Ashley Greene
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
  • Markets in Asia sold off moderately in overnight trade, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.3 percent. Shares in Europe are marginally higher and U.S. futures point to a flat open. 

  • The Japanese economy expanded at an annual pace of 1.4 percent, slower than the 2.3 percent forecast economists were looking for. Construction spending continued to boost growth, as consumer spending increased at the lowest rate since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

  • Greece's economy contracted by 6.2 percent in the second quarter. That was slightly better than the 6.5 percent decline seen in the first three months of the year and brings the country's recession to five years. 

  • Italy sold €8 billion worth of one year notes at a yield of 2.767 percent, up from 2.697 percent one month ago. Demand increased at the auction, with a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.69.

  • Brent crude hit a three-month high this morning, as supply concerns continued to weigh on prices. Oil traded up to $114.46 a barrel, the highest level since the start of May. 

  • Google will lay off roughly 4,000 employees from its newly acquired Motorola Mobility unit, or a quarter of the division. The company says two-thirds of the job cuts will come from outside the United States.

  • Julius Baer agreed to purchase Bank of America Merrill Lynch's international wealth-management business this morning. Baer paid $880 million in cash for Merrill's non U.S. and Japanese operations.

  • Groupon will report second quarter results after the closing bell today. Analysts polled by Bloomberg forecast the company will report earnings of $0.03 a share on sales of $575 million. 

  • Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan as his running mate over the weekend. Ryan gained recognition in the party for his budget plan that would cut Obama's healthcare overhaul and redraw income taxes into two brackets. 

  • The 30th Summer Olympics concluded yesterday with a performance by the Spice Girls and The Who in London. The United States led the medal count, finishing with 104. China and Russia followed with 87 and 82 medals, respectively.