10 Things You Need To Know This Morning
Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
Asian markets were lower in overnight trading with the Shanghai Composite down 0.6 percent. Europe is selling off and U.S. markets are opening lower.
Euro area industrial output climbed 0.4 percent month-over-month in February, beating expectations for a 0.2 percent rise. It was down 3.1 percent on the year.
In earnings news, JP Morgan reported earnings of $1.59 per share, on revenue of $25.8 billion. This beat expectations for $1.39 per share, and revenue of $25.7 billion. It plans to raise Q2 common stock dividend to $0.38 per share. Wall Street thinks companies are 'playing possum' about profit margins >
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo reported Q1 earnings of $0.92 per share, beating expectations for $0.89 per share. Net interest margin was 3.48 percent, below expectations for 3.53 percent.
Producer prices fell by 0.6%, which was much more than the 0.2% decline expected. This was largely due to falling gas prices. Retail sales for March were particularly ugly, plunged 0.4%. Economists expected the number to be unchanged from a month ago. Even exclude food and energy, sales unexpectedly fell by 0.2%. Follow the release at Business Insider >
JC Penney has hired Blackstone to help raise $1 billion in cash. Options include selling a stake in the company. Some private equity firms have reportedly expressed interest. The retailer is believed to need the cash to help it "cover its needs" beyond 2013, according to the WSJ.
Nasdaq's CEO Robert Greifeld had his bonus cut by 62 percent because of the Facebook IPO fiasco. But his overall compensation increased 18 percent in 2012. The 12 most controversial facts in Mathematics >
In M&A news, PayPal has bought Iron Pearl to help expand its customer base. And LinkedIn acquired newsreader app Pulse for $90 million in a cash and stock deal.
Indian industrial production climbed 0.6 percent year-over-year in February. This beat expectations for a 1.3 percent decline. Devastating photos of India's illegal coal mines >
Consumer sentiment for April is out at 9:55 a.m. ET, followed by business inventories for February at 10 a.m. ET. Consensus is for consumer sentiment to rise to 79 and for inventories to rise 0.4 percent month-over-month. Follow the release at Business Insider >
Bonus - Gwyneth Paltrow said she won't try Botox again because it made her look like Joan Rivers.
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