Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
- Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading, with the Nikkei falling 0.55 percent weighed down by stocks with exposure to China. Europe is modestly higher and U.S. futures are climbing.
- UK budget deficit nearly doubled in February, with net borrowing excluding support for banks rising to £15.2 billion in February, compared to £8.9 billion a year ago. Net debt rose to £995 billion or 63.1 percent of GDP, up from 58.8 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, Bank of England policy committee voted 7 - 2 not to expand QE.
- Oracle reported Q3 earnings of $0.62 per share, on revenue of $9.04 billion, beating expectations. Earnings were boosted by sales of new software.
- In earnings news, General Mills reported Q3 adjusted earnings of $0.55 per share, and net sales of $4.12 billion. Meanwhile, Sonic Corp is expected to announces earnings of $0.02 per share and consensus is for Discover Financial Services to announce earnings of $0.92 per share.
- Mitt Romney won the Illinois primary, and with 99 percent of precincts reporting, he secured 47 percent of the votes, follow by Santorum with 35 percent. The Republican presidential hopefuls will now be heading to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states.
- Existing home sales for February will be out at 10:00 a.m. ET. Consensus is for a rise in the existing home sales to a 4.61 million annual rate.
- JPMorgan is reportedly buying a 19.9 percent stake in Bridge Trust Co. a Chinese trust company. The deal will require approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
- Fed reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and treasury secretary Tim Geithner are testifying before a U.S. House committee about Europe's debt crisis today. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET.
- The U.S. has exempt Japan and 10 EU nations from financial sanctions because they cut imports of Iranian crude oil. Conspicuously however, China and India the two biggest importers of Iranian crude were left off the list.
- China's five biggest banks are expected to post a 15 percent increase in combined Q4 net income according to Bloomberg. But 2011 results are expected to be hit by bad loans as borrowers default on the back of an economic slowdown and a struggling property market.
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