10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

Eric Platt

 Apr. 30, 2012

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

• Markets in Asia rallied moderately higher overnight, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 1.7 percent. European markets are mixed this morning while U.S. futures point to a flat open.

• Euro area consumer prices increased 2.6 percent in March, ten basis points below the previous reading as fuel costs moderated.

• Taiwan's economy grew 0.36 percent year-on-year, as the country emerged from recession. That was below forecasts for 0.91 percent growth during the first quarter. The government forecasts GDP will grow by 3.38 percent this year, below earlier estimates.

• Barnes & Noble has entered a joint venture with Microsoft to spin off its Nook e-reader and College businesses. Microsoft invested $300 million in the new company, valuing it at $1.7 billion

• Apple paid just 9.8 percent in taxes last year, substantially below peers across the S&P 500, The New York Times' Charles Duhigg reports. The company paid $3.3 billion of cash taxes on profits of $34 billion. 

• Phil Falcone agreed to step down as an officer of LightSquared, potentially giving the company a one-week extension on its debt deal to avoid default. Sources tell the Journal that if the one-week plan is approved, Falcone and LightSquared's lenders will go to work on a longer extension. 

• Energy Transfer Partners will buy Sunoco for $5.3 billion, bolstering the company's oil and gas unit. ETP offered Sunoco $25 in cash and 0.56245 units of stock per share. 

• Embattled law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf announced over the weekend it has ousted its former chairman and ended merger talks with Greenberg Traurig. Dewey faces a major deadline on Monday to extend a credit line or face potential default. 

• Economic announcements in the U.S. kick off at 8:30 a.m. with March personal income and outlays. Consensus is for incomes to increase by 0.3 percent, while spending increases 0.4 percent. 

• Both NYSE Euronext and Humana missed earnings expectations this morning. The trading group was a penny short, with EPS at $0.47. Meanwhile, healthcare giant Humana earned $1.49 per share, below the $1.55 estimate.