The Market In 5 Minutes

IN THE NEWS

Benzinga

It isn't easy being a small pharmaceutical company banking on FDA approval of a painkiller product in a nation gripped by an opioid epidemic: Link

Traders and Wall Street analysts are polarized on Applied Optoelectronics AAOI as it is one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in the market, yet bulls see value in the name. Traders see an extremely volatile stock that has the potential for huge moves in either direction. So which direction is Applied Optoelectronics headed next?: Link

Wall Street Journal

Paul Manafort’s political-consulting firm was active for more than a decade doing work that often dovetailed with Russian political interests not only in Ukraine, but also in Georgia and Montenegro, other countries the Kremlin considered to be in its sphere of influence: Link

Walt Disney Co. DIS is preparing significant budget cuts at its Disney/ABC Television Group that will include staff reductions and restructurings, people familiar with the matter said: Link

Reuters

Six new banks have joined a UBS-led effort to create a digital cash system that would allow financial markets to make payments and settle transactions quickly via blockchain technology.: Link

U.S. crude oil prices are on track to post the steepest monthly losses in more than a year on Thursday as concerns spread over falling demand in the world’s top oil-consuming country after storm Harvey knocked out almost a quarter of its refineries: Link

Bloomberg

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser, wakes up each morning to a growing problem that will not go away. : Link

Over the years, Puerto Rico has wooed visitors and investors with beaches, sun, tax breaks and splashy public works. Now the Caribbean island wants to add an outpost of Chinese culture, complete with graceful pavilions and regional cuisine: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

• USA Challenger Job Cuts for Aug 33.83K vs 28.30K Prior
• USA Initial Jobless Claims for Aug 25 236.0K vs 237.0K Est; Continuing Claims for Aug 18 1.94M vs 1.95M Est
• USA Personal Income (MoM) for Jul 0.40% vs 0.30% Est; Personal Spending (MoM) for Jul 0.30% vs 0.40% Est
• The Chicago PMI for August is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.
• The pending home sales index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 p.m. ET.
• Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Farmers Branch, Texas at 11:30 a.m. ET.
• Data on money supply for the latest week will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

ANALYST RATINGS

• Bank of America upgraded FMC FMC from Underperform To Buy
• Wells Fargo upgraded Owens-Corning OC from Market Perfortm to Outperform
• Mizuho upgraded Spirit Realty SRC from Neutral to Buy
• RBC downgraded BHP Billiton BHP from Sector Perform to Underperform
• JP Morgan downgraded Otonomy OTIC from Overweight 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.