“When investors hear yield curve inversion, they automatically think ‘recession.’ That’s because every recession since 1962 has been preceded by an inversion. But, not every inversion has been followed by a recession, so keep that in mind.” — BIG

1. DOJ Moves to Strike Down Entire ACA — the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion calling for ObamaCare to be struck down in its entirety, siding with a Texas federal district court that had decided the individual mandate was unconstitutional. Hospital and health insurer stocks plunged following that ruling in December. Previously the DOJ was focused on eliminating mandatory coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, but under Attorney General William Barr the federal government’s position has now changed.
2. Aaple Unveils New Products — Apple Inc. (AAPL) unveiled new products for entertainment, financial services, news and videogames last week to extend push into new territory. It plans to make its TV app, which will carry that content, available on competitors’ televisions and other devices as well as its own. Apple also announced Apple Card, a mainly digital credit card launched in partnership with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that aims to challenge incumbents by offering low interest rates and eliminating both late fees and annual fees. In addition, It unveiled Apple News+, a $9.99 monthly service that provides access to 300-plus magazines as well as newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal through an agreement with parent Dow Jones & Co. And it showed off Apple Arcade, a gaming subscription service offering access to 100-plus exclusive games for an unspecified monthly fee.
3. U.K. Parliament Fails to Get a Majority On Any Brexit Option — U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to quit in a bid to salvage her deal to leave the EU, but the move appeared to backfire as her political ally, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, said it would continue to reject her agreement. Lawmakers also failed to find a majority for any alternative Brexit arrangement to May’s pact, but overwhelmingly agreed that they opposed leaving the bloc without one. Britain has until April 12 to agree on a strategy./>
4. Lyft Prices IPO at $72/Share — tt’s the first IPO in the ride-hailing market ticker “LYFT,” and the first in a string of tech companies that are planning to go public in 2019. With over $2B raised so far, Lyft priced shares at $72 (at the high end of its range), putting its valuation at over $24B.
5. Yield Curve Inversion Statistics — based on the recent media chatter about the Yield Curve Inversion, the graph below shows that the standard 10yr/2yr yield curve has inverted on average 19 months before a recession, going back to 1968, whereas a top in the SPX has preceded recession by only an average of 7 months.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: