6 Gut checks pre open

Need to Know SEPTEMBER 04, 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. 6 gut checks before the stock market's opening bell By Shawn Langlois   Getty Images Good morning. Several pundits have been shrugging off the potential missile strike in Syria, predicting that the impact on markets around the world will be minimal and the conflict merely fleeting. But that's not what Tuesday's action told us. Things were all peachy until John Boehner's support for military action served as a not-so-gentle reminder that stocks are extremely vulnerable to whatever twists and turns the story in the Middle East takes (see chart of the day). But there's more to the immediate fate of markets than a few bombs dropping safely thousands of miles away. "Rising rates are an anathema to the economy and, ultimately, the stock market," warned Lance Roberts of Street Talk Live . "Rising rates impact borrowers, consumption, capital expenditures and housing." Roberts was echoing some thoughts thrown out there by Josh Brown, who a day earlier called higher interest rates "the number-one threat to the market ." Tim Knight of the Slope of Hope blog hit the point even harder when he said if interest rates cut above their trendline, "all holy hell is going to break loose. Because if Bernanke can't beat interest rates down with his bottomless checkbook, then he has finally lost control of the market, and ruin will rain down upon his bald head." It's not raining yet, but there's some drizzle out there in the wee hours. Key market gauges: Whether it's the rate stuff or Syria, markets are having a tough time getting started this morning. Asia  bounced off lows but ended up closing mostly lower. Europe  isn't doing much better while futures on the Dow  and the S&P  are down a tiny bit ahead of the opening bell. Gold  is edging lower, as well, floating along with the wave of uncertainty that's washing over just about everywhere this morning. The economy:The Fed's latest Beige Book will be released late in the day and could touch on whether rising interest rates are taking a toll on growth. Before that, we'll see what monthly auto sales, which have been on the increase over the past year, are telling us about the economy. Some think an annual sales rate of 16 million is within reach because of easier lending terms and aggressive discounts last month. The industry hasn't broken a 16-million rate since 2007. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, the government is expected to report the U.S. trade deficit widened. Read: Spotlight on the economy . The buzz:LinkedIn  shares are meandering south premarket after the networking company announced plans for a secondary offering of shares. Hain Celestial  and H&R Block  are also losing ground. Guidewire Software  shares are rallying in the wake of an upbeat quarterly earnings report . The stock, which IPO'd last year, was up 56% so far this year. Word out of Fukushima isn't getting any better , and Tokyo Electric Power Co.  is paying the price, trading down more than 4% in Tokyo. The chart of the day:This is what happens when the men in power put down their iPhone poker games and start to agree that bomb-dropping is the appropriate course of action. Everything was looking good there for awhile. Zero Hedge The call of the day: Get ready for a "grinding" and "exhausting" and "painful" drop of as much as 10% before we reach mid-October, ConvergEx's Nick Colas told CNBC. He pinned the blame on lingering interest-rate volatility, ETF outflows and falling earnings estimates. "We're not going to get any one-day event that really pushes us down. It's going to be a slow grind, which feels very painful when it's happening." Read more from the interview and check out the full video from late yesterday. Random reads:The outrageously multitalented Kate Upton wins "model of the year." Here are some of the shots that made it all possible. It's hard out there for a pimp ... and Terrence Howard. Because when times get tough for the star of "The Butler", he breaks stuff, busts out the X-Acto and becomes the Antichrist bent on vengeance upon humanity . Or so his wife says he says. Apparently, being held captive didn't sit well with Ariel Castro. The "controversial and subversive" Facehawk project . After "adding about five pounds of illegal weight to their 3,086-pound boat," Oracle  is hit with the harshest penalty ever handed down in the America's Cup. Truth is stranger than ... the Onion. Busted: John McCain playing poker on his phone during a pivotal hearing on Syria. The Twitter fallout has been fast and furious . Laugh it off, big guy -- this war stuff can be tedious. Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing -- worst of all I lost! — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) September 3, 2013 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. Follow @slangwise  on Twitter. Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: alanrussell@princetoncap.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2013 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. 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