The new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus go on sale at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stores and carrier retail locations in more than 25 countries today, with prices starting at $649. But this year, the company will not disclose opening weekend sales numbers because they are "determined more by supply than demand." With strong handset pre-orders, Apple shares have so far gained 12% in what could be their best week since October 2011.

Economy

Consumer price inflation and consumer sentiment are on tap for markets today, the last in a series of economic gauges ahead of the Fed's closely watched September policy meeting. Stocks posted a broad rally on Thursday as traders decided that disappointing August retail sales, a flat reading on producer prices and weaker-than-expected industrial production dimmed the likelihood of an upcoming rate hike.

EU leaders are gathering in Bratislava to seek a unified response to Britain's decision to leave the bloc amid what the European Commission President has described as an "existential crisis." The summit meeting will be rich in symbolism: U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will be excluded, a signal that the survival of the EU will require the other 27 member states to make a fresh start.

In a widely expected move, Russia's central bank has cut its main interest rate by 50 bps to 10% amid a slowdown in inflation. Russia's economy has been hit over the last couple of years by economic sanctions as well as a drop in oil prices. The ensuing capital flight and drop in the ruble caused consumer prices to rise dramatically; however, inflation has recently gotten closer to the Bank of Russia's target of 4%.

North Korea is ready to launch another attack against the "provocations" of the U.S., whose bombers flew over South Korea on Tuesday in a show of solidarity following Pyongyang's latest nuclear test. The event launched a fresh push by Washington and Seoul for more sanctions, but the isolated regime called the efforts "laughable" and vowed to strengthen its nuclear power.

The Pentagon and the Russian military have traded accusations of failing to live up to ceasefire agreement in Syria, casting doubt on the possibility of U.S.-Russian coordination against ISIS. American officials said the Syrian regime hasn't guaranteed safe passage of aid trucks that have been held up at the Turkish border, while Russian authorities accused U.S.-backed rebels of attacking areas controlled by Bashar al-Assad.

Stocks

Deutsche Bank has been asked to pay $14B to the DOJ to settle a set of high-profile mortgage-securities probes stemming from the financial crisis. The figure would rank among the largest of what other banks have paid to resolve similar claims and is well above what investors have been expecting. In a statement, the German lender said it had no intent to settle "anywhere near the number cited." DB -7.1% premarket.

General Electric will receive $1.9B for a contract to supply steam turbines, generators and other equipment to the Hinkley Point C project, Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades. The U.K. decision "confirms our technology leadership and it also confirms that it was not such a bad decision to buy Alstom (OTCPK:ALSMY)," said Andreas Lusch, CEO of steam power systems at GE Power (NYSE:GE).

Eric Schneiderman is investigating why Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) hasn't written down the value of its assets, two years into a pronounced crash in oil prices. The New York Attorney General, who has been probing the firm's past knowledge of the impact of climate change, is also examining its accounting practices, sources told WSJ. While a company spokesman declined to comment, he said Exxon followed all rules and regulations. XOM -1.3% premarket.

"Competition has been fierce," Target (NYSE:TGT) CEO Brian Cornell told employees gathered at the company's annual meeting, urging them to deliver a better in-store and online experience before the holiday season. Last month, Target's Q2 traffic and sales at stores open at least a year fell more than expected, and the retailer said it expected comparable store sales to either stay flat or fall by as much as 2% in the second half of 2016.

Unilever is in talks to acquire Jessica Alba's Honest Co., but it's looking to use a coupon. The consumer products giant wants to pay less than the $1.7B that the firm had in a fund-raising round last year, WSJ reports, though the deal should still cross the $1B mark. The discussions are at an early stage, and Honest hasn't ruled out going for an initial public offering instead. UL -3.9% premarket.

A month after assuming regulatory oversight over e-cigarettes, the FDA has cracked down on online sales by the industry, issuing 24 letters to websites for illegal sales to minors. The agency hasn't moved to ban online purchases, as many in the industry expected, but the letters show it's closely monitoring those outlets. Websites and stores will have 15 days to reply and explain how they plan to prevent future underage sales.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued an officially recall for the Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) Galaxy Note 7, which will include about 1M of the mobile phones, because of serious fire and burn hazards. "I am urging all consumers to take advantage of this recall right away," CPSC chairman Elliot Kaye said. Consumers can either get a refund or a replacement device, which should be available at most retail locations no later than Sept. 21.

Twitter made a smooth debut with its broadcast of last night's matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, attracting generally positive tweets throughout the game. The CBS live feed marked the first time an NFL event had been broadcast on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and will be the first of 10 Thursday Night Football games the little blue bird will be streaming this season.

Ford isn't backing down from criticism levied at the company by Donald Trump over it moving small car production to Mexico. The automaker said there will be zero job losses as a result of the Mexico plant with new production scheduled in Michigan for the Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup. SUV and truck sales have outpaced small car sales by a wide margin this year and generate higher margins for Ford (NYSE:F) - thus allowing more leeway for union wages.

Looking to repair a condition that may keep air bags and seat belt tighteners from deploying in a crash, Fiat Chrysler is recalling 1.9M vehicles worldwide for a defect linked to three deaths and five injuries. It's the latest in a series of large-scale air bag recalls as the auto industry grapples with a widening array of problems from potentially unstable inflators to bad software.

Baidu has received a permit to test its self-driving car in California, becoming the 15th company to receive approval from the Golden State. After unveiling its autonomous vehicle in China last December, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) has been steadily increasing its investments in the sector and has already tested its prototype on Chinese roads and highways.

Efforts to develop and certify a space taxi for NASA are not being slowed by a SpaceX (Private:SPACE) investigation into a recent launch pad fire that destroyed its rocket, according to the company. NASA is looking to turn over crew transport to the International Space Station to SpaceX and Boeing (NYSE:BA) before the end of 2018, breaking a Russian monopoly.

The finger-pointing continues... Once Mobileye (NYSE:MBLY) learned Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) would be using its own vision system in upcoming versions of Autopilot, it "attempted to force Tesla to discontinue this development, pay them more and use their products in future hardware," according to a spokeswoman, who said that was the reason for their split back in July. Tesla's comments came a day after Mobileye told Reuters the company had broken ties because Autopilot was "pushing the envelope in terms of safety."

Meanwhile, officials in Michigan have rejected Tesla's (TSLA) request to open a company-owned dealership, a move that indicates the home state for Ford (F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) will stick to its ban on selling new cars directly to consumers. Tesla has also struck a deal to build one of the largest battery storage facilities in the world, providing a 20-megawatt Powerpack system at a substation in Mira Loma, California.

Thursday's Key Earnings

Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) -3.2% AH after missing estimates.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan +0.7% to 16519. Hong Kong +0.6% to 23335. China -0.7% to 3002. India +0.7% to 28599.
In Europe, at midday, London flat. Paris -0.6%. Frankfurt -0.6%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.3%. S&P -0.3%. Nasdaq -0.3%. Crude -1.3% to $43.96. Gold -0.2% to $1315.90.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -3 bps to 1.67%

Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Consumer Price Index
10:00 Consumer Sentiment
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
4:00 PM Treasury International Capital