The ECB is expected to leave its stimulus program unchanged at its policy meeting today, even though the decline in eurozone stocks and the plummeting price of oil are doing nothing to help the region's dangerously low inflation. The money-printing the central bank began last March, and updated in December, have so far failed to nudge inflation any closer to its official target of just below 2%. Still, Mario Draghi is expected to send the message that the bank remains ready to further intervene if necessary - at a press conference scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET.

Economy

What's in store for the markets today? Asian shares fell heavily into negative territory, while European equities rose, following another selloff on Wall Street due to world growth concerns, uncertainty in China and lower oil prices. "The ground right now is so unstable, and there's so much anxiety," said Ayako Sera, a market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Yesterday, U.K., French and Japanese stocks fell into a bear market (more than 20% below their 2015 highs), while U.S. indices dropped 10% under their prior peaks, entering a correction.

China's central bank cranked up cash injections in its money-market operations for the third week in a row, heading off a squeeze ahead of the country's Lunar New Year holiday and surging capital outflows. The PBOC added 400B yuan ($60.8B) to the financial system using reverse-repurchase agreements, the most in three years, bringing net injections via its various lending tools for the month to about 1T yuan.

Oil prices are hanging around the $28 level, following an API report showing a U.S. crude inventory build of 4.5M barrels last week - about double trade expectations. The EIA estimate will be released later this morning. The first export of U.S. crude oil in four decades has also arrived in Europe, reaching the French port of Marseille after leaving Texas nearly three weeks ago.

Russia's ruble fell more than 5% overnight, to hit a new record low of 85.97 per dollar amid a global crash in crude prices. The country is suffering considerably from the oil slump, which has sparked widespread predictions of a second straight year of recession. On Wednesday, Russia's central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said she did not intend to intervene to support the currency, describing it as being close to its "fundamental levels."

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, David Cameron will urge business leaders today to help him keep Britain in the EU, as he attempts to launch a referendum campaign with a barrage of corporate support. "If you believe, like I do, that Britain is better off in a reformed European Union, then, when the time comes, help me make that case for Britain to stay," Cameron will tell an audience at the Swiss resort.

The IMF is starting the search for its next managing director, pledging the candidate can be from any of its member nations and the selection process will be completed by early March. Few see a serious challenge to current director Christine Lagarde, who has said she is open to another five-year term and just received the nomination of the U.K. and France.

Stocks

Sharp is leaning toward accepting a rescue by government-backed Innovation Network of Japan over a potentially larger offer from Foxconn Technology (OTC:FXCOF), Bloomberg reports. Sources said a deal with INCJ would allow the firm to keep its technology within Japan and cooperate more closely with domestic companies. Sharp's (OTCPK:SHCAY) stock climbed as much as 25% in Tokyo after Foxconn offered ¥625B (about $5.3B) to take it over.

With the pressure on its leadership building, Viacom (VIA, VIAB) has slashed the 2015 compensation for Chairman Sumner Redstone by 85% to $2M, and cut the bonus for CEO Philippe Dauman by 30% to $14M. The mass media company faced networkwide ratings challenges last year and its stock tumbled tremendously: VIA -42.8%; VIAB -46.5%.

FireEye has acquired iSIGHT Partners, a provider of subscription-based threat intelligence services, for $200M, marking the company's biggest acquisition since the end of 2014. FireEye (NASDAQ:FEYE) also released preliminary fourth-quarter results: Q4 revenue of $184M-$185M vs. prior guidance of $182M-$190M and a $186.9M consensus. Billings are expected to total $256M-$257M vs. prior guidance of $240M-$260M. FEYE rose 6.5% in after-hours trading.

The next installment of the Star Wars franchise, originally slated to debut on May 26, 2017, is now scheduled to be released seven months later on Dec. 15, 2017. Disney (NYSE:DIS) did not cite specific reasons for the push, but did note the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film has garnered more than $861M domestically and $1.89B internationally - the third largest global release ever.

Twitter rose as much as 14% yesterday on rumors that News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA) was interested in a purchase, but shares fell back after a spokesman confirmed the reports were untrue. Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) has been the subject of many takeover rumors in the past, as the company's shrinking stock price makes it an attractive takeover target.

How many more layoffs at Barclays? Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley has started a fresh round of cuts at the investment bank, with plans to eliminate more than 1,000 jobs worldwide and slash the division's bonus pool for 2015. Barclays (NYSE:BCS) also plans to exit investment banking operations across much of Asia, continental Europe and Latin America as it focuses on its core U.S. and U.K. markets.

Deutsche Bank -7.1% premarket after warning it would take further litigation charges in Q4, pushing its bottom line into the red. With an additional €1.2B in legal costs, Germany's flagship lender expects to report its first full-year loss since 2008, equivalent to €6.7B on a net basis. Deutsche (NYSE:DB) will release results on Jan. 28.

Martin Shkreli, the former drug company CEO charged with securities fraud, has been subpoenaed for a hearing investigating drug prices. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked for documents linked to drug costs from several companies, including Valeant (NYSE:VRX) and Turing Pharmaceuticals, Shkreli's former company. Turing rose to notoriety last year after it acquired decades-old Daraprim, an anti-parasitic treatment, and raised the price of the medicine to $750 a pill from $13.50.

General Motors has taken the wraps off its latest move to place itself into next generation transportation with a new service targeting the mobility-on-demand market. Maven, GM's new car-share operation, will begin renting vehicles by the hour or day, with a launch set for Ann Arbor, Michigan. Altogether, there are more than 25 car-share companies in the U.S. with Zipcar being the most well known.

Wednesday's Key Earnings

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) -1.9% despite topping estimates.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) +3.8% AH on capital spending cuts.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan -2.4% to 16017. Hong Kong -1.8% to 18543. China -3.2% to 2880. India -0.4% to 23962.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.4%. Paris +0.5%. Frankfurt +0.6%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.6%. S&P -0.6%. Nasdaq -0.6%. Crude -1.2% to $28.00. Gold -0.6% to $1100.10.
Ten-year Treasury Yield flat at 1.97%

Today's Economic Calendar

8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Philly Fed Business Outlook
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 EIA Petroleum Inventories
4:30 Money Supply
4:30 Fed Balance Sheet