The Market In 5 Minutes: Bitcoin And Stocks, Import & Export Prices Rise, Riot Blockchain Falls

IN THE NEWS

Bitcoin bulls that argue the popular cryptocurrency could surpass gold as a flight to safety investments have gotten some discouraging market feedback in the past several weeks: Link

The stock market has experienced historically high volume in recent weeks, and much of the blame has been placed on rising interest rates. The relationship between stock prices and bond yields may not be intuitive for new investors, but here’s an overview of how it typically works: Link

Riot Blockchain's RIOT business is full of multiple "red flags" investors should be aware of, CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera said Friday. In a statement to Benzinga, Riot CEO John O'Rourke said, "This was a garbage, biased hit piece.": Link

Retailers still celebrating their strongest holiday sales in years now face the less-pleasant task of disposing of billions of dollars in returned merchandise: Link $

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is fighting on multiple fronts, embroiled in disputes with Republican lawmakers on at least three issues while his Justice Department remains at odds with the White House on others: Link $

Corporate bond investors finally joined a selloff that has shaken stocks to Treasuries as investors spooked by U.S. interest-rate risk headed for the exits: Link

In his 50 years working in Britain’s car industry, John Cooper has survived plenty of upheavals. None is scarier than the prospect of Brexit: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

• Building Permits for Jan 1.40M vs 1.31M Est; Prior 1.30M. Housing Starts for Jan 1.33M vs 1.23M Est; Prior 1.19M
• Export Prices (MoM) for Jan 0.80% vs 0.30% Est; Prior -0.10%. Import Prices (MoM) for Jan 1.00% vs 0.60% Est; Prior 0.10%
• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for February is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• Data on e-commerce retail sales for the fourth quarter 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

• DA Davidson upgraded NetApp NTAP from Neutral to Buy
• Wells Fargo upgraded Trinity Industries TRN from Market Perform to Outperform
• Cowen downgraded PBF Energy PBF from Outperform to Market Perform
• Jefferies downgraded Dr Pepper Snapple DPS from Buy to Hold

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.