10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Reuters / Carlos Barria

Here is what you need to know.

Trump denies bombshell report that he asked for Robert Mueller to be fired. The denial comes a day after the New York Times reported that the president ordered Mueller to be fire last June.

Tesla Model 3s are showing up in stores nationwide as the company fires back at new reports of production issues. Still, a CNBC report published Thursday alleged that part of the Model 3's battery was being assembled by hand as recently as mid-December.

Traders worried about the market's sure-fire recession indicator are jumping the gun - and we're about to see why. A flattening yield curve has historically signaled recession, but experts tells us the Fed's unwinding of the balance sheet will blunt the recent flattening.

Intel plans to release chips that have built-in Meltdown and Spectre protections later this year. CEO Brian Krzanich made the announcement on a conference call focused on Intel's latest quarterly earnings report.

George Soros calls Facebook and Google a 'menace' to society and 'obstacles to innovation' in blistering attack. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Soros launched an aggressive and multipronged attack on the tech giants, accusing them of "monopolistic" and anticompetitive behavior.

China's bitcoin crackdown has simply driven trade underground. Bobby Lee, the founder and CEO of China's oldest bitcoin exchange BTCC, told Business Insider: "It's gone underground. The point is the demand is there."

Investors made 23% returns on a key UK property sector since the Brexit vote. In a note sent to investors, UBS strategist Caroline Simmons said industrial property has offered the highest returns of any commercial sector since June 2016.

Stock markets around the world are stronger. China's Shanghai Composite (+0.28%) increased, while Germany's DAX (+0.12%) rose. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.3% near 2,849.50.

Corporate earnings reports continue. Colgate Palmolive, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins are set to report before the market open.