A daily morning look at the financial stories you need to know to start the day
BRUSSELS LATEST
-The only surviving Brussels bomber, Najim Laachraoui, has been arrested.
-An American couple is missing in Belgium in the wake of the attacks.
STOCKS/ECONOMY
-Stock futures are flat after yesterday's mixed close.
-Mortgage applications fell 3.3% last week.
-Despite the Brussels bombing, gold continues its brief cooling off and has hit a one-week low at the $1,233/ounce level.
OIL/ENERGY
-Crude prices are down a bit but holding at the $41/barrel level.
-This morning's oil inventories report will be crucial for the market.
-Gasoline prices edged up another penny overnight to $1.99/gallon, national average.
ELECTION
-Front runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump won Arizona while Ted Cruz won Utah and Bernie Sanders won Idaho and Utah.
-Jeb Bush will endorse Ted Cruz today.
DEFENSE
-Boeing will likely miss the first key delivery deadline in the $51 billion KC-46 air tanker program. The first 18 tankers are due for delivery in August 2017, but that's not going to happen.
-Both the Pentagon and our foreign allies are complaining that the process for approving US weapons sales is too slow. But a State Dept official says there's no need for reform.
SCOTUS TODAY
-The high court will hear the case today arguing that religious-affiliated non-profits should not have to pay for Obamacare mandated contraception for their employees.
PHARMA FIGHT
-Merck beats Gilead in the fight over patents for its Hep C drug. Now the jury will determine damages and it's going to be big bucks.
IRS SCANDAL
-A federal court has ordered the IRS to turn over the list of groups it targeted and rebuked the agency for abusing tax laws for partisan reasons.
MINIMUM WAGE
-A measure that would gradually raise California's minimum wage to $15/hour has qualified for the November ballot.
VICE MIRAGE?
-A double whammy for Vice: web traffic was down 17% last month and now there are growing questions about whether its boasts about a huge millennial audience are for real.