Below is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day -- it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. Apply for daily AM access by clicking here or email minutes@benzinga.com.
Macro Focus
The Federal Reserve's James Bullard doesn't want to raise rates while inflation expectations are falling and he's concerned about guidance in dot plot.
A handful of firmer-than-expected readings of business sentiment in Europe on Tuesday had already helped markets resist deeper falls following the bomb attacks in Brussels. Reuters said the dollar crept towards its strongest week in a month Wednesday, as markets rethought the outlook for U.S. interest rates after a series of Fed officials encouraged expectations of at least two more quarter point rises this year.
"The first outcome of the Brussels attacks will be a fresh round of debate over EU border controls, in particular those in the Schengen zone," Stratfor said in a report.
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz split victories in Republican presidential contests in Arizona and Utah on Tuesday. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton won the Arizona primary and Bernie Sanders dominated the caucuses in Utah and Idaho. Elsewhere, former GOP candidate Jeb Bush endorsed Cruz for the nomination.
BZ Newsdesk Focus
USA New Home Sales month-over-month for February came out at 2 percent vs. 3.2 percent estimates. USA New Home Sales were 512,000 vs. 510,000 estimates.
USA EIA Crude Oil inventories for March 18 were 9.36 million barrels vs. 3.09 estimates.
One analyst note said an Amazon AZMN executive undercut Staples SPLS and Office Depot ODP's claim of competitive threat in FTC hearing. The FTC case against Staples' $6.3 billion bid for Office Depot centers on the fact that the two companies account for 79 percent of the consumable office supplies sold to Fortune 100 companies. FTC argues that Amazon is not a major player in the office supplies business, but lawyers for Staples say that it's only a matter of time.
Kerrisdale Capital issued a short report on Sage Therapeutics SAGE, arguing its lead drug candidate "is likely to fail in Phase 3."
Nike NKE missed on the top line, pushing the stock down more than 4 percent. However, nearly every analyst on the Street remained bullish on the company.
Sell-Side Themes
Deutsche Bank moved to the sidelines on the Metals sector, while Credit Suisse hiked EPS estimates on the Steel sector.
Morgan Stanley looked at the impact of rising oil prices on the U.S. airline industry.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey initiated coverage of the Retail Broker Sector, saying that the sector seemed to be on the “cusp of another round of sweeping changes.”
Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls
Axiom's Gordon Johnson wondered if the end is near for Sunedison SUNE after the stock plummeted following a report the company is in Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) negotiations with second lien load holders.
JPMorgan mentioned current business cycle indicators do not point toward “any imminent risk of a downturn" for Ford Motor F.
Morgan Stanley pair trade alert: Estee Lauder's EL valuation didn't fully reflect the company's higher-than-peers EPS growth and returns, while Brown-Forman’s (NYSE: BF-B) decelerating topline trends weren't fully factored into valuation.
One analyst didn't like Nike's results, saying the stock is likely to see multiple compression, driven by the revenue miss during the quarter, as well as futures orders “becoming less of a predictor of reported sales.”
Deal Talk
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY will buy Padlock Therapeutics, with $225 million in milestone payments and added $375 million in contingent consideration.
News Corp NWSA is seeking a majority stake in Foxtel Australian JV, according to a Bloomberg report.
Affymetrix AFFX received a boosted $17/share offer from Origin, sending shares up another 5 percent.
What's Up In The News?
Hulk Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, spoke with The New York Post, opening up about his lawsuit against Gawker for the first time. The former wrestler was awarded $140 million in his lawsuit against the publication.
Rob Ford, the Toronto city councilor who became the world’s most famous mayor during a wild and scandal-filled term, died from cancer at the age 46.
Chipotle CMG has been hit with 115 federal employee lawsuits in the last five years, which implies about 4.85 cases per 100 stores. The most alleged was discrimination; 35 of the suits are still active.
70 percent of U.S. consumers now binge-watch TV shows, with Americans gulping down an average of five episodes per marathon session, according to a study by consulting firm Deloitte. Netflix NFLX and chill has certainly caught on...
Academia
Most Americans are not very confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement. Just one in five (21%) workers are “very confident,” according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey.
Federal health regulators will add their strongest warning labels to the most widely used prescription painkillers, part of a multi-pronged government campaign to reverse an epidemic of abuse and death tied to drugs like Vicodin and Percocet.
Blogosphere
Interested in reading about the "golden rules" for making money in 1880? Check out this thread.
Josh Brown shared what Eddy Elfenbein once looked at in his blog about the market’s response to major geopolitical crises.
Buy-Side
Myers Industries MYE reached agreement with GAMCO to add Daniel Lee to the board.
United UAL union leaders continued to voice opposition to board picks by two activist hedge funds. In a letter to the pilots, the 35 leaders of the master executive council of the United chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association voiced strong support for CEO Oscar Munoz and suggested that former Continental CEO Gordon Bethune shouldn’t tarnish his legacy by trying to return to United.
Trending
DUST NKE CPXX BBRY PTX LL IONS WATT JDST GDX
People were celebrating #NationalPuppyDay, which must be thrilling content creators everywhere on the web.
Social media was mourning the death of A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg.
Quote Of The Day
"I instruct you to be the obeyer
A rhythm recipe that you'll savor
Doesn't matter if you're minor or major
Yes, the Tribe of the game we're a player
As you inhale like a breath of fresh air."
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