Stockwinners Market Radar for July 25, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:11 EDT Wynn Resorts CEO discusses contruction complications in Macau on call - Wynn (WYNN) CEO Steve Wynn, while speaking on the company's Q2 earnings call, said that MGM (MGM) construction project, which is in the final stages of construction, has "enormous neighborhood implications." MGM is in the final phase of construction on a new resort in Macau's Cotai district, due for completion later this year. Wynn continued: "streets have been blocked, barricades are up and our conversations with our neighbors at MGM indicate that maybe this November... that these obstacles will be removed when they've commenced operations this fall. And that will open up one side of our property, the west side of our property, which is the fronting side of the lake, in the gondola and our entrances." Wynn continued discussing the construction situation: "On the south side of our property, the SPM company -- SJM rather, they had a fatal accident with a worker 3 weeks ago. And as part of the post-accident procedure, the government of Macau stopped work on that job. And as of yesterday, 3 weeks later, they still have not recommenced their construction of that hotel. So its opening date -- and therefore, when the neighborhood clears on the south, is still undetermined."

17:55 EDT Boeing awarded $122.8M government contract - The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, has been awarded a maximum $122,800,001 delivery order against a five-year base contract with one five-year option period for aircraft spare parts. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1). Location of performance is Missouri, with a Dec. 30, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2017 through 2020 Navy working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

17:46 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: iRobot (IRBT), up 23.7%... U.S. Steel (X), up 9.5%... AMD (AMD), up 8.8%... Whiling Petroleum (WLL), up 2.7%... Texas Instruments (TXN), up 2.6%... AT&T (T), up 2.6%. ALSO HIGHER: Tetraphase (TTPH), up 23.2% after it announced "positive" top-line results from its Phase 3 IGNITE4 clinical trial... EnteroMedics (ETRM), up 21.8% after it entered into a collaboration agreement with Galvani Bioelectronics. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: USANA (USNA), down 14.4%... Chegg (CHGG), down 9.1%... Akamai (AKAM), down 7.6%... Universal Health (UHS), down 6.4%... Shutterfly (SFLY), down 4.4%... Wynn Resorts (WYNN), 3.9%... Amgen (AMGN), down 2.4%... Juniper Networks (JNPR), down 2.4%... Express Scripts (ESRX), down 1.3%. ALSO LOWER: Orion Engineered (OEC), down 8% after it filed to sell 10M shares of common stock for holders.

17:39 EDT Amgen down 2.5% after Q2 financial report

17:32 EDT AMD says sees 'tremendous opportunity' around the data center

17:30 EDT EnteroMedics enters collaboration pact with Galvani Bioelectronics - According to a regulatory filing, on July 25, 2017, EnteroMedics (ETRM) entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Galvani Bioelectronics Limited. Under the Collaboration Agreement, EnteroMedics will modify its vBloc System for use in pre-clinical research by Galvani. EnteroMedics will receive payments for its development work and supply under this agreement. EnteroMedics will retain all rights, title, and ownership in the intellectual property for the new device, which will be licensed to Galvani. Galvani has been granted a right of first negotiation for the potential exclusive or non-exclusive supply by EnteroMedics of the developed device, exercisable at Galvani's election. Galvani is a joint venture between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet (GOOG) company, that was established in 2016 to enable the research, development and commercialization of bioelectronic medicines.

17:30 EDT MainSource Financial trading resumes

17:25 EDT McDonald's expands delivery to 4,200 restaurants with UberEATS - McDonald's said it has expanded McDelivery with UberEATS to 13 countries and 4,200 restaurants, including 3,500 restaurants in the U.S. in the past three months. McDelivery is now available across the globe from over 7,800 restaurants in 47 countries and six continents.

17:20 EDT Tesoro to launch ARCO brand in Mexico - Tesoro Corporation announced it has reached a definitive agreement that will enable the company to supply transportation fuels and launch the ARCO brand in the states of Sonora and Baja California, Mexico. Tesoro plans to integrate supply to Mexico with its West Coast refining, marketing and logistics system and expects to expand the brand throughout Baja California and Sonora to achieve a leading market position in both states.

17:12 EDT Crispr and Intellia Therapeutics seek reversal of USPTO decision on gene editing - Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Caribou Biosciences and ERS Genomics announced that The Regents of the University of California, the University of Vienna, and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, co-owners of foundational intellectual property relating to Crispr/Cas9 genome engineering, submitted an appellate brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit seeking reversal of a decision by the USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board in an interference proceeding relating to Crispr/Cas9 gene editing technology. In the appeal, UC requests reversal of the PTAB's decision terminating the interference between certain Crispr/Cas9 patent claims owned by UC and claims of the Broad Institute, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The companies claim that the PTAB's February 15 determination that the UC patent claims did not make the Broad's patent claims obvious is based on a misapplication of controlling legal standards established by U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Circuit precedent. In its brief, UC sets forth what it claims are multiple errors in the PTAB's holding that the use of CRISPR/Cas9 in eukaryotes is separately patentable as alleged by Broad. UC requests that the Federal Circuit instruct the PTAB to reinstate the interference proceeding so that it can properly determine priority of inventorship.

17:11 EDT Intellia Therapeutics, Crispr Therapeutics and others announce appellate brief - CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), Caribou Biosciences and ERS Genomics announced that The Regents of the University of California, the University of Vienna, and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, co-owners of foundational intellectual property relating to CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering, submitted an appellate brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit seeking reversal of a decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board, or PTAB, in an interference proceeding relating to CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. In the appeal, UC requests reversal of the PTAB's decision terminating the interference between certain CRISPR/Cas9 patent claims owned by UC and claims of the Broad Institute, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

17:10 EDT AMD says sees increase in FY17 adjusted gross margin - Sees FY17: Licensing gain of about $52M; Positive adjusted net income; CapEx approximately $140M; Net inventories down. Comments from slides presentation for Q2 earnings conference call.

17:02 EDT First Financial, MainSource Financial agree to merge n $1B deal - First Financial (FFBC) and MainSource Financial (MSFT) announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which MainSource will merge into First Financial in a stock-for-stock transaction. MainSource Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of MainSource, will merge into First Financial Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Financial. Under the terms of the merger agreement, shareholders of MainSource will receive 1.3875 common shares of First Financial common stock for each share of MainSource common stock. The closing price of First Financial on July 25, 2017 was $28.10. Including outstanding options and warrants on MainSource common stock, the transaction is valued at approximately $1B. Upon closing, First Financial shareholders will own approximately 63% of the combined company and MainSource shareholders will own approximately 37%, on a fully diluted basis. The merger will result in a combined company with approximately $13.3B in assets, $8.9B in loans, $10B in deposits and $4B in assets under management, utilizing financial information as of June 30, 2017. The transaction will allow the combined company to better meet the needs of its communities in a rapidly changing banking environment, while providing the efficiencies and scale required to comply with regulatory requirements and costs associated with crossing the $10 billion asset threshold. As part of the merger, both CEO's will play critical roles in leading the integration of the companies. Once the merger is complete, Claude E. Davis will transition into the role of Executive Chairman for a three-year term and Archie M. Brown, Jr. will assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Davis will transition to non-Executive Chairman in 2021. Together they will lead the company and partner on overall strategy, management and performance of the company. In addition to these roles, the executive management team and employees of the combined company will represent the best of both organizations. The transaction is expected to close in early 2018, subject to the approval of shareholders of both First Financial and MainSource and regulatory approvals, as well as satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The combined company will operate as First Financial and its headquarters will be located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. As part of the merger, the companies also announced an intention to develop a comprehensive Community Development Plan which will include a commitment of 100 jobs and $1 million in community support to Greensburg, Indiana, over the next five years. First Financial expects the transaction to be accretive to 2018 diluted earnings per share by $0.09 or 5%, and total 2019 diluted earnings per share by $0.17 or 9%, excluding estimated restructuring charges of approximately $63 million. These estimates include $12 million in annual revenue loss related to the Durbin Amendment, as well as $2 million of annual expense related to added regulatory and compliance costs associated with crossing the $10 billion asset threshold, both of which are expected to phase-in over time. Applying pro forma merger adjustments and assuming the expected early 2018 closing, dilution to tangible book value per common share is estimated to be $0.64 or 5.4%, with an earnback period of approximately 3.0 years using the crossover method, inclusive of all restructuring charges.

16:58 EDT Chipotle saw 5.5% sales decline after norovirus reports - Sees wage inflation continuing. Says saw 5.5% sales decrease after norovirus reports. Says fees from credit cards are growing faster than sales.

16:53 EDT Chipotle sees no resistance to price increases in most markets - Says will continue to invest in improving digital offerings. Says remains on track to launch new mobile app in 2017. Says labor deployment has become more efficient. Says most markets showed no resistance at all to price increases.

16:46 EDT Chipotle says will roll out Queso test to over 350 restaurants August 1 - Says will roll out Queso test to over 350 restaurants starting August 1. Says national rollout could happen as soon as September. Says planning to open drive-thru window in Ohio.

16:43 EDT Ashford to acquire controlling interest in company conducting business of J&S - Ashford announced that it has agreed to acquire a controlling interest in a privately held company that conducts the business of J&S Audio Visual in the United States, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic for approximately $17.1M in cash and $4.3M Ashford common stock consideration, subject to certain closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the Q3. After giving effect to the transaction, Ashford will own approximately an 85% interest in the common equity of J&S. The Company expects to finance the investment with a term loan of approximately $12M. In addition, J&S will retain or payoff approximately $777,000 of pre-existing debt, as well as any debt related to new contracts signed before the transaction is closed.

16:40 EDT MainSource Financial trading halted, news pending

16:36 EDT Chipotle says 'not possible' to eliminate all risk with food safety - Says imposing "quiet period" for investors, beginning September 16 and running through the end of the third quarter. Says only restaurant company to implement rigorous third-party food safety inspection programs. Says "not possible" to eliminate all risk. Says norovirus spread unrelated to food supply chain. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

16:32 EDT BioTime receives DSMB approval to start third patient cohort for Dry-AMD trial - BioTime announced that the Data Safety Monitoring Board has authorized the company to move forward with enrollment for cohort 3. The DSMB is an independent group of medical experts closely monitoring the Phase I/IIa OpRegen clinical trial. In cohort 3 BioTime plans to treat patients at its current sites in Israel and at two US sites, with leading ophthalmologists: Dr. David S. Boyer, Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group and Dr. H. Richard McDonald, West Coast Retina Medical Group. The administration of the implant in cohort 3 is being optimized for cell concentration and volume prior to Cohort 4. In cohort 4, the Company plans to treat patients in earlier stages of the disease that are likely be the target patient population for the therapy.

16:29 EDT iRobot acquires its largest European distributor, Robopolis SAS for $141M - iRobot announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Robopolis SAS, based in Lyon, France. The acquisition is expected to close in October 2017. Robopolis, an exclusive distributor of iRobot products since 2006 and the company's largest distributor in EMEA, sells across seven key markets in Western Europe, including Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, and Portugal. EMEA is a key strategic region for iRobot representing approximately 25% of its 2016 total revenue. Robopolis represented nearly half of iRobot's EMEA revenues in 2016. Robopolis will be combined with iRobot's EMEA operations headquartered in London, UK. The existing Robopolis management team will join iRobot. Jean-Jacques Blanc, currently iRobot's vice president and general manager, Overseas, will lead the combined operations reporting to iRobot's chief operating officer Christian Cerda. iRobot will acquire the business for $141M, or approximately 0.9 times the trailing Robopolis twelve-month revenue ended June 2017, subject to customary purchase price adjustments set forth in the definitive purchase agreement. iRobot will pay cash for the acquisition. The acquisition is expected to contribute incremental revenue of approximately $25M - $35M in 2017. iRobot expects the acquisition to be between ($0.45) - ($0.30) dilutive in 2017. Beginning in 2018, the acquisition is expected to generate incremental revenue and higher earnings per share.

16:26 EDT Trinity Industries reports Q2 railcar deliveries of 4,055 - Trinity Industries reports Q2 deliveries and orders totaling 4,055 and 5,705 railcars, respectively, in the Rail Group, compared to 6,065 and 2,910 railcars, respectively, in 2016. Rail Group backlog increased to 27,580 railcars as of June 30, from 26,420 railcars as of March 31, with a value of $2.7B for both periods.

16:23 EDT AMD Computing and Graphics revenue up 51% y/y to $659M - The y/y increase was primarily driven by the company's demand for graphics and Ryzen desktop processors. Client average selling price, ASP, increased significantly y/y. On a q/q basis, client ASP was down slightly due to lower mobile processor ASP. Both y/y and q/q, desktop processor ASP increased due to the first full quarter of shipments of Ryzen proce

16:21 EDT AMD reports Q2 adjusted gross margin 33% - GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin was 33%, up 2 percentage points y/y due to a richer product mix and a higher percentage of revenue from the Computing and Graphics segment, driven by the first full quarter of Ryzen processor sales, and down 1 percentage point q/q due to a higher percentage of revenue from the Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom segment.

16:20 EDT Express Scripts still believes Anthem contract unlikely to be extended - Express Scripts (ESRX) said in today's earnings release, "As previously disclosed, while Anthem (ANTM) has not provided formal written notice that it does not intend to renew its contract with the Company, based on statements in conversations with Anthem management and other actions taken by Anthem, the Company believes it is unlikely its contract with Anthem will be extended."

16:18 EDT U.S. Steel CEO says facilities performed better in Q2 - U. S. Steel President and CEO Dave Burritt said, "Our facilities performed better in the second quarter, particularly in our Flat-Rolled segment. Better operations, combined with higher prices and volumes in all of our segments and improved results from our mining operations, resulted in a $300 million improvement in our segment results compared with the first quarter. Our European operations continue to deliver solid earnings and our Tubular operations continue to make progress towards returning to profitability. We are focused on our strategic priorities: driving operational excellence across our business - from our plants to our support teams; investing in our facilities through our asset revitalization program; and providing our employees with the resources they need to implement positive, substantive changes."

16:13 EDT Hawaiian Holdings raises FY17 cost per ASM view to up 4.5%-7.5% from 3.8%-7.2% - The Company is lowering its guidance range for economic fuel cost per gallon for the FY17 due to lower than expected year-to-date fuel costs and the forward fuel price curve as of July 14. Raises Q3 cost per ASM excluding Fuel and Special Items to up 7%-10% from up 17.6%-21.1%.

16:13 EDT LSB Industries terminates formal sale process portion of review - LSB Industries announced that its board has not been presented with a sale transaction that they feel is in the best interests of shareholders. As a result, at this time, the board has made a decision to terminate the formal sale process portion of its strategic review. It added, "The Board always remains open and willing to engage in these types of discussions. While we are not sharing specific details of the process, we believe that, at this time, the current outlook in the nitrogen chemical industry is adversely affecting any potential transactions. The Board will, however, continue to work with its outside advisors on evaluating other strategic, financial and operational options. The Board and management continue to focus on the execution of their major objectives of: Improving overall plant reliability with a goal of achieving average ammonia plant on-stream rates of at least 95%; Continuing to streamline its corporate structure to reduce costs; Reducing overall plant costs; Expanding into new markets with enhanced distribution; and, Reducing the Company's leverage to seek greater financial flexibility and an improved capital structure"

16:12 EDT EQT GP increases cash distribution 10% to 21c per share - EQT GP declared a quarterly cash distribution of 21c per unit for Q2. The distribution will be paid on August 23 to all EQGP unitholders of record at the close of business on August 4. The quarterly cash distribution is 10% higher than Q1, and 40% higher than the year ago quarter.

16:09 EDT Tetraphase announces positive top-line results from Phase IGNITE4 trial - Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals announced positive top-line results from IGNITE4, the company's phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of twice-daily intravenous eravacycline compared to meropenem for the treatment of patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections. The results of IGNITE4, which enrolled 500 patients, demonstrated statistical non-inferiority of eravacycline to meropenem for the primary efficacy endpoint of clinical response at the test-of-cure visit.

16:08 EDT Express Scripts sees annual cost savings $550M-$600M by 2021 - The company said, "We are currently developing a multi-year, enterprise-wide initiative to transform our organization by the end of 2021. We are investing to deliver an improved experience with better engagement and greater efficiency, which will evolve the way we do business with patients, providers and our clients. Based on our work to date, we estimate the initiative will deliver savings of approximately $550 million to $600 million annually by 2021. This initiative will also allow us to continue tackling the challenges plan sponsors face in an increasingly complex healthcare environment with an industry-leading cost position."

16:07 EDT Chipotle reports completion of probe into payment card security incident - Chipotle reported the completion of a forensic investigation into the previously-disclosed payment card security incident involving Chipotle restaurants. Based on the findings of the investigation as of May 26, 2017, Chipotle posted a list of restaurants apparently affected and specific time frames, along with steps guests can take, at www.chipotle.com/security and www.chipotle.ca/security. The time frames that were initially listed varied by restaurant but began no earlier than March 24, 2017, and ended no later than April 18, 2017. Updated findings from the completed investigation have confirmed the original time frames listed for almost 99% of the restaurants, or found that some were even shorter than what was originally reported. For 1.2% of the affected restaurants, the time frames were slightly broadened from what was initially listed, although still within the March 24, 2017, to April 18, 2017, time frame. Additionally, for one restaurant, the time frame may include March 17, 2017, and two additional restaurants have been added to the list of affected restaurants in Canada.

16:04 EDT AT&T continues to see Time Warner deal to close by year-end - "Once again our team delivered expanded consolidated margins and, as a result, grew adjusted earnings per share by nearly 10% as we executed well against our business priorities. And in a quarter where our competitors used promotions aggressively, we added more than 500,000 branded smartphones to our base and more than 100,000 IP broadband subscribers, achieved record EBITDA wireless margins and had the lowest postpaid phone churn in our history. We continue to expect the Time Warner deal to close by year-end and further transform the company," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO.

16:02 EDT TSYS raises quarterly dividend 30% to 13c per share - TSYS said its board of directors approved a 30% increase in the regular quarterly dividend payable on TSYS common stock from 10c per share to 13c per share, payable on October 2, 2017 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 21, 2017.

15:57 EDT Reynolds American trading resumes

14:10 EDT BB&T increases dividend 10% to 33c per share - The board of directors of BB&T declared a quarterly common stock cash dividend increase of 3c to 33c per share payable Sept. 1 to shareholders of record at the close of business Aug. 11. The increase is in connection with BB&T's 2017 capital plan filed this year.

13:47 EDT Shares of industrial metal makers, miners surge on IMF's China comments - Shares of industrial metal makers and miners are surging after the latest International Monetary Fund, or IMF, update. GLOBAL RECOVERY: The global economic recovery is on solid ground, said the IMF in a report out Monday. "As in our April forecast, the World Economic Outlook Update projects 3.5% growth in global output for this year and 3.6% for next," the IMF predicted. CHINA GROWTH CONTINUES: Government policies in China have been the foundation for the recent high growth rates in the country. The IMF has raised its China growth view for 2017 and 2018 by 0.1% and 0.2% points, respectively, to 6.7 % and 6.4%. "But higher growth is coming at the cost of continuing rapid credit expansion and the resulting financial stability risks. China's recent moves to address nonperforming loans and to coordinate financial oversight, therefore, are welcome," added the agency. MUTED EXPECTATIONS FOR US GROWTH: The IMF said the said globally speaking, the critical hindrance to global growth will come from the United States. "Over the next two years, U.S. growth should remain above its longer-run potential growth rate. But we have reduced our forecasts for both 2017 and 2018 to 2.1 percent because near-term U.S. fiscal policy looks less likely to be expansionary than we believed in April," argued the IMF. COPPER SURGES: Copper prices jumped to the highest levels since this past February. According to a Citi research note,"Sentiment towards copper from the physical market has improved as fabricators in China have replenished their inventories," said Reuters. PRICE ACTION: Shares of metal makers and miners are all higher in afternoon trading, with copper miners Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) up 14% and 3%, respectively. Iron ore miners Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) is up 5%, with peers Vale S.A. (VALE) and Rio Tinto plc (RIO) both up over 4%. Aluminum makers are also jumping, with Alcoa up almost 2%, with peers Century Aluminum (CENX) up 4% and Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) up fractionally. Shares of United States Steel Corporation (X) are 5% higher.

13:33 EDT SeaWorld announces passing of baby killer whale Kyara - SeaWorld says that this weekend Kyara, the 3-month-old killer whale calf at SeaWorld San Antonio, was being treated at the park's Animal Hospital for an infection. "The dedicated team of veterinarians and care staff spent the last three days providing critical care for Kyara, but despite their best efforts, her health continued to decline and she passed away earlier today. She was surrounded by the dedicated teams that cared for her over the last three months and fought tirelessly for her over the last several days." SeaWorld says "Kyara had faced some very serious and progressive health issues over the last week that the animal care and veterinary teams had been aggressively treating. While the official cause of death will not be determined until the post-mortem exam is complete, we know that Kyara had an infection, likely pneumonia, and that her health continued to decline... While the official cause of death won't be determined until the post-mortem exam is complete, through monitoring Kyara's behavior, and a physical examination, SeaWorld's veterinary and animal care teams identified that she had an infection, likely pneumonia, that they were aggressively treating. Pneumonia has been identified as one of the most common causes of morbidity or illness in whales and dolphins, both in the wild and in aquariums." Reference Link

13:21 EDT AmEx says 11 of 17 states party to DOJ case requested Supreme Court review - In a regulatory filing, American Express (AXP) said that, in 2010, the DOJ, along with Attorneys General from Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the company, MasterCard (MA), and Visa (V), alleging a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act .The complaint included allegations that provisions in our merchant agreements prohibiting merchants from steering a customer to use another network's card or another type of general-purpose card violate the antitrust laws. The complaint sought a judgment permanently enjoining us from enforcing our non-discrimination contractual provisions. The complaint did not seek monetary damages. Following a non-jury trial in the DOJ case, the trial court found that the challenged provisions were anticompetitive and on April 30, 2015, the court issued a final judgment entering a permanent injunction. Following our appeal of this judgment, on September 26, 2016, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the trial court decision and directed the trial court to enter a judgment for American Express. Following denial of rehearing en banc by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the trial court entered judgment for American Express on January 25, 2017. On June 2, 2017, the DOJ announced it would not petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit's decision in favor of American Express. At the same time, 11 of the 17 states that are party to the case filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking such a review. American Express noted that Hawaii has since withdrawn its claim in the case.

13:03 EDT Bristol-Myers, MPP extend license for atazanavir to 122 developing countries - The Medicines Patent Pool, or MPP, has signed an extension of its licensing agreement with biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb to further increase access to atazanavir, part of the World Health Organization-preferred second-line treatment for adults and children. Announced during an MPP-jointly hosted satellite at the 9th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in Paris, the amendment adds 12 countries to the 110 included in the original 2013 agreement. Home to 1.4 million people living with HIV, the additional countries are: Algeria, Cook Islands, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Niue, the Philippines, Tunisia, Ukraine and Vietnam. The agreement now covers 89% of PLHIV in low- and middle-income countries.

12:39 EDT Corning, Stevanato enter deal to supply Valor Glass to pharmaceutical industry - Corning Incorporated and Stevanato Group announced a new collaboration agreement focused on supplying Corning Valor Glass to the pharmaceutical industry. Corning and Stevanato Group have been working together since 2011 to enable higher quality pharmaceutical containers. The latest agreement extends that relationship and combines Stevanato's state-of-the-art converting technology with Valor Glass to provide pharmaceutical customers with the highest quality pharmaceutical containers.

12:13 EDT Adobe says plans to end-of-life Flash Player by end of 2020 - Adobe says in a blog post, "Adobe has long played a leadership role in advancing interactivity and creative content - from video, to games and more - on the web. Where we've seen a need to push content and interactivity forward, we've innovated to meet those needs. Where a format didn't exist, we invented one - such as with Flash and Shockwave. And over time, as the web evolved, these new formats were adopted by the community, in some cases formed the basis for open standards, and became an essential part of the web. But as open standards like HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly have matured over the past several years, most now provide many of the capabilities and functionalities that plugins pioneered and have become a viable alternative for content on the web. Over time, we've seen helper apps evolve to become plugins, and more recently, have seen many of these plugin capabilities get incorporated into open web standards. Today, most browser vendors are integrating capabilities once provided by plugins directly into browsers and deprecating plugins. Given this progress, and in collaboration with several of our technology partners - including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla - Adobe is planning to end-of-life Flash. Specifically, we will stop updating and distributing the Flash Player at the end of 2020 and encourage content creators to migrate any existing Flash content to these new open formats. Several industries and businesses have been built around Flash technology - including gaming, education and video - and we remain committed to supporting Flash through 2020, as customers and partners put their migration plans into place. Adobe will continue to support Flash on a number of major OSs and browsers that currently support Flash content through the planned EOL." Reference Link

12:09 EDT Polaris recalls RZR 170 ROVs due to fuel leak, fire hazards - Polaris Industries notified the CPSC it is recalling about 16,800 RZR 170 recreational off-highway vehicles as the fuel tank neck can crack or the wiring harness can overheat or short circuit, posing fuel leak and fire hazards. This recall involves all model year 2015 through 2017 youth RZR 170 recreational off-highway vehicles. Polaris has received 102 reports of cracked fuel tank necks and 28 reports of burning, smoking, melted and/or shorted wires, including four reports of fires. No injuries have been reported.

12:04 EDT Triumph Group, Boeing sign systems agreement for Legacy programs, 777X - Triumph Group (TGI) signed an agreement with Boeing (BA) to provide various hydraulic and mechanical actuation assemblies for legacy Boeing programs, including the Next-Generation 737, 737 MAX, 747-8, 767, 767-2C and 777, and for the 777X, Boeing's newest family of twin-aisle airplanes. Triumph Integrated Systems' Fluid Power and Actuation operating companies will extend deliveries of pumps, actuators, accumulators, fuses and assemblies for the various Boeing programs. In addition, Integrated Systems' Mechanical Solutions operating company will provide cable and wire rope assemblies for these Boeing programs.

12:02 EDT Fathom to broadcast Mayweather-McGregor fight in U.S. cinemas - Fathom Events, which is owned by AMC Entertainment (AMC), Cinemark Holdings (CNK), Regal Entertainment (RGC), said that the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and UFC star Conor McGregor will be broadcast live to U.S. cinemas on Saturday, August 26. Fathom Events and Mayweather Promotions partner to give fans nationwide the opportunity to view undercard bouts and the main event in movie theaters nationwide on Saturday, August 26, 2017. The fight will originate from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and the event will be produced and distributed by SHOWTIME PPV.

11:58 EDT Caterpillar says infrastructure driven sales in U.S not significant yet - Says country needs a comprehensive infrastructure plan from U.S. government.

11:44 EDT Caterpillar further inventory restocking in Construction in China in 2H - Notes that China strength was more 1H-loaded.

11:37 EDT Caterpillar sees significant margin erosion in 2H for Construction Industries - Sees margins in Construction Industries higher after the second half.

11:34 EDT AK Steel sees Q3 shipments relatively flat vs. Q2 - AK Steel management said average selling price in Q3 will be marginally lower than in Q2. Sees Q3 EBITDA margin of 5%-6%. Management said the company has planned operational outages in FY17 due to scheduled maintenance. Raises FY17 capital investment guidance to $140M-$160M from $130M-$150M. CEO Roger Newport said the company supports the work of the Trump administration regarding anti-dumping and suspects a lot of the carbon steel imports are unfairly traded. Newport noted that the company also supports the Trump administration's push for "Made in America." Guidance and comments provided during Q2 earnings conference call.

11:30 EDT Caterpillar sees FY17 Energy & Transportation sales up 5-10% vs. prior flat view - Sees volumes in the sector driven by rebuild equipment sales. Additionally, new equipment sales should be up in the second half of the year.

11:29 EDT Eli Lilly drops following rheumatoid arthritis NDA delay - Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) are sliding after the company announced that a resubmission to the Food and Drug Administration for the New Drug Application, or NDA, for baricitinib will be delayed beyond 2017. Eli Lilly also reported second quarter results this morning, which came in above consensus estimates. NDA RESUBMISSION DELAYED: Eli Lilly and Incyte (INCY) announced that a resubmission to the FDA for the NDA, for baricitinib, a once-daily oral medication for the treatment of moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis, will be delayed beyond 2017. The companies will be further discussing the path forward with the agency and evaluating options for resubmission, including the potential for an additional clinical study, as requested by the FDA. The length of time to a resubmission for the NDA will depend on which option the companies pursue and further FDA discussions, but is anticipated to be a minimum of 18 months. The FDA has indicated that a new clinical study is necessary for a resubmission in order to further characterize the benefit/risk across doses, in light of the observed imbalance in thromboembolic events that occurred during the placebo-controlled period of the RA clinical program. This request for an additional clinical study does not impact the ongoing clinical trials for baricitinib. The NDA for rheumatoid arthritis contained the results of four positive Phase 3 clinical trials that met their primary endpoints. Thromboembolic events - diagnosed as deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism - were reported in five patients receiving baricitinib during the controlled period of two of seven completed Phase 2 or Phase 3 trials in rheumatoid arthritis. Although an imbalance was observed during the placebo controlled period of the clinical trials, the rate of these events in the overall baricitinib clinical program was consistent with that seen among the general population of treated RA patients. In the European Union, where baricitinib 2-mg and 4-mg tablets have been approved since February 2017, the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recently agreed to update the label with a precaution for patients who have risk factors for DVT and PE. RESULTS: Eli Lilly reported second quarter earnings per share of $1.11 and revenue of $5.82B, both above consensus of $1.05 and $5.6B, respectively. The company also raised its 2017 earnings per share view to $4.10-$4.20 from $4.05-$4.15, and 2017 revenue guidance to $22B-$22.5B from $21.8B-$22.3B. Eli Lilly also said that in addition to building upon new oncology products such as Cyramza, Lartruvo, and abemaciclib, it will pursue new standard-of-care changing therapies that target tumor dependencies in molecularly enriched populations, build rational combinations that overcome resistance, and develop next-generation immunotherapies. Using this framework, Lilly will focus on seven pipeline assets for priority internal development and three additional assets which are pending data from ongoing trials. PRICE ACTION: In late morning trading, shares of Eli Lilly have dropped almost 4% to $81.41, while Incyte's stock has dropped about 3% to $133.69.

11:25 EDT Caterpillar sees FY17 Construction Industries sales up 10%-15%

11:23 EDT Caterpillar Energy & Transportation volumes higher in Q2 - The volumes increase was driven by well servicing and mid-stream gas applications. Parts sales increased in the Energy & Transportation sector also.

11:18 EDT McDonald's says mobile order & pay to be in 20,000 stores by end of year - CEO Steve Easterbrook says McDonald's grew guest counts in all markets for the first time since 2008; says highest priority is growing guest counts. Says environment in U.S. remains very competitive. Says U.K. has posted 45 consecutive quarters of SSS growth. Still sees U.S. grocery basket up 0.5%-1% for FY, with more pressure in 2H. Says U.S. costs have been roughly unchanged. Sees China deal closing in the next few weeks. Says ahead of schedule on refranchising target. Says plans to use cash from refranchising efforts to buy back shares. Says plans to make mobile order and pay available in 20,000 restaurants worldwide by end of 2017. Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call. McDonald's is up 3.3% to $156.91 in morning trading.

11:13 EDT Caterpillar says sales stength in China driven by 10 ton plus excavotors - Says sees demand in China to be strong due to residential construction, infrastructure and continued government support.

11:01 EDT Cogint announces settlement of disputes with TransUnion - Cogint (COGT) announced that it has settled all litigation with TransUnion (TRU). While the terms of the settlement are confidential, company subsidiary IDI Holdings, LLC will pay $7M to TransUnion over the course of one year to settle all matters.

10:48 EDT Freeport CEO says company must be allowed to control Grasberg governance - Freeport McMoran CEO Richard Adkerson said the company remains focused on getting a Grasberg agreement done this year, which he sees as consistent with the Indonesian government's goals as well.

10:45 EDT General Motors says favors reducing car output vs. bigger discounts

10:34 EDT JetBlue plans to update the market at year-end with its fleet review - Comments provided during Q2 earnings conference call.

10:33 EDT Eli Lilly sees drug pricing executive order in second half of 2017 - Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said at the end of today's earnings conference call that he expects President Trump in the second half of 2017 to announce an executive order on drug pricing.

10:31 EDT Tesla Model S 'tops Consumer Reports' ratings' after adding AEB, CR says - After updating its software to include automatic emergency braking, or AEB at highway speeds, Consumer Reports says Tesla's "Model S is again Consumer Reports' top-rated ultra-luxury sedan." Reference Link

10:28 EDT Supervalu says FY18 base adjusted EBITDA view same ex-Unified contibution - Sees adjusted EBITDA with Unified results $475M-$495M for FY18. Comments are from the company Q1 earnings call.

10:24 EDT Supervalu sees retail becoming more omnichannel after Amazon-Whole Foods deal

10:20 EDT GM sees North America EBIT adjusted margins of 10%+ for FY17 - CEO Mary Barra says Q2 included softer industry sales in U.S., pricing challenges in China. Says returned $2.1B to shareholders in Q2. Plans to return up to $7B to shareholders by end of 2017 through dividends and buybacks, subject to market conditions. Remains "disciplined" on incentives. Sees "tougher" business environment in 2H. Sees North America EBIT adjusted margins of 10%+ for FY17. CFO Chuck Stevens says expects factory unit sales down about 150,000 units in 2H vs. 1H. Sees "strong" year of equity income in China. Expects decline in used car pricing will put pricing on GM Financial's residuals in 2H, but plans to deliver "solid" y/y earnings growth. Sees FY CapEx about $8B. Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call. GM is up about 0.75% to $36.10 in morning trading.

10:11 EDT Freeport McMoRan CEO says copper market fundamentals 'remain solid' - Freeport's Adkerson noted that Chinese demand is "better than most expected during the first half of 2017."

10:10 EDT Freeport CEO has 'high degree of optimism' on businesses - Freeport McMoran CEO Richard Adkerson said on the company's Q2 call that he's "got a high degree of optimism about our businesses" in the midst of 2017. Adkerson added: "We've got a portfolio of growth projects that we're doing work to prepare ourselves for future investments. But we're not committing to projects now, which is common across the copper industry worldwide. There's still enough of uncertainty in the global economy that's keeping people from going in and investing heavily on growth projects. But we got a good set of them that we're going to be prepared to invest in the future. And we're convinced that the world's going to need that copper. We have some issues to continue to talk about in Indonesia, but we've made a lot of progress there. And we do have a degree of optimism about our work with the government, about operationally how we're dealing with our labor issues that's been issues as far as during the first half of the year and making progress."

10:04 EDT Supervalu says wholesale sales up $280M or almost 12% in quarter - Comments are from the company's Q1 earnings call.

10:00 EDT 3M now sees FY share buybacks of $2B-$3.5B vs. $2.5B-$4.5B previously expected - Now sees FY share repurchases of $2B-$3.5B vs. $2.5B-$4.5B previously expected. Says taking selected price adjustments in some markets to gain market share and accelerate volume growth. Says tracking to "low end" of expectations for price growth in the U.S.; expects price growth to be closer to flat for the total year in the U.S. Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call. 3M is down 5.8% in morning trading to $197.75.

09:46 EDT JetBlue sees Q3 all-in fuel price $1.61 - Guidance provided in Q2 earnings presentation slides.

09:30 EDT United Technologies says structural cost reduction a key focus in 2018

09:25 EDT Citi sees planned CCAR capital return of $20B+ in 2018, 2019 - Citi was approved for CCAR capital return of $19B for 2017 and said CEO Michael Corbat said "we hope and expect to return at least this amount in each of the next two CCAR cycles." In slides for CFO John Gerspach's presentation, Citi said it plans for CCAR capital return of $20B+ in 2018 and 2019.

09:18 EDT Atossa Genetics completes enrollment in Phase 1 study of Endoxifen - Atossa Genetics has now completed enrollment in its Phase 1 dose escalation study of Atossa's proprietary Endoxifen. Endoxifen is an active metabolite of the FDA-approved drug tamoxifen, which is currently used to treat breast cancer and for breast cancer prevention in high risk patients.

09:12 EDT Citi's Corbat says 'fintech' not seen as the competition

09:09 EDT ViiV says non-inferiority study shows superior efficacy of dolutegravir - ViiV Healthcare, the specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK (GSK) with Pfizer (PFE) and Shionogi Limited as shareholders, announced interim results from DAWNING. This is a non-inferiority study conducted to compare second-line treatment of the protease inhibitor-sparing regimen of dolutegravir and 2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, with a current WHO-recommended regimen of lopinavir/ritonavir and 2 NRTIs in HIV-1-infected adults. The study's Independent Data Monitoring Committee noted significant and clinically-relevant differences between treatment arms in favour of dolutegravir and recommended that the boosted lopinavir treatment arm be discontinued. Participants receiving lopinavir/ritonavir were offered the opportunity to switch to a regimen with dolutegravir as the core agent, if considered appropriate by the investigator. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with plasma HIV-1 RNA less than50 copies per millilitre at week 48. The 24-week interim data showed an 82% response rate in the dolutegravir arm versus 69% for lopinavir/ritonavir. Key secondary endpoints include evaluation of the development of viral resistance and measurements of safety and tolerability. No subjects in the dolutegravir arm of the study failed treatment with either integrase or nucleoside resistance. The safety data for dolutegravir at week 24 was consistent with previous dolutegravir studies. Additional data from DAWNING will be presented at future medical meetings.

09:03 EDT Citi says efficiency, ROA still not 'where we want to be' despite improvements - Citi CEO Michael Corbat continues speaking during the bank's investor day meeting.

09:03 EDT TSYS signs payments agreement with Monetary - TSYS announced that it has signed an exclusive long-term agreement with Monetary, a connected commerce provider offering integrated payment services and marketing automation technologies for the point-of-sale industry. Under the terms of the agreement, TSYS will provide payment processing services to Monetary's network of software developers and merchants. Founded by industry veterans Jeff Katz and Shelley Plomske, Monetary offers a single, integrated platform which includes their own payment gateway. TSYS will provide processing services to help bring this new solution to market, including authorization and capture, clearing and settlement, and chargeback functionalities. Monetary will also be integrating additional TSYS services and payment capabilities into the overall platform, including merchant onboarding tools.

09:02 EDT Takeda Pharmaceutical, BioSurfaces announce joint research program - Takeda Pharmaceutical and BioSurfaces announced that they have entered into an agreement to initiate a research program designed to develop innovative medical devices to treat patients with gastrointestinal diseases using BioSurfaces' proprietary nanomaterial technology. Under the joint research program, Takeda and BioSurfaces will explore novel therapeutic approaches for treating GI indications. Takeda will provide scientific and technical expertise in gastroenterology, while BioSurfaces will provide medical device design and nanomaterial expertise and fabrication technology. Additional terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. BioSurfaces has developed a process for producing nanofibrous materials out of FDA-approved polymers. These materials can be made to form a variety of unusual and difficult-to-manufacture shapes while also demonstrating improved biocompatibility over other textile-based medical implants. BioSurfaces' manufacturing process further allows the incorporation of drugs or other bioactive agents directly into the nanofibers for localized release.

09:01 EDT Amazon Business says now serves over 1M business customers in the U.S. - Amazon Business announced that it now has more than one million business customers since launching in April of 2015, offering business-only pricing on millions of products and access to more than 85,000 business sellers. Amazon Business serves businesses of all sizes and across industries, including hospitals, educational institutions, labs, daycares, government agencies, restaurants, Fortune 50 companies and sole proprietors. Amazon Business customers include Con Edison of NY, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Intermountain Healthcare, Johns Hopkins University, King County, Mayo Clinic, Siemens in the USA, and Stanford University, among others.

08:58 EDT Citi CEO says 'confident our model is the right one'

08:52 EDT United Technologies says seeing 'encouraging signs' in China - Says despite challenges, seeing some "encouraging signs" in China.

08:51 EDT Citi CEO says bank not trying to be 'all things to all people' - Corbat says investments now showing "tangible results." Citi CEO Michael Corbat is speaking on the bank's investor day meeting.

08:50 EDT United Technologies says 'remains bullish' on China long-term

08:45 EDT Neuralstem trading resumes

08:43 EDT Galectin Therapeutics receives notice of allowance for cancer treatment patent - Galectin Therapeutics announced that the Company has received notice of allowance for a U.S. Patent for "Method of Enhancing Specific Immunotherapies in Cancer Treatment." Cancer immunotherapy research conducted by Dr. William Redmond was instrumental in the allowance of this patent. Members of Galectin and Providence are joint inventors on the patent, and Galectin holds the exclusive license. The patent's principal claims cover method of use of GR-MD-02 as a means to enhance anti-tumor activity and increase survival effects of combining GR-MD-02 with multiple clinically relevant types of immune modulators, such as KEYTRUDA; and for multiple types of cancer.

08:41 EDT Pacira says resubmission has six month PDUFA timeline - Pacira Pharmaceuticals said on this morning's conference call that its resubmission of its supplemental New Drug Application to expand the Exparel label has a six month FDA action date timeframe.

08:39 EDT United Technologies says 2H17 EPS will be lower than 1H17 - Sees increased digital investments in 2H17.

08:37 EDT Retrophin commences patient dosing in Phase 3 Trial of RE-024 in PKAN - Retrophin announced that the first patient has been dosed in the FOsmetpantotenate Replacement Therapy, or FORT, Study, an international, registrational Phase 3 clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of RE-024 for the treatment of pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration, or PKAN, a rare, genetic neurological disorder.

08:36 EDT United Technologies says China market 'continues to be challenging' - Says "confident" in delivering 350-400 engines in 2017. Sees $3.5B in share repurchases in FY17. Comments from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:34 EDT Lamb Weston CEO sees 'generally favorable' FY18 operating environment - "Looking ahead to fiscal year 2018, we anticipate the operating environment to remain generally favorable, with solid demand growth for frozen potato products across most of our markets. In addition, we expect the industry's production capacity to continue to be constrained, especially in North America. We are confident in our ability to build upon the momentum that we have created, leverage our investments in additional capacity to support our customers, execute our strategies and win in the marketplace to deliver on our outlook for the year," said President and CEO Tom Werner.

08:34 EDT Janssen: Investigational STR with darunavir 'well tolerated' in EMERALD study - Janssen-Cilag International announced that an investigational single-tablet regimen containing darunavir is effective and well tolerated. Results from the pivotal Phase 3 EMERALD study showed that a once-daily STR containing darunavir 800 mg, cobicistat 150 mg, emtricitabine 200 mg and tenofovir alafenamide 10 mg had a low cumulative virologic rebound rate and a high virologic suppression rate at 24 weeks in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 positive, virologically suppressed adults who switched from a standard boosted protease inhibitor regimen. These results were presented in an oral session at the 9th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in Paris, France. The darunavir-based STR received a Positive Opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency earlier this month recommending marketing authorization under the brand name of Symtuza in the European Union. If approved, it would be the first darunavir-based complete regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 in adults and adolescents, combining the proven efficacy and durability of darunavir with the improved renal laboratory and bone mineral density profile of F/TAF as compared to F/TDF. Safety was similar between the study arms through 24 weeks with low incidences of Grade 3-4 adverse events - 4.5% and 4.5%; serious AEs - 2.6% vs 3.2%.

08:31 EDT OSI Systems receives $6M order for security inspection systems - OSI Systems announced that its Security division has received an order for approximately $6M from an international customer to provide several models of security inspection systems, including rail cargo scanners, radiation monitoring portals, baggage and parcel inspection systems and trace detection desktops.

08:31 EDT Ultra Electronics USSI, Sparton JV awarded $35.9M in foreign sales contracts - Ultra Electronics USSI, a subsidiary of Ultra Electronics Holdings and Sparton Corporation, announce the award of subcontracts valued at $35.9M from their ERAPSCO/SonobuoyTech Systems joint venture. ERAPSCO/SonobuoyTech Systems will provide manufacturing subcontracts in the amount of $21.3M million to Ultra Electronics USSI and $14.6M million to Sparton De Leon Springs, LLC. Production will take place at Ultra Electronics USSI's Columbia City, IN facility and Sparton's De Leon Springs, FL facility. ERAPSCO/SonobuoyTech Systems were awarded multiple foreign contracts for the manufacture of Passive and Active sonobuoys in support of multiple underwater missions for detection, classification, and localization of adversary submarines during peacetime and combat operations.

08:27 EDT Abeona Therapeutics appoints Juan Ruiz as Chief Medical Officer - Abeona Therapeutics announced that Juan Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D., MBA has joined the company as Chief Medical Officer. He will be responsible for leading all clinical development, medical affairs and related functions. He has previously held global leadership positions at Lykera Biomed and Digna Biotech.

08:24 EDT Achaogen wins CARB-X funding award for LpxC program - Achaogen announced a collaboration with CARB-X - Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator - a global public-private partnership focused on funding the development of promising new antibiotics and rapid diagnostics. CARB-X selected Achaogen from a group of 368 companies and research groups worldwide to be a recipient of the award to support the development of its new class of antibiotic designed to inhibit LpxC. Achaogen was awarded $3.2M over 12 months, and potentially up to a total award of $11.4M after that period upon achievement of certain milestones.

08:22 EDT Brink's in 'exclusive' talks to acquire Temis in France for about $71M - Brink's announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement to negotiate the purchase of the Temis group of companies in France for approximately $71M. Temis provides cash-in-transit, money processing and ATM services primarily to customers in the Paris metropolitan area. Over the last 12 months, the company generated revenue of approximately $50M. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 and be accretive to net income in its first year as part of Brink's. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions.

08:18 EDT DuPont says not providing 2H guidance due to pending merger with Dow Chemical

08:15 EDT ViaSat receives supplemental approval from FAA for in-flight Gen-2 system - ViaSat announced it received Supplemental Type Certificate approval from the FAA for its second generation, or Gen-2, in-flight entertainment and connectivity system. The certification allows ViaSat to offer internet service on Boeing (BA) 737 aircraft. The first installation of the Gen-2 equipment was certified on a Qantas 737-800 aircraft in June.

08:13 EDT Uranium Energy extends drilling campaign in Burke Hollow ISR uranium project - Uranium Energy announced that the Company is extending the drilling campaign on its Burke Hollow in-situ recovery, or ISR, uranium project into early September with an additional estimated 30 holes to be drilled. Drilling commenced on April 3 this year with initial plans to drill up to 100 delineation and exploration holes through the year. As of July 21, a total of 94 holes have been successfully completed for a total of 40,420 feet of drilling with each hole having an average depth of 430 feet. The two main objectives of this campaign are to complete the exploration and delineation drilling phase of two closely-related Goliad Formation uranium trends which will constitute Burke Hollow Production Area 1, and to further extend and expand these open-ended trends within Burke Hollow.

08:12 EDT DuPont says has completed nearly all steps to close Dow merger - Says both boards have begun portfolio review of potential merger. Says primary driver of Q2 earnings were segment results. Comments from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:10 EDT Engaged Capital 'outraged' Rent-A-Center did not disclose reported approaches - Engaged Capital, the largest shareholder of Rent-A-Center, with a 20.5% economic interest, issued the a statement regarding its investment, which stated in part: "We are outraged to learn that according to media reports, prior to rejecting a $15 per share offer from Vintage Capital, the board of directors of RCII received expressions of takeover interest from two other private equity firms. Neither of these prior approaches were disclosed to shareholders, even in the context of rejecting the offer from Vintage Capital...While we cannot know what is going on in the boardroom, we find it hard to believe that the recently elected directors, who ran on a platform to evaluate all opportunities to enhance shareholder value, would not support engaging with potential acquirers. Assuming the media reports are true, we are concerned that the four remaining incumbent directors are willfully ignoring the voices of the majority of shareholders to continue the blind pursuit of the Company's risky turnaround plan."

08:10 EDT Pacira believes study results support resubmission of sNDA - Pacira Pharmaceuticals believes the results from today's studies will support the resubmission of its supplemental New Drug Application to the FDA seeking expansion of the Exparel label to include administration via nerve block to produce regional analgesia. "The sNDA will be based on the positive data from the original Phase 3 study of EXPAREL in femoral nerve block for TKA (lower extremity) and the Phase 3 study of EXPAREL in brachial plexus block for shoulder surgeries (upper extremity). It will also include safety and pharmacokinetic data from the Phase 3 brachial plexus block study and the second Phase 3 study of EXPAREL in femoral nerve block, as well as data from other peripheral nerve block comparative studies," the company said.

08:09 EDT Kadmon reports supplemental interim Phase 2 data of KD025 on cGVHD - Kadmon Holdings announced supplemental clinical data from the first cohort of an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of the Company's lead Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase 2 inhibitor, KD025, for chronic graft-versus-host disease. The Company first announced clinical data from the study on July 11, 2017. The data points, which were pending at the time of the prior data release, are as follows: An additional responder sustained a response through 24 weeks of KD025 treatment. Of responders remaining on KD025 through 24 weeks, 8 of 9 sustained responses, up from 7 of 8 patients previously reported. An additional patient achieved stable disease at week 24. This finding brings the number of patients with stable disease at week 24 to three patients, up from two patients previously reported, and increases the overall clinical benefit to 88% of patients, up from 82% of patients. The full data from the first cohort have been updated to reflect these points as follows: KD025-208 is an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and activity of KD025 in adults with steroid-dependent or steroid-refractory cGVHD and active disease. The dose-finding study includes 48 patients divided into three cohorts at different dose levels, enrolled sequentially following a safety assessment of each cohort.

08:08 EDT Allscripts and Conversa announce strategic partnership - Conversa and Allscripts are announcing a strategic partnership that gives the Allscripts customer base of more than 2,500 hospitals and health systems access to Conversa's Conversation Platform. Conversa's solution will serve as the patient-facing touchpoint for the Allscripts CareInMotion population health management platform. The technology will also be offered as a standalone solution.

08:07 EDT Seagate board votes President and COO Dave Mosely as CEO, effective Oct. 1 - Seagate Technology announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously voted to appoint Dave Mosley, Seagate's President and COO, as CEO effective October 1. Mosley was also appointed to the Board of Directors of Seagate, effective July 25, 2017. Steve Luczo, who currently serves as CEO, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman on October 1, 2017 in order to focus on longer-term shareholder value creation. Mosley joined Seagate in 1995 and in his current role is responsible for Seagate's Global Operations, Sales and Marketing, Research and Development, Supply Chain / Procurement as well as Logistics and IT.

08:07 EDT Trovagene announces publication of PCM-075 Phase 1 trial results - Trovagene announced the publication of clinical results from a Phase 1 dose escalation study of PCM-075 in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors in the peer-reviewed journal Investigational New Drugs. PCM-075 is an investigational, orally available, highly-selective PLK1 inhibitor. "We are pleased to see the publication of the Phase 1 data in Investigational New Drugs. This peer-reviewed publication shows the potential for PCM-075, including patients with hematological malignancies as a possible target population for PLK1 inhibition. The safety data are supportive of our planned Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and we look forward to reporting our clinical development progress with PCM-075," said CEO Bill Welch.

08:06 EDT Clearfield quadruples manufacturing capacity in Mexico - Clearfield announced the broadening of its manufacturing capacity in its Tijuana, Mexico facility. Through space and head-count additions, Clearfield is positioned to quadruple its manufacturing presence in Mexico. This expansion is a clear indication of the value the market is realizing from Clearfield's line of fiber management and fiber delivery solutions. The expansion assists in lowering Clearfield's cost of product manufacturing while ensuring Clearfield continues to lead the industry through short lead time and on-time deliveries.

08:04 EDT NantKwest announces publication of preclinical data on haNK cell therapy - NantKwest (NK) announced a paper entitled "ADCC employing an NK cell line expressing the high affinity CD16 allele with avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 antibody" published in the International Journal of Cancer by the National Cancer Institute. All the authors are from NCI. The paper reported preclinical data that are associated with the company's haNK cell therapy platform in combination with avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor being co-developed by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Pfizer (PFE). The preclinical data were generated under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NCI and NantBioScience and a CRADA between NCI and Merck KGaA (MKGAY), Darmstadt, Germany. In this study, haNK cells, which are NantKwest's proprietary NK cells, engineered to express the IL-2 cytokine and the high affinity CD16 allele, have been combined with avelumab, a human IgG1 anti-PD-L1 antibody. Consistent with previous studies, results demonstrate the enhanced cancer cell killing abilities of haNK cells in combination with avelumab in a range of cancer cell types via the antibody dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity mechanism. Of note, consistent with previous studies with haNK cells, this study demonstrated that activity, cytotoxicity and immune signaling capabilities of haNK cells remained intact post-irradiation.

08:04 EDT McDonald's CEO says seeing 'broad-based strength across our entire business' - "We're building a better McDonald's and more customers are noticing," said McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook. "Our relentless commitment to running great restaurants and keeping the customer at the center of everything we do is generating broad-based strength and momentum across our entire business. For the quarter, we delivered our strongest global comparable sales and guest count results in more than five years. We're now introducing our Velocity Growth Plan accelerators in more restaurants around the world, bringing meaningful benefits to more customers through digital, delivery and our Experience of the Future." Steve Easterbrook concluded, "Whilst we're encouraged by our results from the first half of 2017, we're not complacent. Today, we're acting like a leadership brand, taking on new challenges and opportunities and moving with a greater sense of purpose and urgency. We're building on our momentum, leveraging our size and scale and executing with greater precision against our priorities to retain, regain and convert customers by giving them even more reasons to visit and enjoy McDonald's. I'm confident that we're on the right path to continue positively impacting sales, guest traffic and customer satisfaction as we work to bring the biggest benefit to the most people in the shortest possible time."

08:03 EDT Freeport McMoRan sees 2017 consolidated copper sales of 3.7B pounds - Freeport McMoRan said consolidated sales for the year 2017 are expected to approximate 3.7B pounds of copper, 1.6M ounces of gold and 93M pounds of molybdenum.

08:02 EDT Rollins acquires Northwest Exterminating pest control business - Rollins has entered into a definitive purchase agreement with Northwest Exterminating to acquire its pest control business. This will be a cash purchase, and the transaction is expected to close in early August, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions and regulatory approval. Based in Marietta, Ga., Northwest provides pest control, termite, and wildlife services for approximately 120,000 customers in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina. Rollins will partner with the Phillips family, who will remain with the company, along with their entire management team.

08:01 EDT Seattle Genetics says Health Canada approves Adcentris - Seattle Genetics announced that Health Canada has issued a non-conditional marketing authorization for use of ADCETRIS as post-autologous stem cell transplant consolidation treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma at increased risk of relapse or progression. The indication was based on positive results from the phase 3 AETHERA clinical trial. ADCETRIS previously received approval with conditions in Canada for two lymphoma indications: HL patients who relapse after ASCT or relapse after at least two multi-agent chemotherapy regimens in patients who are not ASCT candidates; and for systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma patients who relapse after at least one multi-agent chemotherapy regimen. ADCETRIS is not currently approved for use in CTCL or frontline Hodgkin lymphoma.

07:58 EDT McDonald's reports Q2 global comparable sales increased 6.6%

07:51 EDT Peoples Bancorp raises dividend to 22c from 20c - The Board of Directors of Peoples Bancorp declared a quarterly cash dividend of 22c per common share on July 24 payable on August 18 to shareholders of record on August 4.

07:48 EDT Co-Diagnostics announces JV in India - Co-Diagnostics announced the recent incorporation of CoSara Diagnostics, a Joint Venture for manufacturing with Synbiotics Limited. Synbiotics is a group company of Asence, a U.S. incorporated company specializing in supplying pharmaceutical products to international markets. Co-Diagnostics and Synbiotics incorporated the CoSara entity in India in July. Co-Diagnostics paid for its commitment to CoSara from its recent initial public offering. CoSara intends to secure all applicable regulatory approvals necessary for allowing the sale and distribution of CoSara-branded diagnostics throughout India, with a manufacturing facility expected to be under construction in Q3. Once completed, CoSara will have the exclusive Indian manufacturing rights for Co-Diagnostics products.

07:42 EDT Kimberly-Clark now sees FY17 cost savings of $425M-$450M from FORCE program - Kimberly-Clark now sees FY17 net sales and organic sales expected to be similar, or up slightly, year-on-year, vs. its prior assumption up 1%-2%. Volumes are anticipated to be up slightly, while net selling prices and product mix, combined, are expected to be down slightly. Sees input cost inflation of $200M-$300M, compared to the previous estimate of $150M-$250M. The update is driven by higher assumptions for pulp costs. Now sees cost savings of $425M-$450M from the company's FORCE program. The prior estimate was for savings of at least $400M.

07:38 EDT Caterpillar reports backlog about $14.8B at Q2-end - At the end of the second quarter of 2017, the order backlog was about $14.8B, about flat with the first quarter of 2017. Resource Industries' order backlog increased about $300M, Construction Industries' decreased about $300M and Energy & Transportation's was about flat. It is not uncommon for the construction order backlog to decline during the second-quarter selling season. Compared with the second quarter of 2016, the order backlog increased about $3B. The increase was across all segments, most significantly in Construction Industries and Resource Industries.

07:37 EDT Caterpillar says worldwide, full-time employment was about 94,800 at Q2-end - Caterpillar worldwide, full-time employment was about 94,800 at the end of the second quarter of 2017, a decrease of about 5,200 full-time employees from the end of the second quarter of 2016, primarily the result of restructuring programs. The flexible workforce increased by about 3,500, primarily due to higher production volumes. In total, the global workforce decreased by about 1,700.

07:36 EDT Moleculin Biotech drug candidate WP1066 nears clinical trial at MD Anderson - Moleculin Biotech announced it has agreed to provide support to help accelerate the start of a physician-sponsored Investigational New Drug, or IND, application to study the Company's drug candidate WP1066 for the treatment of adult glioblastoma. An IND application sponsored by an MD Anderson physician is currently on clinical hold because FDA has requested additional chemistry, manufacturing and control data, among other things. The company also announced on June 26, 2017 its agreement to support research at the Mayo Clinic on the potential for WP1066 to treat pediatric brain tumors.

07:36 EDT Engility to provide U.S. Navy with secure network-centric warfare capabilities - Engility Holdings has won a $39M contract award with the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Program Executive Office of Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence. As part of the contract, Engility will help the PEO C4I Ship Integration Program Office integrate network and communications systems and develop a single, consolidated and secure technology platform baseline for U.S. Navy and Coast Guard fleets. This second quarter 2017 win is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, with a base year and four one-year extension options and represents new work for Engility.

07:35 EDT General Motors reports Q2 U.S. deliveries of 725,000 vehicles - In the second quarter, GM delivered 725,000 total vehicles in the United States, driven by a 24% increase in retail crossover sales. The Q2 crossover results are the best in GM history. GM's U.S. daily rental sales were 6% of total vehicle sales in Q2, the lowest of any full-line automaker. Daily rental sales were down about 25,000 vehicles or 35 percent compared to Q2 2016. In China, GM deliveries of 852,000 vehicles set a second-quarter record, up 1.6% compared to Q2 2016. Strong sales of Cadillac and Baojun vehicles led the way, up 62 percent and 66 percent, respectively. South America delivered 160,000 vehicles in the quarter, up 18 percent, compared to industry growth of 13 percent.

07:34 EDT Caterpillar CEO says 'confident in raising our full-year 2017 outlook' - "Given our performance in the first half of the year and current quotation and ordering activity, we are confident in raising our full-year 2017 outlook," continued CEO Jim Umpleby. "We remain focused on serving our customers, delivering strong operational performance and executing our ongoing restructuring activities. During the second half of 2017, we anticipate making targeted investments in initiatives that are important to our future competitiveness, including enhanced digital capabilities and accelerating technology updates to our products. We intend to do this without adding to the structural costs we've worked so hard to streamline. These investments will prepare us to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead."

07:31 EDT Caterpillar raises FY17 outlook

07:25 EDT Allegheny Technologies expects FRP segment to operate at loss in Q3

07:15 EDT iBio receives grant status for European patent for production of Protein-B - AzarGen Biotechnologies announced that it has received grant status for the patent application: PRODUCTION OF HUMAN PULMONARY SURFACTANT PROTEIN-B IN PLANTS from the European Patent Office. Exogenous pulmonary surfactant is routinely being used in surfactant replacement therapy applications to treat neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Animal-derived surfactant contains very low amounts of surfactant protein-B, one of the key proteins that combined with phospholipids, are essential to lower surface tension and increase lung compliance during breathing.

07:12 EDT Novartis contracts Cryoport for cryogenic logistics support of CTL019/CD19 - Cryoport (CYRX) announced that Novartis (NVS) has signed an agreement contracting Cryoport over an initial three-year term for cryogenic logistics support of CTL019/CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. Cryoport's cryogenic logistics solutions are designed to meet Novartis' expanding cryogenic logistics requirements, including the use of its Cryoport Express shippers, SmartPak II Condition Monitoring System, Cryoportal Logistics Management Platform, which includes chain-of-condition and chain-of-custody monitoring and, 24/7/365 logistics support.

07:07 EDT Kratos Defense receives $3.5M critical infrastructure security contract award - Kratos Defense announced that its Public Safety & Security Division, or PSS, has recently received a $3.5M critical infrastructure security contract award. Under the new contract award, Kratos will design, engineer and deploy an integrated security system for a large mass transit authority in the United States.

07:03 EDT Asbury Automotive reports Q2 same store total revenue up 2% - Second Quarter 2017 Operational Summary....Same store: Total revenues increased 2%; gross profit increased 2%. New vehicle revenue remained flat; gross profit decreased 14%. Used vehicle retail revenue increased 5%; gross profit decreased 6%. Finance and insurance revenue increased 8%. Parts and service revenue increased 6%; gross profit increased 6%

07:02 EDT Verastem publishes data on FAK inhibition in pancreatic, breast cancer - Verastem announced scientific findings from studies evaluating focal adhesion kinase inhibition in preclinical models of pancreatic and breast cancer with the publication of two papers in the peer-reviewed journals, PLoS One and Oncotarget. The two published articles continue to validate the underlying thesis for ongoing clinical collaborations evaluating Verastem's lead FAK inhibitor defactinib in combination with chemotherapeutic and leading immunotherapeutic agents in several difficult to treat types of cancer. In a paper titled "The Extracellular Matrix and Focal Adhesion Kinase Signaling Regulate Cancer Stem Cell Function in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma," Verastem researchers, along with scientific collaborators led by William Matsui at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, describe findings demonstrating that FAK inhibition extended the anti-tumor response to gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in preclinical models of PDAC. Prior research has demonstrated that the desmoplastic TME of PDAC plays a role in therapeutic resistance, and this study demonstrates that intra-tumoral fibrosis enhances tumor-initiating and self-renewal potential. The researchers show that the TME in PDAC is dramatically altered by several ECM proteins, including type I collagen. Type I collagen increases PDAC tumor-initiating potential, self-renewal and the frequency of cancer stem cells through the activation of FAK. While FAK overexpression increased tumor initiation, it was demonstrated that FAK inhibition reduced PDAC growth in vitro and in vivo. In an in vivo murine PDAC model, FAK inhibitor-treated tumors grew significantly slower than tumors in vehicle-treated control animals. In addition, tumor regression was enhanced by the addition of a FAK inhibitor to Gem-Pac and tumor regrowth was also significantly delayed in animals treated with the combination of a FAK inhibitor with Gem-Pac, as compared to Gem-Pac alone. In a paper by Vihren Kolev et al., titled "Inhibition of FAK Kinase Activity Preferentially Targets Cancer Stem Cells," Verastem researchers demonstrated that FAK inhibition significantly reduced the proportion of CSCs in mice bearing xenograft models of triple-negative breast cancer, as evidenced by a reduced tumor-initiating capability upon re-implantation. In contrast, the cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents, paclitaxel and carboplatin, enriched the number of CSCs. Importantly, FAK inhibition weakened the chemotherapy-induced enrichment of CSCs in vitro and delayed tumor regrowth following cessation of chemotherapy. In addition, an active mutant form of beta-catenin reversed the preferential targeting of CSCs by FAK inhibition, suggesting that this targeting is mediated, at least in part, through attenuating beta-catenin activation. The preferential targeting of CSCs by FAK inhibitors provides a rationale for the clinical development of FAK inhibitors aimed to increase durable responses for cancer patients.

07:02 EDT BrainStorm signs agreement with University of California for NurOwn trial - BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with the University of California Irvine Medical Center, or UCI, to enroll patients in the planned Phase 3 clinical trial of NurOwn in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, pending FDA and Institutional Review Board approvals. Dr. Namita Goyal has agreed to participate as Principal Investigator at UCI.

07:01 EDT United Technologies CEO says Q2 performance in-line with expectations - "United Technologies delivered another quarter of strong results with sales up 3 percent including 3 percent organic sales growth and robust cash flow. Our performance is in-line with our expectations as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities, including growing the business through our investments in innovative products and services, delivering on our aerospace backlog, and achieving our cost reduction goals, while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation. Based on our solid year-to-date performance and outlook for the remainder of 2017, we are raising the low end of our full-year adjusted EPS outlook range by 15 cents. We now expect adjusted EPS of $6.45 to $6.60.* Additionally, we are raising our sales outlook to a range of $58.5 to $59.5 billion. This reflects organic growth expectations of 3 to 4 percent versus our prior expectation of 2 to 4 percent," said UTC Chairman and CEO Gregory Hayes.

06:57 EDT Astec trading halted, news pending

06:48 EDT Avery Dennison CEO says making 'good progress' against objectives - "We continued to make good progress against our strategic and financial objectives in the second quarter," said Mitch Butier, Avery Dennison President and CEO. "LGM generated strong profitability despite a short-term moderation in organic growth; RBIS had a great quarter, with accelerated sales growth and margin expansion as our multi-year transformation delivers; and IHM continues to make progress against its strategic priorities, including the completion of two acquisitions. "We have raised our outlook for full-year earnings per share, reflecting continued strong operating performance and a reduction in the tax rate," said Butier. "We continue to remain confident that the consistent execution of our strategies will enable us to meet our long-term goals for superior value creation through a balance of profitable growth and capital discipline."

06:44 EDT Capella Education sees FY17 revenue up 3.0% - Sees FY17 consolidated operating margins to be about 15%. "While we achieved our financial goals for the first half of 2017, Capella University's second quarter enrollment performance has put pressure on our annual performance goals," said the company. "We remain committed to making investments necessary to achieve our long-term growth potential."

06:41 EDT Mizuho Securities to proceed with application for establishing EU subsidiary - Mizuho Securities Co., a core group company of Mizuho Financial Group, has started procedures for applying for a license to establish a new company to engage in securities business in Frankfurt, Germany. The decision was made in the process of assessing the impact of Brexit -- UK's withdrawal from the European Union -- and against the background of continuing the effort to develop our network for servicing customers in Europe and around the world in a sustainable and reliable manner. Mizuho says that "In order to promote the above business model going forward, we will proceed with the application for establishing a new subsidiary in Frankfurt that will lead securities operations in the EU countries. We will thereby establish a framework to maintain the quality of service for our EU customers around the world even after Brexit, which is expected in 2019."

06:37 EDT Anixter sees FY17 organic sales growth up 3.0%-5.0% - The company said, "Year-to-date, organic sales growth of 3.3% reflects solid execution of our growth initiatives and flat to modest share gain across our markets, against the backdrop of a slowly improving economic environment. As we enter the second half of the year, our focus remains on our growth initiatives which include synergistic sales and global accounts. Based on our backlog and pipeline activity, and supported by our customers' optimism and the macro-economic indicators we track, we remain optimistic that end markets will improve in the second half of 2017. Reflecting our current sales and backlog trends, we expect Q3 organic sales growth in the 2.0%-4.0% range. For the FY17 we have increased the midpoint of our outlook range by 50 basis points, and now expect full year organic sales growth in the 3.0 %-5.0% range."

06:36 EDT Biogen announces updated strategic framework - Biogen announced an updated strategic framework to drive long-term growth. The Company aims to maximize the value of its core business while building its future growth engines. Through the end of the decade, Biogen expects cash flows to significantly increase, driven by continued performance of commercial assets and the anticipated expiration of the contingent consideration payments to Fumapharm in the first half of 2019, thus enabling the Company to invest in and build an industry leading neuroscience pipeline. With an overarching goal of being the world's leading neurosciences company, Biogen is focused on the following top priorities: 1. Maximize Resilience in Multiple Sclerosis (MS): In MS, the Company plans to evolve its operating model around a portfolio-first, customer-centric approach, and to strengthen its leadership in MS through new services and solutions while continuing to invest in MS-focused R&D. Biogen believes a healthy, resilient MS business is the primary driver of future cash flow generation, allowing the Company to invest for growth. 2. Accelerate Efforts in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA): SPINRAZA, and SMA more broadly, represent an important potential growth driver for the Company. Biogen plans to continue launching SPINRAZA in multiple new markets worldwide, develop additional data in teens and adults, accelerate diagnosis and newborn screening, and pursue additional treatment advancements such as an optimized dose, gene therapy, and symptomatic therapies. 3. Develop and Expand Neuroscience Portfolio: Biogen's focus on R&D excellence centers on (1) building a translational machine in neuroscience to increase the probability of success; (2) investing in assets and capabilities in the Company's prioritized growth areas; and (3) augmenting its pipeline to emphasize both innovation and risk balance. Biogen intends to remain focused on neuroscience and adjacencies, including MS and neuroimmunology, Alzheimer's disease and dementias, Parkinson's disease and related movement disorders, neuromuscular disease including SMA and ALS, and emerging growth areas such as pain, ophthalmology, neuropsychiatry, and acute neurology. 4. Focus Capital Allocation on Investing for Future Growth: Biogen's new priority for capital deployment is to invest in building its pipeline through increased business development activity. The Company continues to focus on maximizing long-term shareholder value creation, and aims to deploy capital to generate returns meaningfully above its cost of capital. Biogen views investment in growth as its top priority, but also recognizes the value of opportunistically returning excess capital to shareholders through share repurchases. 5. Create a Leaner and Simpler Operating Model: Biogen aims to implement a plan to streamline its operations and unlock resources that can be reallocated towards investment in growth. The Company expects that by 2019 up to $400 million annually may be available to be redirected towards prioritized R&D and commercial value creation opportunities.

06:33 EDT Supervalu sees FY18 net earnings from continuing operations $51M-$70M - Sees FY18 adjusted EBITDA, including the contribution from Unified Grocers, $475M-$495M.

06:30 EDT Eli Lilly will pursue new standard-of-care changing therapies in oncology - Eli Lilly is providing an update to its oncology research and development strategy. In addition to building upon new oncology products such as Cyramza, Lartruvo, and abemaciclib, Lilly will pursue new standard-of-care changing therapies that target tumor dependencies in molecularly enriched populations, build rational combinations that overcome resistance, and develop next-generation immunotherapies. Using this framework, Lilly will now focus on seven pipeline assets for priority internal development and three additional assets which are pending data from ongoing trials. The company has or will seek external partners on the other molecules in clinical development as appropriate.

06:12 EDT AkzoNobel says to hold EGM on September 8

06:11 EDT AkzoNobel supervisory board chairman Burgmans says intends to retire as planned

06:08 EDT Pacific Premier continues to explore additional M&A transactions - The company said, "Over the second half of the year, we will be focused on leveraging our unique sales culture, larger lending capacity, and broader product offerings to accelerate business development in the Central Coast of California. We also continue to actively explore additional M&A transactions that can provide strategic and economic benefits, and further enhance the value of our franchise."

06:05 EDT Sensata sees Q3 integration-related expenses of approximately $1M-$2M

06:03 EDT DuPont sees Dow Chemical merger closing in August - "Our increased operating earnings per share and strong sales growth of 5% were driven by volume growth from our highly productive innovation pipeline," said Ed Breen, chairman and CEO of DuPont (DD). "We continue to see the results of the focus, efficiency and productivity our teams are delivering as we move toward the expected August closing of the merger with Dow (DOW). Our integration planning will enable us to begin implementation quickly, including launching the projects to achieve our $3B cost synergies target, and move toward standing up the strong, independent companies we intend to create."

05:59 EDT Wal-Mart, JD.com expand strategic cooperation - Walmart (WMT) and JD.com (JD) are expanding their cooperation to further integrate their platforms, supply chains and customer resources in China. Coinciding with the launch of the first JD-Walmart 8.8 omni-channel shopping festival on August 8, the new initiatives aim to offer shoppers throughout China faster and more convenient access to high-quality authentic products through multiple channels. JD is establishing JD pick-up stations in Walmart stores to provide more pick-up options for JD digital customers.

05:57 EDT Facebook acquires content rights startup Source3 - Source3 says on its website, "At Source3, we set out to recognize, organize and analyze branded intellectual property in user-generated content, and we are proud to have identified products across a variety of areas including sports, music, entertainment and fashion. Along the way, we built an end-to-end platform to manage online IP and establish relationships with brands. Today, we wanted to let everyone know that we've decided to continue our journey with Facebook. We're excited to bring our IP, trademark and copyright expertise to the team at Facebook and serve their global community of two billion people, who consume content, music, videos and other IP every day. We feel great about this next step in our journey, and we thank everyone who helped us get to where we are today - we couldn't have gotten this far without immense support from our investors, advisors, employees and others. We can't wait to see what's next!" Reference Link

05:55 EDT Nasdaq to acquire Sybenetix, financial terms not disclosed - Nasdaq announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sybenetix, a leading surveillance provider that combines behavioral analytics and cognitive computing with financial markets expertise. Sybenetix's technology offering is designed to solve key surveillance challenges facing the asset management industry. Nasdaq will acquire Sybenetix for an undisclosed amount and intends to fund the purchase price with cash on hand. Nasdaq does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on Nasdaq's financial leverage or capital return strategy, and is expected to generate attractive returns on capital.

05:52 EDT Cott Corp. agrees to sell traditional beverage manufacturing business for $1.25B

05:33 EDT Michael Kors to acquire Jimmy Choo PLC for $1.35B - Michael Kors announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Jimmy Choo PLC, a global luxury footwear and accessories brand. Under the terms of the transaction, Jimmy Choo shareholders will receive 230 pence per share, with an enterprise value of approximately $1.35B. The transaction has been approved by the boards of both Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Michael Kors has committed bridge financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank and Goldman Sachs Bank USA to satisfy the certain funds requirement of the U.K. Takeover Code to complete the transaction. The transaction is intended to be effected by a U.K. court-approved Scheme of Arrangement and is expected to close in Q4, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals as well as the approval of the Scheme by Jimmy Choo shareholders, who together hold at least 75% of the issued share capital of Jimmy Choo and represent a majority of the shareholders voting at the meeting. Michael Kors has received irrevocable undertakings from JAB Luxury GmbH, Jimmy Choo directors and Sandra Choi, who collectively represent 69.21% of the issued and outstanding Jimmy Choo shares in support of the transaction. Michael Kors Holdings Limited believes that the acquisition enhances the company's economic value and will drive improved long-term shareholder value. The acquisition is expected to be accretive on a GAAP basis in fiscal 2020.