Recent supply disruptions coupled with growing demand from China and India continue to push oil prices higher, with Brent crude (NYSEARCA:BNO) pushing through $50 per barrel in London trade, and WTI crude (NYSEARCA:USO) just pennies shy of that level in New York. Prices are now up about 80% from February, when they hit a 12-year low. The latest bullish news was a greater-than-expected inventory build reported by the EIA yesterday. The bull market may not last as producers inside of OPEC - Iran in particular - are set to increase output, and wildfire-related Canadian production declines are coming to an end.

Economy

Investment-grade corporate paper is the latest asset class to be added to the ECB's growing list of things it will monetize with freshly printed euros, and the bank will start small next month, reports Reuters, before slowly growing the monthly pace to between €5B and €10B. Though the €600B European market for such paper is limited to big corporations which already have easy access to credit, the ECB hopes its purchases will trickle down to the smaller borrowers in the EU for whom funding is currently more problematic. This trickle could be a slow and uneven one, which is the reason for the small start to the program.

Stung by losses in Obamacare's first years, big health plans are looking for premium boosts of 20% or more in states like New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, and by more than 10% in places like Florida and Maryland. Among those published so far, only in Vermont do insurers' requests not hit the 10% level. Proposals, of course, need to be approved by state regulators. In addition to higher than expected costs and a population of new signups skewing to the less healthy end, 2017 marks the year when some programs designed to cushion insurers' losses come to an end. While some state insurance commissioners are talking a tough game in regard to approving the requests, others say they are unable to deny the increases where an insurer has shown need, and they are required by law to ensure plans have enough funds to pay out claims.

Stocks

India will require Apple to sell at least 30% locally-sourced goods if it wants to open up retail outlets, according to Reuters. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) plans to open retail stores within 18 months in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, along with a number of initiatives announced alongside CEO Tim Cook's visit to the country last month. A legislative change last year made foreign retailers who sell high-tech goods exempt from the 30%-local rule, but Apple's products weren't counted in that category, according to the report.

Shareholders at Chevron joined their counterparts at Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) in rejecting resolutions calling for stress tests to determine the risk that climate change could pose to their businesses. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) investors considered five proposals related to climate change, none of which received more than 41% support, although today's votes generally drew more support than any contested climate-related challenges in the history of the two biggest U.S. oil and gas companies. The anti-drilling proposal, says CEO John Watson, "suggests we liquidate the company by paying dividends ... We don't think that is the proper action to take.".

Bayer could receive financing from the ECB to help fund its possible takeover of Monsanto (NYSE:MON), according to a Reuters analysis of the terms of the ECB's bond-buying program. The ECB can buy bonds issued by companies that are based in the euro area, have an investment-grade rating and are not banks, provided that they are denominated in euros and meet certain technical requirements. While the purpose for the bonds is not among the criteria set by the ECB, the bank will start buying corporate paper on the market and directly from issuers next month. In theory, the ECB could buy debt issued by Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY).

Bowing to the increasing digitization of banking, Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) plans to cut about 1,850 jobs, or 4% of its 46K-strong workforce, according to a memo seen by Reuters. In that memo, CEO Bill Downe takes note of the structural changes in the financial services industry. The bank also reported an earnings miss, in part thanks to a big boost in energy and materials-related loan-loss provisions.

In a surprise revelation, AT&T (NYSE:T) made a bid for Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), and is still in the running for the core Internet business, Bloomberg reports. They were out of the offing according to earlier reports, but they kept involved in the process through a stake in YP Holdings - which was involved in the early round in April - and while YP isn't pursuing the transaction any longer, AT&T is still around. The interest from the telecom giant would present a formidable challenge for presumed frontrunner Verizon (NYSE:VZ). But Verizon didn't submit one of the highest first-round bids, a pair of the sources said.

Walgreens made a deal including plans to put Theranos (Private:THER) blood-testing centers in thousands of its stores despite never fully validating the startup's technology, according to a WSJ report. Before announcing the deal in 2013, some Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) executives and outside advisors had their doubts, but when pushed for answers, Theranos - in a way that went beyond Silicon Valley's endemic secrecy - provided few answers. Nevertheless, Walgreens moved forward anyway, in part because management felt Theranos might choose a different drugstore chain partner.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan +0.1% to 16772. Hong Kong +0.1% to 20397. China +0.2% to 2822. India +1.9% to 26366.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt +0.3%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.1%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude +0.6% to $49.87. Gold +0.3% to $1230.10.
Ten-year Treasury Yield flat at 1.86%

Today's Economic Calendar

5:15 Fed's Bullard: U.S. Monetary and Economic Policy
8:30 Durable Goods
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Pending Home Sales
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 Kansas City Fed Mfg Survey
12:15 PM Fed's Powell: U.S. Monetary and Economic Policy
1:00 PM Results of $28B, 7-Year Note Auction
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet