Motorists form a long queue to get sandbags at Kissimmee, in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irma making landfall, in Florida, U.S. September 7, 2017.
Gregg Newton | Reuters
A daily morning look at the financial stories you need to know to start the day.
STOCKS/ECONOMY
-Stock futures are down after Thursday's flat close. Investors are digesting an inordinate amount of natural disaster news.
-Gold is up and now at the $1,359 an ounce level. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is all the way down to 2.3 percent.
IRMA LATEST
-Irma has now been downgraded to a category 4 hurricane, but it's still extremely powerful as it is about to hit the Bahamas and Cuba. Fourteen people have already been killed by the storm. Miami and much of South Florida are bracing for the worst. Over half a million people have been told to evacuate South Florida, leading to a traffic and fuel shortage nightmare.
