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BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced early Monday plans to merge into a rare disease company. Shares of both companies were halted in premarket trade. Under the deal, which is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2018, shares of BioCryst will be exchanged for 0.5 shares of the new company’s stock and Idera shares will be exchanged for 0.2 shares of the new company’s stock. The combined company, which will be renamed, will be led by Idera Chief Executive Vincent Milano, with BioCryst Chairman Robert Ingram serving at chairman of the new company’s board and BioCryst Chief Executive Jon Stonehouse serving on the board of directors. The new company’s pipeline will include two phase 3 drug candidates and two phase 2 drug candidates, with many catalysts expected in 2018, the companies said. BioCryst shares have surged 16.5% over the last three months to $5.59 and Idera shares have surged 8% to $2.55, compared with a 9.1% rise in the S&P 500 and a 11.8% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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Priceline Group Inc. said Monday it has appointed David Goulden as chief financial officer, effective March 1, to replace Daniel Finnigan, who announced his retirement last year. Goulden was more recently at Dell Technologies, where he was president of the company’s infrastructure solutions group. Goulden grew up in Manchester, England, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in physics at Durham University and a master’s degree in business administration at Cranfield School of Management.Shares of the online travel services company, which slipped 0.1% in premarket trade, have lost 1.6% over the past three months through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.1%.

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Abercrombie & Fitch Co. shares jumped 3.7% in Monday premarket trading after the retailer raised its fourth-quarter guidance. Abercrombie & Fitch’s portfolio includes the namesake chain and Hollister. It now expects same-store sales to rise in the high-single digits and sales are expected to be up in the low-teens. The previous guidance was for a low-single-digit same-store sales increase, and a mid-to-high-single-digit rise in sales. Abercrombie & Fitch expects a “significant” income tax charge largely related to a one-time repatriation tax. In addition, the retailer announced that Arthur Martinez, 78, will step down as executive chairman of the board on Feb. 3, 2018, the end of the fiscal year. He is retiring as director and will not stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting in June. Terry Burman, 72, lead independent director and chair of the nominating and board governance committee, will become non-executive chairman at that point. Both executives joined the board in January 2014. The company plans to release fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2017 results on March 7. Abercrombie & Fitch shares are up 67.4% for the past year, outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 23.7% for the period.

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Shares of Nuance Communications Inc. shot up 8.1% toward a 7-month high in premarket trade Monday, after the voice and language services company provided a fiscal first-quarter profit and sales outlook that was above expectations. The company expects net earnings per share of 15 cents to 18 cents a share, compared with a loss of 8 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted EPS is expected to be 26 cents to 27 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 22 cents. Net revenue is expected to be $500.0 million to $503.0 million, up from $487.7 million a year ago. Adjusted revenue is expected to be $507 million to $510 million, which would beat the FactSet consensus of $493 million. Separately, Nuance said it was reorganizing its mobile division, as its mobile communications service provider business will be merged into the enterprise division. The company also confirmed that Chief Executive Paul Ricci will retire on or before March 31. The stock has gained 8.1% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has rallied 24%.

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. shares slid 3% premarket Monday, after the company said a late-stage trial of an asthma treatment failed to meet its main goal. The company said the therapy, subcutaneously administered reslizumab, failed to meet its primary endpoint in two phase 3 studies, one of which focused on reducing frequency of clinical asthma exacerbations and the other of which focused on reducing daily oral corticosteroid dose in patients with OCS-dependent asthma. Teva said that the results were disappointing and that it plans to review the data to figure out follow-up steps. Meanwhile, the company’s intravenous formulation of the therapy continues to have a “positive impact” for patients, Teva Senior Vice President Tushar Shah said. The results are just the latest blow for the beleaguered company, which announced a swathe of cuts — including sweeping layoffs — in a bid for survival late last year. Teva shares have surged nearly 40% over the last three months to $20.70, compared with a 9% rise in the S&P 500 and a 11.8% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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Halliburton Co. shares rose 1.2% in premarket trade Monday after the company reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and revenue. The company reported a loss of $825 million, or a loss of 94 cents per share, after a loss of $153 million, or a loss of 17 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. The latest results include charges relating to tax reform in the U.S. and Venezuela receivables, the company said. Adjusted earnings-per-share were 53 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 46 cents. Revenue rose to $5.9 billion from $4.0 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $5.6 billion. Halliburton said it recorded an aggregate $882 million in non-cash discrete tax charges in the fourth-quarter as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which is a provisional amount that is subject to change. The company also said it continues to have delays in collecting payments on receivables from its primary customer in Venezuela. Halliburton shares have risen 22% over the last three months, compared with a 9% rise in the S&P 500 and a 11.8% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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American International Group, Inc. on Monday announced it was buying insurance firm Validus Holdings Ltd. in an all-cash deal for $5.56 billion. The transaction gives Validus shareholders $68 per share, a hefty premium over its Monday trading level of $46.25. For AIG, the acquisition adds a “leading reinsurance underwriter, a highly regarded operation at Lloyd’s, an enhanced offering in the U.S. domestic market, and an insurance-linked securities asset manager,” the company said in a statement. The deal has been approved by the boards of both firms and is likely to close in mid-2018. AIG believes the acquisition will be immediately accretive to its per-share earnings and return on equity. AIG in late 2017 was released from the U.S. government’s “systemically important financial institution” designation, freeing up more capital for operations, rather than regulatory costs. Still, shares have lost about 7.5% over the past 12 months.

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Celgene Corp. on Monday said it’s reached a deal to buy Juno Therapeutics Inc., a biotech company developing cancer treatments, for $9 billion, or $87 a share in cash. Juno shares in premarket trade Monday jumped 26% to $86.10 each, after ending Friday’s session at $67.81. Celgene said the deal, expected to close in the first quarter of this year, should add 50 cents a share to adjusted per-share earnings in 2018. Juno’s JCAR017 treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma should “be a significant growth driver beyond 2020 with potential global peak sales of approximately $3 billion,” said Celgene. “Juno’s advanced cellular immunotherapy portfolio and research capabilities strengthen Celgene’s global leadership in hematology and adds new drivers for growth beyond 2020,” said Celgene.

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A mall in Lake Wales, Fla. was evacuated on Sunday night after two improvised explosive devices (IED) detonated, according to media reports. The devices went off just inside a J.C. Penney, where the fire department discovered smoke, and an IED that had detonated, along with a bag with what they believed could be more devices, the Associated Press reported. There were no reported injuries and police are seeking a person of interest — a middle-aged white man of heavy build, Fox News reported.

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The U.S. government shutdown will continue for a third day after the Senate failed to reach a deal Sunday night. The Senate plans to vote at noon Monday on a temporary spending measure that will keep the government open through Feb. 8. There had been hopes that a deal could be reached before the work week started, preventing federal workers from being furloughed, but negotiations were unsuccessful. It’s also far from certain that the procedural vote to end debate Monday will get the 60 votes it needs to pass.

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