10 Things You Need To Know Today

thenews 2013.03.05 12:38

Here's what you need to know.

Markets in Asia were higher in overnight trading – the Japanese Nikkei rose 0.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite advanced 2.3 percent. European markets are posting solid gains, with Italy leading the way, up 1.8 percent. In the United States, futures point to a positive open.
In fact, futures suggest the Dow Jones Industrial Average will open close to its highest level ever. The index closed at 14,127.82 yesterday, just 37 points shy of the all-time high at 14,164.53. Futures have already bridged more than 30 points of the gap.
China HSBC Services PMI fell to 52.1 in February from 54.0 the month before. In the country's equivalent to the U.S. "State of the Union" speech, outgoing premier Wen Jiabao laid out several state economic targets, including 7.5 percent growth, 3.5 percent inflation, a deficit of 1.2 trillion yuan (about 2 percent of GDP), the creation of 9 million urban jobs, and 13 percent money supply growth.
The Reserve Bank of Australia elected to leave the key benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3 percent, in line with economists' expectations. RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said that the rate cuts enacted in 2012 were starting to show signs of having an effect and warned that there was scope for the central bank to ease further. A strong Aussie dollar has helped to counter growth.