Obama Wins Nobel, Trade Balance Before Bell

President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize this morning. The 44th president is the third sitting president to receive the honor but the first to win within his first year as commander-in-chief. The Nobel Committee said he was chosen “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” 

On to markets, equities are roughly flat this morning after the S&P 500 gained 0.75% in Thursday’s session. The only piece of data to hit markets this morning is the trade balance at 8:30, but three officials from the Federal Reserve give talks throughout the day as well.

They follow Chairman Ben Bernanke from last night, who didn’t say anything new, but he emphasized that the Fed will hike interest rates down the road. 

“My colleagues at the Federal Reserve and I believe that accommodative policies will likely be warranted for an extended period,” he said. “At some point, however, as economic recovery takes hold, we will need to tighten monetary policy to prevent the emergence of an inflation problem down the road.”

Bernanke did not give a time frame, nor did he speak on the economic outlook.

Aside from equities, WTI Crude oil is down $0.27 to $71.42 per barrel, and Spot Gold is trading $6.20 lower at $1048.90.

Key Events Today:

8:30 â€