U.S. stocks extended gains as investors speculated the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates lower for longer on concern that a global slowdown will hurt the American economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) rose 0.8 percent to 1,950.32 at 2:08 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 136.53 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,855.92. A number of participants said growth “might be slower than they expected if foreign economic growth came in weaker than anticipated,” according to minutes of the Sept. 16-17 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released today in Washington.

In a superb example of the exuberance of quick buck opportunists, traders reacting to the Ebola news fire hose bid up thinly-traded nano cap Ocean Bio-Chem, Inc.(NASDAQ:OBCI) on a 4x surge in volume albeit on turnover of only 83K shares. Prices have jumped 45% from the recent low of $3.The company makes a broad-spectrum disinfectant called Xtrem-A-Cide that contains chlorine dioxide. Supposedly, it will be effective in eradicating stray Ebola viruses deposited by infected patients.

REGEN BIOPHARMA INC (OTCBB: RGBP) submits an IND to the FDA for clearance to begin a clinical trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of its immunotherapeutic product candidate, dCellVax, for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

Micro cap Arrowhead Research Corp(NASDAQ:ARWR) plunges on massive turnover of 45 million shares in response to its disclosure of Phase 2 trial results for its experimental hepatitis B therapy, ARC-520.In data released in the "Late-breaking abstracts" section of the American Association For The Study Of Liver Diseases upcoming meeting in Boston, the effectiveness of three different dosages of ARC-520 on reducing hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was assessed. In the 1 mg/kg cohort, the mean change in HBsAg on day 85 was -31% but only -22% for the 2 mg/kg cohort. The 3 mg/kg cohort is enrolling patients so no data were available.

Unilife Corp(NASDAQ:UNIS) jumps on a 3x surge in volume as it builds on Monday's 24% breakout in response to its long-term deal with Sanofi. Shares are up 68% from last Thursdays low of $2.

The FDA approves Salix Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:SLXP) Uceris (budesonide) rectal foam for the induction of remission in patients with active mild-to-moderate distal ulcerative colitis extending up to 40 cm from and anal verge. The foam is a rectally administered corticosteroid that overcomes treatment limitations associated with currently-approved therapies which can be ineffective due to insufficient distribution of active drug to the distal colon.