonegate Mortgage team in February 2014 as Senior Vice President, Credit Administration.

9:03 am National Holdings comments on recent acquisition offers; continuing to hold discussions with CB Pharma, Riley notified the co that it was withdrawing its previously reported acquisition offer, terms not disclosed (NHLD) :  

9:01 am Eli Lilly to partner with Roche (RHHBY) Diagnostics on its ongoing development of a commercially scalable cerebrospinal fluid assay for amyloid-beta 1-42 (LLY) : Under this non-exclusive agreement, Lilly is responsible for certain milestone payments upon successful completion of key development objectives. Roche is responsible for the development, registration, and commercialization of the new test.

9:01 am MRV Comms adopts rights plan to protect existing NOLs (MRVC) :

Co announced it has adopted a rights plan as a measure to protect the Company's existing net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) and to reduce its potential future tax liabilities.

• As of December 31, 2014, the Company had NOLs of ~$180 million.

9:00 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• DigitalGlobe (DGI) announced its third customer commitment for direct access capacity on the WorldView-4 satellite. Since the end of the third quarter of 2015, DigitalGlobe has received contracts and letters of intent from international defense and intelligence customers totaling $335 million for capacity on WorldView-3 and WorldView-4, representing $38 million of incremental annual revenue starting in 2017. ~60% of this potential future revenue is under firm contract.
• RELM Wireless (RWC) received a blanket purchase agreement from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The BPA encompasses the Company's entire line of radio products and accessories operating in all the primary frequency bands. The BPA provides an eleven month base period (January 25, 2016 expiring on December 14, 2016) and four one-year option periods, and limits each individual order to a maximum of $1.25 mln.
• McDermott International (MDR) awarded a subsea umbilical and flowline installation contract by Anadarko Petroleum (APC) in support of its Phase II development of the Caesar/Tonga field located in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Offshore installation is expected to be completed in late 2016 by the LV105. The lump sum contract award will be reflected in McDermott's fourth quarter 2015 backlog.
• Entegris (ENTG) announced the expansion of its liquid filtration/purification analytical science and research and development facility in Suwon, South Korea. As an addition to its existing Korea Technology Center facility, the expanded lab includes advanced chemical/water analysis and material characterization capabilities, along with filtration device instrumentation.

8:57 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.00. (:WRAPX) :

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

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite (-0.5%) showed a brief gain at the start, but the index could not hold its ground into the close. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei spiked 2.7%, ending near its best level of the day. It is worth noting that Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has voiced support for Economy Minister Akira Amari, who has been the subject of a graft investigation.

• In economic data:
  • China's December Industrial Profits -4.7% (previous -1.4%), representing the seventh consecutive decline
  • Australia's Q4 CPI +0.4% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.3%; previous 0.5%); +1.7% year-over-year (consensus 1.6%; prior 1.5%). Separately, Q4 Trimmed Mean CPI +0.6% quarter-over-quarter (consensus 0.5%; last 0.3%) and MI Leading Index -0.3% month-over-month (previous -0.3%)
  • South Korea's January Consumer Confidence slipped to 100 from 103

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei gained 2.7% amid broad strength. Every sector ended the day comfortably in the green with energy (+4.3%), communications (+3.9%), utilities (+3.7%), and financials (+3.5%) pacing the rally. Suzuki Motor, Toho Zinc, Softbank, Oki Electric, and Kubota finished among the leaders with gains between 5.1% and 11.4%. On the downside, Citizen Holdings lost 2.2%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.0% with gaming and property names showing relative strength. Sands China spiked 6.5% ahead of its parent's earnings report while Galaxy Entertainment rallied 4.2%. As for property names, Henderson Land, China Resources Land, and Sino Land advanced between 3.7% and 5.5%.
• China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% after enduring another volatile session. China Shipbuilding Industry, Industrial Securities, and Bank of China fell between 0.5% and 4.2%. Elsewhere, China Petroleum & Chemical gained 1.9%.

Major European indices trade on a mixed note with Italy's MIB (-1.0%) pacing the retreat amid intensifying focus on the country's troubled banking sector. Earlier today, the Financial Times reported the country has reached a deal with European Union officials to offload non-performing loans onto a bad bank.

• In economic data:
  • Germany's February GfK Consumer Climate held at 9.4 (expected 9.3)
  • UK's Nationwide HPI +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.6%; previous 0.8%); +4.4% year-over-year (consensus 4.7%; last 4.5%). Separately, BBA Mortgage Approvals hit 44,000 (expected 45,500; previous 44,500)
  • France's January Consumer Confidence ticked up to 97 from 96 (consensus 96)
  • Italy's January Business Confidence slipped to 103.2 from 104.0 (expected 103.9) while Consumer Confidence improved to 118.9 from 117.7 (consensus 117.0)

---Equity Markets---

• UK's FTSE is higher by 0.1% with miners and financials struggling. Anglo American, BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto are down between 1.3% and 4.9% while Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking hold respective losses of 3.6% and 1.9%. On the upside, Sage Group has climbed 4.1% in reaction to upbeat guidance.
• France's CAC trades down 0.2% amid losses in most components. Growth-sensitive Solvay, ArcelorMittal, Technip, and Air Liquide are down between 1.8% and 2.9% while financials BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale hold losses between 1.7% and 2.1%.
• Germany's DAX trades flat, with heavyweights BASF, Siemens, and ThyssenKrupp down between 2.9% and 3.7%. Financials also lag with Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank down near 1.5% apiece. On the upside, E.ON has added 1.3% and Fresenius trades up 1.9%.
• Italy's MIB has tumbled 1.0% with banking shares under pressure after showing some strength at the start. UBI Banca and Unicredit have both had their shares halted due to volatility and the two hold respective losses of 5.3% and 4.1% at this juncture.

8:48 am Meredith agrees to terminate binding merger agreement with Media General (MEG) (MDP) : In exchange for terminating the merger agreement, Meredith will receive: $60 million in cash payable immediately, and an opportunity to negotiate for the purchase of certain broadcast and digital assets currently owned by Media General.

8:46 am Media General: Nexstar Broadcasting (NXST) to acquire Media General for $4.6 bln in accretive cash/stock transaction (values Media General at $17.14/share -- $10.55 per share in cash and 0.1249 of share of Nexstar Class A common stock) (MEG) :

• The cos have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Nexstar will acquire all outstanding shares of Media General for $10.55 per share in cash and 0.1249 of a share of Nexstar Class A common stock for each Media General share. The agreement includes potential additional consideration in the form of a contingent value right entitling Media General shareholders to net cash proceeds as received from the sale of Media General's spectrum in the Federal Communication Commission's upcoming Incentive Auction. Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Nexstar's operating results (inclusive of expected financial and operating synergies and the planned divestiture of certain assets). To reflect its broadened base of operations and capabilities, Nexstar will change its name to Nexstar Media Group upon the completion of the transaction. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition and Nexstar has received committed financing for the transaction totaling $4.7 bln from BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.
• The execution of the definitive agreement between Nexstar and Media General follows the termination of the proposed merger transaction between Meredith Corporation (MDP) and Media General.
• Pursuant to the Meredith-Media General merger agreement, Meredith will receive the $60 mln termination fee. In addition, Meredith will receive an opportunity to negotiate for the purchase of certain broadcast and digital assets currently owned by Media General. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, values Media General at $17.14 per share, based on Nexstar's 30-day volume weighted average price per share as of January 26, 2016, plus the value of the CVR.
• The transaction is subject to a vote by stockholders of Media General and Nexstar, FCC approval and other regulatory approvals (including expiration of the applicable Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period) and other customary closing conditions. Nexstar intends to divest certain television stations necessary to obtain FCC approval of the proposed transaction.

8:44 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• BIND Therapeutics (BIND) announced that the iNSITE 1 trial in non-small cell lung cancer with squamous histology is fully enrolled and data is expected to be available by the end of 1Q16. In addition, the Company announced that the iNSITE 2 trial in patients with advanced cervical cancer and head and neck cancer has completed enrollment of at least 20 patients in each cohort in the first stage of the trial. A decision is expected on whether to advance to the second stage of the study for head and neck cancer by the end of 1Q16 and early in 2Q16 for the cervical cancer cohort. Lastly, co announced that enrollment is being discontinued in the cholangiocarcinoma and bladder cancer cohorts in the iNSITE 2 trial due to slower than anticipated enrollment.
• Recro Pharma (REPH) announced that the first patient was dosed in the pivotal Phase III clinical trial evaluating IV meloxicam for acute postoperative pain in patients following "mini" abdominoplasty surgery. Recro expects to report top-line results from this Phase III study by year end 2016.
• China Yuchai International Limited (CYD) subsidiary Venture Lewis Limited has entered into a loan agreement with HL Global Enterprises for the extension of a loan of S$68 mln to HLGE. The original amount of the Loan was S$93 mln which was granted to HLGE in February 2009 to refinance the zero coupon, unsecured, non-convertible bonds issued by HLGE in 2006 and which matured on July 3, 2009. The principal amount has been reduced to S$68 mln pursuant to partial repayments totaling S$25 mln made by HLGE in 2011, 2012 and 2013 from disposal of assets. The Company through another wholly-owned subsidiary, Grace Star Services Ltd., owns 48.9% of the issued ordinary shares of HLGE. The unsecured Loan has, pursuant to the terms of the 2016 Loan Agreement, been extended for one year from July 2016 and is due for repayment in July 2017
• Priceline Group's (PCLN) OpenTable appointed former Flipboard CFO and Facebook Global Head of Ad Business ops Jeff McCombs as Chief Financial Officer.
• Capstone Turbine (CPST) received an order for two C1000 microturbines for CHP/CCHP projects for two industrial facilities in Mexico. DTC Ecoenerga, Capstone's distributor in Mexico, secured the orders, which will be commissioned later this year. Capstone microturbines were selected for the operational cost savings they will bring the customer, which is expected to exceed 50 percent.

8:42 am Tantech entered into framework agreement to acquire Suzhou E Motors Co, terms not disclosed (TANH) :

• Co plans to acquire 100% equity interest in Suzhou E Motors with a combination of cash and restricted shares of the co's common stock
• Will close 1Q16

Suzhou E Motors is a specialty electric vehicles manufacturer based in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province in China

8:36 am Silicom Limited beats by $0.31, beats on revs (single estimate) (SILC) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) non-GAAP earnings of $0.86 per share, $0.31 better than the single analyst estimate of $0.55; revenues rose 20.2% year/year to $27.4 mln vs the $20.38 mln single analyst estimate. 
• "Our rising sales demonstrate our continued success in our traditional networking appliance markets as well as in our 'hot' new target markets, including those driven by the Cloud Computing, SDN, NFV, IoT, Virtualization and other trends."

8:34 am Iteris Holdings to transfer listing from NYSE MKT to the NASDAQ Capital Market effective February 8 (ITI) :  

8:34 am SEI Investments reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (SEIC) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.48 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 3.9% year/year to $335.4 mln vs the $335.0 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• "Our financial results for the fourth quarter cap a year of progress throughout our company and reflect the increased investment we are making to effectively serve our clients and support our growth."
• Revenue growth in the quarter was primarily driven by higher asset management, administration, and distribution fees from improved cash flows from new and existing clients and market appreciation of assets. The market volatility occurring during 2H15 negatively impacted the co's asset-based fee revenues and partially offset its revenue growth.

8:33 am Perceptron names current Board Chair W. Richard Marz as interim President and CEO; effective immediately (PRCP) : Mr. Marz succeeds Jeffrey M. Armstrong, who resigned his roles as director, president and chief executive officer of the Company, effective January 26, 2016.

8:33 am AVX Corp confirms jury verdict in a patent infringement case vs Greatbatch (GB) (AVX) : Despite AVX's defense that it had not violated Greatbatch's patents for the particular products in question, a jury recently found that Greatbatch incurred damages totaling $37.5 million. It is expected that AVX's financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 reported in its Form 10-Q to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in early February will reflect an additional pre-tax accrual of $33.5 million in connection with this case (in addition to accruals reflected in the Company's quarterly earnings release issued on January 26, 2016). AVX is reviewing the verdict and consulting with its legal advisors on what action AVX may take in response.

8:33 am Gapping down (SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: TUP -10.6%, VMW -10.1%, (CFO/COO Chadwick leaves the company; also disclosed plans to streamline its operations; total savings estimated to be between $55-65 mln), LCI -9.7%, TSS -8.7%, (to acquire TransFirst), SC -8.6%, X -7.9%, CLF -7.9%, BA -6.6%, ERIC -5.6%, AAPL -3.6%, NVS -3.5%, FCAU -2.9%, T -2.4%, STOR -2.4%, HES -2.3%, TAP -2%, (Molson Coors Brewing sees Q4 EPS of $0.46-0.52 vs. $0.54 Capital IQ Consensus Est, sees revs of $830-860 mln vs $850.3 mln consensus; co raises 2015 free cash flow guidance to $690-720 mln, up from $550-605 mln ), RACE -1.9%, UTX -1.9%, EMC -1.2%, BAH -0.9%, PLCM -0.8%, CB -0.6%

Select EU Financial related names trading lower: RBS -4.4% (provides FY15 trading update; sees impairment), BCS -3.1%, CS -1.8%, ING -1.5%, DB -1.4%, HSBC -0.9%

Select AAPL value chain related names showing weakness: ARMH -2.2%, SWKS -2%, STX -1.3%, ASML -0.9%, WDC -0.6%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower: BHP -4.4%, BBL -3.6%, MT -3.6%, RIO -1.2%, FCX -1%, ABX -0.7%, AA -0.6%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness: XCO -4.2%, WLL -3.6%, APC -2.9%, BP -1.7%, XOM -1.6%, RIG -1.5%, SLB -1.3%, RDS.A -1.1%, TOT -0.5%, .

Other news: CLR -6.6% (announces $920 mln in non-acquisition capex for 2016, 66% reduction Y/Y; expects average production of ~200k Boe/day for 2016), RBS -4.4% (provides FY15 trading update; sees impairment), KMI -2.1% (closes on a three-year, unsecured $1 billion term loan and a $1 billion expansion of its unsecured revolving credit facility ), TAP -2% (commenced an underwritten public offering of $2.35 bln in shares of Class B Common Stock), BXLT -1.8% (Baxalta commences ~$1.45 bln secondary offering of common stock owned by former parent company Baxter International (BAX)), WYNN -1.6% (Wynn Resorts sends letter to Leighton Contractors in light of concerns with the progress pertaining to Wynn Palace in Macau), VC -1.3% (announced Jeffrey Stafeil to leave co after replacement CFO is found, targeted end 1Q16), NFLX -1.3% (still checking), EMC -1.2% (EMC announced that CFO Zane Rowe will move to VMware to serve as CFO effective March 1-appointment is made as EMC prepares to complete its previously announced combination with Dell ), SHPG -1% (Shire plc trading lower in after hours with Baxalta)

Analyst comments: TRIP -5.9% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman), PCLN -3.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman), BBBY -2.9% (downgraded to Underweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Mkts; downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup), DWA -2.6% (downgraded to Sell at Topeka Capital Markets), AUY -2.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan ), HRZN -2.2% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James), MDVN -1.9% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity), STX -1.3% (initiated with a Sell at Citigroup)

8:32 am Moko Social Media announces receipt of NASDAQ notices of deficiency (MOKO) : MOKO's management is reviewing various options available to the Company, including regaining compliance and continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market and applying for a transfer to The Nasdaq Capital Market.

8:32 am K12 names Stuart Udell as CEO; effective Feb 8 (LRN) :

• Nate Davis, current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will remain active in the business as the Executive Chairman of K12's Board of Directors.
• Davis most recently served as Executive Chairman and prior as Chief Executive Officer of Catapult Learning.

8:32 am Ur-Energy announces bought deal financing; syndicate agreed to purchase 12,000,000 common shares at $0.50 per share (URG) :

• Co announce that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of investment dealers led by Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation and including Raymond James Ltd. and Dundee Securities Ltd. which have agreed to purchase, on a bought-deal basis, 12,000,000 common shares of Ur-Energy at a purchase price of US$0.50 per common share, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company in the amount of US$6 million.
• Ur-Energy plans to use the net proceeds of the offering to advance the operations and development of the Lost Creek Project including wellfield construction and development as identified in the recently-completed Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lost Creek Property, for payment of ongoing debt service obligations, and for general corporate purposes.
• Jeff Klenda, the Executive Director of the Company, is expected to purchase 1,000,000 common shares under the Offering for gross proceeds of US$500,000.

8:32 am S&P futures vs fair value: -4.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -16.50. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures have ticked up off their lows with S&P 500 futures trading five points below fair value.

On the corporate front, after yesterday's close Apple (AAPL 96.20, -3.79) reported a miss on Q1 revenue and issued revenue guidance for Q2 below analyst expectations. The tech giant expects Q2 revenue of $50-53 billion. The company saw some softness in China earlier this month but remains confident in China.  Large-cap Boeing (BA 119.60, -8.41) has slid 6.6% in pre-market trading after the company beat on EPS and in-line revenue, but issued downside guidance for FY2016. Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern (NSC 69.53, +0.34) just reported a narrow miss on Q4 EPS on in-line revenue.

WTI crude surrendered the $31.00/bbl price level overnight as supply glut issues resurfaced after the API inventory report showed a build of 11.4 million barrels of crude versus the expected 3.5 million build. Oil trades lower by 1.95 at $30.86/bbl. 

8:31 am Ixia increases maximum aggregate amount available on its revolving credit facility from $75 mln to $150 mln and extends the term by an additional 2 years (XXIA) : The amended credit facility also includes additional covenant flexibility and an accordion option, which allows the company to increase the size of the revolving credit facility by up to an additional $100 million under certain circumstances, potentially extending its total line of credit borrowing capacity to $250 million.

8:30 am Merck announces FDA acceptance of Biologics license application for Bezlotoxumab, an investigational antitoxin for prevention of Clostridium difficile infection recurrence (MRK) : Co announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) has accepted for review the Biologics License Application (:BLA) for bezlotoxumab, an investigational antitoxin for prevention of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection recurrence. The FDA granted Priority Review for bezlotoxumab, with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (:PDUFA) action date of July 23, 2016. Co also has filed a marketing authorization application for bezlotoxumab with the European Medicines Agency (:EMA) that is currently under review.

8:30 am Progressive beats by $0.10, misses on net premiums written (PGR) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.56 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.46; net premiums written rose 4.9% year/year to $4.84 bln vs the $4.95 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Combined Ratio 92.0 compared to 90.9

8:28 am Gapping up (SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: KTCC +18.6%, HA +7.7%, ETH +6.9%, STM +5.4%, BIIB +5.2%, CA +4.8%, MRCY +4.2%, NRZ +2.3%, SMED +2.1%, COF +1.4%, SYK +1.2%, (CFO William R. Jellison will retire to pursue other interests; Glenn S. Boehnlein to assume CFO role effective April 1 ), TXT +1.1%, CNI +0.9%, ITW +0.8%, ZHNE +0.7%, NSC +0.5%

M&A news: TEX +2.7% (cont momentum on M&A spec, despite chairman downplaying rumors)

Other news: APPY +44% (Venaxis announces series of agreements for a transaction with Strand Life Sciences ),CAPN +31.8% ( entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Bemes ),FATE +16.1% (FDA has cleared the Co's investigational new drug application for ProTmune; Co plans to initiate Phase1/2 clinical trial in mid-2016),SUNE +3.6% (SunEdison and Greenlight Capital announce two mutually agreed upon corporate governance initiatives),RMAX +2.7% (to join S&P SmallCap 600),EGL +2.1% ( awarded an $82 mln sole source renewal contract from the U.S. Department of Defense ),FDX +2.1% (authorizes new share repurchase program of up to 25 mln shares),KOS +1.8% (Guembeul-1 exploration well has made a significant gas discovery; provides operational/financial update),LM +0.8% (CEO/Chairman/Presidentdisclosed purchase of 25K shares, worth total of $745.3K and CFO disclosed purchase of 20K shares, worth total of $598.4K),GILD +0.8% (in symp with BIIB earnings)

Analyst comments: RPTP +12.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup),FIT +2.3% (initiated with a Buy at Citigroup),AAL +1.5% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS),SYK +1.2% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Brean Capital)

8:28 am European Yields (BONDX) :

Eurozone Debt Rallies

• Eurozone sovereign debt is seeing gains this morning with the periphery slightly outperforming the core. Futures for overnight interbank lending rates in the eurozone are pricing in a further 20 bps of cuts to the deposit rate by the European Central Bank. Italy has come up with a scheme to rid its lenders of non-performing loans and the U.K.'s housing data came in a bit light
  
• Italy has agreed to a deal with the European Union to help Italian banks sell portfolios of non-performing loans to private investors. The deal will involve no aid from the EU but will involve guarantees from the Italian government for senior tranches of debt
  • Those guarantees will be based on prevailing prices for credit default swaps and the European Commission will oversee the scheme's implementation to ensure that Italy is not subsidizing the banks
    
• The Polish zloty is near 4-year lows as the newly governing Law & Justice party continues to concern investors. The government has implemented a new tax on bank assets. Moody's said on Tuesday that the fiscal deficit is likely to soar and warned that all bank profits may go to pay for the tax
  
• Economic Data:
  
  • GfK's German Consumer Climate Index confounded pessimistic expectations, remaining at 9.4 in February
    
  • Italy's consumer confidence beat estimates and rose to 118.9 in January from 117.7 in December
    
    • The Italian Business Confidence Index fell to 103.2 in January from 104.0 in December, worse than expected
      
  • The United Kingdom's Nationwide House Price Index rose 0.3% m/m in January, less than both expectations and the 0.8% jump in December
    
    • The British Bankers' Association reported that mortgage approvals unexpectedly fell to 44.0K in December from 45.5K in November
      
• Yield Check:
  
  • France, 10-yr OAT: unch at 0.75%
    
  • Germany, 10-yr Bund: -1 bp to 0.44%
    
  • Greece, 10-yr note: -8 bps to 9.53%
    
  • Italy, 10-yr BTP: -1 bp to 1.50%
    
  • Portugal, 10-yr note: -2 bps to 2.75%
    
  • Spain, 10-yr ODE: -3 bps to 1.62%
    
  • U.K., 10-yr Gilt: +1 bp to 1.70%

8:26 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) presented Gemicel proof of principle data at the 5th Drug Formulation, Solubility & Bioavailability Summit. Co discussed, "Novel Bimodal Colonic Drug and Biologic Delivery System: Evaluation by Gamma Scintigraphy," which reports the results of a Phase I clinical scintigraphy study of Gemicel in healthy volunteers. It demonstrates that Gemicel can effectively release a bolus therapeutic payload at specific locations in the lower GI tract, including the ileum and ascending colon. The data were generated in three clinical cohorts that used radioisotope-based scintigraphy to precisely image the drug delivery properties of Gemicel. Co plans to initiate a Phase Ib study for AB-M101 in the second half of 2016.
• Ophthotech (OPHT) dosed its first patient in a Phase 2/3 clinical study of Zimura, an inhibitor of complement factor C5, in patients with geographic atrophy, an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration
• ReWalk Robotics (RWLK) announced the publication of a first-of-its-kind case study in the peer-reviewed journal Spinal Cord Series and Cases published by the International Spinal Cord Society demonstrating that use of the ReWalk robotic exoskeleton resulted in significant improvements in the quality of life for an individual with spinal cord injury. The case study studied the impact on ambulation ability as well as several quality of life measures as part of the SF-36 questionnaire, a 36-item, patient-reported survey of patient health. Following six months of ReWalk use in the rehabilitation setting, the subject was able to walk independently with limited supervision, and demonstrated significant improvements in several quality of life measurements
• Omnicell (OMCL) is installing its first robotic dispensing system in the Middle East after winning a contract and expanding its current relationship with Hamad Medical Cooperation in Qatar.
• Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) and 8point3 Energy Partners (CAFD), the YieldCo JV formed by SunPower (SPWR) and First Solar (FSLR), announced that a JV of the 2 companies has acquired 22 MW of SunPower solar power systems under construction at 27 Kern High School District sites in Kern County, California. Under a PPA, Wells Fargo and 8point3 Energy Partners will sell electricity to the district at competitive rates, providing KHSD a hedge against potential utility rate increases with no upfront capital cost.

8:18 am NetList: The U.S. Court of Appeals has denied Inphi's (IPHI) petition for a rehearing of its Nov 2015 precedential opinion which had affirmed the validity of Netlist's patent No. 7,532,537 (NLST) :  

8:16 am CGI Group authorizes renewal of normal course issuer bid (GIB) :

• Under terms of agreement co may purchase up to 21,425,992 Class A Shares for cancellation, representing approximately 10% of the public float
• Deal will be terminated on Feb 10, 2016

8:16 am Trillium Therapeutics acquires Fluorinov Pharma for ~$7 mln, plus up to ~$25 mln of additional future payments that are contingent on Trillium achieving certain clinical and regulatory milestones (TRIL) :

Fluorinov Pharma is a privately-held oncology company. Fluorinov has developed a proprietary medicinal chemistry platform using unique fluorine chemistry, which permits the creation of new chemical entities from validated drugs and drug candidates with improved pharmacological properties.

• Under the terms of the agreements, Trillium has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Fluorinov for an upfront payment of C$10 million in cash (~$7 million), plus up to C$35 million (~$25 million) of additional future payments that are contingent on Trillium achieving certain clinical and regulatory milestones with an existing Fluorinov compound.
• Trillium will also have an obligation to make low to mid single digit royalty payments on future sales of such compounds.

8:10 am Cliffs Natural Resources announces commencement of private offers to exchange up to $710 mln principal amount of its newly issued Senior Secured Notes due 2020 (CLF) :  

8:10 am CGI Group beats by $0.01, beats on revs (GIB) :

• Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of CC$0.84 per share, CC$0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of CC$0.83; revenues rose 5.6% year/year to CC$2.68 bln vs the CC$2.65 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • Bookings of $3.2 billion, or 119.2% of revenue;
  • Backlog of $21.5 billion, up $1.3 billion;
  • Net debt of $1.6 billion, down $350.8 million;
  • Return on equity of 16.9%.
• On January 27, 2016 the Board authorized the renewal of the Normal Course Issuer Bid and the purchase of up to an additional 10% of the Company's public float of shares, or approximately 21.43 million shares during the next year, subject to acceptance by the Toronto Stock Exchange.

8:09 am Norfolk Southern misses by $0.05, misses on revs; updates restructuring: projected annual productivity savings of more than $650 mln by 2020 (NSC) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.20 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.25; revenues fell 12.3% year/year to $2.52 bln vs the $2.55 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Traffic volume declined 6%, a result of lower coal volumes and the effects of low commodity prices. Average revenue per unit decreased 6% as the effects of higher rates were more than offset by a $226 million, or 73%, decline in fuel surcharge revenues.
  • General merchandise revenues were $1.5 billion, 9% lower than the same period last year. Volume declined 4%, as a 9% gain in automotive traffic was more than offset by decreases in the other four commodity groups.
  • Intermodal revenues declined to $563 million, 13% below fourth-quarter 2014. The Triple Crown restructuring and fewer domestic shipments combined to reduce traffic volume by 5%.
  • Coal revenues were $433 million, 20% lower compared with fourth quarter of 2014. A weak global export market, record high temperatures in the East, and low natural gas prices combined to decrease volume by 18%.
• Co also announced further details of its strategic plan designed to streamline operations and drive profitability and growth. The Company's projected expense reduction and disciplined cost control initiatives are in the categories of compensation and benefits, purchased services and rents, materials, and fuel. The Company expects to achieve annual productivity savings of more than $650 million per year by 2020, growing from an initial $130 million in 2016.
  • Service and efficiency improvements, consolidation, and network rationalization will enable Norfolk Southern to reduce headcount in 2016 and beyond (2000 employees by 2020), building on initiatives begun in 2015 to right-size the workforce. This improved productivity is expected to result in $420 million in annual expense savings by 2020.
  • Projected efficiency improvements and network rationalization should enable Norfolk Southern to realize annual savings of $70 million by 2020 by reducing the size of the car fleet and associated costs and reducing payments to third parties.

8:08 am BOK Financial reports EPS in-line with previous downside guidance from Jan. 13; Net interest revenue increased 7% y/y to $181.3 mln (BOKF) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.89 per share, in-line with the company's downside guidance of $0.87-$0.91 that was issued on Jan. 13. The Capital IQ Consensus is $0.89. On Jan. 13 in its press release, the company commented that the downward revision was due to an impairment on loan to energy producer.
• Net interest revenue increased 7% y/y to $181.3 mln. Net interest margin increased to 2.64%, compared to 2.61%. Average earning assets increased $256 mln over the prior quarter.
• A $22.5 mln provision for credit losses was recorded in Q4, compared to $7.5 mln for 3Q15. The additional provision reflects continued credit migration and increased impairment in our energy loan portfolio.
• Average loans increased $395 mln over the previous quarter due primarily to growth in commercial loans, partially offset by a decrease in commercial real estate loans.
• The common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 12.13% at December 31. In addition, the company's Tier 1 capital ratio was 12.13%, total capital ratio was 13.30% and leverage ratio was 9.25%.
• Company states: "...this does not detract from the fact that 2015, on balance, was a successful and profitable year with strong loan and fee income growth and very good expense management all throughout the business.While the extended bear market in energy prices may mean additional loan loss provisions in 2016 and potentially a greater spillover impact on the economies in Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado, we believe we are well-positioned to manage through the current commodities downturn and continue to grow and build shareholder value."

8:05 am Illinois Tool beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line; reaffirms FY16 EPS in-line (ITW) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.23 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.21; revenues fell 6.5% year/year to $3.27 bln vs the $3.24 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Total revenues were down 6.5 percent primarily due to the impact from foreign currency translation
• Organic revenue declined 0.6% as the company's ongoing PLS activities reduced organic growth by 1 percentage-point.
• Co sees in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $1.20-1.30 vs. $1.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Organic revenue is forecast to be flat to up 2 percent. Forward-looking statement
  
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $5.35-5.55 vs. $5.42 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Organic revenue for the year is projected to be up 1-3%, which is in-line with current demand levels. The organic growth forecast includes approximately 90 basis points of impact from the co's ongoing PLS activities. Operating margin is projected to be ~22.5%, an increase of more than 100 basis points year-over-year. ITW's Enterprise Initiatives are expected to improve operating margin by 100 basis points, independent of volume growth.

8:04 am Cliffs Natural Resources reports wider than expected loss (CLF) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.39 per share, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.31); revenues fell 53.8% year/year to $476 mln vs the $499.08 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• U.S. outlook: For 2016, Cliffs expects full-year sales volume of approximately 17.5 million tons from its U.S. Iron Ore business. In order to reduce pellet inventory levels and generate cash flow from working capital, the Company currently plans to produce approximately 16 million tons of iron ore pellets. Cliffs' full-year 2016 U.S. Iron Ore cash production cost per ton3 expectation is $50 - $55.
• Asia Pacific Outlook: Cliffs' full-year 2016 Asia Pacific Iron Ore expected sales and production volume is approximately 11.5 million tons. The product mix is expected to contain 50 percent lump and 50 percent fines.

8:04 am Ares Management confirms it will purchase a minority stake of up to 20% in Montage Hotels & Resorts (ARES) : The co announced that a real estate fund managed by Ares has made a strategic investment in Montage Hotels & Resorts, a luxury hospitality management company. As part of the transaction, Ares will purchase a minority stake of up to 20% in Montage Hotels & Resorts. Ares also will provide up to $200 million in future growth capital to Montage Hotels & Resorts, with a strategic focus on the continued expansion of its portfolio of Montage- and Pendry-branded hotels and resorts.

8:04 am Natural Resource announced a 1:10 reverse split of common shares, effective after market close Feb 17 (NRP) : The announced distribution of $0.045 per common share for 4Q15 will not be impacted by the reverse unit split

8:03 am O2Micro misses by $0.35, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs in-line (OIIM) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.50 per share, $0.35 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.15); revenues fell 7.0% year/year to $13.3 mln vs the $13.1 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Lower operating expense levels reflect new cash breakeven level estimate of $16.5-$17.5 million and new profitability breakeven level estimate of $18.5-$19.5 million on a quarterly basis
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs down 5% to up 2% sequentially (approx $12.63-13.97 mln) vs. $12.80 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

8:03 am Coty and Tiffany & Co (TIF) enter into an agreement regarding the development, production and distribution of a new line of Tiffany fragrances for both women and men (COTY) :  

8:02 am Fibrocell Science gives updates on pipeline (FCSC) :

• Completed patient dosing in its Phase II clinical trial of azficel-T; expects results in Q2 of 2016
• ToxicologyFibrocell expects to amend its IND to include data from this toxicology study in the first quarter of 2016 and, subject to FDA approval, initiate a Phase I/II clinical trial in the Q2 of 2016.
• Completed a proof-of-concept study for FCX-013.  Fibrocell will now advance FCX-013 into preclinical dose ranging studies for product optimization and now expects to submit an IND application to the FDA in 2017.

8:02 am Cardiome Pharma confirms orphan drug application for oral Vernakalant with US FDA (CRME) :  

8:02 am Clovis Oncology initiates a clinical trial to evaluate a novel combination therapy of Genentech's investigational cancer immunotherapy atezolizumab and rociletinib for the treatment of advanced EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (CLVS) :

• Rociletinib is the Company's novel, oral targeted covalent (irreversible) mutant-selective inhibitor of EGFR in development for the treatment of NSCLC in patients with initial activating EGFR mutations, as well as the dominant resistance mutation T790M.
• The Phase 1b/2 trial of rociletinib in combination with atezolizumab, which is sponsored by Clovis, is designed to assess the safety and activity of the combination in patients with activating EGFR mutation-positive (EGFRm) advanced or metastatic NSCLC.
• The Phase 1b portion of the trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the combination in this population.
• The Phase 2 portion of the trial will evaluate the activity of the combination in two subgroups of patients with EGFR-mutant advanced or metastatic NSCLC.
• UCLA is the first site to initiate the trial, with the first patient expected to be enrolled within a few weeks.
• Additional patients will begin to enroll in sites throughout the U.S. and E.U., and initial safety and tolerability results from the study are expected at the World Conference on Lung Cancer in the fall of 2016.

8:01 am S&P futures vs fair value: -9.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -26.40. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures trade broadly lower with the S&P 500 futures trading nine points below fair value.

Equity futures struck a cautious note overnight, after oil slid following a larger than expected inventory build. Meanwhile, S&P futures soured after Apple (AAPL 96.17, -3.82) missed revenue expectations and guided lower on perceived issues in China. Futures have also been anchored by cautious sentiment ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's policy statement this afternoon. 

Meanwhile, Treasuries have ticked down and sit at their pre-market lows. The yield on the benchmark note is higher by two basis point to 2.02%.

On the economic front, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index was reported at 7:00 ET, showing a seasonally adjusted increase of 8.8% in mortgage applications. Meanwhile, New Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 506k) and the FOMC policy statement for January (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%) will cross the wires at 10:00 ET and 14:00 ET, respectively.

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Apple (AAPL 96.17, -3.82): -3.8% following a miss on Q1 revenue expectations and issued guidance for Q2 on the low end of analyst expectations
• At&T (T 34.70, -0.70): -2.0% after the company reported in-line Q4 EPS on lighter than expected revenue
• Biogen Inc. (BIIB 274.50, +14.63): +5.6% following the company's beat on EPS and revenue for Q4
• Boeing (BA 122.30, -5.71): -4.5%  after the company issued below consensus guidance for FY16 with EPS of $8.15-8.35 
• United Technologies (UTX 86.00, +0.31): +0.3% following a beat on Q4 revenue on lighter than anticipated revenue

Reviewing overnight developments: 

• Asian markets ended their session on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei +2.7%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +1.0%, and China's Shanghai Composite -0.5%
  • In economic data:
    • China's December Industrial Profits -4.7% (previous -1.4%), representing the seventh consecutive decline
    • Australia's Q4 CPI +0.4% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.3%; previous 0.5%); +1.7% year-over-year (consensus 1.6%; prior 1.5%). Separately, Q4 Trimmed Mean CPI +0.6% quarter-over-quarter (consensus 0.5%; last 0.3%) and MI Leading Index -0.3% month-over-month (previous -0.3%)
    • South Korea's January Consumer Confidence slipped to 100 from 103
  • In news:
    • Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has voiced support for Economy Minister Akira Amari, who has been the subject of a graft investigation.

• European indices trade lower with Germany's DAX -0.4%, the U.K.'s FTSE -0.2%, and France's CAC -0.4%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB has slipped 1.7%.
  • In economic data:
    • Germany's February GfK Consumer Climate held at 9.4 (expected 9.3)
    • UK's Nationwide HPI +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.6%; previous 0.8%); +4.4% year-over-year (consensus 4.7%; last 4.5%). Separately, BBA Mortgage Approvals hit 44,000 (expected 45,500; previous 44,500)
    • France's January Consumer Confidence ticked up to 97 from 96 (consensus 96)
    • Italy's January Business Confidence slipped to 103.2 from 104.0 (expected 103.9) while Consumer Confidence improved to 118.9 from 117.7 (consensus 117.0)
  • In news:
    • The Financial Times reported that Italy has reached a deal with European Union officials to offload non-performing loans.

8:01 am ERBA Diagnostics' compliance plan was accepted by the NYSE MKT (ERB) :

• The company received a letter from NYSE MKT stating that the Exchange has accepted the Co's plan of compliance for continued listing relating to the Co's failure to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.
• The Exchange notified the Co that it accepted the Co's plan and granted the Co an extension until May 25, 2016 to regain compliance with the continued listing standards of the Company Guide.

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

• Asanko Gold (AKG) announced first gold production of ~400 oz from Phase 1 of the Asanko Gold Mine in Ghana. Gold inventory in the CIL circuit will continue to build up to steady-state levels over the next month, after which time full gold production rates are expected to be reached. Commercial production is expected in Q2 2016.
• Medigus (MDGS) received an initial commercial order in the amount of $118K from one of Israel's industrial companies. The order commissions Medigus to provide a customized version of its micro ScoutCam 1.2 technology by end of 1Q16.
• Univation Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (DOW), and The Linde Group's Engineering Division entered into a cooperation agreement aimed at providing performance and cost efficiencies for the production of polyethylene resins. Under the agreement, Univation and Linde will work toward delivering streamlined technology, capital and operational expense reduction opportunities and improved quality in early stage design to ethylene cracker and polyethylene projects.
• OncoCyte (OCX) and The Wistar Institute entered into a definitive global licensing agreement for a simple, non-invasive, blood test to aid physicians in the early detection of lung cancer. The agreement provides OncoCyte the exclusive rights to commercialize this lung cancer diagnostic test. OncoCyte will proceed to the test's final validation with the goal of completing work in 2016 to enable its commercial launch.
• Malvern Federal Savings Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Malvern Bancorp (MLVF), informed by its primary regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, that the formal written agreement between the Bank and the OCC, dated October 7, 2014, was terminated effective January 21, 2016. As a result of the OCC's action, the Bank is no longer considered to be in "troubled condition."

7:53 am AmeriQuest has postponed its IPO; B2B cloud software company was seeking to raise $74 million in gross proceeds (AMQ) :  

7:45 am Xunlei Limited announced $20 mln share buyback & resignation of senior management member (XNET) :

• Co will use portion of $445 mln cash balance to fund repurchase program
• Co-founder, director, and general manager Steve Cheng tendered his resignation from all executive positions, effective Jan 29 2016, remains on the board

7:43 am Commvault Systems beats by $0.08, beats on revs (CVLT) :

• Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 1.8% year/year to $155.7 mln vs the $148.24 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Non-GAAP EBIT increased to $21.0 mln, or 93%, in the quarter compared to $10.9 mln in2 Q16.
• Operating cash flow totaled $15.8 mln.

7:38 am Boeing beats by $0.33, reports revs in-line; guides FY16 below consensus (BA) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.60 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.33 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.27; revenues fell 3.7% year/year to $23.57 bln vs the $23.55 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Q4 results reflect the previously announced $569 million after-tax charge ($0.84 per share) on the 747 program as a result of a slow recovery in the air cargo market which was partially offset by solid core operating performance across the co.
  • Operating cash flow in the quarter was $3.1 billion, reflecting commercial airplane production rates, solid core operating performance and the timing of receipts and expenditures in the prior period.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $8.15-8.35, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $9.41 Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY16 revs of $93-95 bln vs. $97.26 bln Capital IQ Consensus, reflects commercial deliveries of between 740 and 745 and $64-65 bln in rev; total BDS rev $28.5-29.5 bln. Reaffirming planned production rate increases over the next several years. Operating cash flow guidance of ~$10 bln.

7:37 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BONDX) :

Treasuries Slip Ahead of FOMC

• The U.S. Treasury market is trading slightly lower this morning despite overnight losses for WTI crude (-2.64% to $30.63/bbl.) and global equities although the 10-year German Bund yield is up 6 bps. Although the FOMC is almost unanimously expected to keep the Fed funds target range at 0.25-0.50% today, the accompanying statement will be scoured for hints regarding the future path of Fed interest rate policy
  
• Yield Check:
  
  • 2-yr: unch at 0.85%
    
  • 5-yr: +1 bp to 1.45%
    
  • 10-yr: +1 bp to 2.01%
    
  • 30-yr: +1 bp to 2.80%

• International News:
  
  • GfK's German Consumer Climate Index confounded pessimistic expectations, remaining at 9.4 in February
    
  • An index of French consumer confidence beat expectations, climbing to 97 in January from 96 in December
    
  • Italy has agreed to a deal with the European Union to help Italian banks sell portfolios of non-performing loans to private investors
    
    • The deal will involve no aid from the EU but will involve guarantees from the Italian government for senior tranches of debt. Those guarantees will be based on prevailing prices for credit default swaps and the European Commission will oversee the scheme's implementation to ensure that Italy is not subsidizing the banks
      
    • The Italian banking sector has moved into focus in recent months as shares in many lenders have fallen sharply. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the country's third-largest bank, has lost about half of its value
      
  • Italy's consumer confidence beat estimates and rose to 118.9 in January from 117.7 in December
    
    • The Italian Business Confidence Index fell to 103.2 in January from 104.0 in December, worse than expected
      
  • The United Kingdom's Nationwide House Price Index rose 0.3% m/m in January, less than both expectations and the 0.8% jump in December
    
    • The British Bankers' Association reported that mortgage approvals unexpectedly fell to 44.0K in December from 45.5K in November
      
  • Japan's Shoko Chukin Bank survey of small business confidence touched a 7-month low, falling to 47.2 in January from 48.3 in November
    
  • Australia's consumer price index rose a greater-than-expected 0.4% q/q in the fourth quarter of 2015 after growing 0.5% in Q3

• Data out Today:
  
  • MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 1/23: Actual +8.8%, Prior +9.0%
    
  • December New Home Sales (10:00 ET)
    
  • Crude Inventories for the week ending 1/23 (10:30 ET)
    
  • January FOMC Rate Decision (14:00 ET)
    
• Treasury Auction:
  
  • $35 bln 5-year Treasury auction (results at 13:00 ET)

7:37 am Biogen: BIIB jumps nearly 7% here in pre-mkt. trading following strong quarterly earnings (See 7:23 am ET); BIIB prints here 277.00 (BIIB) :

• XBI, IBB

7:35 am Hormel Foods confirms approval of previously announced 2:1 stock split at Jan 26 Annual Shareholder mtg (HRL) : Stockholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 26, 2016, will receive one additional share of common stock for each share owned on that date. Under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange , where the company's common stock is traded between Jan. 26 and the distribution of the new shares planned by Feb. 9, 2016, the selling stockholder is responsible for delivering the new shares received to the buyer.

7:34 am Alliqua has signed an agreement with HealthTrust (ALQA) :

The agreement, which became effective on Jan. 1, added Alliqua's Biovance Human Amniotic Membrane Allograft  to HealthTrust's regenerative tissue wound care contracting category.

7:34 am Hess beats by $0.07, misses on revs (HES) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $1.40 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($1.47); revenues fell 45.1% year/year to $1.39 bln vs the $1.53 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Production in the fourth quarter of 2015 was 358,000 boepd, up 4% from 343,000 boepd in the fourth quarter of 2014
• Oil and gas proved reserves were 1,086 mln barrels of oil equivalent (boe) at December 31, 2015, compared with 1,431 mln boe at December 31, 2014

2016 Guidance:

• E&P capital and exploratory expenditures are expected to be $2.4 bln, down 40% from 2015 E&P capital and exploratory expenditures
• Oil and gas production is forecast to be in the range of 330,000-350,000 boepd compared to full year 2015 net production of 368,000 boepd, excluding Libya and asset sales

7:34 am Rollins reports EPS in-line, slight beat on revs (ROL) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.15 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 5.4% year/year to $362.5 mln vs the $359.4 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• "We are pleased to have achieved our major financial objectives for 2015 with record revenue and profit growth across all the Company's brands....We are excited about our Company's plans for 2016 and are clearly focused on having another successful year."

7:33 am Meridian Bioscience reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; reaffirms FY16 EPS in-line, revs in-line (VIVO) :

• Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $0.21 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.21; revenues fell 1.7% year/year to $47.2 mln vs the $48.56 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $0.86-0.90 vs. $0.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; reaffirms FY16 revs of $195-200 mln vs. $197.88 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co says, "The company's financial condition is sound. At December 31, 2015, current assets were $123.2 mln compared to current liabilities of $15.7 mln, resulting in working capital of $107.5 mln and a current ratio of 7.8. Cash and equivalents were $53.4 mln and the Company had 100% borrowing capacity under its $30.0 mln commercial bank credit facility. The Company has no bank debt obligations outstanding."

7:32 am Drew Industries: subsidiary Lippert Components acquired business & certain assets of Highwater Marine for $10 mln (DW) :

• Highwater Marine is a leading manufacturer of pontoon and other recreational boats, estimated revenue from acquisition expected to be $20 mln
• Acquisition paid for using a portion of co's $100 mln credit facility

7:27 am European Markets Update: FTSE -0.5%, CAC -0.4%, DAX -0.6%, MIB -1.6% (:SUMRX) :

Major European indices trade lower across the board with Italy's MIB (-1.6%) pacing the retreat amid intensifying focus on the country's troubled banking sector. Earlier today, the Financial Times reported the country has reached a deal with European Union officials to offload non-performing loans onto a bad bank.

• In economic data:
  • Germany's February GfK Consumer Climate held at 9.4 (expected 9.3)
  • UK's Nationwide HPI +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.6%; previous 0.8%); +4.4% year-over-year (consensus 4.7%; last 4.5%). Separately, BBA Mortgage Approvals hit 44,000 (expected 45,500; previous 44,500)
  • France's January Consumer Confidence ticked up to 97 from 96 (consensus 96)
  • Italy's January Business Confidence slipped to 103.2 from 104.0 (expected 103.9) while Consumer Confidence improved to 118.9 from 117.7 (consensus 117.0)

---Equity Markets---

• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.5% with miners and financials struggling. Anglo American, BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto are down between 1.3% and 4.9% while Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking hold respective losses of 3.6% and 1.9%. On the upside, Sage Group has climbed 4.1% in reaction to upbeat guidance.
• France's CAC trades down 0.4% amid losses in most components. Growth-sensitive Solvay, ArcelorMittal, Technip, and Air Liquide are down between 1.8% and 2.9% while financials BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale hold losses between 1.7% and 2.1%.
• Germany's DAX has given up 0.6% with heavyweights BASF, Siemens, and ThyssenKrupp down between 2.9% and 3.7%. Financials also lag with Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank down near 1.5% apiece. On the upside, E.ON has added 1.3% and Fresenius trades up 1.9%.
• Italy's MIB has tumbled 1.6% with banking shares under pressure after showing some strength at the start. UBI Banca and Unicredit have both had their shares halted due to volatility and the two hold respective losses of 5.3% and 4.1% at this juncture.

7:23 am Biogen beats by $0.42, beats on revs; guides FY16 in-line (BIIB) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $4.50 per share, $0.42 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $4.08; revenues rose 7.5% year/year to $2.84 bln vs the $2.72 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• TECFIDERA revenues were $993 mln compared to $916 mln in the same quarter last year, $785 mln in U.S. TECFIDERA sales vs. $744 mln consensus and $743 mln last year. TECFIDERA revenues in Q4 increased 6% QoQ, including a 4% increase in U.S. revenues, which benefited by ~$30 mln due to an increase of inventory in the wholesale channel. Interferon revenues, including AVONEX and PLEGRIDY, were $740 mln compared to $777 mln in the same quarter last year. TYSABRI revenues were $481 mln compared to $484 mln in the same quarter last year.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $18.30-18.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $18.40 Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY16 revs of $11.1-11.3 bln vs. $11.26 bln Capital IQ Consensus. In 2016, the co plans to provide one update to its annual financial guidance, which is expected to be provided in connection with its second quarter earnings release.
• "We continue to make investments in important and promising programs that we believe have the potential to help people suffering from devastating diseases, and we are also excited about the potential to launch three new products this year: BENEPALI, ZINBRYTATM, and an infliximab biosimilar."

7:19 am St. Jude Medical beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus; guides FY16 EPS below consensus (STJ) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.02 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.01; revenues rose 0.6% year/year to $1.45 bln vs the $1.46 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Neuromodulation sales increased 9% on a constant currency basis over the fourth quarter of 2014
  • Thoratec product sales grew 15% on a comparable constant currency basis for the full fourth quarter 2015
• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $87-89 vs. $0.94 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate;company expects comparable constant currency sales growth in the first quarter of 2016 to be flat to slightly up.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of 3.95-4.05 vs. $4.15 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; expects total sales to grow in the range of 2-4% on a comparable constant currency basis with currency negatively impacting full-year 2016 sales by approximately $120-140 mln.

7:18 am Navios Maritime Midstream beats by $0.05, beats on revs (NAP) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 61.3% year/year to $25.8 mln vs the $23.99 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Time Charter Equivalent was $45,940 for the three month period ended December 31, 2015 and $43,005 for the three month period ended December 31, 2014
• The increase was due to the acquisition of the Nave Celeste and the C. Dream in June 2015 and due to profit sharing of $3.5 million recognized in the three month period ended December 31, 2015 in relation to certain charters.
• Co said, "The collapse of oil prices has introduced significant volatility into the general climate. This price decline, generally good for transportation, has far reaching implications that has adversely affected the investment climate. Yet, Navios Midstream is a solid company and has neither any forward growth capex required nor any debt maturity until 2020. Navios Midstream has 100% of its fleet fixed for 2016 and 2017, with upside through profit sharing, which generated $0.39 net income per unit."
• Co's distribution coverage ratio is a healthy 1.48x for the quarter.
  

7:08 am Valley National reports Q4 (Dec) results (VLY) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.01 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.15.
• Net interest income totaling $148.0 million for the three months ended December 31, 2015 increased $14.1 million and $19.4 million as compared to the third quarter of 2015 and fourth quarter of 2014, respectively.
• Loans increased $1.0 billion to approximately $16.0 billion at December 31, 2015 from September 30, 2015 mainly due to $812.9 million in acquired loans from CNL that were outstanding at December 31, 2015.
• Valley's total risk-based capital, Tier 1 capital, leverage capital, and Tier 1 common capital ratios were 12.02 percent, 9.72 percent, 7.90 percent and 9.01 percent, respectively, at December 31, 2015.

7:07 am Tupperware misses by $0.03, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus; guides FY16 EPS below consensus (TUP) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.35 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.38; revenues fell 12.9% year/year to $592.1 mln vs the $607.51 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of 0.81-0.86 vs. $1.02 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $4.07-4.17 vs. $4.53 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. For the full year, sales in local currency are expected to be about even in Europe and Beauty North America, up low-single digit in Asia Pacific, up 6-8% in Tupperware North America and to increase in the mid-to-high teens in South America.
• "We had a disappointing quarter as we lapped a tough comparison and continued to see an impact from economic and political headwinds in many of our units. While I don't want to take away from the strong performances in a number of units, our internal actions did not overcome the impact of worse than expected externals in some of our units."

7:06 am EMC reports EPS in-line, misses on revs -- merger with Dell on track (EMC) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.65 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.65; revenues fell 0.5% year/year to $7.01 bln vs the $7.13 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• "Together, EMC and Dell will be better positioned in the market. We believe that the coming together of the companies is the best strategic option for all stakeholders. I'm pleased to report that progress on closing the transaction remains on track under the original terms and timeline."
• No guidance given merger with Dell.

7:05 am State Street beats by $0.03, misses on revs (STT) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.21 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.18; revenues fell 3.3% year/year to $2.54 bln vs the $2.62 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• "We expect our multi-year transformation program and targeted staff reductions that we announced with our third-quarter results to generate approximately $550 million in annualized pre-tax net run-rate expense savings by year-end 2020, including approximately $75 million in 2016. We intend to report on our progress to our investors and provide more detail at our annual investor day next month."
  • State Street Beacon- Expect State Street Beacon, which includes the targeted staff reductions announced  in Q3, to generate approximately $550 million in estimated annualized pre-tax expense savings over the next 5 years, including approximately $75 million in 2016. To implement State Street Beacon, expect to incur aggregate pre-tax restructuring costs of approximately $300 million to $400 million over the five-year period ending December 31, 2020.
• Q4 RoE 10.5%, Q3 was 10.0%.
• Q4 Net Interest Margin was 1.01% compared to 0.95% in Q3.

7:04 am New York Community beats by $0.04 (NYCB) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.27.
• Net interest margin of 2.95% vs 2.56% in Q3
• Excluding the impact of the pre-tax debt repositioning charge and pre-tax merger-related expenses, the efficiency ratio was 41.27% in 4Q 2015
• Non-performing non-covered assets declined $78.0 million, or 56.2%, to $60.9 million at the end of this December, including a $17.9 million, or 22.8%, decrease in the fourth quarter of the year.

7:04 am Great Western Bancorp beats by $0.01; optimistic will deliver mid- to high-single digit loan growth for the full year (GWB) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.54. Net interest margin was consistent with previous quarter at 3.98% while adjusted net interest margin +1 basis point to 3.73%. Net charge-offs during the quarter were negligible.
• "We continue to expect some volatility in loan balances through the remainder of the year, but remain optimistic that we will be able to deliver mid- to high-single digit loan growth for the full year. Furthermore, we are excited to continue the process of obtaining the appropriate approvals and look forward to integrating Home Federal Bank into our operations, adding size, scope and scale to what we already to do serve our customers every day, without distracting us from serving our existing customers."

7:04 am Natus Medical beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; repeats in-line guidance issued on 1/11/16 (BABY) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.51 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 6.4% year/year to $100 mln vs the $100.11 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co repeats in-line guidance for Q1 originally issued on 1/11/16, sees EPS of $0.34-0.35 vs. $0.34 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $96.5-97.5 mln vs. $96.90 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co repeats in-line guidance for FY16 originally issued on 1/11/16, sees EPS of $1.84-1.88 vs. $1.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $445-450 mln vs. $446.50 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

7:03 am United Tech beats by $0.01, misses on revs; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance, revs guidance (UTX) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.52; revenues fell 4.5% year/year to $14.3 bln vs the $15.26 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $6.30-6.60 vs. $6.55 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $56-58 bln vs. $57.85 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• "In line with our 2015 strategic priorities, we took decisive actions to streamline our portfolio with the divestiture of Sikorsky and return over $12 billion to shareowners. Returning cash to shareowners continues to be a top priority and we are still targeting $22 billion of total shareowner returns through share repurchases and dividends from 2015 through 2017. We also streamlined UTC's organizational structure and initiated a $1.5 billion multi-year restructuring plan to improve competitiveness."

7:03 am STORE Capital: STORE Holding Company, a stockholder affiliated with Oaktree Capital Management, has commenced a secondary offering of 10.5 mln shares of STORE Capital's common stock (STOR) :

• STORE Capital Corporation (STOR) announced today that STORE Holding Company, a stockholder affiliated with Oaktree Capital Management, has commenced a secondary offering of 10,500,000 shares of STORE Capital's common stock.
• STORE Capital is not offering any shares of common stock in the offering and will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares in this offering.

7:03 am Stewart Info's Board proposes plan to reclassify the Company's common stock to eliminate its dual class structure (STC) :

Co proposed a plan to reclassify the Company's common stock to eliminate its dual class structure.

• The proposed reclassification has been unanimously approved by the Company's Board.
• Under the terms of the proposed reclassification, holders of Class B Common Stock will exchange 1,050,012 shares of Class B Common Stock for 1,050,012 shares of Common Stock plus $12 million in cash in the aggregate.
• The Company will be seeking stockholder approval of the reclassification as well as stockholder approval of certain amendments to the Company's governing documents.
• The completion of the proposed reclassification is subject to customary closing conditions, including required stockholder approvals from holders of Common Stock and the Class B Common Stock.
• The holders of the Class B Common Stock have agreed to vote all of their shares of Company stock in favor of the proposed reclassification.
• The proposed reclassification is expected to be completed in 2Q16.

7:03 am Rentrak acquired Hollywood Software, terms not disclosed (RENT) :

Hollywood Software develops enterprise software for managing key elements of the digital movie distribution and exhibition industries. Hollywood Software's theatrical distribution system is installed in more than 30 studios in the US and Canada (including 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Lionsgate). Its digital cinema theatre management system product is currently used to manage more than 15,000 screens worldwide

7:03 am STORE Capital expects Q4 FFO of $0.36-0.38 vs $0.36 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; revs $77-80 mln vs $78.04 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (STOR) :  

7:03 am Rockwell Automation beats by $0.16, beats on revs; lowers FY16 EPS, in-line (ROK) :

• Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.49 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.33; revenues fell 9.4% year/year to $1.43 bln vs the $1.38 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Organic sales declined 3.3 percent, and currency translation reduced sales by 6.1 percent.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, lowers EPS to $5.70-6.20 from $5.90-6.20 vs. $5.95 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of ~$5.9 bln vs. $5.92 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "Since providing guidance in November, oil and commodity prices have further deteriorated, and projections for economic growth including industrial production have softened. As a result, we are lowering the mid-point of our organic growth guidance by one point." 

7:02 am BiondVax Pharmaceuticals announces its patent application titled 'Multimeric Multi-Epitope Polypeptides in Improved Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza Vaccines' is allowed for issuance as a patent (BVXV) : Co's patent application in the United States titled "Multimeric Multi-Epitope Polypeptides in Improved Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza Vaccines" has completed examination and is allowed for issuance as a patent. The invention covers the use of BiondVax's universal flu vaccine as a prime-boost to the current commercially available flu vaccine.

7:00 am Rogers Comms misses by CAD$0.06, reports revs in-line; guides FY16 revs in-line (RCI) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of CC$0.64 per share, excluding non-recurring items, CC$0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of CC$0.70; revenues rose 2.6% year/year to CC$3.45 bln vs the CC$3.48 bln Capital IQ Consensus, driven by growth of 4% in Wireless, largest segment representing ~60% of total revenue and adjusted operating profit; Wireless adjusted operating profit growth of 4%; Wireless postpaid net additions of 31,000, an improvement of 89,000 year on year, on an 11 basis point improvement in churn Postpaid ARPA up 4% with strong growth in Share Everything customers, up 63%
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees FY16 revs +1-3% to ~C$13.55-13.82 bln vs. C$13.79 bln Capital IQ Consensus; adj. operating profit +1-3%.

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

• ChromaDex (CDXC) announced a retail commercialization deal with BPI Sports for NIAGEN. Under the terms of the agreement, BPI will have exclusive rights to introduce dietary supplement products featuring NIAGEN in Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Meijer, Kroger, Publix, Vitacost, QVC, Home Shopping Network, Shopko, Ahold, eVine Live, Ulta, and Wegmans.
• Ryder System (R) and Shell Oil Company signed an agreement for 15 liquefied natural gas heavy-duty vehicles supporting oil and gas logistics operations in Lafayette, La. and Houston, Texas.

6:58 am Sharps Compliance misses by $0.04, misses on revs (SMED) :

• Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.08; revenues rose 14.9% year/year to $10 mln vs the $10.34 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Customer billings grew 21% to $10.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared to the prior year period.
  • The Company reported significant growth in the Pharmaceutical market and solid growth in the Home Health Care, Professional, Government and Assisted Living markets.
  • Customer billings in the Retail market were down as a result of a delay in the peak of flu season, which the Company believes adversely impacted revenue by approximately $2.0 million based on its internal budgets.
• "We continue to focus on the four major components of our growth strategy, which include driving strong organic growth in all of our key markets, introducing new and value-added products and services, capitalizing on large Government-related opportunities and closing acquisitions that complement our existing service offerings and enable us to focus on core, recurring revenue, from the small to medium quantity generator market."

6:58 am Asian Markets Close: Nikkei +2.7%, Hang Seng +1.0%, Shanghai -0.5% (:SUMRX) :

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region ended the midweek session on a mixed note. China's Shanghai Composite (-0.5%) showed a brief gain at the start, but the index could not hold its ground into the close. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei spiked 2.7%, ending near its best level of the day. It is worth noting that Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has voiced support for Economy Minister Akira Amari, who has been the subject of a graft investigation.

• In economic data:
  • China's December Industrial Profits -4.7% (previous -1.4%), representing the seventh consecutive decline
  • Australia's Q4 CPI +0.4% quarter-over-quarter (expected 0.3%; previous 0.5%); +1.7% year-over-year (consensus 1.6%; prior 1.5%). Separately, Q4 Trimmed Mean CPI +0.6% quarter-over-quarter (consensus 0.5%; last 0.3%) and MI Leading Index -0.3% month-over-month (previous -0.3%)
  • South Korea's January Consumer Confidence slipped to 100 from 103

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei gained 2.7% amid broad strength. Every sector ended the day comfortably in the green with energy (+4.3%), communications (+3.9%), utilities (+3.7%), and financials (+3.5%) pacing the rally. Suzuki Motor, Toho Zinc, Softbank, Oki Electric, and Kubota finished among the leaders with gains between 5.1% and 11.4%. On the downside, Citizen Holdings lost 2.2%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.0% with gaming and property names showing relative strength. Sands China spiked 6.5% ahead of its parent's earnings report while Galaxy Entertainment rallied 4.2%. As for property names, Henderson Land, China Resources Land, and Sino Land advanced between 3.7% and 5.5%.
• China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.5% after enduring another volatile session. China Shipbuilding Industry, Industrial Securities, and Bank of China fell between 0.5% and 4.2%. Elsewhere, China Petroleum & Chemical gained 1.9%.
• India's Sensex ended flat after surrendering a brief gain. Bharat Heavy Electricals and Hindustan Unilever settled among the laggards with respective losses of 4.1% and 1.8%. On the upside, Dr. Reddy's Labs gained 2.4% and Tata Motors advanced 1.3%.

---FX---

• USDJPY -0.1% to 118.30
• USDCNY -0.1% to 6.5776
• USDINR +0.4% to 68.031

6:54 am RPC misses by $0.01, beats on revs (RES) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) loss of $0.18 per share, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.17); revenues fell 57.6% year/year to $268.1 mln vs the $255.96 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co said, "Industry indicators continued to decline during the quarter. The average U.S. domestic rig count during the fourth quarter was 753, a decrease of 60.7 percent compared to the same period in 2014, and a decrease of 12.8 percent compared to the third quarter of 2015."
• "In addition to lower commodity prices, the prospect of reduced access to the capital markets creates uncertainty for our customers' 2016 budgets and operational plans."

6:51 am SunEdison and Greenlight Capital announce two mutually agreed upon corporate governance initiatives, new independent director appointed effective immediately (SUNE) :

• Under the arrangement, SunEdison's Board of Directors appointed Claire Gogel as an independent director, effective immediately. Ms. Gogel is a private investor and a former Partner at Greenlight Capital, with 20 years of experience in portfolio and hedge fund management. She will also be joining the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Finance and Investment Committee of SunEdison's Board of Directors.
• Under the same arrangement, following the closing of its pending acquisition of Vivint Solar (VSLR), SunEdison will amend its bylaws to provide that, for a period of two years, the Company will not be permitted to make equity issuances without a supermajority vote of the Board (which is not obtained if two or more directors vote against such issuances), except in limited circumstances. This bylaw amendment will not affect any of the Company's contractual commitments existing at the time it is adopted. Until the bylaw amendment is effective, the Company will consult with Greenlight Capital regarding issuances of equity securities, with certain exceptions.

6:49 am Booz Allen Hamilton beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; narrows FY16 guidance with rev at high end of range (BAH) :

• Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.41 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 0.2% year/year to $1.31 bln vs the $1.32 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • Revenue results reflected the impact on cost reimbursable contracts from higher indirect spending and the release of certain provisions for the potential recovery of allowable expenses, offset by a modest decline in billable expenses and direct labor. Increased indirect spending focused primarily on bid and proposal, marketing, recruiting and administrative activities. Adjusted Operating Income of $106.2 million was relatively flat compared to the prior year period.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, narrows EPS to $1.61-1.67, excluding non-recurring items, from $1.60-1.70 vs. $1.66 Capital IQ Consensus; raises FY16 revs to +0-2% (from -2 to +2%) to ~$5.27-5.38 bln vs. $5.35 bln Capital IQ Consensus.

6:49 am Kosmos Energy provides operational/financial update in advance of Q4 earnings, realizes 110% reserve replacement ratio, proved net reserves were 76.4 mln boes; FY total capex were ~$780 mln, below previous guidance (KOS) :

• Gross production volumes from the Jubilee field averaged ~106k bopd during Q4, and 102,500 bopd for the full year 2015.
• There were three liftings net to Kosmos during the fourth quarter, resulting in sales of 2.8 mln barrels.
• Gas exports continued to increase during the fourth quarter averaging ~92 million cubic feet per day and exiting the quarter at more than 110 million cubic feet per day.
• Co's proved net reserves at the end of 2015 were 76.4 mln barrels of oil equivalent, resulting in a 110% reserve replacement ratio on a net proved basis.
• Reserves increased primarily due to continued positive reservoir performance, more than offsetting the impact of lower oil prices.
• Total capex in Q4 were ~$265 mln.
• For the full year ended December 31, 2015, total capex were ~$780 million, below previous guidance of $800 mln.
• As of the year-ended 2015, Kosmos' commodity derivative asset position had a mark-to-market value of ~$235 mln.
• Q4 results are expected to include a mark-to-market gain of ~$80 mln related to the Company's oil derivative contracts.

6:47 am Kosmos Energy announced today that its Guembeul-1 exploration well has made a significant gas discovery, entered into MOU with national oil companies of Senegal and Mauritania (KOS) :

• Well encountered 101 meters of net gas pay in two excellent quality reservoirs, including 56 meters in the Lower Cenomanian and 45 meters in the underlying Albian, with no water encountered. Guembeul-1 has demonstrated reservoir continuity as well as static pressure communication with the Tortue-1 well in the Lower Cenomanian, suggesting a single, large gas accumulation
• The well has significantly de-risked adjacent prospectivity, including proving the existence of excellent quality reservoirs in the Albian
• The Pmean gross resource estimate for the Greater Tortue Complex has increased to 17 Tcf from 14 Tcf
• The MOU enables Kosmos and the two governments to work together toward early development of this field

CEO Andrew Inglis states, "The Guembeul-1 well continues our 100% success rate in the outboard Cretaceous petroleum system offshore Senegal and Mauritania, which we believe is a strategically important new oil and gas province and we are focused on unlocking the basin's full potential."

6:34 am Textron misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (TXT) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.81 per share, excluding $0.01 discontinued ops, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.82; revenues fell 4.2% year/year to $3.92 bln vs the $4.23 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Textron segment profit in the quarter was $378 million, down $20 million from the fourth quarter of 2014.
  • Fourth quarter manufacturing cash flow before pension contributions was $534 million compared to $449 million during last year's fourth quarter.
• Co issues guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $2.60-2.80 vs. $2.88 Capital IQ Consensus; sees FY16 revs +6% to ~$14.3 bln vs. $14.33 bln Capital IQ Consensus. The co is estimating cash flow from continuing operations of the manufacturing group before pension contributions will be between $600 and $700 million with planned pension contributions of about $60 million.  
• "While overall revenues were down in the quarter, we were encouraged by continued strong demand at Industrial, the ramp-up of our new Latitude business jet and the positive customer reception to our new Longitude and Hemisphere jets announced during November's National Business Aviation Association Exhibition."

6:33 am Marketaxess beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; announces 30% dividend increase (MKTX) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.65 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.63; revenues rose 9.1% year/year to $76.6 mln vs the $76.22 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Record total trading volume of $250.4 billion, up 18.5%; Record estimated U.S. high grade market share of 17.6%, up from 16.1%
• "Fourth quarter and full year earnings results show continued strong growth, driven by an acceleration of market share gains across core products."
• 30% dividend increase: The Company's board of directors declared a 30% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.26 per share of common stock outstanding, to be paid on February 25, 2016 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 11, 2016.
• Expense/spending guidance: The Company expects total expenses for 2016 to be in the range of $168.0 million to $176.0 million and its capital spending for 2016 to be in the range of $18.0 million to $22.0 million. The Company also anticipates that the overall effective tax rate for 2016 will be between 34% and 36%.

6:31 am Axsome Therapeutics receives a patent which provides coverage for AXS-02, one of Axsome's late-stage product candidates (AXSM) : The patented claims cover the use of zoledronic acid (the active moiety in AXS-02) for the treatment of bone marrow lesions of the knee. AXS-02 is in development for the pain of knee osteoarthritis associated with BMLs. The term of the issued patent extends into 2033

6:24 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Tutor Perini (TPC) awarded a contract by Wurzak Hotel Group and DoveHill for construction of a dual-branded Tribute Portfolio and Element by Westin Hotel in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The contract value was not disclosed. Pre-construction is currently underway and construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2016 with substantial completion expected in the fall of 2017. The contract value is expected to be included in the Company's reported first quarter backlog.
• ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (IMUC) entered into a sponsored research agreement with Eduardo Davila, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. The agreement includes three projects, which together have the potential to improve the efficacy of dendritic cell, T-cell, and combination immunotherapies for cancer and lead to enhancements to both of ImmunoCellular's dendritic cell and Stem-to-T-cell platforms.
• Ku6 Media (KUTV) entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with 720Yun.com to enhance the Company's virtual reality strategy. Pursuant to the Agreement, 720Yun.com will provide three-dimensional panorama technology and contents to Ku6 Media in the form of video and picture, and serve as technical support for the Company's new VR products. The two companies will work together in exploring and developing potential business models relating to three-dimensional panorama contents.

6:18 am Ferrari reports prelim Q4 (Dec) revenues and net profit (RACE) :

• Reports preliminary Q4 (Dec) revenues rose 3.2% year/year to 685 mln, may not compare the 733.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus; reports Q4 net profit of 55 mln euro.
• Ferrari will separately report its Q4 and full year 2015 financial results prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (:IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and IFRS as endorsed by the European Union, after those results have been approved by Ferrari's Board of Directors at a meeting which is scheduled for February 2, 2016.
• The financial information regarding Ferrari which was reported by FCA and is set forth below, is not necessarily consistent with the results that will be reported by Ferrari.

6:12 am Prosperity Bancshares beats by $0.03, misses on revs; Board authorizes share buyback for up to 5% of shares outstanding (PB) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.01 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.98; net interest income plus non-interest income fell 11.4% year/year to $183.6 mln vs the $187.39 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• "We saw solid organic loan growth during the fourth quarter, as linked quarter loans increased $233.6 million or 2.5% (10.1% annualized) from $9.205 billion at September 30, 2015 to $9.439 billion on December 31, 2015.
• Our asset quality also improved in the fourth quarter. Nonperforming assets totaled $43.459 million or 0.23% of quarterly average interest-earning assets at December 31, 2015, compared with $48.628 million or 0.26% of quarterly average interest-earning assets at September 30, 2015. This represented a 10.6% reduction in nonperforming assets.
• The provision for credit losses was $500 thousand for the three months ended December 31, 2015 compared with $6.350 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014 and $5.310 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015."
• Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program under which up to 5% or ~3.54 million shares of its outstanding common stock may be acquired over the next twelve months at the discretion of management.

6:07 am Anthem misses by $0.03, reports revs in-line; reaffirms FY16 EPS guidance (ANTM) :

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.14 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.17; revenues rose 6.6% year/year to $20.02 bln vs the $19.89 bln Capital IQ Consensus. The co reported FY15 prelim EPS results and FY16 guidance earlier this month

• Co reaffirms guidance for FY16, sees EPS of at least $10.80 vs. $10.90 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Further guidance for FY16 includes: Medical membership is expected to be in the range of 38,800,000 -- 39,000,000. Fully insured membership is expected to be in the range of 14,600,000 -- 14,700,000 and self-funded membership is expected to be in the range of 24,200,000 -- 24,300,000. Operating revenue is expected to be in the range of $80.0 - $81.0 billion. (FY16 total revenue numbers estimates call for $85.57 bln)
• Medical enrollment totaled approximately 38.6 million members at December 31, 2015, an increase of approximately 1.1 million members, or 2.9 percent, from 37.5 million at December 31, 2014
• "We believe our strategy will be enhanced with the pending acquisition of Cigna, which we continue to expect should close in the second half of 2016"

6:03 am EverBank Financial reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (EVER) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.30 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 11.0% year/year to $233 mln vs the $224.58 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Net interest margin of 2.90% for the quarter, flat compared to the prior quarter. Adjusted non-performing assets to total assets1 were 0.53% at December 31, 2015. Annualized net charge-offs to average total loans and leases held for investment were 0.07% for the quarter.
• Subsequent to quarter end, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that it had terminated EverBank's 2011 consent order, as amended in 2013 and 2015, having determined that EverBank now complies with such order.

6:02 am Fiat Chrysler beats by EUR0.41, beats on revs; guides FY15 revs in-line (FCAU) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of 0.74 per share, 0.41 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of 0.33; revenues rose 11.3% year/year to 29.41 bln vs the 28.59 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Worldwide shipments were 4.6 million units, in line with 2014. Jeep's strong global performance continued with record worldwide shipments of 1.3 million up 21%.
• Guidance: Co issues for FY15, sees FY15 revs of > 110 billion vs. 112.17 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  
• Additional Outlook for 2016 (including Ferrari)
  • Adjusted net profit > 1.9 billion
  • Net industrial debt
  • NAFTA and EMEA continue trend of improved performance
  • LATAM returns to modest profitability with Pernambuco reaching full model production in second half of 2016
  • APAC profitability improving in second half of 2016 as Jeep manufacturing localization in China completed
  • Capital expenditures in line with 2015
• Co also announced announced that it will discuss an update to its May 2014 Business Plan during its 2015 fourth quarter and full year results conference call today

6:01 am TRI Pointe Homes announces authorization of $100 mln stock repurchase program, effective Jan 26 (TPH) :  

6:01 am Cognizant Tech acquires KBACE Technologies; terms of the transaction were not disclosed (CTSH) : KBACE Tech is a privately held global consulting/tech services co specializing in cloud strategy, implementation, and integration

6:01 am Sprague Resources increases qtrly dividend to $0.5175 from $0.5025/unit (SRLP) :  

6:00 am CombiMatrix announces 1 for 15 reverse stock split (CBMX) : The Company expects that the reverse stock split will become effective as of 5:00 p.m. PT on January 29 and expects that the reverse stock split will be effective for trading purposes upon the commencement of trading on February 1.

5:54 am Shanghai...-0.52% (FXI) :  

5:54 am S&P futures vs fair value: -9.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -30.00. :

5:54 am European Markets : FTSE...5884.19...-27.30...-0.50%.  DAX...9771.36...-51.40...-0.50%.

5:54 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...17164...+455.00...+2.70%.  Hang Seng...19052...+191.70...+1.00%.

5:38 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• CNOOC (CEO) announced that the Kenli 10-4 oilfield has commenced production. There are currently 6 wells on production, producing a total of ~6,540 barrels of crude oil per day. The oilfield is expected to reach its ODP designed peak production of approximately 9,600 barrels of crude oil per day in 2016. 
• Marsh (MMC) announced the launch of Cyber ECHO, a new global excess cyber risk facility that provides more reliable insurance coverage for organisations around the world.
• Nasdaq (NDAQ) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange have announced that NSE, which services the largest economy in Africa, will acquire Nasdaq's SMARTS Market Surveillance platform to power their compliance program.
• Omnicell (OMCL) announced plans to deliver a new, cloud-based capability that will be called DocsCorp Cloud. In addition, DocsCorp will publish new Add-Ins that will extend the functionality of cleanDocs and compareDocs within Office 365.
• Clinlab, a subsidiary of Rennova Health (RNVA) entered into an agreement with the Fulton County Department of Health & Wellness to provide technology for faster, more efficient processing and reporting of lab tests.
• Northwest Natural Gas Company (NWN), dba NW Natural, of Portland, Oregon and Carnot Compression LLC based in Scotts Valley, California have formed a consortium to build and test an innovative CNG refueling unit.

5:31 am Range Resources provides Q4 production (RRC) :

Co reports oil and gas production for the period was 50,311 bbls (average of 547 bopd) net to Range, which is a 5% decrease from 575 bopd in the previous quarter.

• The decrease was due to a combination of factors, principally a lack of new wells put on production during the quarter and natural decline of existing wells.
• Three additional new drilling rigs arrived in Trinidad during the quarter (four new rigs in total with drilling capabilities of 4,000, 2,000, 1,500, and 1,000 metres).
• These rigs are awaiting certification by the government.

5:02 am Novartis AG misses by $0.10, misses on revs; sees flat FY16 outlook for EPS and revs (NVS) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $1.12 per share, $0.10 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.22; revenues fell 12.8% year/year to $12.52 bln vs the $12.68 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Net sales up 5% (cc) and core operating income up 10% (cc)
• Dividend: Dividend of CHF 2.70 per share, up 4%, proposed for 2015
• Outlook: Netsales and core operating income expected to be broadly in line with prior year

4:56 am United Micro beats by $0.13, reports revs in-line (UMC) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.13 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.12; revenues fell 9.1% year/year to $33.85 bln vs the $33.71 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Quarter-over-Quarter Guidance:
  • Wafer Shipments: To remain flat
  • ASP in USD: ASP softness offset by favorable USD to NTD exchange rate
  • Profitability: Gross profit margin will be in high teens % range
  • 2016 CAPEX for Foundry Segment: $2.2bn
    

4:47 am Gold Fields reports in-line production for FY15 (GFI) :

Co reports FY15 attributable equivalent gold production is expected to be 2.16Moz, which is within 1% of the original guidance (provided in February 2015) of 2.17Moz.

• Unit cost are expected to be lower than the improved guidance (published in November 2015) with All-in Sustaining Costs (AISCF) estimated at $1,020/oz (guidance: $1,035/oz) and All-in Costs (AIC) at $1,035/oz (guidance: $1,055/oz). The original guidance (February 2015) for AISC and AIC was $1,055/oz and $1,075/oz, respectively.
• For Q4 2015, Group attributable equivalent gold production is expected to be 566.0koz (Q3 2015: 556.7koz), with AISC of $940/oz (Q3 2015: $948/oz) and AIC of $950/oz (Q3 2015: $961/oz)

4:46 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• Chevron (CVX) announced that its fully-owned subsidiary Unocal East China Sea began natural gas production from the first stage of the Chuandongbei Project in southwest China. Chuandongbei is one of the largest onshore gas projects developed by an international oil company and a national oil company in China.
• Pure Minutes and Western Union (WU) announced an agreement that will unite international calling solutions with one of the world's leaders in global payment services. The arrangement connects Pure Minutes with a substantial customer base that seeks quality long-distance calling and reliable money transfer solutions.
• Clavister (CLAV) entered strategic partnership with Nokia Networks (NOK) to develop and deliver advanced virtual security solutions for telcos and mobile network operators (MNOs).
• Volvo Group (VOLVY) is introducing a brand-based organization with clearer commercial accountability for the Group's various truck brands. Four separate units will be created: Volvo Trucks, UD Trucks, Renault Trucks and Mack Trucks, each with profit and loss responsibility for their respective business.
• Enea (ENEA) announced a new milestone in the evolution of the community based Enea Linux distribution.
• Infoblox (BLOX) announced Infoblox Reporting and Analytics, a powerful solution that unlocks the hidden value of core network services data.
  

4:42 am TAL Education beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs above consensus (XRS) :

• Reports Q3 (Nov) earnings of $0.19 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.14; revenues rose 43.1% year/year to $142.2 mln vs the $137.15 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $166.3-168.8 mln vs. $159.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Total student enrollments increased by 56.8% year-over-year to approximately 477,960 from approximately 304,910 in the same period of the prior year.
• Total physical network increased to 301 learning centers in 24 cities as of November 30, 2015 from 300 in 19 cities as of August 31, 2015.

4:39 am STMicroelectronics misses by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs above consensus; to restructure Set Top Business (STM) :

• Reports Q4 (Dec) net of breakeven, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.01; revenues fell 8.8% year/year to $1.67 bln vs the $1.66 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of -3% sequentially to ~$1.62 bln vs. $1.61 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Review of co's Set Top Business
  • As a result of this, the Company announced a global workforce review, including:
  • A global workforce re-alignment that may affect approximately 1,400 employees worldwide, of which about 430 in France through
  • Annualized savings are estimated at $170 million upon completion and restructuring costs at about $170 million.
    
    

4:31 am Endurance International to offer $350 mln of senior unsecured notes due 2024 (EIGI) :  

4:30 am Timberline Resources voluntarily delists from NYSE (TLR) :

• The voluntary delisting is part of Timberline's on-going emphasis on cost control and cash conservation.

4:29 am Timmins Gold re-fi's existing $10.2 million secured credit facility (TGD) :

Co reports that it has finalized an agreement with Sprott Resource Lending Partnership and Goldcorp (GG) to re-finance its existing $10.2 million secured credit facility.

• The new credit facility is effective as of January 26, 2016 and has a maturity date of June 30, 2016. Interest is payable monthly at the rate of 12% per annum, and the principal amount outstanding is payable on the maturity date.

4:28 am Vapor receives non-compliance notice from NASDAQ; intends to request hearing (VPCO) :

The Staff indicated that, given the potential for dilution of Vapor's shareholders that may be caused by the cashless exercise provision of Vapor's Series A warrants, the Staff believes that the grace period provided to Vapor to regain compliance with the $1.00 bid price requirement is no longer warranted.

• Vapor plans to request a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel

4:24 am Apt Inv & Mgt raises quarterly div by 33% to $0.33 per share (AIV) :  

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