10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (LNKD, RBS, BCS, NYX)

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.Asian markets headed lower overnight, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng off 1.1 percent. European shares are following that trend lower, and U.S. futures are pointing to a negative open.U.K. output prices rose by 0.5 percent as raw material prices increased by the same figure, 40 basis points above expectations. Core producer prices grew by 2.4 percent for the year following a 0.3 percent gain in January, the slowest jump in more than a year.Greeks went on strike as they prepared to stomach new austerity measures. Athen's transit system was brought to a halt and the ships stopped moving. The new 48-hour general strike follows a similar one brought just last Tuesday. French industrial production fell greater than forecast in January, down 1.4 percent for the month, against a 0.8 percent expected drop. That's the worst reading since September. Meanwhile, Italian production jumped 1.4 percent during the month, a surprise gain and well above expectations for a decline of 0.5 percent. Growth in capital goods orders accounted for a majority of the gain.Barclays, the first of Britain's main investment banks to report earnings, announced that it missed consensus estimates as revenue tumbled 48 percent in the fourth quarter. The bank posted net income for the full year of 3 billion pounds. RBS has dismissed at least four employees involved in the ongoing investigation of banks tampering with the LIBOR rate, Bloomberg's Lindsay Fortado and Gavin Finch report. Citi and Deutsche Bank have also fired employees in the matter, that could have impacted rates tied to securities in excess of $350 trillion. Here's your quick guide to the LIBOR investigation.U.S. economic announcements kick off at 8:30 a.m. EST with the country's trade balance, which is forecast to increase to -$48.5 billion in December. At 9:55 a.m. EST, the University of Michigan consumer confidence reading will be releases. Economists see the important metric declining in February to 74.8 from January's final reading of 75.Global demand for diamonds is expected to fall in 2012, De Beers said this morning. The company, the world's largest producer of rough diamonds, said that the pace of purchases has slowed from the first half of 2011, mainly on weakness in Europe. LinkedIn announced that revenues doubled during its fourth quarter, while net income rose to $6.9 million, or $0.12 per share. That was above analyst forecasts for a $0.07 quarter. The social network also announced it now had more than 150 million active users. The pace of earnings announcements slows considerably on Friday, with NYSE Euronext the main reporter. Analysts are looking for earnings per share of $0.49 and the conference call will likely focus on the company's plans now that it cannot merge with the Deustche Borse. Here's what we've already learned this earnings season.Bonus: Vanessa Hudgens stayed at a homeless shelter for two weeks to prepare for an upcoming film.Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »See Also:10 Things You Need To Know This Morning10 Things You Need To Know This Morning10 Things You Need To Know This Morning

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