Stockwinners Market Radar for January 11, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:19 EDT Intel: Some customers reported higher system reboots after firmware updates - Intel said in a press release that it has received reports from a few customers of higher system reboots after applying firmware updates, as part of the company's efforts to handle the Google Project Zero exploits. Specifically, these systems are running Intel Broadwell and Haswell CPUs for both client and data center. "We are working quickly with these customers to understand, diagnose and address this reboot issue," the company said. "If this requires a revised firmware update from Intel, we will distribute that update through the normal channels. We are also working directly with data center customers to directly discuss the issue. End-users should continue to apply updates recommended by their system and operating system providers." Reference Link

18:23 EDT FCC pauses 180-day transaction shot clock on Sinclair-Tribune deal - The FCC said it was pausing the Commission's informal 180-day transaction shot clock on Sinclair's (SBGI) proposed acquisition of Tribune (TRCO) as of January 4, 2018. "As set forth in an Ex Parte Notice filed by counsel for Sinclair, Sinclair told Commission staff on January 4, 2018, that it, "was evaluating divestitures, as well as Top-4 showings to be made in amendments to the applications consistent with the recent changes to the ownership rules in the Commission's Order on Reconsideration and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted November 16, 2017, but that the DOJ review may impact certain divestiture choices,"" the FCC said. "The Commission has a strong interest in ensuring a full and complete record upon which to base its decision in this proceeding. Based on Sinclair's statement in its Ex Parte Notice, it is appropriate to stop the informal 180-day clock until after the referenced amendments and divestiture applications have been filed and staff has had an opportunity to fully review them. Pausing the clock will facilitate that process." Reference Link

17:36 EDT AMD CTO Mark Papermaster gives update on processor security issues - AMD (AMD) CTO Mark Papermaster said: "The public disclosure on January 3rd that multiple research teams had discovered security issues related to how modern microprocessors handle speculative execution has brought to the forefront the constant vigilance needed to protect and secure data. These threats seek to circumvent the microprocessor architecture controls that preserve secure data. At AMD, security is our top priority and we are continually working to ensure the safety of our users as new risks arise. As a part of that vigilance, I wanted to update the community on our actions to address the situation. Google (GOOG, GOOGL) Project Zero Variant 1, Bounds Check Bypass or Spectre,is applicable to AMD processors. We believe this threat can be contained with an operating system patch and we have been working with OS providers to address this issue. Microsoft (MSFT) is distributing patches for the majority of AMD systems now. We are working closely with them to correct an issue that paused the distribution of patches for some older AMD processors, AMD Opteron, Athlon and AMD Turion X2 Ultra families, earlier this week. We expect this issue to be corrected shortly and Microsoft should resume updates for these older processors by next week. For the latest details, please see Microsoft's website. Linux vendors are also rolling out patches across AMD products now. GPZ Variant 2, Branch Target Injection or Spectre, is applicable to AMD processors. While we believe that AMD's processor architectures make it difficult to exploit Variant 2, we continue to work closely with the industry on this threat. We have defined additional steps through a combination of processor microcode updates and OS patches that we will make available to AMD customers and partners to further mitigate the threat. AMD will make optional microcode updates available to our customers and partners for Ryzen and EPYC processors starting this week. We expect to make updates available for our previous generation products over the coming weeks. These software updates will be provided by system providers and OS vendors; please check with your supplier for the latest information on the available option for your configuration and requirements. Linux vendors have begun to roll out OS patches for AMD systems, and we are working closely with Microsoft on the timing for distributing their patches. We are also engaging closely with the Linux community on development of 'return trampoline,' Retpoline, software mitigations. GPZ Variant 3, Rogue Data Cache Load or Meltdown, is not applicable to AMD processors. We believe AMD processors are not susceptible due to our use of privilege level protections within paging architecture and no mitigation is required. There have also been questions about GPU architectures. AMD Radeon GPU architectures do not use speculative execution and thus are not susceptible to these threats. We will provide further updates as appropriate on this site as AMD and the industry continue our collaborative work to develop mitigation solutions to protect users from these latest security threats."

17:29 EDT Starboard Value cuts stake in Cars.com to 7.0% from 9.9%

17:20 EDT Aradigm trading resumes

17:17 EDT Skyline Medical regains compliance with NASDAQ listing rules - Skyline Medical announced that it received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of the NASDAQ Capital Market notifying the Company that it has regained compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rule requiring companies to maintain a minimum of $2,500,000 in stockholders' equity for continued listing as of January 10. The Company regained compliance with the stockholders' equity requirement as a result of the completion of two successful financings, the first of which was completed on November 28, 2017 and totaled $1.3M before expenses, and the second of which was completed on January 9, 2018 and totaled approximately $2.5M before expenses.

17:07 EDT AMD tanks 3% after CTO updates processor security - Shares of AMD are down 3% to $11.78 per share in after-hours trading.

17:05 EDT Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky unit awarded $194M U.S. Army contract - Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Co, was awarded a $193,850,000 firm-fixed-price foreign military sales contract for eight Saudi Arabian National Guard and nine Royal Saudi Land Forces Airborne Special Security Forces unique UH-60M aircraft. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2022.

17:01 EDT Resolute Forest Products 'expresses praise' for Canada's filing at WTO - Resolute Forest Products expressed praise for yesterday's filing by the Government of Canada at the World Trade Organization. Canada launched a wide-ranging complaint against the United States, challenging a host of measures inconsistent with its WTO obligations. Resolute said it applauds the Canadian action, standing up for Canadian jobs and families, the company's customers and business partners in the United States, and the international rule of law. "Resolute has been a victim of this pattern of behavior by the United States Department of Commerce. We are repeatedly confronting the same discredited protectionist policies when we fairly sell paper and lumber to American consumers who need and want these products," stated Richard Garneau, president and chief executive officer. "Many more jobs are at risk in the United States when there is not enough lumber to build houses or paper to print newspapers and books. Unfortunately, it is American consumers who pay the price of unfair duties. Canada is rightly emphasizing the United States is a continental partner, and free trade between the two nations is in the best interests of both countries and their shared economic prosperity."

16:59 EDT Flowers Foods voluntarily recalls raw frozen biscuits - On January 4, Flowers Foods issued a trade notice informing certain third-party customers of the voluntary recall of unbaked (raw) frozen biscuits because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The biscuits were produced on a single production line that has been shut down. The company has launched an investigation and is working with the FDA and an independent consultant. The recalled biscuits were sold by the third-party customers under their brands. No illnesses have been reported and no other Flowers products are involved in the recall. The recall is not anticipated to be financially material. Unbaked (raw) frozen biscuits are not ready-to-eat. They require baking that will kill foodborne bacteria, if baking instructions are properly followed. The company is continuing in-depth testing, and the line will remain shut down until further notice.

16:50 EDT NI Holdings announces new reportable segments - NI Holdings announced new reportable segments to align with the company's evolving financial reporting model as a new public company. Starting in the fourth quarter 2017, NI Holdings will have five reportable segments aligned with the company's key product offerings, including: Private Passenger Auto Insurance, Non-Standard Auto Insurance, Home and Farm Insurance, Crop Insurance, and All Other. NI Holdings will report results in these five segments starting with fourth quarter 2017 results.

16:41 EDT Dynasil: Xcede Patch clinical trial dossier submitted to MREC - Dynasil announced that the Xcede Patch clinical trial dossier was submitted today to the Medical Ethical Review Committee Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen, in anticipation of a first-in-human clinical trial. The clinical trial, which outlines the treatment of up to 30 patients undergoing various types of liver resection, will take place at two major liver surgery centers in The Netherlands. Subject to the MREC approvals, the Company anticipates that patients will be treated with the Xcede Patch in the Netherlands in early 2018. Xcede has contracted with their manufacturer Cook Biotech Inc., to execute the study and make the appropriate regulatory and ethical committee submission on behalf of Xcede Technologies. Xcede Technologies, a subsidiary of Dynasil Corporation of America is based in Seattle, WA and began operations in October 2013 following a technology transfer from DBM.

16:38 EDT Gartner: Worldwide PC shipments down 2% in 4Q17, down 2.8% for FY17 - Worldwide PC shipments totaled 71.6M units in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 2% decline from the fourth quarter of 2016, according to preliminary results by Gartner (IT). For the year, 2017 PC shipments surpassed 262.5M units, a 2.8% decline from 2016. It was the 13th consecutive quarter of declining global PC shipments, as well as the sixth year of annual declines. However, Gartner analysts said there were some signs for optimism. "In the fourth quarter of 2017, there was PC shipment growth in Asia/Pacific, Japan and Latin America. There was only a moderate shipment decline in EMEA," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "However, the U.S. market saw a steep decline, which offset the generally positive results in other regions. HP Inc. (HPQ) moved into the No. 1 position in the fourth quarter of 2017, as its shipments grew 6.6%, and its market share totaled 22.5%. The company showed year-over-year growth in all regions, including the challenging U.S. market. For the fourth consecutive quarter, Lenovo (LNVGY) experienced a decline in shipments. Lenovo had moderate growth in EMEA and Asia/Pacific, but shipments declined in North America. Dell's shipments grew slightly in the fourth quarter of 2017. Dell did well in EMEA, Asia/Pacific and Latin America, but it had weak results in North America. Generally, Dell has put a higher priority on profitability over market share.

16:37 EDT Gartner: Worldwide PC shipments down 2% in 4Q17, down 2.8% for FY17 Lenovo - Worldwide PC shipments totaled 71.6M units in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 2% decline from the fourth quarter of 2016, according to preliminary results by Gartner (IT). For the year, 2017 PC shipments surpassed 262.5M units, a 2.8% decline from 2016. It was the 13th consecutive quarter of declining global PC shipments, as well as the sixth year of annual declines. However, Gartner analysts said there were some signs for optimism. "In the fourth quarter of 2017, there was PC shipment growth in Asia/Pacific, Japan and Latin America. There was only a moderate shipment decline in EMEA," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "However, the U.S. market saw a steep decline, which offset the generally positive results in other regions. HP Inc. (HPQ) moved into the No. 1 position in the fourth quarter of 2017, as its shipments grew 6.6%, and its market share totaled 22.5%. The company showed year-over-year growth in all regions, including the challenging U.S. market. For the fourth consecutive quarter, Lenovo (LNVGY) experienced a decline in shipments. Lenovo had moderate growth in EMEA and Asia/Pacific, but shipments declined in North America. Dell's shipments grew slightly in the fourth quarter of 2017. Dell did well in EMEA, Asia/Pacific and Latin America, but it had weak results in North America. Generally, Dell has put a higher priority on profitability over market share.

16:31 EDT CommScope receives 'favorable' decision from PTAB in Dali Wireless case - CommScope received a significant decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which rejected Dali Wireless' petition challenging the validity of CommScope's patent relating to digital distributed antenna systems. After reviewing all of Dali's evidence, testimony and argument, the PTAB agreed with CommScope and denied Dali's petition to institute an Inter Partes Review, concluding that Dali failed to establish a reasonable likelihood that Dali would prevail against any challenged claim of the patent. CommScope is enforcing multiple patents from its digital DAS portfolio against Dali in federal district court in Texas. As to CommScope's asserted patents, with this decision from the PTAB, the IPR phase of the case is complete, and all of CommScope's asserted claims remain in the case. "This is a clear win for CommScope," said Matt Melester, senior vice president, Distributed Coverage and Capacity Solutions, CommScope. "To ensure our continuing ability to invest and drive innovation, it's important that we vigorously protect our valuable patent assets. This decision by the PTAB serves to further validate the innovations made by CommScope in digital DAS technology."

16:26 EDT Snap Interactive announces open-platform blockchain development initiative - Snap Interactiv announced that it is developing an open source, multi-media delivery platform that combines STVI's live streaming video, voice and data routing capabilities with the enhanced security, scalability and cost effectiveness of blockchain technology.

16:23 EDT HFF discloses sale of Central Park of Lisle I and II in Chicago, no terms given - Holliday Fenoglio Fowle announced the sale and financing of Central Park of Lisle I and II, a two-building, Class A office property totaling 693,546 square feet in the suburban Chicago community of Lisle, Illinois. The HFF team marketed the property on behalf of the seller, and procured the buyer, a joint-venture between GFH Financial Group B.S.C., Lincoln Property Company and Crestlight Capital. Additionally, HFF worked on behalf of the buyer to secure financing through Citigroup. Central Park of Lisle I and II are situated at 4225 Naperville Road and 3333 Warrenville Road at the Interstate 88 and Naperville Road interchange in Chicago's East-West submarket. The properties are a 10-minute drive from both the Naperville Metra and Lisle Metra commuter stations and close to the amenities of Freedom Commons, Danada Square East and West, downtown Naperville and downtown Lisle.

16:20 EDT Landmark Infrastructure acquires 127 assets for consideration of $60.2M - Landmark Infrastructure announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 127 assets located in 32 states from Landmark Dividend Growth Fund, an affiliate of the partnership's sponsor, Landmark Dividend. Total consideration is $60.2M, consisting of up to 1.5M common units representing limited partner interests in the Partnership valued up to $28M, and the remaining consideration in cash. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to the partnership's distributable cash flow, and is anticipated to close on or about January 18

16:17 EDT Molina Healthcare COO Terry Bayer to retire - Molina Healthcare announced that Terry Bayer, the company's chief operating officer, will be retiring in the next several weeks. The corporate chief operating officer role will no longer be a part of Molina's organizational structure.

16:16 EDT SCE receives state approval for electric transportation pilots - Southern California Edison received approval move forward on four pilot projects that will help to expand electric transportation. Transportation electrification is key to meeting California's 2030 greenhouse gas and air pollution reduction goals. The pilot projects approved today by the California Public Utilities Commission for about $4M each are part of a much larger plan to expand the electrification of cars, buses, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and industrial vehicles and equipment that the company filed with the commission last January. "Our strategy is to, one, increase the use of renewable clean energy, and, two, increasingly use that clean electric energy to reduce the use of fossil fuels in other sectors of the economy - especially transportation," said SCE President Ron Nichols. "Electrifying transportation represents the largest near-term opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive down pollution that impacts public health." The investments are designed to help move California closer to its 2030 climate change goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels. Supporting the shift to electrification will also help reduce tailpipe emissions that contribute to violations of federal health-based ozone standards in Southern California. Part of the plan still awaiting approval from the commission is a $550M investment program for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle charging to help grow the transportation electrification market over a five-year period. In addition to supporting trucks, this program also calls for investments in plug-in buses, forklifts and other off-road equipment. A decision on the larger portion of the plan is expected later this year.

16:12 EDT Capital Product acquires eco-type crude tanker 'Aristaios' - Capital Product Partners L.P. announced that its board has approved the acquisition of the eco-type crude tanker 'Aristaios' for a total consideration of $52.5M from the Partnership's sponsor, Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. The M/T 'Aristaios' is currently employed under a time charter to Tesoro Far East Maritime Company at a gross daily rate of $26,400. The Tesoro charter commenced in January 2017 with duration of five years +/- 45 days. The Partnership intends to fund the acquisition through available cash in the amount of $24.2M and the assumption of a $28.3M term loan under a credit facility previously arranged by Capital Maritime with Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and ING Bank NV, as mandated lead arrangers and book-runners. The company expects the transaction to be consummated before January 31.

16:11 EDT Ameriserve Financial sees tax rate reduction boosting future earnings - Using information available at this time, the company estimates that it will reduce the value of its net deferred tax asset by approximately $2.6M, which will be recorded as additional income tax expense in our statement of operations during the fourth quarter of 2017. This additional non-cash income tax charge is estimated to negatively impact both earnings per share and tangible book value per share by approximately 14c in the fourth quarter of 2017. However, beginning in 2018, the expected reduction in the company's effective tax rate from near 32% to approximately 20% will provide a meaningful boost to future earnings. The company expects to release its fourth quarter and full year 2017 earnings on January 23, 2018.

16:11 EDT SAExploration receives $15.7M in tax credits - SAExploration announced that it has received approximately $15.7M of additional tax credit certificates from the state of Alaska's Department of Revenue. Approximately $2.9M of the tax credit certificates relate to a settlement agreement with the State of Alaska regarding the appeal of $5.8M in previously disallowed expenditures. When combined with existing tax credit certificates in-hand, the total amount of tax credit certificates held by SAE and available for monetization is now approximately $41.3M. SAE currently expects to receive the remaining $29.9M of tax credit certificates still being processed by the State of Alaska during 2018.

16:07 EDT Manning & Napier reports preliminary AUM $25.1B as of December 31, 2017 - Which included approximately $16.8B in separately managed accounts and approximately $8.3B in mutual funds and collective investment trusts.

16:06 EDT Noble Corp. CEO David Williams to retire, Julie Robertson to succeed - Noble Corporation announced the retirement of Chairman, President and CEO David Williams, and the election by the Board of Directors of Julie Robertson to succeed Williams in such roles. The leadership succession plan calls for Williams to remain with the company through February 2018, serving in an advisory capacity. Robertson has served as the Company's Executive Vice President since 2006. In this role, she has had direct oversight for human resources, procurement and supply chain, learning and development, health, safety environmental functions, and information technology. From July 2001, she served as Senior Vice President - Administration and has served continuously as Corporate Secretary since December 1993.

15:39 EDT FDA warns Becton Dickinson of significant violations of the law - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to Becton Dickinson & Company that cited several violations of federal law, including marketing significantly modified versions of certain BD Vacutainer blood collection tubes without required FDA clearance or approval and failing to submit medical device reports to the FDA within the required timeframe. These violations were discovered through an inspection of BD's New Jersey facility. The inspection also showed that the company failed to evaluate and investigate a complaint involving variability in test results observed when certain BD Vacutainer blood collection tubes were used with Magellan Diagnostics' LeadCare test systems. Reference Link

15:14 EDT Alaska Air announces receipt of single operating certificate from FAA - Alaska Airlines announced that it has received a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration for Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, which it said marks "another significant milestone in the integration of the two airlines." The receipt of a single operating certificate will not result in any immediate differences for guests when flying with Alaska or Virgin America. "But when Alaska and Virgin America move to a single reservations system in late April 2018, guests can expect a more streamlined travel experience, with the Alaska mobile app and website serving their travel needs," the company stated.

14:56 EDT Pitney Bowes trading resumes

14:52 EDT Live Nation will acquire majority interest in concert promoter - Live Nation Entertainment announced that it will acquire a majority interest in Frank Productions, one of the largest independent concert promoters in the United States. Through this new partnership, the companies are excited to blend the independent spirit of Frank Productions with the breadth of Live Nation's resources to enhance the live music experience for artists and fans throughout the country. Frank Productions will continue to operate its network of concert promotion companies and venues, and will join forces with Live Nation on tours and other promotion opportunities. Live Nation expects that all Frank Productions employees, including its leadership team, will remain in place as part of this joint venture.

14:47 EDT MiMedx reports settlement of patent infringement lawsuit - MiMedx Group announced that it successfully settled the company's longstanding patent infringement lawsuit against Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, Medline Industries and Liventa Bioscience. In its suit, MiMedx asserted, among other things, that MTF, Liventa and Medline infringed MiMedx's U.S. Patent No. 8,709,494. In addition to the allegations of patent infringement, the lawsuit also asserted that Liventa and Medline knowingly and willfully made false and misleading representations about their respective products to providers, patients and in some cases, prospective investors. The company said it was recently able to "successfully settle" its patent infringement claims against MTF, Medline and Liventa. "While the details of the settlement are confidential, MiMedx has obtained a Consent Decree and Final Judgment on the validity of the '494 patent, and will receive an undisclosed monetary sum. A Stipulation of Dismissal with prejudice of all of the parties' respective claims accompanied the Court papers," MiMedx stated.

14:37 EDT PG&E to confer with Diablo Canyon joint proposal parties on path forward - PG&E issued the following statement following the California Public Utilities Commission's approval of its revised proposed decision on the Diablo Canyon Power Plant joint proposal: "The DCPP joint proposal represented a significant milestone in the planning to meet California's ambitious clean energy vision. We appreciate the CPUC's thoughtful consideration of this complex issue and its approval of certain elements. While we are disappointed that they did not approve the full employee retention program, as well as the community impact mitigation and energy efficiency programs, we are appreciative that the CPUC took the positive step to increase the amount of funding for employee retention beyond their original proposed decision. The joint proposal represents an array of interests from many parties who joined together to promote the best path forward for our state and PG&E's customers. Since the full proposal was not approved, in line with our agreement, PG&E will be meeting to confer with our labor, community and environmental group partners in the days ahead about the decision, our next steps and the path forward."

14:03 EDT Elevate CFO sees biggest opportunity in helping those who can't get bank credit - In an exclusive interview with The Fly, Elevate's (ELVT) CFO Chris Lutes discussed the large, fragmented market for alternative consumer leading and the company's strategy to continue taking share: "The online lending space is certainly fragmented, and there are many players in the space that are doing the same thing - flooding the prime market with more, unneeded credit. The industry talks a lot about creating new products and innovations for people already swimming in credit, but we believe the biggest opportunity is in helping those who can't get credit from banks or other online lenders. Non-prime Americans, defined as those with credit scores lower than 700, now make up more than half of the U.S. - that's a huge segment of the population that prime online lenders are missing. Catering to these consumers has helped us grow faster and generate a profit ahead of other online lenders. Barriers to entry in the non-prime market are significant, and the learning curve is steep and expensive. That includes annual investment of $40 million in the underpinnings of our underwriting: data science, analytics and the technology behind it. We are doing more than many players in the space to responsibly and efficiently underwrite our customers. We evaluate as many as 10,000 data points or more for each customer we underwrite, from both traditional and alternative sources. Although we do price our loans to risk - we are lending to a riskier segment of the population - our focus is on affordability and ability to repay. We ask ourselves if a customer will actually be able to repay the loan, and loan them only what they can afford. We do not employ aggressive collection practices, we report to credit bureaus to help customers raise their scores, we do not offer any single-payment loan products and we reduce our interest rates over time to give customers a 'prime' experience, while they work toward graduating to prime credit products." "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. The remainder of this interview to follow.

13:51 EDT Elevate sees CFPB small dollar lending rule as positive - In an exclusive interview with The Fly, Elevate's (ELVT) CFO Chris Lutes commented on CFPB small dollar lending rule and on the potential impact of director Richard Cordray's departure: "We are proponents of the CFPB small dollar lending rule, and we believe the CFPB got the rule right: bad actors in the non-prime lending space should not be allowed to continue to place people in a cycle of debt, lending money to people without understanding their ability to repay the loan. That said, should the rule not be enacted, we are committed to be the best option available for non-prime borrowers, and working to differentiate ourselves through significant investment in underwriting, lower average APRs, significant marketing knowhow and other capabilities we've built." "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. The remainder of this interview to follow.

13:40 EDT HomeStreet to recognize $23M non-cash tax benefit in Q4 after tax reform - HomeStreet announced management's expectations for the impact to HomeStreet's financial position and results of operation from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation, which was signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017. As a result of the decrease in the federal corporate income tax rates from 35% to 21% and other changes included in the legislation, which took effect January 1, 2018, HomeStreet expects: A reduction to its consolidated effective tax rate to an estimated range between 21% and 22%, before discrete items, for 2018; The recognition of a one-time, non-cash tax benefit of approximately $23 million in the fourth quarter of 2017; and An estimated reduction in regulatory capital ratios of approximately 1-5 basis points at December 31, 2107. HomeStreet's effective tax rate differs from its corporate income tax rate primarily due to the impact of state income taxes, tax-exempt interest income, bank-owned life insurance and low-income housing tax credit investments. By segment, the company estimates that the combined federal and state income tax rate, before discrete items, for 2018 will range between 20% and 21% for the Commercial and Consumer Banking Segment and 24% and 25% for the Mortgage Banking Segment. The estimated income tax rates differ between the segments because the Commercial and Consumer Banking segment has tax-exempt interest income from certain securities holdings and tax credit items. In addition to the expected reduction in the company's effective tax rate for 2018, HomeStreet will also recognize a one-time benefit from revaluing its December 31, 2017 net deferred tax liability position at the new federal corporate income tax rate. This revaluation will result in a one-time tax benefit of approximately $23M, or approximately 85c per diluted common share, which will be reflected in HomeStreet's operating results for the fourth quarter of 2017.

13:31 EDT Google says deployed strategies to combat security flaws in September, October - Alphabet's Google said that it had already deployed strategies to combat security flaws called "Spectre" and "Meltdown" last year before the flaws were disclosed a week ago. The company said in a blog post that it began deploying solutions for both variants to the production infrastructure that underpins all Google products in September and more-refined solutions in October. "Thanks to extensive performance tuning work, these protections caused no perceptible impact in our cloud and required no customer downtime in part due to Google Cloud Platform's Live Migration technology," Google said. "No GCP customer or internal team has reported any performance degradation... By December, all Google Cloud Platform services had protections in place for all known variants of the vulnerability. During the entire update process, nobody noticed: we received no customer support tickets related to the updates. This confirmed our internal assessment that in real-world use, the performance-optimized updates Google deployed do not have a material effect on workloads." Reference Link

13:20 EDT BP to pay California $102M to settle overcharging allegations - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a $102M settlement with BP Energy over allegations that it intentionally overcharged the State of California for natural gas that the State purchased under three successive contracts from March 2003 to August 2012. The contracts allowed the California Department of General Services, which buys natural gas for numerous state agencies and political subdivisions, to cap the price it would pay BP for specific volumes of gas. BP regularly quoted and charged the State of California prices that violated this cap and concealed its overpricing by providing false and misleading information, Becerra says in a statement. These acts constitute violations of the California False Claims Act, he added. Reference Link

13:14 EDT Elevate focus remains needs of 'New Middle Class,' CFO says

13:14 EDT Elevate's Lutes says delayed tax season shifted demand out a quarter

13:14 EDT Elevate Credit CFO sees opportunity in non-prime consumers

12:59 EDT Costco rallies after confirming closure of some Sam's Clubs - Shares of Costco moved higher after its Sam's Club division announced on Twitter, "After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we've decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy. Closing clubs is never easy and we're committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition." Shares of Costco are up 1.5%, or $2.76, to $188.18 in afternoon trading.

12:55 EDT Costco rallies $2.91, or 1.6%, to $188.33

12:42 EDT Overstock.com says initial coin offering attracted over 10,000 subscribers - Overstock.com issued a press release detailing its highlights of 2017. In it, the company explained, "2017 was a landmark year for both cryptocurrency and its underlying technology, blockchain. Overstock continued to be a leader in the blockchain industry, investing in companies that are at the cutting edge of development in the space. The online retailer, which in 2014 was the first major retailer to accept bitcoin payments for purchases, expanded its payment options to include dozens of major cryptocurrencies through integration with ShapeShift, a leading digital asset exchange." It added, "Overstock's blockchain-focused subsidiary, Medici Ventures, named its board of directors in 2017, and also saw a number of its portfolio companies continue to use blockchain to revolutionize industries including capital markets, money and banking, property registry, voting, identity, and underlying blockchain technology, including: tZERO, the world's first SEC approved, blockchain-based alternative trading system, launched its initial coin offering, which attracted over 10,000 subscribers and raised $100M in commitments in the first 12 hours of its pre-sale. A significant portion of the tZERO security tokens issued will be available to accredited investors in the public sale beginning in January, 2018." Overstock.com shares are up $3.60 to $83.30 in midday trading.

12:12 EDT Kering announces plan to distribute Puma shares to shareholders - Kering announced that its Board of Directors unanimously proposed to submit to its shareholders the project to distribute in kind around 70% of Puma shares outstanding, out of the 86.3% currently owned by the Group. Post transaction, Kering would retain approximately 16% of Puma shares outstanding. Artemis, which holds 40.9% of Kering's shares, would become a long term strategic shareholder of Puma with an ownership of about 29%. Puma's free float would be increased to approximately 55%. "The contemplated project would enable Kering to reinforce its status as a leading pure player in Luxury with an enhanced, best-in-class profitability. The Group's ambition is to continue to grow and develop its powerful ensemble of Houses in Couture, Leather Goods, Jewellery and Watches, leveraging on its high cash-flow generation and strong financial position," the company stated. Final terms of the distribution in kind of Puma shares to Kering shareholders are under review and will be submitted to the vote of Kering shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on April 26, 2018.

12:02 EDT Aetna: California DOHCS approves participation in Medi-Cal - Aetna announced the California Department of Health Care Services has approved Aetna's participation in Medi-Cal, the State's Medicaid managed care program. Effective immediately, Medicaid beneficiaries who are eligible for Medi-Cal now have the opportunity to sign up with Aetna Better Health in Sacramento and San Diego Counties.

11:55 EDT JPMorgan reports 7.2% passive stake in Premier - In a regulatory filing, JPMorgan (JPM) disclosed a 7.2% stake in Premier (PINC), representing 4,137,387 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

11:01 EDT KeyBanc says sell Akami with takeover seen as unlikely - Shares of Akamai Techonologies (AKAM) are sliding after KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel downgraded the stock to Underweight, a sell-equivalent rating, saying he sees a takeover as unlikely and believes the stock's valuation is "elevated." Yesterday, his peer at JPMorgan had raised his price target for Akamai after analyzing the company's strategic alternatives following activist Elliot Management's filing in December and Tuesday's media report suggesting that Akamai is exploring strategic options. STRATEGIC REVIEW: Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, Akamai is working with financial advisers to look into strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. The company is said to be working with Morgan Stanley on the strategic review, the report noted. SELL AKAMAI: In a research note to investors, KeyBanc's Nispel downgraded Akamai to Underweight from Sector Weight, with a $51 price target. The analyst noted that Elliot Management's involvement and the company's purported strategic review increase the likelihood of a takeout and put a higher focus on removing costs, which is "dearly needed," but will take time. A strategic buyer is much more likely than a financial buyer, given the potential for operating and capital expense synergies, he contended. Furthermore, the analyst noted that while there could be a long list of potential acquirers, there are also smaller, more nimble startups that are less expensive and could be a better fit than Akamai. Overall, Nispel sees a takeout as unlikely given the company's current "elevated" valuation, deteriorating fundamental profile, and less expensive alternative assets available. Nonetheless, he estimates that under a leveraged buyout scenario, Akamai could receive a 20%-25% premium. TARGET UPPED AT JPMORGAN: Meanwhile, JPMorgan analyst Sterling Auty raised his price target for Akamai Technologies to $75 from $58, while reiterating a Neutral rating on the shares. In light of the activist investor filling in December and the news report suggesting that the company is working with an investment bank to explore alternatives, the analyst said that he explored three separate scenarios- Akamai being a standalone company and improving in fundamentals, a leveraged buyout, or a strategic acquisition. According to Auty, these alternatives suggest stock prices of $84, $84 and $80, respectively, for the end of 2018 or at the time of transaction. While he acknowledged that there is no guarantee of a positive outcome through the strategic review process, Auty argued that he is encouraged by management taking the process seriously, which could likely result in some changes that improve margins going forward. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Akamai have dropped over 2% to $65.

10:51 EDT Spruce Point sees 55%-65% downside risk in shares of Matthews - Short selling firm Spruce Point Capital Management put a "Strong Sell" rating on Matthews International with a long-term price target range of $18.50-$24.50, implying 55%-65% downside risk. The provider of memorialization products is down 3% to $50.96 in morning trading. Spruce Point, in a research note today, said it conducted a forensic financial review of Matthews and believes the company "to be a poorly organized company suffering from operational problems, declining financial performance, accounting and financial control weakness, and is excessively levered with nearly $1 billion of debt and limited covenant cushion." The firm believes "investors and the public would be best served with the immediate resignation" of Matthews' CEO, CFO and Controller. Reference Link

10:45 EDT Delta Air Lines says supportive of Airbus-Bombardier deal - Speaking to an analyst question on fleet costs, and the upturn in consolidation, of late, in the aerospace manufacturing sector, a Delta (DAL) executive said they are not concerned about consolidation and as an example, they support the Airbus (EADSY)-Bombardier deal.

10:33 EDT Delta Air Lines sees international fuel surcharges to continue to increase

10:25 EDT Delta Air Lines: A350 to be introduced on additional routes in Q1

10:23 EDT Delta Air Lines continues to sees business markets improving - Says 81 of top 100 business markets in positive yield territory currently, higher from 50% at end of Q3

10:18 EDT Cheetah Mobile jumps after Chinese report on blockchain ambitions - Shares of Cheetah Mobile are up 13% in early trading after Bloomberg noted a Chinese language report from Yicai.com that said the company plans to enter into the area of blockchain, citing an interview with Cheetah CEO Fu Sheng. The executive said the company plans to help users protect their digital assets but won't engage in cryptocurrency trading, according to Bloomberg's account of the Yicai report.

10:02 EDT Intel CEO issues open letter with 'security first pledge' - Intel released an open letter sent to technology industry leaders by CEO Brian Krzanich, which reads in part: "Following announcements of the Google Project Zero security exploits last week, Intel has continued to work closely with our partners with the shared goal of restoring confidence in the security of our customers' data as quickly as possible. As I noted in my CES comments this week, the degree of collaboration across the industry has been remarkable. I am very proud of how our industry has pulled together and want to thank everyone for their extraordinary collaboration. In particular, we want to thank the Google Project Zero team for practicing responsible disclosure, creating the opportunity for the industry to address these new issues in a coordinated fashion...By Jan. 15, we will have issued updates for at least 90 percent of Intel CPUs introduced in the past five years, with updates for the remainder of these CPUs available by the end of January. We will then focus on issuing updates for older products as prioritized by our customers...We commit to provide frequent progress reports of patch progress, performance data and other information...Our customers' security is an ongoing priority, not a one-time event. To accelerate the security of the entire industry, we commit to publicly identify significant security vulnerabilities following rules of responsible disclosure and, further, we commit to working with the industry to share hardware innovations that will accelerate industry-level progress in dealing with side-channel attacks. We also commit to adding incremental funding for academic and independent research into potential security threats."

09:56 EDT Rockwell Collins shareowners vote in favor of United Technologies acquisition - Rockwell Collins (COL) announced that its shareowners overwhelmingly approved the proposed acquisition of Rockwell Collins by United Technologies (UTX). More than 96% of all votes cast, representing more than 72% of all shares of common stock outstanding on the record date for the special meeting, were in favor of the transaction. Upon satisfaction of required regulatory and other customary closing conditions, Rockwell Collins will be combined with UTC Aerospace Systems to create a new United Technologies business called Collins Aerospace Systems. The proposed transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2018.

09:25 EDT Medtronic's ITB Therapy featured in publication of PSS study - Medtronic announced the publication of results from the 'Spasticity In Stroke-Randomised Study' trial in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry which "demonstrate the superiority" of Medtronic ITB Therapy with Lioresal Intrathecal baclofen injection delivered via the SynchroMed II Infusion System compared to conventional medical management for the reduction of severe post-stroke spasticity in adults. People suffering from severe spasticity have tight, stiff muscles that make it difficult to move or control their arms, legs, or body. PSS impacts up to 43% of patients in the first year after their stroke. Results of the study show ITB demonstrated a significant improvement over CMM in reducing muscle tone in the affected lower and upper extremities. More patients reported adverse events in the ITB group compared to CMM, although events were generally consistent with the known safety profile of ITB Therapy. Around half of the drug, device and procedure related adverse events occurred during implant and titration phase. No patient discontinued ITB Therapy due to treatment related adverse events.

09:13 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Delta Air Lines (DAL), up 2.6%... FuelCell Energy (FCEL), up 16.2%. ALSO HIGHER:SS&C (SSNC), up 3.8% after following an announcement that it will acquire DST Systems (DST) for $84 per share in cash plus assumption of debt. DST Systems is up 5.1%... JetBlue (JBLU), up 2.8% after reporting December traffic and raising its Q4 RASM guidance... Boston Scientific (BSX), up 1.7% after receiving FDA approval for its Spectra WaveWriter SCS system... Walmart (WMT), up marginally after announcing it will raise the starting wages for all hourly associates to $11 per hour. LOWER: Endo (ENDP), down 3% after its subsidiary, Endo Pharmaceuticals, received a grand jury subpoena from U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida... Shaw Communications (SJR), down 2.9% after reporting quarterly results... Fortress Transportation (FTAI), down 6.4% after its 7M share Spot Secondary priced at $18.65.

09:07 EDT Cintas to close centralized stockroom facility in Des Moines, Iowa - Cintas Corporation announced plans to gradually close its centralized stockroom in Des Moines, IA over the next four months. Cintas acquired this facility as part of its merger with G&K Services earlier this year. The facilities closure will impact about 35 employee-partners.

09:04 EDT MoneyGram partners with Ripple for blockchain payment solutions - MoneyGram has partnered with Ripple, provider of an enterprise blockchain solution for payments, to pilot XRP in their payment flows. As part of this agreement, both companies will also explore MoneyGram's integration into Ripple's ecosystem through xVia. MoneyGram will pilot the use of XRP, the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, in payment flows through xRapid, Ripple's solution for on-demand liquidity. XRP's transaction fees are fractions of a penny, compared to Bitcoin fees of about $30 per transaction. Similarly, the average transaction time for XRP is 2-3 seconds with other top digital assets ranging from 15 minutes to an hour.

09:02 EDT Virtus Investment reports preliminary total AUM $91B as of December 31, 2017 - Virtus Investment Partners reported preliminary long-term and total assets under management as of December 31, 2017 of $88.8B and $91B, including $2.1B of liquidity assets, respectively.

09:01 EDT LivaNova initiates Aortic Heart Valve Study in the U.S. and Canada - LivaNova announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the Behavior of Valve Leaflets and the Incidence of Reduced Mobility Post-Surgical Aortic Valve Implant Study - BELIEVE. This study is a post-market, prospective, interventional, multi-center trial designed to report the overall incidence of reduced leaflet motion identified by CT imaging in patients receiving a commercially approved LivaNova bioprosthetic aortic heart valve. The BELIEVE study is expected to enroll approximately 230 patients at 15 sites from the U.S. and Canada to ascertain whether valve leaflets are fully operational following surgery. Four-dimensional, volume-rendered CT scans will be obtained from patients at a minimum of 30 days after they discontinue anticoagulation or dual antiplatelet therapy. There will be one year of follow-up for all patients.

08:44 EDT T. Rowe Price reports preliminary AUM $991B as of December 31, 2017 - Client transfers from mutual funds to other portfolios were $1.7B and $4.2B for the month- and quarter-ended December 31, 2017, respectively.

08:36 EDT Great Panther Silver sees 2018 production 4.0M-4.1M Ag eq oz - Great Panther Silver sees 2018 production of 4.0 to 4.1 million Ag eq oz at a 70:1 silver to gold ratio. Cash cost per silver ounce and all-in sustaining cost per payable silver ounce guidance for 2018 is $5.00-$6.50 and $12.50-$14.50, respectively. The focus for 2018 will be to maintain steady and efficient operations in Mexico, while advancing the company's Coricancha Mine in Peru to set a platform for production growth in 2019 and 2020. Based upon historic production records, Coricancha has the potential to add 3 million Ag eq oz of annual production. The company is completing optimization studies and evaluating alternative mining methods to reduce costs and project risk for Coricancha, and plans to release additional technical studies for the project in Q2.

08:33 EDT Great Panther Silver reports Q4 and 2017 production results - Great Panther Silver reported Q4 and 2017 production results from its two wholly-owned Mexican silver mining operations: the Topia Mine in Durango and the Guanajuato Mine Complex. In 2017, consolidated metal production increased 2% to 3,978,731 silver equivalent ounces , silver production decreased 3% to 1,982,685 silver ounces, gold production increased 1% to 22,501 gold ounces, ore processed decreased 1% to 373,709 tons and Topia achieved a record 1,086,663 Ag eq oz in metal production, representing 21% growth. In Q4 vs. 4Q16, consolidated metal production increased 21% to 1,065,773 Ag eq oz, silver production increased 12% to 514,218 Ag oz, gold production increased 14% to 5,931 Au oz and ore processed increased 6%, with 98,396 tons milled.

08:32 EDT Endo: Endo Pharmaceuticals received grand jury subpoena from U.S. Attorney - Endo International announced that its subsidiary, Endo Pharmaceuticals, has received a grand jury subpoena from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida seeking documents and information relating to products containing oxymorphone. The subpoena broadly requests documents including, among others, those produced in past or pending lawsuits and those relating to product safety and efficacy, overdoses, diversion, thefts, overprescribing, abuse/misuse, dependency or tolerance, withdrawal, addictiveness, adverse events and manipulation. The subpoena also requests distribution and other third party agreements, together with sales and marketing, training, financial, compensation and corporate information, as well as documents relating to interactions with various government agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration, Veterans Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Health & Human Services, Medicare and Medicaid. Endo and EPI intend to be responsive to the subpoena and cooperate with any related government investigation. In all circumstances, it is Endo's policy to comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations and industry guidance governing the sale and marketing of pharmaceutical products.

08:19 EDT JetBlue up 1.5% in pre-market after December traffic and raising Q4 RASM view

08:15 EDT SPI Energy - SPI Energy announced that it received a notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market on January 5, 2018 indicating that the company is not currently in compliance with Nasdaq's Listing Rules for continued listing due to the company's failure to file with the SEC a Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K including an interim balance sheet and income statement as of the end of its most recently completed second quarter. Pursuant to Listing Rule 5250(c)(2), the company was required to file such Form 6-K no later than December 31, 2017. As of the date of this press release, the Company has not yet filed the required Form 6-K.

08:12 EDT Pan American Silver sees 2018 CapEx $150M-$155M - Pan American Silver reported a 2018 capital budget of $150M-$155M, comprised of $100M-$105M in sustaining capital and $50M in project capital. We anticipate spending approximately $21M on near-mine and regional exploration in 2018, drilling a total of approximately 115,000 meters.

08:10 EDT Pan American Silver sees 2018 silver production of 25.0-26.5 million ounces - Sees 2018 gold production 175.0-185-0 thousand ounces and 2018 cash costs of $3.60-$4.60 per ounce.

08:10 EDT PROS to expand offices in Sofia, Bulgaria - PROS announced plans to expand its offices in Sofia, Bulgaria, to accommodate its growing business. The company has leased two floors in the new 20-story TELUS Tower, located in the city's Central Business District. PROS will occupy 2,134 square meters or 22,970 square feet, more than doubling its existing footprint, with space that will accommodate up to 200 employees. The company plans to occupy the offices in February 2018.

08:09 EDT Pan American Silver reports preliminary 2017 operating results - Pan American Silver announced preliminary operating results for Q4 and FY17. Consolidated silver production was 25.0M ounces, within original guidance. Consolidated gold production of 160K ounces was within the original guidance range. Annual record set for gold production at Dolores. Reported record zinc and lead production of 55.3K tons and 21.5K tons respectively, with lead production beating guidance and zinc and copper production within the revised guidance. Annual production records were set for zinc and lead at La Colorada. CEO Michael Steinmann stated, "The company achieved decade-low consolidated cash costs of $4.55 per ounce in 2017, with silver production as targeted of 25 million ounces(...) With the completion of our mine expansions in Mexico in 2017, we are now focused on ramping up production from these long-life mines to design capacity rates. Over the next three years, we expect silver production to grow at an annual compounded rate of 8%, reaching 30.5 to 33.0 million ounces by 2020". Construction of the La Colorada mine expansion was completed. Construction of the Dolores pulp agglomeration plant was completed and commissioning commenced. Q4 results were silver production of 6.6M oz, gold production of 43.7K oz, zinc production of 14.7K tons and 5.4K tons of lead.

08:05 EDT Legg Mason reports preliminary AUM $767B as of December 31, 2017 - This month's AUM included flat long-term flows, consisting of net inflows in fixed income of $1.7B and in alternative of $0.2B, partially offset by net equity outflows of $1.9B.

08:03 EDT Talend selected by Yahoo! Japan for business operations enhancement - Talend announced that Yahoo! JAPAN chose Talend Data Fabric to provide its over 100 online services with access to data and business insights that will help further personalize the customer experience and improve service delivery. Using Talend, Yahoo! JAPAN will have a more flexible platform for collecting, cleansing, qualifying, and transforming multiple petabytes of data and empowering employees with a self-service data environment. Yahoo! JAPAN is one of the most popular online services in the country. The dynamic web portal attracts more than 41 million monthly active user IDs and receives more than 75 billion monthly page views, generating massive volumes of data1. Talend is helping Yahoo! JAPAN unlock the value of this data by standardizing data management and implementing intuitive self-service access.

08:02 EDT Walmart raises starting wages for all hourly associates to $11 per hour - Today, Walmart announced plans to increase the starting wage rate for all hourly associates in the U.S. to $11, expand maternity and parental leave benefits and provide a one-time cash bonus for eligible associates of up to $1,000. The company is also creating a new benefit to assist associates with adoption expenses. The combined wage and benefit changes will benefit the company's more than one million U.S. hourly associates. This increase in wages to associates will take effect in February and will be approximately $300 million incremental to what was already included in next fiscal year's plan. The one-time bonus represents an additional payment to associates of approximately $400 million in the current fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31, 2018. While the new law will create some financial benefit for the company, Walmart is early in the process of assessing potential additional investments. That assessment will be done not only through the lens of associates, customers and shareholders, but also within Walmart's financial framework of strong, efficient growth, consistent operating discipline and strategic capital allocation. Further details will be shared, as appropriate, when the company releases quarterly results Feb. 20, 2018.

07:54 EDT Allegheny Technologies announces new deal with General Dynamics Land System - Allegheny Technologies (ATI) announced that it has signed two new Long-Term Pricing Agreements with General Dynamics (GD) Land Systems to be the preferred supplier of titanium plate for the Abrams tank in the U.S. and the AJAX specialist vehicle in the United Kingdom. The Abrams LTPA runs through 2019 while the AJAX LTPA runs through 2021. "Revenue from these LTPAs will total approximately $75 million combined over the contract periods. This marks a significant increase in the Flat Rolled Products segment's strategic Aerospace and Defense market sales, which are an integral part of our ongoing portfolio transformation toward more high-value products," said Bob Wetherbee, Executive Vice President, Flat Rolled Products Group.

07:46 EDT Shanda Group discloses 24% stake in Community Health Systems - On January 11, 2018, members of Shanda Group filed an amendment to Shanda's Schedule 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose an increase in its investment in Community Health Systems. Shanda, together with its affiliates, is CYH's largest shareholder and holds approximately 24.0% of the Company's outstanding common stock.

07:10 EDT Delta Air Lines reports Q4 total unit revenue, ex-refinery sales, up 4.4% - Delta's operating revenue of $10.2B for the December quarter was up 8.3%, or $787M versus prior year. Total unit revenues excluding refinery sales increased 4.4% for the December quarter. Passenger revenue increased $527M, including $200M from Delta's Branded Fares initiatives. Passenger unit revenues increased 4.2%, including 0.5 points from one-time revenue adjustments, on 2.3% higher capacity. Cargo revenue increased 14.4%, driven by higher volumes and yields. Other revenue improved 17.9% primarily due to higher loyalty revenue and a $150M increase in third-party refinery sales.

07:07 EDT Main Street makes new $14.2M portfolio investment in crane rental provider - Main Street made a new portfolio investment to facilitate the minority recapitalization of Brewer Crane, a Southern California full-service crane rental service provider. Main Street, along with a co-investor, partnered with the company's founder and CEO to facilitate the transaction, with Main Street funding $14.2M in a combination of first-lien, senior secured term debt and a direct equity investment. Headquartered in Lakeside, California, and founded in 1997, Brewer provides crane rental services to San Diego County and the surrounding Southern California area.

07:07 EDT Deere reports December retail sales trends - Deere reported that U.S./Canada industrywide sales of 2WD tractors less than 40 PTO hp were up 6% in September, while Deere sales in the category had a double digit increase. Industry sales of 2WD tractors between 40 and 100 PTO hp were flat, and Deere sales were down double digits. Industry sales of 2WD tractors above 100 PTO hp were down 4%, and Deere sales in the category were down more than the industry. Industry sales of 4WD tractors were up 27%, while Deere sales in the category were up more than the industry. Industry sales of combines were up 2%, while Deere sales in the category were up more than the industry. Information from presentation slides posted last night to Deere's investor website.

07:05 EDT EnSync sells 20-year PPA for solar project in Hawaii - EnSync sold a 20-year power purchase agreement for a 792-kW solar project for a residential community in Hawaii to an undisclosed buyer. The project will serve over 200 individual meters with the flexibility to add more. Construction will commence in the coming months.

07:04 EDT Heritage Commerce to merge with United American Bank - Heritage Commerce, the parent company of Heritage Bank of Commerce, and United American Bank jointly announced the execution of a definitive agreement and plan of merger and reorganization whereby United American will merge into Heritage Bank of Commerce in a transaction valued at approximately $44.2M. Heritage will issue approximately 2.8M of its shares of common stock to the United American common and preferred shareholders in the merger. Additionally, outstanding Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock will be exchanged for $9.1M in cash at closing. United American is a full-service California state-chartered commercial bank with branches in San Mateo, Redwood City, and Half Moon Bay, California and serves businesses and individuals primarily in the county of San Mateo in Northern California. As of September 30, 2017, United American had approximately $336.4M in total assets. Under the terms of the Agreement, shareholders of United American will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 2.1644 shares of Heritage common stock for each share of United American common stock and each common stock equivalent underlying the United American Series D Preferred Stock and Series E Preferred Stock. Shareholders of the United American Series A Preferred Stock and the Series B Preferred stock will receive $1,000 per share in cash. Based on Heritage's closing price of $15.65 per share of Heritage common stock on January 9, 2018, the penultimate trading date before the transaction was announced, the aggregate merger consideration to be received by holders of United American common stock and common stock equivalents is valued at approximately $44.2M or $33.87 for each of the United American shares of common stock and common stock equivalents, and additionally, holders of Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock will receive $9.1M in cash.

07:01 EDT Delta Air Lines sees Q1 total unit revenue growth 2.5%-4.5% - "We enter 2018 with significant momentum and every entity delivering positive passenger unit revenue for the first time in five years, driven by a robust demand environment and improving business fares," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's president. "We expect to deliver total unit revenue growth of 2.5 to 4.5 percent in the March quarter and leverage our unrivaled domestic network, international partnerships, and solid pipeline of commercial initiatives to deliver similar performance each quarter throughout 2018."

06:55 EDT Aradigm trading halted, news pending

06:43 EDT SS&C to acquire DST Systems for $84 per share in cash plus debt assumption - SS&C Technologies (SSNC) and DST Systems (DST) announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement wherein SS&C will acquire DST. Under the terms of the agreement, SS&C will purchase DST in an all-cash transaction for $84 per share plus assumption of debt, equating to an enterprise value of approximately $5.4B. The transaction significantly increases SS&C's scale, with approximately $3.9B in combined pro forma revenue and 13,000 clients. Additionally, the transaction expands SS&C's footprint into the U.S. retirement and wealth management markets and adds 110+ million investor positions across DST's client base. The combination leverages SS&C's market leading software platform for institutional and alternative asset managers to drive increased automation and efficiency across wealth management account servicing. The transaction also represents a continuation of SS&C's proven strategy of adding talented people and technology through acquisitions. This strategy, combined with its continued investment in its software stack, has created one of the world's leaders in software enabled services. SS&C expects $150M of run-rate cost savings annually, achieved by 2020. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to its adjusted earnings per share before synergies, and is expected to result in mid-teens earnings growth in 2019. SS&C plans to fund the acquisition and refinance existing debt with a combination of debt and equity. For the twelve months ended September 30, 2017, consolidated EBITDA for the combined pro forma entity is expected to be approximately $1.3B, including synergies. SS&C expects pro forma net leverage to be in the low 5x area at closing and will deleverage by approximately 0.7x per year. Both SS&C's and DST's boards have approved the transaction, and it is expected to close by the third quarter of this year. The transaction is subject to DST's stockholder approval, clearances by the relevant regulatory authorities and other customary closing conditions.

06:39 EDT DPW Holdings provides update on production of power supplies for crypto mining - DPW Holdings' subsidiary, Coolisys Technologies, anticipates that it will begin delivering the power supplies that have been ordered from SuperCryptoPower.com since its announcement dated December 4, 2017 within the next 40-45 days. Coolisys also anticipates producing a 2000W modular, rack mountable power supply that can service multiple mining units simultaneously. Product pre-orders will begin February 1. Since electricity is the biggest operational cost of mining, it follows that maximizing the efficiency of the power supply is critical.

06:37 EDT Wi-LAN enters into license agreement with Kyocera - Wi-LAN, a Quarterhill (QTRH) company, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, IPA Technologies, has entered into a settlement and patent license agreement with Kyocera International (KYO). The license covers intelligent personal assistant technology. All other terms of the agreement are confidential.

06:33 EDT Iron Mountain completes acquisition of IO Data Centers in U.S. - Iron Mountain said last night that it has completed its acquisition of the U.S. operations of IO Data Centers, a colocation data center services provider based in Phoenix, Arizona. With the transaction, Iron Mountain acquired the land and buildings associated with four state-of-the-art data centers in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Edison, New Jersey; and Columbus, Ohio. The existing data center space in the four owned facilities totals 728,000 square feet, providing 62 megawatts of capacity with expansion potential of an additional 77 MW in Arizona and New Jersey. The total purchase price at closing amounted to $1.34B subject to working capital and other customary adjustments and including additional cash consideration related to company performance since the signing of the purchase agreement, including the Cyxtera lease. The additional consideration is a portion of the $60M cash payable to the sellers based on future performance.

06:32 EDT eGain announces integration with Facebook Messenger - eGain (EGAN) announced its integration with Facebook Messenger (FB). The user population on leading messaging apps has already surpassed the userbase on social networks. Facebook Messenger alone boasts of 1.3B users. According to Forrester, Facebook and Facebook Messenger together represent 16% of the time consumers spend on apps. Moreover, 56% of consumers surveyed in a Nielsen study would rather message a business than call customer service, and 67% expect to message businesses even more over the next two years.

06:03 EDT New Age Beverages begins shipment of XingTea portfolio to CVS Health stores - New Age Beverages (NBEV) announced that the company has commenced shipment of its XingTea portfolio of ready-to-drink teas to CVS Health (CVS) nationally starting with an initial rollout to 3,000 pharmacy channel outlets throughout the United States.

06:01 EDT VF Corp., NC State announce collaborative, strategic partnership - VF Corporation and North Carolina State University announced a collaborative, strategic partnership that will support student development at NC State and advance apparel and textiles innovation within VF. The College of Textiles and VF have a long-standing relationship. Under this new multi-year agreement, the partnership is further strengthened by NC State's Poole College of Management, which brings particular expertise in business analytics and supply chain management. The new partnership adds structure to existing collaborations and creates new opportunities for students in both Colleges.

05:22 EDT MEI Pharma, Helsinn receive Orphan Drug Designation from EMA for pracinostat - Helsinn, a Swiss pharmaceutical group, and MEI Pharma announced that the European Medicines Agency has granted Orphan Drug Designation to pracinostat, an investigational drug candidate currently in a Phase 3 study in combination with azacitidine for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia in adult patients unfit to induction chemotherapy.

05:17 EDT Chase enters partnership with AutoFi - Chase announced a partnership with AutoFi, a financial technology company that helps customers select and finance vehicles through their automotive dealers' website and reduce the time it takes to complete the sale. Chase is the first national bank on the AutoFi platform. Nearly half of consumers want to purchase and finance vehicles online, Chase's research has found.

05:14 EDT BlueLinx announces repayment of $98M CMBS mortgage - BlueLinx Holdings announced the company has paid off the remaining principal on its 2006 CMBS mortgage of approximately $98M. The payment was funded through long-term sale leaseback transactions on four properties owned by the company, which provided $110M in aggregate sale proceeds. The company will operate these locations under long-term leases, and after the transaction, the company will continue to own 33 facilities in the United States.