Stockwinners Market Radar for October 16, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:02 EDT Midland States to acquire Alpine Bancorporation in roughly $181M deal - Midland States Bancorp and Alpine Bancorporation announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Midland will acquire Alpine in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $181M. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, upon consummation of the transaction, Alpine shares, in the aggregate, will be exchanged for approximately 4.5M shares of Midland common stock and $33.3M in cash. Based upon the closing price of Midland common stock of $33.10 on October 13, 2017, this represents transaction value of approximately $181M. Midland expects the transaction to be approximately 10% accretive to earnings per share in 2019, the first full year of combined operations. Midland also expects to incur tangible book value per share dilution of approximately 6% upon the closing of the transaction, with an expected earn-back period of approximately 3.5 years using the "cross-over" method. The transaction has been approved unanimously by each company's board of directors and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals, the approval of Alpine's and Midland's shareholders, and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

18:44 EDT Netflix says seeing steady growth, great success for streaming - Says still has bias towards building over buying content. Says streaming hasn't hit inflection point yet. Says plan is to slowly increase prices with increased content. Says password sharing not a huge problem. Says broader spread in pricing reflects value in higher tiers. Says not concerned about long-term access to shows from others. Says 'extremely unlikely' to be a bidder for the Weinstein Company. Says focused on growing operating margin. Says expects 2018 U.S marketing spend to increase. Says plans to introduce about 80 original films next year. Says not interested in sports near term. Comments from Q3 earnings conference call.

18:29 EDT CytRx granted listing extension pending results of stockholder vote - CytRx 's request for a continued listing has been granted by Nasdaq pending the results of a stockholder vote on or before October 30. The Nasdaq Hearings Panel granted the company's request for continued listing subject to the following relevant terms: on or before October 30, the company shall inform the Panel that it has received stockholder approval to implement a reverse stock split in a ratio of 1 for 6 shares. On or before November 15, the company must evidence a closing bid price of $1.00 or more for a minimum of ten prior consecutive trading days. The company intends to adjourn the scheduled Special Meeting of Stockholders planned for October 17 and the meeting will be rescheduled for October 27, at the same location, at which the company will seek stockholder approval for the 1-for-6 reverse stock split. If approved, the company plans to implement the reverse stock split shortly after the Special Meeting in order to demonstrate a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share. The company must demonstrate a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive trading days by no later than November 15. If the proposal does not pass and the stock does not rise to at least $1.00 per share for ten consecutive days within the period granted by the Panel, the company will then seek to commence trading on the OTC Bulletin Board.

18:15 EDT Trian: P&G board election results 'too close to call' - Trian Fund Management, whose investment funds beneficially own approximately $3.5B of shares of The Procter & Gamble Company, issued a statement regarding the preliminary voting results from the 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders that P&G filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a Current Report on Form 8-K: "IVS Associates, Inc., P&G's independent Inspector of Elections, is in the process of tabulating all the proxies and ballots submitted at the Annual Meeting in accordance with Ohio law and has yet to deliver its preliminary report let alone a final certified report of the voting results. The preliminary voting results P&G filed today, and relied on to declare victory at the Annual Meeting, are based on estimates and incomplete information reported by the Company's proxy solicitors and were calculated without full visibility into the proxies submitted by Trian to the Inspector. Trian continues to believe that the election is too close to call. We are gratified by the overwhelming support we received from P&G shareholders - including the large majority of institutional investors - and all of the nation's proxy advisory firms. Regardless of the final voting results, shareholders have sent a strong message to P&G's Board and management: a continuation of the past decade's underperformance is simply unacceptable. We look forward to reviewing the preliminary report from the independent Inspector of Elections and will take all steps to ensure accurate final voting results."

17:36 EDT Argo Group provides preliminary Q3 loss estimate - Argo Group announced preliminary pre-tax catastrophe loss estimates for Q3 of $85M-$110M, net of ceded reinsurance recoverables, reinstatement premiums and expected profit commissions. The net losses include approximately $35M-$45M related to Ariel Re, which was not acquired until the end of Q1. Catastrophe losses in Q3 are related primarily to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria as well as the earthquake in Mexico City. In addition, the company expects to report other non-catastrophe losses of approximately $15M, driven primarily by higher than anticipated attritional losses within the current accident year for Property business underwritten by Syndicate 1200.

17:31 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Netflix (NFLX), up 1.2%. ALSO HIGHER: Immune Design (IMDZ), up 8.9% after it announced "positive" FDA feedback on its Phase 3 trial for CMB305... Spirit Airlines (SAVE), up 5.5% after it raised its total RASM guidance for the third quarter... UnitedHealth (UNH), up 0.4% after the stock was initiated with an Outperform rating at BMO Capital. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Badger Meter (BMI), down 10.4%... Sonic (SONC), down 2.2%. ALSO LOWER: Vical (VICL), down 4.6% after it filed to sell $23M of common stock... Abeona Therapeutics (ABEO), down 4.2% after it filed to sell common stock.

17:27 EDT Harris awarded $100M government contract modification - Harris Corp., Clifton, New Jersey, is being awarded a $100M modification for a non-competitive, single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. The contract provides suite of integrated radio and frequency countermeasure components and related services for the Technology Applications program office and CV-22 program offices. The majority of the work is performed in Clifton, NJ, with ordering periods ending on July 30, 2019. This modification increases the ceiling amount by $100M from $190M to $290M. This modification was awarded through non-competitive award in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.

17:22 EDT Impinj COO sells 7,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Impinj president and COO Eric Broderson disclosed the sale of 7,000 common shares of the company in three tranches priced in the range of $36.1718-$37.4661 per share. The first transaction occurred on October 12, while the other two occurred on October 13.

17:16 EDT Longboard raises stake in Resonant to 25.35% from 22.47%

17:08 EDT Ipsen says Phase 3 Celestial trial of cabozanitinib met primary endpoint of OS - Before the market opened, Ipsen (IPSEY) and its partner Exelixis (EXEL) announced that its global phase 3 CELESTIAL trial met its primary endpoint of overall survival, with cabozantinib providing a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in median OS compared to placebo in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The independent data monitoring committee for the study recommended that the trial should be stopped for efficacy following review of the second planned interim analysis. CELESTIAL is a randomized, global phase 3 trial of cabozantinib versus placebo in patients with advanced HCC who have been previously treated with sorafenib. The safety data in the study were consistent with the established profile of cabozantinib. In line with and in collaboration with our partner Exelixis, Ipsen expects to file in the first half of 2018 a variation of the initial application to the EMA and other relevant regulatory agencies and to evaluate potential next steps in the development strategy for cabozantinib outside the United States and Japan as a treatment for advanced HCC in patients who have been previously treated. Detailed results from CELESTIAL will be submitted for presentation at a future medical conference. CELESTIAL is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of cabozantinib in patients with advanced HCC conducted at more than 100 sites globally in 19 countries. The trial was designed to enroll 760 patients with advanced HCC who previously received sorafenib and may have received up to two prior systemic cancer therapies for HCC and had adequate liver function. Enrollment of the trial was completed in September 2017, and 773 patients were ultimately randomized. Patients were randomized 2:1 to receive 60 mg of cabozantinib once daily or placebo and were stratified based on etiology of the disease, geographic region and presence of extrahepatic spread and/or macrovascular invasion. No cross-over was allowed between the study arms. Based on available clinical trial data from various published trials conducted in the second-line setting of advanced HCC, the CELESTIAL trial statistics for the primary endpoint of OS assumed a median OS of 8.2 months for the placebo arm. A total of 621 events provide the study with 90 percent power to detect a 32 percent increase in median OS at the final analysis. Two interim analyses were planned and conducted at 50 percent and 75 percent of the planned 621 events.

17:02 EDT Turquoise Hill sees FY17 Oyu Tolgoi copper production 130K-160K tonnes - Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 130,000 to 160,000 tonnes of copper and 100,000 to 140,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2017. Open-pit operations are expected to mine in Phases 4 and 6 during the year. In addition, stockpiled ore will continue to be processed during 2017.

17:00 EDT Aspen Insurance reports preliminary pre-tax hurricane impact of $310M - Aspen Insurance reported a preliminary estimate of approximately $310M in pre-tax losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Approximately $110M of these losses are from Hurricane Harvey, $135M from Hurricane Irma and $65M from Hurricane Maria. In addition, Aspen estimates pre-tax losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, of approximately $50M from several other events, the largest of which relate to weather-related losses and the Mexican earthquakes. Approximately 75% of the total estimated losses are attributed to the Reinsurance segment and approximately 25% are attributed to the Insurance segment. Aspen expects to record an underwriting loss of approximately $340M in Q3. Results for the quarter reflect the catastrophe losses described above as well as increased losses in short-tail insurance lines, primarily Property Insurance.

16:44 EDT Microsoft proposes election of new board members - Microsoft (MSFT) released its annual proxy statement and announced two nominations to its board of directors. The nominees are Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman of PSP Capital and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International (MAR). Both are accomplished leaders and will bring significant global experience to Microsoft. They will be presented for election at the company's annual shareholders meeting on Nov. 29.

16:33 EDT SilverBow: Oro Grande well had 940 MMcfe cumulative production over 90 days - SilverBow Resources announced that the company's Oro Grande NMC 1-H well had cumulative production over 940M cubic feet of natural gas equivalent after ninety producing days. The well is currently producing approximately 11M cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day with nearly 6,000 pounds per square inch of flowing tubing pressure under the company's detailed pressure management program. The well had a lateral length of 7,500 feet and utilized the company's largest completion design of roughly 3,400 pounds of proppant per lateral foot. "Our use of modern seismic, geo-steering, and completion design are yielding a marked increase in our well performance as compared to the historical development in this area," said Sean Woolverton, Chief Executive Office of SilverBow Resources. "The NMC 1-H is an important milestone and proof-of-concept well for the Company as we transfer our learnings from Fasken to other areas of the gas and condensate windows of the Eagle Ford. Furthermore, our strong results from Oro Grande have prompted us to move the rig back to the area to drill our second well sooner than what was originally scheduled. We are currently completing the NMC 2-H with plans to drill a third well in the area in early 2018."

16:24 EDT Independence Holding Co. raises annual dividend 42% to 17c per share - Independence Holding Company announced that the Board of Directors has voted to increase the cash dividend by 42% to 17c per share annually, effective with the next semi-annual dividend payable in January 2018. This is the third recent increase. In January 2017, the semi-annual dividend paid to the stockholders reflected a 33% increase from 9c to 12c annually. In July 2015, the semi-annual dividend paid to the stockholders reflected a 29% increase from 7c to 9c annually.

16:18 EDT Netflix says will spend $7B-$8B on content in 2018 - Netflix said in its quarterly letter to investors: "Investors often ask us about continued access to content from diversified media companies. While we have multi-year deals in place preventing any sudden reduction in content licensing, the long-term trends are clear. Our future largely lies in exclusive original content that drives both excitement around Netflix and enormous viewing satisfaction for our global membership and its wide variety of tastes...With $17 billion in content commitments over the next several years and a growing library of owned content ($2.5 billion net book value at the end of the quarter), we remain quite comfortable with our ability to please our members around the world. We'll spend $7-8 billion on content (on a P&L basis) in 2018."

16:16 EDT Scientific Games signs agreement with Apigee - Scientific Games (SGMS) announced that it has signed an agreement with Apigee, a subsidiary of Google (GOOG, GOOGL), to utilize its full lifecycle application programming interface management platform, as part of the Company's portfolio of casino management technology solutions for the gaming industry. This agreement allows Scientific Games to deploy Apigee API management software in its suite of casino and slot management systems solutions and will enable Scientific Games to design, secure, deploy, monitor, and scale APIs. Apigee's industry-leading solution will make integration with third-party applications easier, more secure, more reliable, and more operationally efficient.

16:13 EDT Netflix sees Q4 streaming net additions of 6.3M members - Sees Q4 U.S. streaming net additions of 1.25M and international net additions of 5.05M.

16:09 EDT Anika Therapeutics announces regulatory approval for Monovisc in Australia - Anika Therapeutic announced that regulatory authorities in Australia granted approval to Monovisc, Anika's single injection viscosupplement for the treatment of pain associated with osteoarthritis of all synovial joints, including the hip and knee. Monovisc is commercially available in over twenty countries, including the United States, Canada, and various European countries. Monovisc also recently received approval in the Asia-Pacific countries of India and Taiwan. Anika intends to further expand Monovisc into additional international markets in 2018. The global expansion of Monovisc is an important international orthobiologics revenue driver for Anika, and Australia and New Zealand represent a large and growing market opportunity. Anika has a multi-year, exclusive distribution agreement with Surgical Specialties to market Monovisc in Australia and New Zealand.

16:05 EDT Golden Ocean acquires two capesize vessels for $43M per vessel - Golden Ocean Group announced that it has agreed to acquire two modern Capesize vessels from affiliates of Hemen Holding Limited at a purchase price of $43.0M per vessel. As settlement of the purchase price for the vessels, the company will enter into a non-amortizing seller's credit loan with an affiliate of Hemen for 50% of the purchase price, which bears interest at LIBOR + 3.00% per annum and matures three years after delivery of the vessels. The remaining part of the purchase price will be settled on delivery of the vessels with an estimated $9.0M of cash and an estimated $34.0M million of newly-issued common shares of the company at a per-share price equal to the offer price in an expected equity offering. Following completion of the acquisition and expected equity offering, Hemen, together with certain of its affiliates, will maintain its current ownership percentage of approximately 34.2% of the company's issued and outstanding common shares.

16:04 EDT Senator Investment reports 6.18% passive stake in Caesars

16:01 EDT CIT Group declares quarterly cash dividend of 16c per share - The common stock dividend is payable on Nov. 24 to common shareholders of record as of Nov. 10.

15:33 EDT Spirit AeroSystems reaches licensing agreement with NDT Solutions - Spirit AeroSystems announced it has reached a licensing agreement with NDT Solutions to commercialize Spirit's innovative inspection device for ultrasonic inspection of complex, integrated composite structures. The new technology supports inspection of composite structures from the inside out instead of the typical surface-only inspection.

14:47 EDT G. Willi-Food announces appointment of Amir Kaplan as CFO - G. Willi-Food announced that Amir Kaplan has been appointed as chief financial officer effective immediately. Kaplan served since July 2011 as the CFO of RSL Electronics, an Israeli public company whose shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The company also announced that Yitschak Barabi, the former interim chief financial officer, has been appointed as controller and deputy chief financial officer.

14:29 EDT Springhouse Capital reports 5.7% passive stake in Fifth Street Finance

14:03 EDT Grubhub, BJ's Restaurants announced online ordering partnership - Grubhub (GRUB) announced a new partnership with BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) to provide turnkey delivery and corporate catering for 100 BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse locations. Guests can now order their favorite BJ's dishes easily through Grubhub's online and mobile platforms. Delivery and corporate catering from Grubhub is now available at 100 BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse locations in California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

13:46 EDT Allergan says will appeal U.S. District Court ruling on Restasis patents

13:32 EDT Raytheon opens new engineering facility in Albuquerque - Raytheon Company has opened a new facility in the Sandia Science and Technology Park, expanding its operations to develop and produce range monitoring and telemetry systems for the U.S. and its allies. The expansion will bring 60 new high-tech manufacturing jobs to the state over the next six years. The company employs more than 350 workers in science, engineering, advanced manufacturing and management jobs at its facilities in Albuquerque and Dine, located on the Navajo Nation. The new 72,000-square-foot building is the third facility for Raytheon in Albuquerque. The State of New Mexico and City of Albuquerque helped pay for site improvements through Local Economic Development Act, or LEDA, funds.

13:21 EDT Sancarin S.L. reports 5.15% passive stake in Callaway Golf

12:53 EDT Gate City Capital reports 5.41% passive stake in Barnwell Industries

12:47 EDT Adobe releases security update for Flash Player addressing vulnerability - Adobe on its website said it has released a security update for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Chrome OS. This update addresses a critical type confusion vulnerability that could lead to code execution. Adobe is aware of a report that an exploit for CVE-2017-11292 exists in the wild, and is being used in limited, targeted attacks against users running Windows. Reference Link

12:22 EDT Trump calls subsidies to insurance companies a 'disgrace' - President Trump, while speaking from the White House, spoke of how well the stocks of health insurance companies have done since the Affordable Care Act was enacted into law. Trump called the subsidies a "disgrace" and a "payoff." Publicly traded companies in the health insurance space include Aetna (AET), Anthem (ANTM), Centene (CNC), Cigna (CI), Health Net (HNT), Humana (HUM), Molina Healthcare (MOH), UnitedHealth (UNH) and WellCare (WCG).

12:01 EDT Cummins to acquire assets of Brammo, Inc; financial terms not disclosed - Cummins announced that it is acquiring the assets of Brammo, Inc., which designs and develops battery packs for mobile and stationary applications. Operations from this acquisition will report under Cummins' recently formed Electrification Business led by Julie Furber, Executive Director of Electrification at Cummins, and will continue to be based in Talent, Oregon. This acquisition adds to Cummins' portfolio of solutions and provides an entry point into new markets. In August, Cummins revealed a fully electric heavy duty demonstration Urban Hauler Tractor. This acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the end of this calendar year.

11:20 EDT Facebook testing resume/CV feature for job hunters, TNW's Matt Navarra tweets - Matt Navarra, director of social media for The Next Web, tweets that "Facebook is testing a resume/CV feature for job hunters." Reference Link

10:35 EDT BlackBerry in focus as patent licensing director exits - Shares of BlackBerry (BB) are in focus after a senior executive is said to have left the company, marking the second high-level departure in the last three weeks. EXECUTIVE DEPARTURES: Victor Schubert, a key attorney executing BlackBerry's patent licensing strategy told Reuters in a LinkedIn message that he is no longer with the company. Schubert joined BlackBerry in March 2015. Schubert's exit follows the departure of Mark Kokes, the head of BlackBerry's patent monetization strategy who left earlier this month to join health technology firm NantWorks, which houses startups focused on global health information and next-generation pharmaceuticals. According to Reuters, Kokes' departure followed a May announcement that Ron Louks, a former Blackberry president for devices and emerging solutions, was moving to NantHealth (NH), a publicly-traded unit of NantWorks, to serve as COO. WHAT'S NOTABLE: BlackBerry Chief Executive Officer John Chen views the company's patent portfolio as a key element in its turnaround strategy as it looks to focus more on its software and the enterprise business. Chen has previously said BlackBerry has "one of the youngest patent portfolios in the entire industry, so monetization of our patents is an important aspect of our turnaround." SYMBOL CHANGE: Separately, BlackBerry's ticker symbol changed to "BB" from "BBRY" today as it moved to the New York Stock Exchange from Nasdaq. CEO Chen told CNBC this morning that the NYSE is a stronger marketing platform for the company at this time versus Nasdaq. PRICE ACTION: BlackBerry shares are flat at $11.58.

10:25 EDT Carter's, Hanesbrands lower are Cowen uncovers potential Amazon risk - Shares of Carter's (CRI) and Hanesbrands (HBI) are lower after Cowen analyst John Kernan said his conversations over the weekend with supply chain contacts suggest Amazon (AMZN) may develop clothes for intimates, baby and basics. The analyst views possible competition from Amazon as a risk to Hanesbrands and Carter's. Both stocks are down over 1% in early trading.

10:22 EDT Carter's, Hanesbrands lower are Cowen uncovers potential Amazon risk - Shares of Carter's (CRI) and Hanesbrands (HBI) are lower after Cowen analyst John Kernan said his conversations over the weekend with supply chain contacts suggest Amazon (AMZN) may develop clothes for intimates, baby and basics. The views possible competition from Amazon as risk to Hanesbrands and Carter's. Both stocks are down over 1% in early trading.

10:19 EDT Exelixis surges after Cabometyx granted priority review, meets endpoint in trial - Shares of Exelixis (EXEL) jumped in early trading after the biopharmaceutical company said it received priority review from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma. Separately, the company said a global Phase 3 trial met its primary endpoint of overall survival. FDA PRIORITY REVIEW: Exelixis announced this morning that it has won priority review status from the FDA for its supplemental new drug application for a treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma. The biotech company said its sNDA is based on results of data from Cabosun, a phase 2 trial of Cabometyx geared towards patients with previously untreated advanced renal cell carcinoma, or RCC. The Phase 2 trial was conducted by The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology as part of Exelixis' collaboration with the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program. Cabometyx was approved by the FDA in April 2016 for the treatment of patients with advanced RCC who have received prior anti-angioegenic therapy. According to Exelixis, the American Cancer Society's 2017 statistics cite kidney cancer as among the top ten most commonly diagnosed forms of cancer among both men and women in the U.S. Exelixis said today that the FDA assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, action date of February 15, 2018. CABOMETYX MEETS ENDPOINT: Separately, Exelixis announced this morning that Cabometyx met the primary goal of overall survival in a global Phase 3 Celestial trial with partner Ipsen (IPSEY). The companies said that Cabometyx showed statistically significant and "clinically meaningful improvement" in overall survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Based on these results, Exelixis said it plans to submit a supplemental new drug application to the FDA in the first quarter of 2018. "We are excited that these positive results from the phase 3 Celestial trial bring us one step closer to the potential of offering previously treated patients with this aggressive form of advanced liver cancer a much-needed new treatment option," said Gisela Schwab, M.D., President, Product Development and Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Exelixis. ANALYST COMMENTARY: In a note to clients this morning, SunTrust analyst Peter Lawson raised his price target to $35 from $33 and reiterated his Buy rating on Exelixis, saying the Celestial trial results positions Cabometyx "well" against Bayer's (BAYRY) regorafenib, its main competitor. According to the analyst, the results validate the expansion of cabozantinib beyond kidney cancer, potentially positioning Exelixis as an attractive M&A target. PRICE ACTION: In early trading, Exelixis is up 31% to $32.49. Shares are up over 100% year-to-date.

10:06 EDT Willis Towers Watson to sell multiple insurance programs to AmWINS - AmWINS Group has reached a definitive agreement to acquire 15 insurance programs from Willis Towers Watson. The acquisition is expected to be completed on October 31. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

09:54 EDT Wells Fargo broker-dealers ordered to pay $3.4M in restitution by FINRA - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced that it has ordered Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC to pay more than $3.4M in restitution to affected customers for unsuitable recommendations of volatility-linked exchange-traded products and related supervisory failures. FINRA found that between July 1, 2010, and May 1, 2012, certain Wells Fargo registered representatives recommended volatility-linked ETPs without fully understanding their risks and features. FINRA found that Wells Fargo failed to implement a reasonable system to supervise solicited sales of these products during the relevant time period. However, FINRA found that Wells Fargo took remedial action to correct its supervisory deficiencies in May 2012, prior to detection by FINRA and around the time that the firm was fined for similar violations relating to sales of leveraged and inverse ETPs. In addition, Wells Fargo provided substantial assistance to FINRA's investigation by, among other things, engaging a consulting firm to determine the appropriate restitution to be provided to affected customers. In settling with FINRA, Wells Fargo neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA's findings.

09:36 EDT Pareteum Corp trading halted, news pending

09:28 EDT Weinstein Co. in talks with Colony Capital on potential sale

09:26 EDT Tetraphase appoints Kamalam Unninayar as CFO - Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals (TTPH) announced the appointment of Kamalam Unninayar as CFO. Most recently, Kam spent over 11 years overseeing finance organizations at Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO).

09:23 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Ruby Tuesday (RT), up 19.1% after announcing it will be acquired by NRD Capital for $2.40 per share... Aramark (ARMK), up 4% after announcing it will acquire Avendra for $1.35B and AmeriPride Services for $1B... Shire (SHPG), up 2.3% after its new formulation of Oncaspar received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use... Apple (AAPL), up just under 1% after being upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc... Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ), up 11.9% after reporting preliminary third quarter results... Concurrent (CCUR), up 16.4% after it agrees to sell its Content Delivery & Storage Business to Vecima Networks for $29M. LOWER: Charles Schwab (SCHW), down 1.6% after reporting quarterly results... Concordia (CXRX), down 4.4% after announcing it will defer payment of approximately $26M of interest due on its $735M unsecured notes... ITUS (ITUS), down 11% after filing a $24M mixed securities shelf.

09:10 EDT Nordstrom suspends active exploration of going private transaction - Nordstrom announced that members of the Nordstrom family - company co-presidents Blake Nordstrom, Peter Nordstrom, and Erik Nordstrom, president of stores James Nordstrom, chairman emeritus Bruce Nordstrom, and Anne Gittinger - have notified the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Nordstrom that the group has suspended active exploration, for the balance of the year, of the possibility of proposing a transaction to take the company private. The Group informed the Special Committee that it intends to continue its efforts to explore the possibility of making a going private proposal after the conclusion of the holiday season. The Special Committee, which is committed to protecting the interests of the Company and all its shareholders, is prepared to thoroughly evaluate such a proposal from the Group at that time, if one is made. In the meantime, the Company and its employees will remain focused on running the business and delivering the best shopping experience for customers.

09:09 EDT Nordstrom to remain focused on running the business in the meantime

09:08 EDT Houghton Mifflin announces leadership changes - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced changes to its executive team, with new incorporations and promotion of internal leaders. Reporting directly to CEO Lynch, the following executives will serve leading roles: Jim O'Neill, EVP and General Manager, Core Curriculum, joining most recently from Achieve3000; Matthew Mugo Fields, EVP and General Manager, Supplemental Curriculum; Rose Else-Mitchell, EVP and Chief Learning Officer, who joined HMH in 2015, will focus on the efficacy of HMH's programs and services to drive student outcomes; Amy Dunkin, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, will oversee product marketing, field marketing, market research, pricing, an in-house creative agency, communications, and digital and demand generation teams; Alejandro Reyes, SVP and Chief People Officer, joins HMH from Laureate Education, where he served as the Chief Talent and Organization Development Officer; Trish Torizzo, SVP and Chief Information Officer, will focus on leveraging the company's enterprise software solutions to streamline all internal operations and improve the customer experience; Vicki Boyd, EVP and General Manager, Heinemann, HMH's professional development publishing arm.

09:04 EDT Nordstrom suspends active exploration of going private

09:03 EDT Sparton, Ultra Electronics USSI JV awarded $12.9M in foreign sales contracts - Sparton Corporation and Ultra Electronics USSI, a subsidiary of Ultra Electronics Holdings, announce the award of subcontracts valued at $12.9M from their ERAPSCO/SonobuoyTech Systems joint venture. ERAPSCO/SonobuoyTech Systems will provide manufacturing subcontracts in the amount of $5.7M to Ultra Electronics USSI and $7.2M to Sparton De Leon Springs. 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.

09:02 EDT Citi, FIS enable real-time payments for corporate treasury customers - FIS (FIS) and Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (C) announced that they are collaborating to enable real-time payments and cash management for their corporate treasury customers. Using the CitiConnect application programming interfaces, FIS has connected its Trax corporate payments factory to the suite of Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions -- enabling seamless integration with Citi's core treasury management functionality, including payment initiation, transaction status inquiry, and balance inquiry.

09:01 EDT Emerson agrees to acquire Paradigm for $510M - Emerson has agreed to acquire Paradigm, a provider of software solutions for the oil and gas industry, for a purchase price of $510M, reflecting a multiple of 13 times expected 2017 EBITDA. Paradigm, joined with Emerson's existing Roxar software business, creates an end-to-end Exploration & Production software portfolio with offerings spanning seismic processing and interpretation to production modeling. Paradigm's technology offerings will enable Emerson to better help oil and gas operators increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve return on investment. Paradigm is headquartered in Houston and has more than 500 employees globally. The acquisition is expected to close within the next 60 days, subject to various regulatory approvals.

08:58 EDT Huaneng Power's power generation in China in Q1-Q3 up 24.4% y-o-y - Huaneng Power announced its power generation for the first three quarters of 2017. The company's total power generation by power plants within China on consolidated basis amounted to 107.592 billion kWh, representing an increase of 24.36% over the same period last year. Total electricity sold by the company amounted to 101.092 billion kWh, representing an increase of 23.79% over the same period last year. For the first three quarters of 2017, the company's total power generation by the power plants within China on consolidated basis amounted to 294.271 billion kWh, representing an increase of 26.52% over the same period last year. Total electricity sold by the company amounted to 277.212 billion kWh, representing an increase of 26.16% over the same period last year. The substantial increase in the company's power generation was mainly attributable to the following factors: the acquisition of the power assets in areas like Heilongjiang, Jilin and Shandong by the company contributed to the substantial increase in power generation of the company; and the thermal power generation in central China, eastern China and Guangdong increased year on year.

08:43 EDT Shire reports new formulation of Oncaspar receives positive CHMP opinion - Shire announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion recommending the marketing authorization for lyophilized Oncaspar, as a component of antineoplastic combination therapy in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in pediatric patients from birth to 18 years, and in adult patients. The CHMP's positive opinion will be submitted to the European Commission, which is responsible for granting marketing authorizations for medicines in the EU.

08:41 EDT ReWalk Robotics' soft exosuit technology begins next testing phase - ReWalk Robotics' soft exosuit technology currently in development has entered the next phase of testing and verification in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. This phase of testing includes evaluating the ReWalk exosuit system that is based on Wyss Institute exosuit technology with individuals who have had a stroke, in preparation for upcoming clinical trials to be run at clinical sites in 2018. This technology is designed for use by stroke survivors with lower limb disability.

08:38 EDT Tidewater CEO Jeffrey Platt to retire, Larry Rigdon named interim CEO - Tidewater announced that Jeffrey Platt has elected to retire effective October 15 from his roles as CEO, President, and a director of Tidewater. The Board of Directors has appointed Larry Rigdon as its interim CEO and President, effective immediately. The Board has formed a search committee to identify a permanent successor CEO and President. Rigdon, who was appointed to serve on the Board following the financial restructuring, is a seasoned executive in the industry. Rigdon has prior experience as an executive at Tidewater, retiring as Executive Vice President in 2002 after joining the company in 1992 with the merger with Zapata Gulf Marine Corporation. In light of Rigdon's interim dual role as CEO and President, Rigdon has stepped down from the audit committee and the Board has appointed Steven Newman as his replacement.

08:37 EDT Ruby Tuesday to be acquired by NRD Capital for $2.40 per share -

08:36 EDT Azure Power wins 250 MW solar power project - Azure Power announced that it has won a 250 megawatt solar project in an auction conducted by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam. NVVN is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Government of India's largest power utility, National Thermal Power Corporation, which received a AAA debt rating from CRISIL, a Standard & Poor's Company. Azure Power will provide power to NVVN at a tariff of INR 3.14 per kWh for 25 years and the solar PV project can be located anywhere in India, which will be outside a solar park..With this win, Azure Power will now be the largest provider of solar power to AAA-rated NTPC and its subsidiaries.

08:35 EDT JPMorgan deploys blockchain with RBC, ANZ Banking - J.P. Morgan (JPM) with two global partners, Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZBY) announced the launch of the Interbank Information Network (IIN). The new initiative will use blockchain technology to minimize friction in the global payments process. IIN will allow payments to reach beneficiaries faster with fewer steps and better security. Processing global payments is very complex. Multiple layers of communication occur amongst payment participants to verify and process transactions. By leveraging blockchain technology, IIN will significantly reduce the number of participants currently needed to respond to compliance and other data-related inquiries that delay payments. Royal Bank of Canada and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited are the first two banks to join IIN, representing significant cross-border payment volumes. Other correspondent banks are expected to join in the coming months. IIN is powered by Quorum, a permissioned-variant of the Ethereum blockchain, developed by J.P. Morgan. Quorum's focus on privacy enables secure data sharing via IIN. J.P. Morgan's Treasury Services business processes approximately $5T in payments every day for clients in more than 100 countries. The business has been aggressively investing in technology to improve end-to-end client experience. In particular, emerging technologies such as blockchain, machine learning and robotics are being deployed by the business to improve platforms and develop innovative products and solutions.

08:34 EDT Fiesta Restaurant appoints Charles Locke as Taco Cabana President - Fiesta Restaurant Group announced that Charles "Chuck" Locke has joined the company as Taco Cabana President. Fiesta SVP and COO Danny Meisenheimer will also assume the additional role of Pollo Tropical President. These appointments are effective as of October 16. Locke and Meisenheimer will report to Fiesta President and CEO Richard Stockinger.

08:32 EDT Celanese announces global capacity expansions to support growth - Celanese announced plans to expand the capacity of its global compounding assets and certain product-specific manufacturing production sites to support the significant growth in its engineered materials business. "As the global demand for specialty materials increases in key industries such as medical, automotive, consumer goods and electronics, Celanese is partnering with our customers to deliver the innovative materials found in products that consumers around the world use every day," said Scott Richardson, SVP, Celanese engineered materials business. "These planned capacity expansions at selected Celanese facilities - along with our recent acquisitions - will enable us to continue to support a growing and diverse customer base and respond to the increasing need for compounded specialty materials, long-fiber thermoplastics and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene." In the Asia region, Celanese will add two production lines at its Nanjing, China, facility and one production line at its recently acquired Suzhou, China, facility. In the Americas region, Celanese will add two production lines at its Florence, Kentucky, facility, as well as expand compounding production capacity at its Bishop, Texas, facility. In the European region, Celanese will add one new production line at its recently acquired Forli, Italy, facility. Celanese expects these new production lines and expansions will add approximately 50-60kt per year in compounding capacity. The company also expects through the debottlenecking of existing global production lines to see an additional 10-15kt per year capacity of compounded material production capability. In the Americas region, Celanese is in the process of adding one new Celstran long-fiber thermoplastics production line at its Winona, Minnesota, facility as well as debottlenecking existing production lines at this facility. The company expects through this expansion and the debottlenecking of existing global LFT production lines to see an additional 9kt per year of capacity. In the Asia region, Celanese is in the planning stages of one new GUR ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene production line at its Nanjing, China, facility. The company expects this new production line to add approximately 15kt per year of new GUR UHMW-PE product capacity.

08:32 EDT Hexcel, Vestas expand composite material supply agreement for wind blades - Hexcel announced that it has expanded its existing supply agreement with Vestas Wind Systems A/S to provide composite materials for new generation wind blades. Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Hexcel will supply Vestas with advanced prepreg manufactured at Hexcel plants in Neumarkt, Windsor, Colorado, and Tianjin.

08:31 EDT Flex Pharma initiates CMT Phase 2 trial with FLX-787 in U.S. - Flex Pharma announced that, under its open investigational new drug application, the company has initiated a Phase 2 randomized, controlled, double-blinded, parallel design trial in the US, referred to as the COMMIT trial. The COMMIT trial will evaluate FLX-787, the company's co-activator of TRPA1 and TRPV1, in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth, who suffer from painful, debilitating cramps. The company expects to report topline results from this study in the middle of 2018. The company initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial in ALS earlier this quarter. The FDA has granted FLX-787 Fast Track designation for the treatment of severe muscle cramps associated with ALS. The COMMIT trial is a Phase 2 clinical trial designed to evaluate FLX-787 in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth who suffer from cramps. This randomized, controlled, double-blinded, parallel design trial in the U.S. will include a run-in period to establish a baseline in cramp frequency. Patients will then be randomized to 30 mg of FLX-787 administered three times a day, or control, for 28 days. Patients will be evaluated for changes in cramp frequency as the primary endpoint, with a number of secondary endpoints.

08:29 EDT MediWound announces distribution agreement Taiwan with Holy Stone Healthcare - MediWound announced an agreement with Holy Stone Healthcare for the distribution of NexoBrid in Taiwan for the treatment of severe burns. Commercialization of NexoBrid in Taiwan will commence after receipt of local regulatory approvals, which will be filed with the local regulatory authorities by Holy Stone Healthcare and is expected to be granted within two years or possibly longer.

08:18 EDT James River Group sees hurricane losses of about $10M - James River Group announced that its initial pretax loss estimate from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria is expected to be approximately $10M, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums. "Our expected loss of $10M in the face of industry losses that are likely to exceed $100B is an affirmation of our low volatility model. This loss will affect our earnings for the quarter and the year. However, we continue to anticipate earning a 12% or better return on tangible equity for the full year," said J. Adam Abram, Chairman and CEO of James River.

08:16 EDT Embraer announces order for six A-29 Super Tucano from undisclosed customer - Embraer announced a firm order for six A-29 Super Tucano light attack and advanced training aircraft from an undisclosed customer. The aircraft can be used for tactical and advanced training as well as light attack and ISR missions. Deliveries will be concluded in 2018.

08:14 EDT Celgene to present Phase 2 studies of ozanimod in Crohn's, ulerative colitis - Celgene Corporation announced that phase 2 data of investigational compound ozanimod in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis will be presented at the World Congress of Gastroenterology at ACG2017 in Orlando. The studies include new data from the STEPSTONE study in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and long-term data from the open-label extension of the TOUCHSTONE study in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Ozanimod is an investigational, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate 1 and 5 receptor modulator. The STEPSTONE data presented at WCOG at ACG2017 will include the first 12-week data from the phase 2, open-label study. STEPSTONE evaluated endoscopic improvement and clinical outcomes following treatment with ozanimod 1.0 mg daily for 12 weeks in 69 patients with a mean age of 37.7 years with moderately to severely active CD. Patients with available data at baseline and week 12 were included in the analyses of the simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease matched intestinal segments and the analysis of Crohn's disease activity index. SES-CD score reductions from baseline of at least 50% and 25% were seen in 27% and 43% of patients, respectively. Patients who had shorter disease duration had a greater endoscopic response: 50% and 25% reductions were seen in 36% and 50% of patients, respectively. Patients who had lower baseline endoscopic disease activity also had a greater endoscopic response: 50% and 25% reductions were seen in 30% and 49% of patients, respectively. Reductions in mean CDAI scores from baseline were seen at week 4, with further reductions through week 12. At week 12, a CDAI response was observed in 66% of patients, and CDAI remission was observed in 46% of patients. The mean CDAI reduction at week 12 was 130 points. The most frequently reported adverse events and serious AEs in patients appeared to be related to underlying CD. The most common AEs were CD flare, abdominal pain, nausea, lymphopenia, arthralgia, vomiting, increased gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, urinary tract infection, paresthesia, anal abscess and increased alanine aminotransferase. The most common SAEs in two or more patients were CD flare, fistulizing disease, intestinal obstruction and abdominal abscess. A separate presentation at WCOG at ACG2017 will report 92-week data on subjects who participated in the TOUCHSTONE open-label extension. TOUCHSTONE evaluated the efficacy and safety of 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg doses of ozanimod compared with placebo after eight weeks of treatment in 197 patients with moderate to severe UC. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients in remission at week 8. Patients who achieved a clinical response at week 8 continued with their original treatment through week 32 in a maintenance phase. Previously reported results from TOUCHSTONE demonstrated statistically significant improvements in both the primary and secondary endpoints in patients who received 1.0 mg dose of ozanimod versus placebo. TOUCHSTONE participants in all three treatment arms entered the ongoing open-label extension if they did not respond to treatment after the induction phase, relapsed during the maintenance phase or completed the maintenance phase. The objective of the extension phase was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of daily ozanimod 1.0 mg. Efficacy data are reported as observed through week 92 and safety data includes all events through the data cut-off of March. At week 92, of the 100 patients who underwent efficacy evaluations, 91% had little or no active disease based on the physician global assessment, 97% had little or no blood in their stools and 86% had no blood in the stools. The safety profile at week 92 was similar to that reported in the placebo-controlled portion of the study. The most common AEs were UC flare, anemia, upper respiratory tract infection and back pain. The only SAEs in two or more patients were anemia and UC flare.

08:12 EDT Concordia defers $26M unsecured interest payment - Concordia has decided to use a 30-day grace period to defer the payment of approximately $26M of interest due today on its $735M unsecured notes, in conjunction with its ongoing efforts to realign its capital structure,. The deferral of the interest payment does not result in an Event of Default until the expiry of the 30-day grace period. The company intends to use this time to continue its discussions with lenders with the goal of reaching a consensual agreement to reduce the company's debt and interest payments to create a financial foundation able to support Concordia's long-term growth. CEO Allan Oberman stated, "With approximately $340M of cash on hand as of September 30, we are confident we have sufficient liquidity in the near term to operate our business as usual while we work to achieve our financial goals, honouring our obligations to our employees, customers and suppliers and providing safe and effective medicines to our customers and patients."

08:11 EDT Recon Technology, BOW sign sewage treatment strategic cooperation agreement - Recon Technology announced that it has signed a three-year strategic cooperation agreement with Beijing OriginWater Purification Engineering Technology Co., a subsidiary of Beijing OriginWater Technology Co. Ltd. Pursuant to the Agreement, Recon Technology and BOW Engineering will cooperate to promote advanced sewage treatment technology in Chinese oilfield markets and to provide integrative solutions and services of superior quality and effectiveness to tackle industrial water pollution.

08:07 EDT IBM and Dream Payments partner for mobile payment service expansion in U.S. - IBM is teaming up with Toronto-based FinTech company Dream Payments to bring new mobile payment offerings to financial institutions and merchants in the U.S. via the IBM Cloud. IBM and Dream Payments are rolling out Dream Payments Cloud to U.S. financial institutions, a scalable platform that enables financial institutions to provide business customers with mobile and digital payment services delivered via the IBM Cloud.

08:07 EDT Avino Silver & Gold Mines reports Q3 production results - Avino Silver & Gold Mines announces third quarter 2017 production results from its Avino property near Durango, Mexico. Highlights include: Silver equivalent production increased by 17% to 760,756 oz; Gold production increased by 47% to 2,673 oz; Silver production decreased by 10% to 368,456 oz; Copper production increased by 6% to 1,106,305 lbs. "We are pleased to report a strong quarter and that we are on pace to reach our budgeted production targets for 2017."

08:06 EDT Fifth Third to join Mastercard B2B Hub powered by AvidXchange - Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) announced a strategic relationship with Mastercard (MA) and AvidXchange to bring an automated accounts payable solution to Fifth Third Bank's clients. The collaboration is one of several recent business relationships with a financial technology company intended to bring efficiency and innovative digital solutions to clients. As part of the relationship, Fifth Third will become the first bank to join The Mastercard B2B Hub powered by AvidXchange, a solution announced earlier this year.

08:05 EDT Tech Data tapped to distribute iDevices smart home products - Tech Data announced an agreement with iDevices to distribute its line of Smart Home Technology products to retailers and solution providers. iDevices manufactures a premium line of connected power, lighting and climate control solutions for homeowners, professional installers and builders.

08:04 EDT LSB Industries provides update on El Dorado, Arkansas facility - LSB Industries announced that the ammonia plant at its El Dorado, Arkansas chemical facility was taken out of service on October 3 to make mechanical repairs to the burner refractory system on the boiler which were completed on October 8. Following the work on the boiler, the company determined that repairs on a process heat exchanger were necessary. LSB management has determined that the repairs to the heat exchanger will be completed, and ammonia production will resume by October 23. The company expects to meet all customer commitments for sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 and estimates that the EBITDA impact resulting from the repair expenses and the reduced absorption of fixed costs related to the collective period of downtime will be approximately $2.5M-$3M for the fourth quarter of 2017. LSB will provide an update on the progress of the repairs at El Dorado and earlier announced Pryor repairs and the impacts of the downtime on financial results when the company reports third quarter 2017 results in late October.

08:03 EDT Halozyme initiates clinical trial of cancer candidate PEGPH20 - Halozyme (HALO) initiated a clinical trial evaluating its investigational new drug PEGPH20 with atezolizumab, an anti-PDL1 cancer immunotherapy from Genentech, a member of the Roche (RHHBY) Group, in patients with previously untreated, unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder adenocarcinoma. The Halozyme-sponsored Phase 1b/2 trial is designed to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary anti-tumor activity of immunotherapy-based treatment combinations compared with the standard chemotherapy regimens. The study is part of a clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate PEGPH20 and atezolizumab in up to eight tumor types.

08:03 EDT Ironwood to present linaclotide data at World Congress of Gastroenterology - Ironwood Pharmaceuticals announced that the company and its collaborators are presenting clinical data for linaclotide at the World Congress of Gastroenterology at the American College of Gastroenterology, on October 13-18 in Orlando, Florida. Linaclotide is a guanylate cyclase-C agonist that acts by a mechanism pioneered by Ironwood scientists. Linaclotide is marketed in the United States as LINZESS and is the U.S. branded prescription market leader for adults with Chronic Idiopathic Constipation or Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation. It is also marketed in Japan as LINZESS for the treatment of adults with IBS-C, and in Europe as CONSTELLA for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe IBS-C. Linaclotide delayed release-1 is an investigational drug designed to provide targeted delivery of linaclotide to the distal small intestine and colon, where it is believed that the majority of the abdominal pain associated with IBS-C originates.Researchers will present analyses of clinical data focusing on the safety and tolerability of linaclotide in the treatment of CIC and IBS-C, and on symptom improvement with linaclotide DR1 in IBS-C. An additional presentation will focus on the effect of stool consistency on bowel movement satisfaction with treatment of patients with IBS-C or CIC.

08:03 EDT General Electric names Rafael Santana as president and CEO of GE Transportation - GE announced that Rafael Santana, president and CEO of GE Latin America, has been named president and CEO of GE Transportation, effective November 1, 2017. With over 17 years of GE experience, Santana has held leadership positions in GE Oil & Gas, Power and Transportation before becoming the President & CEO of GE in Latin America. Rafael Santana will succeed Jamie Miller, who will become CFO of GE on November 1, 2017.

08:00 EDT E.ON invests in platform provider Cuculus; terms not disclosed - E.ON said in a statement that it "strengthens its expertise in digital and networked customer solutions with a new partnership. The company acquires a stake in Cuculus, a software start-up based in Ilmenau. Together, the partners develop solutions for the intelligent house of the future. The technical basis for this is the Internet of Things, in which different devices and systems can communicate and control each other via the Internet."

07:48 EDT Agile Therapeutics presents Phase 3 results of Twirla contraceptive patch - Agile Therapeutics announced the presentation of additional results from the Phase 3 SECURE trial of its investigational low-dose combination hormonal contraceptive patch, Twirla, at the 2017 National Association for Family Planning, in Atlanta, GA. Rates of unscheduled bleeding and/or spotting decreased during the study period. Similarly, the mean length of both unscheduled and scheduled bleeding and/or spotting episodes decreased during the study period. Few subjects discontinued from the trial for bleeding-related issues, and rates of unscheduled bleeding and/or spotting decreased over the 12-month study period. The Phase 3 SECURE trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Twirla in 2032 healthy women, aged 18 years and over.

07:39 EDT TG Therapeutics provides update on FDA meeting for GENUINE Phase 3 trial - TG Therapeutics announced that it has met with the FDA regarding the use of the results from the GENUINE Phase 3 trial to support a Biologics License Application, or BLA, filing for approval of TG-1101, the company's novel glycoengineered anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in combination with ibrutinib. During the meeting, the FDA confirmed that accelerated approval based on Overall Response Rate, or ORR, would be a review issue. As part of the discussion, the FDA encouraged the Company to consider future available therapy in its risk/benefit analysis as part of any potential future BLA filing that may impact accelerated approval. The company and the FDA also discussed the potential use of Progression Free Survival, or PFS, results from the GENUINE trial to support the full approval of TG-1101. The company plans to have a follow-up meeting with the FDA to discuss the use of the PFS endpoint in more detail before the end of the year and also plans to monitor the regulatory landscape for new approvals of agents for previously treated high-risk Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, or CLL, while continuing to make preparations for a BLA filing as early as 2Q18.

07:36 EDT South Jersey acquires Elizabethtown, Elkton Gas from Southern Company for $1.7B - South Jersey Industries (SJI) announced it has entered into agreements to acquire the assets of New Jersey-based Elizabethtown Gas and Maryland-based Elkton Gas from Pivotal Utility Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Southern Company Gas (SO). Upon the successful completion of this transaction, SJI will become the second largest natural gas provider in New Jersey, with service to more than 675,000 customers. In addition to Elizabethtown Gas' 288,000 customers, the company will also add over 6,000 customers in Maryland as part of the deal. SJI is acquiring both companies for total consideration of $1.7B, with an effective purchase price of $1.4B after taking into consideration the present value of tax benefits associated with the transaction. SJI expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings by 2020, the first full year of operation post transaction impacts, without synergies. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2018, and is subject to approvals by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Maryland Public Service Commission, with limited approvals by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, the transaction is subject to the requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The transaction is expected to be earnings accretive, without synergies, by 2020.

07:34 EDT Earthport chooses Broadridge to host FX, cash management processing - Broadridge Financial announced that Earthport has chosen Broadridge's hosted service for Foreign Exchange and Cash Management processing. Broadridge's fully integrated solution will enable Earthport to achieve automation and operating efficiency, seamlessly connecting all processes in the business value chain. As a result, Earthport will be able to handle a significantly larger volume of FXL deals, enabling them to better scale and grow their operation. The solution will eliminate many manual processes and drive higher levels of straight-through processing at Earthport, allowing the business to grow and scale profitability while maintaining tight controls on operations and technology.

07:33 EDT Novocure announces lung cancer data presentations at IASLC conference - Novocure announced five data presentations at the International Associations for the Study of Lung Cancer 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer, October 15 to October 18 in Yokohama, Japan. "We look forward to having our research on Tumor Treating Fields presented at the world's largest meeting dedicated to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies," said Dr. Eilon Kirson, Chief Science Officer and Head of Research and Development. "Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. TTFields shows promise in multiple solid tumor types, including some of the most aggressive forms of cancer. We are committed to researching TTFields as a treatment for multiple solid tumor types and sharing our findings with the scientific community."

07:32 EDT Dicerna files clinical trial application for DCR-PHC for Phase 1 study in PH - Dicerna Pharmaceuticals announced the first submission of a clinical trial application to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of DCR-PHXC, the company's most advanced GalXC product candidate, for the potential treatment of primary hyperoxaluria. PH is a group of severe, rare, inherited disorders of the liver that often result in kidney failure. Once the CTA is authorized by the MHRA and local ethics committees, Dicerna plans to begin its Phase 1 clinical study in healthy volunteers and in patients with PH types 1 and 2 at trial sites in the United Kingdom. The company plans to submit additional CTAs in other European countries later this year. Once the CTA is authorized by the MHRA, Dicerna plans to conduct the Phase 1 trial as a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, single-ascending dose study, enrolling up to 25 healthy volunteer subjects and up to 16 patients with PH. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of single doses of DCR-PHXC, with participants being enrolled into as many as five sequential cohorts of increasing doses. Patients with PH will be dosed after safety has been established at the same dose level in normal healthy volunteers. Secondary endpoints include the pharmacokinetics of DCR-PHXC and its pharmacodynamic effects on oxalate biomarkers in plasma and urine. In animal models of PH, DCR-PHXC selectively silences LDHA in the liver, blocking the excess production of oxalate, a hallmark of the disease. In preclinical studies of DCR-PHXC, the compound was well tolerated with no adverse effects in the liver.

07:31 EDT Engility awarded $63M in tak orders with U.S. Air Force Medical Service - Engility Holdings won $63M in task orders with the U.S. Air Force Medical Service. Working with their Medical Coding Program Office, Engility will deliver healthcare informatics, medical coding, training and compliance expertise at 14 Air Force bases.

07:17 EDT Aethlon Medical announces large-scale production pact with iBio - Aethlon Medical (AEMD) announced that it has established a collaboration with iBio (IBIO) to support potential large-scale production of the Aethlon Hemopurifier. iBio is a leading developer of plant-based biopharmaceuticals. The Aethlon Hemopurifier is a first-in-class therapeutic device designed to address life-threatening viral infections. The United States FDA has designated the Hemopurifier to an Expedited Access Pathway related to the treatment of life-threatening viruses that are not addressed with approved therapies. The goal of the Aethlon-iBio collaboration is to advance large-scale production of a recombinant form of Galanthus nivalis agglutinin, a plant-derived lectin that is immobilized within the Hemopurifier to bind infectious enveloped viruses. Aethlon further disclosed that it completed a feasibility study with iBio researchers that has confirmed the ability to produce highly active recombinant GNA through the use of iBio's plant based technology.

07:14 EDT Inovio begins Phase 1b/2 cancer efficacy trial - Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO) announced initiation of a phase 1b/2 immuno-oncology trial to evaluate Genentech/Roche's atezolizumab in combination with Inovio's INO-5401, a T cell activating immunotherapy encoding multiple antigens, and INO-9012, an immune activator encoding IL-12. The multi-center, open-label efficacy trial will be managed by Inovio, and Genentech (RHHBY) will supply atezolizumab.

07:11 EDT Linde, Praxair combination receives antitrust clearance in Russia - In accordance with the exchange offer document published on August 15, Linde (LNEGY) announced that the proposed business combination between Praxair (PX) and Linde received unconditional antitrust clearance in Russia, satisfying a closing condition. Linde is a newly incorporated public limited company formed on April 18, that will become the parent company of Praxair and Linde upon the completion of the business combination. The business combination remains subject to the satisfaction of other transaction closing conditions, including achieving the minimum acceptance ratio of 75% in Linde exchange offer for Linde AG shares, and the receipt of all other regulatory approvals and certain other customary closing conditions. The acceptance period for Linde exchange offer will expire on October 24 at 24:00 hours, unless extended. The business combination is expected to be completed in 2H18.

07:09 EDT AVEO Oncology to present results from Phase 1 portion of TiNivo study - AVEO Oncology (AVEO) announced that results from the Phase 1 portion of the Phase 1/2 TiNivo study will be presented in an oral presentation at the 16th International Kidney Cancer Symposium, to be held November 3-4, 2017 in Miami. The TiNivo trial is a Phase 1/2 multicenter trial of FOTIVDA in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) OPDIVO, an immune checkpoint, or PD-1, inhibitor, for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. As previously reported, the Phase 1 portion of the trial enrolled six patients, and found that the combination of tivozanib and nivolumab was well tolerated to the full dose and schedule of single agent tivozanib, with no dose limiting toxicities. Enrollment in the Phase 2 portion in ongoing. The trial is being led by the Institut Gustave Roussy in Paris under the direction of Bernard Escudier, MD, Chairman of the Genitourinary Oncology Committee.

07:08 EDT Ipsen says Phase 2 Celestial trial of cabozanitinib met primary endpoint of OS - Ipsen (IPSEY) and its partner Exelixis (EXEL) announced that its global phase 3 CELESTIAL trial met its primary endpoint of overall survival, with cabozantinib providing a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in median OS compared to placebo in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The independent data monitoring committee for the study recommended that the trial should be stopped for efficacy following review of the second planned interim analysis. CELESTIAL is a randomized, global phase 3 trial of cabozantinib versus placebo in patients with advanced HCC who have been previously treated with sorafenib. The safety data in the study were consistent with the established profile of cabozantinib. In line with and in collaboration with our partner Exelixis, Ipsen expects to file in the first half of 2018 a variation of the initial application to the EMA and other relevant regulatory agencies and to evaluate potential next steps in the development strategy for cabozantinib outside the United States and Japan as a treatment for advanced HCC in patients who have been previously treated. Detailed results from CELESTIAL will be submitted for presentation at a future medical conference. CELESTIAL is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of cabozantinib in patients with advanced HCC conducted at more than 100 sites globally in 19 countries. The trial was designed to enroll 760 patients with advanced HCC who previously received sorafenib and may have received up to two prior systemic cancer therapies for HCC and had adequate liver function. Enrollment of the trial was completed in September 2017, and 773 patients were ultimately randomized. Patients were randomized 2:1 to receive 60 mg of cabozantinib once daily or placebo and were stratified based on etiology of the disease, geographic region and presence of extrahepatic spread and/or macrovascular invasion. No cross-over was allowed between the study arms. Based on available clinical trial data from various published trials conducted in the second-line setting of advanced HCC, the CELESTIAL trial statistics for the primary endpoint of OS assumed a median OS of 8.2 months for the placebo arm. A total of 621 events provide the study with 90 percent power to detect a 32 percent increase in median OS at the final analysis. Two interim analyses were planned and conducted at 50 percent and 75 percent of the planned 621 events.

07:06 EDT Omeros to present OMS721 Phase 2 data at ESBMT in Spain - Omeros Corporation announced that data will be presented from the company's Phase 2 clinical trial of OMS721, Omeros' lead human monoclonal antibody targeting mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2, for the treatment of thrombotic microangiopathies. The presentation will be part of the "Crash course on diagnosis and treatment of noninfectious complications after HCT" at the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation in Granada, Spain. Details relating to the presentation are as follows: Title: Effective treatment of GvHD associated Transplant-associated Microangiopathy with a novel inhibitor of the lectin pathway of complement.

07:05 EDT Xperi's Tessera says TSMC seeking to 'circumvent jurisidiction' of the ITC - Tessera Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Xperi Corporation (XPER), issued a statement in response to litigation filed by Taiwan Semi (TSM), against Tessera and certain of its subsidiaries late in the day on October 13, 2017. TSMC filed an action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, expressing its concern that the U.S. International Trade Commission will adopt the initial determination of Administrative Law Judge Sandra Dee Lord and enter an order excluding the import of infringing Broadcom chips manufactured by TSMC, and products of the other respondents containing these chips. TSMC seeks an injunction to prevent Tessera from enforcing its rights in the ITC. TSMC's request is based on the same patent exhaustion argument that was already fully litigated and rejected by ALJ Lord in the ITC investigation. "This appears to be an eleventh-hour attempt by TSMC to circumvent the jurisdiction and lawful authority of the ITC, which protects U.S. industries against the importation of foreign infringing products," said Paul Davis, Xperi's senior vice president and general counsel. "But ALJ Lord already considered the argument TSMC raises, and concluded that TSMC does not have the right to sell products that infringe our '946 patent. We are confident that the District Court will reject TSMC's belated attempt to end-run the ITC and re-litigate this issue."

07:02 EDT Cubic unit awarded $5M contract to support New Zealand Defence Force - Cubic announced that GATR Technologies, a subsidiary which operates within the Cubic Mission Solutions business division, was awarded an order worth more than $5M to provide satellite communication solutions for the New Zealand Defence Force. Cubic will supply 2.4-meter inflatable satellite antennas with supporting hardware, spares and New Equipment Training for the NZDF Network Enabled Army program. In addition to a multi-year support contract, Cubic will deliver and integrate an iDirect-based, time division multiple access network within the NZDF's existing and future hub infrastructure.

07:00 EDT Exelixis announces U.S. FDA grants priority review for CABOMETYX - Exelixis announced that the U.S. FDA has determined the company's supplemental New Drug Application for CABOMETYX for patients with previously untreated advanced renal cell carcinoma to be sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. The FDA granted Priority Review of the filing and assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of February 15, 2018.

06:56 EDT USD Partners begins operations at Stroud destination terminal - USD Partners announced the successful commencement of operations at its destination terminal in Stroud, Oklahoma on October 1. The planned retrofit work necessary to handle heavier grades of crude oil at the terminal was completed on time and under the Partnership's initial budget. Approximately 50% of the Stroud terminal's current capacity is available and actively being marketed to meet the takeaway needs of current and future customers.

06:53 EDT Eli Lilly says NSCLC patients shown to benefit in new Cyramza subgroup analysis - New subgroup analysis from Eli Lilly's Phase 3 REVEL trial of Cyramza in advanced non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, was presented today at the 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer, or WCLC, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer in Yokohama, Japan. Specifically, these new data are an exploratory, post-hoc analysis focused on patients whose cancer rapidly progressed on first-line therapy. Time-to-progression, or TTP, is defined as the time from start of first-line therapy until progressive disease - when the person's cancer grows, spreads or gets worse. In this analysis, aggressive disease was defined based on rapid TTP on first-line therapy. The global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled REVEL Phase 3 study evaluated ramucirumab, in combination with docetaxel, in patients with metastatic NSCLC whose cancer had progressed on or after prior platinum-based chemotherapy for locally advanced or metastatic disease. REVEL, which included patients with nonsquamous and squamous forms of NSCLC, demonstrated improved overall survival, or OS, progression-free survival, or PFS, and objective response rate, or ORR, - independent of histology. Please see the 'About REVEL' section below for more detailed efficacy and safety results in the trial's intent-to-treat, or ITT, patient population. The REVEL ITT trial results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in 2014, supported the FDA approval of ramucirumab in NSCLC in December 2014.

06:46 EDT Brown & Brown announces asset acquisition of Universal Benefit Solutions - J. Scott Penny, Chief Acquisitions Officer of & Brown, and Brandon Brickweg, the founder of Universal Benefit Solutions, announced that Pacific Resources Benefit Advisors, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, has acquired substantially all of the assets of UBS. UBS represents large company clients in the placement of ancillary employee benefits products and has annual revenues of approximately $2.5M. The UBS team will become part of the Pacific Resources profit center, which operates under the direction of Barrett Brown, Regional President of Brown & Brown.

06:24 EDT Synchrony reports September net charge-off rate 4.16% vs. 4.86% last month - Reports September 30-plus day delinquency rate 3.19% vs. 2.94% last month.

06:08 EDT Ability receives Nasdaq letter of non compliance - Ability announced that on October 11, it received notification from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market that the company is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq's Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share and Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Based on the closing bid price of the company's ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days ended October 10, the company no longer meets the minimum bid price requirement. The deficiency notification does not result in the immediate delisting of the company's ordinary shares from the Nasdaq Capital Market. In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the company has an initial grace period of 180 calendar days, or until April 9, 2018, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. If, at any time during the Compliance Period, the bid price for the company's ordinary shares closes at $1.00 or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, the Staff will provide notification to the company that it complies with the minimum bid price requirement, unless the Staff exercises its discretion to extend this 10-day period requirement pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(F). If the company does not regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement during the Compliance Period, the company may be afforded an additional 180 calendar day period to regain compliance. To qualify, the company would be required to meet the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for The Nasdaq Capital Market, except for the minimum bid price requirement. In addition, the company would be required to notify Nasdaq of its intent to cure the minimum bid price deficiency. If the company does not regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement during the Compliance Period and is not eligible for an additional compliance period at that time, the Staff will provide notification to the company that its ordinary shares may be delisted. The company would then be entitled to appeal the Staff's determination to a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel and request a hearing. There can be no assurance that, if the company does appeal the delisting determination by the Staff to the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel, such appeal would be successful. At present, the company intends to monitor the closing bid price of its ordinary shares and may, if appropriate, consider available options to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, which could include effecting a reverse stock split. However, there can be no assurance that the company will be able to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement.

06:03 EDT Fortis raises quarterly dividend by 6.25% to 42.5c per share - The Fortis board declared a common share dividend of 42.5c per share on the issued and outstanding fully paid common shares of the corporation, payable on December 1, 2017 to the common shareholders of record at the close of business on November 20. In addition, the Corporation has targeted average annual dividend per common share growth of approximately 6% through 2022 based on an annual dividend of $1.60.

06:01 EDT KBR to acquire Sigma Bravo - KBR announced it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Sigma Bravo Pty Ltd, a provider of high-end Information and Communication Technology, or ICT, services specializing in mission planning systems and solutions to the Australian Defence Force, or ADF. Sigma Bravo delivers an array of specialist Aerospace ICT based solutions supporting ADF's critical mission planning and information management systems and programs. The acquisition of Sigma Bravo represents KBR'S entry into classified work in Australia and is a continued element of KBR's strategy to expand its global Government Services offerings. Sigma Bravo will become a KBRwyle company reporting within KBR's Government Services segment and will maintain its current structure to ensure business continuity.

05:42 EDT Bristol-Myers says Opdivo shows encouraging response, survival rates - Bristol-Myers announced data evaluating Opdivo and Opdivo plus Yervoy in previously treated small cell lung cancer, or SCLC, patients whose tumors were evaluable for tumor mutation burden, or TMB, from the Phase 1/2 CheckMate -032 trial. The primary objective of this trial was objective response rate, or ORR, as assessed by a blinded independent central review, or BICR, for which results were previously presented; in the pooled intent-to-treat, or ITT, population, the ORR was 11% with Opdivo alone and 22% with the combination. Among the ITT population, 211 patients had an evaluable TMB result for these analyses and were divided into subgroups of high, medium and low levels of TMB. Patients with high TMB who received Opdivo plus Yervoy had an ORR of 46%; the ORR was 16% and 22% in patients with medium and low levels of TMB, respectively. Patients with high TMB who received Opdivo had an ORR of 21%; the ORR was 7% and 5%, in patients with medium and low levels of TMB, respectively. In patients with high TMB who received Opdivo plus Yervoy, 62% were alive at one year; 20% and 23% of patients with medium and low levels of TMB were alive at one year, respectively. In patients with high TMB who received Opdivo, 35% were alive at one year; 26% and 22% of patients with medium and low levels of TMB were alive at one year, respectively. No new safety data were presented in this analysis. Over time, cancer cells accumulate mutations that are not seen in normal cells of the body. Tumor mutation burden is a measurement of the quantity of mutations carried by tumor cells, and is one type of biomarker that may help predict the likelihood a patient responds to Immuno-Oncology therapies.

05:35 EDT Marriott expects to receive about $650M in Avendra sale to Aramark - Marriott (MAR) announced that the owners of Avendra have reached a binding agreement to sell Avendra to Aramark (ARMK) for $1.35M. After redemption of management participation rights, transaction costs, and repayment of Avendra's outstanding debt, Avendra's founding shareholders, Marriott, Hyatt (H), Accor, ClubCorp (MYCC), and IHG (IHG), expect to receive approximately $1.18B in cash proceeds from the transaction. Marriott expects to receive approximately $650M for its 55% interest in Avendra. Marriott's original investment in Avendra totaled $13M and was recovered from dividends from the business. As part of the purchase agreement, also on behalf of its managed hotel system in the Americas, Marriott will enter into a 5-year procurement service agreement with Aramark. While the transaction will benefit owners and franchisees of its hotels, Marriott expects the transaction will be immaterial to its financial results.

05:30 EDT Aramark to acquire Avendra for $1.35B, AmeriPride Services for $1B - Aramark announced that it entered into definitive agreements to acquire two companies that will deliver growth and strengthen the company's competitive position across its portfolio of Food, Facilities and Uniforms businesses. Aramark and Avendra, LLC have entered into a definitive agreement under which Aramark will acquire Avendra for a purchase price of $1.35B, or a net purchase price of $1.05B after adjusting for the value of the anticipated tax benefits. The merger also creates opportunities for Aramark and Avendra to grow their customer base outside of their traditional industries. Additionally, Aramark anticipates annual procurement cost synergies of approximately $40M, which it expects will be fully realized by the third fiscal year after closing. Aramark and AmeriPride Services Inc. also announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Aramark will acquire AmeriPride for a purchase price of $1B, or a net purchase price of $850M after adjusting for the value of the anticipated tax benefits. AmeriPride is a leading uniform and linen rental and supply company in the U.S. and Canada, with annual revenue of approximately $600M. Additionally, Aramark anticipates annual cost synergies of approximately $70M, which it expects will be fully realized by the fourth fiscal year after closing. The board of Aramark has unanimously approved both transactions, which were also unanimously approved by the board of managers of Avendra and board of AmeriPride, respectively. The transactions are expected to close by the end of calendar year 2017, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Aramark will finance the transactions through the issuance of new debt, and has received fully committed financing.

05:21 EDT PG&E: after fires, nearly all electric customers to be restored by late Monday - More than 3,000 PG&E employees and mutual-aid partners continued to make progress restoring electric and gas service to customers in the aftermath of the unprecedented wind-driven wildfires. PG&E anticipates restoring service to essentially all electric customers who are able to receive it, and once approval to energize is granted, by late Monday. By Monday morning, PG&E expects to have completed the work necessary to ensure the safety of gas pipelines so that it can begin restoring service to the remaining 17,000 customers who do not presently have gas service, but are in a position to accept gas service. This process involves working with the individual customers to relight their pilot lights. Restoration begins once infrastructure is repaired, and areas have been deemed safe by relevant authorities. As restoration efforts continue around the clock, PG&E is maintaining an absolute focus on customer and public safety and supporting firefighting efforts on these intense wind-fueled wildfires.