The Market In 5 Minutes: LongFin's Crazy Move, Skipper Out At ESPN, Dad Shoes, Housing Starts Rise

IN THE NEWS

With "dad shoes" dominating the fashion world, could the quintessential dad shoe brand — Skechers USA Inc SKX — be poised for a big 2018?: Link

Longfin Corp LFIN is on a pretty incredible two-day run, moving from under $10 a share to north of $140. What gives?: Link

The final tax bill offers much of what large companies hoped to gain from the Republican overhaul: the billboard corporate rate was knocked down, cuts were accelerated and key credits were preserved: Link

ESPN on Monday announced the surprise resignation of network President John Skipper over substance-abuse issues, creating uncertainty at a critical moment for the sports TV juggernaut and its majority-owner, Walt Disney Co DIS: Link

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that bitcoin has not been proven to be a credible currency and that he would watch its developments in the near-term: Link

The Trump administration has publicly blamed North Korea for unleashing the so-called WannaCry cyber attack that crippled hospitals, banks and other companies across the globe earlier this year: Link

The Federal Reserve published a fresh set of economic forecasts last week covering the next three years. Economists have been trying to make sense of the 2018 outlook ever since: Link

Humana HUM could escalate the insurance arms race: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

  • USA Housing Starts for Nov 1.30M vs 1.25M Est; Prior 1.26M. Building Permits for Nov 1.30M vs 1.27M Est; Prior 1.32M
  • Redbook U.S. Retail Sales Down 0.4% For First 3 Weeks Dec. MoM, Up 3.6% YoY; Up 4.4% Week Ended Dec. 16 YoY
  • The Treasury is set to auction 4-week bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
  • Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Roseville, Minnesota at 1:10 p.m. ET.

ANALYST RATINGS

  • RBC upgraded GM GM from Sector Perform to Outperform
  • Berenberg upgraded Altria MO from Hold to Buy
  • Instinet downgraded Apple AAPL from Buy to Neutral
  • Morgan Stanley downgraded ARRIS Intl. ARRS from Overweight to Equal-Weight

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.

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