10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (PG, V, MC, MS, GS, GSK, HGSI, C)

By admin on July 16, 2012

Maria Menounos

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

Markets were mixed in overnight trade in Asia, with China’s Shanghai Composite off 1.7 percent. European shares are marginally lower while U.S. futures point to a negative open.
Indian inflation rose at a slower pace than expected in June, up 7.25 percent from 2011. Economists had forecast an increase of 7.61 percent during the period. Here’s why everyone is freaking out about India >
France will bail out its auto industry as losses in the European market grow. The country’s finance minister said France will officially unveil the plan on July 25 after Peugeot-Citroën said it would lay off 8,000 employees and close a plant.
Proctor & Gamble is seeking advisors to help it deal with activist investor Bill Ackman, Bloomberg’s Jeffrey McCracken and Lauren Coleman-Lochner report. Here’s how Ackman’s investments did in May >
Visa and MasterCard agreed to a $ 7.25 billion settlement with merchants. U.S. merchants will pay reduced fees over the next month, that is valued at $ 1.2 billion — in addition to a $ 6 billion cut from the card processors.
GlaxoSmithKline is expected to announce a $ 2.8 billion deal to purchase Human Genome Sciences as soon as today, Reuters’ Soyoung Kim and Ben Hirschler report. Glaxo is expected to increase its previous offer $ 1 a share to $ 14 per share.
Two U.S. states are probing possible LIBOR manipulation by the country’s largest banks. New York and Connecticut attorney generals Eric Schneiderman George Jepsen started the investigation six months ago. Here’s the LIBOR scandal explained in under 90 seconds >
U.S. economic announcements kick off at 8:30 a.m. with advance retail sales and the Empire Manufacturing Report. Retail sales are expected to improve 0.2 percent in June, while the Fed index advances to 4 from 2.29. Follow both live on MoneyGame >
Earnings are expected out of Citigroup and Gannett Co. The banking giant is expected to post a profit of $ 0.89 per share, while Gannett earns $ 0.53 a share. Both are scheduled to announce before the opening bell. Click here to see what the world’s largest companies have already told us this earnings season >
Syria has officially fallen into civil war, the Red Cross said over the weekend. The change in status now makes combatants subject to the Geneva Conventions, including possible prosecutions for war crimes.