The Market In 5 Minutes

IN THE NEWS

BENZINGA

Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc IDRA is a clinical stage biotech that has recently refocused its pipeline to focus on oncology, starting with melanoma. The company has seen its share price rise 50 percent in 2017: Link

Entrepreneurs often complain that federal regulations of the finance industry impede radical advances in technology. Venture capitalist Adam Boyden has a different take: Link

Alan Brochstein, also known as the 420 Investor, joined Benzinga's PreMarket Prep to discuss some of the top marijuana stock: Link

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

A gunman opened fire on the Champs-Élysées on Thursday, killing a police officer and wounding two others in an assault authorities said was likely a terror attack, just days before France’s presidential elections begin: Link

Donald Trump’s effort to force the federal government to “Buy American” will be a challenge as foreign-owned companies already hauled in more money from federal contracts in the past three months than in any corresponding period in a decade: Link

REUTERS

A group of 11 Republican state attorneys general are protesting an investigation into whether Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM violated consumer protection laws when selling fossil fuel products, according to a court filing: Link

A high-stakes shareholder vote at Wells Fargo & Co WFC next week will determine whether the bank has done enough to retain investor confidence after its phony-account scandal, and whether a leading proxy adviser wields enough clout to help oust most of its board: Link

BLOOMBERG

Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones has a message for Janet Yellen and investors: Be very afraid. Link

Trump plans to propose spending about $200 billion in taxpayer dollars on an infrastructure development plan that would leverage private financing, his budget director said -- adding that the plan won’t be ready until this fall: Link

Student loan giant Navient Corp. NAVI shouldn’t be allowed to buy $3.7 billion of federal student loans from JPMorgan Chase JPM, current and former government officials have said, because pending government allegations of wrongdoing against the company raise concerns that new customers would similarly be mistreated: Link

NY POST

Arconic ARNC, the aluminum parts maker under fire from an activist investor, used “fake news” to scare shareholders from voting in new board members, the Atlanta Firefighters’ Pension fund claimed in a lawsuit filed Thursday: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

• Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in St. Paul, Minn. at 9:30 a.m. ET.
• The flash Composite PMI for April is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.
• Data on existing home sales for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

ANALYST RATINGS

• Barclays upgraded Costco Wholesale COST from Equal-Weight to Overweight
• B. Riley upgraded Skechers SKX from Neutral to Buy
• Raymond James upgraded Quest Diagnostics DGX from Market Perform to Outperform
• Jefferies downgraded Humana HUM from Buy to Hold
• JP Morgan downgraded Varex Imaging VREX from Neutral to Underweight
• Credit Suisse downgraded National Beverage FIZZ from Outperform to Neutral

This 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. To get the full version of this note every morning, click here or email minutes@benzinga.com.