Good morning. US stock futures were mixed in Thursday morning trading as investors digested US inflation data and continued to analyze corporate earnings reports.

"Perhaps the most fundamental principle of successful trading: Cut your losses short and let your profits run"

Bill Eckhardt

Top News

US inflation cools

WHAT: US inflation looks like it's decided to take a breather and give everyone's pockets a bit of a break! The Consumer Price Index, the metric that tracks changes in prices of goods and services, dropped to an annual rate of 4.9%, lower than the 5% projected by economists and the lowest it has been since April 2021.

WHY: Inflation in the US peaked last June at 9.1%, the highest it has been since 1981. The Federal Reserve has been actively trying to bring inflation under control and in line with its 2% target by increasing interest rates and tightening liquidity.

China audits filled with holes

WHAT: A US accounting watchdog might have caught KPMG in China and PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong with their pants down as it relates to their audits of US-listed Chinese companies. According to the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), there were "unacceptable deficiencies" in audits conducted by these firms.

WHY: The PCAOB published the findings of its inspection after gaining access to Chinese company auditor records for the first time in 2022, following more than a decade of negotiations with Chinese authorities. That access kept roughly 200 China-based public companies from being potentially booted from US stock exchanges.

Microsoft set to get EU all-clear on Activision deal

WHAT: Hold on to your joysticks gamers! The European Union's antitrust regulators are apparently ready to give the greenlight to Microsoft's whopping $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

WHY: The European Commission's imminent clearance comes nearly three weeks after the UK competition authority blocked the deal, the biggest ever in gaming, over concerns it would hinder competition in cloud gaming.

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In Other News

"24/7" trading coming to Robinhood

WHAT: Stock trading on steroids looks set to happen as Robinhood announced that users will soon be able to trade selected exchange-traded funds and popular stocks 24/7 on their brokerage platform.

WHY: The 24-hour trading service will allow round-the-clock trading in 43 securities with plans to add more in the future Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Crypto exec: It's getting difficult to do business in the US

WHAT: Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange appears to have had enough of Uncle Sam's crackdown on the crypto industry and looks to be fishing for greener pastures over in the UK. The company's chief strategy officer Patrick Hillman said it was a "very difficult time" to do business in the US and that the situation has been "very confusing" over the past six months.

WHY: Binance has been seeking to restore its relationship with regulators in the UK after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned a subsidiary of the company from operating in the UK.

Judge upholds data privacy lawsuit against Facebook

WHAT: And so the saga continues over privacy violations at Facebook. A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit accusing the social media giant of violating the law by neglecting to protect user data and privacy for years.

WHY: The complaint alleges that Facebook officials repeatedly and continually violated a 2012 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission under which the company agreed to stop collecting personal data on platform users and friends without their consent and share it with third-party applications.

Key Economic Events

• Thursday - Bank of England Rate

• Friday - Fed's Bullard and Jefferson Take Part In Panel

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