Anything For You All: 10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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July 21, 2017

Here is what you need to know.

The euro is at its highest level in 2 years. The single currency hit a high of 1.1677 versus the US dollar on Friday despite European Central Bank head Mario Draghi striking a dovish tone during a speech Thursday.

China's former 'King of IPOs' has been found guilty of corruption. Yao Gang, the former vice chairman and second-in-command at China's securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was found guilty of "abusing his power to seek benefits and accepted huge amounts of money."

North Korea's economy is booming. The Bank of Korea estimates that the hermit kingdom's economy grew at a 3.9% year-over-year rate in 2016, making for the fastest growth since 1999.

Colorado has been raking in money from marijuana. Colorado has raked in more than $500 million in marijuana revenue since the drug was legalized in 2014, according to a report released Wednesday by VS Strategies, a marijuana public-relations firm in Denver.

Apple's win streak is over. The tech giant's nine-day win streak is over after shares slid by 0.45% on Thursday. Apple shares gained about 6% during the streak.

Microsoft's cloud business is growing. Microsoft beat on the top and bottom lines and said revenue for its cloud business climbed by 11% to $7.43 billion.

EBay gives a tepid profit forecast. The online marketplace expects third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.46 to $0.48, which is a tad below the $0.48 that analysts were anticipating.

Visa raises it full-year earnings forecast. The credit-card giant beat on both the top and bottom lines and said it expected annual adjusted earnings per share to grow by about 20%, up from its previous estimate of mid-teen percentage-point growth.

Stock markets around the world are mostly lower. Australia's ASX (-0.77%) trailed overnight, and Germany's DAX (-0.31%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,473.

Earnings reporting is light. General Electric reports ahead of the opening bell.