10. Music: School Days by Stanley Clarke. Recorded in 1976, the 'song' is one of the best jazz fusion pieces ever played.
9. Coaches: Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll have been 'politely' fired, Nick Saban has retired. NFL and college football remain the 'Kings of Sport' in the United States.
8: Taiwan: Presidential election will be held tomorrow. Expect noise from China this weekend regarding Taiwan's sovereignty.
7. Forex: Volatility struck yesterday in USD based currency pairs, whipsawing as financial institutions reacted to the Consumer Price Index reports. More inflation data will come from the U.S today.
6. Gold and Crude Oil: Precious metal value has been 'almost' steady, and WTI Crude Oil price remains rather calm.
5. China Deflation: CPI and PPI numbers were lackluster this morning. Export numbers from the nation have also delivered troubling declines.
4. Houthis: U.S and U.K missile strikes in Yemen have been conducted, diatribes from the extremists have been sounded, and may cause some investors concerns and potential risk adverse trading considerations going into weekend.
3. Bitcoin: SEC ETF funds approval has been completed, and launch is set to allow retail traders and 'investors' to purchase the digital asset. BTC/USD is near 45,960.00 currently. CFD products from brokers will likely be introduced and flourish soon, which will be based on the ETF notional values and allow day traders to wager on upside and downward momentum.
2. PPI Data: U.S Producer Price Index inflation results today could rattle the broad markets. No changes are forecasted. A surprise increase would worry those betting against the USD. Traders should also keep their eyes open for potential revisions to previous months.
1. Risk Appetite: Dow Jones 30, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 continue to flirt with apex values. The Nikkei 225, from Japan, is challenging highs not seen since 1990 as it trades above 35,575.00 for the moment. Equity indices remain optimistic.