Stockwinners Market Radar for April 01, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:19 EDT Pan American Silver reduces throughput by 10%-20% at Timmins, defers capex - Pan American Silver announced that Mexico's Ministry of Health has issued an Executive Order for the immediate suspension of non-essential activities until April 30, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following an initiative of reducing the number of people on site to increase physical distancing, Pan American will now expand this program in order to bring its La Colorada and Dolores operations into compliance with the Executive Order. Pan American has also begun to voluntarily reduce throughput by approximately 10% to 20% at its Timmins operation in Canada in order to further enhance physical distancing throughout the operation, offices and personnel transport systems. As previously announced, Pan American has suspended normal operations at its mines in Peru, Argentina and Bolivia in order to comply with mandatory national quarantines. The governments in those countries have declared that the quarantine periods are extended to April 12, 2020 in Peru, April 13, 2020 in Argentina and April 15, 2020 in Bolivia. These quarantine periods may be extended further as the situation in each country develops. There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at any of Pan American's operations. Pan American is in a strong financial position to manage the current business environment. Cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2019 totaled $120.6 million. In addition, Pan American has a credit facility in the amount of $500.0 million that matures on February 1, 2023. At December 31, 2019, $275.0 million was drawn on the credit facility, of which $15.0 million was repaid in early 2020. In order to provide additional flexibility and liquidity, Pan American has deferred certain capital expenditures and exploration spending. As well, Pan American's senior management team has voluntarily agreed to a salary reduction until the situation normalizes, including a 20% reduction for the executive management team. As the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is dynamic, Pan American is currently unable to determine the impact on its 2020 operating guidance and will update its guidance for 2020 as soon as it is practical.

19:48 EDT Babcock & Wilcox to supply cooling towers for Belgium plant in $3M contract - SPIG S.p.A., a subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox has been awarded a contract by BASF Antwerp NV for more than $3M to design and supply two cooling towers for the company's plant in Antwerp, Belgium. BASF Antwerp NV is one of the largest European producers and exporter of chemicals, plastics and performance products. All cooling equipment, including six cooling towers cells, is scheduled to be delivered and erected in the first half of 2021. Four of these cells will be part of the general cooling water system, while the remaining two will be dedicated to an ethylene oxide plant.

19:32 EDT Anthem to waive cost share for members in COVID-19 treatment - As part of Anthem's ongoing actions to meet the needs of those directly impacted by COVID-19 crisis, the company announced it will expand coverage, effective April 1, for members in its affiliated health plans undergoing treatment related to a COVID-19 diagnosis. The expansion covers the waiver of cost share for COVID-19 treatment received through May 31, 2020. Anthem will reimburse health care providers at in-network rates or Medicare rates, as applicable, for Anthem's affiliated health plan fully insured, Individual, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage members. Anthem is strongly encouraging participation by our self-funded employers and will work them to ensure their employees' needs are met. These employers will, however, still have the option to opt out of participation. Anthem will also provide post-discharge support to Medicare members with complex care needs who may need additional assistance as they transition back to home following hospitalization. Anthem's care managers can help provide coordination of medications and home health needs, scheduling follow up appointments and transportation, and arranging for post-discharge meal delivery.

18:57 EDT Ethan Allen furloughs about 70% of global workforce - Ethan Allen announced its action plan in response to the COVID-19 health crisis, which will include: The furlough of approximately 70% of its global workforce; Farooq Kathwari, Ethan Allen's Chairman, President and CEO will forego his salary through June 30, 2020; A salary reduction of up to 40% for all senior management and up to 20% for other salaried employees through June 30, 2020; The company's board will reduce their cash compensation by 50% through June 30, 2020. As noted earlier, the company will pay its affected associates through April 2, 2020. In addition, impacted employees will continue to receive enrolled benefits for up to 2 months.

18:45 EDT NY lawmakers, unions call on Bezos to close Amazon warehouses hit by COVID-19 - 45 New York lawmakers, advocacy group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice and several unions, including AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and other executives at the company calling on management to provide greater protections for warehouse workers who continue to work during the COVID-19 outbreak. "We write to you today shocked at reports that Amazon warehouses are not practicing the protocols necessary to protect the well-being of your workers and of the public," the letter reads. "And we are outraged to hear that not only did Amazon executives NOT promptly address the concerns being articulated by your own workers, but you actually fired one of the lead whistleblowers immediately following his courageous action Monday. We call for the swift reinstatement of Chris Smalls to reassure all workers and observers that speaking out about improvements needed to health and safety practices right now is not only tolerated, but WELCOMED as critically important to all of our well-being. You claim to have adopted a number of practices to sanitize worksites and protect workers. But a compelling number of workers have come forward - and even run the incredible personal risk of walking off the job - to report that the actual situation in warehouses does not match Amazon's public relations statements. They report that the circumstances of their work make it impossible to comply with public health protocols - reporting crowded spaces, a required rate of work that does not allow for proper sanitizing of work spaces, and empty containers meant to hold sanitizing wipes. Your workers deserve to have full protections and to be confident that they are not carrying COVID-19 home to their families. And the safety of your workers also impacts the safety of everyone who touches or receives packages once they leave your warehouses. We write in support of your own workers calling for you to CLOSE Amazon warehouses until you put into place real solutions - with independent monitors - to protect your workers and the public in this moment of public health crisis." The letter said it supports workers calling for warehouse closures with full pay for all workers who depend on such warehouses for their income until the company puts into place the following protocols: Independent health and safety inspection and ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance with CDC and other governing health guidelines; 100% pay for all employees during sanitation closures; Cancel all rate and productivity requirements which limit employee time for proper sanitation, including "Time Off Task" for all workers; Stricter protocols for six foot distancing measures; Cover childcare expenses for employees given district wide school closures; Full pay for all workers who cannot return to work because of their own or family member illness or out of need to self-quarantine - for themselves or loved ones; Retroactive pay for workers who have needed to take unpaid time off over the past month due to COVID-19 and its effects on communities; Issue a public statement of improved protocols - for the safety of Amazon's workers and the public.

18:37 EDT Nissan says U.S. manufacturing sites to remain closed through late April - Nissan said that its manufacturing facilities in the U.S. will remain closed through late April as a measure to help protect employees and reduce the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus. Some business-essential work that must be done on site will continue with enhanced safety measures.

18:30 EDT FTC sues to unwind Altria's $12.8B investment in Juul - The Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint alleging that Altria Group, Inc. and JUUL Labs, Inc. entered a series of agreements, including Altria's acquisition of a 35% stake in JUUL, that eliminated competition in violation of federal antitrust laws. The FTC alleged that as competitors, Altria and JUUL monitored each other's e-cigarette prices closely and raced to innovate. Altria also leveraged its ownership of leading brands across tobacco categories to secure favorable shelf space at retailers throughout the United States, the complaint alleges. Although early competition resulted in Altria's MarkTen e-cigarette becoming the second most popular brand by market share, by late 2018, JUUL vaulted past the industry leaders Altria and Reynolds to become the leading e-cigarette company in the country. The Commission alleges that Altria dealt with this competitive threat by agreeing not to compete in return for a substantial ownership interest in JUUL. Weeks after Altria declared its intention to wind down its e-cigarette business, Altria and JUUL announced an agreement that made Altria JUUL's largest shareholder, allowed Altria to appoint an observer to JUUL's Board of Directors, and would have permitted Altria to appoint three members of JUUL's Board after converting its shares to voting securities. JUUL received over $12B, an agreement that Altria would not compete with JUUL for six years, and a range of support services. Reference Link

18:12 EDT Cisco CEO: We're sending equipment to hospitals - Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said teams are working at putting networking equipment into hospitals. He added, "Security is the most important thing for customers. Privacy is a human right. We won't rent or sell customer data." He finished by noting that the coronavirus will have a "profound impact" on how companies do business going forward.

18:05 EDT Criteo jumps 10.7% after withdrawing FY20 guidance - Shares of Criteo (CRTO) were on the rise in after hours trading after the company lowered its first quarter guidance and withdrew its fiscal 2020 guidance due to the ongoing impact that COVID-19 is having on the company's clients' business. WHAT'S NEW: Criteo lowered its Q1 ex-TAC revenue to $204M-$206M from $209M-$212M in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts expect the company to report Q1 revenue of $207.46M. In addition, Criteo raised its Q1 adjusted EBITDA view to $59M-$61M from its previous outlook of $55M-$58M. Meanwhile, Criteo said it is currently not yet in a position to reliably quantify the impact of COVID-19 on its financial results for the remainder of 2020, and as a result is withdrawing its previously issued financial guidance for fiscal year 2020 and expects to discuss its future outlook at the time of its earnings call for the first quarter 2020. "We are entirely focused on executing on our strategic and operating priorities," said Megan Clarken, CEO. "Our solid financial model and strong liquidity give us confidence. We remain true to our mission of powering the world's marketers with trusted and impactful advertising." SUNTRUST: Following the news, SunTrust analyst Matthew Thornton maintained a Buy rating and $25 price target on Criteo (CRTO). Thornton said that he doesn't think this should come as a surprise with Yelp (YELP) and many other non-term advertising-driven companies having withdrawn or revised guidance or otherwise commented on pressures related to the COVID-19 outbreak in recent weeks. PRICE ACTION: In after hours trading, Criteo shares are up 10.7%.

17:55 EDT Golar LNG Partners cuts dividend to 2c from 40.4c per share - Golar LNG Partners announced an update regarding its financial strategy and ongoing initiatives in response to the recent Covid-19 induced deterioration in the macro-economic environment. This includes a decision to reduce its quarterly common unit distribution and the initiation of a process to seek an extension of the maturity date for its Senior Unsecured Bond Issues maturing in May 2020. The partnership's board has approved a reduction in the quarterly common distribution to $0.0202 per unit for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 (from $0.4042 per unit in the previous quarter). Golar Partners believes this reduction is in the best interest of all of its stakeholders during this unprecedented time of market volatility. The Partnership will, as a consequence, retain approximately $109M of cash flow annually, allowing the Partnership to focus its capital allocation on debt reduction, thus strengthening its balance sheet while providing enhanced financial flexibility to consider capital allocation priorities over time. The reduction will also result in lower breakeven re-contracting rates across the Partnership's fleet.

17:41 EDT Northrop Grumman awarded $404M Navy contract modification - Northrop Grumman was awarded $404M for a modification to a previously awarded, fixed-price-incentive-firm-target contract. This modification exercises contract options for non-recurring engineering and software support activities as well as product support for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, or AHE, full rate production, or FRP. In addition, this modification procures two E-2D AHE aircraft, one each in FRP Lots 8 and 9. Work is expected to be complete by March 2025. FY19 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $22.93M and FY20 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $381.07M will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:35 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $818.21M Air Force contract for JASSM production - Lockheed Martin has been awarded an $818.21M firm-fixed-price contract for joint air-to-surface standoff missile, or JASSM, Lot 17 and 18 production. This contract provides for 360 Lot 17 JASSM-extended range missiles; 40 Lot 17 Foreign Military Sales, or FMS, JASSM-ER missiles and 390 Lot 18 JASSM-ER missiles. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed by October 31, 2024. This award is the result of sole-source acquisition, and FY18 missile procurement funds in the amount of $767.49M and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $50.72M will be obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting activity.

17:25 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $426.29M Army contract modification - Lockheed Martin was awarded a $426.29M modification to a contract for building missiles and launch assemblies. Work has an estimated completion date of March 31, 2023. FY19 and FY20 missile procurement, Army funds in the amount of $426.29M were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:22 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $202.8M Navy contract - Lockheed Martin was awarded a $202.8M cost-plus-incentive-fee, undefinitized contract that provides engineering, maintenance, logistics manpower and material support to continue to develop, sustain and produce software builds as well as carryout developmental flight tests in support of the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Work is expected to be complete by September. FY20 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $23.96M; FY20 research, development, test and evaluationfunds in the amount of $23.96M; FY20 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $11.38M; FY20 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $11.38M and non-DoD participant funds in the amount of $14.86M will be obligated at time of award, $22.76M of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:17 EDT REX American Resources idles One Earth Energy ethanol plant - REX American Resources announced that it has idled its One Earth Energy ethanol plant. This action reflects current market conditions primarily brought on by the slowdown in ethanol demand due to the nationwide spread and impact of COVID-19 and the related efforts to contain the virus, and lower ethanol pricing. It has now idled both of its consolidated ethanol plants as the Company previously idled its NuGen Energy ethanol plant. The company plans to reopen the plants when management deems market conditions have improved to satisfactory conditions.

17:16 EDT Barrick Gold executive chairman Thornton sold 2.63M shares in the company - Barrick Gold Corporation said hat, due to personal portfolio considerations, executive chairman John Thornton had sold 2,632,153 shares in the company during the permitted open period following the publication of its 2019 year-end results. Thornton sold Barrick shares that he purchased using his personal funds which were not subject to holding restrictions. The sales have been reported in the applicable securities filing. Thornton confirmed that he would continue to retain and seek to build on what remains a meaningful equity stake in Barrick and that he looks forward to participating in the value created by the many exciting long-term growth opportunities being realized by Barrick's strong management team. The shares sold by Thornton represented approximately 50% of his prior holding in Barrick. He now holds 2,642,127 shares.

17:14 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $4.71B Navy contract modification for F-35 procurement - Lockheed Martin was awarded a $4.71B modification to a previously-awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm-target, firm-fixed-price contract. This modification is for the procurement of 78 F-35 combat aircraft and associated aircraft red gear. Work is expected to be complete by March 2023. FY20 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $2.72B will be obligated at time of award and FY20 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $1.99B will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:12 EDT Honda reported total March U.S. sales 77,153, down 48% y/y - American Honda announced that total U.S. Honda sales for the month of March fell 48% year-over-year to 77,153 units. Car sales for the month were down 47.2% to 37,175 units while truck sales fell 48.8% to 39,978 units. "As a society, we're all in this together. After a strong start to the year, industry sales are going to suffer in the short term, and we have suspended auto production as part of our effort to carefully manage our business in the face of the steep decline in demand," said Steven Center, vice president of Automobile Sales at American Honda. "At Honda, we are focused more than ever on supporting our customers, our dealers, our associates, and the communities where we live and work in the presence of this unprecedented threat to our health and the economy. Our country is going to come back strong and we are going to come back strong, and we know there are better times ahead."

17:08 EDT Centerra Gold reports 14-day reduction in Mount Milligan mill production - Centerra Gold reports that as a precautionary measure in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mount Milligan Mine in British Columbia, Canada will significantly reduce manpower and temporarily reduce mill throughput to 50,000 tonnes per day for a two week period commencing April 6, 2020. While there are no reported cases of COVID-19 at the Mount Milligan Mine, the mine is remote and has a large camp accommodation facility where substantially all of the on-site employees reside while on their rotation. Most employees work on a two-week rotation, and April 6 is the next scheduled rotation change. During this two-week period, mill feed will be sourced from surface ore stockpiles and be processed using only the primary crusher. Mining activities will continue but will be limited to support building of the tailings storage facility. The site will also continue preparation to capture and store the maximum volume of water from the upcoming spring melt. As previously disclosed, the company significantly reduced manpower and operations at the Oksut Project in Turkey on March 31, 2020 for an initial period of two weeks. This decision was taken in response to recent Turkish government initiatives aimed to reducing the spread of COVID-19. The company has also temporarily closed its head office in Toronto and regional offices in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, Prince George, British Columbia and Ankara, Turkey and has asked its workforce to operate remotely.

17:06 EDT Murphy Oil cuts quarterly dividend by 50%, further reduces 2020 capital program - The board of directors of Murphy Oil Corporation declared a quarterly cash dividend on the Common Stock of Murphy Oil Corporation of 12.5c per share, or 50c per share on an annualized basis. As a result of ongoing crude oil and natural gas market weakness, the Board believes this 50% reduction from the previous quarterly level of 25c per share is prudent. The dividend is payable on June 1, 2020, to stockholders of record as of May 18, 2020. The company is also announcing it has made an additional reduction in the 2020 capital plan down to the new midpoint of $780M from the previously announced $950M in March 2020. This represents a 46% decrease from the original guidance midpoint of $1.45B. Concurrently, the board of directors has approved significant salary reductions for company executives. The president and chief executive officer's annual salary has been reduced by 35%, while remaining executives received salary reductions of as much as 30 percent with an average of 22%. These changes are effective April 1, 2020. Being mindful of the challenging economic environment, Murphy directors have agreed to align with reductions to corporate executives' salaries. Beginning in second quarter 2020, cash retainers for all directors will be lowered by 35%, with the chairman reducing his cash retainer by 70%.

17:04 EDT BRP Group acquires all assets of Insurance Risk Partners, terms not stated - BRP Group announced that Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners has acquired substantially all assets of Insurance Risk Partners, LLC, an Oklahoma City-based provider of P&C insurance and additional consulting services. IRP generated annual revenues of approximately $7.0M.

17:03 EDT Gold Resource suspends 2020 production outlook - Gold Resource announced that the Mexican Ministry of Health proclaimed a national health emergency with an immediate suspension order of all "non-essential" public and private sector business in order to mitigate the spread and transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The order became effective on its publication date in the Official Gazette of the Federation and remains in place for a period of 30 days, from March 30 to April 30, 2020. This suspension order temporarily closes the company's Oaxaca Mining Unit operations in Mexico. Gold Resource is in the process of furloughing its Oaxaca Mining Unit workforce, none of whom have been diagnosed with the virus. A limited operational staff will maintain safety and environmental systems at the Oaxaca Mining Unit along with performing care and maintenance with a goal to return to production as quickly as possible once the thirty-day suspension is lifted. Due to this mandated shutdown the company suspends its 2020 production outlook. The company's Nevada Mining Unit is currently operating while taking numerous precautionary measures to keep its employees safe.

17:02 EDT R1 RCM completes acquisition of SCI - R1 RCM I announced it has completed the acquisition of SCI Solutions. The combination of R1 and SCI is expected to deliver enhanced value for healthcare providers by enabling them to expand digital front door strategies for their patients, improve operating efficiency, and increase capacity utilization, among other benefits. R1 has made substantial progress toward the planning of a successful integration and anticipates integration efforts to begin shortly. "We are pleased to complete the acquisition of SCI and look forward to building on the advanced capabilities they have developed," said Joe Flanagan, President and CEO of R1. "With this combination, we believe R1 offers healthcare providers the broadest and deepest tech-enabled patient intake solution on the market."

16:48 EDT Paccar extends suspension of truck, engine production until April 20 - Paccar provided a business update in response to recent changes in customer demand and a weaker outlook for the global economy, as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. The company will extend the suspension of truck and engine production at its factories worldwide until April 20. The company will review future actions on a regular basis. Paccar will continue to provide aftermarket support to its customers who deliver medical supplies, food and essential infrastructure services to our communities. Paccar's financial results for 2020 will be impacted by lower production schedules due to changes in customer demand and the impact of government regulations or mandates. The company will provide a business update and Q1 results during the earnings call scheduled for April 21. The company says it is in a strong financial position, with excellent liquidity and investment-grade credit ratings of A+/A1. Manufacturing cash and marketable securities were $4.3B at the end of March. The company also has access to existing lines of credit of $3B.

16:47 EDT RPT Realty changes to virtual annual shareholder meeting - RPT Realty announced that the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders has been changed to a virtual meeting format only due to the public health impact of the COVID pandemic. The mMeeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28 Eastern Time, but shareholders will now only be able to access the Annual Meeting remotely. To access the Annual Meeting, visit www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/rpt2020 and enter the control number included on your notice or proxy card.You are entitled to vote in the Annual Meeting if you were a shareholder as of the close of business on March 4, the record date, or hold a legal proxy for the meeting provided by your bank, broker or nominee.

16:45 EDT J&J postpones 2020 Medical Devices Business Review due to COVID-19 - Johnson & Johnson announced that, in light of the evolving situation with the coronavirus outbreak, it will reschedule its 2020 Medical Devices Business Review that was planned to take place on May 13, 2020. Johnson & Johnson will continue to monitor the situation closely and follow guidance from health authorities to determine a future date. The decision was made to protect the health and safety of employees, partners and attendees, while also supporting the wider public effort to slow the spread of the virus as the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop.

16:40 EDT Alleghany Capital unit Jazwares acquires Kellytoy - Alleghany Capital announced that its subsidiary, Jazwares, has acquired a majority stake in Kelly Toys Judd Zebersky, Chief Executive Officer and President of Jazwares, commented, "Kellytoy has established a strong position and a proven expertise in the plush toy market through a range of proprietary brands, including its best-selling Squishmallows(R) line. In February 2019, we entered into a strategic partnership with Kellytoy to reinvigorate and expand distribution of Jazwares' Russ BerrieTM brand, which we acquired in 2018. After working successfully together for over one year, we believe it is time to integrate and expand our partnership with Kellytoy, which will allow both companies to more fully leverage their strengths, positioning the combined entity as a leading supplier in the global plush market."

16:33 EDT Northern Trust 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held as virtual event - Northern Trust announced a change in location of its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 21 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time. In light of recent public health concerns regarding COVID-19, the Annual Meeting will be held solely by remote communication, in a virtual-only format.

16:32 EDT Leidos resumes work on new $450M contract by U.S. Air Force - Leidos announced it has resumed work on a new contract by the U.S. Air Force. Leidos will provide information technology services to support Air Force users within the National Capital Region . The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract has a five-year period of performance and a total value of approximately $450M. Work will be performed at military installations in and around the Washington, D.C. metro area.

16:30 EDT Hanover Insurance names Dennis Kerrigan new General Counsel - The Hanover Insurance Group announced Dennis Kerrigan has been appointed executive vice president and general counsel, effective immediately, following the retirement of longtime general counsel, J. Kendall Huber.

16:28 EDT Owl Rock board approves reduction of asset coverage requirement - Owl Rock Capital Corporation announced that, on March 31, 2020, its Board of Directors unanimously approved a reduction of the company's minimum asset coverage ratio from 200% to 150%, effective as of March 31, 2021, unless approved earlier by the Company's shareholders. Once the 150% asset coverage ratio becomes effective, the Company plans to target a debt to equity range of 0.90x to 1.25x and operate with an increased cushion to the regulatory threshold. The company believes this will enable it to potentially generate incrementally higher annual earnings for shareholders, while maintaining its direct origination strategy with no change to its investment philosophy. "This step will enhance our ability to deliver attractive returns to shareholders while continuing to prudently manage risk and maintain a very strong balance sheet," said Craig W. Packer, Chief Executive Officer of Owl Rock Capital Corporation. "It will also give us increased flexibility and capacity to continue to employ our strategy of originating high-quality, middle and upper-middle market loans." The company and the Board have determined that they will seek shareholder approval to reduce the company's asset coverage requirement at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting to be held on June 8, 2020 so that the 150% asset coverage ratio may become effective prior to March 31, 2021. If the company's shareholders approve the reduced asset coverage ratio it would take effect immediately after the annual meeting. Accordingly, the company has filed a proxy statement containing a proposal that, if approved, would permit the company to reduce its asset coverage requirement. As part of the proposal, the company is reducing its annual base management fee from 1.50% to 1.00% on all assets financed using leverage over 1.0x debt to equity, after the expiration of the fee waiver.

16:21 EDT Lovesac announces reduction in workforce of about 445 employees due to COVID-19 - Lovesac provided an update on its response to COVID-19. All showroom locations will remain closed until further notice. The company will follow the guidance of local, state and federal governments, as well as health organizations, to determine when it can safely reopen its showrooms. In response to the current business environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is implementing multiple actions to reduce expenses, working capital and capital expenditures. These include a reduction in workforce of approximately 445 part time employees as well as a temporary reduction in executive cash compensation. Cash compensation will be reduced by 20% for Shawn Nelson, CEO, Jack Krause, president and COO, and Donna Dellomo, executive VP and CFO. The base salaries of all other senior management and full-time headquarter team members will be temporarily reduced by graduated amounts. The board has also agreed to a temporary reduction of its retainer and monitoring fees and an extension of the associated payment timeline. As of April 1, the company had approximately $40M in cash and $10M in availability on its revolving line of credit and no outstanding debt on the revolver.

16:21 EDT Alleghany increases ownership in Wilbert Funeral Services - Alleghany has acquired a majority interest in Wilbert Funeral Services, a provider of products and services for the funeral and cemetery industries and precast concrete markets. Alleghany Capital has owned a 45% equity interest in Wilbert since 2017. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, Wilbert operates through company-owned locations and a network of nearly 200 licensees that manufacture and distribute Wilbert branded products throughout the U.S. and Canada.

16:20 EDT Genuine Parts to hold 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders as virtual event - Genuine Parts announced that due to the emerging public health impact of the coronavirus outbreak and to support the health and well-being of its employees, shareholders, and all stakeholders, the Board has made the determination to change the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Genuine Parts Company to a virtual only format. As previously announced, the Annual Meeting will be held on Monday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, but shareholders will not be able to physically attend the meeting.

16:20 EDT Huntington Bancshares to hold virtual meeting of shareholders - Huntington Bancshares' 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be a virtual meeting of shareholders, which will be conducted solely online via live webcast. The Annual Meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. E.D.T. on Wednesday, April 22, as scheduled, with no physical location for the meeting. Shareholders as of the close of business on February 18 will be able to attend and participate in the Annual Meeting online, vote their shares electronically, and submit questions during the meeting. Shareholders who plan to attend the Annual Meeting virtually via the webcast will need to review the information on the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Shareholders will need the Control Number included on the proxy card, notice, or email they received to join the meeting. Shareholders who hold shares through an intermediary, such as a bank or broker, must register in advance following the instructions on the website.

16:18 EDT Roadrunner to sell Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution unit, terms not stated - Roadrunner announced the sale of a Dry Van business unit, Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution, LLC to J.H. Rose Logistics, LLC of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Stagecoach, based in El Paso, Texas provides reliable dry van over-the-road and local cartage as well as warehousing services to a broad range of customers in the bulk resin and general freight markets. The business was part of the company's Truckload segment.

16:17 EDT Zymeworks doses first patient in Phase 1b/2 trial of ZW25 - Zymeworks has dosed the first patient in a two-arm Phase 1b/2 trial evaluating Zymeworks' HER2-targeted bispecific antibody ZW25 in combination with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer and in combination with chemotherapy and BeiGene's PD-1-targeted antibody tislelizumab as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma. Zymeworks will receive a payment under its collaboration with BeiGene as a result of the achievement of this development milestone.

16:15 EDT Packaging Corp to take economic downtime freesheet mill in AL - Packaging Corporation announced plans to temporarily idle both paper machines and the sheet-converting operation at its Jackson Mill in Jackson, AL for the months of May and June 2020. This is expected to reduce paper production by approximately 70,000 tons, and the mill is expected to restart on July 6, 2020. The company's paper mill in International Falls, MN will continue to operate at capacity during this period. The company anticipates inventory to be at appropriate levels after this downtime.

16:12 EDT ICF International awarded $68M task order from U.S. SEC - The U.S. SEC has awarded ICF a task order with a potential value of $68M over 10 years to deliver enterprise-wide database administration services. The company will supply data services, data administration and database management support for the agency's environments and manage migrations between these environments.

16:07 EDT CryoLife implements initiatives in response to the potential impact of COVID-19 - During March 2020, CryoLife implemented several initiatives in response to the potential impact of COVID-19 on its operations. These are: Health and Safety: To reduce the risk to CryoLife's employees and their families to potential exposure to COVID-19, CryoLife has required that all employees, with the exception of those related to manufacturing, order fulfillment and select others, to work from home. CryoLife has also restricted non-essential business travel, and urged employees to restrict personal travel, to protect the health and safety of its employees, patients and customers. Continuing to manufacture and support patients: Currently, pursuant to its designation as an essential business under federal guidelines, CryoLife is operating all three of its manufacturing sites at near full production and its materials supply chain is enabling the Company to supply its customers. Specific protocols have been designed and implemented in order to minimize contact among employees working on site. Operating Expenses: At least until the Company has more clarity on the full impact of COVID-19 on its business, which the Company currently believes will depend in part on the duration and variable geographic spread of COVID-19 and on government mandates to address the pandemic, CryoLife has taken pre-emptive steps to curtail spending, including implementing hiring restrictions, deferring management merit increases, reducing most discretionary spending, reducing capital expenditures, and delaying certain R&D and clinical research projects that are not expected to generate revenues before 2023 but continuing to pursue those that will. Working Capital: On March 26, 2020, CryoLife borrowed the entire available amount under its $30 million revolving credit facility as a precautionary measure to increase cash and maintain maximum financial flexibility during the current uncertainty in global markets resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 31, 2020 CryoLife has over $60 million in cash and cash equivalents.

16:06 EDT Arcos Dorados postpones annual general shareholders' meeting - Arcos Dorados announced that, in light of the coronavirus outbreak and the related travel restrictions and border closures, it has determined that it would be in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders to postpone the Company's Annual Shareholders' Meeting, which was originally scheduled to be held on April 28, 2020 in Montevideo, Uruguay at 10:00 a.m. local time for shareholders of record as of April 1, 2020.

16:05 EDT Arena Pharmaceuticals' etrasimod shows heart rate effect reduction in Phase 1 - Arena Pharmaceuticals announced positive topline data from a Phase 1 clinical study evaluating controlled-release delivery profiles for its investigational agent, etrasimod, a highly selective oral sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator. Results from the study demonstrated that CR delivery enabled a greater than 75% reduction in the average heart rate effect of etrasimod during its 4-hour monitoring period, with heart rate slowing by only low single digits from baseline with no titration. At additional measurements over 24 hours, the etrasimod CR heart rate effect was reduced or similar compared to etrasimod. The rate of change in heart rate was reduced greater than 50% with etrasimod CR delivery. On the basis of these results, Arena will embark on a product development program to rapidly develop etrasimod CR and integrate it into multiple, ongoing clinical development programs. Additionally, a recently filed provisional patent application for etrasimod CR has the potential to extend patent coverage beyond that for the composition of matter plus patent term extension.

16:04 EDT Affimed N.V. announces orphan drug designation for AFM13 from FDA - Affimed N.V. announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to AFM13, its CD30- and CD16A-binding innate cell engager, for the treatment of patients with T-cell lymphoma. The granted designation includes peripheral T cell lymphoma, or pTCL, a subtype of T-cell lymphoma. AFM13 is being investigated as a monotherapy for the treatment of relapsed or refractory CD30-positive pTCL in a Phase 2 registration-directed study.

16:03 EDT Vail Resorts suspends dividend for next two quarters, reduces CapEx - Vail Resorts provided an update on its response to the evolving impact of COVID-19 on its business. Rob Katz, CEO, said, "The circumstances surrounding COVID-19 are unprecedented and the financial impact to our Company and the broader travel industry has been significant. Following the difficult decision to close our North American mountain resorts, retail stores and lodging properties for the remainder of the 2019/2020 North American ski season, we have quickly transitioned to evaluating the longer-term impacts for our Company and our resort operations. While we will continue to assess our ability to reopen select resorts for late-season skiing, we are keenly aware that the current travel restrictions may stay in place beyond that timeframe and could ultimately impact the timing of our ability to open our North American resorts for their summer season and our Australian resorts for their winter season. And once we are able to reopen, we assume weaker travel demand may continue, impacting our fourth fiscal quarter of 2020 and our first fiscal quarter of 2021. The company went into this challenging time period with a strong financial position and based on recent events, we are currently incorporating more challenging scenarios into our planning for our fourth fiscal quarter of 2020 and the first fiscal quarter of 2021. As mentioned in our March 18, 2020 press release, we are taking additional proactive steps to align our capital spending and return of capital approach to ensure that we remain positioned for long-term success. We are also taking steps to address our operating costs and the inability of many of our employees to perform their roles in the current environment. We are reducing our capital plan for calendar 2020 by approximately $80-$85 million, with the vast majority of these savings coming from the deferral of many of our discretionary capital projects. We are planning to defer all new chair lifts, terrain expansions and other mountain and base area improvements, while continuing with the vast majority of our maintenance capital spending. In this moment, we believe that maintaining liquidity is in the best long-term interests of the company and our shareholders, and, as such, the company's Board of Directors has made the decision to suspend our quarterly cash dividend for the next two quarters, preserving over $140 million of liquidity for our business. We remain committed to returning excess capital to shareholders and will re-evaluate decisions on capital allocation in December 2020. The company's previously announced dividend payment occurring on April 9, 2020, is not affected by this suspension. To ensure we can navigate the financial challenges ahead and because of the reality of their inability to work at their locations, we have made the difficult decision to furlough the majority of our U.S. year-round hourly employees for at least a month, and potentially longer depending on when we are able to reopen our operations. We will be continuing healthcare coverage for these employees, including covering the entire cost of their healthcare premiums and hope to bring these employees back to work as soon as possible. Additionally, we will be implementing a six-month salary reduction for all U.S. salaried employees, with reductions beginning at 5% and rising to 25% for our top executives. As CEO, I will be foregoing my full salary for the next six months and our Board of Directors will also be foregoing 100% of their cash compensation during this period. We also may announce potential changes for our Canadian-based and Australian-based employees, but our approach will be based on the unique challenges faced by those resorts and any other local considerations. We have also communicated with our season pass holders and indicated that we have heard their frustration about the early closure to the 2019/2020 ski season and are committed to identifying an approach for them that acknowledges this past season and retains their loyalty for the future. We intend to share more details about our season pass plans with our guests by the end of April and are deferring all auto-renew charges and all spring deadlines for Buddy Tickets into May. This is one of the most challenging times many of us can remember, and it is disappointing to announce these changes, especially those impacting our employees. However, we also recognize that the impacts of the current crisis have certainly hit the travel industry and our Company quite hard. We believe that the actions we are announcing today will allow the Company to maintain cushion on our liquidity and financial covenants under our credit facilities through the upcoming quarters and position the Company for success in the future. I am evermore grateful for the commitment and loyalty of our employees, guests and community members during this challenging time."

16:02 EDT Innovative Solutions says annual meeting to be virtual-only - Innovative Solutions & Support announced notice of a change in location of its Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on April 16, 2020. In light of public health concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak, and the travel and public gathering restrictions being imposed throughout Pennsylvania as a result thereof, the Annual Meeting has been changed to be held in a virtual meeting format only.

15:43 EDT Morgan Stanley CEO says stopping bank dividends a 'very poor thing to do' - Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman says stopping bank dividends would hurt small investors, adding that U.S. banks "are not" capital short. Gorman is speaking on CNBC.

15:42 EDT AMC Entertainment drops over 13% on report of restructuring

15:29 EDT Sierra Metals announces 30-day suspension of Mexican mining operations - Sierra Metals reports that on March 31, the Mexican Federal Government announced a suspension of all non-essential activities in Mexico for 30 days to contain the advancement of COVID-19 virus. This suspension includes all mining activities from March 30th to April 30th. As a result of this declaration, the company will only maintain an essential services crew at the Bolivar Mine site until April 30, and the Cusi Mine site will be placed into care and maintenance during this period. The company anticipates resuming normal production levels at the Mines after this period. Igor Gonzales, President, and CEO of Sierra Metals, commented, "A smaller workforce will be maintained at Bolivar to oversee critical aspects of the operation, with the primary goal of facilitating a quick and efficient ramp up back to normal levels once the suspension of non essential activities is lifted. Our Cusi Mine is being placed on care and maintenance and employees will remain at home. Our team continues to be focused on the Health and Safety of our workforce." Production can recommence to normal levels very quickly after April 30th, and the company has some operating flexibility at Bolivar to run the ore processing mill at higher levels, which should help recover lost ore tonnages from this suspension. Due to uncertainty of the effect that the COVID-19 Pandemic could have on the company's operations and financial condition and, rapidly changing developments, the company is currently implementing proactive and reactive mitigation measures to minimize any potential impacts COVID-19 may have on our people, communities, operations, supply chain, and finances. This also includes preserving capital and deferring capital programs where appropriate, to improve liquidity. The company has operating flexibility at Yauricocha in Peru and has been running at Normal levels in Mexico up until the suspension. "We continue to evaluate every option at all three operations and are suspending guidance until a complete review of operations is completed." Furthermore, the company expects to provide a more comprehensive update with more data points on metal prices and operating developments as part of the Q1 2020 reporting process.

15:08 EDT MGM Resorts director Keith Meister buys 1M shares - In a regulatory filing, it was disclosed that MGM Resorts director Keith Meister, the founder of Corvex Management, purchased 1M shares of MGM common stock at an average price of $11.94 per share in a transaction with a value of $11.4M on March 31.

14:47 EDT AT&T's Stankey says 'every company' is going to see changes in consumer - John Stankey, President and COO at AT&T, while being interviewed on CNBC, said "every company" is going to see changes in consumer behavior coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and all media companies will have to adjust to the shift.

14:40 EDT Kilar says 'absolutely' still plan to launch HBO Max in May - Jason Kilar, who has been named incoming CEO of AT&T's (T) WarnerMedia unit, is being interviewed on CNBC.

14:12 EDT Daktronics suspends stock repurchases, dividends for 'foreseeable future' - Daktronics announced its board of directors' and management's reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, stating: "COVID-19 has created disruptions since its initial outbreak, first impacting our China operations...Employees are working from home where possible, and we have limited or eliminated travel for the time being. When unable to work safely or within the various regulations in certain geographies and locations, our manufacturing and field service teams have reduced capacity and furloughed employees. Most recently, our Ireland and Minnesota production facilities have chosen to suspend production for two weeks. Our China production facility was briefly closed and now has resumed operations. Our sales teams have continued to engage our customers, mostly virtually, across our diverse markets and geographies, with some customers continuing to place orders while others are choosing to delay purchases. Our supply chain team has remained alert to potential short supply situations and shipping disruptions, and, if necessary, we are utilizing alternative sources and shipping methods. While it is difficult to estimate the longevity and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic impact to the economy and to our financial position, operating results, and cash flows, we are taking proactive steps to solidify our financial position and mitigate any adverse consequences. These steps include preserving liquidity by drawing down our existing line of credit and pursuing other sources of financing, reducing investments in capital assets, reducing executive pay and board member compensation, and instituting initiatives to reduce other costs in the business. Our board of directors voted to suspend stock repurchases under our share repurchase program and to suspend dividends for the foreseeable future. We believe these measures are necessary to help preserve our ability to borrow for liquidity needs and help us be well positioned when the pandemic passes and economies begin to recover. We continue to carefully monitor this crisis and will take additional actions as needed. We cannot predict the duration or scope of the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, the negative financial impact on our financial results and performance cannot be reasonably estimated but could be material. We will provide updates during our fourth quarter and fiscal year-end 2020 earnings release conference call."

14:04 EDT FBI reports 3.74M NICS firearm background checks in March - The FBI reported that there were 3,740,688 firearm background checks initiated through the NICS system in March 2020. This compares to 2,644,851 checks in March of 2019 and 2,802,467 in February 2020. Companies in the gun space include Sturm, Ruger (RGR), American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), and Vista Outdoor (VSTO).

13:56 EDT Ingersoll-Rand implements hiring freeze, preparing for other short-term actions - Ingersoll Rand provided a business update regarding its response and impacts related to the coronavirus global pandemic. The company said that it has a strong balance sheet and "ample" liquidity, as well as "multiple" levers to continue to preserve capital amid the pandemic. The company also said that its 100-day IRX integration plan continues to be on track. "These are unprecedented times and I am proud of the Ingersoll Rand team's ownership mindset and how we are coming together as one company," said CEO Vicente Reynal. "I have the highest level of confidence in this team. They take on the hardest problems with humility and integrity. I have seen us do that each day as we navigate this challenging time together." Ingersoll Rand added that all its major manufacturing locations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Brazil, and China remain operational and that any impacted sites are largely in India, Italy and South Africa. In addition, the company said that it is reducing senior executive salaries and board director fees by 15% for the remainder of the year; deferring discretionary merit increases for all employees worldwide until the middle of the year; implementing a hiring freeze; limiting all discretionary spend across the organization; and preparing for other short-term actions, including furloughs, if the demand environment warrants such action.

13:52 EDT Southern says virus impacting its subs, may slow construction at Vogtle Units - In a regulatory filing from earlier on Wednesday, Southern Company said: "The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has spread globally, including throughout the United States. In response, many jurisdictions, including in the United States, have instituted restrictions on travel, public gatherings and certain business operations. These restrictions have significantly disrupted economic activity in the service territories of the Company's utility subsidiaries and have caused volatility in capital markets. In addition, the Company's utility subsidiaries have temporarily suspended disconnections for non-payment by certain customer classes. The effects of the continued outbreak of COVID-19 and related government responses could include extended disruptions to supply chains and capital markets, reduced labor availability and productivity and a prolonged reduction in economic activity. These effects could have a variety of adverse impacts on the Company and its subsidiaries, including reduced demand for energy, particularly from commercial and industrial customers, impairment of goodwill or long-lived assets and impairment of the ability of the Company and its subsidiaries to develop, construct and operate facilities and to access funds from financial institutions and capital markets. In particular, these effects could disrupt or delay construction, testing, supervisory and support activities at Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. has implemented policies and procedures designed to mitigate the risk of transmission at the construction site, including worker distancing measures, isolating individuals who are showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, being tested for COVID-19 or who have been in close contact with such persons, requiring self-quarantine and adopting additional precautionary measures. It is too early to determine what impact, if any, the COVID-19 outbreak will have on the current construction schedule or budget for Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4."

13:51 EDT Patent lawyer, speaking to Jefferies, says Amarin has 50% chance to win appeal - Jefferies analyst Michael Yee is hosting a conference call with life sciences patent lawyer Jacob Sherkow, who said during the call that he believes Amarin has a 50% chance to win its appeal related to its recent loss in litigation related to generic versions of Vascepa. As the call continues, Amarin shares are up about 20% to $4.82.

13:23 EDT FDA calls for removal of Zantac from the market - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it is requesting manufacturers withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter ranitidine drugs from the market immediately. This is the latest step in an ongoing investigation of a contaminant known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, in ranitidine medications, commonly known by the brand name Zantac. The agency has determined that the impurity in some ranitidine products increases over time and when stored at higher than room temperatures and may result in consumer exposure to unacceptable levels of this impurity. As a result of this immediate market withdrawal request, ranitidine products will not be available for new or existing prescriptions or OTC use in the U.S. NDMA is a probable human carcinogen. In the summer of 2019, the FDA became aware of independent laboratory testing that found NDMA in ranitidine. Low levels of NDMA are commonly ingested in the diet, for example NDMA is present in foods and in water. These low levels would not be expected to lead to an increase in the risk of cancer. However, sustained higher levels of exposure may increase the risk of cancer in humans. The FDA conducted thorough laboratory tests and found NDMA in ranitidine at low levels. At the time, the agency did not have enough scientific evidence to recommend whether individuals should continue or stop taking ranitidine medicines, and continued its investigation and warned the public in September 2019 of the potential risks and to consider alternative OTC and prescription treatments. New FDA testing and evaluation prompted by information from third-party laboratories confirmed that NDMA levels increase in ranitidine even under normal storage conditions, and NDMA has been found to increase significantly in samples stored at higher temperatures, including temperatures the product may be exposed to during distribution and handling by consumers. The testing also showed that the older a ranitidine product is, or the longer the length of time since it was manufactured, the greater the level of NDMA. These conditions may raise the level of NDMA in the ranitidine product above the acceptable daily intake limit. With today's announcement, the FDA is sending letters to all manufacturers of ranitidine requesting they withdraw their products from the market. The FDA is also advising consumers taking OTC ranitidine to stop taking any tablets or liquid they currently have, dispose of them properly and not buy more; for those who wish to continue treating their condition, they should consider using other approved OTC products. Patients taking prescription ranitidine should speak with their health care professional about other treatment options before stopping the medicine, as there are multiple drugs approved for the same or similar uses as ranitidine that do not carry the same risks from NDMA. To date, the FDA's testing has not found NDMA in famotidine (Pepcid), cimetidine (Tagamet), esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec). The Fly notes that Zantac is marketed and sold by Sanofi.

13:10 EDT NYS Governor Cuomo: regarding capacity, 'you will run out of staff before beds' - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commented on hospital overflow and capacity, " You will run out of staff before beds and equipment before staff."

13:02 EDT MGM Resorts announces departure of Governor Brian Sandoval - MGM Resorts announced that former Governor and MGM Resorts President of Global Gaming Development Brian Sandoval will be leaving the company to pursue the position of President of the University of Nevada, Reno. "We are grateful to Governor Sandoval for all that he has accomplished in his time at MGM Resorts. He helped to advance our efforts in Japan, in jurisdictions where we were seeking expanded access, and areas where we pursued sports betting opportunities," said Acting CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle. Said Governor Sandoval, "Having accomplished my goals at MGM, I have decided to put my time, energy and public and private experience to work as an applicant to become the next president of the University of Nevada, Reno. I am thankful for the experiences I had, and the people I got to know, while at MGM and wish everyone good health and safety during these challenging times."

12:51 EDT Cuomo: After this is done, we have to get ahead of this before it happens again - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said "we have to get ahead of this before it happens again." Cuomo added, "and it will happen again." Cuomo noted it may not be a pandemic, but there is no reason why we shouldn't have tele-schools, other emergency planning in place before the next crisis. "You can't just turn the economy off like a light switch," Cuomo warned.

12:42 EDT Cuomo: Regeneron creating, donating 500K test kits, Corning donated 100K tubes - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Regeneron (REGN) is creating 500,000 test kits at no charge and Corning (GLW) is donating 100,000 test tubes.

12:39 EDT NYS Governor Cuomo: Gates Foundation-funded IHME model shows going through July - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the Gates Foundation-funded IHME model shows the pandemic situation in the U.S. continuing through July, with current trends.

12:34 EDT NYS Governor Cuomo: 'McKinsey has 2 models, both have apex at end of April' - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said McKinsey has a current projection model "and a model with high compliance of social distancing." Cuomo said both models have the same apex, "at the end of April" but the high compliance model has a lower hospital need.

12:30 EDT NYS Governor Cuomo 'Apex at end of April, according to McKinsey data model' - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said with the apex "roughly" at the end of April, "which means another month of this."

12:27 EDT NYS Governor Cuomo says NY up to 83,712 total cases - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said there are now 83,712 total cases in NY. There have been 1,941 deaths in NY. 12,226 of the cases are hospitalized with 3,022 patients in the ICU. Governor Cuomo said 6,142 patients have been discharged from the hospital.

12:11 EDT Park Aerospace says currently in 'black-out' period, not able to buy stock - Park Aerospace offered comments on the Schedule 13D filed by Raging Capital Management on March 30, 2020 encouraging Park to "aggressively buy back stock via the Company's existing and an expanded buyback program". Park's comments are as follows: "Park has an existing stock buy-back authorization for 1,394,015 shares of its stock. Park is currently in a "black-out" period and therefore is not able to buy its stock on the open market until after Park announces its results for the fiscal year and fourth quarter ended March 1, 2020. Park expects to announce those results on or before May 15, 2020. Park's management is in regular communication with its key shareholders, including Raging Capital, on an ongoing basis, and Park values its relationships with its shareholders and the inputs and recommendations received from them. Park's board of directors regularly reviews and evaluates the Company's capital allocation strategies in conjunction with Park's outside advisers, and Park's board will carefully review and evaluate the stock buy-back recommendation contained in Raging Capital's Schedule 13D."

12:01 EDT Jason Kilar named CEO of AT&T's WarnerMedia - Jason Kilar has been named CEO of AT&T's (T) WarnerMedia, effective May 1. He will report to John Stankey, AT&T's President and Chief Operating Officer. Killar previously was the founding CEO of Hulu and SVP at Amazon (AMZN). "Jason is a dynamic executive with the right skill set to lead WarnerMedia into the future. His experience in media and entertainment, direct-to-consumer video streaming and advertising is the perfect fit for WarnerMedia, and I am excited to have him lead the next chapter of WarnerMedia's storied success," said Stankey. "Our team led by Bob Greenblatt, Ann Sarnoff, Gerhard Zeiler and Jeff Zucker has done an amazing job establishing our brands as leaders in the hearts and minds of consumers. Adding Jason to the talented WarnerMedia family as we launch HBO Max in May gives us the right management team to strategically position our leading portfolio of brands, world-class talent and rich library of intellectual property for future growth."

12:00 EDT TPG RE Finance falls -21.2% - TPG RE Finance is down -21.2%, or -$1.16 to $4.33.

12:00 EDT VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN rises 11.5% - VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN is up 11.5%, or $38.38 to $373.55.

12:00 EDT Direxion Financial Bear 3x rises 15.8% - Direxion Financial Bear 3x is up 15.8%, or $5.99 to $43.95.

11:50 EDT Franchise Group Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:40 EDT EyePoint reconfirms expected cash runway into 2021

11:38 EDT EyePoint says YUTIQ, DEXYCU supply chains have not been interrupted - The company said, "EyePoint is committed to providing uninterrupted access to our products during the COVID-19 pandemic for those patients who are in essential need of treatment. Our supply chains for YUTIQ and DEXYCU are robust and have not been interrupted during the pandemic. The Company has ample supply of API and other raw materials for YUTIQ and DEXYCU, and EyePoint continues to produce finished product for commercial sale. Our commercial team is providing ongoing support services for patients and physician offices on an as-needed basis, while respecting the need to maintain social distancing."

11:06 EDT First Mid-Illinois Bancshares to hold Annual Meeting of Shareholders virtually - First Mid Bancshares announced, that due to the emerging public health impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the Company's 2020 annual shareholder meeting will now be a virtual meeting over the internet and will not be held at a physical location. Shareholders will be able to attend the Annual Meeting via a live webcast, vote their shares electronically, and submit their questions during the meeting. The Company urges shareholders to consider voting and submitting proxies in advance of the Annual Meeting using one of the available methods described in the proxy materials previously provided to the Company's shareholders. The virtual meeting will be held on the same date and time as previously announced, April 29, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. CST.

10:50 EDT Net 1 UEPS completes sale of 27.5% remaining interest in DN Invest - Net 1 UEPS Technologies announced that it has completed the sale of its 27.5% remaining interest in DN Invest Proprietary Limited. A 24.3% equity stake in DNI was sold to MIC Investment Holdings Proprietary Limited for a cash consideration of approximately $42.7M. The remaining 3.2% equity stake was sold to DNI through a share buyback mechanism on deferred payment terms for approximately $5.6M. The consideration will be received over 24 months, bearing interest at market related rates, with an initial six-month interest and capital repayment holiday. "We are pleased to conclude yet another key milestone of our strategic plan. We look forward to an ongoing strategic partnership with DNI in order to address our common objectives in the distribution of value-added-services across South Africa," said Herman Kotze, CEO of Net1. "Our immediate focus is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees, partners and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past month, we have realized in excess of $4.60/share in cash from asset sales and therefore remain comfortable with the Group's liquidity

10:39 EDT Okta announces new strategic partnerships with VMware, CrowdStrike - Okta (OKTA) this morning announced new strategic partnerships with endpoint protection and management providers VMware Carbon Black (VMW), CrowdStrike (CRWD), and Tanium. "The new integration partnerships provide a broad set of device risk signals to the Okta Identity Cloud, enabling enterprises to combine endpoint risk detection with user identity to deliver unparalleled access security. Made possible through the new Okta Verify application and the Okta Devices Platform Service, these integrations pave the way to enhanced risk analysis and access decisions in a Zero Trust environment," Okta said in a statement.

10:33 EDT Mazda Motor reports North American March sales down 41.8% to 15,664 vehicles - Mazda North American Operations reported total March sales of 15,664 vehicles, a decrease of 41.8% compared to March 2019. With 25 selling days in March, compared to 27 the year prior, the company posted a decrease of 37.2% on a Daily Selling Rate, or DSR, basis.

10:07 EDT Graphic Packaging completes acquisition of Greif's Consumer Packaging Business - Graphic Packaging (GPK), through its primary U.S. operating company, Graphic Packaging International, announced the close of its previously announced acquisition of the Consumer Packaging Group Business from Greif (GEF).

10:00 EDT Velocity Financial falls -19.0% - Velocity Financial is down -19.0%, or -$1.43 to $6.10.

10:00 EDT VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN rises 9.8% - VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN is up 9.8%, or $32.90 to $368.07.

10:00 EDT Small Cap Bear 3x rises 14.7% - Small Cap Bear 3x is up 14.7%, or $8.73 to $68.13.

09:47 EDT Terra Nova (Bermuda) Holdings falls -12.8% - Terra Nova (Bermuda) Holdings is down -12.8%, or -$2.11 to $14.44.

09:47 EDT Velocity Financial falls -20.2% - Velocity Financial is down -20.2%, or -$1.52 to $6.01.

09:47 EDT Direxion Financial Bear 3x rises 15.1% - Direxion Financial Bear 3x is up 15.1%, or $5.72 to $43.69.

09:40 EDT Whiting Petroleum trading resumes

09:38 EDT PennantPark Floating Rate announces share purchases by management - Directors, officers and other employees of PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC purchased an aggregate of 524,750 shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital common stock from February 12, 2020 to March 31, 2020.

09:36 EDT Berry Petroleum says has 'ample liquidity' with no-near term debt maturities - "We believe Berry has the balance sheet and operational flexibility to successfully manage through the current oil price environment and we have taken immediate and decisive action to protect our cash flow and liquidity position. We have a track-record of generating free cash flow and delivering value to our shareholders, and our long-term business model remains based on living within Levered Free Cash Flow while protecting our base production and our balance sheet, generating value from capital investments, and returning capital to our shareholders," stated Trem Smith, Berry board chair and chief executive officer. "Our current near-term plans anticipate a significantly challenging couple of years, which we are confident Berry will successfully weather. We have a strong balance sheet; we are well hedged through 2020 and into 2021; we can scale up and down quickly with no long-term operational commitments; and, most importantly, we are committed and able to live within Levered Free Cash Flow. Our priority is on maximizing our cash position and maintaining substantial liquidity, which are tremendously valuable in these times. We will continue to judiciously manage ours to ensure Berry is strongly positioned to capitalize on the eventual market improvements. We will continue to seek additional, sustainable cost savings and efficiency improvements, thus managing the risk of an extended period of weaker commodity prices, while maintaining our sharp focus on safety and mechanical integrity."

09:35 EDT Berry Petroleum sees 2020 year-end cash balance $90M-$110M

09:34 EDT Berry Petroleum reduces non-employee G&A expenses by over $5M - Reduced non-employee annualized General and Administrative expenses by more than $5 million

09:34 EDT Berry Petroleum temporarily suspends regulary quarterly dividend

09:33 EDT Berry Petroleum reduces planned 2020 capex - Reduced planned 2020 capital expenditures by approximately 50% from original 2020 budget midpoint of guidance, which is a nearly 70% reduction from 2019 actual

09:31 EDT Kinross Gold says mines continue to operate, have not been materially impacted - Kinross Gold Corporation continues to implement comprehensive and proactive measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Company cannot predict the future impact of the pandemic on its global operations, all Kinross mines continue to operate and have not been materially impacted to date. The Company has taken preventative actions and put contingency plans in place at all sites that prioritize and protect the health and safety of employees, their families and host communities. In late January 2020, the Company created a cross-functional COVID-19 Task Force to initiate planning and preparation, following the advice of health authorities and expert medical and travel advisers. Since then, numerous initiatives have been implemented in response to the pandemic. These include: rigorous and extensive social distancing practices; remote working where possible; increased medical preparedness; banning non-essential business travel; continuous promotion of hygienic practices recommended by health authorities; increased cleaning and disinfection, and; increased support to employees and communities.Kinross continues to also work closely with host governments and local health authorities to ensure proper protocols are followed during the ongoing crisis. Business continuity plans have been prepared and implemented for each site to mitigate operational and supply chain risk. To help mitigate operational risks, the Company has implemented screening, isolation and quarantine procedures for all employees arriving at Kinross' remote camp-based sites, adjusted rotation schedules and is limiting site access, among other measures. In the supply chain area, mitigation measures include initiating a process to increase stocks of key consumables to at least three months on hand, ordering additional critical spares, assessing potential disruptions, and identifying alternative sources of supply. Kinross continues to maintain a strong financial position and liquidity. As a precautionary measure to protect against economic and business uncertainties caused by the pandemic and subsequent government actions, Kinross drew down $750 million from its $1.5 billion revolving credit facility on March 20, 2020. The Company does not currently plan to deploy the funds given its strong financial position. As of March 31, 2020, Kinross has more than $1 billion in cash and cash equivalents, reflecting cash flow from operations in Q1 2020 offset by payments related to the Chulbatkan acquisition, a tax payment in Brazil, a semi-annual interest payment for Kinross' senior notes, and repayment of the amount drawn on the credit facility at December 31, 2019. As previously planned, Kinross has submitted a drawdown notice for $200 million on the $300 million Tasiast project financing facility. The first funds are expected in mid-April 2020. The financing, which was signed on December 16, 2019, is an asset recourse loan with the IFC, Export Development Canada, ING Bank and Societe Generale. At this time, the Company has total debt of approximately $2.5 billion, and net debt1 of less than $1.5 billion. The Company has no debt maturities until September 2021. Despite the Company's strong financial position, Kinross continues to plan for the potential impact of a wide range of outcomes on its financial position and balance sheet, including reviewing discretionary capital expenditures.

09:30 EDT Fitch downgrades Levi Strauss' IDR to BB; outlook negative - Fitch Ratings has downgraded Levi Strauss & Co.'s ratings, including the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to 'BB' from 'BB+'. The Rating Outlook is Negative. The downgrade and Negative Outlook reflect the significant business interruption from the coronavirus pandemic and the implications of a downturn in global discretionary spending that Fitch expects could extend well into 2021. Fitch anticipates a sharp increase in adjusted leverage to around 7x in fiscal 2020 from 3.1x in fiscal 2019 based on EBITDA declining to approximately $175M from approximately $750M in fiscal 2019 on a nearly 25% sales decline to $4.4B. Adjusted leverage is expected to be around 4.0x in fiscal 2021, assuming sales declines of around 10% and EBITDA declines of around 25% from fiscal 2019 levels. Leverage is unlikely to return to fiscal 2019 levels in fiscal 2022 even assuming a sustained topline recovery. A more protracted or severe downturn could lead to further actions.

09:28 EDT Marimed CEO says rollup strategy will be core driver of financial performance - Bob Fireman, CEO of MariMed, commented, "In 2019 we achieved several milestones which have expanded our geographic presence and created a strong foundation to drive revenue growth in 2020, most notably, the rollup of our client businesses in Massachusetts and Illinois. We made great strides in Massachusetts, with the opening of our cultivation production and dispensary facilities in 2019 and our first harvest and production of our branded products in early 2020. We will continue to advance our rollup strategy with plans to acquire other managed cannabis businesses which, once completed, would allow MariMed to include the revenues from these and other acquired operations in our reported consolidated financial results. Revenue from Illinois and Massachusetts will be reflected in our financial reporting for the remainder of 2020. This rollup strategy will be a core driver of our future financial performance and increase in stockholder value."

09:28 EDT Marimed continues to wait for Nevada approval of transfer of grow license - The company said, "MariMed continues to wait for the state approval of transfer of a medical and adult-use cannabis grow license. The Company has upgraded the cultivation site located in Clark County and serves the wholesale market. The Company has contracted with a licensed processor for the production and distribution of its Betty's Eddies fruit chews and Kalm Fusion products which will shortly commence into the robust Nevada marketplace."

09:26 EDT Marimed expects to open fourth dispensary in Illinois in 2020 - The company said, "In Q4 2019, MariMed received Illinois state approval and rolled up the ownership of its two previously managed client licensed medical companies, KPG Anna and KPG Harrisburg. These companies owned and operated medical dispensaries under the Company's management in Anna and Harrisburg, Illinois. As a result, effective October 1, 2019, 100% of the financial results from the Illinois dispensaries are consolidated into MariMed's financials, which is expected to drive significant revenue growth in 2020 and beyond. On January 1, 2020, adult-use cannabis sales were legalized in Illinois, which has generated an immediate ramp-up in sales to MariMed in the first quarter of 2020. Under the new law, the Company is entitled to co-locate medical and adult use cannabis offerings at its two current dispensaries and receive rights to open two additional adult-use dispensaries. Leveraging its first-hand knowledge of the Illinois cannabis market and brand recognition among customers and patients, the Company commenced development of a third dispensary in Mount Vernon, Illinois in March 2020 and has subsequently applied for a medical and adult-use cannabis license for this location. The Company also intends to open an additional fourth dispensary in the state later in 2020."

09:26 EDT Fitch downgrades Dillard's long-term IDR to BB; outlook negative - Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating for Dillard's, Inc. to 'BB' from 'BBB-'. The Rating Outlook is Negative. The downgrade and Negative Outlook reflects the significant business interruption from the coronavirus pandemic and the implications of a downturn in discretionary spending that Fitch expects could extend well into 2021. Fitch anticipates a sharp decline in EBITDA to under $50M in 2020 from $392M in 2019 on a revenue decline of over 20% to $5B. Adjusted leverage is expected to be over 2x in 2021, assuming revenue declines in the low-teens and EBITDA of approximately $300M or around 30% lower compared to 2019 levels. Leverage could return below 2x in 2022 assuming a sustained topline recovery. A more protracted or severe downturn could lead to further actions.

09:25 EDT Fitch downgrades J.C. Penney's long-term IDR to CCC- - Fitch Ratings has downgraded J.C. Penney Company, Inc.'s and J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc.'s Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings to 'CCC-' from 'CCC+'. The downgrade reflects the significant business interruption from the coronavirus pandemic and the implications of a downturn in discretionary spending that Fitch expects could extend well into 2021, leading to heightened liquidity concerns. Fitch projects that J.C. Penney's 2020 EBITDA could turn materially negative, projected at approximately negative $400M from a positive $580M in 2019, on a sharp revenue decline of over 25% to around $8B. EBITDA is expected to be near breakeven in 2021, assuming revenue declines of around 20% in 2021 compared with 2019, worse than the low to mid-teens decline projected for other major department store peers.

09:23 EDT Signet Jewelers downgraded to B at Fitch Ratings; outlook negative - Fitch has downgraded Signet Jewelers Limited's ratings, including its Long-Term IDR to 'B' from 'B+'. The Rating Outlook is Negative. The downgrade and Negative Outlook reflects the significant business interruption from the coronavirus pandemic and the implications of a downturn in discretionary spending that Fitch expects could extend well into 2021. Fitch anticipates a sharp increase in adjusted leverage to the mid-10x range in 2020 from 5.3x in 2019 based on EBITDA declining to approximately $70M from $470M in 2019 on a nearly 30% sales decline to $4.4 billion. Adjusted leverage could improve to the mid-5x in 2021, assuming sales declines of around 10% and EBITDA declines of around 15% to 20% from 2019 levels. Excluding Signet's recent revolver draw, which Fitch assumes is repaid in 2021, 2020 adjusted leverage would be closer to 9.0x. A more protracted or severe downturn could lead to further actions.

09:23 EDT Fitch affirms Burlington Stores' IDR at BB+; outlook revised to negative - Fitch Ratings has affirmed Burlington Stores, Inc.'s ratings, including its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating at 'BB+'. The Rating Outlook has been revised to Negative from Stable. The Negative Outlook reflects the significant business interruption from the coronavirus and the implications of a downturn in discretionary spending that Fitch expects could extend well into 2021. Fitch anticipates a sharp increase in adjusted leverage to around 7.0x in 2020 from 3.4x in 2019 based on EBITDA declining to approximately $260 million from $875M in 2019 on an approximately 25% sales decline to $5.4B Adjusted leverage is expected to be around 4.0x in 2021, assuming sales declines of around 10% and EBITDA declines of around 20% from 2019 levels. Burlington's proactive revolver draw, which Fitch assumes is repaid in 2021, increases 2020 leverage by approximately 0.5x. Adjusted leverage could return below 4.0x, in 2022 assuming a sustained topline recovery. A more protracted or severe downturn could lead to further actions.

09:22 EDT Ideanomics' MEG activities fully operational - Ideanomics' MEG activities were fully operational and back to work from March 30 and concluded three new vehicle orders, from three different manufacturers, in the first 48 hours. Chinese and German manufacturers fulfilled a total of 600 units. The $8.1M revenue may be reported on a Gross or Net basis.

09:20 EDT Genetic Technologies says colorectal test sales commence - Genetic Technologies Limited provides the following update to the market. Breast Cancer and Colorectal Cancer tests commissioned, and sales commenced First Quarter 2020 with over 100 test kits distributed. Early data generated from tests identified a number of high-risk individuals leading to personalised care plans designed for early detection. Consumer Initiated Testing via online and telemedicine to achieve mass market penetration and conserve scarce practitioner resources and implements social distancing. The company said, "As announced to the market on 31 January 2020, the Company has fully commissioned its Australian Laboratory for the provisioning of its generation 3 breast cancer test with sales having commenced during the quarter. We are pleased to report that this is now accompanied by the first-to-market GeneType for Colorectal Cancer test with sales also having now commenced. Both tests have been well received by medical practitioners, with over 15 clinics in Australia having agreed to offer the GeneType portfolio of tests. Overall, in excess of 100 test kits having been requested and approximately half of those samples have been received into the Melbourne laboratory during the first 4 weeks on market. An interim analysis of those patients who received the GeneType for Breast Cancer test in Australia has revealed that 4 patients have already been identified as potentially being at high risk of developing breast cancer. It is highly significant that these patients were not eligible for hereditary mutation testing and would not have been identified as high risk during routine health checks. Clinical utility and reimbursement initiatives Genetic Technologies continues to progress its in-house R&D program in support of the tests. Data derived from large scale cohort studies, have confirmed that both the discrimination and calibration of both GeneType tests are excellent and set the stage for progressing our plans to develop clinical utility evidence in support of our reimbursement strategy. Clinical utility studies have been designed to support both the breast and colorectal cancer tests and the Company is currently engaging with potential clinical collaborators to complete these studies at the earliest opportunity. As alluded to above, the evidence is building that the GeneType tests have the potential to personalize individual screening recommendations. Notwithstanding the above, the Company is taking an aggressive and pro-active response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. In light of world-wide recommendations on social distancing, which is impacting on our ability to fully engage with physicians, we have brought forward our plans to introduce a Consumer Initiated Testing Platform. The Company is in the final stages of choosing an independent provider network who will oversee patient ordering of the consumer-initiated testing pipeline. This sales pipeline deviates from a traditional sales approach that targets clinicians and instead allows patients to request a test directly, with clinician oversight of the testing process through an independent provider network and telemedicine. When a consumer is interested in purchasing a GeneType product, a clinician from this independent network will review the patient health history before confirming whether or not the patient may proceed with testing. The independent clinician will then order the test for the patient and will also review the final test results prior to delivering them back to the patient. In an age where primary care clinicians are overburdened by large patient volume and thus restricted to short clinical visits, certain disease risk assessments are often overlooked, particularly if the patient is asymptomatic, or visually "healthy". The current push to adopt telemedicine as recently announced by Australia's minister for Health Minister Greg Hunt is exactly on point with GTG's CIT platform strategy and has been in development by GTG over the past 3 months."

09:17 EDT Y-mAbs Therapeutics announces submission of Naxitamab BLA to FDA - Y-mAbs Therapeutics announced that the Company has completed the submission of its Biologics License Application under the FDA's Rolling Review process for naxitamab after market close on March 31, 2020. Naxitamab is an investigational, monoclonal antibody that targets GD2. The naxitamab BLA is for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma. The submission is based on the safety and efficacy results of the pivotal Phase 2 studies 201 and 12-230, which the Company expects to present at a venue later this year. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center developed naxitamab, which is exclusively licensed by MSK to Y-mAbs. As a result of this licensing arrangement, MSK has institutional financial interests in the product and in Y-mAbs.

09:17 EDT Sprint trading halted, news dissemination

09:14 EDT Adamis Pharmaceuticals shifts part of production to provide hand sanitizers - Adamis Pharmaceuticals announced that its wholly owned drug outsourcing facility, US Compounding, has shifted part of its production to provide medical-grade hand sanitizers to hospitals and health care workers to assist in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. USC began manufacturing sanitizers after the Food and Drug Administration issued guidance enabling FDA-registered outsourcing facilities, such as USC, to formulate certain alcohol-based hand sanitizer products for the duration of the public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on January 31, 2020. The first batches of product will be shipped to hospitals in New York, which has been one of the hardest hit areas in the U.S.

09:11 EDT Methanex says has not seen significant impact on Q1 sales volume due to COVID-19 - CEO John Floren commented, "We have not seen a significant impact on our sales volume in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of COVID-19. While we anticipate lower methanol demand in the near-term based on reduced manufacturing activity, we think it is too early to accurately forecast how long or how extensive the impact of COVID-19, and the resulting economic impact, will be on the methanol industry and on our business."

09:10 EDT Methanex says COVID-19 has not directly impacted operations, supply chain - The company said, "Methanex's number one priority is the safety of its employees, contractors and the communities in which it does business. The Company has activated its global and regional pandemic planning and business continuity teams to monitor and react to the situation as it evolves and to establish contingency plans for a range of scenarios. As of today, four of the Company's over 1,500 employees are known to have contracted COVID-19. The four, who live in three separate countries, are either asymptomatic or are recovering and are self-isolating. COVID-19 has not directly impacted the Company's operations or global supply chain to date. Methanex has implemented extensive preventative measures across its operations and offices to support the health of its employees while continuing to operate safely. These measures include: implementing a no business travel policy across the Company; moving to minimal staffing levels on-site and implementing work-from-home arrangements where feasible; increasing social distancing practices at sites; enhancing cleaning and disinfecting protocols; and requiring self-isolation for employees who show symptoms or are in close contact with someone with symptoms.

09:08 EDT Methanex defers approx. $500M in capital spending on Geismar 3 project - Methanex Corporation announced that, in light of the significant uncertainty in the global economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a challenging commodity price and project execution environment, it is taking action to defer approximately $500M of previously announced capital spending on its Geismar 3 methanol project for up to 18 months. Methanex also provided an update on other actions it is taking to strengthen its financial position. This announcement follows the Company's previously disclosed decision to idle its Titan plant in Trinidad effective March 16, 2020 and its Chile IV plant effective April 1, 2020, both for an indefinite period. Those two plants represent approximately 19% of Methanex's annual operating capacity of 9.2 million tonnes. The Company is placing its Geismar 3 project, which will be its third methanol plant in Louisiana adjacent to its existing Geismar 1 and Geismar 2 facilities, on temporary "care and maintenance" for up to 18 months. The expected capital spending during a deferral of up to 18 months is the same as the expected capital spending that would have been incurred if the project was cancelled outright. This action will enable the Company to complete this highly advantaged project when market conditions improve. The Company expects to spend approximately $100M in Q1 2020 and a further $200M from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 on the project, the majority of which is spending that occurred or was committed during Q1 2020. This new amount is approximately $500M lower over the next 18 months compared to the approximately $800M that was expected to be spent over that same period. Construction activity and procurement of non-critical equipment and bulk materials will be suspended until market conditions allow the Geismar 3 project to restart. The Geismar 3 project, which is expected to have production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes, benefits from substantial capital and operating cost advantages compared to a standalone greenfield project and is expected to significantly enhance the Company's asset portfolio with additional low-cost capacity.

09:06 EDT CleanSpark announces additional $577,000 order for intelligent ATS switchgear - CleanSpark announced that it has secured a $577,000 purchase order for its intelligent automatic transfer switch switchgear. The Company's intelligent ATS switchgear is used to automatically transfer power supply from a primary source to a backup source when it senses a failure or outage in the primary source, thus assuring uninterrupted power. It also allows the end user with surplus energy generation the opportunity to participate in regional energy markets when it makes financial sense to sell power back to the grid. The units underlying this purchase order are expected to be shipped over the next two fiscal quarters.

09:05 EDT Retail Opportunity adjusts Q1 earnings conference call start time - As previously reported, Retail Opportunity Investments will issue financial and operational results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 after the market closes on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Additionally, as previously reported, the Company will conduct a conference call and audio webcast on Thursday, April 23, 2020, now scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time / 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

09:04 EDT Canon U.S.A. names Kazuto Ogawa as President and CEO - Canon U.S.A. is proud to announce the appointment of Kazuto Ogawa as President and CEO of Canon U.S.A., effective April 1. Ogawa has almost 40 years of experience with Canon since beginning his career with Canon Inc. in 1981.

09:02 EDT BrainStorm appoints David Setboun as EVP, COO - BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics announced that David Setboun, Pharm.D., MBA, has been appointed EVP and COO. Most recently, Dr. Setboun served as VP Corporate Development, Strategy & Business at Life Biosciences.

08:57 EDT One Medical introduces virtual care solutions, COVID-19 testing services - One Medical announced the expansion of its virtual care offerings with Remote Visits, scheduled video appointments with a primary care provider, and Mindset by One Medical, a virtual therapy and coaching program to support behavioral health. As the need for access to digital health along with in-person testing grows in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, One Medical's modernized, membership-based primary care platform, which combines 24/7 seamless digital health and inviting in-office care, is demonstrating high impact and scalability. One Medical's model allows the company to triage patients remotely, test for COVID-19 physically, and follow-up on care plans and test results digitally. One Medical is also offering essential workers complimentary access to its platform for COVID-19 screening and testing services, when clinically appropriate. One Medical has conducted specimen collection in all of its current physical markets and plans to expand testing services to its newest market, Portland, Oregon, which opened last week.

08:52 EDT Predictive Oncology to focus resources on Helomics, TumorGenesis divisions - The company said, "Going forward, management intends to focus its resources on the Helomics and TumorGenesis divisions and the Company's primary mission of applying artificial intelligence to precision medicine, drug discovery and the mediums used to replace rats and mice in preliminary cancer studies. Predictive Oncology had previously reported in December 2019 that it had received several indications of interest for the possible acquisition of its Skyline Medical division, no further action has resulted from these indications, and today management reaffirms that it is focusing the majority of its resources on maximizing opportunities within the Company's precision medicine business."

08:49 EDT Oramed CEO issues shareholder letter providing pipeline update - Oramed Pharmaceuticals CEO Nadav Kidron provided a letter to shareholders. Highlights of the letter include: "(...) At this time, we continue to move ahead with all strategic initiatives and anticipate limited long-term impact from COVID-19. As our platform technology could be effective for protein-based vaccines, we are closely monitoring developments on the efforts to find a vaccine for COVID-19 and any potential partnerships on this front. We are moving ahead with the planning for our oral insulin Phase 3 clinical studies and have accomplished several key milestones to this end. In February, Oramed conducted its initial End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA to discuss Chemistry Manufacturing and Control of ORMD-0801 (...) the second of the EoP2 meetings with FDA will include a discussion of the results from the Phase 2 study and the design of the Phase 3 clinical studies proposed to support a license application for a Type 2 diabetes indication if the Phase 3 studies are successfully completed. (...) We have also requested a meeting with the European Medicines Agency regarding our Phase 3 study design (...) Our NASH exploratory clinical study of oral insulin for the treatment of chronic liver disease assesses the efficacy of ORMD-0801 in reducing liver fat content, inflammation, and fibrosis. We intend to present data on the early patient cohort in the near future. (...) We previously communicated our expectation of initiating and completing a Leptin proof-of-concept single dose study, evaluating the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of our oral Leptin drug candidate in 10 type 1 adult diabetic patients, during Q1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment has been delayed. The trial, however, is ready to resume once the health crisis is contained. Due to COVID-19 our Chinese partner's development progress was understandably slowed over the past few months. HTIT has confirmed that they are now fully back to work and in contact with the Chinese regulatory agency on moving forward to the next trials.(...) Oramed is well funded with a cash position of roughly $50M, which will allow us to progress smoothly into later-stage clinical trials. Our balance sheet remains flexible and strong with zero debt. (...)"

08:47 EDT Kroger borrows $1B from credit facility - Kroger's financial model has proven to be resilient throughout the economic cycle. Kroger continues to generate strong free cash flow and maintain strong liquidity. As a precautionary measure to reduce reliance on the commercial paper market and preserve financial flexibility in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Kroger proactively borrowed $1B under its revolving credit facility on March 18. Cash and temporary cash investments were approximately $2.3B and there were no commercial paper borrowings outstanding immediately following the draw down. To maintain financial flexibility, Kroger has decided to pause additional share repurchases during the fiscal first quarter. Kroger had already repurchased $355M shares during the quarter under its $1B board authorization announced November 5, 2019, leaving $245M remaining under the authorization. Kroger remains committed to maintaining a net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio target range between 2.30 to 2.50.

08:46 EDT Solar Senior Capital says 'confident' in 'defensively positioned portfolio' - Solar Senior Capital announces that it issued an open letter to its stakeholders regarding a business update amid the coronavirus pandemic. The letter read in part: "During this time of great uncertainty, we want to keep the communication channels open and provide the highest possible transparency with our stakeholders. While we are early in the process of understanding the full, potential impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our business, we are providing this update to reassure our stakeholders that we believe Solar Senior is well-positioned to weather this storm. Our management philosophy has been defined by our commitment to invest as principals, creating a meaningful economic alignment with our fellow investors. As the result of our significant SUNS share purchases since inception, our senior management team now owns approximately 6% of our outstanding common stock. Due to the materiality of the Company's unsecured note issuance, announced last night, the Company's insiders were not permitted to trade in the Company's securities during what otherwise would have been an open trading window following the announcement of Solar Senior's year-end earnings. Additionally, all members of the investment team have a significant percentage of their annual compensation invested in SUNS stock. We believe our significant ownership creates a critical alignment with our stakeholders. We want to reiterate our confidence in the Company's defensive portfolio, stable funding, strong liquidity, and favorable positioning to make new investments...As of March 27, 2020, due to positive net portfolio repayments experienced during the first quarter and pro forma for the Company's recent $85 million unsecured note offering, the Company had $84.4 million of borrowings under its $300 million of revolving credit facilities and approximately $4.2 million of cash on hand. The combination of cash on hand and credit facility capacity brings our total available capital to $216 million...As of March 27, 2020, Solar Senior had unfunded commitments of approximately $15.7 million. The unfunded commitments largely consist of contingent delayed draw term loan commitments related mostly to add-on acquisition financing in our cash flow lending business, as well as incremental financing commitments to life science companies tied to capital or operating thresholds or benchmarks. Delayed draw term commitments are also typically subject to leverage covenants that prevent portfolio companies from calling additional debt without a viable and oftentimes preconditioned business purpose. Importantly, as of March 27, 2020 only $4.6 million of the Company's unfunded commitments are for revolvers that can be fully drawn by the borrowers. As a result, aggregate unconditioned funding commitments represent $4.6 million, or 2.1%, of our $216 million available capital today...As of December 31, 2019, we had only one loan generating partial PIK income. Cash interest and dividends represented over 99% of our Q4 2019 gross investment income...Solar Senior is rated investment grade by DBRS Morningstar, which provides the Company with access to the investment grade unsecured note markets. Across both its unsecured and secured lending facilities, the Company has longstanding relationships with a strong and diversified group of lending partners...Since inception, Solar Senior has taken a conservative approach to leverage and has consistently operated well below its stated target range. On December 31, 2019, the Company's net leverage was 0.78x relative to our target range of 1.25x to 1.50x and significantly below the regulatory limit of 2:1 total debt-to-equity. As of March 27, 2020, the Company's estimated leverage is 0.65x net debt-to-equity, based on quarter-to-date portfolio activity and assuming no change to Solar Senior's December 31, 2019 net asset value. Solar Senior's low leverage provides a significant cushion to covenant levels and the regulatory limit of 2:1 total debt-to-equity...In conclusion, the team is confident in Solar Senior's defensively positioned portfolio, stable funding sources, strong liquidity, and potential to capitalize on new opportunistic investments."

08:41 EDT Amalgamated Bank launches Frontline Workers Fund - Amalgamated Bank announced the launch of the Frontline Workers Fund, designed to provide financial support for workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, including nurses and health care workers, grocery workers, cleaning service workers, food service workers, laundry workers in hospitals, and retail workers, amongst others. Resources will go to support: Charitable funds initiated by labor unions to provide health benefits and childcare for workers who have lost their jobs; National and local organizations providing personal protective equipment to nurses and other frontline workers; Domestic workers who are forced into quarantine or need extended paid leave; Access to testing for nurses and other frontline workers. Amalgamated Bank has made an initial contribution of $50,000 to stand up the Fund. In addition, it has established a special Donate the Change program under which it will donate 10c to the Fund each time a customer opens a new account or spends over ten dollars on their Amalgamated Bank debit card. The Fund will work to align and coordinate activities with fellow funders and other rapid response efforts in order to fill gaps.

08:39 EDT UMH Properties publishes ESG report - UMH Properties announced that it has published its Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance Report. Samuel Landy, President and CEO, commented, "UMH is committed to incorporating environmental and social considerations into its business practices to create value and enhance the communities where our residents live. We also recognize the importance of good corporate governance in ensuring the Company's continued success and maintaining the confidence of our shareholders. We are proud of all our efforts that are detailed in the ESG Report and encourage everyone to read it."

08:36 EDT Corcept Therapeutics announces publication of abstract in JES - Corcept Therapeutics announced the publication of an abstract in the April-May supplemental issue of the Journal of the Endocrine Society. The abstract describes the Phase 3 trial of relacorilant in patients with Cushing's syndrome caused by adrenal adenomas or hyperplasia. Corcept's poster describing the trial had been accepted for presentation at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society, which has been cancelled. "We are excited to present the design of a Phase 3 trial of our selective cortisol modulator, relacorilant in patients whose Cushing's syndrome is caused by an adrenal adenoma," said Andreas Grauer, MD, Corcept's CMO. "GRADIENT is the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with this etiology of Cushing's syndrome. These patients experience poor health outcomes despite having a more indolent course of disease." GRADIENT has a planned enrollment of 130 patients at sites in the United States and Europe. Participants will receive either relacorilant or placebo for six months, with the primary endpoints being improvement in glucose metabolism and hypertension. Many of the investigators for relacorilant's ongoing Phase 3 GRACE trial will also participate in GRADIENT.

08:35 EDT Capitala Finance to make distributions on quarterly basis rather than monthly - Capitala Finance announced that distributions will be made on a quarterly basis, rather than monthly, effective for the second quarter of 2020. The Company will announce details of the second quarter of 2020 distribution at a later date, upon approval by the Board of Directors. Chairman and CEO Joseph Alala, III, stated, "Across our entire firm, we are engaged with the management teams of our existing portfolio companies to determine how this disruption in the economy may impact their need for liquidity and ultimately the impact to our net investment income. Moving to quarterly distributions gives us additional time to continue with these assessments, as circumstances are changing on a daily basis."

08:33 EDT Acasti Pharma announces annual stock option grants - Acasti announced the annual grant of stock options to its employees, executives and directors, and the amendment of its stock option plan. The stock options were granted by the Board of Directors as part of the Company's annual performance review in accordance with the Company's Long-Term Incentive Program. On March 31, 2020, an aggregate of 3,836,000 stock options were granted to certain employees, executives and directors of the Company under the Company's Stock Option Plan. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Stock Option Plan, options granted to directors will vest in equal monthly installments over a period of 12 months and options granted to executives and employees will vest in equal quarterly installments over a period of 36 months. Each option will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of Acasti at a price of CDN$0.53, until March 31, 2030. Subject to the approvals of the TSX Venture Exchange and of shareholders at the Company's next annual and special meeting, on March 31, 2020, the Board of Directors amended the Stock Option Plan in order to reduce the minimum vesting period applicable for grants to directors from 18 months on a quarterly basis to 12 months on a monthly basis.

08:32 EDT AirNet Technology receives noncompliance notice from Nasdaq - AirNet Technology received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department indicating that the company is no longer in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rules as the company's closing bid price per ADS, each representing ten ordinary shares of the company, has been below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days. The company has a compliance period of 180 calendar days, or until September 28, to regain compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement. In the event that the company does not regain compliance by September 28, it may be eligible for an additional 180 calendar days compliance period if it meets the continued listing requirements.

08:26 EDT Innovation Pharmaceuticals: Data supports Brilacidin's inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 - Innovation Pharmaceuticals announced it has received data supporting Brilacidin's direct inhibition of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. The testing of Brilacidin was conducted by researchers at one of the U.S. Regional Biocontainment Laboratories. VERO cells, a monkey kidney cell line commonly used to screen small molecule inhibitors of viruses, were used to test whether Brilacidin inhibits SARS-CoV-2. Cells were pretreated with Brilacidin at increasing concentrations for two hours prior to the infection. Cells treated with the vehicle alone were maintained alongside, as controls. At 16 hours post-infection, researchers observed a dose-dependent reduction in the SARS-CoV-2 infectious viral titers from the Brilacidin treated cells as compared to the vehicle-alone control. The Company is reviewing data received yesterday and anticipates more data will be forthcoming. Following discussions with researchers at the RBL, the Company will provide additional information and insight into possible joint research plans going forward. It is management's understanding that few compounds advance to this next stage of SARS-CoV-2 research. In a broader context, demonstration of Brilacidin's direct antiviral activity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus supports the drug's unique 3-in-1 therapeutic potential-antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial-to treat COVID-19 and its associated complications. Additional data, based on successfully completed Phase 2 clinical studies in other clinical indications, using various modes of administration, show Brilacidin's ability to inhibit interleukin-6 and other pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, identified as central drivers in the worsening prognoses of COVID-19 patients. Brilacidin's robust antimicrobial properties might also help fight secondary bacterial infections, which can co-present in patients with COVID-19.

08:22 EDT Veracyte announces results of study identifying over 100 fusions in FNA samples - Veracyte announced results of a study that identified over 100 novel or rare NTRK, ALK, RET and BRAF fusions in fine needle aspiration, or FNA, samples of patients undergoing evaluation for thyroid cancer. These gene fusions, 70 of which are previously unreported, may potentially be targeted with specific kinase inhibitor drugs that are currently available or in development for use in thyroid cancer patients. Veracyte also announced that it has launched an expanded version of its Afirma Xpression Atlas, or XA, test, which uses RNA sequencing to detect gene alterations, ncluding these novel or rare fusions, at the time of diagnosis. The new data are featured in an abstract that was accepted for an oral presentation this week at ENDO 2020, the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society. The study was one of two Afirma XA-related abstracts accepted for the meeting. For the new study, researchers performed RNA whole-transcriptome sequencing on over 37,000 thyroid nodule FNA samples whose cytopathology results were either indeterminate or suspicious for cancer. They found 104 novel or rare gene fusions - 7 NTRK1/3, 8 ALK, 17 RET and 72 BRAF - none of which were previously reported for thyroid cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas program, a United States government catalogue of gene alterations associated with cancer. The authors subsequently examined over 50,000 FNA samples that had undergone testing with Veracyte's Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier (GSC) and found that none of the novel or rare gene fusions were detected among those deemed benign. NTRK, ALK, RET and BRAF fusions, including those in the new study, were identified in 3.2 percent of the 16,594 Bethesda III/IV samples that were deemed suspicious for cancer by the Afirma GSC and in 8% of the 1,692 Bethesda V/VI samples. Veracyte also announced the introduction of its expanded Afirma XA, which provides physicians with additional gene alteration content to further inform surgery and treatment decisions for patients with suspected or confirmed thyroid cancer. The Afirma XA utilizes RNA sequencing on the same FNA sample used for Afirma GSC testing. Compared to the original gene alteration panel, the expanded Afirma XA now reports 905 DNA variants and 235 RNA fusion partners in 593 genes. In the second Afirma XA-focused abstract accepted for ENDO 2020, researchers reported on the positive predictive value of TP53 gene variants among thyroid nodules deemed suspicious for cancer by the Afirma GSC following indeterminate cytopathology results.

08:19 EDT Cardtronics says continues to operate with a 'solid' balance sheet - The company said, "The Company has prioritized debt pay down over the last few years and continues to operate with a solid balance sheet. As of March 27, the company had approximately $600M in cash reflecting the full utilization of available borrowings under its $750M revolving credit facility."

08:17 EDT Cardtronics CEO says suspended opportunistic share buyback program - Cardtronics announced business updates in connection with the continued spread of COVID-19. As a result of the current unprecedented conditions across all of our markets, the Company is withdrawing its financial outlook for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020. "As we navigate the impacts of COVID-19 on Cardtronics, we continue to act in the interest of the health and safety of our employees, partners, customers, and fellow citizens, while maintaining our focus on ensuring the long-term success and stability of the company and our employees," stated Cardtronics CEO Edward West. "We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our organization. I am proud of the planning and actions the Cardtronics team has taken to date to continue to serve our customers and provide access to cash in the communities we serve around the world.While this unprecedented event is adversely impacting our business, Cardtronics remains in a solid financial position with strong liquidity. In the near term, we are carefully managing expenses and have made some significant cost reductions, altered capital spending plans, and suspended our opportunistic share buyback program to optimize cash flow for the current environment. Now more than ever, our ATM network, mostly located in convenient pharmacy, big-box, grocery, and convenience store locations, provides a critical access point for cash for a significant portion of the population in the communities we serve. We remain confident in the long-term opportunities for our business, powered by our unique network of ATMs, which provides value for retailers, financial institutions, and consumers. We believe that we are well-positioned to capitalize on the continued transformation in banking and consumer financial services, which could accelerate as a result of this crisis."

08:14 EDT NanoVibronix receives reimbursement approval from CMS for PainShield - NanoVibronix announced that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved its PainShield for reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries on a national basis effective January 2020. The company was notified on March 30, 2020 that its Medicare Enrollment Application was approved, and it is now an approved Medicare Supplier for DME through the National Supplier Clearinghouse, Palmetto-GBA as well as Noridian Administrative Services, LLC, the two Medicare Administrative Contractors that handle DME reimbursement nationwide. PainShield is now available for Medicare reimbursement on a national level under new HCPCS code K1004. PainShield is an ultrasound device, consisting of a reusable driver unit and a disposable patch, which contains a proprietary therapeutic transducer.

08:12 EDT Fidelity D & D Bancorp to hold special meeting of shareholders virtually - Fidelity D & D Bancorp announced that due to the emerging public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the location of Fidelity's special meeting of shareholders has been changed and will be held in a virtual meeting format only. As previously announced, the special meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 2:00 p.m., local time. The purpose of the special meeting is to consider and vote upon certain proposals relating to the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, dated as of December 9, 2019, by and among Fidelity, Fidelity Bank, MNB Corporation and Merchants Bank of Bangor which provides, among other things, for the merger of MNB with and into Fidelity.

08:11 EDT University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm selects Mediasite for online learning - The University of Applied Sciences Neu-Ulm in Germany has closed its doors due to the COVID-19 outbreak but faculty are currently busy creating screencasts of lectures with the personal capture software My Mediasite for students to watch online starting April 20. The international business school has recently selected Mediasite for lecture capture and video management and is quickly rolling the software out to all instructors campus-wide so they can create lecture videos from home for students to watch anytime, anywhere. The school planned for a gradual rollout of My Mediasite throughout this semester but outbreak concerns prompted a more immediate approach. All instructors have access to My Mediasite, allowing them to create supplemental video lectures from their own devices and share with students in their Moodle learning management system. My Mediasite replaces a screen recorder and video editor the school previously used. When students and faculty begin returning to campus after global concerns of COVID-19 have subsided, the university will also start using Mediasite RL Mini plug-and-play capture appliances in select classrooms.

08:09 EDT Diffusion Pharmaceuticals evaluating TSC against ARDS in COVID-19 - Diffusion Pharmaceuticals announced that it has begun a cooperative research effort with University of Virginia Health and the Integrated Translational Research Institute of Virginia, to evaluate the Company's novel small molecule Trans Sodium Crocetinate in patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19 infection. iTHRIV is a National Institutes of Health-funded Clinical and Translational Awards program. Dr. Andrew Southerland, Associate Professor of Neurology and Public Health Sciences at UVA, will serve as lead Principal Investigator, working with co-investigators in the UVA Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine. Patients with COVID-19 infections are at risk for developing ARDS, which can lead to death from systemic hypoxemia. Diffusion, and researchers affiliated with UVA and iTHRIV, believe the oxygen-enhancing mechanism of action of TSC could benefit COVID-19 patients by mitigating the multiple organ failure that often accompanies systemic hypoxemia, and are, together, exploring avenues to advance TSC's development as quickly as possible for this use. TSC is currently under clinical development by the Company for other enhanced-oxygen-related uses including the treatment of acute stroke and glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. Preclinical data indicate TSC increases oxygen availability in animal models of acute lung injury, mitigating the negative effects of systemic hypoxemia. Preclinical publications also indicate TSC's ability to mitigate systemic hypoxemia in other animal models, including hemorrhagic shock. Clinical data from 150 patients receiving TSC for other indications demonstrate that the drug has an acceptable safety profile in both healthy and critically ill patients. The Company and UVA/iTHRIV have together begun discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to assess possible regulatory pathways for the evaluation of TSC in ARDS-related COVID-19 patients.

08:07 EDT Soliton postpones launch of RAP tattoo removal device - Soliton provided an update on its business strategy and financial position in light of the current COVID-19 situation. CEO Christopher Capelli commented, "(...) Instead of launching our RAP device focused solely on tattoo removal in mid-2020, we are electing to delay that launch until the aesthetic and financial markets are demonstrating more stability. In the meantime, we will remain highly focused on our regulatory pathway for cellulite reduction. We now believe our initial launch could be timed appropriately to incorporate both tattoo and cellulite indications, subject to FDA clearance of the latter. (...)" At this time, Soliton does not anticipate a delay in its regulatory plans for the cellulite indication and plan to file its 510(k) in Q2. Follow-up visit cancellations in the ongoing 26-week cellulite assessment and increased difficulty in executing the initiation of further clinical trials at sites around the country will impact the timing of Soliton's planned additional hypertrophic scar proof-of-concept study and the longer-term 26-week follow-up visits in its cellulite pivotal study. Furthermore, it is possible this may extend the time required to file for additional, improved cellulite reduction claims with the FDA. Soliton now expects cash on hand to finance operations to December 2020.

08:06 EDT Heat Biologics announces formation of COVID-19 advisory board - Heat Biologics announced the formation of its COVID-19 Advisory Board, or CAB, with four key appointments: Justin Stebbing MD, PhD, Raymond Pickles, PhD, Natasa Strbo MD, DSc, and Lanying Du, PhD. Heat's COVID-19 Advisory Board was established with leading thought leaders to propel Heat's COVID-19 vaccine and COVID-19 diagnostic programs. The combined Advisory Board has expertise in areas of coronavirus and related respiratory virus biology and infection, immunotherapy, and vaccines. Heat recently announced a research collaboration with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to develop a vaccine leveraging Heat's proprietary gp96 platform designed to target the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Under a separate collaboration with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Heat also intends to develop a proprietary COVID-19 point-of-care diagnostic test.

08:05 EDT Paramount Group to sell 10% interest in 1633 Broadway - Paramount Group announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell a 10% interest in 1633 Broadway, a 2.5M square foot office building located on Broadway between 50th and 51st Streets in Manhattan. The transaction values the property at $2.4B, or approximately $960 per square foot. In November 2019, Paramount completed a $1.25B interest-only refinancing of the property at a fixed rate of 2.99%, realizing $179M of net proceeds. Upon completion of the sale, Paramount will realize net proceeds of approximately $114M, which will be used for general corporate purposes. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in Q2.

08:04 EDT Paratek Pharmaceuticals announces initiation of funding from BARDA - Paratek Pharmaceuticals announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has initiated funding to support the onshoring of Paratek manufacturing activities for NUZYRA. The reimbursement cost for the onshoring and security requirement activities is projected to total approximately $20M. In December 2019, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded Paratek a five-year contract, valued at up to $285M, to support: the development of NUZYRA for the treatment of pulmonary anthrax; all of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration post-marketing requirements associated with the initial NUZYRA approval; U.S. onshoring and manufacturing security requirements and the procurement of up to 10,000 treatment courses of NUZYRA for the treatment of anthrax. Under the terms of the contract that has now been initiated, Paratek will commit to ensure that all current suppliers meet BARDA security requirements and to onshore a secondary supply chain in the United States for NUZYRA.

07:59 EDT Whiting Petroleum trading halted, news pending

07:38 EDT SuperCom's PureSecurity security suite adopted by Canadian agency - SuperCom's PureSecurity Offender Tracking Suite has been adopted by a new government agency in Canada. This deployment has been executed via a partnership with a Canada-based provider of offender tracking electronic monitoring solutions with over 25 years of experience, spanning across correctional, pre-trial, police and immigration agencies. The project is billed at a per-unit daily rate for the use of the PureSecurity suite and generates steady-state recurring revenues accordingly.

07:32 EDT Stealth Biotherapeutics CEO says 'off to a strong start in 2020' - "We are off to a strong start in 2020, having honed our focus on Barth and our planned expansion into other rare metabolic cardiomyopathies, while continuing to execute on the significant promise of our ophthalmic and other pipeline programs. By decisively reducing expenses in January, our cash and cash equivalents are sufficient through key Barth regulatory interactions in the second half of 2020, bringing us closer to a potential approval with an opportunity for a rare pediatric voucher and expedited regulatory review," said Reenie McCarthy, CEO at Stealth. "We hope to complete enrollment of our Phase 2b study in dry AMD during the second half of this year, keeping us on-track for a second half of 2021 top-line read-out. We are actively planning development initiatives in other rare metabolic cardiomyopathies, on which we hope to engage with the FDA this year. We are also rapidly advancing our pipeline of novel mitochondrial medicines, with SBT-272 being assessed in a Phase 1 clinical trial, preclinical data read-outs expected this year for SBT-272 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple system atrophy and SBT-259 in Charcot-Marie-Tooth, and lead optimization underway for our SBT-550 series, targeting the ferroptosis pathway of cell death implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's."

07:31 EDT Watsco raises annual dividend 11% to $7.10 per share - Watsco Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.775 on each outstanding share of its Common and Class B common stock payable on April 30, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 15, 2020. The Company previously announced in February 2020 that its Board approved an 11% increase in its annual dividend rate to $7.10 per share following 2019's record operating cash flow.

07:16 EDT Medipharm Labs Australia, Burleigh Heads sign white-label GMP deal - MediPharm Labs announced that through its subsidiary MediPharm Labs Australia, it has entered into a supply agreement for white label pharmaceutical-quality cannabis oil products with Burleigh Heads Cannabis. Under the agreement, which has an initial 3-year term, MediPharm Labs Australia will supply bottles of white labelled, formulated cannabis oil products for distribution by Burleigh Heads. Burleigh Heads is an Australian wholesaler of medical cannabis products that are distributed to medical patients and pharmacies across Australia via its innovative online CanView marketplace. Burleigh Heads is a subsidiary of CDA Health.

07:13 EDT Henry Schein named exclusive distributor of second COVID-19 rapid test kit - Henry Schein (HSIC) announced that it will serve as the exclusive distributor in the United States of a second point-of-care rapid test kit that can detect antibodies associated with COVID-19 in as few as 15 minutes. Working with Becton Dickinson (BDX) and BioMedomics, a privately held, North Carolina-based clinical diagnostics company, Henry Schein will make the test kits available to health care professionals as part of the company's broad offering of point-of-care rapid tests. The BioMedomics test analyzes blood, serum, or plasma samples for the presence of Immunoglobulin M, or IgM, and Immunoglobulin G, or IgG, antibodies associated with the coronavirus. The test is completed in four steps. First, blood is collected through normal blood collection devices, and then a few drops are transferred to the test cartridge, followed by two to three drops of a buffer. The results can be read in 15 minutes. The agreement with BD and BioMedomics builds on Henry Schein's announcement last week of an antibody rapid blood test, known as Standard Q COVID-19 IgM/IgG Rapid Test, which is also administered at the point of care and delivers results within 15 minutes from a pinprick with no instrumentation required. The company is also a participant in the White House's COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force, and has worked with the Strategic National Stockpile to deliver PPE to COVID-19 testing sites. As part of that effort, the company is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to source and deliver critical supplies quickly.

07:13 EDT Paramount Gold Nevada says completion of Feasibility Study on track for mid-2020 - Following discussions with its consultants, Paramount is pleased to report that completion of the NI-43-101 Feasibility Study for the proposed high-grade Grassy Mountain underground gold mine in eastern Oregon is not likely to face disruption or delays and its completion remains on track for mid-2020. As previously reported, Ausenco, the lead consultant of the study, has agreed to accept Paramount shares in lieu of cash to complete the study, allowing the Company to reduce cash expenses in the current challenging environment.

07:10 EDT Columbia Financial completes acquisition of Roselle Bank - Columbia Bank MHC, Columbia Financial and Columbia Bank announced that Columbia has completed its acquisition of RSB Bancorp, MHC, RSB Bancorp, Inc. and Roselle Bank. At the effective time of the merger, Roselle Bank was merged with and into Columbia Bank and depositors of Roselle Bank became depositors of Columbia Bank, with the same rights and privileges in Columbia Bank MHC as if their accounts had been established in Columbia Bank on the date established at Roselle Bank. In addition, as part of the transaction, the Company issued 4,759,048 shares of its common stock to Columbia Bank MHC.

07:08 EDT British American Tobacco subsidiary working on potential COVID-19 vaccine - BAT's US bio-tech subsidiary, Kentucky BioProcessing, is developing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 and is now in pre-clinical testing. If testing goes well, BAT said in a statement that it is hopeful that, with the right partners and support from government agencies, between 1 and 3 million doses of the vaccine could be manufactured per week, beginning in June. While KBP remains a commercial operation, the intention is that its work around the COVID-19 vaccine project will be carried out on a not for profit basis. BAT is now exploring partnerships with government agencies to bring its vaccine to clinical studies as soon as possible. Dr David O'Reilly, Director of Scientific Research, BAT said: "We are engaged with the US Food and Drug Administration and are seeking guidance on next steps. We have also engaged with the UK's Department for Health and Social Care, and BARDA in the US, to offer our support and access to our research with the aim of trying to expedite the development of a vaccine for COVID-19." Reference Link

07:07 EDT Castle Biosciences announces publication of analysis of DecisionDx-Melanoma test - Castle Biosciences announced the publication of a systematic review and meta-analysis of four study cohorts demonstrating that the DecisionDx-Melanoma test is an independent, significant predictor of recurrence and metastatic risk in patients with invasive cutaneous melanoma. The article appeared in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, or JAAD. This study was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, or PRISMA. Multiple published archival and prospective studies have described the prognostic capability, performance and clinical utility of the DecisionDx-Melanoma test to assess recurrence risk and inform patient management decisions on sentinel lymph node recommendations, follow up, surveillance imaging and referrals for patients with cutaneous melanoma. This systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate the cumulative prognostic effect of the test across multiple cohorts with a focus on differences in recurrence and distant metastasis between patients with a DecisionDx-Melanoma Class 1A and Class 2B test result. Four study cohorts, which included a total of 1,479 non-overlapping patients with Stage I-III melanoma, were included in the analysis. The DecisionDx-Melanoma test was found to be a consistent, independent and significant predictor of recurrence and metastatic risk in the meta-analysis across four study cohorts, achieving the highest Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy level for a prognostic biomarker. The DecisionDx-Melanoma risk assessment is independent from other clinical factors and improves upon risk assessment performed with staging factors alone. For melanoma recurrence, multivariate analysis showed that patients with DecisionDx-Melanoma Class 2B tumors are 2.90 times more likely to experience a recurrence than patients with Class 1A tumors. For distant metastasis, patients with Class 2B tumors are 2.75 times more likely to experience a distant metastasis than patients with Class 1A tumors. Despite differences in populations and study design, heterogeneity among the four studies was not significant. The SORT system is used by the American Academy of Dermatology, or AAD, and other organizations to evaluate the quality, quantity and consistency of evidence supporting tests such as DecisionDx-Melanoma. The SORT scale evaluates both the quality of the evidence and strength of the recommendation.

07:07 EDT Concert Pharmaceuticals announces plans for CTP-543 phase 3 trials - Concert Pharmaceuticals announced the details of its pivotal Phase 3 trials of CTP-543 in patients with moderate-to-severe alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that results in patchy or complete hair loss. Concert discussed key aspects of its planned Phase 3 trials in adult patients with the FDA at a recently conducted End-of-Phase 2 meeting. The Phase 3 program is intended to support filing of a New Drug Application for CTP-543. The planned Phase 3 program for CTP-543 will include two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials in adults at sites in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The Phase 3 program will evaluate the Severity of Alopecia Tool, or SALT, score after 24 weeks of dosing in patients with moderate-to-severe alopecia areata.

07:05 EDT Guardion Health Sciences receives initial order for immuno-supportive formula - Guardion Health Sciences announced today that it received an initial order from Astramune Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Ho Wah Genting Berhad, a Malaysian company listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange, for a sample order of its proprietary immuno-supportive formula. Guardion currently anticipates shipping this sample order by June 30, 2020. The Company had previously announced in February 2020 that HWGB contracted Guardion and its wholly-owned subsidiary, NutriGuard, to develop an immuno-supportive formula for the HWGB consumer base. Dr. Mark McCarty, the original founder of NutriGuard, and now a senior scientist/consultant to Guardion, has led the development of this proprietary formulation. The formula is designed to provide immuno-supportive benefits to its users. The formulation has not been used or tested for, nor is it intended to specifically address, symptoms of the coronavirus.

07:05 EDT Despegar.com reports COVID-19 mitigation measures - Despegar.com provided a further update on measures being taken in connection with the impact of COVID-19. Despegar had $313M in cash and $180M in credit card receivables as of December 31, 2019. Despegar claims to be free of any long term debt and only a minimal amount of short term debt to fund working capital, as well as bearing no customer credit risk and no relevant advances to suppliers outstanding. Despegar is assisting its customers with changes to their travel arrangements through reallocation of employees to assist with customer care, doubling the number of representatives handling inbound calls; increased automation capabilities of digital channels; providing customers with flexible conditions to defer their travel plans primarily through the issuance of vouchers. As of the end of last year, Despegar began to further streamline operations and outsourced its fulfillment centers. These initiatives have achieved an annualized cost reduction of approximately $16M, or 7% of its FY19 Structural Costs, following a workforce reduction of 568 full time employees. Additionally, since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Despegar has been reducing all non-critical spend and re-adjusting Structural Costs to deliver an additional 35% YoY savings by the end of Q3 and preserve cash. Cost containment/ cash preservation measures include: reducing salaries of the Executive Committee, Board Directors, and senior management by 50% and middle management by 25% throughout Q2; eliminating 1H20 bonuses to all employees; implementing a hiring freeze and limiting inflation salary increases; reducing working hours and implementing unpaid leave in certain locations; renegotiating supplier payment terms and conditions; reviewing all contracts and commitments; deferring non-critical capital expenditures. Combined, the measures taken in 4Q19 and those being taken in response to Covid-19 are expected to result in annualized cost savings of approximately $90M, representing a total 40% YoY reduction in Structural Costs by the end of Q3. The company has significantly reduced marketing investments, anticipated to result in additional savings of approximately $35M in Q2.

07:04 EDT Flexion reconfirms at least 10 months of finished goods available in the U.S. - The company said, "Flexion remains comfortable with the amount of its ZILRETTA inventory and reconfirmed it has at least 10 months of finished goods available in the U.S. In addition, the company has 12 months of active pharmaceutical ingredient available at its manufacturing site." Commenting on the business updates, Michael Clayman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Flexion said, "These are unprecedented and challenging times for everyone involved in the delivery of healthcare in the United States. The well-being of our patients, customers and employees remains our top priority, and our decision to suspend clinical trials is consistent with that goal. We look forward to resuming the ZILRETTA and FX201 clinical trials at the earliest feasible opportunity. In the meantime, we remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring that Flexion remains well positioned to provide meaningful medicines to patients in need and value to our investors for years to come. In that vein, we are delighted by the opportunity to partner with HK Tainuo and Jiangsu Tainuo as they work to develop and commercialize ZILRETTA in Greater China. OA of the knee affects more than 100 million people in China, and we are confident in the important role ZILRETTA can play in helping these patients manage their OA knee pain."

07:02 EDT Centene to cover cost of COVID-19 treatments for Medicare, Medicaid, Marketplace - Centene announced a series of additional measures to support the most vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on actions already taken in partnership with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the company announced it will cover the cost of COVID-19-related treatments for Medicare, Medicaid and Marketplace members. In order to expedite care and eliminate the administrative burden to providers, the Company is also eliminating the need for providers to collect co-pays and removing authorization requirements for COVID-19 related treatment. Additionally, the company announced that it will deliver new critical support to Safety Net providers, including Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers, behavioral health providers, and long-term service and support organizations. Effective immediately, Centene will waive COVID-19 related prior authorizations and member cost sharing for related screening, testing and treatment for all Medicare, Medicaid and Marketplace members. As part of this effort, the company will cover all telehealth services related to COVID-19 for these members, as well as all covered healthcare services that can be administered virtually through June 30.

06:56 EDT Apache sees annualized G&A and LOE cost reduction in excess of $300M - Apache provided an update regarding the cost savings associated with its previously announced organizational redesign. Apache now expects to deliver an annualized G&A and LOE cost reduction in excess of $300M, up from an original target of $150M. Approximately $225M of the identified savings, which includes the impact of severance and reorganization costs, will be achieved in 2020. "We have made substantial progress on our organizational redesign initiative, which began in the fall of 2019. This is enabling more flexible resource allocation and increased collaboration while delivering cost savings that are critical in the current environment," said John Christmann, Apache's CEO and president. "Together with our talented team members and diverse asset portfolio, our new organizational structure is already enabling Apache to be more agile and respond quickly to changing commodity price environments." Apache announced an organizational redesign effort in October of 2019 to streamline the business and improve operational efficiencies. The new organization goes into effect April 1.

06:52 EDT Gannett sees operating performance 'adversely affected' by COVID-19 - The company said, "We expect operating performance to be adversely affected by the widespread disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a media company, we are generally exempt from mandates requiring closures of non-essential businesses and therefore have been able to continue operations. However, we expect our advertising and events revenues to decline as a result of widespread business closures and social distancing measures. In the current environment, a major priority is preserving liquidity. We have identified measures that we expect to reduce expenses in 2020 by an additional $100 - $125 million (in addition to the merger-related expense reductions explained below), through implementation of reductions in force and furloughs, significant pay reductions for senior management, and cancellation of non-essential travel and spending. We are also reviewing opportunities to delay capital expenditures and working diligently with vendors, creditors, and pension regulators to restructure or postpone certain obligations. With respect to post-merger integration, we remain highly confident in our previously announced goal of implementing measures by the end of 2021 to achieve $300 million in annualized synergies, with more than half of such measures expected to be implemented in 2020. In addition, we continue to target $100 - $125 million in real estate sales by the end of 2021, the proceeds of which we intend to use to pay down debt. Since reporting fourth quarter earnings, the Company has paid down an additional $3.3 million of principal on our term loan facility, reducing debt outstanding to $1.744 billion."

06:49 EDT O-I Glass to hold 2020 Annual Meeting of Share Owners as virtual event - O-I Glass announced a change in the location and time of its 2020 Annual Meeting of Share Owners due to the public health risks related to the coronavirus disease 2019. The Annual Meeting will be held by remote communication only, in a virtual meeting format, on Tuesday, May 12, at 2:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Shareholders will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person. As described in the proxy materials previously distributed in connection with the Annual Meeting, share owners as of March 16, the record date, are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

06:38 EDT Howmet Aerospace launches as standalone company - Howmet Aerospace (HWM) launches April 1 after the separation of Arconic (ARNC) into two standalone companies - Howmet Aerospace and Arconic. Howmet Aerospace will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "HWM."

06:33 EDT ViewRay announces strategic oncology solutions collaboration with VieCure - ViewRay announced a strategic collaboration with VieCure, an artificial intelligence, or AI, informatics company with a point-of-care clinical decision support platform and an electronic medical record, or EMR, in oncology. The collaboration is designed to drive personalized care and treatment to patients by educating oncology practices on both companies' oncology solutions. Through the alliance, clinicians will have access to ViewRay's MRIdian MRI-guided radiation therapy system and VieCure's VCurePrecision EMR platform. VCurePrecision provides a decision-support system that combines clinical knowledge with patient data to assist oncologists in generating personalized treatment plans and managing a patient's care throughout his or her cancer therapy. ViewRay's MRIdian integrates MRI technology, radiation delivery, and proprietary software to locate, target, and track the position and shape of soft-tissue and tumors while radiation is delivered. MRIdian also offers a gating feature that automatically controls the radiation beam throughout each treatment, turning it off if the tumor moves outside of the targeted treatment area.

06:27 EDT Macau reports March casino revenue down 79.7% to 5.257B patacas - Macau's gaming bureau reported March gross revenue from games of fortune in the region decreased 79.7% year-over-year to 5.257B patacas. Publicly traded companies in the Macau gaming space include Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Melco Resorts (MLCO).

06:16 EDT Crispr Therapeutics says has closed offices, request personnel work remotely - In a regulatory filing, Crispr said "We have closed our offices and requested that most of our personnel, including all of our administrative employees, work remotely, restricted on-site staff to only those personnel and contractors who must perform essential activities that must be completed on-site and limited the number of staff in any given research and development laboratory. Our increased reliance on personnel working from home may negatively impact productivity, or disrupt, delay, or otherwise adversely impact our business. In addition, this could increase our cyber security risk." It added: "The coronavirus pandemic continues to rapidly evolve. The ultimate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our business operations is highly uncertain and subject to change and will depend on future developments, which cannot be accurately predicted, including the duration of the pandemic, the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, additional or modified government actions, new information that will emerge concerning the severity and impact of COVID-19 and the actions taken to contain coronavirus or address its impact in the short and long term, among others. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, our clinical trials, our research programs, healthcare systems or the global economy. We will continue to monitor the situation closely."

06:13 EDT Uber Eats announces deal with Carrefour for grocery delivery - Carrefour and Uber Eats are joining forces to deliver everyday products to French households in full compliance with hygiene measures and traffic restrictions. The companies said: "Following the current confinement period and the temporary closure of restaurants and shopping centers, Carrefour and Uber Eats are joining forces to meet France's grocery needs. Starting April 6, users will be able to: Choose a Carrefour convenience store on the Uber Eats app or website, or dial by phone from 11am to 11pm to order the products of their choice, including everyday grocery shopping as well as hygiene and cleaning products; Get deliveries at home within 30 minutes on average by a delivery person using the Uber Eats application and complying with all health and safety guidelines shared by the Government. This service will start with around fifteen Carrefour stores in Paris and the Paris region and will then be rolled out nationwide. Uber Eats will remove the delivery fees on all Carrefour orders during the April month. This partnership between Carrefour and Uber Eats is a long-term partnership with ambitious goals to extend it to other geographical areas. It will be rapidly reinforced by other actions." "Partnering with France's leading supermarket group, Carrefour, to deliver essential everyday items via Uber Eats will allow people to stay at home and help flatten the curve of community spread. Safety is essential to Uber and it's at the heart of everything we do - all Uber Eats deliveries are contactless and users can have deliveries left on their doorstep. We remain in close contact with the French public health authorities and stand ready to provide additional support as required." said Stephane Ficaja, General Manager, Uber Eats Europe. Reference Link

06:11 EDT Home Depot enacted 'stop-sale' of N95 masks, redirects shipments to hospitals - Weeks ago, The Home Depot voluntarily froze pricing nationwide across product categories in high demand due to COVID-19; Executed a "Stop-Sale" on all N95 masks in stores and HomeDepot.com and redirected all shipments to be donated to hospitals, healthcare providers and first responders around the country; Donating millions of dollars in personal protective equipment and other products to hospitals, healthcare providers and first responders; Prioritizing order fulfillment for hospitals, healthcare providers and first responder; Marshalling the resources of merchandising and supply chain teams to globally source quality products and expedite the availability of needed items.

06:08 EDT Home Depot announces expanded benefits for employees in response to COVID-19 - The Home Depot has introduced several benefits enhancements to take care of its associates. To-date, the company has: Added 80 hours of paid time off for all full-time hourly associates and 40 hours of paid time off for part-time hourly; associates to be used at their discretion at any time in 2020 and paid out at year-end if not used; For associates who are 65 years of age or older, or determined to be at higher risk by the CDC, added 160 hours of paid time off for full-time hourly associates and 80 hours of paid time off for part-time hourly associates to be used at their discretion at any time in 2020 and paid out at year-end if not used; Providing paid time off for any associate who has contracted COVID-19 until released by a doctor; Providing up to 14 days paid time off for any associate required to be quarantined by a public health authority or the CDC; Providing additional bonuses to hourly associates in stores and distribution centers -- $100 per week for full-time hourly associates and $50 per week for part-time hourly associates; Providing double pay for overtime hours worked by hourly associates; Extended dependent care benefits and waived co-pays; Asked all associates in store support functions who can work from home to do so while continuing to support our frontline associates.

06:05 EDT Volaris to reduce capacity in response to COVID-19 declaration of emergency - Volaris announced that pursuant to a decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, the Government of the United Mexican States, acting through the General Health Council, or GHC, declared a health emergency due to force majeure, as a result of the disease epidemic caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19, known as coronavirus, which will be in effect until April 30. The declaration of emergency and the health security measures announced by the GHC, such as the suspension of non-essential activities in the public, private and social sector, as well as the call to the population to comply with stay at home, will impact the demand for passenger air transportation whilst the declaration of emergency is in effect. As a result, from the date hereof, Volaris will make an additional capacity reduction. Capacity measured by available seat miles, or ASMs, for the month of April, will reduce to approximately 80% of total operation versus the schedule originally published. Volaris will continue to provide relevant market updates should further capacity, governmental travel restrictions or other liquidity preserving measures need to be implemented.

06:03 EDT Earthstone Energy CEO says 'well positioned' in terms of liquidity, debt levels - Robert Anderson, President and CEO of Earthstone, stated, "Earthstone remains well positioned in terms of liquidity and debt levels despite the recent dramatic drop in commodity prices. As recently announced, we have reduced our 2020 capital program by 67% and expect to generate free cash flow beginning in the second quarter that we will use to reduce borrowings under our credit facility. We continue to carefully manage our financial position and operations in this challenging time within our industry and beyond. We are very appreciative to have the continued support of our bank syndicate and look forward to continuing our partnership with them."