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The bitcoin rout deepened Friday, with the digital currency extending its decline to trade below $12,000 for the first time since early December. A single bitcoin fetched $11,767.05, according to Coindesk, a drop of 24.4% on the day. Bitcoin had traded just shy of $20,000 early this week. Bitcoin futures followed suit, with CME Group’s January contract down its daily limit of 20% at $12,265, while the Cboe January contract fell 19.7% to $12,280.

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Instinet analysts led by Mark Kalinowski say Papa John’s International Inc.’s announcement that Chief Executive John Schnatter will step down from his position shows that the fourth-quarter has been a “rough” one for the company following comments Schnatter made blaming the NFL for poor sales. Instinet cut its price target to $58 from $65, though it maintains its neutral rating, and lowered their fourth-quarter earnings per share estimate to 69 cents from 71 cents. “Given the weakened momentum in the business, and also given what we believe is a better understanding of 2018 as a year of investment for the company, we also reduce our 2018 EPS projection by 25 cents to $2.75,” analysts wrote. Chief Operating Officer Steve Ritchie will succeed Schnatter, who will stay on as chairman. The company hasn’t decided whether Schnatter will also continue as the company spokesperson, according to a statement from Ritchie. The company is expected to announce fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 27. Papa John’s shares are down 32.2% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 18.7% for the period.

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RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. said Friday net income will be reduced by about $40 million after the tax bill is enacted, because the insurance and reinsurance provider plans to write down a portion of its deferred tax asset. The write-down plan is a result of the drop in the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, effective Jan. 1. Other than the write down, the company said it expects the economic impact of the tax bill to the company will be “minimal,” but added that uncertainty regarding the impact of the bill remains. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 7.8% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has gained 11% and the S&P 500 has climbed 20%.

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Shares of Party City Holdco Inc. rallied 4.1% in premarket trade Friday, after the party goods retailer announced a deal to buy back all of the shares owned by Advent-Party City Acquisition L.P. for $242 million. Before the deal, Advent owned 19.84 million Party City shares, making it the second-largest shareholder. The deal implies a value of $12.20 for each Party City share, which equals Thursday’s closing price. Party City said it plans to fund the deal with borrowings under its revolving credit facility. “We believe this transaction provides an opportunity to increase shareholder value and is immediately accretive to earnings per share,” said Chief Executive Jim Harrison. “Additionally, this transaction removes a share over hang associated with Advent’s long term shareholder interest in the business.” The stock had dropped 14% year to date through Thursday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF had gained 3% and the S&P 500 had climbed 20%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)- Consumer spending jumped in November, as Americans spent their savings on nondurable goods and services. Outlays rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, while personal incomes climbed 0.3%, the Commerce Department said Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast 0.5% increase in spending and a 0.4% gain in incomes. The amount of money individuals save in November fell to a decade-low of 2.9%. Inflation as gauged by the PCE price index edged up 0.2%. The PCE index has risen 1.8% in the past 12 months, up from 1.6% in October. The core PCE index that excludes food and energy rose 0.1%. That was enough to boost the annual rate to 1.5% in November from 1.4% in the prior month, still well below the Fed’s 2% target.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Orders for durable, or long-lasting, goods rose 1.3% in November after a 0.4% drop in the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday. This is the third rise in durable-goods orders in the past four months. Economists had forecast a 2% gain. The increase was powered by commercial aircraft orders. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.1% in November. So-called core capital-goods orders fell 0.1%, the first decline after four straight gains.

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Mallinckrodt PLC disclosed Friday that it estimates it will receive a deferred tax benefit of $450 million to $500 million if President Donald Trump signs the tax bill in its current form. The tax benefit is largely associated with a reduction to its interest-bearing U.S. deferred tax liabilities of $1.6 billion to reflect the cut in the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. Overall, the drug maker said the Tax Cut and Jobs Act is expected to have “a neutral to slightly positive” impact on adjusted tax expense. The company said it has not provided an expected net tax expense because of the “inherent difficulty” of forecasting the timing or amount of items that would be included. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has plunged 53% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has rallied 12% and the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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Shares of Agile Therapeutics Inc. plunged 71% toward a record low in premarket trade Friday, after the company said it received a complete response letter (CRL) from the Food and Drug Administration stating that the new drug application (NDA) for the company’s contraceptive patch, Twirla, could not be approved in its present form. The CRL was in response to the NDA resubmission, which was seeking approval for Twirla, that was accepted for review earlier this year. Among the issues stated in the CRL were deficiencies relating to quality adhesion test methods, issues identified at a facility of a third-quarter manufacturer and the in vivo adhesion properties of Twirla and their potential relationship to phase 3 clinical trial results. “We are clearly disappointed, and we are evaluating the FDA’s response,” said Chief Executive Al Altomari. “We intend to request a meeting with the FDA as soon as possible to discuss the points raised in the CRL and discuss a path to approval for Twirla.” The stock had rallied 18.7% over the past three months through Thursday, while the S&P 500 had gained 7.3%.

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Shares of Ignyta Inc. soared 73% toward a record high in active premarket trade Friday, after the biotechnology company disclosed that it agreed to a merger with Roche Holdings Inc. in a deal that values Ignyta at about $1.79 billion. Volume topped 900,000 shares about 100 minutes before the open, making it the most actively traded stock in the premarket. The company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Roche will commence a tender offer on Jan. 10 to buy all the outstanding Ignyta shares for $27 a share, a 74% premium to Thursday’s closing price of $15.55. Ignyta had 66.34 million shares outstanding as of Oct. 31, according to recent filings. “Our board of directors believes that accepting the offer from Roche is in the best interests of our company’s shareholders and that Roche is uniquely positioned to continue to advance the development of entrectinib and our other programs, and ultimately maximize the potential value of these programs,” Chief Executive Jonathan Lim wrote in a letter to employees. Ignyta’s stock has nearly tripled (up 193%) year to date through Thursday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has climbed 21% and the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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UnitedHealth Group Inc. disclosed Friday that it agreed to launch a tender offer to buy Empresas Banmedica, a health care provider serving Chile, Colombia and Peru, for the equivalent of $2.8 billion. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, UnitedHealth said it will offer $2,150 Chilean pesos for 100% of the Empresas Banmedica shares outstanding, which would value the company at CLP$1.7 trillion, or $2.8 billion at recent exchange rates. The tender offer is expected to commence on Dec. 27 and end on or about Jan. 25, with the merger deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. UnitedHealth’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 38.5% year to date, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has rallied 20.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 25.4%.

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