Countdown to Obama

CNBC's Trish Regan sits in for Maria Bartiromo to discuss the day's top business and financial stories, and look ahead to Friday's Closing Bell.

CNBC's Mary Thompson reports on the trading day from the NYSE.

The yen traded close to a 14-year high against the dollar Thursday. Daragh Maher from Calyon told CNBC it would be a "ministry of finance decision" to take steps to monitor the yen's strength. He sees the dollar-yen testing further lows.

The concerns regarding Chinese banks are "a little bit inflated," Roger Groebli from LGT Capital Management, said Thursday. Chinese banks' Tier 1 ratios "are among the highest in the world, so there is no particular reason to increase the loans," he said. Bernhard Langer from INVESCO Asset Management joined the discussion.