Career News 24/7: 10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell, August 16, 2012

Thursday, August 16, 2012

10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell, August 16, 2012

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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

Markets in Asia were mixed in overnight trade, with Japan's Nikkei up 1.8 percent. Shares in Europe are marginally higher and U.S. futures point to a positive open.
U.K. retail sales improved 0.3 percent in July, compared to expectations for a 0.1 percent decline. Data showed that retailers cut prices during the period to lure customers in. Here are the oddest economic indicators >
Eurozone CPI remained unchanged in July, roughly 2.4 percent higher than the year ago period, new data from the Eurostat shows. On a sequential basis prices fell 0.5 percent, in line with analyst expectations. Here's what the largest companies are telling us about the economy >
German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for further austerity while traveling in Canada today. Merkel, who is facing pressure to ease terms of the bailout to periphery members like Greece, praised Canada for "not living on borrowed money." Merkel is expected to speak at a joint press conference later this morning. The divide between Monti and Merkel is a lot deeper than you think.
MF Global executives are not expected to be charged with any criminal wrong doing over the firm's collapse and the disappearance of $1 billion in customer funds, The New York Times' Azam Ahmed and Ben Protess report. Here's a list of MF Global's creditors impacted by the company's failure.
Apple is in talks with a number of U.S. cable operators to let consumers use a set-top box built by the Cupertino, Calif., company to stream live television and other content, the Wall Street Journal's Jessica Vascellaro and Shalini Ramachandran report. Sources tell the Journal Apple has yet to strike any deals yet.
Facebook's lockup ends today, allowing insiders to start selling shares in the social network. Roughly 268 million shares, or 10 percent of the outstanding base, can begin trading after markets open this morning. The company's stock crash has created a new host of problems for the firm.
Networking heavyweight Cisco Systems reported better-than-expected sales and earnings yesterday, as corporate spending in Asia and the U.S. remained strong. The company said it earned net income of $1.9 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter, or $0.47 per share.
Neiman Marcus is considering going public as its private equity backers seek an exit, the Journal's Dana Mattioli reports. The company could be worth as much as $4 billion, below the $5.1 billion Warburg Pincus and TPG paid for it.
U.S. economic announcements kick off at 8:30 with initial jobless claims and housing starts. Economists forecast claims increased by 365,000 last week, while housing starts declined 0.5 percent to 756,000 in July. Closing out the day at 10:00 a.m. is the Philly Fed manufacturing report, which is expected to improve to -5. Follow it all live on Money Game >
Earnings on tap today include Walmart and the Gap. Already, Walmart beat earnings estimates by a penny, at $1.18, even as revenues missed expectations at $114.3 billion. Analysts are looking for the Gap to post earnings of $0.48 per share.