Stockwinners Market Radar for April 03, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:31 EDT Two Harbors estimates book value 'has not changed materially' - Two Harbors provided the following updates with respect to its business, through the close of business on April 3. "As a result of our portfolio management decisions in recent weeks, our liquidity position remains quite strong. We continue in our efforts to be prudent risk managers and are confident that we will continue to be in a position to meet margin calls in the ordinary course of our business. Previously we reported that we completed the sale of substantially all of our non-Agency portfolio; subsequent to that, we have sold additional non-Agency securities reducing that exposure to a de minimis level. With the disposition of this position, we have eliminated the risk of outsized margin calls and ongoing funding concerns associated with the significant widening on these assets. The repo markets for Agency RMBS continue to function well and we have experienced no issues in accessing this source of funding. The actions taken by the Federal Reserve to purchase Agency RMBS have been successful in stabilizing the market and our portfolio has benefitted from the resulting spread tightening. We are encouraged by the continued focus by the Treasury, Federal Reserve, FHFA and other governmental agencies on servicing advance issues that will be attendant to the mortgage loan forbearance programs announced in connection with the CARES Act. As the servicer of record for the MSR assets in our portfolio, we are responsible for continuing to advance principal, interest, taxes and insurance on mortgage loans that are in forbearance, delinquency or default. Although the potential aggregate size of the servicing advance obligations is not known, at this time we believe that we will be well positioned from a liquidity standpoint to continue to make servicing advances in the future. This is a situation that we are monitoring closely. We estimate that our book value has not changed materially since our last company update."

18:16 EDT United Airlines cuts ~80% of capacity for April, sees larger cuts in May - In a regulatory filing, the company said, "United Airlines has continued to experience a material decline in demand for both international and domestic travel resulting from the spread of coronavirus. As of March 31, 2020, over 270 million people in the United States in at least 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were under instructions to stay home or "shelter in place," and to avoid any non-essential travel. The company has cut approximately 80% of its capacity for April, with passenger load factors expected to fall into the teens or single digits during that time frame, and currently expects to make even larger capacity cuts in May 2020. The company plans to proactively evaluate and cancel flights on a rolling 90-day basis until it sees signs of a recovery in demand. As of the date of this report, the company is estimating a loss of revenue of over $100 million per day in March 2020 compared to the prior period, and the company is estimating for planning purposes a reduction in revenue of at least 30% for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the prior period."

18:03 EDT Anworth Mortgage estimates book value down ~ 40% at March 31 - The company said, "We estimate that our book value per common share at March 31, 2020 is down approximately 40% in the current quarter, to approximately $2.75 per share. Including our three series of preferred shares, the book value of our combined common and preferred stock has declined by approximately 32%. Anworth has reduced its Non-Agency repurchase agreement borrowings to approximately $270 million at March 31, 2020 through the sales of Non-Agency MBS, down from $428 million at December 31, 2019. Additional sales of Non-Agency MBS that we have made after March 31, 2020 are expected to further reduce our Non-Agency repurchase agreement borrowings to approximately $180 million. Agency MBS sales and principal payments have enabled the reduction of Agency MBS repurchase agreement borrowings to approximately $2.2 billion at March 31, 2020, enabling Anworth to build additional liquidity as well as reducing our leverage during this period of increased market volatility. Anworth has met all margin calls from its lenders and counterparties as of April 3, 2020. At March 31, 2020, Anworth's cash and unpledged Agency MBS assets were in excess of $130 million. We expect to make an announcement this month regarding our common stock dividend relative to the first quarter of 2020. We do anticipate that the payment date for such a dividend will be later than April 29, 2020, which would have been its routine payment date."

17:55 EDT Berkshire Hathaway sells 12.9M Delta shares, 2.3M Southwest shares - In two regulatory filings, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) disclosed the sale of 12.9M common shares of Delta Air lines (DAL) and about 2.3M common shares of Southwest (LUV). Berkshire sold the Delta shares at a price range of $22.9646-$25.2729 per share on April 1 and April 2, and the firm sold the Southwest shares at a price range of $31.376-$33.9675 per shrae on April 1 and April 2.

17:32 EDT Barrick Gold targets 5M oz of gold annual production over next decade - Since its merger with Randgold Resources at the beginning of last year Barrick Gold has moved a long way towards building a modern mining business, says Executive Chairman John Thornton in the company's Information Circular for 2020 published today. The Circular follows the recent publication of Barrick's 2019 Annual Report in which President and Chief Executive Mark Bristow said the work done during the past year had equipped management well to take Barrick to the next level. Included in the report is Barrick's ten-year production plan which projects production of around 5M oz of gold per year over the next decade.

17:24 EDT Nordstrom names Jim Donald, Mark Tritton to board of directors - Nordstrom (JWN) announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Jim Donald, co-chairman of Albertsons Companies, Board of Directors and Mark Tritton, president and CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY). The company previously shared that board members Kevin Turner and Gordon Smith have chosen not to seek re-election to the Board at the expiration of their respective terms at the company's annual shareholders meeting on May 20. Additionally, the Board announced planned changes designed to enhance its corporate governance. This will include reducing the maximum size of the Board from 11 to 10 over the next two years and introducing a 10-year term limit for independent directors.

17:22 EDT ESPN2 to broadcast 12 hours of esports programming on April 5 - Disney's (DIS) ESPN2 said it will present a twelve-hour programming marathon, ESPN Esports Day, this Sunday, April 5, highlighting a variety of both live and taped esports coverage from the past year. The marathon will kick off with three hours of competitive "Madden NFL20" (EA) including recaps from the Madden Classic, Club Championship and the Challenge. Next up, live sports return to ESPN with the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix, where current Formula 1 drivers Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, George Russell, Lando Norris and Nicholas Latifi will participate in the second installment of the virtual racing series alongside England's cricket all-rounder, Ben Stokes. Rocket League makes its first appearance on ESPN television with the Season 8 World Championship Grand Finals at 4:30 p.m. In addition, the new agreement with Psyonix includes an upcoming live telecast of the Rocket League Spring Series North American Grand Finals on April 26th at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2. At 6 p.m., the all-new "NBA 2K" (TTWO) Players Tournament continues round one, which includes matches featuring Devin Booker, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond and more.

17:16 EDT Delta Air Lines down 4.8% at $21.40 per share after guiding Q2 revenue down 90%

17:15 EDT Exela Technologies receives noncompliance notice from Nasdaq - Exela Technologies announced that the company received an anticipated notice from the staff of the listing qualifications department of Nasdaq notifying the company that, as a result of its failure to timely file its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, it is not in compliance with Nasdaq listing rule 5250, which requires timely filing of periodic reports with the SEC.

17:10 EDT RadNet executives voluntarily agree to reduction in base salaries - In a regulatory filing, the company said, "RadNet's named executive officers, executive vice presidents, and all members of our Board of Directors voluntarily agreed to reduce their base salaries or director cash compensation, as applicable, by 50%. Vice presidents and senior vice presidents have also voluntarily reduced their base salaries by 25%."

17:08 EDT RadNet announces cost savings, cash conservation initiatives - In a regulatory filing, the company said, "In addition to the salary reductions disclosed above, RadNet is working proactively to offset a portion of anticipated revenue losses through aggressive cost-savings and cash conservation initiatives, including, without limitation, substantially reducing employee compensation through reducing hours, furloughs and salary cuts, deferring payments to landlords and vendors and delaying or eliminating capital expenditures during this impacted period. In addition, RadNet may find it necessary to reduce the operating hours or temporarily close certain of its clinics, which are experiencing reductions in procedural volumes. RadNet has a revolving credit facility of $137.5 million with Barclays. As a proactive measure, RadNet has drawn down approximately $115 million from the Barclays Revolving Credit Facility, and as of April 3, 2020, has cash and cash equivalents of approximately $105 million. RadNet increased its borrowings to increase its financial flexibility in light of current uncertainty in the global markets resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. The proceeds from the draw-down may be used for general corporate purposes and working capital. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility mature in July of 2023, and RadNet may repay amounts borrowed under the Barclay's Revolving Credit Facility any time without fees or penalty. On March 13, 2020, RadNet reported its agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of DeepHealth, a Delaware corporation. The anticipated closing date has been changed by the parties to May 1, 2020. We face various risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, including the global outbreak of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic, changes in patient behavior related to illness, pandemic fears and market downturns, and restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, including quarantines, government-mandated actions, stay-at-home orders and other restrictions, have led to disruption of our business and volatility in the global capital markets, which has increased our cost of capital and adversely affected our ability to access the capital markets. If significant portions of our workforce are unable to work effectively as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including because of illness, quarantines, facility closures, ineffective remote work arrangements or technology failures or limitations, our operations would be adversely impacted. We currently believe our results of operations will be negatively impacted by these developments. Given the many uncertainties and far reaching consequences of potential developments, we cannot assure that the COVID-19 outbreak and the many related impacts will not require extended or additional diagnostic center closures and other disruptions to our business or will not materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition in fiscal 2020 and beyond."

17:01 EDT Auris Medical says Phase 2 trial with AM-125 to be affected by COVID-19 - Auris Medical Holding provided an update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its ongoing clinical trials with intranasal betahistine. The Phase 1b trial with AM-201, intranasal betahistine for the prevention of antipsychotic-induced weight gain and somnolence, has remained unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The last subject had its last treatment visit in early March 2020. The trial is now progressing towards the read-out of top-line data, which is expected for early May 2020, in accordance with previous guidance. The Phase 2 trial with AM-125, intranasal betahistine for the treatment of acute peripheral vertigo, will be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak has delayed enrollment into the study. Candidates for participation in this trial undergo certain types of neurosurgery, which are classified as elective procedures. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the sites participating in the "TRAVERS" trial have postponed elective procedures and temporarily reduced or suspended clinical research activities. As a result, enrollment came to a halt towards the end of March 2020. Although sites are expected to catch up on enrollment once COVID-19 related restrictions are relaxed, the Company expects that the interim analysis following Part A of the trial will now be completed in the third quarter of 2020, at the earliest.

16:57 EDT Walmart to start limiting number of customers in store at one time - Walmart said that, starting Saturday, it will limit the number of customers who can be in a store at once. Stores will now allow no more than five customers for each 1000 square feet at a given time, roughly 20 percent of a store's capacity. To manage this restriction, the associates at a store will mark a queue at a single-entry door (in most cases the Grocery entrance) and direct arriving customers there, where they will be admitted one-by-one and counted. Associates and signage will remind customers of the importance of social distancing while they're waiting to enter a store - especially before it opens in the morning. Once a store reaches its capacity, customers will be admitted inside on a "1-out-1-in" basis. "We'll also institute one-way movement through our aisles next week in a number of our stores, using floor markers and direction from associates," the company said. "We expect this to help more customers avoid coming into close contact with others as they shop. We'll continue to put signage inside our stores to remind customers of the need to maintain social distancing - especially in lines. And once customers check out, they will be directed to exit through a different door than they entered, which should help lessen the instances of people closely passing each other."

16:55 EDT Fiat Chrysler says AGM delayed to June, postpones resolution of EUR1.1B dividend - Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) announced that the Annual General Meeting of the company's shareholders scheduled for 16 April 2020 will be postponed to late June 2020, similarly to the corresponding measures adopted by several other manufacturers, in light of the continuing COVID-19 epidemic. This decision also results in the postponement of the resolution on the 2019 EUR1.1B ordinary dividend communicated at the time of entering into the Combination Agreement with Peugeot (PUGOY).

16:43 EDT Lululemon temporarily pauses buybacks, stores closed for foreseeable future - Lululemon detailed a range of actions and initiatives to support its employees as COVID-19 continues to impact the business. Understanding the COVID-19 pandemic may continue for the foreseeable future, stores in North America, Europe, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand will remain closed until they can safely reopen. In addition, the company has made the decision to continue pay protection for its employees through June 1, whether stores reopen or remain closed. In addition, for the next three months, the company's Senior Leadership Team will reduce their salaries by 20%, and the Board of Directors will forgo their cash retainer. These funds will go towards the newly-established We Stand Together Fund to help lululemon employees facing COVID-19 related hardships at this time. These measures are in addition to the previously announced actions at lululemon, including actively managing the company's expense structure, capital investment, and store opening and remodel projects. The company has also made the decision to temporarily pause its share repurchase program.

16:34 EDT GNC Holdings implements hiring freeze, temporary furloughs - GNC Holdings announced that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has had to make some difficult decisions in order to protect the long-term prospects for the business. Given the unprecedented economic disruption caused by this health crisis, management has implemented measures to reduce expenses and maintain flexibility to manage through these challenging times including: A reduction in operating expenses including a hiring freeze, eliminating corporate merit increases and other cost saving initiatives; A decrease in the number of field leadership roles as the company continues to optimize the store fleet; Reducing costs across the business with the exception of digital capabilities, and; Temporary furloughs for a significant portion of store and corporate associates across all levels of the organization. Furloughed associates will maintain health benefits in GNC sponsored plans with 100% of the premium funded by GNC throughout at least the month of April.

16:32 EDT CNH says majority of European assembly ops to stay suspended until April 17 - CNH Industrial announced that, in light of the continuing emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of its European assembly operations will remain suspended until April 17. Logistics hubs, and the related industrial and supply operations, remain operational to guarantee as timely and efficient parts and service support to end customers as possible at this time. This decision has been taken considering the vital nature to society of the sectors in which the Company operates, especially in emergency situations: agricultural and construction machinery, the transport of goods and people, fire fighting vehicles and those dedicated to public safety.

16:30 EDT SmileDirectClub extends SmileShop closures, withdraws FY20 guidance - SmileDirectClub announced the company will extend its SmileShop closures until at least May 3, 2020. The extended closure of SmileShops in all markets except Hong Kong will allow SmileDirectClub to ensure the health and safety of its Team Members and customers amid the global pandemic. SmileDirectClub continues to offer existing and new customers the ability to safely straighten their teeth remotely through its telehealth platform and doctor-prescribed impression kits. Also continuing are the company's 3D print manufacturing of personal protective equipment such as face shields and other items, which the company is selling at cost to healthcare organizations and governmental agencies. Since announcing the closure of its SmileShops last month, the company has taken several steps to fortify the short-term financial position of the business and plans to resume operations with strength at the earliest and safest possible opportunity. This includes the suspension of most of its marketing spend and beginning April 6th, a furlough for much of its headquarters and retail workforce through May 3, 2020. The company will retain those needed to support critical business and manufacturing activities. SmileDirectClub's executive and leadership teams will also forgo pay during this period. The company will continue to offer health benefits and associated entitlements to all impacted Team Members. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the wide-spread unpredictability of its impact on the company and the market that are outside of the company's control, the company is withdrawing its previous full year 2020 guidance.

16:24 EDT MVB Financial acquires deposits, certain assets of The First State Bank - MVB Financial Corp., and its wholly-owned subsidiary MVB Bank, announced that MVB Bank has purchased the deposits and certain assets of The First State Bank through an agreement with the FDIC. The West Virginia Department of Financial Institutions declared First State insolvent and appointed the FDIC as receiver. The purchase by MVB Bank is effective immediately. As of December 31, 2019, First State had approximately $139.5M in total deposits.

16:21 EDT Alpine Income Property provides update on liquidity - While the company cannot predict the depth, duration, or geographic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company remains focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet, strong liquidity and financial flexibility. As a precautionary measure, the company recently drew $20M of available capacity on its $100M credit facility, and as a result, the company has over $20M in cash on hand with approximately $57M outstanding on the credit facility.

16:20 EDT Capstone Turbine reports preliminary Q4 revenue $11.3M, consensus $17.47M - The decrease in product and aftermarket revenue is expected to negatively impact the net loss and Adjusted EBITDA results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, the company said.

16:17 EDT Oracle urges shareholders to reject Ponos Industries 'mini-tender' offer - Oracle announced that it received notice of an unsolicited "mini-tender" offer by Ponos Industries LLC to purchase up to 2,000,000 shares of Oracle capital stock, which represents approximately 0.063% of the common shares outstanding, at a price of $50.00 per share in cash. Oracle noted that shareholders are not required to respond to Ponos Industries' offer and that it does not endorse Ponos Industries' unsolicited mini-tender offer and recommends that Oracle shareholders do not tender their shares in the offer. Ponos Industries has included in the terms of its offer a condition that the closing price of Oracle's shares on the New York Stock Exchange on the last trading day prior to the expiration of the offer must exceed the $50.00 offer price. As a result, unless Ponos Industries decides to waive this condition, Oracle shareholders who tender their shares in the offer would receive a below market price for Oracle's shares through the tender offer. The mini-tender offer is subject to numerous other conditions, including that Ponos Industries needs to obtain financing for the offer. There is no assurance that the conditions to the offer will be satisfied and Oracle shareholders are cautioned that Ponos Industries can extend the offer and delay payment beyond the currently scheduled expiration date of 1:00 p.m. New York City time on April 24, 2020. Oracle is not associated with Ponos Industries, its mini-tender offer or the mini-tender offer documentation. Mini-tender offers seek to acquire less than 5 percent of a company's shares outstanding. Consequently, they can avoid many disclosure and procedural requirements of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules that apply to offers for more than 5 percent of a company's shares outstanding.

16:12 EDT Cactus reduces U.S. associate headcount by ~30%, implements salary reductions - Cactus announced that as part of the company's comprehensive response to the weakened macroeconomic environment, Cactus reduced its total U.S. associate headcount by approximately 30% effective April 1 in anticipation of the activity declines expected by early in Q2. Cactus also implemented large-scale salary reductions for its workforce beginning in March, inclusive of a 50% reduction to the CEO's base salary, and salary reductions ranging from 25%-50% for its other named executive officers. Board member remuneration has also been reduced by 25%. As a result of the cost rationalization efforts, Cactus will record approximately $1M in non-routine charges primarily related to severance benefits as of March 31. These salary and headcount reductions are estimated to result in approximately $35M of annualized cost savings, $5M of which are associated with selling, general and administrative expenses. In light of the recent macroeconomic events, Cactus has also withdrawn its full year net capital expenditure guidance for 2020. Net capital expenditures are now expected to be in the range of $20M-$30M in 2020, representing a reduction of more than 50% from 2019's level. A majority of this spend will be allocated to the first half of the year. The company's cash balance rose to approximately $230M as of March 31, and its $75M revolver remains fully available.

16:10 EDT ExOne reduces executive pay due to COVID-19 financial challenges - In light of the economic and financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 30, 2020, the board of ExOne Company determined to reduce by 20% the salaries of its leadership team, including the company's named executive officers, for at least the second quarter of fiscal year 2020. The company expects to amend the employment agreement for John F. Hartner, the CEO, effective as of April 6, 2020, to reflect this salary reduction. In addition, also on March 30, 2020, the board determined to reduce by 20% the cash portion of their director fees for at least the second quarter of fiscal year 2020.

16:07 EDT Amplify Energy CEO Ken Mariani retires, Martyn Willsher named interim CEO - Amplify Energy announced that Ken Mariani, Amplify's president and CEO, has notified the board of his planned retirement from the company, effective April 3. Amplify's board has appointed Martyn Willsher, Amplify's current CFO, to serve as interim CEO following Mariani's departure. In addition, Chris Hamm will serve as lead director on behalf of the board. All of the senior management of Amplify remains in place and will report to Willsher.

16:06 EDT SpartanNash announces bonus pay for frontline staff - SpartanNash announced more than 16,000 part- and full-time hourly frontline associates will receive an additional $2 per hour for all hours worked between April 5 and 25. The frontline bonus pay will apply to hourly SpartanNash associates working in its 155 company-owned stores, Caito Foods facilities and 18 distribution centers. This frontline bonus pay is in addition to an associate appreciation bonus for all hourly frontline associates, which provided each associate with an additional $25 bonus each week between March 1 and April 25. The company has also enhanced its associate discount in its company-owned retail stores to 20% off during the same timeframe. SpartanNash has also invested in personal protective equipment, sneeze guards, increased safety and sanitation measures and additional staffing.

16:04 EDT Royal Bank of Canada cuts credit card interest by 50% for clients - RBC announced it will be reducing credit card interest charges by 50% for those clients receiving minimum payment deferrals on credit cards. Upon completion of a financial review with an RBC advisor, customers will be eligible for a 50% credit of their interest charges during the deferral period. For personal and small business credit card clients already receiving minimum payment deferrals, RBC will reduce the current interest charges on their credit card by 50%.

16:01 EDT Dave & Buster's says financial statements to include going concern warning - In a regulatory filing, Dave & Buster's said that as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, its financial statements contain a statement regarding a substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern. "Our audited financial statements as of and for the year ended February 2, 2020 were prepared on the assumption that we would continue as a going concern," the company said. "As a result of the factors described above under "COVID-19 has had an adverse effect that is material on our business and may continue to do so," our management has determined that there is a substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern over the next twelve months and our independent auditors have included a "going concern" explanatory paragraph in their report on our financial statements as of and for the year ended February 2, 2020. Assuming we are able to obtain financial covenant waivers from our lenders (as to which there currently is no assurance), our ability to continue as a going concern over the next twelve months will depend upon a series of factors, including the duration of our store shutdowns; the speed with which, and the extent to which, customers return to our stores once they open; our success in obtaining rent and other concessions from our landlords; and our ability to raise additional capital."

15:35 EDT General Dynamics protest of Leidos award dismissed in part, denied in part - The U.S. Government Accountability Office announced that it dismissed the protest in part and denied the protest in part that was made by General Dynamics Information Technology (GD) of the award of a contract to Leidos (LDOS) under request for proposals No. HC1028-18-R-0024, issued by the Department of Defense, Defense Information Systems Agency for global solutions management - operations, or GSM-O II, services. Three offerors, including Leidos, the incumbent, and GDIT, submitted proposals by the January 7, 2019, closing date, the GAO notice stated. Reference Link

15:14 EDT XpresSpa pursues COVID-19 screening,testing at U.S. airports - XpresSpa Group provided an update on recent discussions with local airport authorities and healthcare partners so that it may begin providing screening and testing for novel coronavirus at U.S. airports. COVID-19 screening and testing would be conducted by converting select existing spa locations for this purpose on an interim basis and over time, potentially adding separate, standalone airport locations as testing sites. XpresSpa's U.S. airport real estate portfolio consists of 46 locations across 23 airports that are ready to be reactivated and redeployed in short order, subject to the approval of local airport authorities. The company's global spas are temporarily closed due to recent local government mandates categorizing its traditional services as "non-essential services." Since March 19, XpresSpa has been advancing discussions with healthcare partners to develop a model for COVID-19 screening and testing in U.S. airports as a much-needed public service. The company has also recently filed paperwork in the State of Delaware to form a new business unit to administer such screening and testing capabilities, XpresTest, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of XpresSpa Group. While nothing definitive has yet been finalized, XpresSpa is currently in discussions with three major airports, JFK, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, and Chicago O'Hare to pilot COVID-19 screening and testing for airline employees, contractors and workers, concessionaires and their employees, TSA agents, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. The company is also in the process of recruiting a medical director who would work alongside healthcare officials to help design safe and compliant protocols and train employees.

15:02 EDT NCR announces agreement with NYMBUS for small business loans - NCR Corp. announced an agreement with NYMBUS to assist small businesses impacted by COVID-19 with accessing Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection loans. The NYMBUS SmartLoans platform "provides end to end full service loan processing which allows every SBA approved bank in the United States to rapidly submit SBA applications on behalf of their customers without the overhead normally required," NCR said in a statement.

14:51 EDT Cooper Tire extends plant closures in Americas at least another two weeks - Cooper Tire & Rubber announced that its tire manufacturing plants in the United States and Mexico will remain closed for at least another two weeks "to protect the health and safety of employees and to respond to market demand that has been impacted by coronavirus." The company will continue to closely monitor the situation and adjust timing as necessary, it said. The temporary plant closures were announced March 21, and include facilities in Findlay, Ohio; Clarksdale and Tupelo, Mississippi; Texarkana, Arkansas and El Salto, Mexico. Cooper plants in Europe continue to be temporarily closed. Its plants in China reopened several weeks ago and have continued to ramp up production and remain in operation. The company continues to monitor supply chain and product inventory levels, and believes it has sufficient supply of product. Cooper's distribution centers in the U.S. have continued to operate and flow product to customers. "As coronavirus has continued to spread across the globe, Cooper has put in place measures to protect employees and meet the needs of all stakeholders including remote working when possible, social distancing, staggered schedules, additional cleaning and disinfecting of facilities, restricted visitor access and other necessary steps, all of which remain in effect," the company added.

13:42 EDT BJ's Wholesale to check temperatures of team members as they report to work - BJ's Wholesale Club announced additional operational changes to support the health and safety of its team members, members and communities. BJ's will continue to provide essential services and serve its communities during this time. BJ's is implementing additional processes to support its team members and prioritize their health and wellbeing during this challenging time: In the coming weeks, BJ's will begin to check the temperatures of team members as they report to work in all locations. In the coming weeks, BJ's will begin to make masks and gloves available, as supplies permit, to team members who want to wear them. BJ's will provide high-quality masks, but will not provide N95 respirators, which should be reserved for healthcare workers. BJ's previously announced that all hourly team members in its clubs, distribution centers and home office will earn an additional $2 per hour for each hour worked. The company is extending this wage increase for hourly team members in its clubs, distribution centers and home office for each hour worked through May 2, 2020. Additionally, BJ's is launching new measures to help ensure a healthy and safe shopping experience for its members and to support its communities. BJ's has implemented new operational processes to encourage social distancing in its clubs, including posting instructional signage throughout every club; dedicating team members to ensure members wait in line at an appropriate distance while checking out; and making overhead audio announcements. Starting Saturday, April 4, 2020, BJ's will limit the number of members allowed inside clubs at one time. The number of members allowed in clubs will vary by location based on the square footage of each club. No more than 20% of a club's total capacity will be allowed in the building at any given time. When possible, all members are encouraged to send only one person per household to shop in-club. This policy will help promote social distancing efforts and ensure a safer environment for members and team members.

13:20 EDT Carnival: Advanced bookings for remainder of 2020 'meaningfully lower' y/y - In a regulatory filing, Carnival said that for the seven week period beginning January 26, 2020 and ending March 15, 2020, booking volumes for the remainder of 2020 were significantly behind the prior year on a comparable basis as a result of the effects of COVID-19. As of March 15, 2020, cumulative advanced bookings for the remainder of 2020 were meaningfully lower than the prior year and at prices that are considerably lower than the prior year on a comparable basis. For the first half of 2021, booking volumes since mid-December 2019 through March 1, 2020, were running slightly higher than the prior year.

13:11 EDT Connecticut AG says in contact with Zoom to address security, privacy issues - Connecticut Attorney General William Tong encouraged all users of video conferencing technology to familiarize themselves with their platforms' privacy and security features. "Earlier this week, I attended a Zoom conference that was 'bombed' by hundreds of profane and racist comments. Needless to say, I am familiarizing myself with these platforms' privacy and security features, too. My office has been in contact with representatives from Zoom to address this and other issues relating to online security and privacy," said Attorney General Tong. "Whether on Zoom or any other digital platform, hateful and racist speech is not OK-not now, not ever. Our world is confronting an unprecedented threat, and there are trolls who seek to exploit our fear to turn us against one other. Don't let them. Together, with love, compassion and courage, we will get through this." Reference Link

13:01 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 64 to 664 rigs

12:21 EDT ViacomCBS, beIN Media complete Miramax transaction - ViacomCBS and beIN MEDIA GROUP announced the closing of the previously announced MIRAMAX transaction. ViacomCBS has acquired a 49% stake in MIRAMAX, the global film and television studio, while beIN retains a 51% stake in the company. MIRAMAX's current leadership team will continue in their existing roles. ViacomCBS acquired 49% of MIRAMAX from beIN for a total committed investment of $375M. Approximately $150M was paid at closing, while ViacomCBS has committed to invest $225M - comprised of $45M annually over the next five years - to be used for new film and television productions and working capital. In addition, Paramount Pictures entered into an exclusive, long-term distribution agreement for MIRAMAX's film library; and an exclusive, long-term first-look agreement allowing Paramount Pictures to develop, produce, finance and distribute new film and television projects based on MIRAMAX's IP. Moelis & Company served as exclusive financial advisor to beIN, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as legal counsel. Guggenheim Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to ViacomCBS, while O'Melveny & Myers served as legal counsel.

12:02 EDT Mnuchin: Over $875M processed almost all from community banks - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said via Twitter: "UPDATE #PPPloan now over $875,000,000 processed almost all from community banks! Big banks taking applications and will submitting them shortly. @SBAgov @USTreasury #CARESAct #SmallBizRelief" Publicly traded companies in the space include Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Reference Link

12:00 EDT Carrier Global rises 12.6% - Carrier Global is up 12.6%, or $1.67 to $14.95.

12:00 EDT Enel Americas rises 14.9% - Enel Americas is up 14.9%, or 86c to $6.65.

11:11 EDT Uber Eats to provide in-app donate button for local restaurants - Uber Eats said that users in New York will be able to contribute to their favorite local restaurants directly from the app at checkout. Uber will then match every contribution with a donation to the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund for a total commitment of up to $5M for the group's important work. Among other things, the Relief Fund is providing $500 grants to eligible restaurant workers-including couriers working on delivery apps like Uber Eats-who have been hurt financially by the current crisis. "The restaurant industry is being decimated by this virus, and it's going to take people helping people to get through it," says Paul Barker, owner of Pauli's North End in Boston, MA, an Uber Eats partner. "As business owners, my wife and I are focused on helping our staff put food on their tables. Efforts like Uber Eats' and Guy Fieri's with the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund are rising to the occasion-helping people to help the people in their communities when they need it most." Following a trial period in New York City, the company hopes to expand this feature across the United States next week, and into other countries soon after. Reference Link

10:39 EDT Culp implements cost cutting measures including furloughs, buyback suspension - Culp announced a series of proactive measures the company has taken to preserve balance sheet strength and reduce costs in response to increasingly challenging market conditions and the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic. These steps include: Completing a strategic sale of Culp's majority interest in eLuxury to the minority owner of eLuxury in order to increase liquidity and focus on its core businesses during this unprecedented environment; Entering an amendment to the company's existing domestic revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo to increase the borrowing limit, decrease the minimum liquidity level, and extend the expiration date to August 15, 2022; Adding to the company's cash balance by drawing down $20M under this domestic revolving credit facility as a precautionary measure to proactively increase balance sheet flexibility during the coronavirus crisis; Implementing a temporary salary reduction of 50% for the company's executive chairman and CEO, as well as other salary reductions for all other executive officers. Additionally, the board will forego the cash portion of its compensation until further notice; Furloughing associates as necessary to align with demand and making other workforce adjustments and temporary salary reductions at each of the company's divisions. While the company will not pay wages to furloughed associates, it will continue to provide certain healthcare-related benefits for those eligible; Suspending merit pay increases until further notice; Suspending the company's share repurchase program indefinitely; and Aggressively reducing expenses, capital expenditures, and discretionary spending, and working with the company's vendors and landlords to negotiate temporary terms.

10:17 EDT Lockheed Martin adds close to 1,000 employees, has 5,000 open positions - The company said, "Lockheed Martin is announcing a number of additional steps we are taking to continue supporting our employees, vulnerable companies in our supply chain and those on the front lines of the medical crisis impacting our local communities and the nation. In addition to continuing to support our key government customers, we recognize that providing jobs during this period of economic downturn is also critically important. We are committed to continue hiring during this crisis and have added close to 1,000 new employees over the past two weeks in addition to advertising for 5,000 open positions. Recognizing that our workforce is our most valuable asset in supporting our national security mission, we are extending awards of up to $500 to our employees who are regularly required to work at, or travel to, a designated Lockheed Martin facility or customer site during this crisis. To continue supporting the small businesses and supply chain that power our U.S. defense industrial base, we are increasing our previous commitment of $53 million in accelerated payments by another $53 million, totaling more than $106 million for this purpose. To support our first responders and health care workers on the front lines of this crisis, we are committing to donate $2 million in urgently needed personal protective equipment items. In addition, we have donated personal protective equipment for urgent need at local hospitals and have also initiated limited PPE and medical device production. We are also providing engineering support for select initiatives to accelerate production of PPE equipment. As we all deal with the challenges of the health crisis, we will continue to perform and deliver critical products and capabilities for the United States and our allies, support job creation and help those in need wherever we operate."

10:03 EDT FedEx says CEO taking 91% cut in base salary for six months - In a regulatory filing earlier, FedEx said the independent members of the board of directors of the company, based upon the recommendation of its Compensation Committee and at the request of Frederick Smith, the company's Chairman of the Board and CEO, approved a 91% reduction in Smith's base salary for the six-month period from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020. As a result, Smith's base salary has been reduced from $115,402 per month to $10,728 per month for this six-month period, which will result in net pay of $1 per pay period after tax withholding and other deductions.

10:01 EDT FedEx taking further actions to manage cash flow and improve liquidity - FedEx said in a regulatory filing: "We are taking further actions to manage our cash flow and improve our liquidity, including review and consideration of opportunities and strategies for capital expenditure reductions and deferrals, operating expense reductions, and consideration of alternative financing sources in addition to our credit facilities and access to public markets. We have implemented temporary surcharges on all international package and airfreight shipments and temporarily eliminated our money-back guarantee for all Federal Express Corporation ("FedEx Express"), FedEx Ground, and FedEx Freight Corporation services as well as FedEx Office and Print Services, Inc. same-day services. We also expect to benefit from certain of the relief provisions of recently enacted and future government programs intended to provide economic relief to U.S. and global businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including relief from certain excise taxes and payroll tax deferrals in the United States. In addition, we are eligible to participate in certain government grant, loan, loan guarantee and investment programs. Participation in any government grant, loan, loan guarantee or investment programs may subject us to additional regulations and/or restrictions, including dividend, compensation and stock repurchase restrictions and potentially require us to grant equity interests in FedEx to a government agency."

10:00 EDT Western Midstream rises 12.1% - Western Midstream is up 12.1%, or 37c to $3.44.

10:00 EDT Franklin Covey rises 15.3% - Franklin Covey is up 15.3%, or $2.35 to $17.72.

09:59 EDT FedEx suspends forecasts for all operating segment results - In a regulatory filing earlier, FedEx said: "The COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to contain it have negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted manufacturing operations and global supply chains and created significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased economic and demand uncertainty, potentially causing a global recession. As we focus on managing our business and operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of our employees, our customers and the communities in which we operate is our top priority. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting significantly weaker global economic conditions have negatively impacted our results of operations and are expected to continue to impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity. Globally, business-to-business demand across all of our transportation businesses has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, while demand for FedEx Ground Package System residential delivery services has increased due to sharp increases in e-commerce volume resulting from shelter-in-place and other responsive measures, the shift in mix is expected to negatively impact margins and operating results. Due to the significant uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related deterioration in global economic conditions, we have suspended forecasts for our results of operations, including forecasts for all of our operating segment results."

09:50 EDT Athersys comments on 'highly misleading' article authored by hedge fund - Athersys said in a statement that an author under the pseudonym, Alpha Exposure, published Thursday in Seeking Alpha a "highly misleading article about Athersys, its programs, its partner Healios, and its opportunities. The article contains multiple inaccuracies and falsehoods and selective and misleading use of information. The company directs its shareholders to its previous disclosures and Healios' recent disclosures for a comprehensive view of the company, its results and opportunities.The company notes that the author is affiliated with a hedge fund known to pursue aggressive short selling efforts and alleged 'short and distort' campaigns, in which the fund benefits from steep declines in stock price. Athersys intends to take appropriate actions to address this destructive and self-interested conduct, including notification of the SEC and other authorities." Reference Link

09:47 EDT Macquarie Infrastructure falls -14.5% - Macquarie Infrastructure is down -14.5%, or -$3.48 to $20.53.

09:47 EDT Benton Oil & Gas Company rises 12.4% - Benton Oil & Gas Company is up 12.4%, or $1.12 to $10.19.

09:47 EDT Apache rises 13.5% - Apache is up 13.5%, or 63c to $5.32.

09:44 EDT Jumia Technologies announces actions to support fight against COVID-19 - Jumia has announced a number of actions to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic: "We have implemented in our daily operations and delivery services increased hygiene & sanitary standards to ensure the safest experience for our team, partners and consumers. These include, but are not limited to, checking employees' body temperatures, sanitizing facilities and surfaces, using masks and gloves while handling and delivering orders. All our warehouses and delivery partners have been trained on the best practices on personal hygiene and social distancing as per WHO guidelines. We have rolled out social distancing and contactless experience. By enabling customers to buy online and offering contactless delivery options, we help eliminate physical contact and potentially reduce person to person infection. To drive the initiative, the 'contactless safe delivery' option has been implemented on JumiaPay, our digital payment platform. Jumia has waived the commission on specific sanitary products to help consumers access them at the lowest price. We have maintained our safe deliveries to consumers everywhere, including remote and rural areas, with Jumia's integrated logistics network. We are sending a donation of half a million of CE certified face masks to Health Ministries in many countries, including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco others for use by health workers, leveraging the company's global logistics network from China. We have established a solidarity fund for the frontline staff carrying out essential duties every day in our warehouses and delivery hubs during the crisis. The donations are made up of voluntary and confidential contributions from our employees. We have established a solidarity fund for the frontline staff carrying out essential duties every day in our warehouses and delivery hubs during the crisis. The donations are made up of voluntary and confidential contributions from our employees."

09:35 EDT Macquarie Infrastructure trading resumes

09:31 EDT Discovery Communications trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:22 EDT 3M CEO says turn overnight 'disheartening,' received mostly praise before - Mike Roman is speaking on CNBC.

09:20 EDT 3M CEO says 'all in' on working with resellers over price gouging - Mike Roman is speaking on CNBC.

09:18 EDT Sonoco changes annual meeting location - The Board of Directors of Sonoco announced it is changing the location for the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for Wednesday, April 15, 2020, at 11 a.m. ET, from Center Theater, 212 North Fifth Street, Hartsville, S.C., to Sonoco's Corporate Headquarters at 1 North Second Street, Hartsville. This change is being implemented due to a recent Emergency Order by the Governor of South Carolina to close all non-essential businesses, which included the Center Theater.

09:17 EDT 3M CEO says respirator production has been increased by millions - Mike Roman is speaking on CNBC.

09:16 EDT RLJ Lodging Trust announces measures to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic impact - RLJ Lodging Trust announced that, in addition to the efforts underway to protect the health and safety of guests and employees, the company is taking aggressive steps to mitigate the ongoing operational and financial impacts on its hotels from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, along with its operators, has temporarily suspended operations at over 50% of its hotels and will continue to evaluate the suspension of operations at its remaining hotels over the next several weeks. The decision to suspend operations was made in response to the elimination of hotel demand, resulting from COVID-19 and the related government and health official mandates in many markets. The company's asset managers are working closely with its hotel management partners to materially reduce operating expenses and preserve liquidity by putting stringent operational cost containment measures in place. These measures include significantly reduced staffing, elimination of non-essential amenities & services and the closure of several floors and all food & beverage outlets at properties that remain open. The company expects to reduce its 2020 capital expenditure program by over 80% by deferring all capital investments, other than completing projects that are substantially underway and are nearing completion. Near-term, the company will take appropriate steps to protect and preserve its properties and re-evaluate its 2020 capital plan at a time when there is improved economic clarity. The company reviewed all 2020 ROI initiatives and is suspending 90% of these projects. At the corporate level, the company is also taking aggressive actions to increase liquidity and preserve cash. The company's board recently authorized the reduction in the first quarter common cash dividend to 1c per common share. The company's board will continue to monitor the company's financial performance and economic outlook to assess when it is appropriate to resume a regular quarterly common dividend, at a level determined to be prudent based on the economic outlook, or declare and pay any dividend required to be made for 2020 at the end of the year. Out of an abundance of caution the company took the proactive step to further enhance its liquidity position by drawing $400M under its $600M corporate line of credit, adding to its existing cash balance of approximately $800M. By preemptively drawing this capital, the company has ensured that it maintains significant liquidity to meet its obligations over an extended period of time. The company has no scheduled debt maturities until 2022. The company, in conjunction with its third party management partners will continue to evaluate additional measures that may be necessary to address the effects of the ongoing disruption in the broader economy and the lodging industry from COVID-19.

09:15 EDT 3M CEO says 'absurd' to think company not doing all it can - Mike Roman is speaking on CNBC.

09:09 EDT CubeSmart launches contactless storage rental process nationally - CubeSmart introduced the ability for customers to rent a storage cube electronically without the need for direct contact with others at CubeSmart locations nationwide. Now, customers can rent and gain access to their storage cube by completing a few simple steps over the phone and online.

09:07 EDT Maximus announces Michelle Link as CHRO - Maximus announced that Michelle Link joined the company as CHRO, effective immediately. Link is a human resources executive with more than 25 years of experience in national and international organizations across healthcare, call center and government contracts. Before joining Maximus, Link was the executive VP of human resources at ADS, Inc.

09:07 EDT Century Casinos approved for sports betting licenses in Colorado - Century Casinos announced that its Colorado subsidiaries received approval for three Sports Betting Master Licenses. The licenses were awarded during a special meeting of the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission held on April 2. In addition, the commission awarded Circa Sports Colorado LLC, the company's partner for one of its Master Licenses, with a temporary Internet Sports Betting Operator License. The Commission is moving forward with licensing and will meet the May 1, legislative launch date deadline. Due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sports betting industry, the company is uncertain of the timeline that the Circa Sports mobile sports betting app will launch. The company has two more Master Licenses available in Colorado and is in active negotiations with several potential sports betting partners.

09:05 EDT Winnebago producing medical masks, face shield parts - The company said, "As the health crisis has evolved, Winnebago Industries has focused its efforts on determining how it can best use the Company's resources to provide support in overall relief efforts, especially in its local communities. To date, Winnebago Industries is producing medical masks and face shield parts and donating vital PPE materials. Furthermore, The Winnebago Industries Foundation provided timely funding to support COVID-19 response and recovery across its communities in Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Florida and Oregon, to address immediate needs such as hunger and childcare for healthcare workers and to plan for longer term impacts. The Company remains engaged with community stakeholders and supports employee-initiated volunteer efforts."

09:05 EDT Herman Miller takes actions to reduce costs, preserve liquidity - Herman Miller announced a set of actions throughout its global operations in response to the uncertain economic outlook resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Herman Miller is implementing a range of actions aimed at temporarily reducing costs and preserving liquidity. These actions include a 10% reduction in cash compensation for the majority of the company's salaried workforce. Additionally, the company is immediately suspending certain employer-paid retirement contributions and will suspend previously planned compensation increases and cash incentive bonus programs for the upcoming fiscal year ending May 2021. The company will continue to evaluate further ways to manage costs in line with reduced revenue levels. In addition to the 10% reduction in pay, Herman Miller's CEO and its executive leadership team will defer additional levels of salary for a minimum of six months to further preserve cash flow in the near-term. This will include an incremental salary deferral of 50% for the CEO, and 15% for the rest of the leadership team. The company is also announcing the postponement of its upcoming quarterly cash dividend, which was declared on January 16, 2020, and was to be paid on April 15, 2020, to shareholders of record on February 29, 2020. Herman Miller intends for this dividend to be paid to the original shareholders of record at a future date to be determined by the Board of Directors. Herman Miller also announced a temporary suspension of future dividends. Despite these actions to manage business operations in the near-term, one week after shutting down manufacturing in the wake of Governor Whitmer's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" executive order for the state of Michigan, Herman Miller welcomed back approximately 30% of its manufacturing workforce across its West Michigan facilities to help support customers who are actively engaged in the COVID-19 response, including the health care industry as well as federal, state, and local governments. This work is coupled with using the company's design, development, and manufacturing capabilities to help in communities around the globe. Efforts include providing frontline health care workers with necessary face masks and shields, and partnering with local companies to divert operational capabilities to support the demand for temporary health care facilities. Donations and delivery of supplies are being managed by Herman Miller Cares, the company's private foundation and global giving program.

09:04 EDT Winnebago says operating from a 'strong liquidity and financial position' - The company said, "Winnebago Industries is operating from a strong liquidity and financial position, with $123 million of cash available on its balance sheet at the end of the Company's second quarter Fiscal 2020. The Company also has access to a $193 million ABL credit facility. Additionally, the Company has no significant debt maturities until November of 2023, and as of our most recent quarter end the company was well within our term loan covenant which requires a leverage ratio under 3.25."

09:03 EDT Principal Financial appoints Kathleen Kay as Chief Information Officer - Principal Financial Group (PFG) announced Kathleen Kay, former Chief Information Officer for Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG), will join Principal as its new Chief Information Officer on May 1. She succeeds Gary Scholten, Chief Information Officer and chief digital officer, who previously announced his retirement effective June 2.

09:02 EDT Standard General raises stake in Tegna by more than 20% - Standard General announced that it has increased its stake in TEGNA by more than 20%, reaching an ownership interest of nearly 12%, and that it believes it is now the company's single largest shareholder. "We are fully committed to TEGNA, and we are not going anywhere," said Soo Kim, Founding Partner of Standard General L.P., adding: "This increase in our position underscores our conviction that the Company's intrinsic value is much higher than its market price, but also our belief that TEGNA will not achieve its full potential without an upgraded Board. Our exceptional nominees have the needed experience and expertise to implement changes to TEGNA's business, operations, capital allocation and strategy to transform the Company into the best-in-class operator it should be." Kim continued: "Our additional investment boosts our economic and financial exposure to the Company's equity and signals our steadfast commitment to driving change at TEGNA for the benefit of all shareholders. Recently, TEGNA has attempted to mislead shareholders and has falsely implied that by reducing the number of physical shares we own, that we reduced our economic interest in the company. In fact, Standard General has actually recently INCREASED its investment by more than 20%."

09:01 EDT United Technologies, Raytheon complete merger of equals - Raytheon Technologies (RTX) announced the successful completion of the all-stock merger of equals transaction between Raytheon (RTN) and United Technologies (UTX) on April 3, following the completion by United Technologies of its previously announced spin-offs of its Carrier and Otis businesses. Raytheon Company (RTN) shares ceased trading prior to the market open on April 3, and each share of Raytheon common stock has been converted in the merger into the right to receive 2.3348 shares of United Technologies common stock. Upon closing of the merger, United Technologies' name has changed to "Raytheon Technologies Corporation," and its shares of common stock will begin trading April 3 on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "RTX." United Technologies shareowners will continue to hold their shares of United Technologies common stock, which now constitute shares of common stock of Raytheon Technologies Corporation.

08:52 EDT Paysign receives notification of deficiency from Nasdaq - Paysign announced that it received a standard notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market stating that, as a result of not having timely filed the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, the company is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of periodic financial reports with the SEC. The notice from Nasdaq has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the company's common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Under Nasdaq's listing rules, the company has 60 calendar days from the date of the notice, or until June 1, to submit a plan to regain compliance. The company has now filed its Form 10-K and expects that Nasdaq will accept this filing as curing the company's deficiency.

08:49 EDT 3M issues response to 3M Defense Production Act order - 3M issued the following statement in response to the announcements issued by the White House last evening: "Over the last several weeks and months, 3M and its employees have gone above and beyond to manufacture as many N95 respirators as possible for the U.S. market. Yesterday, the Administration formally invoked the Defense Production Act, or DPA, to require 3M to prioritize orders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, for our N95 respirators. We have been working closely with the Administration to do exactly that, and we appreciate the authorities in the DPA that provide a framework for us to expand even further the work we are doing in response to the global pandemic crisis. We look forward to working with FEMA to implement yesterday's order. In the course of our collaboration with the Administration this past weekend, the Administration requested that 3M increase the amount of respirators we currently import from our overseas operations into the U.S. We appreciate the assistance of the Administration to do exactly that. For example, earlier this week, we secured approval from China to export to the U.S. 10 million N95 respirators manufactured by 3M in China. The Administration also requested that 3M cease exporting respirators that we currently manufacture in the United States to the Canadian and Latin American markets. There are, however, significant humanitarian implications of ceasing respirator supplies to healthcare workers in Canada and Latin America, where we are a critical supplier of respirators. In addition, ceasing all export of respirators produced in the United States would likely cause other countries to retaliate and do the same, as some have already done. If that were to occur, the net number of respirators being made available to the United States would actually decrease. That is the opposite of what we and the Administration, on behalf of the American people, both seek."

08:39 EDT Kaleido Biosciences appoints Anne Prener to board of directors - Kaleido Biosciences announced the appointment of Anne Prener, M.D., Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. Prener has more than 25 years of leadership experience within life sciences companies, and recently served as CEO of Freeline Ltd.

08:37 EDT PNC Financial to hold 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders as virtual event - The PNC Financial Services Group announced that it will hold its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders solely over the web in a virtual-only format due to the public health impact of the coronavirus. Shareholders will not be able to attend the annual meeting in person at a physical location. The previously announced date and time of the annual meeting remain unchanged. However, previously announced dial-in and replay telephone numbers are no longer in effect. Meeting Date: Tuesday, April 28. Meeting Time: 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). Meeting Access: www.meetingcenter.io/247992536.

08:35 EDT Neurocrine temporarily pausing enrollment in Phase III study of valbenazine - The company said, "We are committed to advancing ongoing clinical studies and working toward key strategic milestones. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are: Temporarily pausing enrollment of new patients in the Phase III study of valbenazine for chorea in Huntington disease, the RESTORE-1 registrational study for NBIb-1817 in Parkinson's disease patients and the Phase IIa pediatric study of crinecerfont in CAH. Diligently working with our clinical site investigators to ensure the safety of all participants already enrolled in our clinical programs.We are continuing preparations to ensure that we are well positioned to launch clinical studies planned for the second half of this year which include: Crinecerfont global registrational study in adult CAH patients; NBIb-1817 RESTORE-2 registrational study in Parkinson's disease; NBI-921352 Phase II study in SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, a rare pediatric epilepsy; ACT-709478 Phase II study in a rare pediatric epilepsy (pending our decision to exercise an option to license this asset from Idorsia).We plan to have on-going studies in three registrational programs and five mid-stage programs by the end of 2020. We will provide additional updates should any of our clinical trial timelines change."

08:35 EDT Manhattan Associates reduces salaries of executives, suspends share repurchases - CEO Edie Capel continued, "Effective April 1, 2020, we are reducing the salaries of the chief executive officer and the board of directors by 25%, the chief financial officer by 15%, and other named executive officers by 10%. Further, we are aggressively reducing operating expenses globally. Importantly, these expense reductions will not materially impact our ability to support our customers or make key investments in research and development to further extend our competitive positioning. Finally, we are suspending the company's share repurchase program. The uncertainty that COVID-19 is currently causing has been extraordinary. One thing that is certain, however, is that supply chains have never been more visible and mission-critical, and we believe that we will emerge from this period better positioned and stronger than ever."

08:32 EDT Neurocrine says does not expect any disruption in ability to supply INGREZZA - The company said, "At Neurocrine Biosciences, we are working to ensure that patients with tardive dyskinesia are well supported during this time and have uninterrupted access to INGREZZA. Our network of specialty and mental health pharmacies remains engaged with patients to fill prescriptions and support their overall health and well-being during these challenging times. We do not expect any disruption in our ability to supply patients with INGREZZA. In addition to having ample inventory, we have redundant manufacturing capabilities in place to further mitigate risk of INGREZZA supply disruption."

08:21 EDT Novan says FDA will consider one additional pivotal trial for SB206 - Novan announced that the Company has conducted its Type C meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding SB206 for the treatment of molluscum. The purpose of the meeting was to seek FDA feedback on the proposal to conduct one additional, well-controlled confirmatory study of SB206 to support a future New Drug Application. Based on guidance received during the meeting, the Company understands the FDA will consider one additional pivotal trial, if successful, to be supported by the previously completed B-SIMPLE2 trial. In addition, the FDA provided guidance with regard to both the study design for B-SIMPLE4 and expectations for a future NDA submission. FDA-generated minutes, expected on or before May 1, 2020, will serve as the meeting's official record. Novan's Japanese development and commercialization partner, Sato Pharmaceutical Co., has also informed the Company of Sato's intention to progress the SB206 development program in Japan with a Phase 1 clinical trial given the observed treatment benefit and favorable safety profile in the B-SIMPLE program.

08:18 EDT Acreage Holdings terminates merger agreement with Deep Roots Medical - The merger agreement entered into with Deep Roots Medical, LLC, as described in the Company's April 18, 2019 press release, was terminated due to the ongoing moratorium imposed by the Nevada Department of Taxation. The delay prevented the parties from obtaining the consents, approvals and authorizations necessary to consummate the merger prior to the outside date provided in the merger agreement.

08:15 EDT Nelnet says it wont be offered Department of Education EPS contract - Nelnet announced that the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid has notified the company that the company's proposal in response to the enhanced processing solution, or EPS, component of the department's NextGen contract procurement process has been determined to be outside of the competitive range and will receive no further consideration for an award. EPS is the technology system and certain processing functions the Department plans to use under NextGen to service the department's 43M student loan customers. Nelnet has requested a debriefing by the Department and the company intends to file a protest challenging the decision. The department's NextGen contract procurement process is comprised of solicitations, including EPS and business process operations, or BPO, which will make up a new framework for the servicing of all of the student loans owned by the Department. BPO is the back office and call center operational functions for servicing the department's student loan customers. The company also responded to the BPO component, for which the department has not yet made an award, and the company cannot predict the timing, nature, or outcome of the BPO component. Nelnet Servicing and Great Lakes Educational Loan Services were awarded student loan servicing contracts by the department in June 2009 to provide servicing for loans owned by the Department. As of December 31, 2019, Nelnet Servicing was servicing $183.8B of student loans for 5.6M borrowers under its contract, and Great Lakes was servicing $240B of student loans for 7.4M borrowers under its contract. These servicing contracts expire on December 14 with two potential six-month extensions at the department's discretion through December 14, 2021. If the department's decision stands, Nelnet Servicing and Great Lakes will eventually be required to migrate these portfolios onto another provider's system after an award is made and the company would ultimately need to restructure the company's loan servicing segment for long-term success. If the company is awarded a BPO contract for operational services, it would mitigate the impact of not being awarded the EPS component.

08:13 EDT BIO-key appoints Manny Alia to board of directors - BIO-key announced that Manny Alia, President, Exponential Launch Partners Limited; CEO, Technology Transfer Institute of Africa; and former Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase has joined the Board of Directors, with a particular focus on supporting BIO-key's African subsidiary. In March BIO-key secured two contracts to provide its biometric solutions to customers in Nigeria, with anticipated revenue totaling $75M.

08:11 EDT First United Corp shareholders receive letter from Driver Management - Driver Management, the manager of an investment partnership that holds more than 5% of the outstanding shares of First United Corp, issued a letter to shareholders. Driver has nominated three independent candidates, Michael Driscoll, Ethan Elzen and Lisa Narrell-Mead, for election to First United's eleven-member board at the company's 2020 annual meeting of shareholders. The letter said, "We believe it is critical to set the record straight following First United's recent effort to blatantly mislead you and mischaracterize key information about what we believe will be the most important Annual Meeting in the Company's history. As we first disclosed in our preliminary proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 26, 2020 (the "Proxy Statement"), Driver was notified in January 2020 that the Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation (the "Maryland Commissioner") had initiated an investigation into whether Driver should have filed a notice with the state regulator in advance of our fund's purchase of First United common stock. As we also disclosed in the Proxy Statement, in February 2020, we submitted to the Maryland Commissioner a detailed explanation of why we believe that its investigation is not warranted by either fact or law, as the notice requirement was not triggered. A copy of our submission is available on our campaign website (www.RenovateMyBank.com). We encourage you to review the facts and legal analysis we presented to determine for yourselves whether the investigation into whether notice requirements were triggered by our 2019 share purchases has any merit. We believe it requires no great logical leap to deduce that First United requested this probe in an effort to hurt Driver and hinder our campaign for sorely-needed and long overdue boardroom change. First United's stubborn commitment to a standalone strategy at the expense of shareholder value, its apparent knowledge of the non-public investigation, and Carissa Rodeheaver's extensive connections with regulators from her long association with the Maryland Bankers Association lead us to conclude that the Company's leadership or its advisers persuaded the Maryland Commissioner to initiate an investigation based on an obscure, vague, and rarely-used statute. We suspect that First United hoped the mere fact of the investigation would misleadingly cast Driver in a negative light, intimidate Driver's independent nominees, prevent Driver from voting its shares at the upcoming Annual Meeting and, most importantly, deprive shareholders of a choice in the election of directors. Our belief that First United was the instigator of the Maryland Commissioner's investigation has only been strengthened by the many misleading statements regarding regulatory matters made by First United since we terminated settlement discussions, a fact misrepresented in a press release issued by the Company. That same release also obfuscated the fact that First United was only offering to appoint one of Driver's independent nominees to the eleven-member Board. We were further convinced after seeing the emphasis that the Company's proxy statement placed on this notice statute that appears to have gone unused by the Maryland Commissioner in decades, while the proxy is otherwise surprisingly sparse in offering any reasons to vote for the Company's incumbent director candidates. Quite frankly, we see First United's actions as a brazen attempt to interfere with shareholders' fundamental right to elect directors of their own choosing. We believe that enlisting the intervention of an apparently friendly regulator is an act of desperation. First United has demonstrated that it has nothing to offer shareholders and that it fears the outcome of a fair election. Rather than trying to subvert shareholder democracy, First United should instead focus on the subject of this proxy contest-the merits of its own director nominees and, by extension, First United's current strategy and prospects for increasing shareholder value. We understand that the Maryland Commissioner has a job to do-to ensure the safety and soundness of Maryland's banks-and our interests are aligned regarding First United. The unfortunate fact is that actions implemented by members of First United's current management, including Carissa Rodeheaver, and endorsed by many current members of First United's current Board, including, Kathryn Burkey, Robert Kurtz, John McCullough, Elaine McDonald, Gary Ruddell, Robert Rudy and Andrew Walls (the "Legacy Directors"), resulted in significant losses during the financial crisis, when regulators, including the Maryland Commissioner, had to step in to cause First United to conserve capital that First United put at risk. We are concerned that the same blithe disregard for the potential dangers lurking in First United's balance sheet and business model, as well as in the larger economy, that was demonstrated by First United prior to the financial crisis, remains evident today, making the need for change even more urgent. Carissa Rodeheaver and the Legacy Directors have a clear history of destroying shareholder value during the financial crisis. It is time to add new perspective and fresh thinking that is untainted by the Board's groupthink to make sure the mistakes of the past are not repeated."

08:10 EDT UroGen Pharma says UGN-102 Phase 2 interim data shots CR rate of 65% at 3 months - UroGen Pharma announced positive interim data analysis of UGN-102 (mitomycin) for intravesical solution in patients with low-grade intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (LG IR-NMIBC). These data were featured in a late-breaking abstract published in the April Supplement to The Journal of Urology. The Phase 2b OPTIMA II trial demonstrated a complete response (CR) rate at three months following onset of treatment of 65% (41/63 patients). In this subset of patients, 31/32 patients (97%) and 17/20 patients (85%) remained free of disease at six and nine months follow-up, respectively. "The responses we have seen demonstrate that non-surgical primary chemoablation of low-grade intermediate risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer using UGN-102 results in a considerable treatment response with encouraging durability," said Dr. Mark Schoenberg, Chief Medical Officer at UroGen. "There are approximately 80,000 treatable patients annually in the US, but this remains a very challenging disease with high rates of recurrence associated with currently available therapies and a need for lifelong active surveillance and repetitive surgical intervention." The most commonly reported adverse events seen to date were reported as mild to moderate and include dysuria, hematuria, urinary frequency, fatigue, urgency and urinary tract infection.

08:08 EDT Aytu BioScience announces first commercial shipment of 2-10 minute COVID-19 test - Aytu BioScience announced that it began shipping its Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) IgG/IgM Rapid Test to U.S. customers. Upon receipt of the initial 100,000 tests, the company completed product relabeling to ensure compliance with FDA guidance on COVID-19 serology test kits. The company has received orders for the COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test from a broad range of healthcare customers including large medical centers, municipalities, first responders, medical practices, and other healthcare customers. The Company expects to have all customer backorders filled in the coming days. The company's first 2,750 COVID-19 Rapid Tests have been purchased by the Denver Police Department for use in screening Denver's first responders. The test kits were delivered to Denver Chief of Police Paul Pazen and members of his leadership team at Aytu BioScience's corporate headquarters on April 2.

08:07 EDT Halozyme to hold Annual Stockholders' Meeting as virtual event - Halozyme announced that due to the emerging public health impact of the coronavirus outbreak, to support the health and well-being of its employees and stockholders, and to comply with the State of California's stay at home order, its Board of Directors has approved a change in the location of its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to a virtual-only shareholder meeting instead of an in-person meeting. As previously announced, the Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 30, at 8:00 a.m. local time. Stockholders will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting physically in person.

08:06 EDT resTORbio announces delay to ongoing Phase 1b/2a trial of RTB101 - resTORbio announced that it will postpone enrollment in the fifth cohort of its ongoing Phase 1b/2a trial of RTB101, an orally administered, small molecule product candidate that is a potent inhibitor of target of rapamycin complex 1 alone or in combination with sirolimus, in Parkinson's disease. The trial is being conducted at clinical sites in New Zealand and the enrollment delay is a consequence of the COVID-19 level 4 alert in New Zealand, where all non-essential services have been closed and people have been instructed to stay home. The multicenter, 2:1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1b/2a trial is evaluating the safety and tolerability of RTB101 alone or in combination with escalating doses of sirolimus once weekly for 4 weeks in patients with Parkinson's disease. To date, patients have been enrolled in four cohorts and dosed once weekly with 300 mg of RTB101 alone, 2 mg of sirolimus alone, a combination of 300 mg RTB101 and 2 mg of sirolimus, or a combination of 300 mg RTB101 and 4 mg of sirolimus. Results of the interim study analysis after the first 3 cohorts indicated that all 3 dosing regimens were well tolerated and RTB101 300 mg once weekly was observed to cross the blood brain barrier. The concentrations of RTB101 in cerebrospinal fluid in subjects dosed with RTB101 300 mg once weekly monotherapy were higher than expected and based on preclinical models, have the potential to induce autophagy in the brain. Sirolimus at the dose of 2 mg, alone or in combination with RTB101, was not detected in the CSF. Data from the first three cohorts in the study suggest that the concentrations of RTB101 observed in the CSF four hours after dosing were highest when RTB101 was given as a monotherapy. Enrollment and dosing of the RTB101 300 mg in combination with sirolimus 4 mg once weekly cohort has been completed.

08:06 EDT VIVUS, VitalTech partner to accelerate launch of telehealth - VitalTech announced its partnership with VIVUS. Leveraging VitalTech's industry-leading virtual care platform and comprehensive medical device product line, VIVUS plans to rapidly accelerate the launch of its telemedicine, virtual care and remote patient monitoring capabilities. With the addition of VitalTech's virtual care and remote patient monitoring technologies, VIVUS will rapidly accelerate its ability to conduct virtual office visits and monitor patients remotely. The telemedicine and remote monitoring modules are designed to allow the patient-physician interaction to take place virtually through the new VIVUS Health Platform, powered by VitalTech.

08:03 EDT Lear postpones Investor Day amid COVID-19 concerns - Lear announced that it will postpone its Investor Day, previously scheduled for June 9th in Southfield, Michigan, due to ongoing health and safety considerations and travel restrictions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The company will announce a new date for the event as soon as practicable.

08:02 EDT China Xiangtai Food to acquire controlling interest in JMC - China Xiangtai Food Co. announced that the company, through its subsidiary Chongqing Jinghuangtai Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd., entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 51% controlling interest in Chongqing Ji Mao Cang Feed Co., Ltd. JMC is a private enterprise specializing in feed raw material sales and providing feed formula solutions, and the acquisition is expected to help the company expand its market in Southwest China. As previously announced, the company entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to acquire 51% controlling interest in JMC, one of the leading feed suppliers in southwest China. JMC has more than 200 customers in the farm industry and nearly 100 customers in the feed production industry. In 2019, JMC sold more than 200,000 tons of soybean meal, exceeding $70M in sales. With the company's revenue of $102,545,152 in its last fiscal year, PLIN expects this acquisition to increase its gross revenue by 70% on an annual basis. Pursuant to the Agreement, subject to certain milestones to be achieved by JMC, the company agreed to issue to JMC a total of 2M shares of the company's ordinary share for consideration equal to $7,420,000 over the next two years.

07:54 EDT MPLX reschedules Q1 earnings conference call to May 5 - MPLX has rescheduled its 2020 first-quarter earnings conference call to Tuesday, May 5, at 11 a.m. EDT. During the conference call, company executives will discuss 2020 first-quarter financial results, which will be released earlier that day, and provide an update on company operations.

07:53 EDT Marathon Petroleum reschedules Q1 earnings conference call to May 5 - Marathon Petroleum has rescheduled its 2020 first-quarter earnings conference call to Tuesday, May 5, at 9:30 a.m. EDT. During the conference call, company executives will discuss 2020 first-quarter financial results, which will be released earlier that day, and provide an update on company operations.

07:50 EDT Constellation Brands says Q4 comparable loss for Canopy Growth totaled $41.5M - Canopy Growth equity earnings and related activities for the fourth quarter fiscal 2020 totaled a loss of $31.7M on a reported basis and $41.5M on a comparable basis, and fiscal 2020 totaled a loss of $575.9M on a reported basis and $221.7M on a comparable basis. Constellation has recognized a $309Munrealized net gain in reported basis results since the initial Canopy investment in November 2017; $75M and $(2.1) billion increase (decrease) in the fair value of Canopy investments was recognized for fourth quarter fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2020, respectively.

07:47 EDT Constellation Brands expects Gallo transaction to close around end of Q1 - For target purposes, the revised Wine and Spirits transaction to sell a portion of the business to E. & J. Gallo Winery is now assumed to close around the end of Q1 fiscal 2021 and the separate, but related, agreement to divest the Nobilo Wine brand to Gallo is assumed to close by the end of Q2 fiscal 2021.

07:41 EDT Constellation Brands expects approx. $850M cash upon close of Gallo deal - CFO Garth Hankinson said, "Our strong performance drove record cash flow results which we used to reduce debt to our targeted leverage range while returning value to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. In this time of uncertainty, we believe we have ample liquidity and financial flexibility and remain committed to our investment grade rating. We have significant capacity under our $2B revolving credit facility and we plan to carefully manage our debt position over the next 24 months. In addition, we are expecting approximately $850M in cash upon the close of the Gallo transaction and we remain focused on prudently navigating the challenging operating environment presented by COVID-19."

07:35 EDT Huya announces Tencent's exercise of its option to acquire shares - Huya (HUYA) announced that Linen Investment Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent Holdings Limited (TCEHY), has provided a written notice to Huya and JOYY (YY), and exercised its option to acquire 16,523,819 Class B ordinary shares of Huya for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $262.6M in cash from JOYY. The purchase price was determined based on the average closing prices of Huya's American depositary shares in the last 20 trading days prior to the receipt of Tencent's written exercise notice by Huya and JOYY in accordance with Huya's second amended and restated shareholders agreement dated March 8, 2018. As a result of the closing of the Transaction, Tencent became the largest shareholder of Huya, increasing its voting power in Huya to 50.1% on a fully-diluted basis, or 50.9% calculated based on the total issued and outstanding shares of Huya, and will consolidate financial statements of Huya. Huya continues to operate independently and remains headquartered in Guangzhou, and its existing management team continues to be responsible for all aspects of business management and operations of the company. Huya remains listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

07:34 EDT Cummins cuts salaries, reduces working hours due to COVID-19 - Cummins provided an update on the actions it is taking in response to the impact of COVID-19. "The impact from the pandemic on the global economy has been sudden and is growing, and it is imperative for us to respond quickly to maintain our strong financial position," said Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO, Cummins. In response to lower demand and customer shutdowns in several countries, the company is taking the following temporary actions to lower costs: A reduction of 50 percent in the salary of the CEO; A reduction of 25 percent in Director compensation; A reduction in salary for all other employees in the United States of between 10 and 25 percent and a reduction in working hours; The company will take similar actions outside the United States based on local regulations and collective bargaining obligations. These reductions in pay are intended to be a temporary measure; the company will continue to monitor business conditions closely and reassess the program at the end of the second quarter. "These are difficult but necessary actions and I know they will have a real impact on the lives of our employees and their families," added Linebarger. "I appreciate their understanding and support as we work through these challenging times together. I want to thank our employees for their continued commitment to ensuring our customers receive the products and service they need to provide essential support to the global economy."

07:22 EDT Emerald Health Therapeutics' Pure Sunfarms JV expands credit facility - Emerald Health Therapeutics (EMHTF) announced that its Pure Sunfarms joint venture has finalized the expansion of its credit facility with its existing lender to $59M, including accordion provisions of $22.5M. The expanded credit facility consists of a $7.5M revolving operating loan and a $10M term loan, in addition to its existing $19M term loan. The New Term Loan is specifically designated for the 1.1 million square foot Delta 2 greenhouse while the Existing Term Loan is specifically designated for the 1.1 million square foot Delta 3 greenhouse facility. The $7.5M Revolver and the $10M New Term Loan include an accordion provision that allows Pure Sunfarms to request additional lender commitments of up to an additional $7.5M and $15M, respectively, subject to an additional lender entering the syndicate on or before May 30, 2020. Each of the components of the Credit Facility, including the Existing Term Loan, mature on February 7, 2022. As part of this transaction, Village Farms International (VFF) has completed an additional investment in PSF of $8M, which reduces Emerald's equity position in Pure Sunfarms by 1.3% to 41.3%. Emerald continues to hold three of six seats on Pure Sunfarms' Board of Directors.

07:18 EDT Trevali says Santander not able to process ore amid extended state of emergency - The company said, "As previously announced on March 27, 2020, the Peruvian Government extended the state of National Emergency which restricts travel in its efforts to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 to April 12, 2020. The Santander mine has been in full compliance with the Government's requirements since the National Emergency was declared and has been able to continue operations with no material impact to date. Trevali has provided non-perishable essential foods to the local communities of Santa Cruz de Andamarca and San Jose de Banos, due to the fact that their economic activities and supply routes have been restricted. However, as a result of the extension of the declaration, the Company will not be able to process ore for the duration of the extension due to the limited supply of reagents. Mining and other activities will continue, and mined ore will be stockpiled until April 12, 2020 at which time the Company anticipates resuming normal production levels, including milling, at the Mine."

07:15 EDT Trevali Mining says two cases of COVID-19 confirmed at Perkoa - The company said, "The Perkoa Mine continues to operate without major impediments to mining or milling. To date, the Burkinabe government is supportive of keeping the mining industry operating. While the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in West Africa is still small relative to population size, its governments including Burkina Faso are taking steps to slow the virus from spreading. These include the limiting of international flights, quarantining cities, domestic travel restrictions and some restricted borders. These challenging circumstances have put strain on the supply chain of goods and the movement of Perkoa's labour force. On March 25, 2020, two suspected cases of COVID-19 at Perkoa were confirmed. The employees, began self-isolating immediately and the employees they came in contact with were also isolated. The doctor and nurse appear to be making a full recovery and other employees who were considered at risk have tested negative to date. "

07:13 EDT Trevali Mining announces amendment to revolving credit facility - The company said, "The Company engaged with its syndicate of lenders during the first quarter of 2020 regarding a waiver of compliance with existing financial covenants as of March 31, 2020. The Company entered into an amendment to the RCF on March 31, 2020, whereby the availability of the facility was temporarily reduced from $275 million to $125 million in exchange for a waiver of the financial covenants until April 30, 2020. The facility amendment contains a number of terms and restrictions, including a restriction on dividends and distributions, acquisitions, disposition of assets as well as a requirement that the Company maintain a minimum level of liquidity. The Company is currently negotiating updated terms and conditions to the RCF that will apply after April 30, 2020, in addition to pursuing other financing opportunities to provide additional sources of liquidity."

07:11 EDT Trevali Mining says Perkoa, Rosh Pinah continue to operate at full capacity - Trevali Mining is providing details of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the steps taken to ensure the health and safety of its workforce, as well as the initiatives underway across the Company to accelerate its T90 program to sustainably reduce the cost structure of the business, preserve cash and support the long term value of its assets. In addition, the Company is announcing an amendment to its revolving credit facility entered into with its lenders, as well as an update as to the status of each of its operations. Ricus Grimbeek, President and CEO stated, "The health of our people and communities is our first priority. We adopted early COVID-19 management practices, which have been recognized by the governments in Peru, Burkina Faso and in Namibia and have enabled us to continue operating. Actions include stopping all non-essential travel and all employees who can work remotely are doing this. At all of our operations, we have implemented testing, social distancing and greatly increased cleaning and disinfection. We will continue to demonstrate organizational agility using our technology platform. We will continue to invest in healthcare support for our local communities and countries where we operate, because their protection is both the right thing to do and it reduces risk for our operations. As of today, Perkoa and Rosh Pinah continue to operate at full capacity with enhanced health measures in place. The situation remains dynamic and the status of the operations are showing some evidence of disruption with the notable example being a curtailment of processing activities at Santander. Despite difficult conditions our workforce is engaged, and they have shown great resolve. Our industry is facing strong headwinds, but over the last year the team has achieved record production while reducing costs and increasing efficiencies under our T90 program launched last November. We have delivered nearly half of the annual sustainable efficiencies against T90's initial target of $50 million. The overall goal of T90 had been to reach an All-In-Sustaining-Cost of $0.90 per pound of payable zinc by the beginning of 2022 - we are now in a position to accelerate that target by a full year, to the beginning of 2021. As the pandemic continues to depress zinc prices, we have also taken strong measures to reduce cash outflows and preserve liquidity. We have placed Caribou on care and maintenance to preserve the value of the orebody, reduced capital spending and rationalized our supply chain. We will continue to operate with the health and wellbeing of our workers and communities at the front of mind, while taking aggressive measures to steer us through the unprecedented market that is affecting us all."

07:09 EDT JOYY announces transfer of Huya shares to Tencent for $262.M in cash - JOYY (YY) announced that, JOYY has transferred 16,523,819 Class B ordinary shares of HUYA (HUYA), a game live streaming platform in China, to Linen Investment Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tencent Holdings Limited (TCEHY) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $262.6M in in cash, pursuant to Tencent's exercise of its option to purchase additional shares of Huya from JOYY. The purchase price was determined based on the average closing prices of Huya's American depositary shares in the last 20 trading days prior to the receipt of Tencent's written exercise notice by JOYY and Huya in accordance with Huya's second amended and restated shareholders agreement dated March 8, 2018. As a result of the closing of the share transfer, Tencent increased its voting power in Huya to 50.1% on a fully-diluted basis, or 50.9% calculated based on the total issued and outstanding shares of Huya, and will consolidate financial statements of Huya. Immediately after the share transfer, JOYY held 68,374,463 Class B ordinary shares of Huya, representing approximately 43.0% of the total voting power calculated based on the total issued and outstanding shares of Huya.

07:05 EDT Aaon promotes Stephen Wakefield to COO - Mikel Crews notified AAON of his intent to retire as VP, Operations, effective May 8, 2020. Crews has been with the Company since its inception and had a large role in developing the talent to succeed him. In furtherance of the Company's ongoing succession planning initiatives, Crews' duties will be reallocated to Stephen Wakefield, VP of Engineering, as well as other Company personnel. The Company also announced its Board of Directors has promoted Stephen Wakefield to the position of COO. Wakefield has served as VP of Engineering since 2018, Director of Engineering since 2017, and prior to that held various engineering leadership roles in the Company. Wakefield will continue to report to Gary Fields, AAON President. Within the Company's senior leadership team, Larry Honel has been promoted to Director of Continuous Improvement and Whitney Wakefield has been promoted to Director of Purchasing, Warehouse and Production Planning. Both will report to Wakefield, along with Doug Wichman, Director of Manufacturing.

07:00 EDT BrainStorm subsidiary awarded $1.5M grant by Israel Innovation Authority - BrainStorm announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Ltd., has been awarded a new grant of approximately $1.5M by the Israel Innovation Authority. The grant enables Brainstorm to continue development of advanced cellular manufacturing capabilities, furthers development of MSC-derived exosomes as a novel therapeutic platform, and will ultimately enable Brainstorm to expand the therapeutic pipeline in neurodegenerative disorders.

06:53 EDT Ocwen says expects to be in compliance with all financial covenants at Q1-end - Ocwen currently expects to be in compliance with all of its financial covenants under its debt agreements at the end of the first quarter. As of March 31, the company closed the quarter with approximately $264M in unrestricted cash. Ocwen also had undrawn committed availability of $104M under its servicer advance funding facilities, $225M under its MSR financing facilities, and $156M under its mortgage warehouse funding facilities, which, in each case, the company may utilize to the extent it has sufficient eligible collateral to borrow against and otherwise satisfies the applicable conditions to funding.

06:49 EDT Ocwen intends to seek shareholder approval for reverse stock split - Management is focused on positioning Ocwen's stock to be an attractive investment to the broadest possible base of investors. As such, the company intends to seek shareholder approval at its 2020 annual shareholder meeting for a reverse stock split.

06:18 EDT Novartis says 'deeply dedicated' to global effort to combat COVID-19 - Novartis said it is "deeply dedicated" to the global effort to combat COVID-19 and "doing our part to support the stability of global healthcare systems. We announced a broad set of measures including the creation of a global fund of $20M to support communities around the world impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Novartis also has committed 130 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to support pandemic response. In addition, Novartis joined two key cross-industry research initiatives, the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, coordinated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard, as well as a COVID-19 directed partnership organized by the Innovative Medicines Initiative. Novartis is separately supporting COVID-19 related clinical investigations of several Novartis medicines. To support access, the Novartis generics and biosimilars division Sandoz became the first company to commit to keeping stable prices for a basket of essential medicines that may help in the treatment of COVID-19."

06:17 EDT Novartis, Incyte to initiate Jakavi study in severe COVID-19 patients - Novartis (NVS) announced plans to initiate a Phase III clinical trial in collaboration with Incyte (INCY) to evaluate the use of Jakavi for treatment of a type of severe immune overreaction called cytokine storm that can lead to life-threatening respiratory complications in patients with COVID-19. The decision is based on pre-clinical evidence and preliminary reports from independent studies, and is supported by extensive data on the safety and efficacy of Jakavi in conditions like acute graft versus host disease and myeloproliferative neoplasms. The proposed trial will assess Jakavi in combination with standard of care therapy, compared to SoC therapy alone, in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection. "Novartis is taking a number of steps to address the urgent needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the evaluation of our existing therapies to assess if any can be utilized beyond their approved indications," said John Tsai, Head Global Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "The potential that Jakavi could lead to faster recovery times for COVID-19 patients with fewer requiring intensive care and mechanical ventilation is encouraging and absolutely merits further investigation. We now are moving rapidly to finalize the study plan and then to enroll eligible patients, as well as put in place a process to provide access for patients unable to participate in the trial." Given the rapid spread of the pandemic, and as plans for the study are finalized, Novartis also has set up an international compassionate use program for eligible patients, subject to local regulations. In addition, we are taking steps to manage the anticipated increase in COVID-19 related requests for Jakavi without interrupting access for patients taking the drug for its licensed indications. In the US, ruxolitinib access requests are coordinated by Incyte.

06:15 EDT Otis Worldwide to begin trading on NYSE - Otis Worldwide (OTIS) will begin its first day of "regular-way" common stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, at market open after successfully completing its separation from United Technologies (UTX). Otis originally listed its common stock on the NYSE in April 1920. Otis is an elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service company. Otis is supported by a maintenance portfolio that provides recurring sales, margins with expansion runway and free cash flow. The company's business model is fueled by new equipment sales, maintenance and repair, and modernization projects. As units continue to get added to the industry's new equipment segment, the installed base grows, enabling even more service opportunities. Otis reported sales of $13.1B in 2019. The company continues to monitor the evolving effect of COVID-19 on its operations and FY20 financial outlook. An update on the impact will be provided with first quarter earnings in early May. As part of the separation, United Technologies shareholders of record on March 19, will receive a distribution of one-half share of Otis common stock for each share of United Technologies common stock held. No fractional shares of Otis will be issued. UTX shareowners will receive cash in lieu of any fractional shares. UTX shareowners will also retain their shares of UTX common stock.

06:06 EDT Carvana to hold 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in virtual format - Carvana announced it will hold its Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Tuesday, April 21, at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The Annual Meeting, which will be held in a virtual format only, will be webcast, including closed captioning, and can be accessed at: http://www.proxydocs.com/CVNA.

06:04 EDT Tenneco withdrawing Q1, FY20 guidance due to COVID-19 impact - Tenneco (TEN) provided a business update regarding COVID-19. Given the uncertainty driven by the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated negative impact on demand, the company announced that it is withdrawing its first quarter and full year financial guidance issued on February 20, 2020. Tenneco will provide additional updates during its first quarter 2020 earnings call. Tenneco also announced that it has temporarily suspended or reduced certain operations across the Americas, EMEA and most of the APAC regions in response to governmental requirements and production suspensions taken by many of its customers. Where the company is continuing operations, Tenneco has taken significant measures to protect the health and safety of its team members in accordance with recommendations from health officials. In particular, the company is taking precautions at each location to implement rigorous cleaning and sanitation protocols; to perform wellness checks on employees; and to implement changes within the plant to comply with social distancing requirements. Industry demand estimates for the remainder of 2020 continue to be extremely fluid, however, all current estimates point to the second quarter as the most severely impacted in the end markets Tenneco serves. With the continuing evolution of the COVID-19 response actions and their effects on customer demand, the company is implementing incremental cost reductions and actions to further optimize cash performance. These include: For Q2, overall salary costs will be reduced at least 25% through a combination of unpaid furloughs, net pay decreases and available temporary support programs in all regions Tenneco does business. Additionally, the executive leadership team (the CEO's direct staff) will reduce their salaries 50% and the CEO will not take a salary in this period. After Q2, overall salary costs will be reduced by at least 10% from the original levels for the remainder of 2020. The Company intends that the more senior levels of the organization will receive 80-85% of their base salary in Q3 and move to 90% in Q4. The company intends to reduce its salaried workforce in specific business support functions in Q2. CapEx in 2020 will be reduced to less than $400 million. This is a reduction from previous guidance of 2020 expenditures between $610-650 million and 2019 expenditures, which were greater than $700 million. The company will be deferring or delaying other cash outlays as necessary and practical. The Tenneco board annual retainer fees will be reduced by 25% for the remainder of 2020. Tenneco continues to evaluate each of the announced government assistance programs in every country in which the company operates and will continue to identify additional opportunities that can benefit team members in their local jurisdictions. Among the Tenneco locations that are continuing operations, the company's production facilities in China are coming back online. Some of Tenneco's plants and product-lines serving non-automotive and industrial customers and certain of the company's Motorparts facilities remain operational after being designated as essential businesses by local governments to supply aftermarket products for the transportation industry. In addition, the company recently announced that Tenneco is supporting General Motors' (GM) ventilator project and will supply components to be used in the initiative to increase production for this vital medical equipment.

06:02 EDT Commerce Bancshares to delay Q1 earnings release due to COVID-19 impact - Commerce Bancshares announced that it will delay its earnings release for the first quarter of 2020, originally scheduled for April 14, until April 28. The company said, "The delay is driven by the unprecedented nature of the current environment due to COVID-19, resulting in our teams operating in a distributed workforce model. This will allow our earnings release to more closely align with regulatory filings that are due in early May."

06:01 EDT Baker Hughes reports March international rig count 1,059, down 26 from February - Baker Hughes announced that the Baker Hughes international rig count for March 2020 was 1,059, down 26 from the 1,085 counted in February 2020, and up 20 from the 1,039 counted in March 2019. The international offshore rig count for March 2020 was 244, down 1 from the 245 counted in February 2020, and down 3 from the 247 counted in March 2019. The average U.S. rig count for March 2020 was 772, down 19 from the 791 counted in February 2020, and down 251 from the 1,023 counted in March 2019. The average Canadian rig count for March 2020 was 133, down 116 from the 249 counted in February 2020, and down 18 from the 151 counted in March 2019. The worldwide rig count for March 2020 was 1,964, down 161 from the 2,125 counted in February 2020, and down 249 from the 2,213 counted in March 2019.

05:56 EDT Regeneron, Sanofi: Dupixent shows significant improvement in atopic dermatitis - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announce the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial results announced today show Dupixent (dupilumab) combined with standard-of-care topical corticosteroids, or TCS, in children aged 6-11 years with uncontrolled severe atopic dermatitis significantly improved disease signs, symptoms and health-related quality of life. Sanofi and Regeneron previously announced topline positive results of this trial in August 2019. "In my practice, I see children with severe atopic dermatitis struggling with intense, persistent itching and skin lesions covering much of their body, and caregivers who are desperate for additional treatment options that can help control this disease," said Amy S. Paller, M.D.,Walter Hamlin Professor and Chair of Dermatology and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and principal investigator of the trial. "Data from the Phase 3 trial in children aged 6 to 11 adds to the established efficacy and safety data in adults and adolescents and provides hope to physicians and families for a potential new treatment option for children with this chronic disease." Data to be presented at RAD show that at 16 weeks, nearly three times as many children achieved clear or almost clear skin when treated with Dupixent and TCS, and more than two-thirds experienced at least a 75% overall improvement of their disease compared to TCS alone. Additionally, more than three times as many children experienced a significant reduction in itch with Dupixent compared to TCS alone. Itch is often described as the most burdensome symptom of atopic dermatitis. Improvements in itch and disease severity were observed with Dupixent as early as two weeks after the first dose and continued throughout active treatment. Dupixent is a fully-human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signaling of the interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) proteins. Data from Dupixent clinical trials have shown that IL-4 and IL-13 are key drivers of the type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in atopic dermatitis, asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). Across all approved indications in the U.S., more than 100,000 patients have started treatment with Dupixent. The results from the Phase 3 pediatric trial are currently being reviewed by regulatory authorities, including in the U.S., EU and Canada. In the U.S. the supplemental Biologics License Application for children aged 6 to 11 years, is currently under Priority Review with a target action date of May 26. There are currently no biologic medicines approved for children with severe atopic dermatitis. In 2016, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to review Dupixent for the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis in children 6 months to 11 years of age not well controlled on topical prescription medications. Dupixent is also being studied in a Phase 3 trial for children with uncontrolled persistent asthma, with results expected later this year. The safety and efficacy of Dupixent in these pediatric populations have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.

05:23 EDT Liberty Oilfield Services suspends dividend, announces strategic actions - Liberty Oilfield Services announced that it has reduced the size of its workforce, the number of active frac fleets deployed, capital expenditures and its general and administrative cost structure in response to significantly lower customer activity. The COVID-19 virus has resulted in a massive reduction in the demand for oil. At the same time, OPEC+ has increased oil supply to global markets. As a result, oil prices have declined sharply, U.S. oil inventories are rapidly building, and demand for fracturing services is contracting. Liberty CEO Chris Wright commented, "The health and safety of people always comes first. Liberty has been a leader in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the safety of our team, their families and all those we interact with. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the world's largest oil demand destruction that will reset oil and gas development activity levels over the next year or more. We have never before reduced our workforce, always charting a different path. We deeply regret that today's circumstances necessitate that we make significant cuts to our workforce and restructure the compensation for those remaining. I commend the whole Liberty team for always going above and beyond. I want to sincerely thank the Liberty team members who are leaving for their contributions and sincerely hope that we have the opportunity to work together in the future." Liberty is also cutting 2020 total capital expenditures to be in the range of $70M to $90M, a reduction of approximately 50% from our previous expectation. The company continues to expect its 2020 capital expenditures to be weighted to the first half of the year. The company has initiated aggressive cost-cutting measures both internally and externally in partnership with our suppliers that are expected to assist Liberty with managing the challenging market while still providing excellent service, technology and efficient operations for our customers. In addition to the significant staffed fleet reductions of approximately 50%, Liberty has adjusted variable and other compensation for employees to align the company's cost structure with current market conditions. Liberty has a dedicated workforce and a variable cost structure that enables rapid reaction to changing market conditions while still covering all our commitments to customers. The officers of the company have agreed to a base salary reduction of 30% that is greater than the previously announced 20%, effective April 1. This is in addition to the cancellation of cash variable compensation programs for the year which equate to a reduction of approximately 66% in annual cash compensation versus 2019. Liberty's directors have agreed to reduce their cash retainer for Board service by 30%, effective April 1. These compensation reductions remain subject to revision by the Board as circumstances may warrant. Liberty is suspending future quarterly dividends until business conditions warrant reinstatement. Disciplined capital deployment is a core Liberty principle and we look forward to resuming dividend payments when appropriate. The company plans to provide a more detailed update on operating and financial conditions in conjunction with its earnings release for the first quarter of 2020. Mr. Wright added, "These industry conditions are unprecedented. Hence, we are taking bold, decisive action to position Liberty to survive this downturn and come out in a stronger competitive position, just as we did during the previous downturn. We are playing the long game. The next few months are likely to be the most trying as storage constraints are blowing out differentials across all basins, leading to significant interruptions in frac activity. We currently expect that industry wide activity in the second quarter will be down more than 50% from first quarter levels. We are working closely with our customers to help them deal with these interruptions. There is likely to be an increase in industry activity from second quarter levels in the later part of the year, but it will be at a reduced level from the activity before the COVID pandemic. Our top tier customers value the Liberty partnership, innovations and efficiency that enhances their operations during these challenging times. All of our key customer partnerships will be strengthened during this crisis. We are grateful for the efforts and dedication of our employees, customers and suppliers who together will navigate these troubled waters."