The Market In 5 Minutes: AT&T And Cohen, The Yield Curve, Ford SUVs And More

IN THE NEWS

The Benzinga Global Fintech Awards, taking place May 15 and 16, are a yearly showcase of the greatest advances in fintech from leaders and visionaries in the worlds of finance and technology: Link

Ford F still committed to SUV, truck shift even as Iran relations threaten spike in gas costs: Link

If any sector can be deemed evolutionary, futuristic and revolutionary, it's technology. Some exchange-traded funds are picking up on those themes: Link

The Trump administration’s efforts to block imports are bringing back a long-forgotten headache for manufacturers: the quota: Link $

AT&T’s T $600,000 deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, specified that Cohen would advise the company on its $85 billion merger with Time Warner TWX, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing company documents: Link

The U.S. yield curve is the flattest since Aug. 2007: Link

Billionaire hedge funder Dan Loeb is seeing more opportunities to bet against the market this year: Link

ECONOMIC DATA

• USA Import Price Index (MoM) for Apr 0.30% vs 0.50% Est; Prior 0.30%
• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for May is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.
• The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

ANALYST RATINGS

• JPMorgan upgraded Verizon VZ from Neutral to Overweight
• Stifel upgraded Kimbell Royalty Partners KRP from Hold to Buy
• Credit Suisse downgraded Kohl's KSS from Outperform to Neutral
• BTIG downgraded Symantec SYMC 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.