Stockwinners Market Radar for May 18, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:55 EDT VivoPower announces alliance agreement with ReNu Energy of Australia - VivoPower International announced an Alliance Agreement with ReNu Energy of Australia, pursuant to which ReNu Energy will have a right of first offer to acquire solar projects originated by VivoPower in Australia below 5MW in size. In addition, VivoPower has entered into a term sheet with ReNu Energy for the transfer and operation of the first of these, the 600kW Amaroo Solar PV Project, subject to customary conditions precedent. Under the terms of the agreement, Renu Energy will pay an annual alliance fee for the initial five year term of the agreement calculated based on the number of projects acquired from VivoPower, which may be extended by VivoPower for an additional five years. For each project acquired, ReNu Energy will also pay an up-front origination fee to VivoPower, and will enter into a long-term agreement under which VivoPower will provide asset management services.

18:34 EDT Anthera receives Nasdaq letter saying recent 10-Q fell below $10M minimum - According to a regulatory filing, on May 15, 2017, Anthera Pharmaceuticals received a letter from Nasdaq informing the company that its most recent Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2017 reported stockholders' equity fell below the minimum of $10M for continued inclusion under Listing Rule 5450b1A. The letter stated that the company may submit a plan to regain compliance to Nasdaq within 45 days of receipt of the letter. The company intends to do so. If the plan is accepted, Nasdaq can grant an extension of up to 180 days for the company to regain compliance. The letter has no immediate effect on the listing of the company's common stock.

18:25 EDT Salesforce CEO says getting 'great wins' across the board - Says signed Ralph Lauren (RL) as new customer for commerce cloud. Says has "dramatically expanded" relationship with Amazon Web Services (AMZN). Says Demandware acquisition has "exceeded expectations." Marc Benioff is speaking on CNBC.

18:04 EDT InfuSystem announces departure of CEO Eric Steen - InfuSystem Holdings announced that Eric Steen, director, President and CEO, has left the Company and resigned from the Company's Board of Directors effective immediately. The Board has appointed current Chairman of the Board, Gregg Lehman, Ph.D. as Executive Chairman to lead an "Office of the President," consisting of two directors and three senior management team members, to ensure a seamless transition until a new CEO has been appointed. The Board has retained the services of an executive management search firm to conduct a nationwide search for a permanent CEO.

17:57 EDT Allegiant Travel chief marketing officer Harrison resigns - According to a regulatory filing, on May 12, 2017, M. Ponder Harrison resigned as executive VP - Chief Marketing Officer of Allegiant Travel Company. In connection with the resignation, the Employment Agreement he entered into with the company was terminated with no compensatory amounts paid.

17:31 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Sportsman's Warehouse (SPWH), up 13.1%... Autodesk (ADSK), up 10.7%... Safe Bulkers (SB), up 8.3%... McKesson (MCK), up 8.2%... Gap (GPS), up 3.7%... Ross Stores (ROST), up 3.2%... Applied Materials (AMAT), up 2.7%. ALSO HIGHER: Egalet (EGLT), up 1% after it said that analysis of its ARYMO ER results showed that introduction of ARYMO ER may be associated with fewer abuse-related emergency department visits, outpatient visits, hospitalizations, substance abuse treatments, injection related diseases and deaths... Nvidia (NVDA), up 0.7% after the stock was initiated with an Outperform rating at Bernstein. LOWER: XBiotech (XBIT), down 15% after it said that it received a negative opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for its Marketing Authorization Application for its lead product candidate in Europe... Halozyme (HALO), down 7.8% after it filed to sell $100M in common stock... Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD), down 3% after it filed to sell 3.25M shares of common stock... RSP Permian (RSPP), down 2.9% after it filed to sell 15M shares of common stock.

17:25 EDT Kinross announces vend-in of Yukon property to form White Gold alliance - Kinross Gold (KGC) announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire an approximately 19.9% interest in White Gold Corp by selling its 100% interest in the White Gold exploration project in the Yukon Territory to the company. The strategic ownership in White Gold Corp will provide Kinross with future optionality in the White Gold District, and in the larger Yukon Territory. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) also holds an approximately 19.9% equity investment in White Gold Corp, and both Kinross and Agnico Eagle are expected to leverage their technical and operational experience to support White Gold Corp's pursuit of exploration and development opportunities in the Yukon, including at the White Gold exploration property. Kinross' sale of the White Gold exploration property to White Gold Corp includes the following consideration: Approximately $7M in cash, payable upon closing; 17.5M common shares of White Gold Corp, at deemed purchase price of C$2.01 representing approximately 19.9% of the pro forma issued and outstanding shares of White Gold Corp, with a current market value of approximately $26M; Deferred payments of approximately $11M, payable in three equal payments of approximately $3.7M upon announcement by White Gold Corp of a preliminary economic assessment, announcement of the completion of a feasibility study, and following the announcement of a positive construction decision for the White Gold exploration project. Kinross will also enter into an investor rights agreement with White Gold Corp that will provide Kinross with the right to maintain its ownership position through participation in any future equity financings, and the right to nominate a board member in White Gold Corp. The transaction is expected to be completed during the second quarter.

17:21 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $112.2M government contract modification - Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $112.2M contract ceiling increase modification to previously-awarded, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense field support contract system support with a ceiling amount of $449M. This modification will increase the total ceiling value by $112.2M, from $449M to $561.2M. The contractor will continue to perform the same scope of the TFSC which includes: logistics performance requirements, forward stationing for theater support, logistics information capabilities, post deployment software support, product assurance, safety, missile support, security and engineering services. No task orders are being issued at this time. The ordering period remains from March 25, 2010 through March 31, 2019. Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

17:08 EDT Luminus Management reports 5.83% passive stake in Gran Tierra

17:04 EDT Energy Transfer Partners announces tender offer for PennTex - Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) announced its tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding common units representing limited partner interests in PennTex Midstream Partners (PTXP) not currently owned by ETP for $20.00 per common unit in cash. ETP currently owns approximately 32.4% of the outstanding PennTex common units. The tender offer will expire on June 19. The tender offer is conditioned upon there being validly tendered sufficient PennTex units such that, following the closing of the tender offer, ETP and its affiliates own over 80% of the outstanding PennTex common units.

16:59 EDT Tecogen and American DG Energy complete merger - Tecogen (TGEN) and American DG Energy (ADGE) stockholders have voted to approve the adoption of the amended merger agreement among Tecogen, ADGE and Tecogen.ADGE Acquisition, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Pursuant to the agreement, the Merger Sub will merge with and into ADGE, with ADGE as the surviving entity, and therefore ADGE will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tecogen. ADGE shareholders will receive notices from Tecogen's exchange agent regarding the process of exchanging their ADGE stock for shares of Tecogen common stock.

16:57 EDT XBiotech down 15.5% after disclosing negative CHMP opinion

16:48 EDT BofA CEO says U.S economy is 'solid' - The Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan is speaking in a CNBC interview.

16:40 EDT Pixelworks to acquire ViXS Systems - Pixelworks and Toronto-based ViXS Systems announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Pixelworks will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of ViXS in an all-stock transaction consisting of approximately 3.7M shares of Pixelworks common stock valued at approximately $20.2M. At the effective closing date, each share of ViXS will be exchanged for 0.04836 of a share of Pixelworks' common stock. The exchange ratio is equivalent to consideration of 26c per ViXS common share, based on the closing price of Pixelworks on May 17, 2017. Based on a 60-day trailing average stock price for Pixelworks of $4.65 per share and 15c per share for ViXS, the transaction represents a premium of approximately 47.7%. Pixelworks expects the transaction to be accretive to its full-year 2018 earnings per share. The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2017.

16:35 EDT Ancora urges Hill International to hire banker to explore strategic alternatives - Ancora Advisors announced that it has sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Hill International stating Ancora's belief that the board should hire an investment banker to conduct a strategic alternatives review. The letter, written by Ancora's CEO and Executive Chairman Fred DiSanto, states that Ancora believes the acquisition value of HIL is materially in excess of the present value of a successful turnaround of the company. Ancora argued that the Board's previously disclosed objective of conducting a search for a permanent CEO should be accompanied by a strategic alternatives review.

16:33 EDT Ann Arbor nonprofit says Barracuda to add 115 jobs in region - With support from Ann Arbor SPARK and the Michigan Economic Development Corp, Barracuda Networks is expanding in Ann Arbor. As part of the expansion, Barracuda intends to add 115 new jobs in downtown Ann Arbor over the next four years, Ann Arbor SPARK noted.

16:33 EDT Diplomat Pharmacy now dispensing Novartis' Rydapt for acute myeolid leukemia - Diplomat Pharmacy (DPLO) is now dispensing Rydapt, recently approved by the FDA. Rydapt is manufactured by Novartis (NVS) and is approved to treat newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia that is FLT3 mutation-positive, as detected by an FDA-approved test, in combination with standard cytarabine and daunorubicin induction and cytarabine consolidation. The FDA also approved Rydapt to treat aggressive systemic mastocytosis, systemic mastocytosis with associated hematological neoplasm, and mast cell leukemia.

16:32 EDT Rambus partners with Cybertrust to secure connected devices - Rambus (RMBS) announced a partnership with Cybertrust Japan, a provider of public key infrastructure solutions and a subsidiary of SoftBank (SFTBF) Technology, to deliver secure key provisioning and security services for connected devices spanning from enterprise multi-function printers to connected cars. "This collaboration combines the Rambus CryptoManager Infrastructure, a secure provisioning and key management system, and the Cybertrust PKI solution, to secure communication from device-to-cloud and for over-the-air software updates. The joint solution brings two leading security providers together to deliver a turn-key platform that addresses the increasingly complex security challenges for connected devices," the company said.

16:29 EDT Mosaic cuts quarterly dividend to 15c from 28c per share - The dividend will be paid on June 15 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 1.

16:22 EDT Caesars sells remianing stake in Conrad Punta del Este - Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment Operating Company announced that Baluma Holdings S.A., a non-debtor foreign subsidiary of CEOC, has sold Baluma Holdings' 55% share in Punta del Este Conrad in Uruguay to Enjoy S.A., giving Enjoy 100% ownership in the Punta del Este Conrad. Baluma Holdings received net proceeds from the transaction of approximately $180M after distributions to certain minority investors. Baluma Holdings received a $14.7M deposit in February and the balance of the proceeds on May 16. The Punta del Este property generated $21M in EBITDA in 2016. The property's results have been excluded from Caesars Entertainment's financial statements since the deconsolidation of CEOC in January 2015. Under the terms of Enjoy's 2013 acquisition of a 45% stake in Conrad Punta del Este, Enjoy had the right to acquire the remaining shares in the property between years three and five of the relationship. This sale is the result of Enjoy exercising that right.

16:19 EDT La-Z-Boy promotes J. Douglas Collier to Chief Commercial Officer - La-Z-Boy announced organizational changes within its senior leadership team. Kurt L. Darrow, Chairman, President and CEO, of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said: "After a thorough review of our structure, we are taking steps to better align the organization to achieve our strategic objectives and drive accelerated growth throughout the business. We have a strong and talented team of executives in place to execute our strategies and develop longer term initiatives to deliver sustainable performance. With respect to our ongoing succession planning objectives, we believe these moves are appropriate to ensure the company has the correct leadership structure." J. Douglas Collier, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and President, International, has been appointed to the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer and President, International. In this position, he will have global responsibility for all facets of sales, merchandising and marketing for the La-Z-Boy branded business. He will continue to report to Darrow. Darrell Edwards, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, will expand his role. In addition to spearheading the supply chain strategy across the entire La-Z-Boy enterprise, including both upholstery and casegoods operations, all La-Z-Boy branded manufacturing, regional distribution centers, and research and development are under his area of responsibility. With these changes, he will assume the additional responsibility for the La-Z-Boy branded business customer experience and after-market operations and services. Edwards will now report to Darrow. Daniel King, President, La-Z-Boy Retail Division, which includes 142 of the 346 La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores, will now report directly to Darrow as the retail segment has become a larger component of the corporation's consolidated sales and is expected to continue to grow through the company's 4-4-5 strategy as well as through potential acquisitions.

16:17 EDT CB&I names Patrick Mullen as CEO, effective July 1 - CB&I's Supervisory Board of Directors announced it has approved the retirement of Philip Asherman from his role as President and CEO of CB&I and as a member of the company's Board effective July 1. The Board also announced the appointment of Patrick Mullen to President and CEO effective the same date. Mullen will stand for election to the company's Board in May 2018. Mullen was named COO of CB&I in 2016. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and President of CB&I's Engineering & Construction operating group, where he was responsible for all engineering and construction for CB&I's worldwide operations.

16:16 EDT Mercury Systems receives $5.9M order - Mercury Systems announced it received a $5.9M order from a leading defense prime contractor to provide radar subsystems and related digital processing technologies for a missile defense application. The order was booked in the company's Q3.

16:12 EDT Acura Pharmaceuticals initiates second clinical study on LTX-04 - Acura Pharmaceuticals announced that the company has completed enrollment and initiated dosing in a second Phase 1 human pharmacokinetic trial of LTX-04, its lead development candidate utilizing Acura's novel LIMITx technology. The patented LIMITx technology works by neutralizing stomach acid as increasing numbers of tablets are swallowed and relying on stomach acid to play a role in the release and subsequent systemic absorption of the active ingredient from micro-particles contained in the tablets. The company expects dosing to complete by the end of May with topline results announced in June. Study AP-LTX-401 is a randomized, fasted, crossover design testing Acura's new formulation designated LTX-04P3 in healthy adult subjects. In laboratory dissolution tests LTX-04P3 released drug faster with one tablet but also demonstrated better abuse deterrence with multiple tablets than the company's initial formulations. Study 401 enrolled 60 subjects who will be randomly assigned to one of two cohorts. Cohort 1 subjects are taking one LTX-04P3 tablet versus a marketed hydromorphone reference product with the objective to establish efficacious blood levels of the active ingredient and preferably bioequivalence. Cohort 2 subjects will be further assigned to two subgroups. Subgroup A subjects are taking 7 tablets of LTX-04P3 and the marketed hydromorphone reference product with the objective to demonstrate a reduction in peak blood levels of the active ingredient with LTX-04P3. Subgroup B subjects are being dosed in an undisclosed, exploratory protocol.

16:11 EDT Egalet announces results of ARYMO ER harm reduction modeling analysis - Egalet presented data from a harm reduction model at the 36th American Pain Society annual meeting. The model presents evidence that predicts that replacing extended-release morphine products that are not in abuse-deterrent formulations with ARYMO ER - morphine sulfate - extended-release tablets for oral use only -CII, could lead to reductions in healthcare utilization including emergency room visits, hospitalizations, substance abuse treatments programs, treatment for IV injection-related medical complications and death. The analysis showed that introduction of ARYMO ER may be associated with fewer abuse-related emergency department visits, outpatient visits, hospitalizations, substance abuse treatments, injection related diseases and deaths. The true extent of the potential for harm reduction will not be known until ARYMO ER has been marketed for a period of time and data are generated on reduction of misuse and abuse in the real world.

16:09 EDT Salesforce reports deferred revenue $5.04B, up 26% y/y - Up 27% in constant currency. Reports Unbilled Deferred Revenue of Approximately $9.6B, up 26% y/y.

16:06 EDT Revance announces 'positive' top-line results in RT002 cohorts study - Revance Therapeutics announced duration of effect of at least 24 weeks in its U.S. Phase 2 open-label, dose-escalating clinical study of DaxibotulinumtoxinA Injectable to treat moderate-to-severe isolated cervical dystonia, a movement disorder of the neck, in adults. The company also announced additional positive efficacy results and that RT002 was generally safe and well-tolerated. The median duration of effect was at least 24 weeks for each of the three dose cohorts studied. Duration of effect was defined as the number of weeks from treatment until the return of signs and symptoms that warrant retreatment, based on subjects reaching their target Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale score. For reference, current treatment of cervical dystonia calls for injection of botulinum toxin approximately every 3 months, or 4 times per year. The trial's 4-week primary efficacy measurement was the improvement in signs and symptoms of cervical dystonia as determined by reduction of the TWSTRS-Total score from baseline. At Week 4, RT002 injectable showed a clinically significant mean reduction of 38% from baseline across all three cohorts. This reduction continued to increase to 50% at Week 6 for all subjects, was 42% at Week 12 and was maintained at or above 30% through Week 24. For reference, placebo-controlled trials for botulinum toxin type A products approved to treat cervical dystonia had a reduction in the TWSTRS-Total score from baseline of 21% to 26% at Week 4 and 13% to 16% at Week 12. On the key secondary endpoint, percentage of responders showing improvement on Clinician Global Impression of Change, 97% of all subjects experienced an improvement in cervical dystonia symptoms at Week 4. In all three cohorts, RT002 injectable appeared to be generally safe and well-tolerated through Week 24. There were no serious adverse events and no dose-dependent increase in adverse events. The treatment-related adverse events were generally transient and mild to moderate in severity, with one case of neck pain reported as severe. The most common adverse events were dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, of which all cases were mild in severity, injection site redness, injection site bruising, injection site pain, muscle tightness and muscle weakness. For reference, trials for botulinum toxin type A products approved to treat cervical dystonia have adverse events for dysphagia ranging from 13% to 39%. Based on these Phase 2 results, the company expects to discuss next steps in this clinical program with the US and EU regulatory agencies later this year. "Patients with cervical dystonia suffer from considerable pain and debilitation, which dramatically impacts their quality of life. Nearly all subjects in this study responded to treatment and a majority were still responding to RT002 at 24 weeks. These results represent the potential for a meaningful advancement in the treatment of cervical dystonia," said Roman Rubio, MD, Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Revance. "Cervical dystonia patients often request neurotoxin retreatment as early as 10 weeks and RT002 may provide patients with prolonged relief of the signs and symptoms associated with cervical dystonia."

16:03 EDT Franklin Covey acquires Robert Gregory Partners, terms not disclosed - Franklin Covey announced that it has acquired Robert Gregory Partners, an executive coaching firm based in Dublin, Ohio, with offices in New York and Los Angeles, to provide add-on coaching services for FranklinCovey content and solutions delivered through the FranklinCovey All Access Pass. The acquisition was finalized on May 15, 2017.

15:57 EDT Invensense trading resumes

15:17 EDT Sprint jumps 8% after T-Mobile executives argue merger benefits - Building on long-running merger speculation within the telecom space, T-Mobile (TMUS) executives Thursday laid out several arguments for pursuing a hypothetical Sprint (S) deal, sending shares of their smaller rival sharply higher. T-MOBILE MERGER COMMENTS: According to Bloomberg, T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter said during today's MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit that their most logical partner is Sprint, as the two would have greater competitive leverage in 5G technologies. Also citing Sprint's "precarious" finances, Carter added that "the combined company would have the ability and the resources to really put all of that spectrum to work for the benefits of consumers and businesses everywhere," according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, COO Mike Sievert floated the possibility of a coalition with Sprint as well as cable operators, calling a potential deal with the carrier and Dish (DISH) intriguing. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Sprint are up 7.77% in afternoon trading, while T-Mobile is up 3.32% and Dish is fractionally higher.

15:09 EDT Mallinckrodt, Express Scripts sell off as Chano questions 'murky alliance' - Shares of drugmaker Mallinckrodt (MNK) and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts (ESRX) are each falling in afternoon trading after famed investor Jim Chanos has joined some of his short-selling peers in being publicly cautious about the two companies. Chanos, speaking at the SkyBridge Alternatives, or SALT, Conference said the "murky alliance" between the companies has led to performance that may not be sustainable, according to Bloomberg's account of the investing event. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Citron Research's Andrew Left and Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn have also been publicly cautious about Mallinckrodt previously. Also, in February, Left's Citron Research posted a new cautious report about the PBM on its website. The short-selling research firm argued that Express Scripts is one company that "deserves to fall to the mighty sword of the new Trump administration," saying that its rebate system is "a financial engineering kickback scheme." PRICE ACTION: In late day trading, Mallinckrodt is down $1.63, or 3.85%, to $40.74 while Express Scripts is about flat after having spent most of the day in positive territory.

15:03 EDT Iron Mountain falls from intraday high after Ricky Sandler says shorting - Iron Mountain, a storage and information management services company, fell sharply in afternoon trading after Ricky Sandler of hedge fund Eminence Capital said he is shorting the stock, according to media reports. Sandler, who said the stock has more than 50% downside to it, added that he has a "significant secular problem" with the company in an environment of more digitization, less paper, according to Reuters. According to the report, Sandler added that he has an issue with what the company says their maintenance CapEx is. Iron Mountain which rallied earlier as high as $35.69 per share, after pricing a debt offering is still in the green, but up only fractionally to $35.46 per share.

14:35 EDT Sarepta jumps after Tourbillon Capital's Karp declares long position - Shares of Sarepta (SRPT) are trading higher after Tourbillon Capital founder and investment chief Jason Karp said he's long the stock. KARP ANNOUNCES SAREPTA LONG: According to Bloomberg, Tourbillon Capital's Jason Karp said during the SALT investment conference Thursday that he's long Sarepta, arguing that the stock could see 70%-200% upside over two years. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Sarepta are up 4.47% in afternoon trading, showing a sharp advance after Karp's remarks.

14:12 EDT LSB Industries sees FY17 ammonia production 780K-820K tons

14:07 EDT LSB Industries sees improvement in fertilizer pricing ahead of spring season - Comments are from company slides presentation.

14:03 EDT Huntington Bancshares CEO acquires common shares - In a regulatory filing, Huntington Bancshares president, chairman, and CEO Stephen D. Steinour disclosed the purchase of roughly 50,000 common shares in four tranches. The first tranche of 28,835 shares was priced at $12.40 per share, the second tranche of 17,565 shares was priced at $12.39 per share, the third tranche of 2,200 shares was priced at $12.395 per share, and the fourth tranche of 1,400 shares was priced at $12.396 per share.

13:04 EDT CPSC: Pier 1 Imports recalls roughly 15,300 chalk note mugs over burn hazard - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, said that Pier 1 Imports is recalling roughly 15,300 chalk note mugs due to a burn hazard. According to the CPSC, the mugs can crack when filled with hot liquid, posing a burn hazard to users. This recall involves the Pier 1 Imports Chalk Note Mugs that can be written on with chalk. The stoneware mugs were sold in black and measure 5.25 inches tall by 5 inches in diameter. "Stoneware" and "Pier 1 Imports" are printed on the bottom of the mug. The firm has received reports of eight mugs cracking when filled with a hot liquid. No injuries have been reported. The CPSC noted that, in addition, about 900 of such mugs were sold in Canada. Reference Link

12:50 EDT La Jolla trading resumes

12:39 EDT EU fines Facebook EUR110M for 'misleading' information in WhatsApp merger - The European Commission announced it has fined Facebook EUR110M for providing "incorrect or misleading" information during its 2014 investigation of Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp. "When Facebook notified the acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014, it informed the Commission that it would be unable to establish reliable automated matching between Facebook users' accounts and WhatsApp users' accounts... However, in August 2016, WhatsApp announced updates to its terms of service and privacy policy, including the possibility of linking WhatsApp users' phone numbers with Facebook users' identities. On 20 December 2016, the Commission addressed a statement of objections to Facebook detailing its concerns. The Commission has found that, contrary to Facebook's statements in the 2014 merger review process, the technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook and WhatsApp users' identities already existed in 2014, and that Facebook staff were aware of such a possibility," the Commission said, adding that "today's decision is unrelated to either ongoing national antitrust procedures or privacy, data protection or consumer protection issues, which may arise following the August 2016 update of WhatsApp terms of service and privacy policy." Reference Link

12:29 EDT Melvin Capital reports 5.1% passive stake in CarMax

12:23 EDT Veracyte announces Anthem coverage for Afirma use in thyroid cancer diagnosis - Veracyte announced that Anthem has issued a positive coverage policy for Veracyte's Afirma Gene Expression Classifier for use in thyroid cancer diagnosis. "The policy renders the genomic test a medically necessary benefit for Anthem's approximately 40 million members, effective immediately. The Afirma GEC is the only genomic test for use in thyroid cancer diagnosis to receive such a designation in the plan's new coverage policy," the company stated.

12:06 EDT Marsh & McLennan board increases quarterly dividend to 37.5c from 34c - Marsh & McLennan Companies held its annual meeting of stockholders at which the company announced that its Board of Directors increased the company's quarterly cash dividend. The Board of Directors increased the quarterly cash dividend from 34c to 37.5c per share on outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on August 15, 2017 to stockholders of record on July 11, 2017. Marsh & McLennan Companies also announced that stockholders elected the entire slate of 2017 director nominees for a one-year term expiring at next year's annual meeting. They are: Anthony K. Anderson, Oscar Fanjul, Daniel S. Glaser, H. Edward Hanway, Deborah C. Hopkins, Elaine La Roche, Steven A. Mills, Bruce P. Nolop, Marc D. Oken, Morton O. Schapiro, Lloyd M. Yates and R. David Yost.

12:01 EDT Ares Management to acquire DevaCurl from Tengram Capital - Ares Management announced that a fund managed by its Private Equity Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Deva Holdings, Inc., the parent company of DevaCurl, a professional and prestige hair care brand dedicated to curly hair, from an investment fund affiliated with Tengram Capital Partners and the company's other shareholders.

11:46 EDT ChemChina completes first settlement of tender offers for Syngenta - ChemChina announced the successful completion of the First Settlement of ChemChina's tender offers for Syngenta. Shareholders who tendered their shares by May 4, 2017 received the consideration of $465 per share, and holders of American Depositary Shares who tendered their ADSs received $93 per ADS, on May 18, 2017. Shareholders who tender their shares or ADSs by the end of the Additional Acceptance Period on May 24, 2017 will receive the same consideration in the Second Settlement. The Second Settlement is expected to occur on June 7, 2017. In addition, a dividend of CHF5 per share was paid to all shareholders on May 16, 2017.

11:42 EDT Twitter CEO Dorsey says Bruce Falck to lead Revenue Product team - Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced in a tweet, "@brucefalck is joining the flock to lead Twitter's Revenue Product team! Welcome to the team, Bruce!" Reference Link

11:24 EDT Biotech Growth buys 35K shares of Radius Health - Biotech Growth, at greater than 10% holder of Radius Health shares, bought an additional 35,000 shares of the company's stock over May 16-17, according to a regulatory filing. Biotech Growth N.V. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BB Biotech AG.

11:21 EDT Grainger seen at risk from price war, Amazon threat - Shares of Grainger (GWW) are rising in early trading despite Deutsche Bank analyst John Inch downgrading the stock to Sell and cutting his price target due to the near-term risk of a price war between the company and its peers and the longer-term risk posed to its industry from e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN). PRICE COMPETITION: Inch said Grainger is "positioned to quickly lose share" as competitors respond to its recent price actions with price cuts of their own. Inch believes that extra volume the company realized from its price actions reflects an increased willingness by customers to chase price and does not support Grainger's belief that the volumes will "stabilize margin erosion." SIMILARITY TO STAPLES: Inch added customer loyalty is becoming an increasingly "fleeting" characteristic in the maintenance, repair and operations supplier market, whose "flat to very slow growth dynamics" will increase price-driven competition. Inch did not make comments on specific Grainger competitors, but other MRO providers include HD Supply (HDS), Watsco (WSO), Anixter (AXE) and Fastenal (FAST). Inch said he believes there is a "strong similarity" between the positioning of Grainger and Staples (SPLS), as both companies are operating substantial branch locations that have faced heavy pricing pressure from Amazon. Inch said the experiences of the office supply company may foreshadow Grainger's over the next few years, suggesting the valuation for the company will head "significantly lower" as the threat Amazon poses to the MRO space gets more fully appreciated. PRICE ACTION: Shares of W W Grainger rose 0.4% to $175.46 in morning trading. Over the last three months, the stock is down about 31%.

11:05 EDT Boeing reports no new orders in weekly update - Boeing reported no new orders in the weekly update posted on its website and identified Primera Air for eight 737s previously listed as unidentified. Year to date information:737 net orders: 69 NG and 93 MAX; 777 net orders: 9 777 and 0 777X.

10:44 EDT Hawaiian Holdings sees Q2 CASM up 4.5%-7.5% - Sees Q2 operating revenue per ASM up 5.5%-8.5%. Sees Q2 ASMs up 3%-5%.

10:42 EDT Hawaiian Holdings sees 2017 CASM ex-fuel up mid-single-digit range - Sees 2017 CapEx $410M-$420M. Sees 2017 ASMs up 2%-5%. Information is from company slides presentation.

10:38 EDT Credit Suisse sees tough times for packaged food makers - Warning that packaged food makers' pricing and earnings power will be "compromised," Credit Suisse downgraded B&G Foods (BGS) and cut its price targets on General Mills (GIS), J.M. Smucker (SJM), Kellogg (K), and Campbell Soup (CPB). WEAKENED PRICING POWER: Retailers "severely" opposed price hike efforts by food makers last quarter, warned Credit Suisse analyst Robert Moskow. Meanwhile, private label options have become more popular, the analyst reported. As a result of these trends, the "pricing power and earnings power" of big food makers will be "compromised" in the future, according to Moskow. The companies will "revert to promotional discounts, bigger vendor allowances, and more advertising to boost volumes by 2018 at the latest," he stated. As a result, he does not expect their margins to rise over the long-term. OTHER NEGATIVE CATALYSTS: The food makers will also be hurt by the return of commodity inflation and declining volumes, Moskow believes. RATING, TARGET CHANGES: Moskow cut his price target on J.M. Smucker to $126 from $138, on General Mills to $56 from $65, on B&G Foods to $42 from $47, on Kellogg to $71 from $75, and on Campbell Soup to $53 from $55. He also downgraded B&G to Neutral from Buy, listing it among the companies in the space which has seen a significant number of its brands lose their "competitive moat" over the past three years. The analyst kept Neutral ratings on J.M. Smucker, General Mills, and Kellogg. He kept an Underperform rating on Campbell Soup. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, B&G fell 2%, J.M. Smucker slid 0.5%, Kellogg gave back 0.25%, Campbell Soup dropped 0.6% and General Mills was flat.

10:31 EDT TDK completes acquisition of InvenSense for approximately $1.3B - TDK Corporation (TTDKY) and InvenSense (INVN) announce that TDK has completed the all-cash acquisition of InvenSense. The acquisition price was $13 per InvenSense share, and the total acquisition price was approximately $1.3B. As a result of the completed acquisition, InvenSense will become a wholly owned subsidiary of TDK, and Behrooz Abdi will continue to lead InvenSense as its CEO; additionally, serving as General Manager of MEMS Sensors Business Group of Sensor Systems Business Company within the newly formed Sensor Systems Business Company of TDK.

10:25 EDT Pandora jumps as takeover talks said to resume with Sirius - Shares of Pandora (P) are higher following a New York Post report that SiriusXM (SIRI) is in active talks about a bid for the streaming radio company. Commenting on the Post's report, CNBC's David Faber said the companies have not reached an agreement on price. RENEWED TALKS: According to The New York Post, Liberty Media (LMCA)-backed satellite radio giant SiriusXM is in "active" discussions about making a bid for online radio streaming service operator Pandora. SiriusXM showed interest before in a possible acquisition of Pandora and recently resumed talks with Pandora's banks over the size of a potential offer, sources told the publication. One "optimistic" industry insider believes an offer could range as high as $12-$13 per share, but that price was "immediately shot down" by sources familiar with the negotiations, the report said. Pandora launched a traditional subscription-based music service in March, putting the company in direct competition with Spotify, Apple Music (AAPL) and others. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Earlier this month, Pandora reached an agreement with private equity firm KKR (KKR) in which it is investing $150M in exchange for new preferred stock. In connection with the KKR deal, Richard Sarnoff, KKR's Head of Media & Communications Private Equity investing in the Americas, joined Pandora's board, and the companies noted that the offering could be increased to $250M. The KKR deal is expected to close in no less than 30 days, which the Post said prompted speculation the company would look for a suitor within that time frame. Pandora has tapped Morgan Stanley and Centerview to review offers, the Post said. At the time the KKR deal was announced, CNBC's David Faber said that the deal makes it "less likely" Pandora will sell itself. This morning, Faber commented that Pandora and Sirius are not yet reaching an agreement on a possible price for a deal. PREVIOUS M&A CHATTER. On July 21, 2016, The Wall Street Journal said Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei offered to buy Pandora for "roughly" $15 per share but the company's board rebuffed the advance as they believed the company's true value is closer to around $20 per share. In early March, Maffei told investors at an industry conference, "We think the stock is overvalued, so it's unlikely we're going to buy them," adding that he believes Pandora is worth $10 per share. On May 9, Maffei, speaking on Liberty's Q1 earnings call, said Pandora has not capitalized on the free online radio space. RECENT EARNINGS: Earlier this month, Pandora reported mixed first quarter results, reporting a narrower than expected loss on revenue that fell short of analyst expectations. Pandora also lowered its revenue view for the current quarter. OTHER POTENTIAL SUITORS: SunTrust analyst Matthew Thornton said this morning that he believes Pandora could be bought for a per share price of "$9+-$12+." Thornton, who cut his price target on shares to $10.50 from $16 and kept a Buy rating, thinks that other suitors besides Sirius could include Tencent (TCEHY), Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Spotify. PRICE ACTION: Pandora is up 6% to $9.47 in morning trading and Sirius is up 3.3% to $4.89.

10:07 EDT Time Warner says 'incredibly confident' AT&T deal will close this year - Comments made at the 4th Annual MoffettNathanson Media & Communications.

09:50 EDT EPO to grant patent to Diffusion Pharmaceuticals - The European Patent Register posted a notice of an intent to grant a patent to Diffusion Pharmaceuticals for oral formulations of bipolar trans carotenoids. Reference Link

09:46 EDT Ralph Lauren CFO says consumer marketplace, digital ecosystem 'dynamic'

09:43 EDT L Brands sees some improvement in merchandising margin rate in Q2

09:38 EDT Ralph Lauren sees 1H inventory down about 20%

09:32 EDT Ralph Lauren sequential improvement in wholesale business, retail comps - Sees sequential improvement in wholesale business, retail comps, overall sales.

09:29 EDT Honeywell's GoDirect Maintenance Service adopted by Hainan Airlines - Honeywell has signed an agreement for Hainan Airlines to become the first airline in the world to use Honeywell's GoDirect Maintenance Service program, which uses connectivity and data analytics to improve maintenance operations and reduce equipment downtime. HNA's current fleet of more than 50 Airbus A330s will be outfitted with Honeywell's Connected Auxiliary Power Unit predictive maintenance service to improve fleet availability by identifying potential mechanical issues or failures before they happen.

09:28 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Wal-Mart (WMT), up 2.6%... Ralph Lauren (RL), up 1.7%... Childrens Place (PLCE), up 11.1%... L Brands (LB), up 6.4%. ALSO HIGHER: Pandora (P), up 8.1% after the New York Post reported that Sirius XM (SIRI) in talks to acquire Pandora... Sirius XM is up marginally... CytRx (CYTR), up 14.7% after it said that the aldoxorubicin data presented at ASCO this year demonstrate that aldoxorubicin can be dosed continuously with minimal to no cardiotoxicity. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Alibaba (BABA), down 2.3%... Cisco Systems (CSCO), down 7.7%... Stein Mart (SMRT), down 24.7%... Buckle (BKE), down 4.5%... Ascena Retail (ASNA), down 40.8%. ALSO LOWER: Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), down 3.7% after Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Justice Department is readying to sue Fiat Chrysler over diesel emissions... Jack in the Box (JACK), down 2.5% after being downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Telsey Advisory.

09:25 EDT L Brands says 'bullish' on global growth opportunities, especially in China

09:24 EDT Ralph Lauren CFO predicts mid-teens decline in global ecommerce comps for 2018 - Ralph Lauren CFO Jane Nielsen says incoming CEO Patrice Louvet has a "deep understanding of consumers and brands." Says 50% of business now on a nine-month lead time, says on track to get to 90% by the end of FY18. Says that by spring 2018, 35% of business will be at lead times of six months or less. Says on track to close 20%-25% of wholesale points by 2H18. Says SSS decreased 11% during Q4, with comps negatively impacted by calendar shifts related to both Christmas and Easter holidays by about three percentage points; excluding this impact, SSS would have decreased 8%. Sees mid teens decline in global ecommerce comps for 2018. Says "on track" with total savings targets related to Way Forward Plan. Sees sales trend improving throughout the year. Says first priority for cash is to invest in business, second priority is to return cash to shareholders. Excess cash flow will be considered for future potential buybacks. Says currently planning no buybacks for FY18. Comments taken from the Q4 earnings conference call. Ralph Lauren is up 2.4% in premarket trading.

09:18 EDT Cisco CEO says security will be hardware differentiator over time

09:17 EDT Cisco CEO says 'significant slowdown' seen in federal business in Q3 - Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins is being interviewed on CNBC.

09:13 EDT Halyard Health partners with Sustainable Solutions to recycle sterilization wrap - Halyard Health announced a new license and supply agreement with Sustainable Solutions to convert recycled HALYARD Wrap into environmentally conscious products for healthcare facilities. This agreement is an extension of Halyard's BLUE RENEW Wrap Recycling Program, designed to offer healthcare facilities a step-by-step approach for recycling the company's used sterilization wrap. Sustainable Solutions will collect and recycle HALYARD Wrap waste from customers and convert the material into BlueCON Resin, the company's proprietary material engineered from cleani HALYARD Wrap waste.

09:09 EDT Tourbillon urges Spectrum board to evaluate HRG merger - Tourbillon Capital Partners, a substantial shareholder of Spectrum Brands Holdings, sent a letter to Spectrum's (SPB) board of directors urging the board to consider the interests of unaffiliated shareholders and the company as a whole in evaluating the opportunity to enter into a potential downstream merger with HRG Group (HRG), Spectrum's majority shareholder. Jason Karp, CEO and CIO at Tourbillon, stated, "As a long-time shareholder of Spectrum Brands, we support the company's standalone business strategy, but also believe the right transaction with HRG could yield 70-90% upside to SPB shares. Given HRG is Spectrum's majority shareholder, our support is predicated on Spectrum's board negotiating a deal at arm's length, ensuring all shareholders' interests are considered, not just HRG's, to mitigate any potential conflicts of interest and maximize value. To protect the interests of SPB shareholders and maximize shareholder value, we expect Spectrum's board to form a special committee, retain independent advisors, and seek approval by a majority of Spectrum's minority shareholders. In our view, not doing so would constitute a severe breach of the board's fiduciary duty and a disregard for proper corporate governance."

09:09 EDT Express Scripts subsidiary to join Walgreens Boots purchasing organization - Express Scripts (ESRX), through a wholly owned subsidiary, Innovative Product Alignment, will participate in Walgreens Boots Alliance Development (WBA) group purchasing organization. In addition, Econdisc Contracting Solutions, a group purchasing organization that contracts with manufacturers to source generic pharmaceuticals on behalf of its participants, will have access to WBAD's sourcing efforts through an arrangement between Econdisc and Innovative Product Alignment. These two organizations will immediately begin developing a transition plan to maximize supply chain efficiencies.

09:07 EDT Shire: Phase 2 study of SHP647 met primary endpoint - Shire (SHPG) announced publication in the May 17, 2017 issue of The Lancet the results from a Phase 2 study investigating PF-00547659 (now called SHP647), an anti-mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1) antibody, investigated in the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in adults. Ulcerative colitis is a chronic, relapsing and remitting inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that mainly affects the colon. It is not uncommon for patients with ulcerative colitis to fail to respond to, or lose response to, available therapies. Therefore, there is a need to develop new therapies. In this Phase 2 study, called TURANDOT, SHP647, the first anti-MAdCAM antibody in clinical development, met its primary endpoint demonstrating significantly greater remission rates in patients receiving anti-MAdCAM antibody compared to placebo in three of four tested dose groups. Shire continues to work toward the initiation of a pivotal Phase 3 trial for SHP647 in the second half of 2017. The Company licensed the global rights to all indications for PF-00547659 (SHP647) from Pfizer (PFE) in June 2016, adding to Shire's established and leading gastrointestinal portfolio. The interaction between endothelial MAdCAM-1 and alpha4beta7 integrin has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. SHP647 is a fully human monoclonal antibody that directly targets MAdCAM-1, thereby blocking tissue homing of activated alpha4beta7 + leukocytes.

09:05 EDT MEI Pharma and Helsinn Group's Pracinostat to feature in presentations - MEI Pharma and Helsinn, a Swiss pharmaceutical group focused on building cancer care products, announced that data on the correlation between gene mutation clearance and clinical response from a Phase II clinical study of Pracinostat and azacitidine in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia have been accepted for presentation at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago on June 5 and the European Hematology Association Annual Congress in Madrid on June 23. Pracinostat is an oral histone deacetylase inhibitor that is in late stage clinical development. The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Pracinostat in combination with azacitidine for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed AML who are greater than or equal to75 years of age or unfit for intensive chemotherapy. In August 2016, Helsinn and MEI Pharma entered into an exclusive license, development and commercialization agreement for Pracinostat in AML and other potential indications.

09:03 EDT Amgen submits BLA to FDA for erenumab to prevent migraine - Amgen announced the submission of a Biologics License Application to the U.S. FDA for erenumab to prevent migraine. Erenumab is specifically designed to prevent migraine by blocking the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide receptor. This BLA includes data from pivotal studies in patients with episodic and chronic migraine. The erenumab global clinical trial program has enrolled more than 2,600 patients experiencing four or more migraine days per month, with some patients receiving erenumab for up to three years. Results from the chronic migraine study were published in The Lancet Neurology in April 2017 and detailed results from Phase 3 in episodic migraine have been submitted for publication. Results from the pivotal studies, investigating the efficacy of erenumab versus placebo in reducing the number of migraine days for patients with episodic and chronic migraine, will be presented during the 59th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society in Boston this June.

09:02 EDT Caesars launching $90M renovation of 1,270 rooms at Flamingo Las Vegas - Caesars will be launching a $90M complete renovation of 1,270 rooms at Flamingo Las Vegas. The renovation will begin in late August, with the first guest arrivals expected in November and final completion of all rooms expected in 2Q18.

08:52 EDT American Airlines: Basic economy 'performing in line with expectations' - Says basic economy "performing in line with expectations," says 50% of customers given a choice opt for a main cabin ticket. Expects to have basic economy systemwide by end of year. Says widebody deferrals to reduce 2018 capex by $500M and $300M in 2019 and 2020. By the end of 2017, says will have inducted 399 new aircraft into the fleet since the merger, while retiring 391 older aircraft. Says many large operational initiatives "now complete or nearing completion." Says over 5,000 Premium Economy tickets have been sold so far with an average upsell of over $350. Says American was the first network airline to return to positive TRASM and is expected to outperform in Q2 and the rest of 2017. Sees consolidated CASM less than 2% in both 2018 and 2019. Comments from slides being presented at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2017 Transportation Conference.

08:38 EDT Canadian Pacific issues positive comment on Transport Modernization Act - Canadian Pacific stated that it continues to review the Transportation Modernization Act, or Bill C49, believes the proposed legislation reduces uncertainty and is cautiously optimistic that it will lead to future development of the Canadian transportation system. The Act mandates the installation and proactive usage of Locomotive Voice and Video Recorders, replaces temporary extended interswitching with long-haul interswitching, clarifies language around "adequate and suitable" service and retains the Maximum Revenue Entitlement regime, with minor modifications. The company stated that "potential access to the Canadian network by U.S. based railroads via LHI without reciprocity is not good public policy as it could create an uneven playing field and disadvantage Canadian railways vis-a-vis those in the U.S., with a negative impact on jobs and investment." In terms of service, CP believes the proposed legislation to be balanced and focused on what service level is reasonable given the specific facts and circumstances.

08:35 EDT Elliott Associates reports 9.2% economic exposure to athenahealth, to have talks - Elliott, Elliott International and EICA disclosed in a regulatory filing that they collectively have combined economic exposure in athenahealth of approximately 9.2% of the common stock outstanding. Elliott said it may "consider, explore and/or develop plans and/or make proposals" to athenahealth and intends to communicate with the company's management and board "about a broad range of operational and strategic matters."

08:34 EDT Rent-A-Center files investor presentation ahead of annual meeting - Rent-A-Center has filed an investor presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the company's 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 8. The Rent-A-Center Board unanimously recommends stockholders vote the white proxy card for the company's director nominees: Mark Speese, Jeffery Jackson and Leonard Roberts. "Rent-A-Center stockholders are reminded that their vote is important, no matter how many or how few shares they own and that the latest submitted proxy card will revoke any previously submitted proxy card," the company says.

08:32 EDT Wireless Telecom Group's CommAgility selected by IDY for research project - CommAgility, a Wireless Telecom Group company, announces its software and hardware products have been chosen by IDY Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, for a research project to advance 4G and 5G small cell technology. IDY is licensing CommAgility's SmallCellPHY and SmallCellSTACK software. CommAgility has integrated the software onto its AMC-K2L-RF2 ARM- and DSP-based processing card, which includes two wideband RF transceiver channels. CommAgility and IDY are working together, with support from CommAgility's Japanese distributor StarBridge, to deploy the integrated hardware and software in a variety of 4G and 5G research and development programs.

08:31 EDT Verint awarded multimillion dollar government cyber security project - Verint Systems announced that it won a multimillion dollar project for a new Government Security Operations Center in the Latin America region to help protect critical government organizations from advanced cyber threats. Verint's technology will be deployed to help the cyber analyst team identify and focus on the most significant, urgent risks, and quickly analyze, confirm and respond to threats and attacks. This project was awarded earlier this year through a prime contractor, Israel Aerospace Industries' subsidiary ELTA Systems Ltd, which leads the IC3 Consortium. It is expected to be deployed over the next two years.

08:21 EDT Allstate sees April catastrophe losses of $235M pre-tax - Allstate reported estimated catastrophe losses for the month of April of $235M pre-tax, $153M after-tax. Catastrophe losses occurring in April comprised 11 events at an estimated cost of $229M, pre-tax, plus unfavorable reserve reestimates of prior reported catastrophe losses.

08:19 EDT Biocept's Target Selector platform to feature in three abstracts at ASCO Meeting - Biocept announced that three scientific and medical abstracts featuring the company's Target Selector liquid biopsy platform have been accepted for publication at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting to be held June 2-6 in Chicago. The company will also launch its "AND" marketing campaign for its proprietary liquid biopsy service at ASCO. The "AND" campaign focuses on the benefits of using liquid biopsy in addition to tissue biopsy to rapidly identify clinically actionable biomarkers in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer patients. In the first abstract, testing of 2,000 patient samples with Target Selector assays detected EGFR mutations at a very high level of sensitivity, down to 1 mutant copy/ml in advanced NSCLC patients at frequencies consistent with cited U.S. prevalence rates. Results from the second study, of 53 patients, demonstrated detection of activating EGFR mutations and the resistance EGFR mutation before patients were treated with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, during therapy, and at progression. Over time, as patients were treated on targeted therapy, detection rates trended consistently lower indicating therapeutic responses in some patients. In the third abstract, comparisons were made between Biocept's blood collection tubes with its proprietary CEE-Sure fixative and Saccomanno's Fixative, one of the most widely used cytology fixatives. Results showed consistently higher cell recovery, better cell membrane maintenance, and higher quality FISH signals when samples were stored using CEE-Sure vs. Saccomanno's Fixative.

08:15 EDT Nektar's NKTR-214 to feature in two presentations at ASCO Meeting - Nektar announced that updated data from clinical studies of NKTR-214 will be presented at the upcoming 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting June 2-6 in Chicago. NKTR-214 is an investigational immuno-stimulatory therapy designed to expand specific cancer-fighting CD8+ effector T cells and natural killer cells directly in the tumor micro-environment and increase expression of PD-1 on these immune cells. The updates will include the first data from the PIVOT trial evaluating NKTR-214 in combination with nivolumab, as well as updated data from the monotherapy trial of NKTR-214. NKTR-214 targets CD122 specific receptors found on the surface of cancer-fighting immune cells in order to stimulate their proliferation.

08:13 EDT AerCap delivers Boeing 767 to Atlas Air Worldwide - AerCap Holdings (AER) has announced it has delivered a Boeing (BA) 767-300ER to a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW). The Boeing 767-300ER, powered by GE (GE) engines, was manufactured in 1997 and is the seventh of eight 767-300ERs AerCap is delivering to Atlas Air Worldwide.

08:11 EDT Syros Pharmaceuticals to present SY-1425 data at EHA Congress - Syros Pharmaceuticals announced that the company will present preclinical data on SY-1425, its oral first-in-class selective retinoic acid receptor alpha agonist, in combination with hypomethylating agents and anti-CD38 therapies in genomically defined subsets of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome at the 22nd Congress of the European Hematology Association taking place June 22 to June 25 in Madrid, Spain. SY-1425 is currently in a Phase 2 clinical trial exploring its safety and efficacy as both a monotherapy and in combination with azacitidine, a standard-of-care hypomethylating agent, in subsets of AML and MDS patients with high expression of RARA pathway-associated genes RARA and IRF8.

08:09 EDT Engaged Capital responds to Rent-A-Center's 'misleading' claims - Engaged Capital, which has a 20.5% economic exposure to Rent-A-Center, is "compelled to remind stockholders of the facts following RCII's recent letters to stockholders which obfuscate the truth of RCII's corporate governance and make misleading statements about Engaged Capital's highly qualified nominees," the firm says. The firm "reminds stockholders that the incumbent board is responsible for significant value destruction, a risky turnaround plan, and a singular approach to create value." The firm is urging shareholders to vote the BLUE Engaged Capital Proxy Card to elect its nominees Jeffrey Brown, Mitchell Fadel, and Christopher Hetrick.

08:07 EDT 3M receives orders for more than 6,500 devices for hearing protection - The U.S. Army has accepted two 3M products to equip soldiers with hearing protection and auditory situational awareness. The 3M Personal Safety Division has received initial orders for more than 6,500 devices that include 3M PELTOR TEP-100 Tactical Earplug Kits and 3M PELTOR COMTAC III ACH Communications headsets, plus spare parts and accessories totaling more than $1.6M. Deloyment of these Tactical Communications and Protective Systems is managed by PEO Soldier.

08:06 EDT Erin Energy names Frank Ingriselli as chairman, Femi Ayoade as CEO - Erin Energy Corporation announced the results of the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 17, 2017 and changes to its board of directors and management team: Frank C. Ingriselli named Chairman of the Board; Femi Ayoade named CEO and new Director; Dr. John Rudley and Mahmud Yayale Ahmed were named new Directors; Pannell Kerr Forster, P.C. re-appointed as the Company's auditors for 2017. Frank C. Ingriselli replaces John Hofmeister as the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Ingriselli serves as the President and CEO of Blackhawk Energy Ventures. Femi Ayoade, Dr. John Rudley and Mahmud Yayale Ahmed were elected to fill vacancies resulting from the retirement of William J. Campbell, Ira Wayne McConnell and Segun Omidele. Ayoade has served as Vice President of Production Operations for the Company since 2016 and the Managing Director of Erin Petroleum Nigeria Limited since 2013.

08:05 EDT BioLineRx receives notice on noncompliance with Nasdaq listing standards - In a regulatory filing yesterday, BioLineRx disclosed that on May 16 the company received written notice from Nasdaq stating that the company is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq's rules for continued listing. Based on the closing bid price of the company's American Depositary Shares for the 30 consecutive business days from March 31, the company no longer meets the $1.00 per share minimum bid price requirement. The company said the notification has no immediate effect on the listing of the ADSs, and they will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market. The company has a grace period of 180 calendar days, or until November 13, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. "The Company intends to monitor the bid price of its ADSs between now and November 13, 2017 and intends to cure the deficiency within the prescribed grace period. The Company's business operations are not affected by the receipt of the Notification Letter," BioLineRx stated.

08:02 EDT Alaska Air receives U.S. DOT approval for Mexico City service - Alaska Airlines unveiled the schedule for service from Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego to Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation officially approved Alaska's new Mexico City service, which includes twice daily flights to Mexico's capital from Los Angeles and daily flights from San Francisco and San Diego. Mexican government approval is pending but expected soon.

07:54 EDT Trump calls probe 'single greatest witch hunt' of U.S. president - President Trump just tweeted, "This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!"

07:49 EDT Jacobs expands systems integrator agreement with Cisco to include Canada - Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC) has expanded its systems integrator agreement with Cisco (CSCO) to include Canada. The expansion enables Jacobs to utilize Cisco technology and services to deliver its integrated connectivity solutions to support operations and cost optimization in oil and gas, mining and chemical facilities. The agreement will also enhance Jacobs' industrial cybersecurity offerings for clients in Canada. Recent estimates indicate that the value of this market is poised to exceed $20B annually by 2025. As a result of this agreement, Jacobs will enhance its integrated project solutions which combine Cisco technology with both Jacobs Connected Enterprise, its digital transformation solution, and Jacobs Process Risk Optimization, its process safety solution.

07:47 EDT Monro Muffler raises Q1 dividend by 1c to 18c per share - Monro Muffler announced today that its board has approved a 1c increase in the company's cash dividend for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 to 18c, which translates to an annual rate of 72c per share and represents an increase of 4c per share or 5.9% as compared to the total dividends paid in fiscal 2017. The company has increased its cash dividend 12 times during the 12 years since a cash dividend was first issued. The cash dividend is payable quarterly to shareholders of record on the company's outstanding shares of common stock, including the shares of common stock to which the holders of the company's Class C Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled. The dividend of 18c per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 will be payable on June 12, 2017 to shareholders of record as of June 2, 2017.

07:34 EDT Shire up 7% after Phase 3 results for HELP study meet endpoints - In pre-market trading, shares are up 7.3% to $195.50.

07:32 EDT Spark Therapeutics - Spark Therapeutics announced the completion of the rolling submission of a Biologics License Application, or BLA, with the FDA for voretigene neparvovec, an investigational, one-time gene therapy for the treatment of patients with vision loss due to confirmed biallelic RPE65 mutation-associated retinal disease. The BLA submission includes data from three clinical trials that enrolled 41 participants with RPE65-mediated IRD, including the first randomized, controlled Phase 3 trial for a gene therapy for a genetic disease. FDA will have 60 days to review the submission to determine if it is complete. If deemed complete, the application will be considered filed and the review period will begin.

07:16 EDT Wal-Mart: Q2 EPS guidance excludes gain from sale of Suburbia - During Wal-Mart's Q1 earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon said "Inside the company, we can see that we're moving faster to combine our digital and physical assets to make shopping easier and more enjoyable for customers but we can also see plenty of room to improve. We need to scale our e-commerce business further and see some additional strength in our store comps to deliver the results we know we're capable of - so that's what we're focused on." Says Q2 EPS guidance excludes the gain from the sale of Suburbia. McMillon says online grocery continues to perform well " and we're on track to scale the offering to more stores this year in several countries, including the U.S." McMillon noted that Walmart.com now has 50M first and third party items to choose from compared to 10M at this time last year. CFO Brett Biggs said that most of its key international markets continue toperform well, and top-line performance at Sam's Club remains "solid." Biggs said Wal-Mart is making progress towards its objective of slightly leveraging expenses on a consolidated basis for the year. Biggs noted that all store formats at Walmart U.S. had positive comp sales in Q1.

07:15 EDT XOMA earns $10M milestone payment - XOMA Corporation announced it has earned a $10M milestone payment, reflecting the clinical advancement of an asset the company licensed to one of its pharmaceutical partners.

07:13 EDT EnteroMedics announces first vBloc Neurometabolic Therapy implant - EnteroMedics announced that the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, VA successfully completed its first implant of the Company's vBloc Neurometabolic Therapy. The vBloc System works to control sensations of hunger using a pacemaker-like device that is implanted under the skin during a minimally-invasive procedure that does not alter or remove any patient anatomy.

07:10 EDT Wal-Mart: General merchandise sales 'sluggish' at start of Q1 at Walmart U.S. - Wal-Mart says that traffic in food and consumables accelerated throughout the quarter at Walmart U.S., including a strong Easter performance; market deflation in food, excluding price investments, did not impact comp sales results in Q1. Says saw continued solid comp traffic across pharmacy and OTC. Branded drug inflation and pharmacy script growth favorably impacted sales. Says general merchandise sales were sluggish at the start of the quarter with delayed customer income tax refund checks and the timing of post-holiday markdowns that collectively impacted higher ticket and discretionary purchases. Sales improved throughout the quarter and finished with a strong Easter. Reports Q1 Sam's Club comp sales up 1.6%, led by growth in comp traffic of 1.1%. Says membership income increased 0.9% at Sam's Club vs. last year.

07:09 EDT Alibaba drops 5% after Q4 report - Alibaba shares are down $6.47, or 5.36%, to $114.25 in pre-market trading.

07:08 EDT Foundation Medicine to present new data at ASCO 2017 on GGP assays - Foundation Medicine announced that data from its suite of comprehensive genomic profiling assays, including FoundationOne , FoundationACT liquid biopsy, FoundationOne Heme, and FoundationFocus CDxBRCA will be presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting from June 2-6, 2017 in Chicago. The company and its collaborators will present a total of 33 studies at the meeting, including two oral presentations, eight poster discussions and twenty-three posters, ranging across 15 different tumor types. Data demonstrate the impact of tissue- and blood-based CGP on guiding targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or clinical trial decisions in advanced cancers. In addition, the clinical value of CGP as evidenced through real world evidence and outcomes research studies, as well as data highlighting the ability of CGP to accelerate clinical trial enrollment will be presented. New results include an oral presentation titled "Comprehensive genomic profiling with loss of heterozygosity to identify therapeutically relevant subsets of ovarian cancer," which shows that CGP can reveal molecular, rather than histologic, patient subsets who may benefit from poly polymerase inhibitor targeted therapy or immunotherapy. These results also provide support for insurance coverage and further integration of CGP into clinical trials in ovarian cancer. Further supporting the integration of CGP at diagnosis, results from health economic and outcomes studies will be presented, demonstrating that early integration of CGP into a patient's clinical and diagnostic work-up leads to improved patient outcomes associated with reasonable incremental costs to the payer that are largely driven by increased survival time on treatment. One poster titled "Estimated Cost of Anti-Cancer Therapy Directed by CGP in a Single-Center Study" discusses estimated anti-cancer drug costs and the associated cost impact of overall survival for matched vs. unmatched therapy in patients enrolled in a previously reported clinical trial using FoundationOne to guide therapeutic decisions.

07:06 EDT SAGE Therapeutics receives fast track designation for SAGE-217 - Sage Therapeutics announced that the U.S. FDA has granted Fast Track Designation to SAGE-217 for development as a potential treatment for major depressive disorder. Fast Track is a process designed to facilitate the development and review of new treatments for serious conditions with unmet medical need such as MDD. "The FDA Fast Track Designation is an important milestone in the development of SAGE-217, as it provides opportunities to potentially accelerate clinical development and future regulatory review of SAGE-217 for the treatment of MDD," said Amy Schacterle, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance of Sage. "Our discussions with regulatory agencies continue to focus on determining the most appropriate and efficient pathways for bringing new therapies to patients."

07:06 EDT Oceaneering secures three-year extension of Frame Agreement with Statoil - Oceaneering International (OII) announced that one of its oilfield business segments, Asset Integrity, has been awarded a three-year operational inspection Frame Agreement extension with Statoil Petroleum (STO). The Frame Agreement provides for Oceaneering to develop and implement inspection and maintenance programs related to 14 specified Norwegian onshore and offshore facilities. The programs include the assessment and reporting of integrity status and corrective measures, and cover non-destructive testing, video inspection, vibration measurement, thermography, and heat exchanger inspection. The agreement also provides Statoil the opportunity to add other fields to the work scope.

07:04 EDT Acceleron to present on Luspatercept at EHA Congress - Acceleron Pharma (XLRN) announced that two abstracts on luspatercept will be presented at the 22nd Congress of the European Hematology Association in Madrid, Spain on June 22to June 25. Luspatercept is being developed as part of the global collaboration between Acceleron and Celgene (CELG). The oral and poster presentations will include efficacy, duration of response, and long-term safety results from the ongoing Phase 2 studies with luspatercept in myelodysplastic syndromes and beta-thalassemia. The presentations at the conference will include updated information beyond that included in the abstracts available online on the EHA conference website. The beta-thalassemia presentation will review results updated from the ASH 2016 presentation in December and the MDS presentation will highlight results updated from the recent International Symposium on MDS earlier this month.

07:02 EDT Wal-Mart reports Walmart U.S. comp sales up 1.4% in Q1 - Walmart U.S. comp sales increased 1.4%, driven by a traffic increase of 1.5%. Comp traffic increased 3.0% on a two-year stacked basis. E-commerce growth at Walmart U.S. was strong as sales and GMV increased 63% and 69%, respectively. The majority of this growth was organic through Walmart.com. Net sales at Walmart International were $27.1B, a decrease of 3.5%. Excluding currency, net sales were $28.3 billion, an increase of 0.8%.

07:01 EDT GE VEntures invests in Tamr; terms not disclosed - Tamr, Inc., the innovator in data unification, today announced that GE Ventures has made a strategic equity investment in the company. The investment follows GE's experience as a customer of Tamr's for more than two years. During that time, its data unification software has been used across multiple GE business units to unify hundreds of data sources, resulting in cost savings and new insights worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Lisa Coca, Managing Director at GE Ventures, joins Tamr's Board of Directors as an Observer as part of the investment, which will be used to accelerate product development and go-to-market initiatives.

06:48 EDT SeaWorld, Sesame Workshop announce expanded partnership - SeaWorld Entertainment and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, announced the extension of their 37-year partnership to include the development of an additional Sesame Place theme park in the United States. The current Sesame Place theme park, located in Langhorne, PA between Philadelphia and New York City, is the nation's only theme park based entirely on the award-winning educational program Sesame Street. The new license agreement between Sesame Workshop and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment extends SeaWorld's status as Sesame Workshop's exclusive theme park partner in the United States, with the second Sesame Place theme park scheduled to open no later than mid 2021 in a U.S. location to be determined. After the opening of the second Sesame Place, SeaWorld will have the option to build additional Sesame Place theme parks in the U.S. The agreement also makes it possible for Sesame Street characters to continue to appear at the existing distinct Sesame Street lands inside the company's two Busch Gardens theme parks and SeaWorld theme parks in San Diego and San Antonio, as well as a new Sesame Street land to be built in SeaWorld Orlando by fall 2022. Under the terms of the new license agreement, the companies have agreed to extend their collaborative relationship through December 2031.

06:38 EDT Hibbett Sports CEO says 'footwear continues to perform well' - Jeff Rosenthal, President and CEO stated, "After a double-digit decline in comparable store sales in February, trends improved in March and April with comparable store sales in the positive low to mid-single-digit range. However, the sales shortfall in February was not fully offset, which led to a 4.9% decline in comparable store sales for the quarter. Footwear continued to perform well with comparable store sales in the positive low single-digit range, but apparel and equipment posted negative comparable store sales. Gross margin was also negatively affected due to markdowns taken to manage inventory, although this enabled us to reduce inventory to levels below last year. Given the softer sales environment, we were able to keep tight controls on expenses, which helped overall profitability. "During the quarter, we implemented our store-to-home capability in all stores, and we are encouraged by the early results," Rosenthal continued. "We expect to see increased benefits from this initiative going forward, as it gives our stores a great tool to improve sales and to enhance the customer experience. Additionally, we are excited about the continued progress on our e-commerce initiative and remain on track to launch this capability in the third quarter."

06:37 EDT SAIC awarded $320M EPA task order - The General Services Administration Federal Systems Integration and Management Center awarded Science Applications International Corp. a task order on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency to deliver, manage, and evolve end-user information technology services, communication and collaboration tools, and end-user devices and applications for the entire EPA enterprise. The single-award contract has a one-year base period of performance, four one-year options, and a total award value of approximately $320M if all options are exercised. Awarded under the GSA's Alliant Governmentwide Acquisition Contract, the task order utilizes an ITIL framework and covers specifically support for workstations, laptops, mobile devices, and desktop operating systems and applications. Work will be performed at Washington, DC; Research Triangle Park and Morrisville in North Carolina; SAIC's new Technology Integration Gateway in Cookeville, Tennessee; and other EPA and SAIC locations nationwide.

06:17 EDT RA Pharmaceuticals to present on C5 inhibition program at 22nd EHA Congress - Ra Pharmaceuticals announced that data on the company's first-in-class, oral small molecule complement C5 program will be presented at the 22nd Congress of the European Hematology Association from June 22-25 in Madrid, Spain. Inhibition of C5 is a clinically validated approach for the control of complement-induced hemolysis in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.

06:14 EDT bluebird bio presenting new LentiGlobin clinical study data at EHA Meeting - bluebird bio announced that data from ongoing clinical studies of LentiGlobin drug product in transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease will be highlighted in oral and poster presentations at the 22nd Congress of the European Hematology Association. An encore presentation of data from the ongoing Phase 1 study of bb2121 in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma will also be presented.

06:12 EDT Marcato raises Buffalo Wild Wings stake to 9.9% after buying options - Marcato Capital Management disclosed a 9.9% stake in Buffalo Wild Wings, up from the 6.1% stake the fund reported on May 9. Marcato said in a regulatory filing that it purchased American-style call options referencing an aggregate of 615,000 shares, each with a strike price of $175, which are exercisable through June 16, 2017. Marcato also purchased American-style put options referencing an aggregate of 950,000 Shares, each with a strike price of $150, which are exercisable through June 16, 2017.

06:06 EDT ArQule to present preclinical data for ARQ 531 at EHA Congress - ArQule announced that preclinical data for ARQ 531 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in vitro and in vivo tumor models will be presented on June 23 at the 22nd Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association in Madrid, Spain. The data supports clinical trials with ARQ 531 in the ibrutinib resistant patient population. A phase 1 trial with ARQ 531 in patients with B-cell malignancies refractory to other therapeutic options, including ibrutinib, is planned to commence by Q3. ARQ 531 is an investigational, orally bioavailable, potent and reversible inhibitor of both wild type and C481S-mutant Bruton's tyrosine kinase. ARQ 531 is an investigational, orally bioavailable, potent and reversible Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Biochemical and cellular studies have shown that ARQ 531 inhibits both the wild type and C481S-mutant forms of BTK.

06:06 EDT Epizyme reports 'positive' interim data on EZH2 inhibitor, tazemetostat - Epizyme announced positive interim data on its first-in-class EZH2 inhibitor, tazemetostat, from the epithelioid sarcoma cohort of its ongoing Phase 2 study in adult patients with molecularly defined solid tumors. In addition, the Company announced that it recently conducted a positive meeting with the U.S. FDA to discuss the registration strategy for tazemetostat for the treatment of epithelioid sarcoma. Based on discussions with the FDA, the Company has identified a path to submission for accelerated approval of tazemetostat based on the 60-patient cohort from its Phase 2 study, and will target a New Drug Application submission in 2018. An interim assessment of the epithelioid sarcoma cohort of patients (n=31), as of May 1, 2017, shows that treatment with tazemetostat resulted in a 32 percent disease control rate and a 13 percent overall response rate, with a median duration of response of seven months and ongoing. In addition, tazemetostat continues to demonstrate a favorable safety profile. These interim data will be presented at ASCO by Dr. Gounder in a poster titled "Phase 2 multicenter study of the EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat in adults with INI1 negative epithelioid sarcoma (NCT02601950)" on June 4

06:03 EDT Lowe's agrees to acquire Maintenance Supply Headquarters in deal valued at $512M - Lowe's announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Maintenance Supply Headquarters, a leading distributor of maintenance, repair and operations, or MRO, products to the multifamily housing industry, for a total transaction value of $512M. Based in Houston, Texas, Maintenance Supply Headquarters operates 13 distribution centers serving customers in 29 geographic areas, primarily in the western, southeastern and south central U.S., with a portfolio of more than 5,300 products and value-added services for maintaining and renovating multifamily properties. The acquisition is expected to be completed in Lowe's second fiscal quarter, following the receipt of regulatory approval and satisfactory completion of customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Lowe's earnings in fiscal 2017.

05:55 EDT General Motors restructures international markets - General Motors announced key restructuring actions in its GM International operations to drive stronger financial performance and focus its capital and resources on business opportunities expected to deliver higher returns. The company will focus its GM India manufacturing operations on producing vehicles for export only and will transition GM South Africa manufacturing to Isuzu Motors. GM's Chevrolet brand will be phased out of both markets by the end of 2017. "As the industry continues to change, we are transforming our business, establishing GM as a more focused and disciplined company," said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. "We are committed to deploying capital to higher return initiatives that will enable us to lead in our core business and in the future of personal mobility. Globally, we are now in the right markets to drive profitability, strengthen our business performance and capitalize on growth opportunities for the long term. We will continue to optimize our operations market by market to further improve our competitiveness and cost base." These decisions were made following an extensive review of operations in GM International markets and reflect a series of actions taken to improve global business performance that began in late 2013. Under the improvement actions announced: India: GM's manufacturing facility at Talegaon will continue as an export hub for Mexico and Central and South American markets. GM will cease sales of Chevrolet vehicles in the domestic market by the end of 2017. Existing Chevrolet customers will continue to be supported in the market. South Africa: Isuzu will purchase GM's Struandale plant and GM's remaining 30 percent shareholding in the Isuzu Truck South Africa joint venture, with sales through a national dealer network. Isuzu will also purchase GM's Vehicle Conversion and Distribution Centre and assume control of the Parts Distribution Centre. The company will phase out the Chevrolet brand in South Africa by the end of 2017. GM continues to work with PSA Group to evaluate future opportunity for the Opel brand in South Africa. Importantly, existing Chevrolet and Opel customers will continue to be supported in the market. East Africa: As announced on February 28, Isuzu has agreed to purchase GM's 57.7 percent shareholding in GM East Africa, assuming management control. GM will withdraw sales of the Chevrolet brand from the market. Singapore: GM International will streamline its regional headquarters office in Singapore, which will retain responsibility for strategic oversight of the remaining regional business and markets, including Australia and New Zealand, India, Korea and Southeast Asia. This will deliver greater organizational efficiencies while leveraging global resources and in-market expertise. Across affected markets, GM is working with employees, their union representatives and local authorities to provide transition support. As a result of these actions, GM expects to realize annual savings of approximately $100M and plans to take a charge of approximately $500M in the second quarter of 2017. The charge will be treated as special and excluded from the company's EBIT-adjusted results. About $200M of the special charge will be cash expenses.

05:48 EDT Nokia, China Huaxin sign definitive agreements to created Nokia Shanghai Bell JV - Nokia and China Huaxin Post & Telecommunication Economy Development Center signed the definitive agreements of the proposed integration of Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell Co. Ltd., or ASB, and Nokia's China business. The new joint venture will be branded as Nokia Shanghai Bell, or NSB. As a result of today's announcement, the joint venture will become Nokia's exclusive platform in China for the continued development of new technologies in areas like IP routing, optical, fixed and next-generation 5G; and with the support of Nokia, NSB will continue to look for opportunities in select overseas markets. ASB and Nokia's China business have been effectively operating as one entity since January 2016 when an interim operational agreement was signed. The closing of the agreement, targeted to happen in July 2017, is subject to various customary administrative, legal, regulatory and other conditions. Nokia will own 50% plus one share of NSB, with China Huaxin owning the remainder, and the new joint venture will have one board of directors and one management team. NSB will represent the major part of Nokia's overall Greater China business and fully leverage both shareholders' strengths, including innovation, global scale, efficiency and a deep understanding of the local market; and with the aim of increasing Nokia's market presence in China. It will further Nokia's strategic goals of leading in high-performance networks with communication service providers and expanding to new vertical markets in enterprise, public sector, and cloud/internet companies.

05:22 EDT Tidewater commences prepackaged Chapter 11 cases pursuant to RSA - Tidewater announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries, have filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to pursue a prepackaged plan of reorganization in accordance with its previously announced restructuring support agreement, or RSA, with certain creditors to effectuate a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring. As previously disclosed, on May 12, 2017, the Debtors began soliciting votes on the Prepackaged Plan from certain of the company's creditors. The lenders under the company's Fourth Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement, the holders of the company's 2010 Notes, 2011 Notes, and 2013 Notes, as well as holders of sale leaseback claims that are anticipated to arise from the company's rejection in bankruptcy of certain sale leaseback agreements pertaining to marine vessels chartered by certain Debtors, are treated as a single class for purposes of voting under the Prepackaged Plan. As previously announced, Tidewater plans to reject certain sale-leaseback agreements for leased vessels currently in the company's fleet, and to limit the resulting rejection damages claims to approximately $131M. However, the Sale Leaseback Parties dispute the amount of the rejection damages claims and a final resolution of the amount of such claims will be subject to litigation. As a result, there is no certainty as to the final amount of sale-leaseback rejection damages claims that will be treated pursuant to the Prepackaged Plan. The Prepackaged Plan is supported by Lenders holding approximately 60% of the outstanding principal amount of loans under the Credit Agreement and Noteholders holding 99% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Senior Notes. Collectively, these supporting Lenders and Noteholders also constitute a majority in number of the holders of General Unsecured Claims. No trustee has been appointed, and the Debtors will continue to operate the business as debtors-in-possession under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court and fully expect to continue existing operations and maintain staffing and equipment as normal throughout the court-supervised financial restructuring process. Tidewater has filed a series of motions with the Bankruptcy Court to ensure a seamless transition into chapter 11 and has sought the approval of the Bankruptcy Court to continue paying prepetition employee wages and salaries and to provide employee benefits without interruption. The company continues to work closely with its suppliers and partners to ensure it meets ongoing obligations and business continues uninterrupted.