5 Gut checks pre open

	Need to Know SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 To all Gmail users: To ensure that you continue to see your MarketWatch emails, please drag and drop one of our emails into your Primary tab and click "Yes" when asked if you would like to do this for future messages from MarketWatch. You can also add "MarketWatch" to your Gmail contacts list or filters. 5 gut checks before the stock market opens By Barbara Kollmeyer   Shutterstock/Pavel Vakhrushev Good morning. Friday the 13th and it's all happening. Fed chief rumors, Twitter IPO  news, data and another gold bleed-out are all lining up to greet investors later. Stock futures have perked up and some say more signs of calm on the Syria front keeping things on an even keel have helped. First up, Japan's Nikkei , citing unnamed sources, says Obama will crown Larry Summers king of the Fed by the end of next week, just after that all-important central-bank meeting. Oh well, Janet Yellen. But it looks like fur is flying already as one GOP heavyweight says he'd vote nay to Summers. As Stanley Druckenmiller told us a day ago, it may not be clear why or how yet, but investors should not for one second yawn through appointment.  The dollar got a short-lived bump on the news, even though traders said consider the source. Twitter is coming to a market near you. Number one on the to-do list? Avoid Facebook's IPO bumblings, and Bloomberg says  that Twitter's so-called secret filing may be one way of least toning down investor expectations. But Blogger Which-50  is not buying any of it, literally, suggesting investors "stick their money under a mattress and head for the hills." "Just remember that the types of people who will drive Twitter's IPO are the same ones who withheld a material short fall  in Facebook's revenue from the market prior to its IPO and who bet against the stock  even as they were recommending to their clients that they buy it." Given the S&P 500 finally snapped its win streak on Thursday and this weekend marks the 5th anniversary of the Lehman default, some may be avoiding ladders and black felines -- no matter how cuddly. How superstitious should you be about the date? Read more below and remember, hope still isn't a strategy . Key market gauges: Asia stocks posted healthy returns for the week, but paused on the day , while Europe was hanging around waiting for U.S. data. Futures on the Dow , S&P  and Nasdaq  have moved up in premarket, getting a bump after retail sales data. Bigger moves have been happening in gold and the dollar. The dollar  got a short-lived bump on chatter about a Summers Fed nod, and that weighed on gold, where sellers seem to be building momentum. Gold  is off over $20 an ounce. Ouch. But hey, no better time to consider a bull case when blood is running down the streets. The economy:Retail sales were expected to bounce back in August after a soggy July performance, but the numbers fell short. August sales rose 0.2% versus an expected 0.5% gain, but sales were higher in July -- revised up to 0.4% from 0.2% -- and June -- bumped up to 0.7% from 0.6% -- than initially thought. August producer prices rose more than expected, up 0.3% in August versus a forecast gain of 0.2%. Later on, consumer sentiment may reflect a dent. The University of Michigan will release its closely watched index, which is expected to drop to 81.5 from 82.1, and interviews were conducted when Syria was freshly making news. That's at 9:55 a.m. The buzz:Speaking of Facebook , J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital lifted price targets by more than $50, saying the social media network has solid momentum in online ads. Shares were up slightly in premarket. Jefferies becomes the latest to take Apple  down a peg. Analyst Peter Misek cut his 2014 EPS estimates, citing disappointment over 5C pricing and yield issues over the fingerprint sensor. Shares are down about 0.5% in premarket. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is expected to spend $4 billion and devote an extra 5,000 extra employees to deal with risk and litigation compliance this year. It pays too look good. Ultra Salon Cosmetics  shares are charging ahead lift after the beauty-products retail store posted strong results late the prior day. And it pays to eat well. Organic food provider United Natural Foods  added more gains to a late-session run-up after results. The chart of the day: As for Friday the 13th, over at Bespoke Investment , they've crunched the numbers on just how that day has stacked up for the S&P 500 in the past since the bull market began in March 2009. The result is a little uninspiring: The S&P has averaged a gain of 0.01% with the market rising in only three of seven occurrences. Putting that in perspective, the average change of the S&P 500 for all days during this bull market has been a gain of 0.09 with positive 56.3% of the time. As Bespoke says, a three-day weekend makes total sense now. Bespoke Investment Group The call of the day: It wasn't long ago, we got seven reasons to stay overweight equities  from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, but they now say the next five years are not going to be great as the last five. And that's no matter what the "nouveau bulls" say. Strategist Michael Hartnett says it's simple, really: "Central banks will be less generous, corporations less selfish. And should excess liquidity be quickly removed, markets will get "CRASHy ."  He says the dollar and volatility will be the last assets to surge. Hartnett also tosses us a bone, though, with 10 autumn trades: Chinese banks, China property HY bonds, European miners, U.K. banks, Russian & Korean stocks, U.S. multinationals, platinum over gold, lower quality EU credit, fade Treasuries, sell the Euro. Random reads: Where are the hipsters coming from ? (Full disclaimer: This blogger left Kansas well before the survey was conducted). Wal-Mart unveils the top toys this Christmas . Déjà vu for lots of parents. Furbys are back and the Dreamhouse -- it never really went away. Four accused in India gang-rape case get the death penalty . Scary. Deathly dangerous waters in parts of Louisiana. Heartbreaking. A young life snuffed when social media turns into cyber bullying. Need to Know starts early and is updated as needed until the opening bell, but sign up here  to get it delivered once to your e-mail box. Be sure to check the Need to Know item. The e-mailed version will be sent out at approximately 8:45 a.m. Eastern. 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