10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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10 Things Before the Opening Bell

Here is what you need to know.

1. WeWork is reportedly in talks with SoftBank about a $1 billion lifeline. The shared workspace group's new co-CEOs have also considered firing thousands of its 12,500 employees, the Financial Times reported.

2. The US share of world exports is slipping, and Trump's China spat has led to an 'alarming' slump in global trade. Trade volumes fell by 1.4% in the year to June, pointing to the worst performance in nearly a decade.

3. Peloton prices its IPO at the top of its range, raking in $1.2 billion and giving it a $8.2 billion value. Peloton makes stationary bikes and treadmills equipped with interactive displays. It also offers a subscription video service that streams exercise classes to its exercise equipment.

4. VW expects to raise productivity to more than 6% in 2019. "Our strategy is working. We will improve our productivity by over 6% and lower production costs per vehicle for the first time since 2013," VW's board member for production and logistics, Andreas Tostmann, said in a statement.

5. The EU is expecting another delay to Britain's departure date after it was already postponed twice from the original March deadline. "We are in favor of an extension if we also see what is the way forward, will there be a general election, a second referendum, will there be a Withdrawal Agreement," said Guy Verhofstadt, an EU lawmaker dealing with Brexit.

6. McDonald's will test a new plant-based burger using Beyond Meat's patties in 28 restaurants in Southwestern Ontario starting Monday. The McDonald's vegan burger will be called a P.L.T., standing for plant, lettuce and tomato, a play on the popular bacon, lettuce and tomato or BLT sandwich.

7.Barclays names to its board a Soros exec and star economist and Pimco alum El-Erian. Barclays is having a volatile year — its investment bank chief left in a shock departure, it fought off an activist, and senior execs have fled.

8. Stocks are pushing upwards on Thursday. US stocks are set to rise with futures underlying the S&P 500 (+0.2%) and Nasdaq (+0.1%) both rising. Europe opened on the up, with the DAX (+0.5%) and Euro Stoxx 50 (+0.6%) rising. In Asia, stocks closed mixed as the Nikkei (0.1%) and Hang Seng (+0.4%) rose, but the Shanghai (-0.9%) composite fell.

9. There is a stack of earnings out later. Accenture and Suncorp are the highlights.

10. Today is a massive day for data. To pick out a few pieces, GDP annualized, jobless claims and personal consumption data is out.