10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

Eric Platt

 Sep. 14, 2012

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

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

• Markets rallied in overnight trade in Asia, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 2.9 percent. Shares in Europe are sharply higher and U.S. futures point to a positive open. Yesterday's Fed report continues to move markets.

• Eurozone employment was largely unchanged in the second quarter, the first time it did not fall since 2011. Italian employment increased by 0.6 percent, the first increase in a year, while Spanish employment levels dropped by 0.2 percent, it's narrowest loss in a year. 

• The ECB and IMF are debating increasing the Spanish bailout to €300 billion, Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reports. The paper says talks are still informal. European finance ministers will meet today to discuss the Spanish economy.

• Spanish home prices fell by the greatest amount since 2008. Prices dropped by an average of 14.4 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.

• Berkshire Hathaway made more than $60 million by selling shares it held in Intel, Noah Buhayar of Bloomberg reports. That represents a 25 percent gain on the investment within the company's Geico unit.

• iPhone 5 pre-orders have sold out after strong demand for Apple's new offering. Consumers will now have to wait in line if they want to get the phone on September 21, when it officially goes on sale. 

• Goldman Sachs is overhauling its two-year analyst program, doing away with contracts for new college hires. The changes, broken by the Wall Street Journal's Liz Rappaport and Julie Steinberg, include ending major bonuses for analysts who complete the program.

• Workers striking in South Africa rejected Lonmin's revised pay offer, ending hopes that the country's mining sector would get back to work. The price of platinum is up 20 percent since the strikes began.

• President Obama strengthened his lead in three swing states that will likely decide the election, a new poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal shows. Obama now leads Republican Nominee Romney by seven percentage points in Ohio and by five points in both Virginia and Florida. 

• U.S. economic announcements kick off at 8:30 with CPI and Retail Sales. Consumer prices are forecast to show a 0.6 percent rise in August, or a 0.2 percent jump when excluding food an energy costs. Meanwhile, retail sales are expected to grow 0.8 percent during the month. 

• Industrial production and consumer confidence follow later in the morning. Economists believe production contracted 0.1 percent in August, while the University of Michigan reading of consumer sentiment is expected to fall to 73.5 from 74.3 a month earlier.