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BENZINGA
The whistleblower organization WikiLeaks revealed Tuesday a trove of over 8,000 documents detailing surveillance programs at the Central Intelligence Agency. WikiLeaks claimed the CIA has "lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized ‘zero day’ exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation”: Link
Detroit's Quicken Loans reported record business in 2016. The company delivered $7 billion in mortgage funding via its online platform and closed a total of $96 billion in loans on the year, making it the second-largest mortgage lender in the country in 2016: Link
In the 1960s, the great Space Race was a battle between the two most powerful nations in the world: the United States and the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, the race has shifted to two of the most recognizable billionaires: Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos: Link
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick confirmed Tuesday the company is seeking a chief operating officer after a series of recent controversies buffeted the world’s most valuable startup: Link
A fight is brewing among congressional Republicans over whether a planned tax overhaul should pay for itself: Link
Barclays (NYSE: BCS) new corporate-and-investment-banking chief, Tim Throsby, recently toured his unit spreading a message that staff haven’t heard for years: Don’t be afraid to take more risk: Link
REUTERS
A government watchdog group, Public Citizen, said on Wednesday it will ask lawmakers to investigate whether billionaire investor Carl Icahn should have been subject to lobbying disclosure laws when he advised President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. biofuels program: Link
When the bosses of some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies headed to Washington in January to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, it had all the makings of a potentially hostile meeting: Link
BLOOMBERG
First you take the National Mall. Then you take your labor and your cash. That's the hope, anyway, of the organizers of the Day Without Women, as they ask women to stay home from work, refuse to perform unpaid labor, and refrain from spending money Wednesday to protest inequality: Link
For a company that has been mired in negative headlines for months, just about the last thing Samsung Electronics Co. needed was news its smart TVs could be used to spy on users: Link
Steven Mnuchin’s picks for the top ranks of the U.S. Treasury are stalled due to resistance from White House aides, including one recruit whose Twitter account was scrutinized for potential criticism of Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter: Link
President Trump met last April with the Russian ambassador at the center of a pair of controversies over engagement between Trump allies and the Kremlin, despite claims by his spokeswoman that he had "zero" involvement with Russian officials during the campaign: Link
NEW YORK POST
The seeds of a disappointing holiday retail season are beginning to sprout scores of store closings: Link
ECONOMIC DATA
USA ADP Employment Change for Feb 298.0K vs 190.0K consensus estimate. The prior reading was 246.0K.
USA Nonfarm Productivity (QoQ) for Q4 1.30% vs 1.50% consensus estimate. The prior reading was 1.30%.
Data on wholesale trade for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The Treasury is set to auction 10-year notes at 1:00 p.m. ET.
ANALYST RATINGS
Mizuho upgraded Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS) from Neutral to Buy
Bank of America upgraded The Michaels Company (NASDAQ: MIK) from Neutral to Buy
Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Navistar International (NYSE: NAV) from Sell to Hold
BMO Capital downgraded Nimble Storage (NYSE:NMBL) from Outperform to Market Perform
William Blair downgraded Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) from Outperform to Market Perform
PiperJaffray downgraded Astoria Financial (NYSE: AF) from Overweight to Neutral
NOTABLE OPTION ALERTS
WPX WPX Energy May 19 $14 Calls Sweep (45) at the ask: 2986 @ 0.65 vs 566 OI; Ref=$12.84
CMCSA ComcastJan, 2019 $35 Puts at the bid: 834 @ 3.5 vs 177 OI; Ref=$37.39
AMZN Amazon Apr 7 $845 Calls at the ask: 598 @ 14.401 vs 67 OI; Ref=$844.59
P Pandora Mar 13.5 Calls Sweep: 2000 @ ASK $0.09: 3191 traded vs 15k OI: Earnings 4/27 After Close (est) $11.71 Ref
STZ Constellation Brands Jul 21 $180 Calls at the ask: 500 @ 2.5 vs 146 OI; Ref=$157.22
FSLR First Solar May 19 $30 Puts at the bid: 1000 @ 1.41 vs 198 OI; Ref=$32.6506
THO Thor Industries Jun 16 $105 Calls at the ask: 2779 @ 6.401 vs 78 OI; Ref=$104.06
K Kellogg Company Jun 16 $75 Puts Sweep (30) at the bid: 583 @ 4.001 vs 257 OI; Ref=$74.225
KATE Kate Spade Apr 25.0 Calls: 4636 @ ASK $0.90: 7755 traded vs 8120 OI: Earnings 5/4 Before Open (est) $23.29 Ref
CVS CVS Health Corp Apr 21 $75 Puts at the bid: 6000 @ 0.331 vs 3770 OI; Ref=$80.84
COST Costco Wholesale Corporation Apr 7 $170 Calls at the bid: 2119 @ 1.861 vs 151 OI; Ref=$167.49
HLF Herbalife Apr 21 $55 Calls at the bid: 1850 @ 1.7 vs 109 OI; Ref=$53.58
WFM Whole Foods May 28.0 Puts Sweep: 1129 @ ASK $0.89: 2790 traded vs 1448 OI: Earnings 5/3 After Close (est) $29.40 Ref
FEYE FireEye Mar 12.0 Calls Sweep: 1000 @ ASK $0.06: 1253 traded vs 6489 OI: Earnings 5/4 After Close (est) $10.60 Ref
GPS Gap Inc Mar 10th 24.0 Calls Sweep: 1259 @ ASK $0.519: 2126 traded vs 670 OI: Earnings 5/18 After Close $24.17 Ref
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