Good morning. News what you need to know prior to today's market opening.

• After the massive sell-off in the U.S. yesterday, Asian markets were down in overnight trading with the Hang Seng plummeting 5.25% and the Nikkei down 2.91%. Europe is mixed and U.S. futures point to a positive open.

• After four days of talks, Greek officials have named former ECB vice-president Lucas Papademos the new prime minister of the 15-week interim government. Papademos' government will be tasked with securing the bailout. Now here are 19 countries most likely to default >

• The Italian senate will vote tomorrow on austerity measures including asset sales and in increase in retirement age. The Senate is rushing the vote to establish a new government, that could be led by former European Union Competition Commissioner Mario Monti, in an effort to restore market faith in Italy. Meanwhile, Italian 10-year yield eased below 7% today, after rising to 7.4% yesterday. Don't miss: All the major issues in Europe right now >

• The European Commission cut its 2012 euro-region growth forecast by more than half and warned of the risk of a prolonged recession. The EU now expects GDP to grow at 1.5% this year, from previous estimates of 1.6%, and the 17-country region is expected to grow just 0.5% in 2012, from previous projections of 1.8%. Check out the 15 fastest growing countries in the world >

• Chinese exports grew at a slower pace in October, up 15.9% year-over-year from 17.1% the previous month. The decline in exports was attributed to the European debt crisis and U.S. unemployment. Imports however rose 28.7% from a year ago, compared with 20.9% in September. China's global trade surplus narrowed to $17 billion for the month.

• Initial jobless claims came in lower than expected at 390K, while September trade deficit narrowed to $43.1 billion >

• Republican presidential hopefuls met in Michigan last night for the 10th debate of the 2012 primary season. The debate hosted by CNBC centered on the economy and Mitt Romney emerged as the winner. But all the chatter has been about Texas Gov. Rick Perry's gaffe when he forgot the name of one of the three federal agencies he is trying to abolish. Now here are 12 battleground states that will determine the presidential election >

• Cisco Systems Inc. announced earnings of net income of $1.8 billion or $0.33 per share, on revenue of $11.3 billion. Earnings were down 7% but beat expectations. Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters fell 30% after posting dismal earnings yesterday. Viacom has posted earnings ahead of expectations. Retailers Nordstrom, Kohl's and rare-earth miner Molycorp will also release earnings today. Here's what large corporations are revealing about the world economy >

• In more earnings news, German company Siemens AG posted a Q4 net profit of ?1.23 billion. The company boosted its dividend but warned of moderate sales growth and said it didn't expect profits to rise next year. Meanwhile, Dutch insurer Aegon NV which operates under TransAmerica in the U.S. posted a 91% fall in Q3 net profit to ?60 million, from ?657 million a year ago.

• October import prices fell more than expected 0.6%. U.S. treasury budget for October will be released at 2 PM ET. Consensus is for a treasury budget deficit of $111 billion.