• It may be disappointing, but the “Red Dead Redemption 2” delay is nothing unusual in the video game industry, especially for Take-Two (TTWO)’s Rockstar Games:
  • The new partnership between Alphabet Inc (GOOG) (GOOGL)’s Waymo autonomous vehicle technology unit and ride-hailing company Lyft may have given birth to a legitimate Tesla Inc (TSLA) competitor:
  • Following Rep. Ro Khanna (D–CA)’s letter to the Department of Defense dated March 17, urging additional scrutiny on TransDigm Group Incorporated (TDG)’s contracting process, Height Securities said Congressional support for review may be growing:
  • The poor, the elderly, the disabled, college students and environmental protections all stand to take a big hit if Congress approves President Donald Trump’s $4.1 trillion budget for fiscal year 2018. Defense contractors, corporations in general and the wealthiest Americans all stand to gain: Link
  • Steel stocks were up big on Tuesday ahead of the Department of Commerce hearing on the Section 232 probe. The DoC is set to come out with more details regarding the impact steel imports has on U.S. national security: Link

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

  • President Donald Trump faced swift resistance from Democrats and a range of Republicans on Capitol Hill on Tuesday after offering a 10-year plan to balance the federal budget that depends heavily on cuts to government safety-net programs and expectations of a big gain in economic growth: Link
  • Anthony Levandowski, the former Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) engineer at the center of a battle between the tech giant and Uber Technologies Inc., was never a typical employee. And for years, Google was fine with that: Link
  • Moody’s Investors Service cut China’s sovereign credit rating for the first time in nearly three decades, citing expectations that the country’s financial strength will deteriorate in the coming years as debt keeps rising and the economy slows: Link
  • Saudi Arabia is pushing the OPEC oil cartel and other big producers gathered here this week to extend crude production cuts for another nine months. The reason: the timing of the blockbuster IPO of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., people familiar with the matter said: Link

REUTERS

  • The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which brings together all U.S. financial watchdogs, used to be the scourge of Wall Street but under Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin it can serve to ease its regulatory burdens: Link
  • General Electric (GE) signed a one billion riyal ($267 million) joint venture agreement on Wednesday with Saudi Arabia’s state-backed Dussur industrial development company to manufacture gas turbines in the eastern city of Dammam:Link
  • Uber Technologies Inc said on Tuesday it underpaid its New York City drivers for the past two-and-a-half years, an error that could cost the ride-hailing company tens of millions of dollars: Link

    BLOOMBERG

  • With a flagship treatment that helps fewer than 11,000 people, how isAlexion (ALXN) making so much money?: Link
  • Morgan Stanley (MS) said it will cut back on using recruitment bonuses to poach established financial advisers as a new rule throws the industry’s traditional hiring practices into doubt: Link
  • SoftBank Group Corp. has quietly amassed a $4 billion stake in Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) making it the fourth-largest shareholder in the graphics chipmaker, according to people familiar with the situation: Link
  • AutoZone Inc. (AZO) reported profit and sales that missed analyst estimates as the seller of car replacement parts joined a chorus of retailers saying U.S. tax refund delays squelched demand early this year: Link

NY POST

  • Target (TGT) has agreed to pay $18.5 million to settle a multi-state investigation into its colossal data breach in 2013 that affected 70 million shoppers, authorities announced Tuesday: Link

CONSUMER
Lowe’s (LOW) Reports Q1 Adj. EPS $1.03 vs $1.06 Est., Sales $16.9B vs $16.96B Est.
The Container Store (TCS) Reports Q4 EPS $0.17 vs $0.09 Est., Sales $221M vs $214.7M Est.
Universal Corp. (UVV) Reports Q4 Adj. EPS $1.28 vs $0.84 in Same Qtr. Last Year, Sales $650M
Tiffany’s (TIF) Reports Q1 EPS $0.74 vs $0.70 Est., Sales $900M vs $913M Est.
Tilly’s (TLYS) Reports Q1 EPS $(0.01) vs $(0.10) in Same Qtr. Last Year, Sales $120.9M vs $114.4M Est.
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) Reports Q1 Adj. EPS $1.60 vs $2.18 Est., Sales $2.89B vs $2.95B Est.
HEICO (HEI) Reports Q2 EPS $0.53 vs $0.50 Est., Sales $368.7M vs $369.46M Est.

ENERGY

Bristow Group (BRS) Reports Q4 Adj. EPS $(1.15) vs $(0.48) Est., Sales $323.651M vs $326.16M Est.

REX American Resources (REX) Reports Q1 EPS $0.69 vs $0.43 in Same Qtr. Last Year, Sales $113.143M vs $121M Est.
JA Solar (JASO) Reports Q1 EPADS $0.03 vs $(0.02) Est., Sales $536.4M vs $490.8M Est.

INDUSTRIALS
Triumph Group (TGI) Reports Q4 EPS $1.32 vs $1.40 Est., Sales $919M vs $924M Est.
Dycom (DY) Reports Q3 Adj. EPS $1.30 vs $1.19 Est., Sales $786M vs $736M Est.

FINANCIALS
BMO Financial (BMO) Reports Q2 Adj. EPS $1.92 vs $1.43 Est., Sales C$5.74B vs C$5.10B In Prior Year Period

HEALTHCARE
Ascendis Pharma A/S (ASND) Reports Q1 EPS $(0.87) vs $(0.82), Sales $415.99K vs $1.53M Est.

TECHNOLOGY
Intuit (INTU) Reports Q3 Adj. EPS $3.90 vs $3.87 Est., Sales $2.541B vs $2.5B Est.
ViaSat (VSAT) Reports Q4 Adj. EPS $0.32 vs $0.28 Est., Sales $416.4M vs $400.86M Est.
Ooma (OOMA) Reports Q1 Adj. EPS $(0.02) vs $(0.03) Est., Sales $27.6M vs $28.1M Est.

ECONOMIC FIGURES

07:00 a.m. MBA Mortgage Applications (WoW)

07:00 a.m. MBA Purchase Index

07:00 a.m. MBA 30-Year Mortgage Rate

07:00 a.m. MBA Mortgage Market Index

07:00 a.m. MBA Mortgage Refinance Index

09:00 a.m. House Price Index

09:00 a.m. FHFA House Price Index (MoM)

09:00 a.m. FHFA House Price Index (YoY)

10:00 a.m. Existing Home Sales (MoM)

10:00 a.m. Existing Home Sales

10:30 a.m. EIA Distillate Output

10:30 a.m. EIA Distillate Inventories

10:30 a.m. EIA Heating Oil Inventories

10:30 a.m. EIA Gasoline Output/Production

10:30 a.m. EIA Cushing Inventories

10:30 a.m. EIA Crude Oil Inventories

10:30 a.m. EIA Gasoline Inventories

10:30 a.m. EIA Crude Imports

1:00 p.m. 5-Year Note Auction

2:00 p.m. FOMC Meeting Minutes

6:00 p.m. FOMC Member Kaplan Speaks

6:30 p.m. FOMC Member Kashkari Speaks

Analyst & Shareholder Meetings
  • 8:30 a.m. DSW (DSW)
  • 9:30 a.m. McDonald’s (MCD)
  • 10:00 a.m. Lumber Liquidators (LL)
  • 10:00 a.m. Fossil Group (FOSL)
  • 10:00 a.m. HSN, Inc. (HSNI)
  • 10:30 a.m. Sabre Corp. (SABR)
  • 11:00 a.m. Century Link (CTL)
  • 11:00 a.m. Hilton (HLT)
  • 11:00 a.m. PayPal (PYPL
  • 12:00 p.m. E.L.F. Beauty (ELF)
  • 12:00 p.m. Papa Murhpy’s (FRSH)
  • 12:00 p.m. Shutterfly (SFLY)
  • 1:00 p.m. Tupperware Brands (TUP)

UPGRADES
  • Credit Suisse Upgraded U.S. Steel (X) from Neutral to Outperform
  • Wells Fargo Upgraded NovoCure (NVCR) from Market Perform to Outperform
  • Evercore ISI Upgrades Diana Shipping (DSX) From Underperform to In-Line

DOWNGRADES
  • Goldman Sachs Downgraded Zions Bancorp (ZION) from Buy to Neutral
  • Credit Suisse Downgraded Ooma (OOMA) from Outperform to Neutral
  • Citi Downgrades Brown Forman (BF/B) From Buy to Neutral

Deal Talk
  • Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) stated that it is not engaged in business combination discussions with Glencore Agriculture Limited or Glencore plc. This comes following a report by the Wall Street Journal saying the deal would give the Swiss miner a U.S. agriculture presence.
  • CF Corporation (CFCO) to Acquire Fidelity & Guaranty (FGL) for $31.10/Share or total of ~$1.835B with assumption of $405M of debt.