The White House has come up with a new proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows told reporters Monday night. While he said "there is no deal, in principle," Meadows did refer to the proposal as "a solid idea that was offered," and said his caucus would evaluate its impact on premium costs. Related tickers: UNH, AET, ANTM, CI, HUM, WCG, CNC, MOH, GTS, HQY, QHC, HCA, THC, UHS, LPNT, CYH, HCP, SEM

Economy

The return of the filibuster. Democrats are planning a showdown in the Senate over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, hoping to block his nomination later this week. The move will set up a fight over the chamber's rules to eliminate the 60-vote requirement - a change known as the "nuclear option" - that could reshape the way the institution considers future court nominees.

The Trump administration has rolled out several policy changes that some say fall short of his campaign promises, while others maintain they will send shockwaves across the tech industry. New measures will be introduced to combat "fraud and abuse," while employers have been ordered not to discriminate against U.S. workers, but there's still some confusion on whether programming will be labeled a "specialty occupation." Top H-1B sponsors: INFY, IBM, WIT, ACN, MSFT, GOOG, GOOGL, IGT, CTSH, AMZN, INTC, JPM, QCOM, AAPL

Avoiding a government shutdown, New York lawmakers have passed an emergency stopgap spending plan authorizing Governor Andrew Cuomo to pay bills for the next two months. The state was supposed to have a budget at the start of its fiscal 2018 on Saturday, but the legislature and Cuomo failed to agree on a comprehensive plan as they debated broader policies.

A suspect in the metro blast that killed 11 people and injured 45 in St. Petersburg is a Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen named Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, Interfax news reports. No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion, which Russia's National Antiterrorist Committee is investigating as a terrorist attack. The MICEX index was flat in overnight trading.

Standard & Poor's has downgraded South Africa to junk, citing the recent political upheaval and ousting of finance minister Pravin Gordhan. The move sent the rand lower after weakening more than 8% against the greenback over the last seven days. More pressure may be put on the currency this week if Moody's and Fitch follow suit.

Stocks

Winning their sixth national championship at University of Phoenix Stadium, North Carolina made up for last year's title-decider heartbreak by putting together a late run to overhaul Gonzaga 71-65. According to Nielsen Media and the NCAA, CBS Sports (NYSE:CBS) and Turner Sports (NYSE:TWX) coverage of the 2017 tournament overall is the second most watched March Madness iteration in 23 years.

Shareholders of Seadrill should expect to "receive minimal recovery for their existing shares" as the company prepares for potential bankruptcy proceedings to restructure debt and liabilities of $14B. "We currently believe that a comprehensive restructuring plan... will require losses or substantial dilution for other stakeholders," the firm said in a statement. SDRL -41% premarket.

Peabody Energy has announced its emergence from Chapter 11, and will list on the NYSE today under its former "BTU" symbol. The largest U.S. coal producer filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2016 following a sharp drop in prices that left it unable to service $10.1B of debt. Peabody (OTCPK:BTUUQ) said it has reduced debt by more than $5B from pre-filing levels.

In a bid to avoid a shareholder revolt, BP has agreed to cut millions of pounds from CEO Bob Dudley's maximum pay for the next three years, sources told Sky News. Insiders briefed on the terms said the company had decided to reduce Dudley's maximum long-term incentive plan award from 7x his £1.48M basic salary to 5x.

ABB is looking to expand its industrial automation footprint with the purchase of Austria's Bernecker + Rainer. It marks the largest acquisition under CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer, as ABB looks to recover from depressed orders and the impact of the commodity slump. The cash deal for B&R, which has annual sales of more than $600M, is expected to close this summer. ABB +1% premarket.

President Trump has signed a repeal of Obama-era broadband privacy rules that would have limited the ability of ISPs to share or sell customers' browsing history for advertising purposes. Republicans in Congress last week narrowly passed the repeal against the strong objections of privacy advocates. Related tickers: T, VZ, CMCSA, CHTR, OTCPK:ATCEY, FTR, CTL, WIN, CCOI

WhatsApp is working to launch peer-to-peer payments in India in the next six months, according to The Ken, marking the Facebook-owned (NASDAQ:FB) app's first foray into digital payments. Electronic transactions in India have surged after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock ban of high-value bank notes in November that accounted for more than 80% of the country's currency in circulation.

When Verizon finishes its acquisition of Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and merges it with AOL, it will call the combined busineses "Oath." More details about the new brand will be revealed "in the coming week," but according to Recode, Marissa Mayer won't be staying on. That leaves AOL (NYSE:VZ) CEO Tim Armstrong in firm charge of the new company.

Shares in Imagination Tech are up 8.5% in London on a report it could become a takeover target. Credit Suisse upgraded its rating on the firm, saying it saw potential M&A interest from Chinese suitors. The call comes after Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) terminated its contract with Imagination (OTC:IMGTY), sending the stock into free-fall in yesterday's trade.

Seeking loan support from creditor banks, Toshiba (OTCPK:TOSYY) will ask them today to accept as collateral shares in its soon-to-be-split-off memory chip unit and other businesses and not to call in their loans. Sources say some smaller creditors have balked at the offer, as bigger lenders are seen receiving the most valuable chip unit shares.

The federal government has ordered Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) to reinstate a former bank manager who lost his job after reporting suspected fraudulent behavior at the lender. The OSHA decision is unrelated to the bank's woes surrounding the creation of potentially millions of fake accounts, but it has also come under scrutiny over whether it punished whistleblowers in that case.

Mylan has been hit with a new proposed class action lawsuit over the price of its EpiPen, which shot up to more than $600 for a two-pack from less than $100 in 2007. Although other suits against Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) have been filed, the case is the first to focus on the role of pharmacy benefit managers and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The DOJ has cleared Danone's acquisition of WhiteWave Foods (NYSE:WWAV), contingent upon Danone (OTCQX:DANOY) divesting Stonyfield Farms to an independent buyer. That would increase competition between the two leading participants in the markets for organic milk. If completed, the $12.5B deal will double the size of the French food group's business in the U.S.

Tesla has surpassed Ford Motor in market value for the first time, moving within striking distance of General Motors (NYSE:GM). "Investors want something that is going to go up in orders of magnitude in six months to six years, and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is that story," said Karl Brauer, a senior editor at Kelley Blue Book. "Nobody thinks Ford (NYSE:F) or GM is going to do that."

Latest self-driving car partnership... Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler (OTCPK:DDAIY) and auto supplier Robert Bosch (OTC:BSWQY) are teaming up to develop driverless cars in an alliance primarily aimed at accelerating the production of "robo-taxis." The pact marks an end to Daimler's efforts to develop an autonomous car largely on its own by realizing the virtues of cooperation.

Boeing has signed a $3B deal with Iran's Aseman Airlines for 30 737 MAXs, a new agreement on top of the $16.6B sale it made in the Mideast nation following the Obama administration's landmark nuclear accord. Boeing's (NYSE:BA) deal includes purchase rights for an additional 30 737 MAX aircraft for Tehran-based Aseman, which flies domestic and international routes.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan -0.9%. Hong Kong closed. China closed. India closed.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.4%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt flat.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.2%. Nasdaq -0.2%. Crude +0.5% to $50.51. Gold +0.6% to $1261.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 2.33%

Today's Economic Calendar

8:30 International Trade
8:30 Gallup US ECI
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
10:00 Factory Orders