katy perry
Michael Caulfield/Getty Images for VH1
Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
  • Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading, with the Shanghai Composite down 1.39% on the back of mixed economic data. Europe is moderately lower and U.S. futures are up ahead of the market open.
  • The IMF is reportedly considering boosting its lending operations by $500 billion. Earlier reports put the figure at $1 trillion, and the euro had strengthened on the news, but the market reaction has been fading since the update. The IMF is also said to be urging BRIC nations, Japan and oil-rich countries to be the top contributors.
  • A bunch of data out of China this morning, foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 12.73% to $12.24 billion in December, declining for a second consecutive month. December home prices declined in 52 cities from the previous month, and China has said it will only allow banks to boost lending by 5% in the first quarter of 2012. 
  • The World Bank downgraded its global growth outlook, projecting that the global economy would grow 2.5% in 2012, and 3.1% in 2013. This is lower than previous estimates that the economy would grow 3.6% in 2012 and 2013.
  • PPI data for December will be released at 8:30 AM ET, and industrial production data for December will be release at 9:15 AM ET. Expectations are for a 0.1% month-over-month rise in core PPI, and a 0.5% month-over-month increase in industrial production. 
  • There's a deluge of earnings announce 8:00 AM ET. Meanwhile, Kinder Morgan is expected to report earnings of $0.29 per share, and eBay is expected to report earnings of $0.57 per share.
  • Portugal sold €2.5 billion of treasury bills this morning. Yields on its 6-month bills eased ti 4.740%, down from 5.250%, at a similar auction in November, the average yield on the 3-month bill was unchanged at 4.346%. Portugal also issued 11-month bills for the first time since April 2010 just before it sought its bailout. 
  • UK unemployment rate rose to 8.4% in November, reaching a 17-year high. The Office for National Statistics said there were 2.7 million people out of work in the quarter through November. 
  • Wikipedia and Google are protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) today, which would allowed the U.S. Justice Department to get court orders that could force U.S. search engines from leaving out search results from sites.
  • The National Association of Home Builders' housing market index for January will be released at 10 AM ET. Consensus is for the housing market index to hold steady at 21.