10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

Eric Platt

 Jun. 21, 2012

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

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

• Markets in Asia traded mostly lower overnight, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 1.3 percent. Shares in Europe are also in the red as U.S. futures point to a flat open.

• Chinese manufacturing weakened for another month, with flash PMI falling to 48.1 in June from a revised 48.4 in May. Manufacturers in the country reported the sharpest decline in new export orders in more than three years.

• The newly formed Greek coalition government has agreed to seek a two year delay on meeting fiscal targets, Reuters reports. The government is also hoping to extend unemployment benefits while restricting layoffs. Meanwhile, Martin Wolf says hopes for a Federal Union in Europe are doomed >

• Spain sold €2.2 billion in two-year notes, above expectations for a smaller €2 billion sale. Yields fell to 4.706 percent on the shorter-term debt from highs seen days earlier, but were more than double the 2.069 percent recorded in a March auction. 

• U.K. retail sales grew 1.4 percent sequentially in May, topping projections by 20 basis points. Fuel sales led the jump with a 6.2 percent gain, while clothing and shoe purchases advanced 3.4 percent.

• German manufacturing slowed to its lowest pace in three years, with flash manufacturing PMI declining to 44.7 in May. France logged some improvement during the month, with a flash reading of manufacturing rising to 45.3 from 44.7 a month earlier. A figure below 50 indicates contraction.

• Crude prices fell below $80 for the first time since October in overnight London trade. WTI August contracts slipped as low as $79.92 a barrel before paring some losses. 

• Air France will lay off as many as 5,120 people by December of 2013 as it tries to cut its losses and shed debt. The French carrier said it would push early retirement and part time working. 

• Attorney General Eric Holder was found in contempt of Congress by the House Oversight Committee yesterday over his refusal to turn over documents related to the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal. The 23-17 vote fell along party lines.

• Lawmakers are pushing for an overhaul of the IPO process after Facebook shares declined by as much as 30 percent in its first month of trade. In a letter, Representative Darrell Issa told SECChairman Mary Schapiro that investment banks are able to "dictate pricing while only indirectly considering market supply-and-demand." 

• Economic announcements in the U.S. kick off at 8:30 a.m. with initial unemployment claims. They are expected to fall to 383,000. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve will release its monthly reading of business activity at 10:00 a.m. Economists see the headline index increasing to 0 from -5.8 in May. Also at 10:00 are existing home sales, which are seen declining to 4.57 million.