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Wall Street stock futures are set to open sharply higher in reaction to further signs of market stabilization in China, and encourageing
Today’s must-read story is from Fortune‘s Robert Hackett and it offers details on the massive data breach affecting 21.5 million people that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced on Thursday.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. China’s markets end week with a flourish
The panic in China’s stock markets appears to have ended for now, as the country’s main indexes closed the week with another day of sharp gains. With nearly half of listed companies’ shares still suspended though, and with money pouring in from the central bank to stem the losses, it may still be a while before it becomes clear where the market will settle.
2. Greece presents bailout proposal
Markets are in jubilant mood after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tried to secure a three-year bailout package worth $59 billion with a new promise of financial reforms and austerity measures such as tax hikes and pension cuts. Tsipras will present his proposal to Greece’s Parliament today before a new round of talks with the troubled country’s euro zone creditors over the weekend.
3. Yellen talks U.S. economy
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will discuss the U.S. economic outlook in a talk at the City Club of Cleveland today. While Yellen gives her thoughts on the prospects for inflation and the job market, investors will be listening closely for any hints as to whether the Fed chair favors interest rate hikes as soon as September, or if the Fed might wait until later in the year to raise rates. Minutes from the latest Fed meeting, released on Wednesday, showed that leaders at the central bank are concerned that a potential Greek exit from the euro zone could disrupt U.S. markets.
4. May wholesale trade
The Commerce Department will release wholesale inventories for the month of May today. Wholesale inventories are expected to have increased 0.3% in May, which represents slower growth than in April, while sales are expected to have risen 0.6% after climbing 1.6% in the previous month.
5. S.C. lowers the flag
The Confederate flag will be removed from a flagpole in front of the South Carolina Statehouse today after state leaders signed legislation to remove the divisive banner in the wake of the recent shooting deaths at a predominantly black Charleston, S.C. church. Since those shootings occurred last month, retailers such as Amazon (AMZN) and the online marketplace Etsy (ETSY) have taken steps to remove products featuring the Confederate flag from their websites while racing organization NASCAR also banned the flag from its events.
— Reuters contributed to this report.
