| Advertisement
Here is what you need to know. 1. World stocks are treading water on Friday as traders awaited the release of a crucial monthly jobs report. The nonfarm payrolls number could provide some indication of whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month to boost the US economy. 2. Trump reportedly promised China's president that he'd stay quiet on Hong Kong protests as long as trade war talks progressed. The US president has offered a muted response to the protests, despite global backlash over China's encroachment in the semi-autonomous city. 3. Boris Johnson has one week to improve his Brexit plan or EU officials will refuse to even discuss it at a crunch summit. Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, reportedly told ambassadors that the UK's "meaningless" plan was "not operational in any way." 4. The EU signaled it won't retaliate after Trump said he'd slap Europe with $7.5 billion in tariffs. The EU says negotiation is a "preferred approach," the Wall Street Journal reported. 5. BP CEO Bob Dudley, who steered the oil giant away from bankruptcy after the Deepwater Horizon spill, is stepping down. He will be succeeded by Bernard Looney, 49, the head of BP's Upstream unit. 6. Malaysia's finance minister on Friday said there are no talks with Goldman Sachs on the recovery of billions of dollars of state funds lost via the US bank's former client 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). Malaysia filed criminal charges last year against Goldman Sachs over its role as underwriter and arranger of three bond sales that raised $6.5 billion for the now-defunct state investment fund. 7. Germany is planning to hike taxes on European, long-haul flights. The tax hikes, which would take effect from April 1, 2020, are part of a package of budget-neutral measures the government drafted last month aimed at protecting the climate and restoring its green credentials. 8. Stocks remain muted on Friday ahead of nonfarm payrolls. US futures underlying the S&P 500 (-0.4%) and the Nasdaq (-0.4%) are dropping. In Europe, the Dax (-0.1%) slid slightly but Euro Stoxx 50 (+0.1%) is up. Asia closed mixed, with the Nikkei up (+0.3%) and Hang Seng (-1.1%) down. Chinese markets were closed. 9. There are lots of earnings out today. Italian soccer giant AS Roma is the pick of the bunch. 10. Today is nonfarm payrolls day which is out at 8:30 a.m. EST. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at 2 p.m. | 