Before the bell:

U.S. stocks were set to open lower Friday, as investors digest speeches from President Obama and Fed chair Ben Bernanke.
The economy took center stage Thursday, as President Obama made an attempt to fill the stimulus void, unveiling a plan that he says will boost hiring and provide a jolt to the stalled economy if it becomes law. A mix of $253 billion in tax cuts and $194 billion in new spending, the total bill for the plan is $447 billion.
Investors were also still mulling over also Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's speech.
Bernanke reiterated previous statements that the central bank stands ready to use certain "tools" to help stimulate the economy. But he offered no indication as to which of those tools the Fed is, or is not, prepared to use.
Economy: July wholesale inventory figures will be released at 14:00 GMT. Economists expect wholesale inventories rose 0.7%, after rising 0.6% in June.
Companies: Retailer Lululemon Athletica (LULU) beat analysts expectations, reporting quarterly earnings of 26 cents per share. But shares of the retailer dropped more than 7% on weak guidance.
Kroger (KR, Fortune 500) will also report quarterly results before the opening bell. The supermarket chain is expected to earn 43 cents per share.
Shares of Texas Instruments (TXN, Fortune 500) were down more than 2% in premarket trading after the company lowered its outlook after the closing bell Thursday.
Shares of Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) edged lower, after a Wall Street Journal report said that the bank may increase layoffs to 40,000 from the 30,000 job cuts previously reported.
World markets:

Oil for October delivery slipped $1.20 to $87.85 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $16 to $1,841.50 an ounce.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury remained little changed, with the yield at 1.99%.