The Market In 5 Minutes: Toy 'R' Us To Close, McMaster Out, MLPs Take A Hit

IN THE NEWS

It hasn't been a great week for Wells Fargo & Co WFC. The firm caught negative headlines around CEO Tim Sloan’s $4.6 million raise as well as new federal sanctions for commissions on auto insurance policies: Link

After swooning for much of 2017, energy stocks and exchange traded funds are struggling to start 2018. Master limited partnerships and related ETFs have not been immune to those struggles. For example, the Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF MLPX is sporting a first-quarter loss of 5 percent: Link

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for documents related to his investigation into whether Donald Trump’s associates colluded with Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter: Link $

Washington girded for further change in President Donald Trump’s administration, as national security adviser H.R. McMaster’s position appeared increasingly precarious and a series of staff departures prompted a U.S. senator to publicly urge the president not to fire his attorney general: Link $

The Justice Department’s court fight to stop AT&T Inc. T from acquiring Time Warner Inc. TWX could last as long as eight weeks, the judge hearing the case said, twice as long as the initial estimate: Link

Toys ‘R’ Us said Thursday it was giving up its fight to stay alive, and that it was killed by vendors who failed to support the 70-year-old chain, by rivals whose predatory prices created a long string of losses, and by the media focus on its travails: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

• Housing Starts for Feb 1.24M vs 1.29M Est; Prior 1.33M
• Building Permits for Feb 1.30M vs 1.32M Est; Prior 1.38M
• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Labor Department's JOLTS report for February 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

• Suntrust upgraded Winnebago Industries WGO from Hold to Buy
• Canaccord downgraded Synacor SYNC from Buy to Hold
• Ladenburg Thalmann downgraded Enbridge Energy EEP from Buy 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.