Stockwinners Market Radar for October 16, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:38 EDT Netflix says it has a 'long, long runway' in India - Chief Product Officer Greg Peters also says that the company is starting to see benefits from 'bundling' with internet service provider or mobile provider or pay TV operator, making it easier to find the Netflix app for customers. Says there are still pockets of consumers where it helps to make the signup easier even in America, where awareness of the product is high. Says our job is to provide consumers with great experiences, and that has earned us the right to raise prices a bit. " Comments from Q3 earnings call.

18:26 EDT Verizon says Bay, Gulf counties customers to be credited 3 months of service - Verizon said that it is 100% focused on repairing its network in the Florida Panhandle. "We are making progress every hour, and we expect that trend to continue at a rapid pace," the company said. "We won't rest until service is completely restored. Every Verizon customer in Bay and Gulf counties will be automatically credited for 3 months of mobile service for each line. This free service is for both consumer and business accounts."

17:57 EDT Celcuity, Puma Biotechnology and West Cancer Center to conduct Phase 2 trial - Celcuity (CELC) announced a clinical trial agreement with Puma Biotechnology (PBYI) and West Cancer Center, to conduct a Phase II clinical trial. This open-label Phase II trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Puma's drug, Nerlynx, and chemotherapy in up to 27 early stage triple-negative breast cancer patients selected with Celcuity's CELx HER2 signaling function, or CELx HSF, test. Under this agreement, West Cancer Center will serve as the sponsor and principal investigator of the trial and is responsible for enrolling patients and managing clinical data. Puma will supply Nerlynx, its pan-HER inhibitor currently approved by the FDA for extended adjuvant treatment of early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. Celcuity will provide its CELx HSF test to select triple-negative breast cancer patients who have hyperactive HER2-driven signaling pathways for the trial and will initially fund the patient-related trial costs. Based on its estimates of patient enrollment rates, Celcuity expects to obtain interim results in 10-12 months after the first patient is enrolled and final results within 18-24 months. Celcuity expects enrollment to begin in early 2019. The most common adverse reactions for Nerlynx were diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, vomiting, rash, stomatitis, decreased appetite, muscle spasms, dyspepsia, AST or ALT increase, nail disorder, dry skin, abdominal distention, weight decreased and urinary tract infection. The goal of the trial is to demonstrate that triple-negative breast cancer patients who have a hyperactive HER2 signaling tumor, as identified by the CELx HSF test, respond to treatment with Nerlynx, a matching HER2 therapy. Celcuity believes there is significant clinical interest in finding new diagnostic tests and targeted therapies for triple-negative breast cancer patients because fewer drug treatment options are available to them relative to other breast cancer sub-types. Celcuity submitted an investigational device exemption, or IDE, application to the FDA to use its CELx HSF Test for this clinical trial and received approval in mid-2018.

17:32 EDT IBM says growth was led by hybrid cloud, analytics and AI, digital and security - Says remains on track with full year operating EPS and free cash flow. Says there is continued strengthening of the dollar. Says modest growth in pre-tax income. Says 95 new companies on IBM cloud private. Says rebuilding enterprise platform. Says continues to expect $12B in free cash flow. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

17:22 EDT vTv Therapeutics jumps 22% after announcing presentations for CTAD conference - vTv Therapeutics announced that it will deliver an oral presentation and present a poster at the 11th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease, CTAD, conference on October 24-27, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. Shares of vTv Therapeutics are up 22.10% or 63c to $3.48 per share in after-hours trading.

17:13 EDT Boeing awarded $137M Navy contract modification for maintenance - Boeing was awarded $137M for modification P00002 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, time and material, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This modification provides CFM56-7B27A/3 and CFM56-7B27AE engine depot maintenance and repair, field assessment, maintenance repair and overhaul engine repair, and technical assistance for removal and replacement of engines for the P-8A Poseidon aircraft in support of the Navy and the government of Australia. Work will be performed in Atlanta, Georgia and Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed in October 2019. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:07 EDT BankFinancial expands share repurchase program by 180K shares - BankFinancial announced that its board has increased the number of shares that can be repurchased in accordance with the authorization by 180,000 shares. The company is increasing the amount of shares authorized for repurchase as part of its continued efforts to further improve total shareholder return. Pursuant to this increased share repurchase authorization, there are 355,658 shares of common stock authorized for repurchase through April 30, 2019.

17:03 EDT Target updates toy experience for the holidays - Target unveiled its plans for creating an unbeatable toy experience for shoppers this holiday season. The retailer is adding nearly a quarter-million square feet of new space for toys across more than 500 stores and will complete remodels of toy departments in more than 100 stores. Guests will find great prices throughout the season, deeper inventory and more than 2,500 new and exclusive toys-nearly double compared to last year. Additionally, Target will host nearly 25,000 hours of family-friendly store events, and is introducing a new toys hub on Target.com, as well as a digitally enabled kids' gifting catalog.

16:46 EDT Innospec to close its facility in Everberg, Belgium - Innospec announced that it is planning to streamline its facilities in Europe, and focus its research, development and technical service activities on centers of excellence. This will result in the closure of its facility in Everberg, Belgium.

16:43 EDT United Continental sees FY18 total regional aircraft 559 at year end - Up 41 aircraft over FY17.

16:41 EDT United Continental sees FY18 adjusted CapEx $3.6B-$3.8B

16:40 EDT United Continental sees Q4 average aircraft fuel price per gallon $2.41-$2.46

16:36 EDT United Continental sees Q4 consolidated PRASM growth 3%-5%

16:35 EDT Eiger BioPharmaceuticals trading resumes

16:33 EDT United Continental sees Q4 consolidated capacity growth 5%-6% y/y

16:32 EDT Lincoln Electric boosts dividend to 47c from 39c - Lincoln Electric Holdings announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 21% increase in the quarterly cash dividend, from 39c per share to 47c per share, or to $1.88 per share on an annualized basis. This marks the twenty-third consecutive annual increase of the dividend. The declared quarterly cash dividend of $0.47 per common share is payable January 15, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2018.

16:31 EDT FibroGen announces clinical presentations on Roxadustat - FibroGen (FGEN) announced that results of four Phase 3 clinical trials of roxadustat in anemia of chronic kidney disease, CKD, will be presented at the American Society of Nephrology, ASN, Kidney Week 2018 annual meeting in San Diego, California from October 23-28, 2018. Roxadustat is a first-in-class oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor in late-stage development for the treatment of anemia associated with CKD both in patients on dialysis and in patients not on dialysis. Roxadustat is being developed globally by FibroGen and its collaboration partners, AstraZeneca (AZN) AB and Astellas Pharma (ALPMY)

16:23 EDT HFF Inc. announces $341M in construction financing, JV equity for Boston condo - HFF Inc. announces $341M in construction financing and joint venture, or JV, equity for the development of The St. Regis Residences, Boston, a waterfront condominium tower located on one of the last remaining developable waterfront parcels in downtown Boston. The HFF team worked as an exclusive advisor to the developer, Cronin Development, to secure $306.5M in construction financing. Additionally, HFF advised Cronin Development in structuring a joint venture equity partnership for $34.5M with a private equity partner. With 114 units spread over 22 stories, The St. Regis Residences, Boston features a contemporary design. Every residence in this building offers views of Boston or Boston Harbor as well as access to outdoor space. The Residences will also include underground parking, a two-story restaurant, five-star amenities and customized services for owners.

16:21 EDT United Continental CEO says 'stand-out third-quarter performance' - "Our stand-out third-quarter performance, which produced double-digit revenue growth as we more than offset the steep increase in fuel costs, is proof that United is building momentum," said Oscar Munoz,CEO of United Airlines. "Our growth plan has been essential to our success, and we're more confident than ever we'll achieve the ambitious adjusted earnings per share1 target of $11 to $13 we laid out for 2020."

16:19 EDT United Continental reports Q3 CASM up 6.4% y/y - Consolidated CASM, excluding special charges, third-party business expenses, fuel and profit sharing, decreased 0.4% year-over-year. UAL's mid-continent hubs in Chicago, Denver and Houston had year-over-year capacity growth of 9.7% in the third quarter and led the system in unit revenue growth performance in the quarter.

16:18 EDT Superior Drilling enters service agreement with SIGS for DnR deployment - Superior Drilling announced that it has entered into a service agreement with Smith International Gulf Services, or SIGS, to support the deployment of its flagship wellbore conditioning tool, the Drill-N-Ream, or DnR, in the Middle East. A unique drilling technology, the DnR enables more efficient, cost effective drilling and, by concurrently conditioning the wellbore, it also simplifies getting casing to bottom. Under this agreement, SIGS will provide warehouse space, workshop facilities and personnel, and tool damage evaluation and repair in accordance with SDP's quality standards. Logistical services also include import/export management, tool storage and dispatch to end users. Initially, services will be provided in Dubai, UAE with expansion options into Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. SDP will provide SIGS with the knowledge and training necessary to service and refurbish DnR tools to SDP's standards. The agreement has an initial one-year term and will automatically renew until terminated by either party. Specific pricing for the various services to be rendered is currently being reviewed.

16:18 EDT Blue Capital says Q3 results would be impacted by $10.2M of catastrophe losses - Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings announced that its third quarter results would be impacted by approximately $10.2M dollars of catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums. The estimated losses consist of a $6.1M increase in estimated losses related to Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida in September 2017, as well as third quarter 2018 catastrophe losses of $4.1M, which were largely driven by the impact of Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Jebi. The company's loss estimates have been derived from the utilization of proprietary catastrophe modeling, standard industry models, an in-depth review of in-force contracts and initial indications from clients and brokers. The Company's actual losses may ultimately differ materially from estimated losses due to the nature of the risks assumed, the complexity of the assessment of damages and, with respect to the third quarter 2018 catastrophes, the limited number of reported claims received to date.

16:17 EDT Matador subsidiary enters into long-term pact with Eddy County producer - Matador Resources announced that a wholly-owned subsidiary of its midstream joint venture, San Mateo Midstream, LLC, has entered into a long-term agreement with a producer in Eddy County, New Mexico relating to the gathering and processing of such producer's natural gas production. As a result of this agreement, along with prior natural gas gathering and processing agreements entered into by San Mateo with Matador and other customers, San Mateo has now entered into contracts to provide firm gathering and processing services for over 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, or over 80% of the designed inlet capacity of 260 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, at its Black River cryogenic natural gas processing plant in the Rustler Breaks asset area in Eddy County, New Mexico. Capital expenditures directly associated with this agreement are expected to be minimal due to capacity-enhancement projects that San Mateo has already undertaken, including the expansion of the Black River Processing Plant, which was completed on time and on budget in the first quarter of 2018. As a result, Matador's estimated 2018 capital expenditures for midstream activities remains unchanged from previous guidance at $70M to $90M, which primarily reflects 51% of San Mateo's total estimated capital expenditures for 2018.

16:13 EDT Lam Research up 5% afterhours following Q1 earnings

16:12 EDT Netflix up nearly 14% following Q3 subscriber beat, Q4 forecast - In after hours trading, Netflix shares are up $47.85, or 13.8%, to $394.25.

16:11 EDT Domo announces formation of new Enterprise Advisory Board - Domo announced the formation of the Domo Enterprise Advisory Board, a new advisory group of six former global CIOs, brought together to help shape new solutions and go-to-market strategies that meet the dynamic needs of large organizations worldwide at all stages of their digital transformation journey. The group was formed in partnership with Mumford Sole Advisors, a group co-founded by Peter Sole, former CEO of Gartner's Research Board, who also chairs the group.

16:10 EDT Netflix sees FY18 free cash flow 'closer to' negative $3B to $4B - Netflix said: "Free cash flow in Q3 was -$859M vs. -$465M in the year ago quarter...We anticipate that FCF will be closer to -$3B than to -$4B for the full year 2018. We expect our quarterly FCF deficit will increase sequentially from Q3 to Q4 as our year to date FCF is -$1.7B. We currently see next year's negative FCF as roughly flat with this year. We recognize we are making huge cash investments in content, and we want to assure our investors that we have the same high confidence in the underlying economics as our cash investments in the past."

16:08 EDT Netflix says 'New Fox appears to have a great strategy' - In its quarterly letter, Netflix (NFLX) stated: "We compete for entertainment time with linear TV, YouTube, video gaming, web browsing, social media, DVD and PPV, and more. In that competition for screen hours, we lose most of the time, but we win enough to keep growing...Within linear TV, New Fox appears to have a great strategy, which is to focus on large simultaneous-viewing sports and news. These content areas are not transformed by on-demand viewing and personalization in the way that TV series and movies are, so they are more resistant to the rise of the internet. Other linear networks are likely to follow this model over time."

16:08 EDT Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announces results from Phase 2 PREVENT study - Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announced positive results from the Phase 2 PREVENT study. PREVENT is a multi-center, placebo-controlled study investigating the safety and durability of effect of 28-day dosing of subcutaneous, or SCc avexitide in post-bariatric surgical patients who experience dangerously low, postprandial blood glucose levels known as post-bariatric hypoglycemia, or PBH. Avexitide is a first in class glucagon-like peptide-1 antagonist in development for PBH as a convenient, novel liquid formulation for SC administration. PBH is an orphan disease with a high unmet medical need and no approved pharmacologic therapy.

16:07 EDT Netflix says 'evolving' to paid membership focus - Netflix stated in its quarterly letter: "Because growth in paid memberships is more steady, our forecast for paid net adds has been historically more accurate than our total net adds forecast. For example in Q2'18, our paid net adds forecast was off by 11% compared to a 17% variance for total net adds forecast. In addition, we are learning that no free trial may result in greater revenue in some markets, so free trial count at the end of a quarter will likely be a less insightful predictor of future growth than in the past. As a result, starting with our earnings report in January 2019, we'll only guide to paid memberships; a year after that, in 2020, we'll cease reporting on end-of-quarter free trial count. We will show the weekly paid net adds graph, as above on the right, in each earnings letter going forward. We expect this additional disclosure will be helpful to your understanding of our business, in particular, how steady our paid membership growth is in the near term."

16:06 EDT ICF International wins $200M contract by USAID - ICF was awarded a re-compete contract by the U.S. Agency for International Development to continue to implement its Demographic and Health Surveys Program. The contract, which was awarded by the Bureau for Global Health, has a contract value of over $200M and a term of five years. ICF is expected to provide technical assistance to about 90 population-based and facility-based surveys in more than 50 countries in this eighth round of the DHS contract. This includes researching, collecting, analyzing and disseminating data in areas such as fertility, family planning, maternal and child health, gender, HIV/AIDS, malaria and nutrition. Data from the DHS surveys is used by national governments and international organizations for planning, policymaking and program management purposes, as well as researchers worldwide. ICF is also expected to help strengthen capacity of in-country institutions to enable them to collect and use data for their own decision-making purposes.

16:05 EDT CSX reports Q3 operating ratio 58.7% vs 68.4% last year - The company states: "Expenses declined 2% year over year to $1.84B, as expenses associated with increased volume and higher fuel prices were more than offset by efficiency gains as CSX continues to implement its scheduled railroading business model. This combination yielded operating income growth of 49% for the quarter to $1.29B compared to $868M in the same period last year."

16:03 EDT Netflix reports Q3 streaming net additions of 6.96M members - Reports Q3 U.S. memberships rose by 1.09M and international added 5.87M memberships.

16:02 EDT Ziopharm CMO Francois Lebel is stepping off - Ziopharm Oncology announced changes to its Board of Directors and management team. Ziopharm's Chief Executive Officer Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D, is appointed to the Board of Directors effective immediately, and Francois Lebel, M.D., is stepping down from his position as Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Research & Development, effective Oct. 26. Ziopharm recently announced it has full developmental control over its technologies and is now evolving its organizational structure. A recruitment process is underway during this transition period aimed at building upon existing expertise to meet the needs of patients and shareholders.

15:33 EDT Hispamar and Gilat launch satellite-based broadband service in Brazil - Hispamar, the Brazilian subsidiary of the Spanish satellite-based telecommunications operator Hispasat, and Gilat Satellite Networks have joined together to offer a new high-quality satellite-based broadband connectivity service, focusing on both the residential and corporate market, in order to extend Internet access to the parts of the country that are currently digitally isolated. Both companies announced this plan in a special event for clients, partners and media held in Sao Paulo, as part of the Futurecom fair. The event was hosted by executives from both sides including Hispasat's CEO, Carlos Espinos; Hispasat's CCO, Ignacio Sanchis; Hispamar's Business Director for South America, Sergio Chaves; Gilat's Regional Vice President for Latin America, Tobias Dezordi and Gilat's General Manager of Brazil, Eduardo Bessa. The joint goal is to enhance the reach of Brazilian Internet service provider networks, thus making it easier for residents to access a high-quality service, helping to bridge the digital divide and promoting development in Brazil.

15:20 EDT Geomni forms strategic alliance with Skyline Software Systems - Geomni, a Verisk business, and Skyline Software Systems announced a strategic alliance to create a web-based, high-resolution 3D geospatial mapping solution for the United States. Called Skyline Atlas, the industry-leading solution will be available early 2019. This Internet-enabled service will be made commercially available to customers of both Geomni and Skyline. Skyline Atlas-US serves to provide customers with cost effective, geo-referenced 2D and 3D maps by leveraging Geomni's extensive aerial survey capabilities and vast library of high-resolution imagery. The process includes Skyline's complete 3D authoring, streaming, and web-based visualization toolkits. Starting with an initial five U.S. cities, Skyline Atlas-US along with Geomni plans to add one to two cities per month. The service provides customers with many different flexible pricing options depending on their needs.

15:17 EDT FCB does not see material adverse portfolio impact from Hurricane Michael - FCB Financial reports it remained 100% operational throughout Hurricane Michael and currently expects only nominal customer business interruption or credit impact as a result of the storm. "To date, the bank has contacted every commercial and consumer client in impacted areas since the storm. Based on these client interactions and the review of all exposures, we do not anticipate any material adverse portfolio or economic impacts to FCB as a result of Hurricane Michael. Consistent with our underwriting policies, client interactions indicate a large majority of hurricane related damage is covered by insurance proceeds, excess collateral value and guarantor support with recovery timelines varying from immediate to repairs requiring short-term downtime," FCB stated. FCB reports comprehensive customer outreach contacting every commercial and consumer client in impacted areas representing nearly $57M in loans outstanding, consisting of $55M of commercial and commercial real estate loans and $2M in residential loans.

15:02 EDT Boeing sees air cargo traffic doubling in 20 years - Boeing projects air cargo operators will need more than 2,600 freighters over the next two decades to keep up with increasing global freight traffic, which is expected to double with 4.2% growth annually. The 980 new medium and large freighters and 1,670 converted freighters will go toward replacing older airplanes and growing the global fleet to meet demand, according to the new World Air Cargo Forecast, released by Boeing today at The International Air Cargo Association's Air Cargo Forum and Exhibition. "The air cargo market continues to be a major element of commercial aviation's growth story," said Darren Hulst, managing director of Market Analysis & Sales Support at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Our new forecast indicates strong long-term air cargo trends, which coincide with the market recovery that we have seen over the last few years across Europe, North America, and Asia." Some of the factors driving the growth in air cargo include a growing express market in China and the global rise of e-commerce, which is forecast to increase 20% annually to nearly $5T in 2021 according to Boeing's analysis. To meet growing market needs, Boeing also forecasts: 5he world freighter fleet will expand by more than 70%, from the current total of 1,870 to 3,260 airplanes; Boeing projects new production freighter deliveries valued at $280B; Demand for regional express services in fast-developing economies will boost the standard-body share of the freighter fleet from 37% today to 39%; 1,170 standard body and 500 medium wide-body passenger airplanes will be converted into freighters over the next two decades; Dedicated freighters, which provide unique capability that passenger belly-cargo cannot match, will continue to carry more than 50% of the world's air cargo demand. The majority will be in the large widebody freighter category, such as the 747-8 Freighter and 777 Freighters.

15:00 EDT FDA sends warning letter to MannKind over Affrezza marketing - In a warning letter sent by the FDA, dated October 5, 2018, the FDA's Office of Prescription Drug Promotion said that posts on MannKind Corporation's Facebook page for Afrezza on February 9, 2018, and March 19, 2018 made "false or misleading claims and/or representations about the risks associated with Afrezza by suggesting that there are no safety concerns associated with the use of the drug." The OPDP requested that MannKind immediately cease misbranding Afrezza and/or cease introducing the misbranded drug into interstate commerce and directed the company to submit a written response to its letter on or before October 19, 2018. Reference Link

14:34 EDT Cadence Design says Verification Suite enabled for HPC server environments - Cadence Design Systems announced that the Cadence Verification Suite is now enabled for Arm-based high-performance computing, HPC, server environments. Through an industry ecosystem collaboration, software tools in the Cadence Verification Suite, including XceliumParallel Logic Simulation, run on the Hewlett Packard Enterprise,HPE, Apollo 70 System, which is built using the Marvell(R) ThunderX2 processor based on the Armv8-A architecture. The collaboration provides customers with a compute option that HPE indicates can be up to 19 percent more cost effective than other HPE industry-standard servers, enabling a new level of flexibility to make tradeoff decisions pertaining to internal project priorities, user license allocation, unlicensed task execution and time to project completion.

14:18 EDT Merrick D. Okamoto reports 9.2% stake in Marathon Patent Group

13:31 EDT Game On: Pachter says 'Red Dead Online' could be 25% as popular as 'GTA Online' - Welcome to "Game On," The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks. In this week's edition, The Fly held separate exclusive interviews with Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey and Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter to gather their respective thoughts on a handful of topics in the video game sector. RED DEAD ONLINE: When asked whether he believed Take-Two's (TTWO) "Red Dead Online" will be as popular as "Grand Theft Auto Online," also published by Take-Two, Wedbush's Pachter said that it is "reasonable to conclude that 'Red Dead Online' will be 25% as popular as 'GTA Online.' And 'GTA' is doing $400M-$500M per year, so 'Red Dead Online' will probably do $100M-$125M. I mean, that's reasonable." Pachter said that number could be higher if Rockstar makes the game "a super fun experience," though he doesn't believe that the Old West aesthetic of the game will be as appealing as the modern day urban crime themes of "GTA." Meanwhile, Hickey said that he believes "Red Dead Online" will be successful, cautioning that there's "much to learn on the company's plan with online." Still, he noted that Rockstar "built one of the most compelling live services models in the market today" with "GTA Online." "Every time they announce new content for 'GTA Online,' it creates market awareness and excitement," Hickey said. "That's certainly going to encourage players to buy 'GTA V.' So, I don't see why you change what's [not] broken, you just make it better." LIVE SERVICES MODEL: On the topic of whether or not the live services model found in Rockstar-developed games is a sustainable business practice, especially considering "Red Dead Redemption 2" is the first release from Take-Two's Rockstar in five years, Mike Hickey said that the live services model "seems to be the direction" that most companies are heading. "Take-Two has been able to create solid profitability in non-release years," the Benchmark analyst said. "So less games, but bigger games that last longer is kind of what people are trying to achieve. And players are responding." Meanwhile, Wedbush's Pachter said that the live services model only works if the game is multiplayer. "You're not going to do a live services single-player game," Pachter told The Fly. "'GTA' works because 'GTA' is a single player game, and 'GTA Online' is the multiplayer experience. 'Red Dead' will work for the same reason. 'Call of Duty Blackout' (ATVI) will work for the same reason. In multiplayer, you only spend money because you're trying to defeat someone else or show off to somebody else. That's the reason for spending money on microtransactions for live services. So it's got to be multiplayer."

13:14 EDT Duke Energy pilot program to expand EV charging across South Carolina - As new electric vehicles enter the market and strong sales growth continues nationwide, Duke Energy has proposed an electric transportation, ET, pilot program that will allow South Carolina to join other states in deploying EV infrastructure to meet the needs of this growing market. Electric vehicles are coming to South Carolina, but more investment is needed to grow the adoption of this evolving technology and the benefits it brings to the state," said Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, Duke Energy's South Carolina president. "We must prepare for this by providing for and better understanding the electrical needs of this growing population." The proposed $10M pilot consists of four programs designed to research and better understand the effects of increasing adoption of electric transportation on Duke Energy's electric system, the behavior of customers and the potential financial and environmental benefits to the state of South Carolina.

13:04 EDT Whirlpool rises to session high, up 3% - The afternoon move higher in shares of Whirlpool may be related to the release of monthly data from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, or AHAM.

13:00 EDT BioMarin announces receipt of $15M milestone payment from Pfizer - BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) announced that the company earned $15M in milestone payments from Pfizer (PFE) triggered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Talzenna for the treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Patients are selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic. These milestone payments are part of an agreement made with Medivation, which was previously acquired by Pfizer. Under the terms of a previously announced agreement, Medivation paid BioMarin $410M upfront, and BioMarin was entitled to receive up to an additional $160M in aggregate upon the achievement of regulatory and sales-based milestones, of which $35M has been earned to date, as well as mid-single digit royalties for Talzenna. In June of this year, the European Medicines Agency accepted the Marketing Application for talazoparib for this patient population and is currently reviewing the application, BioMarin added.

12:55 EDT Blink teams up with Google Maps to assist drivers in locating charging stations - Blink Charging (BLNK) said earlier that it has teamed up with Google Maps (GOOG, GOOGL) to assist EV drivers in locating its charging stations. Google Maps is launching a new feature that brings electric vehicle charging stations to its map. As part of this effort, Blink has worked with Google Maps to ensure Blink charging stations and relevant information about these stations is available to Google Map users on Android, iOS, and desktops globally. The Fly notes that Blink Charging is surging on the news and is now trading at $3.29.

12:39 EDT Cannabis stocks fall as Canada prepares to legalize marijuana - Shares of cannabis stocks are dropping as Canada prepares to legalize marijuana sales on Wednesday, becoming the highest-profile country to tax, regulate and monitor cannabis' growth, distribution and sale. BENCHMARK SAYS BUY TILRAY: On Tuesday, Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey initiated coverage of Tilray (TLRY) with a Buy rating and $200 price target, citing its early leadership in the medical cannabis market in Canada and the upcoming legalization of recreational cannabis. He believes the company's strategic alliance with Novartis (NVS) and supply agreements with Canadian pharmacies that give Tilray a competitive edge in the Canadian medical cannabis market, Hickey told investors. He also believes the potential international opportunity is "enormous," estimating that the global cannabis market opportunity could exceed $200B over the long-term. Hickey said Tilray is "well-positioned to take a meaningful share of this market." PRICE TARGET REMOVED: Roth Capital analyst Scott Fortune removed Tilray's price target on October 2 after assuming coverage of the stock, citing "unprecedented volatility." The analyst noted that Tilray has experienced extreme volatile trading, with the stock halted five times on September 19 and a 150-point trading swing on the same day. The stock has a small number of shares outstanding, significant short interest, and not many investors that can loan the stock to short sellers, he pointed out, adding that the cannabis industry continues to trade with extreme volatility due to M&A and partnership speculation. He reiterated a Neutral rating on the stock. VERITAS SAYS SELL: Veritas analyst Stuart Rolfe began coverage of the Canadian Cannabis sector on Friday with four Sell ratings on Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC), Aphria (APHQF), Aurora Cannabis (ACBFF) and Cronos Group (CRON) in a note entitled "End of the Rainbow." The analyst noted that investors have already driven stock valuations for the eighth largest publicly traded Canadian cannabis producers to a combined market cap of $55B on trailing twelve month sales of $250M while "oversupply risks are rampant." Even assuming 60% of the black market converts, Canada's cannabis industry "looks wildly overvalued," Rolfe said. The analyst, who sees an intrinsic value of C$30 for Canopy Growth shares, said the company may be at risk of too much exposure to positive projections, adding Canopy appears to have the most to lose if market conditions disappoint as it bet heavily on brand power and novel formulations. Rolfe called Aphria a "star unicorn" among the group, saying that despite the negative optics on the Nuuvera purchase, the company has been a leader in useful disclosure on strategies and operations and said he sees an intrinsic value of C$19 for Aphria shares. In addition, Rolfe, who sees an intrinsic value of C$13 for Aurora shares, said the company has acquired its way to becoming one of the largest scale bets on cannabis capacity available to public investors, but the company's approach seems to be "a touch unfocused." The analyst also said he sees an intrinsic value of C$4.50 for Cronos shares as the company's positioning risks becoming "stale" as an undifferentiated grower with a few "solid" cannabis-related investments. CANNABIS STOCKS: Other publicly traded companies in the space include CV Sciences (CVSI) and India Globalization Capital (IGC). PRICE ACTION: In early afternoon trading, Tilray was down 5.6% to $156.39, Canopy Growth fell 5.6% to $53.75, Aphria dropped about 5% to $14.59, Aurora Cannabis was down 5.7% to $11.04 and Cronos Group fell 0.7% to $11.66.

12:26 EDT Brunswick raises quarterly dividend 10% to 21c per share - The board of directors of Brunswick Corporation raised the quarterly dividend on its common stock by approximately 10% to 21c per share. This marks Brunswick's sixth consecutive year of quarterly dividend increases since 2013. The dividend will be payable on Dec. 14, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 20, 2018.

12:18 EDT Myriad's BRACAnalysis CDx approved as companion diagnostic for Talzenna - Myriad Genetics (MYGN) announced that the U.S. FDA has approved BRACAnalysis CDx to be used by healthcare professionals to identify patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have a germline BRCA mutation and are eligible for treatment with Pfizer's (PFE) PARP inhibitor, TALZENNA. TALZENNA is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated HER2-negative locally advanced or mBC. One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States, and one-third will progress to the metastatic stage of the disease. The FDA approvals are based on results from the EMBRACA trial that evaluated TALZENNA versus physician's choice chemotherapy in patients with germline BRCA-mutated, HER2-negative locally advanced or mBC.

12:00 EDT SendGrid rises 10.5% - SendGrid is up 10.5%, or $3.24 to $34.17.

12:00 EDT Jupai Holdings rises 11.1% - Jupai Holdings is up 11.1%, or 81c to $8.14.

11:41 EDT On Deck Capital announces new subsidiary, ODX, to serve banks - OnDeck earlier today introduced ODX, a new company that will focus on helping banks digitize their small business lending process. ODX will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of OnDeck. ODX "represents an expansion of OnDeck's existing platform services business to address increasing demand from banks who want to bring their small business lending process online...Building off that heritage, an ODX-powered bank platform experience can enable a small business customer to apply for financing from their bank digitally, receive immediate decisions, and obtain funding in as fast as 24 hours," the company stated.

10:58 EDT Applied Systems announces minority investment by CapitalG - Applied Systems announced an investment from CapitalG, Alphabet's growth equity investment fund. "CapitalG's investment will bring Applied access to Google expertise across artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital marketing," the company said in a statement. Other CapitalG investments include Lyft, Airbnb, SurveyMonkey, and Zscaler. Under the agreement, affiliates of Hellman & Friedman will retain majority ownership of the company, with CapitalG joining JMI Equity and Stone Point Capital as a minority investor. The investment will support Applied as it continues to focus on digital innovation within the global insurance industry. The transaction closed in the third quarter of 2018. Terms were not disclosed. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel for Applied and Hellman & Friedman. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC served as legal counsel for CapitalG.

10:46 EDT DOJ reports Nomura to pay $480M to settle RMBS claims - The United States has reached an agreement with Nomura Holding America Inc. and several of its affiliates, which will pay a $480M penalty to resolve federal civil claims that Nomura misled investors in connection with the marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities, or "RMBS," between 2006 and 2007. Nomura's investors, which included university endowments, retirement funds and federally insured financial institutions, suffered significant losses due to Nomura's misconduct. Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Jennifer Byrne, Associate Inspector General, Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General, announced the settlement.

10:31 EDT BB&T to build approx. 100,000 square foot facility in Whiteville - BB&T Corporation announced it will build an approximately 100,000-square-foot office facility at 301 S. James K. Powell Blvd. in downtown Whiteville, North Carolina. The new approximately $20M building will consolidate the 500 BB&T associates who currently work in nine locations in the Whiteville area including one of its primary Client Care Centers on James B. White Highway. BB&T expects to begin site work on the project during the first quarter of 2019 with an opening date yet to be determined.

10:19 EDT Goldman expects to be acquisitive in consumer-lending unit

10:13 EDT Tivity says SilverSneakers available to Wisconsin MA members in 2019 - Tivity Health announced that SilverSneakers, its fitness program designed exclusively for older adults, will be available to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in Wisconsin in 2019. Wisconsin seniors enrolled in participating health plans will have access to SilverSneakers at no additional cost to them, the company said in a statement. "The program offers access to more than 15,000 partner locations nationwide, the ability to use the benefit at multiple locations throughout the country, a wide variety of programming options, and digital tools and activities that support physical health and social interaction," it added.

10:03 EDT Corcept granted orphan status for Cushing syndrome treatment - The FDA granted orphan status for Corcept Therapeutics' treatment of endogenous Cushing syndrome relacorilant. Reference Link

09:58 EDT Goldman Sachs CFO says investment banking backlog remains at 'robust' level - Goldman Sachs incoming CFO Stephen Scherr says bank intends to take a long-term view to driving strong shareholder returns. Says believes Goldman Sachs can do more to deliver the whole of the business to clients. Says remains committed to executing on revenue growth opportunities. Says reviewing all of businesses front to back. CFO Marty Chavez, who will become vice chairman of the firm, says all four of business segments grew at a double-digit pace. Says remains "cautiously optimistic" given active client dialogues, healthy economic growth and investor sentiment. Says client engagement has approved notably this year across America and Europe. Says investment banking backlog remains at "a robust level", but decreased since a record Q2. Says continues to execute on efforts to deepen client relationships and make significant investments in platforms. Says continues to reinvest to drive future long-term performance. Says net interest income continues to grow. Says launched fourth Marcus product for the UK deposit market last month. Says $2B of UK online deposits added since launch. Says held $4B in loans in Marcus balance sheet at quarter-end. Says continues to manage expense base carefully. Say comp ratio down on strong revenue growth. Says expects FY tax rate to be "materially consistent" with first nine months. Says remains committed to driving positive operating leverage as revenues grow. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

09:47 EDT Grainger falls -11.9% - Grainger is down -11.9%, or -$37.77 to $280.25.

09:47 EDT Ferrari rises 6.8% - Ferrari is up 6.8%, or $7.84 to $122.85.

09:47 EDT SendGrid rises 8.1% - SendGrid is up 8.1%, or $2.52 to $33.45.

09:41 EDT Johnson & Johnson says will respond to Trump administration's DTC ad proposal - Says worried patients will skip care if prices not in context.

09:31 EDT AAR Corp. signs agreement with Ontic for support of military MRO business - Ontic has appointed AAR as its authorized inventory management partner and exclusive distributor in support of Ontic UK's Military MRO business. This business includes a variety of repair and overhaul services for a portfolio of legacy avionics parts servicing the military market, including electromechanical, barometric, gyroscopes and electronics products. Key platforms include the BAE Hawk aircraft; Leonardo Sea King and AW101 helicopters; Lockheed C-130 transports; Boeing F-15 and V22; and the Tornado.

09:23 EDT Volkswagen: MAN plant in Starachowice gears up for electric bus production - Volkswagen said in a statement that preparations for fully electric vehicle manufacturing are moving to the next level at the MAN city bus plant. Some EURO$27.4 million is being invested in the facility. The next phase of the plant location's modernisation and preparation for electric transport is already underway at MAN's plant in the Polish town of Starachowice. The operating company, MAN Bus Sp. z o.o. Starachowice, received approval in August 2018 to expand its activities to include manufacturing complete electric buses within the "Starachowice" Special Economic Zone. The capital expenditure related to accommodating electric-powered bus production is estimated at close to EURO$27.4 million. Completion of the works is planned for the end of 2021.

09:20 EDT Johnson & Johnson says not satisfied with medical device performance - Says Pharma market heating up with rebates, but will continue to compete

09:20 EDT The Hertz Corporation partners with SkyTeam - Hertz Global Holdings announced that The Hertz Corporation has partnered with SkyTeam, one of the world's leading airline alliances, as its first non-air affiliate. Effective October 16, 2018, Frequent Flyers of all of SkyTeam's 20 member airlines can enjoy a variety of car rental benefits while notching up miles towards air travel* when they rent a vehicle from Hertz.

09:12 EDT Devon Energy sees Q3 net production in U.S 418,000 Boe per day - Devon Energy estimates that net production in the U.S. will be approximately 418,000 Boe per day during Q3. During the quarter, Devon monetized minor, non-core assets with an associated production impact of approximately 2,000 Boe per day, the company said earlier in a statement. It added that the production result exceeded its guidance range, adjusted for the non-core asset sales, of 398,000 to 417,000 Boe per day. It added, "A key driver of the third-quarter production outperformance was higher natural gas liquids yields and recoveries, which benefit from access to premium pricing in the Mont Belvieu market. Devon's U.S. oil production in the third quarter was in line with the midpoint of guidance. The company effectively controlled capital costs during the third quarter. Devon's upstream capital spending was $523 million in the quarter, which was $52 million, or 9 percent below the company's midpoint guidance."

09:10 EDT Duke Energy expects to restore power today in North and South Carolina - Duke Energy expects to restore power by tonight to most of the remaining North Carolina and South Carolina customers impacted by Tropical Storm Michael late last week. Less than 8,000 customers in North Carolina's Caswell, Guilford, Rockingham and Wake counties remained without power as of 9 a.m. today. Duke Energy plans to restore power to most customers, whose properties can receive power, by 11:45 p.m. Crews have restored power to more than 1 million Carolinas customers since the powerful storm struck the region last Thursday - one day after ripping through the Florida Panhandle, initially as a category 4 hurricane packing 155 mph winds. More than 10,000 repair workers, including power line technicians and other specialists, have been working long hours in the Carolinas.

09:07 EDT Banner Corp. receives Skagit shareholder approval for its acquisition of Skagit - The shareholders of Skagit Bancorp approved the previously announced definitive merger agreement with Banner Corp., the holding company for Banner Bank, pursuant to which Banner will acquire Skagit in an all-stock transaction, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein. Banner previously announced that it has received all regulatory approvals required to consummate the proposed transaction. The transaction is expected to close on or about November 1 subject to customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will have approximately $11.4B in assets and branches across four western states.

09:06 EDT Five Prime initiates patient dosing in dose exploration cohort of Phase 1 trial - Five Prime Therapeutics announced that it initiated patient dosing in the dose exploration cohort of its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of FPA150, a targeted, first-in-class immuno-oncology antibody that targets B7-H4. B7-H4 is in the same family of checkpoint molecules as PD-L1 and, like PD-L1, appears to inhibit T-cells in preclinical models. FPA150 has a dual mechanism of action: it blocks a T cell checkpoint pathway and delivers antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against B7-H4-expressing tumor cells. FPA150-001 is an ongoing Phase 1a/1b dose escalation and expansion clinical trial of FPA150 monotherapy in patients with advanced solid tumors. The exploratory basket cohort is a part of that trial and will include up to 10 patients whose tumors overexpress B7-H4, as assessed by an immunohistochemistry assay. The objective of this cohort is to evaluate a range of FPA150 doses to gain additional data on safety, pharmacokinetics and potential preliminary clinical activity. All patients will undergo pre- and on-treatment biopsies to assess the pharmacodynamic effects of FPA150 on the tumor and the tumor microenvironment. The Phase 1a dose-escalation portion of FPA150-001 in unselected patients with any solid tumor is currently ongoing. The primary objective of this portion of the trial is to identify a maximum tolerated dose or recommended dose for FPA150 monotherapy. Once the MTD/RTD has been identified, the company will initiate a Phase 1b dose-expansion portion of the trial in B7-H4 positive tumors, including in breast cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer. The Phase 1b dose expansion endpoints include objective response rate, as well as safety and PK.

09:05 EDT UnitedHealth sees sustained strong growth, improved earnings performance ahead

09:04 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Adobe (ADBE), up 6%, after backing its Q4 guidance and providing its FY19 outlook... SendGrid (SEND), up 12% after agreeing to be acquired by Twilio (TWLO)... Plug Power (PLUG), up 4% after raising FY18 revenue guidance... Pluristem (PSTI), up 4% after announcing plans to initiate FDA-cleared EAP for PLX-PAD with WideTrial... Hanwah Q Cells (HQCL), up 17% after agreeing to be acquired by Hanwha Solar. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Goldman Sachs (GS), up 1%... United Health (UNH), up 2%... Morgan Stanley (MS), up 3%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: BlackRock (BLK), down 3%. LOWER: Palo Alto Networks (PANW), down 2% after after naming a new president and backing Q1 guidance... India Globalization Capital (IGC), down 13% after filing a $100M mixed securities shelf... Twilio, down 3% after agreeing to deal to buy SendGrid.

09:03 EDT Morgan Stanley says it is confident in outlook - Says clients are now going with multiple equity players. Says equities and investment banking is very competitive. Says it has the ability to grow share even when pool of revenues are not growing. Says expects to maintain or grow its share. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

09:02 EDT LivePerson acquires AdvantageTec for undisclosed amount - LivePerson announced the acquisition of AdvantageTec, a leading provider of texting solutions for service departments of automotive dealerships. The addition of AdvantageTec to Contact At Once!, LivePerson's automotive company, helps enable conversational commerce across the entire dealership, including variable and fixed operations. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on LivePerson's results of operations for the full year ending December 31.

08:57 EDT BlackRock says saw accelerated de-risking among clients in Q3 - Says saw accelerated de-risking among clients in Q3. Says tax run rate of 23% is "reasonable" for rest of the year. Says 2018 has been "particularly strong" for Aladdin. Expect slow to mid teens growth for technology business for the long-term. Comments taken from the Q3 earnings conference call. Shares of BlackRock are down 3.2% in pre-market trading.

08:51 EDT Shake Shack announces plans to open in Mexico City - Shake Shack announces its introduction to Latin America next year, with plans to open in Mexico City with partner Grupo Toks in 2019. Shake Shack is proud to partner with Grupo Toks, a leading food and retail group based in Mexico City with more than 40 years of knowledge and experience, to launch the first Shack in the region. Together they plan to open 30 total Shacks in Mexico through 2028.

08:50 EDT Johnson & Johnson says pricing pressure impacted all Ortho divisions

08:47 EDT Perspecta awarded $17M contract by Maryland State Retirement Agency - Perspecta announced that it has been awarded a contract to continue and expand its support of the Maryland State Retirement Agency, or MSRA, encompassing both business analysis and systems development on the Maryland Pension Administration System, or MPAS, and other applications. The five-year contract represents both new and follow-on work for the company and has a total value of up to $17M. Perspecta will work with the customer to enhance the pension retirement workflows for state employees and collectively seek to improve business operations for the agency.

08:39 EDT Fusion announces $750,000 contract with fashion, lifestyle brand - Fusion announced that it has signed a three year, $750,000 contract with a fashion and lifestyle brand to connect 29 of the brand's locations to the cloud. The fashion company selected Fusion over multiple providers to deliver a secure, PCI-compliant cloud-based solution with quality of service guarantees that ensure 100% uptime.

08:36 EDT Attis Industries appoints J. Gregory Pilewicz as president, Mark Schifani as COO - Attis Industries announced the appointments of J. Gregory Pilewicz as President of the company and Mark Schifani as COO of the company by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Additionally, Pilewicz, Schifani and Chris Diaz, the company's CFO, were granted three year employment agreements.

08:34 EDT Zosano Pharma names Greg Kitchener as CFO - Zosano Pharma (ZSAN) announced the appointment of Greg Kitchener to the position of CFO. Prior to joining Zosano, Kitchener served as CFO and executive vice president at BioPharmX Corporation (BPMX).

08:33 EDT Carnival subsidiaries to charter three cruise ships for APEC Summit - P&O Cruises Australia and Princess Cruises, subsidiaries of Carnival Corporation & plc will charter three cruise ships to house delegates to the 2018 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, Summit in November 2018, hosted in the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby. From their moorings within the APEC security zones, three of the corporation's ships - Pacific Jewel and the recently refurbished Pacific Explorer from P&O Cruises Australia, and another recently refurbished ship, Sea Princess from Princess Cruises - will provide accommodations for APEC attendees. Papua New Guinea is hosting the annual gathering of 10,000 delegates, senior officials and journalists from APEC's 21 member countries for the first time since joining the organization more than a quarter century ago.

08:29 EDT McDermott begins fabrication for Tyra Redevelopment project - McDermott International held a first steel-cutting ceremony at its fabrication yard in Batam, Indonesia, to mark the commencement of fabrication for the Tyra Redevelopment project.McDermott will fabricate and assemble two separate work packages for Total, comprising of seven topside structures, six connecting bridges and six jacket extensions weighing a total of 36,300 tons. This is one of the largest combined projects for McDermott in the North Sea.

08:28 EDT Marvell increases share repurchase plan to $1B - Marvell Technology Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a $700M addition to the balance of its existing share repurchase program, increasing the total current repurchase authority to $1B. Marvell's existing share repurchase program had approximately $307M of repurchase authority remaining as of October 12, 2018.

08:24 EDT Lexicon, Ipsen Canada announce Health Canada approval for Xermelo - Lexicon (LXRX) and Ipsen (IPSEY) Canada announced that Health Canada has approved Xermelo 250 mg as a first and only orally administered therapy for the treatment of refractory carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in combination with somatostatin analog, or SSA, therapy in patients inadequately controlled by SSA therapy alone. This approval allows for the marketing of Xermelo by Lexicon's collaborator, Ipsen, in the above indication in Canada. Carcinoid syndrome is a rare and debilitating condition that affects people with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors. Xermelo targets the overproduction of serotonin inside mNET cells, providing a new treatment option for patients suffering from carcinoid syndrome diarrhea.

08:12 EDT NAPCO Security selected by North East Independent School District in San Antonio - NAPCO Security Technologies announced that the North East Independent School District, or NEISD, located in San Antonio, Texas is installing Continental Access products. The NEISD school district operates forty- six elementary schools, fourteen middle schools and seven high schools. The student population is approximately 64,000 and has approximately 9,000 employees.Multiple schools have already been completed and the district is adding more than 250 doors to the access control system in the fall of 2018.

08:10 EDT Guardant Health announces results froom NSCLC study - A prospective study in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, has demonstrated that the blood based Guardant360 assay, developed by Guardant Health identified clinically actionable mutations in nearly twice as many patients as tissue biopsy alone. Additionally, the results suggest a potential clinical strategy for treatment-naive advanced NSCLC of plasma genotyping first ahead of traditional tissue genotyping. Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania published the findings of the 323-patient study in JAMA Oncology, concluding that the results support routine use of a liquid biopsy blood test to guide treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC.

08:10 EDT Workhorse Group enters initial production of NGEN-1000 all-electric delivery van - Workhorse Group announced that the Workhorse NGEN-1000, a new light-weight electric delivery vehicle, has entered initial production. The NGEN-1000's curb weight is 4,000lbs - less than one-half of what a traditional diesel step-van weighs - while carrying the same cubic footage of storage, 1,000 cubic feet. Management believes this weight reduction, coupled with the 100-mile range, will have cost-savings implications that will make the EV alternative to traditional fleet delivery vehicles all the more appealing. The NGEN will be available in four cargo sizes for customers: 250, 450, 700 and 1,000 cubic feet.

08:08 EDT Flir Systems awarded USCG contract with value of $9.9M to support encrypted AIS - FLIR Systems announced that it has been awarded a contract from the United States Department of Homeland Security in support of the U.S. Coast Guard's Second Generation Automatic Identification System, or AIS-2, program. The indefinite delivery indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contract has a ceiling value of $9.9 million to provide second generation Automatic Identification System, or AIS, transponders, associated peripherals, and spare parts for nearly 1,774 boats and 282 cutters in the USCG's active fleet. The government anticipates the purchase of vessel class-specific kits and spare parts to equip all USCG vessels with AIS-2 over the next five years.

08:07 EDT Charles River awarded five-year $97.5M contract by NIAID - Charles River Laboratories International announced that it was awarded a five-year, $95.7M contract by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is one of the largest institutes of the National Institutes of Health. Under NIAID's Division of Intramural Research animal care program, Charles River will manage and provide staffing for NIAID's on-site vivarium and related research model operations. The program is required to ensure the humane care and use of research models, and the efficient management of NIAID's research model operations. The contract was awarded on April 20, 2018, and commenced on September 14, 2018. The initial period of the contract runs through September 13, 2019, and it includes annual renewal options to extend the contract for an additional four years through September 13, 2023. The Company expects this new contract to generate incremental revenue of approximately $18M over the initial twelve-month period, with modest increases in each of the subsequent periods. The contract is not expected to have a meaningful impact on the Company's 2018 financial results because its start date was near the end of the third quarter.

08:06 EDT Sanofi reports results from two Phase 3 trials evaluating Dupixent - Two pivotal Phase 3 placebo-controlled trials evaluating Dupixent in adults with inadequately-controlled chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps all primary and secondary endpoints. On the co-primary endpoints for both trials at 24 weeks, patients treated with Dupixent added to a standard-of-care corticosteroid nasal spray experienced a 51% and 57% improvement in their nasal congestion/obstruction severity compared to 15% and 19% improvement with nasal spray alone. Dupixent treated patients had a 27% and 33% reduction in their nasal polyps score compared to a 4% and 7% increase for placebo.

08:06 EDT UniTek Global Services acquires Southern Diversified Technologies - UniTek Global Services announced it has acquired Southern Diversified Technologies, a leading North American telecommunication infrastructure services firm based in Mississippi. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition represents UniTek's fourth strategic acquisition under entities managed by Littlejohn & Co., LLC, and New Mountain Finance Corporation, and establishes the company as a leading provider of communications infrastructure and related services. UniTek offers major providers of broadband connectivity the local knowledge and expertise required to deliver customized and precise builds on time and on budget, together with the capabilities and resources of its national platform.

08:03 EDT Marvell increases share repurchase plan to 41B - Marvell Technology Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a $700M addition to the balance of its existing share repurchase program, increasing the total current repurchase authority to $1B. Marvell's existing share repurchase program had approximately $307M of repurchase authority remaining as of October 12, 2018.

07:41 EDT Domino's Pizza down 4.8% to $259.94 after Q3 results

07:40 EDT Cytokinetics announces expanded development pipeline, updates clinical programs - Cytokinetics (CYTK) plans to present an expansion of its development pipeline with the progression of two additional cardiac muscle directed drug candidates towards first-in-human clinical trials, at an R&D Day today in New York. The first, a novel cardiac troponin activator, discovered under its joint research program with Amgen (AMGN), was the subject of an investigational new drug application, or IND, that Amgen recently filed with the FDA. Cytokinetics also has recently filed an IND with the FDA for a cardiac myosin inhibitor which was discovered independently by company scientists. Both of these cardiovascular drug candidates are expected to advance into first-in-human Phase 1 studies before the end of the year. With respect to progress of its later-stage pipeline, Cytokinetics is presenting the design of METEORIC-HF, the second Phase 3 clinical trial of omecamtiv mecarbil, its novel cardiac myosin activator, which the company is working towards starting by the end of the year under its collaboration with Amgen. GALACTIC-HF, the ongoing Phase 3 cardiovascular outcomes trial of omecamtiv mecarbil, continues to progress towards the goal of concluding enrollment of 8,000 patients during the first half of 2019. The company is also providing updates on the progression of reldesemtiv, its fast skeletal muscle troponin activato, or FSTA, in a neuromuscular development program conducted in collaboration with Astellas (ALPMY). The company expects to conclude enrollment in FORTITUDE-ALS, an ongoing Phase 2 trial of reldesemtiv in patients with ALS, by the end of the year, which should enable reporting results from that trial in the first half of 2019. Additionally, the company recently announced the advancement of CK-3762601, or CK -601, a next generation FSTA, into IND-enabling studies under the collaboration with Astellas.

07:35 EDT Neovasc announces publication on first experience with its Tiara valve - Neovasc announced that an original article was published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions titled 'Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement in Patients With Previous Aortic Valve Replacement', which reports for the first time ever the experience of transcatheter mitral valve replacement, or TMVR, using Neovasc's Tiara valve in patients with previous aortic valve replacement. The Tiara is a self-expanding mitral bioprosthesis for transcatheter implantation in patients with Mitral Regurgitation, one of the most prevalent valvular heart diseases in western countries. Tiara is not currently approved for commercial sale in any geographies.

07:32 EDT PAR Technology subsidiary announces new $9.2M U.S. Navy contract award - PAR Technology announced that its subsidiary, Rome Research Corporation, or RRC, has been awarded a prime contract to perform the operation, maintenance, upgrade and management of IT infrastructure for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central, or COMUSNAVCENT,/U.S. 5th Fleet in Manama, Bahrain. RRC will provide critical technical support for information systems to include system and network administration, cybersecurity, collaborative environments, web content development, and video teleconferencing support. Responsibilities include cybersecurity and information assurance compliance support for the Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System, or CENTRIXS, and Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System, or JWICS. The prime contract includes a base period of nine months, with up to 4 option years, and a total value of approximately $9.2 million.

07:32 EDT Domino's Pizza reports Q3 International same store sales growth of 3.3% - Domestic same store sales grew 6.3% during the quarter versus the year-ago period, continuing the positive sales momentum in the Company's domestic business. The international division also posted positive results, with same store sales growth of 3.3% during the quarter. The third quarter marked the 99th consecutive quarter of positive international same store sales growth and the 30th consecutive quarter of positive domestic same store sales growth. The Company also had third quarter global net store growth of 232 stores, comprised of 173 net new international stores and 59 net new domestic stores. Global retail sales increased 8.3%, or 10.4% without the negative impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

07:26 EDT eXp World Holdings reports more than 14,000 eXp Realty agents - eXp Realty, a subsidiary of eXp World Holdings, announced yesterday that its annual event, EXPCON, will be held Oct. 22-24 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. "Attendance has more than doubled from last year - from 800 in 2017 to 1,700 in 2018, with one week to go. Also, the number of eXp Realty agents has nearly tripled from the 5,000 agents announced at EXPCON last year to more than 14,000 agents today," the company stated.

07:19 EDT Axsome Therapeutics announces AXS-12 for the treatment of narcolepsy - Axsome Therapeutics announced its next CNS product candidate, AXS-12, which the company is developing for the treatment of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a debilitating, orphan neurological condition characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. Cataplexy is a sudden reduction or loss of muscle tone while a patient is awake, which can affect specific parts of the body or the entire body. AXS-12 is a highly selective and potent norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that has the potential to address the key symptoms of narcolepsy. Initiation of a Phase 2 trial of AXS-12 in patients with narcolepsy is planned for Q4, with topline results anticipated in the first half of 2019. The potential utility of AXS-12 in narcolepsy is supported by positive pre-clinical and preliminary clinical results in narcolepsy, and a positive clinical safety record. Reboxetine, the active agent in AXS-12, significantly and dose-dependently reduced narcoleptic episodes in hypocretin-deficient mice, a well-established genetic animal model of narcolepsy. In an open-label pilot trial, reboxetine treatment improved excessive daytime sleepiness and reduced cataplexy in patients with narcolepsy. Reboxetine has an extensive safety record in Europe and in over 40 countries where it is approved for the treatment of depression. Depression is reported in up to 57% of narcolepsy patients. Reboxetine has not been approved in the U.S. for any indication.

07:13 EDT Coeur Mining to acquire projects adjacent to Rochester operation for $19M - Coeur Mining (CDE) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a property package adjacent to its Rochester operation consisting of the Lincoln Hill Project, Wilco Project, Gold Ridge Property and other nearby claims from Alio Gold (ALO). Under the terms of the agreement, Coeur will pay total consideration of $19 million in the form of its common stock for the Projects.

07:12 EDT Target, Shipt announce same-day delivery in Vermont - Shipt and Target announced delivery of more than 55,000 groceries, essentials, electronics, toys and other home products for the first time in the state of Vermont. Beginning October 23, residents of greater Burlington, Vermont will have access to same-day delivery from Shipt. On October 21, Target will celebrate the grand opening of its brand new South Burlington store, the retailer's first store in the state. The following day, Shipt is also launching for the first time in Vermont giving nearly 60,000 households access to products delivered by Shipt in as little as one hour.

07:10 EDT BeyondSpring says Plinabulin prevented docetaxel CIN in study - BeyondSpring will present clinical trial data on its lead asset, Plinabulin, during a presentation at the 2018 Joint Meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology and International Endotoxin and Innate Immunity Society in Chandler, Ariz. The presentation is titled, "Plinabulin-Associated Neutrophil Demargination: Evidence for a Clinically Relevant Mechanism of Action for the Prevention of Chemotherapy-Induced-Neutropenia."Non-small cell lung cancer patients received docetaxel chemotherapy plus Plinabulin versus docetaxel alone in BeyondSpring's Phase 2 Study 105. The beneficial effect of Plinabulin on docetaxel-induced CIN was measured at doses of 0, 5, 10 or 20 mg/m2 in NSCLC patients. A nonlinear mixed effects pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling approach was used to analyze absolute neutrophil count to determine turnover rate of ANC with Plinabulin and without Plinabulin. Evidence of Clinically Relevant Neutrophil Demargination: In the control arm without Plinabulin, the increase in mean absolute neutrophil count on Day 2 versus Day 1 was minimal and not statistically significant. In the Plinabulin arms, on Day 2 versus Day 1, ANC increased due to demargination by 1.8, 1.5 and 3.3x10E9/L at Plinabulin doses of 5, 10 and 20 mg/ m2, respectively. Overall, the ANC demargination effects of Plinabulin on Day 2 were statistically significant and clinically relevant as it correlated with ANC protection at nadir of the cycle. Evidence of Bone Marrow Transit Time Reduction: Plinabulin significantly shortened ANC steady state Synthesis Time, which is indicative of the accelerated release of neutrophils from the bone marrow.

07:05 EDT Becton Dickinson announces availability of BD MAX MDR-TB panel in Europe - Becton Dickinson, or BD, announced the availability of the BD MAX MDR-TB panel in Europe. Clinicians can use the test to simultaneously detect bacteria that cause tuberculosis, or TB, and determine if the bacteria contain mutations associated with resistance to two important first line drugs, isoniazid, or INH, and rifampicin, or RIF, enhancing the information available to direct the optimal treatment for their patients. The BD MAX MDR-TB panel is an in vitro diagnostic with CE mark now available in Europe. The single PCR-based molecular diagnostic test is an integrated diagnostic test intended to help in the detection and diagnosis of TB, and INH- and RIF- resistance.

07:04 EDT Ceva selected by Shanghai SiFlower Communication Technology - CEVA announced that Shanghai SiFlower Communication Technology has licensed and deployed CEVA's RivieraWaves 802.11ac Wi-Fi IP in its latest System-on-Chip, or SoC, targeting smart home access points. The SF16A18 is a highly integrated single chip solution that combines the flexible RW-11AC IP with a powerful processing engine and rich suite of interfaces, creating an optimal platform for intelligent routers / access points, smart home gateways and smart speakers.

07:03 EDT Bombardier says NetJets confirms delivery schedule for Global 7500 aircraft - Bombardier announced that NetJets Inc. confirmed the delivery schedule of its Global 7500 aircraft with the first delivery planned in 2021. NetJets' original order for Global 7500 jets was among Bombardier's largest business aircraft orders in its history, which also included Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft as well as Challenger 350 and Challenger 650 aircraft. NetJets has also exercised options for five Challenger 350 aircraft and a Global 6000 aircraft to join the fleet of more than 120 Challenger and Global jets in service, as deliveries for the originally firm-ordered platforms are nearing fulfillment. Based on 2018 list prices, the new transactions are valued at approximately $195M. NetJets previously placed a firm order for 50 Global business jets, with options for an additional 70 Global aircraft in 2011. The firm order included 20 Global 7500 and Global 8000 jets. In 2012, the company also announced a milestone order for 100 Challenger business jets, with options for an additional 175 aircraft. The firm order included 75 Challenger 350 and 25 Challenger 650 business aircraft.

07:02 EDT Fuwei Films receives higher order from its major customer in Q4 - Fuwei Films announced that the Company has received higher orders for the Q4 from its major customer, Eternal Electronic Material. Based on the expanded demand, Fuwei Films expects that fourth quarter sales to Eternal Electronic will be approximately 30% higher as compared to the same period of 2017. As a result, the Company expects 2018 annual sales to Eternal Electronic to be approximately 27% higher than 2017.

06:58 EDT Devon Energy sees Q3 production in Canada 104,000 Boe per day - Devon Energy reported that additional facilities work at its Jackfish 1 heavy oil project in Alberta, Canada, is now complete and full-scale operations have been restored. The work at Jackfish 1 was related to minor facility repairs the company identified during recent turnaround startup activities. Devon estimates that its Q3 production in Canada will be approximately 104,000 barrels of oil equivalent, or Boe, per day as a result of the maintenance at Jackfish 1. The temporary curtailment of volumes at Jackfish represents less than 1% of total expected company-wide production in 2018. Production at the company's Jackfish 2 and Jackfish 3 facilities were at nameplate capacity for the entire Q3. With the Jackfish complex resuming full-scale operations, the company expects Q4 net production in Canada, after the impact of higher sliding-scale royalties, to increase to an average of 115,000 to 120,000 Boe per day. This operational momentum will carry into 2019, with Canadian net production estimated to exit the current year in excess of 120,000 Boe per day. The company effectively controlled capital costs during the Q3. Devon's upstream capital spending was $523M in the quarter, which was $52M or 9% below the company's midpoint guidance.

06:56 EDT Morgan Stanley CEO: We remain well positioned for the remainder of the year - James Gorman, Chairman and CEO, said, "In the first half of the year, we produced strong results across the franchise. Despite the seasonal summer slowdown in the third quarter, we reported solid revenue and earnings growth demonstrating the stability of the franchise. Year to date, we have produced an ROE of 13% and ROTCE of 15%. We remain well positioned and optimistic for the remainder of the year."

06:54 EDT Johnson & Johnson reports Q3 domestic sales increased 3.6% - Q3 domestic sales increased 3.6%. International sales increased 3.5%, reflecting operational growth of 7.5% and a negative currency impact of 4%. Excluding the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures, on an operational basis, worldwide sales increased 6.1%, domestic sales increased 3.9% and international sales increased 8.5%.

06:50 EDT BlackRock CEO: Not worried about inflation at the moment - Says we aren't going to "run away" from Saudi Arabia. Says we need "proper diplomacy" with Saudi Arabia.

06:40 EDT BlackRock CEO: Rising wages impacting corporate profits - Says stocks in a correction phase. Says biggest risk is how tax law has changed housing affordability. Larry Fink is speaking on CNBC.

06:36 EDT Gold Standard Ventures reports from two holes at Dark Star deposit - Gold Standard Ventures reported results from one core hole and one reverse-circulation, or RC, hole at the Dark Star deposit on its 100%-owned/controlled Railroad-Pinion Project in Nevada's Carlin Trend. With this news release, results have now been reported for 121 of the 132 holes that have been completed at Dark Star. Two holes in the northern portion of Dark Star intersected vertically-continuous zones of oxidized gold mineralization including 213.7m of 2.52 g Au/t and 163.1m of 1.24 g Au/t. These results continue to confirm oxide gold resource potential below the depth of the current resource model as well as lateral continuity to higher-grade mineralization. Five drill rigs are currently active on the project.

06:33 EDT Genesee & Wyoming reports September traffic of 257,723 carloads, down 0.7% y/y - Genesee & Wyoming reported traffic volumes for September 2018. G&W's total traffic in September 2018 was 257,723 carloads, a decrease of 1,793 carloads, or 0.7%, compared with September 2017. G&W's same railroad traffic in September 2018 increased 8,293 carloads, or 3.3%, compared with G&W's traffic in September 2017, excluding carloads from G&W's former Continental European intermodal business, which was sold in June 2018. G&W's traffic in the third quarter of 2018 was 838,919 carloads, an increase of 24,791 carloads, or 3.0%, compared with the third quarter of 2017. G&W's same railroad traffic in the third quarter of 2018 increased 56,030 carloads, or 7.2%, compared with the third quarter of 2017, excluding carloads from ERS.

06:17 EDT Mercantile Bank announces 75c special cash dividend - Mercantile Bank announced that its board declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 25c per common share and a special cash dividend of 75c per common share, for a total cash dividend of $1.00 per common share, payable on December 19, to holders of record as of December 7. The 25c regular cash dividend, which results in a current annual yield of about 3.1%, represents an increase of approximately 4% from the 24c regular cash dividend paid during Q3.

06:14 EDT BlackRock CEO: Q3 results highlight resilience of our differentiated platform - Laurence Fink, Chairman and CEO stated: "BlackRock's third quarter results highlight the resilience of our differentiated platform and our ability to generate organic growth, even in the face of significant industry headwinds. Our holistic, client-centric approach brings together our global product breadth, portfolio construction capabilities, digital tools and industry-leading technology, and positions us well to deliver long-term value to clients and shareholders. BlackRock generated $11 billion of long-term net inflows in the third quarter, despite more than $30 billion of institutional non-ETF index equity outflows that resulted from de-risking associated with ongoing divergent monetary policy and geopolitical uncertainty. Over the last twelve months, total net inflows of $177 billion reflect continued growth in key areas of our business, including iShares, multi-asset solutions, illiquid alternatives and Aladdin. We continue to build and evolve our business in order to stay ahead of clients' needs and industry disruption, and completed several strategic transactions during the quarter to accelerate future growth. We are more confident than ever before in our ability to be a strategic partner to clients as a result of our broad array of integrated investment and technology offerings."

06:11 EDT BlackRock reports Q3 AUM $6.4T, up 8% y/y - Including $28B of net AUM added from strategic transactions.

06:08 EDT J.B. Hunt CFO says Oct peak season freight should be 'very normal', Dec 'strong' - In its conference call yesterday evening, J.B. Hunt CFO David Mee said: "As far as really how peak season has started off it - we've seen the West Coast pickup the last week or so in September, and basically the peak is hitting our expectation similar to what we've seen in the past here so far in October. We think the next 4 to 6 weeks up through Thanksgiving should be very normal - it'd be a very normal peak, and we're also thinking that December with possible tariff implications should be extremely strong in December as well."

06:04 EDT MannKind and United Therapeutics close pending worldwide agreement - United Therapeutics (UTHR) and MannKind (MNKD) announced the closing of their pending worldwide exclusive license and collaboration agreement for the development and commercialization of Treprostinil Technosphere, a dry powder formulation of treprostinil being developed for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. As previously announced, the effectiveness of the agreement was conditioned upon expiration or termination of the required waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The requisite waiting period expired on October 15 and the agreement became effective the same day.

06:02 EDT Audi AG fined EUR800M by German prosecutors for diesel violations - The Munich II public prosecutor issued an administrative order against AUDI AG (AUDVF) in its capacity as affected party in the context of deviations from regulatory requirements in certain V6 and V8 diesel aggregates and diesel vehicles manufactured or distributed by AUDI AG. The administrative order provides for a fine of EUR 800 million in total, consisting of the maximum penalty as legally provided for of EUR 5 million for negligent regulatory offenses and the disgorgement of economic benefits in the amount of EUR 795 million. AUDI AG has accepted the fine. By the issuance of the administrative order further important proceedings in connection with deviations from regulatory requirements by Volkswagen (VLKAY) group diesel vehicles will be finally terminated, following the regulatory offense proceedings by the Brunswick public prosecutor. As AUDI AG is a fully consolidated subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and, therefore, is included in the group financial statement of Volkswagen AG, the fine will directly will directly affect Volkswagen AG's financial earnings and, as a negative special item, reduce the group earnings for fiscal year 2018 accordingly.

05:58 EDT UnitedHealth reports Q3 adj. EPS $3.41, consensus $3.29 - Reports Q3 revenue $56.6B, consensus $56.34B.

05:40 EDT Teleflex signs license agreement with Arcis Biotechnology - Arcis Biotechnology announced it has signed a technology access agreement with Teleflex. Teleflex will harness Arcis' advanced nucleic acid sample preparation chemistry in the development of a novel technology, which it believes will be disruptive, and is intended to empower clinicians and drive better patient outcomes.

05:38 EDT Intelsat announces strategic investment in AMN - Intelsat and Africa Mobile Networks, or AMN, announced that Intelsat has made a strategic investment in AMN. The purpose of the investment is to accelerate the deployment of mobile connectivity to unserved communities across multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Given the economic and geographic complexities of expanding mobile connectivity to the ultra-rural areas of Africa, many mobile network operators, or MNOs, face barriers when trying to deploy their networks to these areas. AMN provides MNOs with a network-as-a-service, or NaaS, solution in which AMN will fund, build and operate the ultra-rural network for the operators. As a result, African mobile operators will be able to extend their coverage with minimal opex and capex risk, enabling them to grow their subscriber and revenue base, and better serve all their customers. At the core of AMN's solution is a low-cost, small cell solution that is powered by a highly reliable solar-based system which can be rapidly deployed and installed in less than 6 hours. As part of the long-term agreement, AMN will leverage the power, performance and efficiencies generated by Intelsat's next-generation Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput satellites, or HTS, as well as the 23 Intelsat satellites covering the continent to provide the optimal balance between coverage and high-throughput for the enabled sites. Once installed, the sites will connect over the Intelsat fleet to the core of the mobile network operator and deliver 2G mobile services, such as GSM voice, SMS and GPRS/EDGE packet data, with the ability to upgrade the base stations to 3G and 4G as data demands allow.

05:34 EDT Novartis: 5-year Cosentyx studies data backs leadership in spondyloarthritis - Novartis announced it will be presenting five-year data from the ongoing extensions of the phase III FUTURE 1 and MEASURE 1 studies for Cosentyx in patients with psoriatic arthritis, or PsA, and ankylosing spondylitis, or AS, respectively. These new data will be presented at the 2018 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, or ACR/ARHP, Annual Meeting in Chicago, United States. New long-term data from FUTURE 1 and MEASURE 1 confirm that Cosentyx provides sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms of PsA and AS out to five years. In FUTURE 1, 83% and 94% of PsA patients achieved total resolution of enthesitis and dactylitis, respectively. Over 80% of patients who entered the extension phases of both studies completed five years, with a safety profile consistent with previous reports. These data add to findings from the SCULPTURE study, in which two thirds of patients on Cosentyx reported no impact of skin disease on their quality of life over five years.

05:25 EDT Amazon invests $10M in Closed Loop Fund to increase recycling rates in U.S. - Amazon announced that it will invest $10M in Closed Loop Fund to support recycling infrastructure in the United States. Amazon's investment will increase the availability of curbside recycling for 3M homes in communities across the country, making it easier for customers to recycle and further develop end markets for recycled commodities. The investment will divert 1M tons of recyclable material from landfill into the recycling stream and eliminate the equivalent of 2M metric tons of CO2 by 2028-equivalent to shutting down a coal-fired power plant for six months. Roughly half of Americans today lack access to convenient, sufficient curbside recycling at their homes. Closed Loop Fund finances the building of advanced recycling infrastructure and services, bringing this invaluable service to the community while saving taxpayers and municipalities money.

05:21 EDT Amgen launches Amgevita in markets across Europe - Amgen announced that Amgevita, a biosimilar to adalimumab, will launch in markets across Europe beginning on Oct. 16, 2018. Amgevita is the first adalimumab biosimilar to be approved by the European Commission. Amgevita is authorized for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in adults, including moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis; psoriatic arthritis; severe active ankylosing spondylitis; severe axial spondyloarthritis without radiographic evidence of AS; moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis; moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa; non-infectious intermediate, posterior and panuveitis; moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease and moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. Amgevita is also authorized for the treatment of pediatric inflammatory diseases, including moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease, severe chronic plaque psoriasis, enthesitis-related arthritis and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis.