Europe

US equity futures are unchanged, trading near record highs after digesting a spate of earnings results on Thursday. The dollar pared its weekly loss as the yen and pound slid, while gold headed for its longest slump in three months. European equities fell and markets in Asia were mixed, while markets in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam were closed Friday for the start of Lunar New Year. Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore had shortened sessions.

Josef Joffe, the editor-publisher of German weekly Die Zeit, suggests the easiest way to end the “Trump catastrophe” is to murder the president in the White House.

As The Daily Caller's Jacob Bojesson reports Joffe joined panel show ARD-Presseclub to answer questions from the public. A viewer called in to ask if it was possible to impeach President Donald Trump and end the “catastrophe.”

Submitted by Robert Parry via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

Submitted by Denis MacEoin via The Gatestone Institute,

Update: according to a CNN report - so as always take with lots of salt - the story has shifted materially, because according to two senior administration officials, it wasn't a resignation by the State Department officials, but more of a termination: "the Trump administration told four top State Department management officials that their services were no longer needed as part of an effort to "clean house" at Foggy Bottom."