1. Amazon Posts Record Sales After A Strong Holiday Season
Amazon.com Inc reported profits of nearly $2 billion, the largest in its history, late on Thursday. The retail conglomerate drew millions of new customers to its Prime fast-shipping club during the holiday season. What is more, recent changes to U.S. tax law added to amazon’s revenues. Amazon (#AMZN) shares rose more than 6.4 percent post market.
2. Bitcoin Drops 13% To Trade Below $9,000
Bitcoin sunk below a key milestone today to trade below $9,000, which was considered a critical level of support. The decline began after reports over increased regulation in India and potential price manipulation at a major exchange. On Thursday, Indian finance minister, Arun Jaitley, reiterated the government’s position that cryptocurrencies aren’t legal tender. BTCUSD was last seen trading at 8,733.2 as of 8:00 GMT this morning. It is important to note that price swings are not unusual for major cryptocurrencies but the current fall is the largest one recorded in bitcoin history.**
3. Dollar Poised For Weekly Loss
The USD is poised for a weekly loss despite an upcoming NFP report due later within the day. The greenback is on track for a weekly fall as investors focus on renewed economic strength in the eurozone. A survey on Thursday revealed that EU manufacturing continued to strengthen last month, supporting expectations that the European Central Bank is on track to normalize monetary policy. Later today, investors are expected to shift their attention to the latest U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for January, for clues on the strength of the U.S. labor market. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have risen by approximately 180,000 jobs in January after increasing 148,000 in December while the unemployment rate is forecast to have remained at 4.1 percent.***
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*Source: CNBC
**Source: Reuters
***Source: Bloomberg
