10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

Good morning! These are the major stories already making an impact on financial markets early Tuesday.

The Russian Ruble Just Hit An Historic Low. Russia's currency crossed 54 rubles to the euro in early trading, the first time it had ever crossed that level, on the back of months of weakening against major currencies.

Sweden Just Slashed Interest Rates To Zero. After months dipping from low inflation into deflation, Sweden's Riksbank has cut its main policy rate to 0%.

UBS Set Aside $2 Billion For Settlements. UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, has had to set aside 1.84 billion Swiss francs ($1.9 billion) in legal provisions to pay for possible fines and to settle regulatory investigations.

Lloyds Is Laying Off Another 9,000 Staff. Britain's Lloyds Banking Group has taken another £900 million ($1.5 billion) charge to compensate customers mis-sold loan insurance, and is laying off thousands of workers to reduce costs.

European Markets Opened Up. All the major stock indices in Europe are up Tuesday morning. In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 0.38% and the Hang Seng closed up 1.63%.

Durable Goods Are Coming. Official numbers for durable goods orders are out at 8:30 a.m. ET, with analysts expecting a 0.5% increase. At 10:00 a.m. ET, consumer confidence is out and analysts are expecting a marginal improvement.

Standard Chartered Is Getting Hammered. Shares are down 9.5% after results this morning revealed a 16% drop in profits in the third quarter of the year.

Twitter Shares Are Tanking In Pre-Market. Shares are down by more than 11% ahead of the open, after some disappointing results.

BP Is Holding UP Despite A Headache From Russia. BP's third-quarter results took a hit from declining oil prices and a sharp drop in income from Russia as Western sanctions on Moscow led to a slump in earnings from the oil major's local partner, Kremlin-controlled Rosneft .

Air France's Dutch Arm Is Reportedly Shedding 7,500 Workers. The Dutch arm of Air France-KLM plans to cut its workforce by 7,500 jobs, or 25%, largely through outsourcing, a Dutch daily newspaper reported on Tuesday.