10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening

10 Things Before Opening Bell

August 25, 2014

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

1) French Government Resigns. Things haven't been going so great in the Hexagon economically of late, and now President Francois Hollande's governing coalition has resigned after the country's economic minister criticized his growth policies. Arnaud Montebourg called out "the economic failure everywhere in the Euro zone, and thus France," especially the "obsession" with austerity. "The role of the economic minister, or many state official," he added, "is to confront the truth, however cruel, and propose alternative solutions."

2) Burger King Moving To Canada? The home of the Whopper may be moving to Canada, as the Wall Street Journal reported Burger King was in talks to buy mega donut chain Tim Horton's as part of a "tax inversion" scheme. If consummated, the deal would create the world's third-largest fast-food enterprise.

3) Roche Deal. The Swiss drugmaker announced Sunday it will pay $8.3 billion for California biotech InterMune Inc., which specializes in respiratory disorder treatments. "It is a good use of cash in our view," said analysts at Bryan, Garnier & Co. in a note reviewing the deal according to Marketwatch.

4) German Business Confidence Collapses. The Ifo Institute's survey of 7,000 companies fell to the lowest level in 13 months. The index hit 106.3, down from 108.0 in July and worse than the 107.0 reading forecast. It was the fourth-straight decline.

6) Euro Sinks. In the wake of what some analysts believe were more hawkish signals out of the Fed at its Jackson Hole summit last week, and more dovish signals from the ECB, the Euro fell 0.3% against the dollar Monday, and has begun approaching an annual low. The dollar also gained 0.2% on the Swiss franc.

7) Hong Kong Stocks Hit A High. The city's Hang Seng index closed up 0.2% to 25,166 points, the best level since May 2008, even as protests for universal suffrage continue to grip the territory. China recently allowed cross-border trading in stocks which may be sparking a flood of previously allowed Chinese cash into the index, the FT said.

8) Data. At 8:30 a.m. we get the Chicago Fed's National Activity index, followed by a "flash" reading for U.S. services PMI at 9:45 a.m. At 10 a.m. the Census will give us new home sales data, and at 10:30 a.m. we get the Dallas Fed's manufacturing survey.

9) Civil War In Libya. The New York Times' David Kilpatrick says conflict between Islamist militants and former Qaddafi loyalists has reached the point of civil war. "In an alarming turn for the West, the rush toward war is also lifting the fortunes of the Islamist extremists of Ansar al-Shariah, the Benghazi militant group. It has gained ground because other militias and factions are building new alliances with its fighters against common enemies. The United Nations, the United States and the other Western powers have withdrawn their diplomats and closed their missions. 'We cannot care more than you do,' the British ambassador, Michael Aron, wrote in a Twitter message to a Libyan pleading for international help. (The United Nations is sending a special envoy, Bernardino León, to try to arrange a truce.)." Brent crude was trading up 0.25%.

10) Markets. European stocks climbed as markets digested dovish signals from ECB chief Mario Draghi. Germany's DAX was up 1%, while France's CAC climbed 0.8%. Asian indexes were more mixed, with Japan's Nikkei up 0.4% and Indian stocks reaching a fresh intraday high, but Shanghai stocks off 0.5%. U.S. futures were higher, with Dow futures up 46 points.

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