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

February 14, 2018

Here is what you need to know.

Morgan Stanley's US equity chief explains why the recent meltdown signaled the 'final stage' of the bull market. "We're very late-cycle in the economic expansion, and I measure that primarily through the labor market," Morgan Stanley's chief US equity strategist, Mike Wilson, told Business Insider's Joe Ciolli. "We're at full employment or just below it, and to me it's pretty clear that there's not much slack left in the economy — and that's usually the final stage of a market cycle."

Get ready for the Year of the Dog. The Chinese New Year takes place Friday, bringing in the Year of the Dog, which is a good time to be cautious when it comes to finances, according to this year's CLSA Feng Shui Index.

The UK economy grew slower than Europe's for the first time since 2010. Eurozone economic growth came in at 2.7% for 2017, while UK growth was just 1.5%.

The Japanese yen hits its best level in over a year. The yen gained almost 1% in overnight action, hitting 106.84 per dollar, its strongest since November 2016.

Chipotle picks a new CEO. Chipotle soared as much as 10% following Tuesday's closing bell on news it had chosen Taco Bell's CEO, Brian Niccol, as its next boss.

Western Union confirms it's testing transactions using Ripple technology. Raj Agrawal, the company's chief financial officer, told Bloomberg that efforts were in a "testing phase."

Uber's loss narrows. The ride-hailing app saw fourth-quarter revenue climb 61% year-over-year to $2.2 billion as its loss narrowed to $1.1 billion.

Stock markets around the world are mostly higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+2.27%) led the gains in Asia, and Germany's DAX (+0.71%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.37% near 2,673.

Earnings reports keep coming. Dr. Pepper Snapple and Molson Coors report ahead of the opening bell, while Cisco Systems and Marriott International release their quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data picks up. CPI and retail sales will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is up 1 basis point at 2.83%.