How To Articles

What is it? It's a leading indicator of economic health - businesses react quickly to market conditions, and changes in their sentiment can be an early signal of future economic activity such as spending, hiring, and investment. Survey of about 7,000 businesses which asks respondents to rate the relative level of current business conditions and expectations for the next 6 months.

When? At 4:00am Eastern Time.

Trading Tip: If the actual number is higher than the forecast, you can expect the EUR to rise.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

- Wall Street was set to open slightly lower on Friday with major indexes poised to end the week lower amid a mixed bag of earnings from big companies and the downward spiral of commodity prices.

Amazon.com (O:AMZN) shares jumped 21.5 percent to $585.64 in premarket trading, a day after the online retailer posted an unexpected quarterly profit.

- The dollar remain higher against a basket of other major currencies on Friday, as data showing that U.S. jobless claims fell to the lowest level since 1973 continued to support the greenback and as investors eyed additional U.S. reports due later in the day.

- Gold prices tumbled to a fresh five-year low in European morning hours on Friday, as data showing that U.S. jobless claims fell to the lowest level since 1973 and positive news from Greece weighed on the safe-haven metal.

- Crude oil futures rose on Friday, easing off the previous session's seven-month low but still remained under the $50 mark as concerns over a global supply glut continued to weigh heavily on the commodity.

- American Airlines Group Inc (O:AAL) on Friday reported second-quarter profit that topped analysts' expectations and declared a stock buyback and dividend as cheap fuel continued to benefit its bottom line.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:

 Get ready for a busy Friday.

1) Premarket movers

Amazon, Visa, Starbucks: Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) shares bolted up by about 18% in extended trading after it released better-than-expected earnings on Thursday.

If the shares hold onto those gains at the open, Amazon's market capitalization could trounce Wal-Mart's (WMT), making it the biggest retailer by value in the world.

Shares in Visa (V) look set for a 5% pop at the open after its earnings beat analyst forecasts. And Starbucks (SBUX) shares are up about 4% premarket after reporting earning Thursday afternoon.

But disappointing results from TripAdvisor (TRIP) sent its stock tumbling, down about 9% in extended trading.

In London, Pearson (PSO) shares are rising by about 3% after the publishing company reported half-year results. The company is also selling its Financial Times Group, which owns the eponymous business newspaper.

2) M&A movers

Anthem (ANTX) is reportedly expected to announce a multi-billion dollar bid to take over Cigna (CI) on Friday. It's expected the company will offer $188 per share. The health insurance sector is going through a shake up as Obamacare pressures company profits.

Just three weeks ago, Aetna (AET) reached a $34 billion deal to buy Humana (HUM).

3) More earnings and economic data

Quarterly earnings are expected from companies including American Airlines (AAL), Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and Xerox (XRX) before the market opens.

On the economic side, the U.S. Census Bureau will report new home sales data for June at 10 a.m. ET. Numbers from May showed home sales were at their highest level since 2008.

4) Global stock market overview

U.S. stock futures are edging up a bit and European markets are broadly in positive territory in early trading

However, Asian markets ended the week with losses as investors react to some disappointing economic data.

An early reading of China's manufacturing activity for the month of July came in below analyst expectations. At 48.2, the flash reading was the lowest in 15 months, and indicates that factories in the world's second-largest economy are losing momentum.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook: