10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open
China's Trade Growth Didn't Even Meet Half Its Target In 2014. Chinese trade with the rest of the world grew by just 3.4% in 2014, below the government's 7.5% target for the third year, according to the Financial Times. This gives further weight to concerns that the world's largest developing economy is entering a protracted slowdown period.
West Texas Intermediate Oil Prices Just Dropped Below $45 For The First Time Since 2009.It fell nearly 5% yesterday and is already down 2.4% today. If WTI falls another $4 per barrel, down to below $41, it'll be testing territory that hasn't been seen in a decade.
UK Inflation Is Coming. The UK's consumer price index for December comes out at 9:30 a.m. GMT (4:30 a.m ET). With falling oil prices, economists expect inflation to tumble from November's 1% to just 0.7%. That would be the first time in 12 years that inflation has dropped below the 1% mark.
German Wholesale Prices Were Down 1% In December. They're also down 2.3% year-on-year, the biggest drop in 14 months as Europe's economies slip into deflation.
Asian Markets Are Mixed. The Nikkei closed down 0.64%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up 0.73% and the Shanghai Composite is effectively flat, up 0.04%.
Senator Elizabeth Warren Just Helped Block A Senior Treasury Appointment. Lazard investment banker Antonio Weiss has asked President Obama to give up on nominating him for a senior spot in the US Treasury. Politico's Ben White reports that following major opposition to the nomination from Warren and others, Weiss wrote a letter to the president over the weekend asking him not to resend his nomination to the Senate.
Huawei Says Revenue Probably Rose By A Fifth. Huawei Technologies' 2014 revenue was likely 287 billion yuan ($46.29 billion) to 289 billion yuan, an increase of roughly 20 percent from a year earlier, the company said on Tuesday in its unaudited results.
Toyota Is Ending Its Expansion Freeze And Looking At Three New Plants. Toyota Motor Corp is ending a three-year freeze on building new vehicle assembly plants and is looking to open two new assembly plants in China and another in Mexico, four executives familiar with the company's plans said.
The Disappearance Of The Word "Patient" From Federal Reserve Guidance May Signal A Rate Hike Is Near. The Federal Reserve should stop talking about the need for a "patient" interest rate policy just before it thinks it will begin hiking rates, Richmond Federal Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said on Monday.