Stocks higher to start the week with new highs The major averages had a positive start to the week as investors focused on the strength of the global economic recovery and progress in delivering vaccines. On the political front, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Biden administration hasn’t decided whether to pursue a wealth tax, but will likely issue proposals to address the swelling federal budget deficit. Yellen also said that U.S. inflation risks remain small and manageable and added that if inflation materializes, the Fed has tools to address it. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Empire State manufacturing index popped up 5.3 points to 17.4 in March, which was much better than projected. Data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 120M confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 29.4M in the U.S., and 2.66M deaths due to the disease, including 535,000 in the U.S. TOP NEWS: European countries including Germany, Italy and France are suspending use of AstraZeneca's ($AZN) coronavirus vaccine amid reports of dangerous blood clots in connection with the shot. Germany's health ministry said the European Medicines Agency would decide "whether and how the new information will affect the authorization of the vaccine," although AstraZeneca said in a statement of its own that a "careful review of all available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and UK with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country." Meanwhile, Reuters reported that data from AstraZeneca's 30,000-person U.S. vaccine trial are currently being examined by independent monitors to determine whether the vaccine is safe and effective. Shares of Eli Lilly ($LLY) were 9.1% lower after the company presented results from its Phase 2 study of donanemab for early Alzheimer's disease at the International Conference on Alzheimer's & Parkinson Disease. Citi analyst Andrew Baum closed his "catalyst watch" on Eli Lilly following the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ data, stating that the Phase II data falls short of market expectations that have risen in part due to "highly positive" management commentary on efficacy and safety. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's data over the weekend are "solid and supportive of further development, but not stunning or worthy of an accelerated regulatory approval, as some had hoped," Mizuho analyst Vamil Divan tells investors. Tesla ($TSLA) announced in a regulatory filing that effective as of March 15, the titles of Elon Musk and Zach Kirkhorn have changed to "Technoking of Tesla and Master of Coin, respectively." Musk and Kirkhorn will also maintain their respective positions as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the company added. It was a busy day for M&A news, headlined by a big deal in Canada. Rogers Communications ($RCI) and Shaw Communications ($SJR) announced that they have reached an agreement for Rogers to acquire all of Shaw's issued and outstanding Class A Shares and Class B Shares in a transaction valued at approximately C$26B inclusive of approximately C$6B of Shaw debt. The offer price of C$40.50 per share represents a "significant premium" for Shaw shareholders, said the companies, which added that as part of the transaction, the combined company will invest C$2.5B in 5G networks over the next five years across Western Canada. In other deal news, Extended Stay America ($STAY), and its paired-share REIT, ESH Hospitality, announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by a 50/50 joint venture between funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners ($BX) and Starwood Capital Group for $19.50 per paired share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6B. In addition, Roche ($RHHBY) announced a definitive merger agreement to fully acquire GenMark Diagnostics ($GNMK) at a price of $24.05 per share in an all-cash transaction. This corresponds to a total transaction value of approximately $1.8B on a fully diluted basis. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Rubius Therapeutics ($RUBY), which rose 84.4% after announcing initial clinical, pharmacodynamic and tumor trafficking data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of RTX-240 in patients with advanced solid tumors. Also higher was AMC Entertainment ($AMC), which gained 25.8% after announcing that two of its locations in Los Angeles, AMC Burbank 16 and AMC Century City 15, will reopen this afternoon with plans to open all its remaining 23 movie theatres in Los Angeles County beginning on March 19. Among the notable losers was U.S. Steel ($X), which declined 4.2% after providing quarterly guidance. Monday's economic data was limited to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, which increased to 17.4 in March (Briefing.com consensus 15.0) from 12.1 in February. Looking ahead to Tuesday, investors will receive Retail Sales for February, Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for February, the NAHB Housing Market Index for March, Business Inventories for January, and Import and Export Prices for February.Russell 2000 +19.5% YTDDow Jones Industrial Average +7.7% YTDS&P 500 +5.7% YTDNasdaq Composite +4.4% YTDMarket SnapshotDow32953.46+174.82(0.53%)Nasdaq13459.72+139.84(1.05%)SP 5003968.94+25.60(0.65%)10-yr Note +2/321.614NYSEAdv 2037 Dec 1216 Vol 974.0 mlnNasdaqAdv 2304 Dec 1768 Vol 5.8 blnIndustry WatchStrong: Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Utilities, Real Estate,Weak: Financials, EnergyMoving the Market-- S&P 500, Dow, and Russell 2000 set intraday and closing record highs-- Nasdaq and travel-related stocks outperformed-- Weakness in financial and energy stocks Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. 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