U.S. stock futures slip ahead of U.S. GDP data
July 30th, 2010 | 
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* Wall St stock index futures pointed to a lower start on Friday as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. GDP data, with S&P 500 <SPc1>, Dow Jones <DJc1> and Nasdaq <NDc1> futures down 0.3 to 0.4 percent at 0911 GMT.
* The main focus on Friday is U.S. GDP figures at 1230 GMT. U.S. economic growth likely slowed in the second quarter as a capital investment drive by businesses was sated by imports and consumer spending tapered off, a government report is expected to show. [ID:nN29111411]
* Investors will also watch the final reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for July, Chicago PMI for July, and the new York ISM survey for July.
* Company earnings in focus include oil company Chevron <CVX.N>, insurance brokerage Aon Corp. <AON.N>, and drugmaker Merck & Co. <MRK.N>.
* MetLife inc <MET.N>, the biggest U.S. life insurance company, posted a second-quarter profit of $1.53 billion late Thursday, helped by higher premium revenue from sales domestically and abroad. [ID:nN29107097]
New York's attorney general has subpoenaed MetLife inc <MET.N> and Prudential Financial inc <PRU.N> as part of a probe into whether life insurers are defrauding families of deceased military personnel by siphoning off millions of dollars of death benefits for themselves. [ID:nN29273772]
* Amgen inc <AMGN.O> reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit late on Thursday and the world's largest biotechnology company said the launch of its new osteoporosis drug Prolia was progressing as planned. [ID:nN29110065]
* Google inc <GOOG.O> said its earlier report that Internet search services in China were being fully blocked could have been the result of a technical glitch that overstated the problem. [ID:nN2989630]
* Li Lu, a Chinese-American investor and hedge fund manager, could be in line to take a top investment role at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N> <BRKb.N> and even succeed the legendary U.S. investor, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged billionaire Samuel Wyly and his brother Charles with fraud late Thursday for reaping more than $550 million of illicit gains by trading stock in four companies while they were serving as directors. [ID:nN29117833]
* European shares slipped for a third straight session on Friday, with construction shares among top losers, as concerns over U.S. economic growth and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official hurt market sentiment.
* Japan's Nikkei <.N225> closed down 1.6 percent as signs that the U.S. recovery was faltering outweighed upbeat domestic earnings.
* U.S. stocks sagged in volatile trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 0.3 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 0.6 percent.
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