10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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10 things you need to know before the opening bell
This photo released by the Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office shows a burning vehicle at the Baghdad International Airport following an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, early Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. The Pentagon said Thursday that the U.S. military has killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump. (Iraqi Prime Minister Press Office via AP)

Here is what you need to know.

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1. Iran has vowed revenge on the US after Trump's airstrike killed its top military commander. Qassem Soleimani has died in a US airstrike. Though Iran is militarily weaker, it could still harass and punish the US with unconventional warfare.

2. Oil surges and global stocks sink on fears Trump's Iran strike will be 'deemed a declaration of war.'
Markets swerved Friday after the US killed a top Iran military leader. Futures underlying the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq slumped at least 1%.

3. Boris Johnson's chief adviser posted a bizarre advert calling for 'super-talented weirdos' to help run the UK government.'We need some true wild cards, artists, people who never went to university and fought their way out of an appalling hell hole.'

4. A timeline of how Carlos Ghosn fled 24/7 surveillance in Japan, escaped on a private jet, and made it to Lebanon.
Carlos Ghosn fled Osaka for Beirut on Sunday night, distancing himself from charges which could see him spend the next decade in a Japanese jail.

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5. Google suspends Xiaomi integration with its home products after a user reported seeing footage from random people's homes, including a sleeping baby. Xiaomi said the issue was caused by a software update.

6. Louis Vuitton to close Hong Kong shop as protests bite. The world's biggest luxury goods brand by sales is preparing to shut one of its shops where protests have hit demand as high rental costs bite, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported on Friday.

7. The world's first AI inventor has been rejected by British and European patent authorities. The UK patent office says there is a "legitimate question" over future applications.

8. Stocks are tumbling. US futures underlying the Dow (-1.1%), S&P 500 (-1.1%), and Nasdaq (-1.3%) are falling, pointing to a sharp decline on the open. European stocks followed with the FTSE 100 (-0.2%), the DAX (-1.7%), and the Euro Stoxx 50 down (-1.2%). Asian stocks were under pressure with the Shanghai Composite (-0.1%) down and the Nikkei and Hang Seng declining.

9. There's no major earnings on the calendar today.

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10. It's a busy day for data. FOMC minutes are due as is ISM manufacturing PMI.

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