MORNING COFFEE

McDonald’s CEO Steps Down. McDonald's (MCD) CEO Jim Skinner announced that he will retire at the end of June.  Skinner had been with the company for 41 years.  President and COO Don Thompson will replace him as CEO. Pre-market: 96.30 -0.42 (-0.43%)

China and Eurozone Factory Activity Falls. The most recent PMI data for China and the Eurozone shows that the contraction in factory activity has gotten worse in March. HSBC's early estimate of China's PMI indicate that it fell to 48.1 from 49.7.  Markit early estimate shows that the Eurozone PMI dropped to 48.7 from 49.3. The estimate indicates that the Eurozone has slipped back into a technical recession. A reading under 50 represents a contraction, while a reading above 50 indicate expansion.  The news has sent overseas markets lower and U.S. futures lower.

Upgrades

PVH Corp. (PVH): Deutsche Bank raised their rating from Hold to Buy and raised their target price from $69.00 to $100.00. Pre-market: 90.00 +0.47 (0.52%)

ExxonMobil (XOM): JPMorgan raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral and placed a target price of $92.00 on the company. Pre-market: 85.65 -0.36 (-0.42%)

TASER International (TASR): JPMorgan raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral and placed a target price of $5.00 on the company. Pre-market: 4.19 0.00 (0.00%)

Emerson Electric (EMR): Nomura raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $60.00 to $64.00. Pre-market: 52.05 +0.10 (0.19%)

Coverage Initiated

McGraw-Hill Cos.  (MHP): Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $54.00.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Apple (AAPL): Hilliard Lyons reiterated their Buy rating and raised their target price from $575.00 to $660.00. Pre-market: 598.50 -4.00 (-0.66%)

Earning Reports

ConAgra (CAG): Reported EPS of $0.51 beating estimates by +$0.01.

Dollar General (DG): Reported EPS of $0.87 beating estimates by +$0.05. Pre-market: 46.00 +1.25 (2.79%)

FedEx (FDX): Reported EPS of $1.55 beating estimates by +$0.20. Pre-market: 93.25 -2.57 (-2.68%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:22: Dow -0.47%. S&P -0.57%. Nasdaq -0.47%. Crude -1.14% to $106.05. Gold -0.84% to $1636.10. 

Europe: London -0.67%. Paris -1.39%. Frankfurt -1.32%. 

Asia: Japan +0.40% to 10127. Hong Kong +0.22% to 20902. China -0.10% to 2376. India -2.30% to 17196.