Eric Platt

 May 4, 2012

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

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

• Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng off 0.8 percent. European shares are selling off while U.S. futures point to a slightly positive open. 
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• The April euro area composite PMI number came in at a disappointing 46.7.  This was even worse than the 47.4 we saw in the flash reading.

• The major U.S. economic announcement of the day is the April Nonfarm Payrolls report. Economists forecast the economy added 160,000 total jobs, while private employment grew by 165,000. Unemployment is seen flat at 8.2 percent. 

• Headlines about French and Greek elections on Sunday, May 6 continue to dominate the wires. In Greece, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos will hold a rally in Syntagma Square at 12:00 p.m. ET today. Final polls ahead of the presidential battle in France show conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy eating away at Socialist challenger Francois Hollande's lead, garnering 47.5 percent of voter support in a BVA poll versus Hollande's 52.5 percent.

• The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its GDP growth forecast for 2012 to 3.0 percent compared to an earlier estimate of as much as 3.5 percent.

• First Solar, the beleaguered solar panel manufacturer, reported a big revenue shortfall and an unexpected net loss.  Management blamed supply-demand imbalances.

• Facebook will raise as much as $11.8 billion during its initial public offering. The company will issue some 337.4 million shares for $28 to $35 each.

• LinkedIn announced a solid beat in its Q1 earnings announcement.  EPS came in at $0.15 versus Wall Street's estimate of $0.09.  The stock surged in electronic trading.

• Argentina's government voted 207-32 to move forward with the nationalization of Repsol YPF as expected. Here's how Christina Fernandez is destroying Argentina's economy.

• This weekend is Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting.  Hot topics will include succession planning and the Oracle's health. Whitney Tilson wrote about the matter.  From the perspective of the shareholder, Tilson argued that there was one greater risk then Buffett's sudden death.

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