Stockwinners Market Radar for January 14, 2022 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:24 EST NineDot Energy announces investment from funds managed by Carlyle Group - NineDot Energy announced a strategic investment from funds managed by Carlyle. Carlyle's investment will enable NineDot to develop, build, and operate over 400 megawatts of clean energy systems by 2026 that strengthen local power grid infrastructure and provide stable, reliable, and resilient power to tens of thousands of New York households and businesses. Founded in 2015, NineDot Energy is a New York City-based clean-tech developer that designs and deploys community-scale energy generation and battery storage projects. Carlyle's investment is intended to enable NineDot to execute on its pipeline of battery storage projects in Downstate New York including Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Long Island. These projects support New York State's mission to achieve its goal of 100% clean energy by 2040, including a recently doubled target of 6,000 MW of energy storage by 2030.

17:33 EST Camber Energy receives communication from NYSE American - Camber Energy, Inc. announced that on January 14, 2022 it received a letter from the NYSE American in response to the Company's request for an extension of the date by which the Company is to file outstanding financial reports. The Company is not in compliance with the Exchange's continued listing standards as set forth in Section 1007 of the NYSE American Company Guide(the "Company Guide") given the Company failed to timely file (the "Filing Delinquency") the following reports (collectively, the "Delayed Reports"): (i) Form 10-K for the 9-month transition period ended December 31, 2020; (ii) Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2021; (iii) Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2021; and (iv) Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021. The Filing Delinquency will be cured via the filing of the Delayed Reports. The Company intended to remedy the Filing Delinquency on or before January 14, 2022, however due to certain circumstances requested the Exchange grant the Company a brief extension of time by which to file the Delayed Reports. The Exchange accepted the Company's request and has allowed the Company until February 15, 2022 to file the Delayed Reports.

17:19 EST Abbott awarded $306M Army contract for COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits - Abbott was awarded a $306M firm-fixed-price contract for COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits. Bids were solicited via the internet with 20 received. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of March 14. American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded in 2022 in the amount of $306M were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:04 EST The Very Good Food Company receives noncompliance notification from Nasdaq - The Very Good Food Company announced that it received notification from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq that, for the previous 30 consecutive business days, the bid price of Very Good's common shares had closed below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for continued inclusion on Nasdaq pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550. The Nasdaq notification has no immediate effect on the listing of the company's shares. Very Good is also listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the notification does not affect the company's compliance status with such listing.

17:00 EST CooTek receives NYSE non-compliance letter - CooTek announced that it has received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange dated January 5, 2022 and further e-mail communication on the same date, notifying the Company that (i) it is below compliance standards due to the Company's total market capitalization and stockholders' equity, (ii) the due date for the Company to submit a business plan that demonstrates compliance is April 5, 2022 and (iii) the applicable cure period for the Company to regain compliance expires on July 5, 2023. Pursuant to applicable NYSE continued listing standards, a company would be considered "below criteria" by the NYSE if its total market capitalization is less than US$50 million over a 30 trading-day period and its stockholders' equity is less than US$50 million. A review of the current financial condition of the Company by the NYSE shows that, as of January 4, 2022, the Company's 30 trading-day average market capitalization was approximately US$44.2 million and its last reported stockholders' deficit as of June 30, 2021 was approximately US$(14) million. Accordingly, the Company is now subject to the procedures as set forth in Sections 801 and 802 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, and is required to respond within 90 days of the Letter with a business plan that demonstrates compliance with the continued listing standard within 18 months of receipt of the Letter. The business plan will be reviewed for final disposition by the Listings Operations Committee of the NYSE. The Company's stockholders' deficit as of September 30, 2021 was approximately US$(11) million.

16:18 EST ACE Convergence, Tempo Automation announce additional funding to trust - ACE Convergence Acquisition Corp. and Tempo Automation announced that on January 13, ACE filed a supplement to its proxy statement dated December 15, 2021, wherein ACE announced a proposal to extend the date by which ACE must consummate its initial business combination from January 30 to July 13, which proposal is expected to be presented at ACE's annual general meeting of shareholders on January 21. In connection with the proposed Extension, ACE announced that its sponsor, ACE Convergence Acquisition, has agreed that, if the Extension is approved, it will contribute to ACE as a loan 3c for each Class A ordinary share of ACE that is not redeemed in connection with the shareholder vote to approve the Extension for each month until the earlier of (i) the date of the extraordinary general meeting to be held in connection with the shareholder vote to approve the business combination between ACE and Tempo and (ii) $1.5M has been loaned. The amounts loaned will be placed in the trust account established in connection with ACE's initial public offering. If the Extension is completed, and the Sponsor makes contributions totaling the full $1.5M, the conversion amount per share at the meeting for the proposed business combination or ACE's subsequent liquidation will be approximately $10.07 per share, in comparison to the current conversion amount of approximately $10.00 per share. Tempo and ACE currently expect the transaction to be closed, subject to respective shareholder approvals, in Q1 or Q2.

16:08 EST Norwegian Cruise Line joins CDC's voluntary COVID-19 risk mitigation program - Norwegian Cruise Line announced that the company's three brands - Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises - have opted into the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. Waters, the agency's voluntary COVID-19 risk mitigation program for foreign-flagged cruise ships operating in U.S. waters. The Program comes into effect after the expiration of the Temporary Extension and Modification of Framework for Conditional Sailing Order on January 15, 2022.

16:02 EST NJ American Water files for rate adjustment with NJ Board of Public Utilities - New Jersey American Water has filed a petition with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for new rates based on the significant investment the company has made or will make into its water and wastewater infrastructure since its last rate case. "Since our last rate case, we have invested or will invest more than $985 million in infrastructure upgrades, including nearly 140 miles, or over 736,000 feet, of water main, to continue to deliver high-quality water, reliable service and fire protection for the more than 2.8 million people in 18 counties we serve," said Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water.

15:33 EST FDA approves Pfizer's Cibinqo for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis - Pfizer announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Cibinqo, an oral, once-daily, Janus kinase 1, or JAK1, inhibitor, for the treatment of adults living with refractory, moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis whose disease is not adequately controlled with other systemic drug products, including biologics, or when use of those therapies is inadvisable. Cibinqo is approved at the recommended doses of 100 mg and 200 mg, with the 200 mg dose being recommended for patients who are not responding to the 100 mg dose. Additionally, a 50 mg dose was approved to treat moderate-to-severe AD specifically in patients with moderate renal impairment, certain patients receiving treatment with inhibitors of cytochrome P450 2C19, or patients who are known or suspected to be poor metabolizers of CYP2C19. For patients with moderate renal impairment who are not responding to 50 mg once daily, 100 mg once daily may also be prescribed. Cibinqo will be made available in the coming weeks, Pfizer said.

15:10 EST Netflix rallies 2% to $532.02 after Reuters report of U.S. price hike

14:38 EST NRx responds to Relief Therapeutics, says allegations 'false and misleading' - NRx Pharmaceuticals responded to press release issued by Relief Therapeutics today, stating in part: "Relief has accused NRx and its CEO of issuing false and misleading statements about the past actions of Relief's Board and Management. Relief has clearly misread those statements. At no time has NRx accused any member of Relief's board of current or past criminal activity... Relief persists in issuing false and misleading press releases in order to attempt to obscure several basic truths, as outlined in NRx's complaint before the New York State Supreme Court. Rather than fund the development of ZYESAMI as required by the collaboration agreement, Relief breached and repudiated its obligations under the agreement and resorted to malicious defamation of NRx and its CEO in order to distract from a simple breach of contract matter." The company added that NRx "looks forward to mediating this matter on February 22."

14:23 EST VINE Stock trading resumes

14:18 EST VINE Stock trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:15 EST Alcoa names Renato Bacchi CSO, Kelly Thomas CCO - Alcoa announced the appointment of a Chief Commercial Officer and a Chief Strategy Officer to its Executive Leadership Team. Renato Bacchi is being promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, effective February 1, 2022. Bacchi, currently Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Treasurer, will oversee global strategy, corporate and business development, energy, non-operated joint ventures, and the Company's Transformation business, which is focused on managing curtailed and closed assets globally, including redevelopment activities. A replacement for Corporate Treasurer will be named in the coming weeks. Kelly Thomas will join Alcoa on February 14, 2022, as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. She will lead all commercial strategies across Alcoa's global bauxite, alumina and aluminum markets with overall responsibility for sales, procurement, marketing, and supply chain. Both Bacchi and Thomas will report directly to Alcoa President and Chief Executive Officer Roy Harvey. As previously announced, Alcoa Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Tim Reyes has announced his retirement from the Company, effective February 1, 2022. The Company has restructured the role into these two separate executive positions in support of Alcoa's long-term strategy.

13:12 EST AbbVie announces FDA approval of Rinvoq for atopic dermatitis - AbbVie announced the Food and Drug Administration has approved Rinvoq for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in adults and children 12 years of age and older whose disease did not respond to previous treatment and is not well controlled with other pills or injections, including biologic medicines, or when use of other pills or injections is not recommended.

13:02 EST Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 13 to 601 rigs

12:29 EST CI&T acquires Somo in GBP49M deal - CI&T announced the execution of a sale and purchase agreement to acquire Somo Global Ltd, a digital product agency headquartered in the UK, to accelerate its growth in EMEA, the second-largest market for digital services. Somo will join CI&T's EMEA operation and enhance its growing operations by adding almost 300 digital specialists with deep expertise in digital products, working with some of the world's largest brands including Audi, Vanguard, Vodafone and Virgin Media, among others. The base purchase price for the acquisition is GBP49M, of which up to 25% will be paid in the form of Class A Common shares of CI&T, plus an earn-out clause of up to GBP9.8M, based on future performance. Somo recorded approximately GBP25 in Net Revenue in 2021, a 41% growth compared to 2020. The completion of this transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and is expected to happen during the first quarter of 2022.

12:06 EST Allogene Therapeutics director Belldegrun buys 155,039 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Allogene Therapeutics director Arie Belldegrun disclosed the purchase of 155,039 common shares of the company on January 12 at a price of $12.60 per share.

12:00 EST Dingdong falls -9.1% - Dingdong is down -9.1%, or -92c to $9.21.

12:00 EST Gelesis falls -9.9% - Gelesis is down -9.9%, or -73c to $6.63.

12:00 EST Las Vegas Sands rises 13.4% - Las Vegas Sands is up 13.4%, or $5.05 to $42.71.

11:56 EST BP, M&S extend convenience agreement until 2030 - BP and M&S have agreed to extend their convenience agreement until 2030. The pair first teamed up in 2005 to introduce M&S Food stores at BP retail sites in Great Britain. "We're proud to continue to build on nearly two decades of our great partnership with M&S, one of the UK's leading food retailers," said Alex Jensen, BP's senior vice president for mobility and convenience, Europe and Southern Africa.

11:26 EST Novo Nordisk announces settlement of securities lawsuit in Denmark - Novo Nordisk announced that the company has settled a securities lawsuit in Denmark filed in August 2019. "The settlement contains no admission of liability, wrongdoing or responsibility by Novo Nordisk and no payment will be made by Novo Nordisk to the plaintiffs. The lawsuit was filed by a number of shareholders and alleged that Novo Nordisk had made misleading statements and did not make appropriate disclosures regarding its sales of insulin products in the US. The original claim was for a total amount of DKK 11,785,192,218," the company said.

11:14 EST Citi is largest custodian for BlackRock's iShares ETF, says CEO Fraser

11:06 EST Citi sees starting sales process of Mexico unit in the spring, says CEO Fraser - Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

10:41 EST AeroCentury trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:35 EST Oscar Health reports data breach in Plan of California - Oscar Health Plan of California announced that it recently discovered an incident involving the personal information of a subset of its Members. The company stated: "On or about 11/23/2021, Oscar discovered that a mailing intended for some of our Members from Oscar may have been misrouted to another Oscar Member in error due to a vendor printing issue. We believe this incident occurred between 10/28/2021 and 11/16/2021. Some of the following information may have been viewed by another Oscar Member as a result of the mismailed information: name, Oscar ID number, claim number, provider information, date of service(s), procedure/service name and plan name/affiliation. This information did not include Social Security number, driver's license number or any financial account information. We began an investigation immediately upon discovery of the printing issue and have taken steps to address the matter with our print vendor. While we do not believe there has been a misuse of any personal information, we are notifying our affected members out of an abundance of caution. All mailings that may have been impacted by this incident have been re-sent accordingly. Additionally, we have sent individual notices to those Members whose personal information was impacted by the event. Oscar is committed to protecting our members' personal information and we take our responsibility very seriously."

10:32 EST Wells Fargo: New credit card accounts more than doubled vs. 4Q20

10:29 EST Wells Fargo expects mortage originations to decline in 2022

10:10 EST Wells Fargo seeing early benefits from higher interest rates, says CEO Scharf

10:01 EST Kontrol Technologies expands BioCloud technology into Japan - Kontrol Technologies is expanding its BioCloud technology global footprint with a Japan-based trading company. Kontrol is partnering with a well-established trading company in Japan that has a 60-year history of large-scale deployment of HVAC and air quality systems. Kontrol and the trading company are negotiating a distribution agreement and are currently working together for technology demonstrations in the region. A distribution agreement is anticipated to be completed in February 2022. The trading company will not be named for industry competitive purposes.

10:00 EST Heliogen falls -8.1% - Heliogen is down -8.1%, or -43c to $4.85.

10:00 EST Planet Labs rises 6.6% - Planet Labs is up 6.6%, or 37c to $5.96.

10:00 EST ATI Physical Therapy rises 18.8% - ATI Physical Therapy is up 18.8%, or 57c to $3.61.

09:47 EST Orchid Island Capital falls -8.5% - Orchid Island Capital is down -8.5%, or -39c to $4.19.

09:47 EST Local Bounti rises 6.4% - Local Bounti is up 6.4%, or 33c to $5.46.

09:47 EST ATI Physical Therapy rises 15.8% - ATI Physical Therapy is up 15.8%, or 48c to $3.52.

09:42 EST JPMorgan CFO: We are in for a couple of years of sub-target returns

09:19 EST JPMorgan sees 2022 net interest income of $50B ex-CIB Markets

09:10 EST Telus says 5G network now reaches 70% of the Canadian population - TELUS is connecting more Canadians to our next-generation 5G network ahead of schedule, reaching 70% of the Canadian population as part of its significant $54B investment in infrastructure and operations through 2024. The company said, "We have now proudly connected 744 urban and rural communities - 129 more than initially planned for the year - to TELUS' fast and reliable 5G network, demonstrating its commitment to connecting Canadians and driving remarkable social outcomes in our communities."

09:04 EST J.B. Hunt enters autonomous driving strategic alliance with Waymo Via - J.B. Hunt (JBHT) announced a long-term, strategic alliance with Alphabet's (GOOG) Waymo Via that will advance efforts to integrate commercial autonomous driving technology in transportation and logistics, with ultimate plans to complete fully autonomous transport in Texas in the next few years. The expanded collaboration will include multiple pilots to further analyze the operational capacity of Waymo Via, the company's autonomous Class 8 trucking unit powered by the Waymo Driver, to address customer needs in realistic scenarios. Waymo and J.B. Hunt completed their first trial runs last year moving freight along I-45 in Texas for one of J.B. Hunt's customers. The upcoming pilots will take place in the same lane. Additionally, the collaboration will include operational and market studies to refine the commercial readiness of the driving technology.

08:53 EST AudioEye names David Moradi as CEO, effective January 13 - The Board of Directors of AudioEye has appointed David Moradi as its CEO, effective January 13. David Moradi has served as the company's interim CEO over the last 18 months, a period of significant progress in the company's transition to a highly scalable platform with industry-leading gross margins and considerable improvements in the company's product, technology, and go-to-market. David Moradi is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor to numerous market-leading technology companies. Moradi is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of First Contact Entertainment, a leading virtual reality game development studio. He is also the founder and CEO of Sero Capital LLC, a family office that invests in all stages of a company's lifecycle, from angel investing to late-stage private investments.

08:36 EST Alpha Star announces separate trading of ordinary shares, rights, warrants - Alpha Star Acquisition Corporation announced that, commencing Tuesday, January 18, 2022, holders of the units sold in the Company's initial public offering of 11,500,000 units may commence separate trading of the underlying component securities. Each Unit consists of one ordinary share, par value $0.001 per ordinary share, one redeemable warrant entitling its holder to purchase one-half of one Share at a price of $11.50 per Share, and one right to receive one-seventh of one Share upon the consummation of the Company's initial business combination. Those units not separated will continue to trade on the Global tier of the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "ALSAU." The ordinary shares, rights and warrants that are separated will trade on Nasdaq under the symbols "ALSA," "ALSAR" and "ALSAW," respectively. Holders of units will need to have their securities brokers contact Vstock Transfer LLC at 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, New York 11598, the Company's transfer agent, in order to separate the units into ordinary shares, rights and warrants.

08:36 EST Activist Investing announces 5.7% ownership interest in Electro-Sensors - Activist Investing announced the acquisition of approximately 5.7% of the outstanding shares of Electro-Sensors. David Elliot Lazar, Chief Executive Officer of Activist Investing, issued the following statement: "We are pleased to announce our significant investment in ELSE given the meaningful opportunity we believe the Company represents and are eager to begin working with the Board of Directors and management to actively explore potential strategic options to drive shareholder value."

08:35 EST PFSweb reports over 29M orders fulfilled in FY21 - PFS is reporting "record" fulfillment volumes for FY 2021. PFS fulfilled over 29M orders during FY 2021, representing an approximately 6% increase compared to FY 2020. FY 2021 Operational Highlights: Processed over $3.2B in gross merchandise value through fulfillment activity; Shipped nearly 109 million units; Opened new fulfillment center in Las Vegas area; Expanded footprint in existing Dallas-area fulfillment center; $1.7B processed through PFS' order management platform; Processed over 118,000 orders and 434,000 units worth over $6.7M through our RetailConnect omnichannel fulfillment product/platform. "Across our organization, each department performed well to support our clients' eCommerce operations during another COVID-challenged year. As we fulfilled orders, responded to customer inquiries, protected against fraud attacks, and processed orders through our order management platform, we met or exceeded performance expectations. I'm also especially excited about the results of our first full year of deployment of RetailConnect," continued Thomann. "I am grateful for the effort our team put forth to achieve these record numbers, including setting a new single day record for orders fulfilled. As we progress into 2022, we will continue to help new and existing clients take advantage of a multi-node order fulfillment strategy. Fifteen PFS clients now ship from multiple PFS fulfillment centers, and we anticipate expanding our fulfillment center footprint and product offerings in the coming year to meet this trending demand."

08:34 EST Toro Company acquires Intimidator Group, terms undisclosed - Toro Company announced that it has acquired privately-held Intimidator Group, based in Batesville, Arkansas. The Intimidator Group designs and manufactures Spartan Mowers, a professional line of zero-turn mowers. The transaction has already received customary regulatory approvals. The purchase price was $400M, which was paid with a combination of cash on hand and short-term borrowings under the company's existing revolving credit facility. The Toro Company expects this acquisition to be modestly accretive to FY22 adjusted earnings excluding transaction and integration expenses.

08:32 EST HUMBL uplists to OTCQB Venture Market - HUMBL announced that it has received approval from OTC Markets Group to move up to the OTCQB Venture Market. Trading as an OTCQB issuer will commence on January 14, 2022.

08:31 EST BetMGM to launch online sportsbook in New York on Monday, January 17 - BetMGM announced that the company will launch its online sportsbook in New York on Monday, Jan. 17. Players in the Empire State will soon be able to access the benefits of betting with BetMGM, an Official Sports Betting Partner of the Knicks, Rangers and Madison Square Garden Arena.

08:16 EST Pieris Pharmaceuticals announces first patient dosed in cinrebafusp alfa study - Pieris Pharmaceuticals announced that the first patient has been dosed in the phase 2 study of cinrebafusp alfa, a 4-1BB/HER2 Anticalin-based bispecific for the treatment of HER2-expressing gastric cancer. The two-arm, multicenter, open-label phase 2 study is evaluating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of cinrebafusp alfa in combination with ramucirumab and paclitaxel in patients with HER2-high gastric cancer and in combination with tucatinib in patients with HER2-low gastric cancer.

08:12 EST Citi returned $12B in capital to shareholders in 2021 - Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call presentation slides.

08:11 EST Lightning eMotors promotes Brian Barron to chief manufacturing officer - Lightning eMotors announced that it has promoted Brian Barron to chief manufacturing officer. Barron will lead the manufacturing, vehicle assembly, and procurement functions as Lightning eMotors scales to meet its growth targets. Barron has been the VP of global manufacturing at Lightning eMotors since June 2021. Prior to joining Lightning, Barron was the director of global manufacturing at Lucid, an electric passenger vehicle manufacturing company.

08:09 EST Crypto stocks slide in pre-market as bitcoin selling continues - The price of bitcoin has extended its decline from yesterday, falling below the $42,000 level overnight and erasing the gains made over the past two days. Stocks levered to bitcoin prices are also tracking lower in the pre-market session, with Bit Digital (BTBT) down 1.9%, Riot Blockchain (RIOT) down 2.9%, Marathon Digital (MARA) down 2.5%, and Coinbase Global (COIN) down 1.6%.

08:08 EST Nisun International signs strategic cooperation with ADM Management - Nisun International (NISN) announced Liaogang Nisun Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Fintech Digital Technology Co., Ltd. and a controlled affiliate of the company, has signed a strategic cooperative with ADM Management Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM). The two parties will work together on supply chain transportation services to empower high-quality development of the agricultural supply chain industry. This cooperation is an important milestone for Nisun. Under this agreement, Nisun will help efficiently transport products from ADM factories to designated locations across China.

08:06 EST Vail Resorts reports certain ski season metrics for season-to-date ended Jan. 2 - Vail Resorts reported certain ski season metrics for the period from the beginning of the ski season through January 2, 2022, compared to each of the two prior year periods through January 3, 2021 and January 5, 2020, respectively. Given the significant impacts of COVID-19 in the prior year period, the company is also providing metrics relative to the comparable fiscal year 2020 season-to-date period. The company stated, "The reported ski season metrics are for our North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas, and exclude the results of our recently acquired Seven Springs, Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain resorts and our Australian ski areas in all periods. The data mentioned in this release is interim period data and is subject to fiscal quarter end review and adjustments. Season-to-date total skier visits were down 1.7% compared to the prior year season-to-date period and down 18.3% compared to the fiscal year 2020 season-to-date period. Season-to-date total lift ticket revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue for each applicable period, was up 25.9% compared to the prior year season-to-date period and down 4.6% compared to the fiscal year 2020 season-to-date period. As a result of delayed openings at certain resorts, some pass product revenue will be recognized in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 that would have otherwise been recognized in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022. Excluding this impact, season-to-date lift ticket revenue was down 0.6% compared to the fiscal year 2020 season-to-date period. Season-to-date ski school revenue was up 59.1% and dining revenue was up 64.7% compared to the prior year season-to-date period. Relative to the comparable period in fiscal year 2020, ski school revenue and dining revenue were down 25.2% and down 45.1%, respectively. Retail/rental revenue for North American resort and ski area store locations was up 36.3% compared to the prior year season-to-date period, and down 19.5% versus the comparable season-to-date period in fiscal year 2020." Commenting on the ski season to date, Kirsten Lynch, CEO said, "As expected, season-to-date 2021/2022 North American ski season results are significantly outperforming results from the prior year, due to the greater impact of COVID-19 and related limitations and restrictions on results from the 2020/2021 season. Relative to the 2019/2020 North American ski season, the 2021/2022 North American ski season got off to a slow start with challenging early season conditions that were worse than our expectations, resulting in delayed openings and limited open terrain that persisted into the first week of the holidays ending December 26, 2021. Relative to the comparable periods in both fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2020, results across our destination resorts improved following Christmas as conditions improved between Christmas and New Year's Day. The storms during the holiday period created disruptions on certain key peak days that negatively impacted our results, particularly at our Tahoe resorts, which were each fully closed between one and three days during the peak holiday period. Whistler Blackcomb has experienced favorable conditions to date but, as expected, continues to be disproportionately negatively impacted by COVID-19 related travel restrictions on international visitors. Conditions at our Eastern U.S. ski areas were challenged and inconsistent through the holiday period with limited natural snow and variable temperatures that reduced our snowmaking activity. Although overall visitation was negatively impacted by the poor conditions, particularly among our local guests, our season pass sales results significantly mitigated the impact of the challenging start to the season on lift revenue and highlighted the stability created by our advance commitment strategy. In addition to the impacts associated with the challenging conditions, we believe that the significant acceleration of COVID-19 cases associated with the Omicron variant has negatively impacted our results along with the broader travel sector as we expect certain guests reconsidered travel plans and were impacted by related flight cancellations. The impact of COVID-19 cases amongst our employees and the related employee exclusions from work resulted in further challenges in an already difficult staffing environment. Relative to the comparable season-to-date period in fiscal year 2020, our ancillary lines of business have experienced revenue declines in excess of the declines in visitation, particularly in food and beverage, which has experienced an outsized impact related to numerous operational restrictions. Given the challenging staffing environment, exacerbated by COVID-19 related work exclusions, we implemented both a holiday and end of season bonus for our employees, the cost of which we estimate at $20 million, and which we believe will positively impact staffing through the rest of the season in conjunction with expected declines in COVID-19 work exclusions." Lynch continued, "While the challenging season-to-date conditions and COVID-19 related dynamics put downward pressure on overall results, we anticipate that the stability created by our season pass business, the relative strength of our destination visitation over the holidays, and recently improved conditions and results will lead to improving results for the remainder of the season. As a result, we continue to expect that Resort Reported EBITDA for fiscal year 2022 will be within the guidance range issued on December 9, 2021, including the estimated $20 million impact from the bonus programs and an estimated $10 million in Resort Reported EBITDA from the operations of Seven Springs for the period from the transaction closing on December 31, 2021 through the end of the fiscal year, neither of which were anticipated in our original guidance. The company's guidance excludes any estimates for integration expenses associated with the Seven Springs acquisition. The guidance assumes normal conditions and operations across our resorts for the remainder of the ski season, no incremental travel or operating restrictions associated with COVID-19 that could negatively impact our results and the same foreign currency rates as when the guidance was originally issued."

08:03 EST Cumulus Media's Westwood One presents Super Wild Card Weekend - CUMULUS MEDIA's Westwood One will present live play-by-play coverage of the NFL Super Wild Card Playoffs. Westwood One's schedule will feature two Wild Card games on Saturday, three on Sunday, and the first-ever Monday night playoff game in league history. Scott Graham will host the pregame/halftime/postgame shows for the Saturday and Sunday games. Rich Eisen will be the studio host for the Monday night playoff game.

07:50 EST ODP to delay public company separation to evaluate consumer business sale - ODP Corporation announced that its board of directors determined to delay the previously announced public company separation to evaluate a potential sale of the company's consumer business. In May 2021, the company announced that its board of directors unanimously approved a plan to separate ODP into two independent, publicly-traded companies by means of a tax-free spin-off to ODP shareholders. In November 2021, USR Parent, the parent company of Staples and a portfolio company of Sycamore Partners, reaffirmed its non-binding proposal to acquire the company's consumer business, including the Office Depot and OfficeMax retail stores business, the company's direct channel business, and the Office Depot and OfficeMax intellectual property, including all brand names, for $1B in cash. The company remains in conversation with Sycamore as it further evaluates the potential value and regulatory risk of Sycamore's proposed transaction. In December 2021, ODP's board of directors received a non-binding proposal from another third party to acquire the company's consumer business. The terms of that proposal are confidential. The company's board of directors is carefully reviewing both proposals with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. While the company has previously been focusing on completing the public company separation during the first half of 2022, it has determined to delay further work on the separation in order to avoid incurring potentially unnecessary separation costs while it focuses on a potential sale of the consumer business. There can be no assurance that a sale of the consumer business will take place and, if it were to take place, as to the terms of such a sale.

07:35 EST CloudMD closes MindBeacon acquisition - CloudMD announced the completion of the previously announced acquisition of MindBeacon Holdings, pursuant to a court-approved plan of arrangement. Pursuant to the Arrangement, former MindBeacon shareholders are entitled to receive $1.22 of cash plus 2.285 common shares of CloudMD for each common share of MindBeacon. Following completion of the Arrangement, CloudMD has 287,675,749 common shares issued and outstanding, of which approximately 19.1% are owned by former MindBeacon shareholders. MindBeacon's robust digital mental healthcare platform, combined with its network of over 500 licensed therapists and advanced clinical psychologists, offers a full continuum of care centered around providing users the freedom to choose how, when and where they engage with support. Over 50,000 people have been treated by MindBeacon's therapist assisted internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy, receiving help 5 times faster than traditional community mental health care1. MindBeacon's TAiCBT delivers impressive outcomes, with 82% of clients reporting self-improvement in mental health, and 67% reporting clinically significant improvement. Overall cost synergies, including MindBeacon, now exceed $4M. The companies have already started to integrate MindBeacon's healthcare solutions into CloudMD's broad continuum of care. Management anticipates that the acquisition will generate significant run-rate synergies beginning in the first quarter of this year. Such synergies are expected to be realized through cost rationalization, process integration and the scale of the combined organization. The complementary nature of the combined digital health offering is also expected to fuel product cross-selling opportunities to existing CloudMD and MindBeacon clients. In connection with closing of the Arrangement, CloudMD expanded its management team to include John Plunkett as EVP, Transformation and Strategic Planning and Adam Kelly as Chief Commercial Officer, with both positions reporting to Karen Adams. CloudMD intends to cause MindBeacon to delist its common shares from the Toronto Stock Exchange, to submit an application for it to cease to be a reporting issuer, and to otherwise terminate its public company reporting requirements as soon as possible thereafter.

07:32 EST JPMorgan says 17% ROTCE 'remains our central case in the medium term' - The company stated, in part, "In addition to higher rates, we expect loan growth, including normalization of card revolve to contribute to NII growth in 2022. We believe we are as well positioned as we have ever been to best serve our customers, clients and communities." The company sees 2022 investments of ~$15B, overall themes consistent with prior years. Comments taken from investor presentation slides for Q4 earnings conference call.

07:25 EST Wells Fargo assuming asset cap will remain in place for 2022

07:07 EST Lowell Farms appoints Jeff Monat to board of directors - Lowell Farms has named Jeff Monat to its Board of Directors. Monat is a Senior Partner at Merida Capital Holdings, a private equity firm targeting fundamental growth drivers underpinning the rapid development of the cannabis industry. Monat's appointment comes as Kevin McGrath departs the Lowell Farms Board of Directors. Monat will begin his tenure with the Board of Directors effective immediately.

06:56 EST Wells Fargo bought back $14.5B in common stock in 2021, says Scharf

06:55 EST Wells Fargo CEO: 'We have made sweeping changes to leadership and culture' - CEO Charlie Scharf commented, "As I look back on my slightly more than two years at Wells Fargo, I'm incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished as we remake this incredible franchise. We have made sweeping changes to the leadership and culture, made significant progress on our risk, regulatory, and control work, improved the efficiency of the company while investing in our business in a more holistic and aggressive way, and have taken a different approach to our customer- and community-facing responsibilities as a large public company... In 2021, we improved our financial returns, including reducing our expenses and returning a significant amount of excess capital to our shareholders by increasing our dividend and repurchasing $14.5 billion of common stock. We also had strong deposit growth and while loan demand was weak early in the year, loans grew 5% in the second half with growth in both our consumer and commercial portfolios. As the economy continued to recover we saw increased consumer spending, higher investment banking fees, higher asset-based fees in our Wealth and Investment Management business, and strong equity gains in our affiliated venture capital and private equity businesses. We continued to manage credit well and the strong economic environment helped reduce charge-offs to historical lows and our results benefitted from reductions in our allowance for credit losses," Scharf added. "The changes we've made to the company and continued strong economic growth prospects make us feel good about how we are positioned entering 2022. But we also remain cognizant that we still have a multiyear effort to satisfy our regulatory requirements - with setbacks likely to continue along the way - and we continue our work to put exposures related to our historical practices behind us," Scharf continued.

06:51 EST JPMorgan reports Q4 total markets revenue $5.3B, down 11% - Total Markets revenue of $5.3B, down 11%, with Fixed Income Markets down 16% and Equity Markets down 2%.

06:47 EST Ferguson enters into buyback program for GBP 275M - Ferguson plc announces that, in continuation of the share repurchase program announced by the Company on September 30, it has entered into an irrevocable and non-discretionary arrangement with its broker J.P. Morgan Securities PLC commencing from January 14, 2022 and ending no later than April 6, 2022. JPMS, an independent third party, will act as principal and will make trading decisions concerning the timing of the purchases of the Company's shares independently of the Company. JPMS will carry out the instruction through the acquisition by JPMS, acting as principal, of ordinary shares in the Company for subsequent purchase by the Company. The maximum pecuniary amount allocated to this tranche of the Program is GBP 275M. The value of shares repurchased by the Company under the Program pursuant to the various arrangements entered into with its brokers will not, in aggregate, exceed $1B.

06:41 EST Emergent BioSolutions founder and executive chairman, Fuad El-Hibri, to retire - Emergent BioSolutions announced that Fuad El-Hibri, founder and executive chairman, has decided to retire effective April 1. Given El-Hibri's wisdom, knowledge, experience, and history with the company, Emergent anticipates that El-Hibri will still be available as needed to effectively transition his knowledge to the Board of Directors and management team. The details of any arrangement related to that are under consideration by the Emergent Board of Directors and will be disclosed when approved by the Board. Emergent expects to name a new Chair of the Board of Directors ahead of El-Hibri's retirement.

06:37 EST BlackRock reports Q4 total net inflows $212B - Reports $212B of quarterly total net inflows positive across all client types, investment styles and regions.

06:35 EST BlackRock CEO: Delivered 'strongest organic growth in our history' - Laurence Fink, Chairman and CEO: "BlackRock delivered the strongest organic growth in our history, even as our assets under management reached new highs. We generated $540 billion of net inflows in 2021, including an industry leading $267 billion of active net inflows. Our business is more diversified than ever before - active strategies, including alternatives, contributed over 60% of 2021 organic base fee growth. Our industry-leading iShares ETF platform remained a significant growth driver with record flows of $306 billion. And our technology services businesses, powered by Aladdin, delivered $1.3 billion in revenue with ACV up 13% year over year. Our record results across each of our strategic priorities demonstrate the benefits of continually investing in our platform over years ahead of our clients' needs, and the tireless commitment of our employees. Our strategy is resonating - we're building deeper partnerships with our clients and other stakeholders, and delivering durable returns for our shareholders. As the world continues to navigate uncertainty and profound shifts in economies and societies at large, BlackRock remains focused on helping our clients meet their investment goals. Every dollar that is entrusted to us, by every client, is treated with the same care and responsibility. BlackRock enters 2022 better positioned than ever - we remain confident in our ability to continue generating differentiated organic growth over the long-term and helping more and more people experience financial wellbeing."

06:32 EST BlackRock reports Q4 AUM $10.01T, up 15% y/y

06:10 EST 'Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin,' Elon Musk says via Twitter - Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in an early Friday tweet that the company is accepting payment for some merchandise with dogecoin. "Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin," Musk tweeted. Reference Link