10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

Eric Platt

 Sep. 10, 2012

Miley Cyrus/Twitter

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

• Markets in Asia moved moderately higher in overnight trade, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.1 percent. Shares in Europe are mixed and U.S. futures point to a slightly lower open.

• The Japanese economy expanded by 0.7 percent on an annual basis in the second quarter, below an earlier reading showing 1.4 percent growth. The revisions increased fear that the country could fall into recession.

• Chinese trade data came in sharply below expectations overnight, with imports falling 2.6 percent in August from the year earlier period. Economists had been looking for a 3.5 percent gain. Exports also came in light, up 2.7 percent. 

• Italian GDP fell 0.8 percent in the second quarter, or 2.6 percent from a year earlier. That was worse than initial estimates for a 0.7 percent sequential decline. 

• The Treasury Department will sell $18 billion in AIG stock, lowering its stake in the finance behemoth to as little as 20 percent. This would make the federal government a minority shareholder in AIG for the first time since the crisis began and would move the Treasury closer to recognizing a profit on its $182 billion lifeline to the firm. 

• Glencore confirmed that the CEO of Xstrata would step down six months after it takes over the firm in a $36 billion deal. Under the plans, Mick Davis would hand over daily operation of the company to Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg.

• Japan Airlines priced its IPO at ¥3,790 a share, at the top end of its planned pricing range. The company will raise ¥663 billion, or $8.5 billion, making it the second largest offering of the year after Facebook.

• BP will sell some of its Gulf of Mexico operations to Plains Exploration & Production Co. for $5.55 billion. The sale is just one part of BP's plan to shed more than $38 billion worth of assets over the coming year as it recovers from the spill in the region.

• The key U.S. economic announcement of the day is the July reading of consumer credit, expected at 3:00 p.m. Expectations are for a credit to advance $9.55 billion during the month.

• President Obama out raised Mitt Romney's campaign in August, leading with $114 million during the month. The donations, to both the president's campaign and the DNC, outstripped donations made to the RNC and former governor Romney's coffers by $3 million.