Stockwinners Market Radar for January 18, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:19 EDT IBM's Schroeter says mainframe isn't going away - IBM senior VP of Global Markets Martin Schroeter said in an interview on CNBC's "Mad Money" that the company's mainframe isn't going away and that it's still the most robust platform. Schroeter added that the company finished "really well" in terms of cash in the fourth quarter, and that the company is experiencing some tax headwinds with earnings per share.

18:12 EDT Fulton Financial to raise its minimum wage to $12 per hour - Fulton Financial announced that during 2018, it will invest an additional $2M in the communities it serves as part of its Fulton Forward initiative; and the company will raise the minimum wage paid to employees in addition to providing an additional week of pay at year-end to employees who do not participate in an incentive plan. In addition to expanding its community support, Fulton also will raise its minimum wage to $12 per hour. The company also plans to provide an additional week of pay in 2018 to employees, who are not participants in other variable-award plans. It is expected that 75% of Fulton's approximately 3,700 employees will receive this additional week of pay.

17:36 EDT IBM sees FY18 free cash flow $12B

17:30 EDT American Express 'excited' about co-brand partnership with Hilton and Marriott - Says delinquencies will remain below the industry averages. Says expects significant growth in the economics of the loan portfolio. Says the new U.S. tax law is positive for the economy and American Express. Says starting 2018 from a "position of strength".

17:29 EDT IBM says SaaS margins continue to expand, but not at scale - Says has driven two consecutive quarters of consulting growth. Says SaaS margins continue to expand, but still not at scale. Says U.S. pension plan has been frozen for some time.

17:24 EDT American Express says capital ratios are now below levels forecast in 2017 CCAR - Plans to "more than make up share buybacks" that are being halted in the first half of FY18. Comments taken from Q4 conference call.

17:19 EDT F.N.B. raising minimum hourly wage to $15 by end of 2019 - F.N.B. plans to raise the minimum hourly wage for its employees to $15 by the end of 2019, relating to the signing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. FNB will also provide a discretionary, one-time 401(k) contribution, totaling $1M, to the vast majority of employees based upon analysis of compensation levels and eligibility. During the first half of 2017, FNB also made a $5M contribution to its Foundation. Moving forward, these funds will be utilized to support causes within its service area.

17:16 EDT Asta Funding to restate 2014, 2015 and 2016 financial statements - Asta Funding announced upon the recommendation of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, that the Company's previously issued financial statements for each of the years ended September 30, 2016, 2015 and 2014 and the interim periods contained therein, as well as the Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements for the quarters ended December 31, 2016, March 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017 can no longer be relied upon. Therefore, all earnings press releases and similar prior communications issued by the Company, as well as other prior statements made by or on behalf of the Company relating to those periods should not be relied upon. The Company intends to file the restated annual and quarterly financial statements for the Non-Reliance Periods as soon as practicable. The Company's authorized officers have discussed these matters with EisnerAmper LLP, the Company's current independent registered public accounting firm, and have notified Mazars USA LLP, the Company's former independent registered public accounting firm during the Non-Reliance Periods, of these matters. The Board's decision to restate the financial statements for the Non-Reliance Periods arose from the Company's re-evaluation of its historical conclusion to consolidate Pegasus Funding, LLC. Management has determined that it lacked the control required to consolidate Pegasus during the Non-Reliance Periods. As such, the Company should have reported its investment in Pegasus under the equity method in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Restating the financial statements to give effect to the Pegasus Matter is not anticipated to have a material impact on total net income attributable to the Company for the Non-Reliance Periods. In connection with the restatement of the Non-Reliance Periods, the Company intends to correct the financial statements for all known errors, including those that were previously corrected in prior filings as immaterial out-of-period adjustments. Additionally, the Company is in the process of evaluating its historical and current practices with respect to accounting for foreign currency matters under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 830 in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. In connection with this evaluation, the Company has determined that its previous accounting treatment for certain foreign currency matters during the Non-Reliance Periods was not appropriate. The Company continues to assess and quantify the necessary adjustments, and while the impact of these adjustments will likely be significant to the Non-Reliance Periods, we are currently unable to specify the amounts or financial statement line items that will be impacted. The Company's management is assessing the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures during the Non-Reliance Periods. The Company will amend any disclosures pertaining to its evaluation of such controls and procedures as appropriate in connection with the Restated Filings.

17:16 EDT American Express sees FY18 revenue growth of 7%-8% - Revenue growth implies $35.8B-$36.1B, consensus $35.4B. Sees Billings & Loans showing "Continued Momentum". Sees provision growth in line with 2017 growth. Sees effective tax rate of about 22%. Outlook taken from Investor presentation accompanying Q4 conference call.

17:09 EDT General Moly says sees continued strengthening molybdenum prices in 2018 - General Moly reported that the recent molybdenum spot price has topped $11 per pound, a level last seen in 2014, and over 60% higher than the year-end 2016 price of $6.70 per pound. Molybdenum was one of the best performing metals in price appreciation in 2017, according to the CPM Group, a leading commodities research and consulting firm in New York. The molybdenum spot price strengthened during 2017, supported by increased specialty steel output, driven by the global recovery in oil and gas drilling. During 2017, molybdenum spot price climbed to the $8-$9 per pound range during August through November, before hitting double digits early this year. Commenting on the molybdenum outlook for 2018, General Moly CEO Bruce Hansen said, "We are excited by the robust performance in the molybdenum (moly) spot price in the new year. Moly is the premier alloy to toughen steel and make it corrosion resistant, which is critically important in all aspects of drilling, production, refining, storage and transportation in the oil and gas industry. However, moly prices remain volatile, and with the continued recovery of the petroleum industry, we anticipate the potential for generally higher prices going forward in 2018."

17:06 EDT Vicon Industries: Recent 10-K contained 'going concern' paragraph - Vicon Industries announced that, as previously disclosed in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2017 filed with the SEC on December 29, 2017, the audited financial statements included in the 10-K contained an audit opinion from its independent registered public accounting firm, which included a going concern emphasis of matter paragraph. This announcement is made pursuant to NYSE American Company Guide Section 610(b), which requires separate public announcement of the receipt of an audit opinion containing a going concern paragraph. This announcement does not represent any change or amendment to the Company's consolidated financial statements or to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2017.

16:42 EDT Integrated Core Strategies reports 5.2% passive stake in BJ's Restaurants - In a regulatory filing, Integrated Core Strategies disclosed a 5.2% stake in BJ's Restaurants, representing 1,056,078 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:35 EDT Salient reports 6.23% passive stake in Noble Midstream - This stake does not allow for activism.

16:35 EDT GWG Holdings trading resumes

16:32 EDT Network-1 Technologies announces revised patent settlement with Juniper - Network-1 Technologies (NTIP) announced that it has agreed to revise, and closed, its previously announced settlement with Juniper Networks (JNPR) of its patent litigation for infringement of Network-1's Remote Power Patent pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Network-1 agreed to revise the settlement to avoid the possibility of protracted litigation regarding enforcing the settlement. Under the terms of the revised settlement, Juniper paid Network-1 $12.7M (reduced from $13.25M in the original settlement) and received a fully-paid license to the Remote Power Patent (and certain other patents owned by Network-1) for its full term which expires in March 2020, which will apply to its sales of Power over Ethernet products, including those PoE products which comply with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 802.3af and 802.3at Standards.

16:22 EDT BancFirst to raise company minimum wage - Executive Chairman David Rainbolt commented, "Based on our 2017 earnings, the reduction in the federal tax rate to 21% would have added approximately $14 million to net income. Going forward, we will be raising our minimum wage and increasing the budgeted contribution to our Employee Stock Ownership Plan."

16:19 EDT American Express down 1.8% afterhours after Q4 earnings and initial FY18 outlook

16:18 EDT Hi-Crush Partners increases distribution to 20c per unit for Q4 - Hi-Crush Partners announced that the boardof its general partner has declared a quarterly cash distribution of 20c per unit on all common units, or 80c on an annualized basis, for the fourth quarter of 2017. Hi-Crush previously announced that it had repurchased 2,030,163 common units in the fourth quarter of 2017, representing $20M of unit repurchases since announcing its unit buyback program of up to $100M in October 2017. This represents the previous maximum amount of unit repurchases allowed for under the Partnership's previous Term Loan Credit Facility and Revolving Credit Agreement. The Partnership's new $200M Senior Secured Term Loan Credit Agreement and new $125M Revolving Credit Agreement permit unlimited repurchases of common units, allowing for execution up to the remaining $80M authorized by the Board of Directors. The repurchase program does not obligate the Partnership to repurchase any specific dollar amount or number of units, and may be suspended, modified or discontinued by the Board of Directors at any time, in its sole discretion and without notice. "The increase in our fourth quarter distribution, combined with opportunistic purchases on our unit repurchase program, reflects a healthy balance of sustainable capital return that is consistent with our goal of returning value to unitholders over the near and long-term," said Robert E. Rasmus, Chief Executive Officer of Hi-Crush. "We remain committed to disciplined capital allocation and are laser-focused on executing our Mine. Move. Manage. strategy to enable continued growth in our business and unitholder returns." The distribution will be paid on February 13 to all common unitholders of record on February 1.

16:16 EDT Green Plains Partners increases quarterly distribution - Green Plains Partners announced that the board of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of 47c per unit on all of its outstanding common and subordinated units, or $1.88 per unit on an annualized basis, for Q4 of 2017. The 1c increase over the previous quarterly distribution of 46c per unit is the ninth consecutive increase since the partnership's inception. The distribution is payable on February 9 to unitholders of record at the close of business on February 2.

16:14 EDT GWG Holdings to partner with the Beneficient Company Group - GWG Holdings the parent company of GWG Life and Life Epigenetics, a financial services company committed to transforming the life insurance industry through disruptive and innovative products and services, today announced a strategic relationship with The Beneficient Company Group that will be effected through a transformative transaction that is expected to significantly increase GWGH's common shareholder equity, diversify its balance sheet, income statement and cash flow sources while creating opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure and capabilities. BEN is the first financial services platform designed to provide a comprehensive suite of innovative lending and liquidity products offered to meet the rapidly growing liquidity demand from the nearly one million underserved mid-to-high net worth individual investors and small-to-medium institutional owners of alternative assets. BEN has also developed a complementary line of alternative asset fund administration and insurance services coupled with proprietary disruptive and scalable financial technologies. As part of the strategic relationship, GWGH will acquire 82% of the outstanding BEN MLP units from existing unitholders of BEN. BEN will have in excess of $800M of tangible financial assets pro forma for the transaction. GWGH will also enter into a $400M, four-year commercial loan with BEN to enable BEN to continue building out its suite of liquidity products."This transaction stands to potentially double our assets to over $1.6B and quadruple our total equity to over $500M," said William Acheson, GWGH Chief Financial Officer. "This is a transformational vote of confidence in GWGH, giving us both a scaled balance sheet and an additional source of current earnings which complements our large and growing life insurance portfolio. Additionally, we believe we will achieve greater access to the capital markets, creating opportunities to further optimize our capital structure and lower our cost of capital which is an important driver of shareholder value."

16:12 EDT American Express reports Q4 Global Commercial Services net income $580M - Global Commercial Services reported fourth-quarter net income of $580 million, up 52 percent from $382 million a year ago. Total revenues net of interest expense were $2.7 billion, up 7 percent from $2.5 billion a year ago. The increase primarily reflected higher Card Member spending. CEO Kenneth I. Chenault says: "We ended the year with record billings and strong loan growth, which helped drive a 10 percent increase in revenues this quarte... Card Member spending grew 11 percent with strong momentum across each of our business segments. Loans grew 14 percent in the quarter while credit metrics remained strong and were again in line with our expectations... We acquired more than 2.5 million new cards this quarter, grew our merchant network, reached a strategic cobrand agreement with Marriott and announced a suite of new cobrand cards with Hilton. Our momentum reflected many of the selective investments we've made over the past two years to grow the business. And, our ability to contain operating costs again this year gave us additional flexibility to increase the level of investment spending beyond our initial 2017 plan... The upfront charge triggered by the Tax Act reduced our capital ratios and, as a result, while we will be continuing our quarterly dividends at the current level, we plan to suspend our share buyback program for the first half of 2018 in order to rebuild our capital. "

16:11 EDT Support.com reminds investors of net operating loss carryforwards - Support.com reminded its current and potential shareholders that in April 2016 its Board of Directors adopted a tax benefits preservation plan intended to preserve the utilization of Support.com's federal net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, to reduce its future federal income tax liability. As of October 31, 2017, Support.com had approximately $140M of pre-tax federal NOLs.

16:09 EDT Qiagen granted FDA approval to expand use of EGFR test in lung cancer - Qiagen announced that the FDA has approved a PMA supplement extending the indications for use of Qiagen's therascreen EGFR RGQ PCR Kit as a companion diagnostic to guide the use of Boehringer Ingelheim's targeted therapy Gilotrif for first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with non-resistant epidermal growth factor receptor mutations. The approval extends the labeling claim to include detection of three EGFR mutations to aid the identification of NSCLC patients for whom Gilotrif is indicated.

16:08 EDT American Express reports Q4 U.S. Consumer Services up 13% to $3.4B - U.S. Consumer Services reported fourth-quarter net income of $507M, up 44% from $351M a year ago. Total revenues net of interest expense were $3.4B, up 13% from $3.0B a year ago. The increase primarily reflected higher Card Member spending, loans and fees. International Consumer and Network Services reported fourth-quarter net income of $199 million, up from $84 million a year ago. Total revenues net of interest expense were $1.5B, up 12% (up 7% FX-adjusted3) from $1.4 billion a year ago. The increase partly reflected higher Card Member spending.

16:06 EDT Amgen and Allergan's Mvasi for certain cancers approved in Europe - Amgen (AMGN) and Allergan (AGN) announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Mvasi. Mvasi is the first biosimilar bevacizumab approved by the EC and is approved for the treatment of certain types of cancers, including in combination for metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum; metastatic breast cancer; for unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer; for non-squamous NSCLC; renal cell cancer; for ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; and carcinoma of the cervix. The EC approved MVASI based on a data package that demonstrated Mvasi and bevacizumab are highly similar, with no clinically meaningful differences in terms of the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity between the products.

16:05 EDT Texas Instruments: Brian Crutcher to become next CEO on June 1

16:01 EDT Canadian Pacific reports Q4 operating ratio 56.1%

15:30 EDT 1st Source raises dividend 10% to 22c from 20c per share - The cash dividend is payable to shareholders of record on February 5 and will be paid on February 15.

15:16 EDT Compass Diversified sees Foam Fabricators transaction as 'immediately accretive' - Alan Offenberg, CEO of Compass Diversified Holdings, said, "We are pleased to start the year with an attractive platform acquisition, growing our family of niche leading businesses to ten. This platform acquisition will be immediately accretive and will enable us to continue growing our cash flow and provide attractive and stable distributions." Elias Sabo, Compass' CEO-elect, stated, "Foam Fabricators possesses the key characteristics that we look for in all our subsidiaries: a strong management team; a diversified customer base; strong free cash flow; and attractive growth prospects. We look forward to working with them to capitalize on the growing demand in many of their end-markets."

15:09 EDT Compass Diversified trading halted, news pending

15:04 EDT ICC approves ComEd plan to pass along roughly $200M in tax savings to customers - The Illinois Commerce Commission approved ComEd's petition seeking approval to pass along approximately $200M in tax savings to its customers in 2018. ComEd residential customers can expect to see an estimated $2-$3 decrease on the average monthly bill specifically related to the tax savings. ComEd's voluntary proposal was prompted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that went into effect Jan. 1, 2018. The new law decreased the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, reducing the amount of federal income tax ComEd will pay and creating savings that it is passing along to customers. ComEd expedited the filing of its plan with the ICC and the Commission's prompt response will enable customers to see the savings beginning in February. Without action by ComEd, customers would not realize savings from the tax cut until 2020.

14:59 EDT SC Fundamental lowers stake in Aviragen to 4.83% from 6.19% - SC Fundamental continues to oppose the proposed merger of Aviragen and Vaxart . As also described in that 13-D, SC Fundamental indicated they might sell their shares of Aviragen's Common Stock at prices approaching SC Fundamental's assessment of liquidation value. Due to SC Fundamental' sales, their collective beneficial ownership of shares of Aviragen's Common Stock fell below 5% and they are no longer subject to the reporting obligations of Rule 13d of the Exchange Act.

14:12 EDT Facebook appoints American Expres CEO Chenault to board - Facebook (FB) announced that Kenneth I. Chenault, the CEO of American Express (AXP), has been appointed to the company's board of directors, effective February 5, 2018. Chenault serves on the boards of IBM (IBM), The Proctor & Gamble Company (PG), the Harvard Corporation and numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, the Smithsonian Institution's Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, and the Bloomberg Family Foundation. He is also a member of the Business Council.

13:48 EDT Manitex announces $6.3M order for cranes - Manitex International announced that it has finalized new orders totaling 42 Manitex cranes from Cropac Equipment of Ontario, Canada. The new orders will be used for retail sales and rental fleet needs across Canada, which now includes Cropac's expanded territory of British Columbia. Initial shipments are scheduled for the first half of 2018, and the total value of the order is approximately $6.3M.

13:31 EDT ABM sees Tax Act impacting FY18 EPS by approximately 28c - Comments from 2018 investor day presentation.

13:26 EDT WEC Energy raises quarterly dividend 6.25% to 55.25c per share - The board of directors of WEC Energy Group declared a quarterly cash dividend of 55.25c per share on the company's common stock, an increase of 6.25% over the current quarterly dividend of 52c a share. This raises the annual dividend rate to $2.21 a share. The higher dividend is payable March 1, 2018, to stockholders of record on Feb. 14, 2018. This marks the 302nd consecutive quarter - dating back to 1942 - that the company will have paid a dividend to its stockholders.

12:33 EDT Cooper Creek Partners reports 5.17% passive stake in Fusion Telecommunications - In a regulatory filing, Cooper Creek Partners Management disclosed a 5.17% stake in Fusion Telecommunications, representing 1,157,233 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

12:19 EDT Columbia Bank names Lisa Dow chief risk officer - Columbia Bank announced that Lisa Dow has been appointed to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer of Columbia Bank. Dow has 35 years of banking experience and previously served as Senior Vice President, Senior Credit Administrator of Columbia Bank.

12:01 EDT Intel debuts technologies, including RealSense Volumetric Content Capture - During the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Intel will debut emerging technologies that will change the way movies are made and enjoyed, showcasing the next wave of innovation in the entertainment industry. The Intel Tech Lodge at Sundance will feature hands-on experiences where technology and entertainment come together: Intel RealSense technology will showcase a real-time volumetric content capture experience that can record short clips of attendees in 3D, creating a digital avatar that can be shared and transported into films. In partnership with Sundance Film Festival, Intel will showcase the power of artificial intelligence technology in visual effects and filmmaking. In collaboration with Ziva Dynamics - a human simulation company - Intel will create a special effects experience that maps attendees faces in real-time, enhancing the fan experience through machine learning and allowing attendees to interact with a life-like avatar.

11:51 EDT Dexcom dips with Cigna deeming Abbott's Libre medically necessary - Shares of Dexcom (DXCM) moved lower as traders circulated Cigna's (CI) policy update on home blood glucose monitors. The policy, effective January 15, 2018, deems Abbott's (ABT) Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System "medically necessary" for the management of type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus when conditions are met. The conditions are: age 18 years or older; completion of a diabetes self-management education program; documented blood glucose self-testing an average of at least four times per day; treatment program including at least three insulin injections per day with frequent self-adjustments of insulin dose for at least two months. On January 4, Abbott announced that its new continuous glucose monitoring system is now available to Medicare patients, having met the codes for therapeutic CGM systems used for coverage by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Shares of Dexcom, which markets a competing blood glucose monitor, are off their lows but remain down 48c to $55.84. Reference Link

11:32 EDT Heartland Financial raises quartely cash dividend 18% to 13c per share - Heartland Financial USA announced that its board of directors approved an 18% increase in its regular quarterly cash dividend to 13c per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable March 2, 2018, to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 16, 2018. At December 31, 2017, there were 29,953,356 common shares outstanding listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol HTLF.

11:12 EDT Trump's 'Fake News Awards' don't move needle on media stocks - Wednesday night, President Donald Trump released his "Highly-Anticipated 2017 Fake News Awards," listing the eleven "winners" of the awards. On January 7, Trump tweeted about the awards, stating, "The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!" MEDIA MENTIONED: A number of news outlets were mentioned in the awards, including the New York Times (NYT), which was mentioned twice and won the top award for Paul Krugman's claim that the economy would never recover from a Trump presidency; Time Warner's (TWX) CNN, which was mentioned four times; Disney's (DIS) ABC News, which was mentioned for Brian Ross's "false report" on Russia; and Time (TIME), which reported that Trump removed a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the Oval Office. Note that Time is being acquired by Meredith Corporation (MDP), but the deal has not yet closed. Also mentioned were privately held Newsweek, which is owned by IBT Media, and the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos. REBUTTAL: In an article on Thursday morning, the New York Times noted that Krugman's article was an opinion piece, and not a news article, and that three days later Krugman retracted the prediction as an overreaction. The Times added, speaking of the awards, "The content of the 11-point list was perhaps less notable than its premise: a sitting president using his bully pulpit for a semi-formalized attack on the free press." LACK OF IMPACT: In late morning trading, New York Times and Disney were down fractionally, Time Warner was flat, and Time was fractionally higher. Other publicly traded companies in the media space include McClatchy (MNI), News Corp (NWS, NWSA), Tegna (TGNA) and tronc (TRNC). Reference Link

10:53 EDT American Airlines expands network in 2018, introduces new shuttle - American recently announced international service to Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic and Reykjavik, Iceland, starting this summer, and also began selling more than 40 new routes from its nine hubs, including seven routes from Philadelphia International Airport and eight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. On Jan. 22, the airline will offer the newest additions to its 2018 schedule for travel beginning June 7:American Airlines is delivering on its promise to provide customers the largest and best network by adding more new routes and better connecting opportunities in its 2018 schedule. With the introduction of 52 new nonstop flights and enhanced schedules, customers worldwide will benefit from new options across the American network.

10:35 EDT BHP Billiton considers options for U.S. shale unit - In an operational review, the company said, "In Onshore US, our operated rig count remained at nine during the December 2017 quarter but is expected to fall as we tailor plans to maximise value in the exit process...We continue to progress a number of alternatives to exit our Onshore US assets for value. We are preparing all appropriate documentation ahead of data rooms being opened to potential trade sale buyers by the end of the March 2018 quarter. In parallel, we continue to explore a potential exit via demerger or Initial Public Offering." Reference Link

10:19 EDT Ericsson to power Bell Canada's next-generation multiscreen TV services - Ericsson (ERIC) has been selected by Bell Canada (BCE) to power its next generation multiscreen TV services. Ericsson's MediaFirst TV Platform solution will enable Bell to offer an enhanced, personalized and converged multiscreen TV experience to its more than 1.5 million Fibe TV and Alt TV subscribers in Canada. The multi-year deal expands on the companies' long-term relationship, which dates back to the 2010 launch of Bell's Fibe TV service and deployment of Mediaroom.

10:16 EDT Amazon names 20 finalists in race for second headquarters - Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) are in focus in morning trading after the company shortlisted 20 metropolitan areas for its new headquarters. Among the candidates are New York City, Boston and Atlanta. AMAZON NARROWS CHOICES FOR NEW HQ: Amazon on Thursday announced a narrowed down list of 20 metropolitan cities for its planned second headquarters. The finalists, whittled down from 283 places that applied in October, include New York City, Boston, Atlanta and Chicago, which all have access to airports and mass transportation. Other candidates include Dallas, Columbus, Denver, Newark, Philadelphia, Miami, Washington D.C., Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and Indianapolis. Amazon said it expects to create as many as 50,000 jobs that will be "high-paying" and generate more than $5B in investments over the next 10-15 years. In addition to Amazon's direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community, Amazon said. In a statement, Holly Sullivan of Amazon Public Policy, said that "getting from 238 to 20 was very tough -- all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity. Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation." WHAT'S NOTABLE: Amazon solicited proposals in September for its second corporate headquarters. In its request for proposals, Amazon said it was looking for a metro area with at least 1M residents, proximity to an international airport, mass transit and amenities that give it the "potential to attract and retain strong technical talent." The company plans to make a decision this year and will continue discussions with the 20 finalists, it said. Amazon is also planning to grow in Seattle. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in late 2017, Jeff Wilke, Amazon's CEO of Worldwide Consumer, said the company planned to add 2M square feet and 6,000 people over 12 months to the Seattle headquarters. RECENT TRUMP COMMENTS: President Donald Trump tweeted critically about the company on December 29, calling on the U.S. Postal Service to charge the online retailing giant "much more" for shipping. Trump tweeted, "Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!" PRICE ACTION: Shares of Amazon are down 0.8% in morning trading to $1,284.69.

10:04 EDT Archer Daniels, Vland enter development agreement for feed enzyme technology - Archer Daniels Midland Company and Qingdao Vland Biotech Group Co., Ltd. announced a joint development agreement for the development and commercialization of enzymes for animal feed applications. In addition to ADM's research center in Decatur, Illinois, ADM will open a new U.S. enzyme research and development lab in California that will directly support activities being undertaken in the joint development agreement. Vland will also conduct research and development in its Qingdao research laboratory, which will be upgraded to a new state-of-the-art facility. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will share enzyme-producing strains as a basis for the development of feed enzymes that will improve animal nutrition and health. Products developed under the agreement will be commercialized by both companies.

09:50 EDT Jacksonville Bancorp trading resumes

09:43 EDT Kroger investing $500M in human capital over next three years - The Kroger Co announced that it is actively recruiting experienced retail and digital and technology talent for new and open corporate and store management roles across its family of companies. As part of Restock Kroger, the company is also investing an incremental $500M in human capital over the next three years. This will be in addition to Kroger's continued efforts to rebalance store associate pay and benefits while also focusing on certifications, performance incentives, advancement opportunities and training for associates.

09:40 EDT Morgan Stanley seeing good signs for trading in early part of Q1

09:28 EDT MiMedx believes NY Magistrate's recommendations are in error - MiMedx commented on the recommendation from the Magistrate in New York that the claims be dismissed against some of the parties in the Company's lawsuit against various short sellers. In October 2017, MiMedx Group and Sean McCormack brought a lawsuit in a New York federal court against various short sellers for defaming MiMedx and improperly trying to drive down its stock price. On January 16, 2018, the Magistrate in New York issued a recommendation that the claims against some, but not all, of the parties be dismissed. As the term "recommendation" suggests, this is not a final or binding order, but is merely a recommendation on how the District Court Judge should rule. Such recommendations are part of the litigation process, and the procedures allow either side to object to this recommendation to the District Court Judge and point out the errors of the Magistrate before any final ruling. The Company believes that the Magistrate's recommendations are in error, and therefore MiMedx will be filing objections with the District Court Judge. MiMedx believes that the District Court will reject the recommendations of the Magistrate and allow the litigation to proceed with the claims against all of the parties remaining intact. It is worth noting, however, that in the recommendation, the Magistrate's report did not find any of the statements made by the Defendants to be true. Further, the Magistrate specifically stated that the litigation and discovery should proceed to determine the identity of Viceroy Research, who had been hiding behind the veil of anonymity while defaming MiMedx and slandering its employees on virtually a daily basis. After this recommendation from the Magistrate, Viceroy in fact revealed its identity, indicating that it consisted of Fraser Perring, Gabriel Bernarde, and Aidan Lau. Parker H. "Pete" Petit, Chairman and CEO, said, "Viceroy's announcement confirms the investigative work that we have done over the last several months to determine their identity. We continue to work on additional associations with this group. On behalf of our shareholders, our employees, and the thousands of physicians and their patients benefiting from our clinically effective products, we are committed to continuing to fight against these short attacks on all fronts. This certainly includes providing our assistance to the appropriate law enforcement and regulatory authorities to bring any illegal activities to a prompt close."

09:23 EDT KeyCorp expects additional $50M in cost savings from First Niagara in 2018 - Says average loans declined in Q4, not consistent with expectations. Says continues to see strong business activity in pipeline. Says strategic investments in Cain Brothers, HelloWallet, merchant services and residential mortgage will position company for future growth. Says 2017 was a "significant and pivotal" year. Says "well-positioned" for future. Says sees positive upside for company, including First Niagara cost savings. Says 2017 annual run-rate cost savings were over $400M, expects additional $50M in 2018. Says maintaining pricing discipline in all markets. Says impact of tax reform and related actions was $29M in Q4. Says credit quality remains strong. Says impact of tax reform reduced Common Equity Tier 1 ratio by 14 bps. Comments taken from the Q4 earnings conference call.

09:17 EDT OncoSec reports 'encouraging' observations in TNBC study - OncoSec Medical announced preliminary clinical observations related to its pilot biomarker OMS-I140 clinical trial of ImmunoPulse IL-12 in patients with metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer. The study is designed to assess whether a single cycle of ImmunoPulse IL-12 increases TNBC tumor immunogenicity by driving a pro-inflammatory cascade of events including activation of cytotoxic tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. To date, five patients with TNBC have been treated with a single cycle of ImmunoPulse IL-12 . Two of these five patients were subsequently treated with single agent nivolumab - an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor treatment - as their immediate next therapy. Both of these patients, who were heavily pretreated metastatic TNBC patients with chemotherapy refractory disease, experienced robust objective responses in both ImmunoPulse IL-12 treated and untreated lesions. These clinical observations have prompted the Company to further commit to a more definitive evaluation of the combined therapies. Immunological examination of samples from all patients are currently being analyzed. These data, along with the full information regarding clinical observations and safety data, will be submitted for presentation at an upcoming medical meeting in 2018.

09:16 EDT Icahn 'in complete agreement' with Deason on Xerox disclosing JV pact with Fuji - Carl Icahn released an open letter to the shareholders of Xerox, which states in part: "Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Xerox is in talks with Fujifilm regarding potential transactions that may or may not include a change of control of Xerox. In addition, Darwin Deason, Xerox's third largest shareholder, yesterday urged Xerox to disclose its joint venture agreement with Fuji and to explore its strategic alternatives regarding Fuji...It goes without saying that we are in complete agreement with Mr. Deason's view that Xerox should immediately disclose the joint venture agreement with Fuji...If the long-tenured directors at Xerox continue to refuse to acknowledge that change is needed, then we believe it is mandatory for shareholders to speak up and demand that further new blood be introduced into the boardroom...We cannot comment on the accuracy of the Wall Street Journal reports regarding a potential deal between Xerox and Fuji - except to say that, unfortunately, we can confirm the Journal's statement that Xerox is "languishing." However, we are free to share our own views with shareholders, and we intend to do so on a regular basis...We are not willing to wait any longer for the change that is so desperately needed. We will not sit idly by and watch Xerox continue to drift towards extinction. We will not be held hostage by the "old guard." We believe drastic action is needed NOW because we fear that failing to replace Jeff Jacobson as CEO could inevitably result in the loss of our entire investment."

09:07 EDT Morgan Stanley 'cautiously optimistic' trading backdrop in Q4 will not persist - CFO Jonathan Pruzan said he expects NII growth to slow in 2018. Pruzan expects the Q1 effective tax rate lower than FY guidance of 22%-25%. He said the bank is "cautiously optimistic" that the trading backdrop seen in Q4 will not persist. He expects tax reform, monetary policy will boost client activity. CEO Gorman said that Morgan Stanley is "not going to be below" 10% ROE.

09:05 EDT MicroVision sees Q4 revenue of $2.4M-$2.7M, consensus $6.01M - MicroVision announced that it expects revenue for Q4 in the range of $2.4M to $2.7M and FY17 revenue in the range of $10.7M to $11M, consensus $13.8M. The Q4 revenue is made up primarily of contract revenue. MicroVision had planned to recognize $4.3M of product revenue during Q4 by completing the remainder of a previously announced $6.7M order for its small form factor display engine PSE-0403-103. The customer, however, requested a deferment in taking receipt of the engines until 2018. MicroVision plans to ship a majority of the engines remaining on this order in 1Q18 and the balance in Q2.

09:04 EDT Smith & Nephew's eCAP reduces hospital readmission - Smith & Nephew announces results showing a near 75% decrease in readmission rates for joint arthroplasties conducted under its Episode of Care Assurance Program. Working with Provider PPI, eCAP combines Smith & Nephew's leading hip and knee implants with its PICO Negative Pressure Wound Therapy and ACTICOAT Flex 7 Antimicrobial Barrier Dressings. These products are applied post-surgery; PICO may help protect the incision by reducing seroma and hematoma fluid collections, reducing edema and lateral tension and improving perfusion. ACTICOAT Flex 7, which contains Nanocrystalline Silver, provides an effective barrier to microbial contamination to help deter surgical site infections.

09:01 EDT Nike names Dirt-Jan van Hameren as VP, Chief Marketing Officer - NIKE announced Dirk-Jan "DJ" van Hameren has been promoted to VP, Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. In this role, van Hameren will lead Nike's Global Marketing organization to authentically connect with every consumer who interacts with the NIKE brand and deepen relationships with them. Van Hameren will succeed Greg Hoffman, who has been appointed VP, Global Brand Creative & Marketing Innovation, responsible for leading Brand Communications, Brand Design, Advanced Concepts and Digital Marketing Innovation, as well as Global Brand Imaging, Events Marketing and Creative Operations. Van Hameren, a 25-year veteran of Nike, most recently served as VP, GM of Nike Sportswear.

09:01 EDT ExxonMobil acquires exploration acreage offshore Ghana - ExxonMobil announced that it has signed a petroleum agreement with the government of Ghana to acquire exploration and production rights for the Deepwater Cape Three Points block. The agreement is subject to parliamentary ratification. Exploration activities, including acquisition of seismic data and analysis, are expected to commence later in 2018. The Deepwater Cape Three Points block, located 57 miles off the coast of Ghana, measures approximately 366,000 acres in water depths ranging from 5,085 feet to 9,350 feet. ExxonMobil will carry out the work program as operator, and holds 80% interest. Ghana National Petroleum Corporation holds 15% interest. ExxonMobil will work with the government to identify a Ghanaian company to potentially hold up to 5% interest.

09:00 EDT Jacksonville Bancorp trading halted, news pending

08:50 EDT Morgan Stanley CEO sees immediate positive impact from tax reform - Sees meaningful reduction in effective tax rate from tax reform. Expects "some relief" from reduced regulatory burden.

08:48 EDT Vermillion signs agreement for OVA1 test with BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois - Vermillion company ASPiRA Labs has entered into a contracted agreement for ovarian cancer risk assessment test OVA1 with BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest PPO network in the state, providing benefits to approximately 7.9 million members across 102 counties.

08:44 EDT Morgan Stanley CEO says will opportunistically evaluate M&A opportunities

08:41 EDT Morgan Stanley sees 2018-2019 Wealth Management pre-tax margin of 26%-28% - Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said on its Q4 earnings conference call that the bank met all of its financial targets for 2017. Trading conditions in 2017 included consistently low volatility, Gorman added. Areas of investment include digital; advisory platforms; deposit, lending and cash management products. Revenue drivers for 2018 and beyond include fee based flows, wallet consolidation, client segmentation, lending penetration, rising rates. Morgan Stanley sees 2018-2019 Wealth Management pre-tax margin of 26%-28%. The firm sees its expense efficiency ratio, ex DVA, of less than or about 73% for 2018-2019. Morgan Stanley expects to benefit from U.S. tax reform and sees its effective tax rate for 2018 of 22%-25%. Gorman said he's confident Morgan Stanley can deliver "ongoing, attractive" returns. In the medium term, Morgan Stanlay is targeting ROE of 10%-13% and ROTCE of 11.5%-14.5%. Morgan Stanley is up about 1% in pre-market trading.

08:38 EDT AzurRx receives required approvals to add French site to MS1819-SD study - AzurRx BioPharma announced that in partnership with Mayoly Spindler, a French pharmaceutical company, they have received the required approvals including Ethics Committee and the French Regulatory Agency to add a French site to the phase IIa study of MS1819-SD for patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency caused by chronic pancreatitis. The Company had previously announced the submission of an Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier for its lead product MS1819-SD, a recombinant lipase for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency caused by chronic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis on October 20th, 2017. The primary objective of this Phase II study is to investigate the safety of escalating doses of MS1819-SD in patients with CP. The secondary objective is to investigate the efficacy dose response of MS1819-SD in these patients by analysis of the coefficient of fat absorption and its change from baseline. Safety will be assessed at the end of each treatment period with particular attention paid to immunoallergic effects, digestive symptoms and clinical laboratory tests.

08:35 EDT Fat Brands announces international development deal with FB Scotland - FAT Brands is pleased to announce the company has signed an international development deal with FB Scotland to open three co-branded Fatburger and Buffalo's Express restaurants across Scotland in the next five years, the first of which is planned for Dundee. Executing on their renewed focus on international expansion, the Scotland deal is the latest in a slew of growth announcements from Fatburger and Buffalo's Express.

08:33 EDT Kite, Pfizer to collaborate to evaluate combination of Yescarta, utomilumab - Kite, a Gilead Company (GILD), announced it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration with Pfizer (PFE) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the investigational combination of Yescarta and Pfizer's utomilumab, a fully humanized 4-1BB agonist monoclonal antibody, in patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma. A multi-center Phase 1/2 study sponsored by Kite is expected to begin in 2018. The results of this study will be used to evaluate options for further development of this combination, or similar combinations between Kite's engineered T cell products and utomilumab. Yescarta is the first chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy to be indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including DLBCL not otherwise specified, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, high grade B-cell lymphoma and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma. Yescarta is not indicated for patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma. Utomilumab, also known as PF-05082566, is an investigational 4-1BB agonist that has been shown in preclinical models to enhance T cell mediated immune responses. Pfizer is currently investigating utomilumab in both hematologic cancers and solid tumors as a single agent and in combination with other anti-cancer therapies. Evidence also suggests that 4-1BB, a costimulatory protein expressed on activated T cells, is upregulated upon exposure to CD19-expressing tumor cells. Utomilumab could potentially enhance T cell proliferation and activity by augmenting the CD28 costimulatory domain of Yescarta with exogenous 4-1BB signaling. The combination of Yescarta and utomilumab is investigational and has not been proven safe and effective.

08:32 EDT Riot Blockchain submits bidder registration for U.S. Marshals auction of bitcoin - Riot Blockchain (RIOT) announced that it has submitted the required registration items to attempt to participate in the U.S. Marshals Service sealed bid auction of bitcoins. The required registration items included the bidder registration form and a $200,000 deposit. The company expects to be notified about its eligibility to participate in the auction by email prior to 5:00 PM EST on January 19, 2018.

08:31 EDT UQM Technologies receives $1.2M explosion-proof E-drive system order from KESHI - UQM Technologies announced the first significant purchase order from KESHI, a major Chinese manufacturer of commercial mining vehicles. The purchase order is for explosion-proof E-drive systems and is valued at $1.2M. Shipments are expected to occur during 2018. While UQM signed a cooperation agreement with KESHI in 2015, KESHI's production launch was delayed due to the market conditions, but now has made a major commitment to this new energy market application. KESHI plans to move forward with their strategy to do final assembly and test in China under UQM's current cooperation agreement for explosion-proof electric propulsion systems in China.

08:26 EDT Argos Therapeutics announces one-for-twenty reverse stock split - Argos Therapeutics announced that its board approved a one-for-twenty reverse split of the company's common stock that will take effect today, January 18, 2018 after the close of trading. The reverse stock split will affect all holders of common stock uniformly and will not alter any stockholder's percentage interest in the company's equity, except to the extent that the reverse stock split would result in a stockholder owning a fractional share. No fractional shares of common stock will be granted in connection with the reverse stock split; stockholders who would otherwise be entitled to a fractional share of common stock will be entitled to receive a proportional cash payment. The reverse stock split will not change the par value of the common stock or the authorized number of shares of common stock of Argos.

08:22 EDT ManTech awarded $35.9M Navy contract for combat ID systems - ManTech announced a five-year $35.9M single award IDIQ contract with the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division to provide engineering and technical services for the Combat Integration & Identification Systems Division. ManTech will provide services that support combat identification, non-cooperative target recognition, air traffic control equipment, systems and subsystems, and advanced technologies development for U.S. Navy vessels.

08:16 EDT TransCanada confirms commercial support for Keystone XL - TransCanada announced it has successfully concluded the Keystone XL open season, securing approximately 500,000 barrels per day of firm, 20 year commitments, positioning the proposed project to proceed. Interest in the project remains strong and TransCanada will look to continue to secure additional long-term contracted volumes. Today's announcement builds on the November 20, 2017 decision by the Nebraska Public Service Commission to approve the Keystone XL route through the state. The approved route was based on a comprehensive review of the evidence submitted by all parties in the hearing process as well as state agencies to ensure it has a minimal impact to the public and to Nebraska's natural resources.

08:13 EDT SunPower: SunPower Oasis Power Plant opens at Total's La Mede Refinery - SunPower (SPWR) announced that an 8-megawatt SunPower Oasis Power Plant was recently completed and is now operating at Total's (TOT) La Mede refinery in Chateauneuf-les-Martigues, France.

08:08 EDT Veracyte announces results from patient survey on diagnosing ILD - Veracyte announced that results of a national patient survey quantifying the significant challenges of diagnosing interstitial lung diseases have been published for the first time. Up to 200,000 patients in the United States and major European countries present with suspected ILD each year. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is among the most common and most deadly of these progressive, lung-scarring diseases. The INTENSITY survey assessed the steps and time required for adults with ILD, including IPF, to receive an accurate diagnosis, specific obstacles hindering timely diagnosis, and the physical and emotional impacts of patients' diagnostic journeys. Key findings include: 43% of survey respondents endured a year or more between the time they first experienced symptoms and the time they received a diagnosis; nearly one in five endured three or more years. 55% reported at least one misdiagnosis prior to receiving an accurate diagnosis; more than a third reported at least two misdiagnoses. Among those with IPF, more than one in five reported treatment during the diagnostic process with systemic corticosteroids, a potentially harmful therapy for IPF patients. Among survey participants, 47% of whom reported having IPF, an accurate diagnosis typically involved a substantial use of healthcare resources: Most ILD diagnoses, 88%, were made by a pulmonologist, however multiple primary care physician visits were the norm, with 30% of patients seeing a PCP four or more times before being referred to a specialist. On average, respondents endured six pulmonary lung function tests, five chest X-rays and two bronchoscopies before receiving a diagnosis. 61% of patients endured invasive diagnostic procedures, including surgical lung biopsy. The survey also revealed the significant emotional and financial toll of the diagnostic journey for patients with ILD: More than 80% of respondents reported emotional stress due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding their diagnosis. Nearly one third reported that time spent attending medical appointments and undergoing diagnostic procedures contributed to their decision to apply for disability benefits or retire.

08:06 EDT CalAmp's FleetOutlook selected by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - CalAmp and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Bureau of Vehicle Management announced an initiative to reduce costs and streamline the operations of the state-owned vehicle fleets through the deployment of CalAmp's FleetOutlook. The Commonwealth's BVM oversees approximately 11,000 passenger, emergency and off-road vehicles. FleetOutlook will be deployed on nearly half its vehicles across the state.

08:04 EDT Sprint, Cox announce new multi-year business agreement - Sprint and Cox Communications announced a new multi-year business agreement designed to strengthen each company. The agreement, reached as part of a settlement of patent litigation between the parties, will allow Sprint to leverage Cox's broadband infrastructure to accelerate the densification of the Sprint network while simultaneously increasing efficiency of its macro backhaul and small cell deployment. Additionally, the agreement will increase and strengthen other business ties between the two companies. Through the deployment of small cells and other solutions, Sprint is working to significantly densify its network to enhance performance and improve the customer experience. Sprint's Densification and Optimization toolkit includes a variety of solutions from traditional macro towers to small cells including Sprint Magic Box, airpoles, strand mounts and repeaters. Through this agreement with Cox, Sprint will significantly accelerate deployment of that toolkit throughout Cox's national footprint. With spectrum holdings of 204 MHz of spectrum and more than 160 MHz of 2.5 GHz in the top 100 markets, Sprint has more spectrum capacity than any other U.S. carrier enabling it to keep pace with customer's growing demand for Unlimited data now and well into the future.

08:03 EDT CB&I announces joint development deal with Saudi Aramco - CB&I (CBI) announced it has entered into a Joint Development Agreement with Saudi Aramco that includes Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), CB&I's joint venture with Chevron U.S.A. (CVX), for the development, commercialization and marketing of innovative crude-to-chemical technologies. Together, Saudi Aramco, CB&I and CLG will develop a unique integration of advanced technology processes for the production of high-value petrochemicals from crude oil. Specifically, CB&I's ethylene cracker technology and CLG's hydroprocessing technologies combined with Saudi Aramco's proprietary Thermal Crude to Chemicals technology will provide the platform for this joint development.

08:02 EDT Activision's Overwatch League announces Toyota as new brand marketing partner - Following an opening week for the Overwatch League (ATVI) that drew more than 10 million viewers worldwide, a major new brand-marketing partner has signed on to support the league during its inaugural season: multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota (TM). Toyota will be a North American Launch Partner for the Overwatch League, and is looking forward to future collaborations around bringing behind-the-scenes content to fans. The automaker plans to have additional broadcast integrations, as well as a vehicle presence at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles.

07:58 EDT Webster records one-time revaluation adjustment to net deferred tax assets - In a regulatory filing, Webster said it has assessed the impacts of the changes from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Based on Webster's assessment, including the reduction in the federal corporate statutory tax rate, Webster has recorded a one-time revaluation adjustment to its net deferred tax assets during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 of approximately $20.9M. This amount has been recorded as a one-time increase to the provision for income taxes. Separately, due to its continued business expansion and growth, Webster has completed a review of its current and projected multi-jurisdictional state and local tax structure. In connection with this review, Webster completed an evaluation of its state net deferred tax assets, including an assessment of valuation allowances established for state net operating losses not expected to be utilized. As a result, Webster has adjusted the estimated realizability of its state net deferred tax assets by approximately $28.7M and has recorded this amount as a one-time decrease to the provision for income taxes in the fourth quarter of 2017. The net effect of the reduction in Webster's net deferred tax assets in connection with the TCJA and change in the estimated realizability of its state deferred tax assets is an expected net benefit of approximately $7.8M in the fourth quarter of 2017.

07:41 EDT CoStar reports 'record' December sales, sees associated commission expense bump - In a regulatory filing last night, CoStar Group stated: "CoStar achieved record sales in December 2017 of approximately two times its recent, average monthly sales, which is expected to have a favorable impact on 2018 revenue growth. The higher sales are expected to result in a one-time increase in commission expense for the fourth quarter of 2017 of between $6M-$8M above the company's expectations. The increased commission expense will impact adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2017. CoStar expects to announce financial results for the fourth quarter 2017 following the market close on Wednesday, February 21, 2018. CoStar management plans to conduct a conference call to discuss the fourth quarter 2017 results and the company's outlook on Thursday, February 22, 2018."

07:33 EDT Alliance Data launches credit card program for Adorama retailer - Alliance Data's Columbus, Ohio-based card services business, a provider of branded private label, co-brand and business credit card programs, has launched a new private label credit card program for Adorama, an online destination for photography, imaging, and consumer electronics. Alliance Data's marketing efforts across all channels aim to increase brand loyalty and drive top-line sales. Adorama will also have access to Alliance Data's marketing and data toolset.

07:23 EDT Sharing Economy, iMusicTech enter agreement over potential acquisition - Sharing Economy International announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, EC Technology & Innovation has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the shareholders of iMusicTech, regarding a potential acquisition by EC Technology of not less than 51% of iMusicTech. iMusicTech develops music and sound hardware and software technologies. The iMusicTech team has extensive experience in sound engineering and mobile application development. iMusicTech is one of the early Licensed Software and Hardware developers to support Apple smart devices, and was the first Hong Kong IT company to implement ISO20000 and ISO2700I international standards. There can be no assurances that the parties may enter into any agreement to do a transaction, and even if an agreement is entered into, there can be no assurances that such transaction will be consummated.

07:14 EDT Melinta initiates program for radezolid in patients with bacterial vaginosis - Melinta Therapeutics announced that its partner has commenced a new program for a topical formulation of radezolid, a second-generation oxazolidinone antibiotic discovered by Melinta scientists, in preparation for submitting an Investigational New Drug, or IND application to the FDA for the treatment of patients with bacterial vaginosis. Radezolid is also being studied by Melinta's partner in a Phase 2 clinical study for the treatment of mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris.

07:12 EDT M&T Bank CFO: Q4 results negatively impacted by Tax Act - Darren J. King, Executive Vice President and CFO, commented on M&T's financial performance, "Financial results in 2017 highlight what was a successful year for M&T. Strong growth in net interest income, credit costs that were significantly below our historical norms, and well controlled expenses led to a 12% rise in earnings per common share for the year. Fourth quarter results were negatively impacted by the newly enacted tax legislation, but a lower corporate tax rate in the future should provide many benefits to M&T. We are proud to carry on the legacy of our long-time Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Wilmers, through investing in the communities we serve by contributing $50 million during 2017 to The M&T Charitable Foundation, the highest annual amount in our history."

07:09 EDT KeyCorp sees FY18 net interest income $3.9B-$4B, one rate increase in June - Sees FY18 average loan balances $88.5B-$89.5B. For deposits, sees FY18 average balances $104.5B-$105.5B. Sees FY18 net interest income in the range of $3.9B-$4B, outlook includes one rate increase in June. Sees FY18 noninterest income $2.5B-$2.6B. Sees FY noninterest expense $3.85B-$3.95B, including remaining First Niagara cost savings of $50M in early 2018. Expects net chargeoffs to average loans below target range of 40-60bps. Expects provisions to slightly exceed net chargeoffs to provide for loan growth. Sees GAAP tax rate 18%-19%. Long-term, KeyCorp sees positive operating leverage, cash efficiency ratio of 54%-56%, moderate risk profile, ROTCE of 15%-18. Comments from slides that will be presented on the Q4 earnings conference call.

07:07 EDT Sierra Metals sees 2018 silver equivalent production of 13.9M-16.2M ounces - Sierra Metals anticipates that 2018 silver equivalent production will be 13.9M-16.2M ounces, copper equivalent production will range between 89.2M-104.0M pounds, and zinc equivalent production will range between 183.8M-214.5M pounds. The forecasted range is a result of increased throughput, production, and higher recoveries at Bolivar and Cusi. Yauricocha will see consistently strong, albeit flat levels of throughput in 2018 due to a rehabilitation of the lower part of the Mascota shaft in Q2, which will slightly lower throughput rates during that time period. In 2018, the company plans to invest a total of $49M on capital expenditures, including $13.1M for sustaining capital requirements and $35.7M for expansion, growth projects and exploration expenses. This program will be funded by operating cash flow. The 2018 budget includes several capital investments for property, plant and equipment; and corporate projects including tunnel completion, shaft deepening and rehabilitation at the Yauricocha Mine, and improvements to existing tailings deposition facilities at the Bolivar and Cusi Mines.

07:05 EDT Inphi sees Q1 remaining 'challenging' due to ongoing China slowdown - Ahead of today's 20th Annual Needham Growth Conference, the company stated: "Due to the ongoing slowdown in the China Long Haul and Metro markets - including associated inventory absorption, Q1 is expected to continue to be challenging. However, despite near term challenges, we currently expect 2H of 2018 will show improvement because of new products and new design wins with new cloud customers."

07:02 EDT Cardiovascular Systems partners with OrbusNeich, forms OEM agreement - Cardiovascular Systems announced two new partnerships broadening the company's product portfolio. CSI is now the exclusive U.S. distributor of OrbusNeich balloon products. Additionally, the company has signed an original equipment manufacturer agreement with Integer Holdings Corporation for CSI-branded ZILIENT guidewires. As the exclusive distributor of OrbusNeich balloon products in the United States, CSI will ultimately offer their full line of semi-compliant, non-compliant and specialty balloons for both coronary and peripheral vascular procedures. OrbusNeich PCI balloons include the Sapphire II Pro, which is currently on schedule this year to obtain FDA clearance for the FIRST AND ONLY 1.0mm coronary balloon to be available in the United States. Currently, CSI offers both the 1.5-4.0mm Sapphire II Pro and the 2.0-4.0mm Sapphire NC Plus coronary balloons. The company anticipates OrbusNeich's full balloon product portfolio will become available throughout 2018 and 2019. CSI has contracted with Integer Holdings Corporation to produce CSI-branded ZILIENT guidewires. These guidewires are designed to provide tip resilience and crossability in challenging arterial lesions. The broad market launch of the CSI-branded ZILIENT peripheral guidewires is expected to begin later in the current fiscal year. CSI anticipates that additional ZILIENT guidewires for coronary interventions and radial peripheral interventions will be available in the future.

07:01 EDT AES Corp. names ValueAct CEO Jeffrey Ubben to board - The AES Corporation announced that Jeffrey Ubben, Founder and CEO of ValueAct Capital, has been appointed to AES' Board of Directors, effective immediately. This appointment is a continuation of the company's efforts to create shareholder value. "We are delighted to welcome Jeff to AES' Board. Jeff's exceptional investment management track record and extensive public market experience will further enhance our expertise and strength," said Charles Rossotti, AES Chairman. "We remain committed to enhancing shareholder returns and we believe that Jeff will make a significant contribution to that end in an increasingly dynamic global energy market that is demanding innovative solutions."

06:59 EDT Morgan Stanley reports Common Equity Tier 1 ratio approximately 16.5% - As of December 31, 2017, the Firm's Common Equity Tier 1 and Tier 1 risk-based capital ratios under Standardized Approach transitional provisions were approximately 16.5% and 18.9%, respectively.

06:57 EDT Ryder appoints Rajeev Ravindran Chief Information Officer - Ryder appointed Rajeev Ravindran to the position of Chief Information Officer. Ravindran is a member of Ryder's Leadership Team and is responsible for all aspects of Ryder's IT organization. Prior to this position, Ravindran was the CIO and Group Vice President at JM Enterprises. Ravindran replaces Mel Kirk, who has joined Ryder's Fleet Management Solutions team as Chief Technology Officer.

06:54 EDT PPG committed to deploy at least $2.4B on acquisitions, repurchases in 2018 - "Looking ahead, we are well positioned to benefit from broadening and more synchronized global economic growth due to our geographic reach, excellent product portfolio, and advanced customer technologies, McGarry said. We expect minimal abatement in the first half of the year to the high level of raw material inflation that the coatings industry is experiencing. We will continue to work with our customers to address the inflationary environment and expect to realize additional selling price increases in 2018. Finally, we continue to have strong financial flexibility and are committed to deploy a minimum of $2.4 billion of cash in 2018 on acquisitions and share repurchases as part of our previously communicated target to deploy $3.5 billion in 2017 and 2018 combined," CEO McGarry concluded.

06:52 EDT PPG committed to deploy at least $2.4B on acquisitions, repurchases in 2018

06:48 EDT BHP Billiton reports H1 iron ore output 117M tons, flat from year-ago - Reports H1 Copper output 833K tons, up 17%. Reports H1 Petroleum output 99 MMBoe, down 7%. Reports H1 Energy coal output 14M tons, up 4%. Reports H1 Metallurgical coal output 20M tons, down 4% from year-ago.

06:43 EDT Wyndham acquires La Quinta hotel franchise, management businesses for $1.95B - Wyndham Worldwide (WYN) and La Quinta (LQ) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Wyndham Worldwide will acquire La Quinta's hotel franchise and hotel management businesses for $1.95B in cash. The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 of 2018. Under the terms of the agreement, stockholders of La Quinta will receive $8.40 per share in cash, approximately $1.0 billion in aggregate, and Wyndham Worldwide will repay approximately $715 million of La Quinta debt net of cash and set aside a reserve of $240 million for estimated taxes expected to be incurred in connection with the taxable spin-off of La Quinta's owned real estate assets into CorePoint Lodging Inc. Immediately prior to the sale of La Quinta to Wyndham Worldwide, La Quinta will spin off its owned real estate assets into a publicly-traded real estate investment trust, CorePoint Lodging. Wyndham's Hotel Group is the world's largest and most diverse hotel business based on number of properties. With the acquisition of La Quinta's asset-light, fee-for-service business consisting of nearly 900 managed and franchised hotels, Wyndham Hotel Group will span 21 brands and over 9,000 hotels across more than 75 countries. The addition of La Quinta, one of the largest midscale brands in the industry, will build upon Wyndham Hotel Group's strong midscale presence, expand its reach further into the fast-growing upper-midscale segment, and position Wyndham Hotel Group to be the preferred partner and accommodations provider of developers and guests. The La Quinta Returns loyalty program, with its 13 million enrolled members, will be combined with the award-winning Wyndham Rewards program, with its 53 million enrolled members. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close upon the completion of the planned spin-off of La Quinta's owned real estate assets into the separate entity. Closing is subject to approval by La Quinta stockholders, regulatory and government approval and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. La Quinta also announced today that Keith A. Cline has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CorePoint Lodging effective upon completion of the planned spin-off. Wyndham Worldwide's planned spin-off of Wyndham Hotel Group remains on track for an expected distribution in the second quarter of 2018.

06:36 EDT Air Lease provides activity update for 4Q17 - Air Lease announced an update on activity taking place in 4Q17. As of December 31, 2017, ALC's fleet was comprised of 244 owned aircraft and 50 managed aircraft. The company delivered 8 new aircraft including 2 Boeing 787-9s, 2 Boeing 737-8 MAXs, 2 Airbus A321neos and 2 Airbus A350-900s, delivered 4 used Boeing 737-800s purchased in the secondary market, sold 2 aircraft including 1 Boeing 737-800 to Blackbird Capital II, LLC and 1 Airbus A330-200 to a third party, and received insurance proceeds related to the insured loss of 2 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, issued $1.1B of unsecured senior notes including $600M 2.750% unsecured senior notes due 2023 and $500M 3.625% unsecured senior notes due 2027.

06:35 EDT La Quinta names Keith Cline President and CEO of CorePoint Lodging - The Board of Directors of La Quinta announced the appointment of Keith Cline to serve as President and CEO of CorePoint Lodging. The appointment will take effect immediately upon the completion of the planned spin-off of La Quinta's owned real estate assets into a separate publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust named CorePoint Lodging Inc. Cline has been serving as President and CEO of La Quinta since February 2016 and an on interim basis since September 2015.

06:33 EDT Wyndham to acquire La Quinta's hotel franchise for $1.95B in cash - La Quinta (LQ) announced that Wyndham Worldwide (WYN) and La Quinta have entered into a definitive agreement under which Wyndham Worldwide will acquire La Quinta's hotel franchise and hotel management businesses for $1.95B in cash. Immediately prior to the sale of La Quinta to Wyndham Worldwide, La Quinta will spin-off its owned real estate assets into CorePoint. The acquisition is subject to the completion of the spin-off of the Company, approval by La Quinta stockholders, regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018. Under the terms of the agreement with Wyndham, stockholders of La Quinta will receive $8.40 per share in cash (approximately $1B in aggregate). Also as part of the transaction, La Quinta's current debt obligation will be retired in its entirety, with Wyndham Worldwide repaying approximately $715M of La Quinta debt net of cash and setting aside a reserve in the amount of $240M for estimated taxes to be incurred in connection with La Quinta's spin of its owned real estate assets into CorePoint. The amount of such tax liabilities could be higher or lower than the estimated reserve amount and will depend upon several factors, including the value of CorePoint once it is spun off. Any difference between the reserve amount and a final estimated tax amount determined after closing will be returned to, or paid by, CorePoint. CorePoint is well-positioned to become a pure-play publicly-traded REIT focused exclusively on midscale and upper-midscale select service hotels. CorePoint will own a portfolio of approximately 315 hotels and more than 40,000 rooms throughout the United States in attractive locations in or near employment centers, airports and major travel thoroughfares.

06:31 EDT Hydrogenics awarded $7.8M fuel cell order in China - Hydrogenics has received an order valued at $7.8M to supply fuel cell power systems for zero-emission vehicles in China. The customer has chosen to remain confidential. Shipments are expected to be made over the next twelve months.

06:18 EDT Google to make page speed a factor in mobile search ranking beginning in July - Google says in a blog post, "We're announcing that starting in July 2018, page speed will be a ranking factor for mobile searches. The 'Speed Update,' as we're calling it, will only affect pages that deliver the slowest experience to users and will only affect a small percentage of queries. It applies the same standard to all pages, regardless of the technology used to build the page. The intent of the search query is still a very strong signal, so a slow page may still rank highly if it has great, relevant content. We encourage developers to think broadly about how performance affects a user's experience of their page and to consider a variety of user experience metrics." Reference Link

06:08 EDT Today executive producer Don Nash to be succeeded by Libby Leist, NBC News says - The top producer of NBC's "Today" show is stepping down after nearly 30 years, NBC News announced. Don Nash is leaving as the show's executive producer after "having rethought some of his priorities," NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said Wednesday in an email to the staff. The move comes two weeks after Hoda Kotb was officially named co-anchor of the morning news show, having filled in temporarily since Matt Lauer was fired in November. Libby Leist, who has been the senior producer of the show's 7 a.m. hour and joined NBC News in 2001, will be the new executive producer of the show's 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. hours. Reference Link

06:06 EDT SPI Energy establishes strategic partnership with Hoofoo - SPI Energy announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, SPI China Limited has established a strategic partnership with Hoofoo Inc, the leading hack-proof cryptocurrency wallet for iOS and android phones. Under the strategic partnership, Hoofoo will authorize SPI Energy to distribute their hackproof cryptocurrency wallet in global presence by leveraging on SPI Energy's existing presence in Australia, Europe, the United States and China. SPI Energy will also work with Hoofoo on advancing the technology front. According to Hoofoo, it has invented a safer cold storage cryptocurrency wallet for cryptocurrency owners that has "hack-proof" hardware wallet that pairs up with smartphone via Bluetooth and can be used to securely store an unlimited amount of multiple cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin and enable cryptocurrency transactions to happen in a safe environment.

06:02 EDT Regis signs multi-year sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball - Regis has entered an industry-exclusive, multi-year sponsorship with Major League Baseball for their Supercuts brand. Beginning with the 2018 Championship Season, Supercuts will become the Official Hair Salon, Official Hair Stylists and a proud partner of MLB. Through the official partnership, Supercuts has the exclusive category right to promote around MLB Spring Training, regular season and Postseason games, including Jewel Events such as the All-Star Game and the World Series.

05:50 EDT Biohaven Pharmaceutical initiates clinical development for BHV-5000 - Biohaven Pharmaceutical and its wholly owned subsidiary, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, announced that the FDA has notified the company that it may proceed with its clinical investigation of BHV-5000. Enrollment of subjects has started for the IND opening study, which will test single and multiple doses of a solid-dose formulation of BHV-5000 in healthy volunteers. BHV-5000 is being developed as a potential treatment for symptoms associated with Rett syndrome, including breathing irregularities. Biohaven also plans to explore development of BHV-5000 in other potential future indications including neuropathic pain and treatment-resistant depression.

05:37 EDT Mellanox confirms receipt of director nominations from Starboard Value - Mellanox Technologies onfirmed that affiliates of Starboard Value have nominated nine director candidates to stand for election to the board at Mellanox's 2018 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. The company issued the following statement: We maintain an open dialogue with our shareholders and welcome constructive input toward our shared goal of enhancing shareholder value. Members of our board and senior management team have held numerous discussions and meetings with Starboard during the past several months, including an in-person meeting at our facilities in Israel just Monday of this week. Despite our ongoing discussions and open engagement, however, Starboard made no attempt to discuss their nominees with us before publicly nominating director candidates, which we were first made aware of through the media today. The Mellanox board is comprised of nine highly qualified and experienced directors, all of whom are committed to creating value for Mellanox shareholders. The Board believes that it brings a diverse range of valuable and relevant skills, expertise and perspectives to drive performance and provide effective oversight. Further, Mellanox is strongly committed to best-in-class corporate governance and is recognized by ISS governance analysis as possessing the best governance profile, including the highest board structure score, amongst its peers. The Mellanox board takes its fiduciary duties seriously, is strongly committed to enhancing shareholder value and will continue to act in the best interests of the company and all shareholders. Under the direction of our Board and management team, and with the support of our 2,900 talented employees worldwide, Mellanox has become a leader in innovative end-to-end solutions for connecting servers and storage platforms, and we hold the #1 or #2 position in many of the key markets in which we operate. In addition to our track record of sustained market leadership, the company's success under our leadership is also demonstrated by our solid financial performance. The Mellanox board is confident in the company's strategy to accelerate growth, transform our business and enhance shareholder value. We look forward to further discussing our key focus areas on our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2017 financial results conference call to be held Thursday, January 18, 2018, at 2 p.m. Pacific Time. The Mellanox board and management team have and will continue to act in the best interests of the company and all shareholders.