10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.

Trump picks his new top economic adviser. CNBC commentator Larry Kudlow, who was previously a staff economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, worked in the Reagan administration, and was chief economist for Bear Stearns, will replace Gary Cohn as National Economic Council director.

One of Wall Street's most followed forecasts for the US economy is looking worse and worse. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker projects 1.9% growth for the US economy in the first quarter. That's down from last week's 2.5% estimate and well below the 5.4% print from the beginning of February, which was based on one month of data.

A key engine of the economy is flashing a warning sign. Retail sales fell unexpectedly in February, the third straight month of declines, raising concerns about the strength of consumer spending, which accounts for over two-thirds of economic activity.

Business Insider ranked every US state economy from worst to best. Business Insider's Andy Kiersz combined six measures of labor-market and general economic health for all the states and the District of Columbia. Check it out.

China just locked in its position as a dominant player in electric vehicle production. The Chinese company GEM will purchase 50,000 tonnes of cobalt over three years, which amounts to half the world's supply in 2017 and locks in China's position as a global leader in the manufacturing of electric car batteries.

Toys R Us will close all of its US stores. The toy retailer will sell or close all of its more than 700 stores, threatening the jobs of 33,000 employees, according to a Wall Street Journal report confirmed by Business Insider.

A former Equifax executive has been charged with insider trading. The SEC alleges that Equinox executive Jun Ying knew of confidential information about the company's massive data breach before exercising all of his vested stock options and then selling the shares, making roughly $1 million.

Stock markets around the world trade mixed. Australia's ASX (-0.31%) lagged overnight and Germany's DAX (-0.59%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.10% near 2,752.

Earnings reports keep coming. Dollar General reports ahead of the opening bell while Overstock releases its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data is heavy. Empire Manufacturing, import and export prices, initial claims, and the Philly Fed will all be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before the NAHB Housing Market Index and net long-term TIC flows cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET respectively. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.82%.