Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a mixed open Monday, stalled by inaction from global central banks.

European shares were trading flat, while Asian shares ended Monday's trading session mixed. Japan's Nikkei 224 index rose 0.2% to close at 9,085.39.

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The economic calendar in the U.S. Monday is very light.

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U.S. stocks on Friday rose after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke showed his support for additional stimulus for the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 101 points, or 0.8%, to close at 13,158. The index closed the week down 0.9%.

The S&P 500 closed up 9 points, or 0.7%, to 1,411 on Friday while the Nasdaq gained 16 points, or 0.54%, to end at 3070.

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Car rental giant Hertz Global (HTZ) said late Sunday it reached a deal to smaller rival Dollar Thrifty (DTG) for about $2.3 billion.

Hertz will buy Dollar Thrifty for $87.50 a share in cash, a premium of 8% over Dollar Thrifty's closing price of $81 on Friday.

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Tiffany (TIF), the upscale jewelry retailer, is expected by analysts Monday to post second-quarter earnings of 74 cents a share, down from 86 cents a share a year earlier.

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Samsung shares fell almost 8% in South Korea following Apple's

victory Friday in a massive patent suit.

Samsung was ordered to pay more than $1 billion in damages to Apple for copying the iPhone and iPad.

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Tropical Storm Isaac moved toward the northern Gulf Coast early Monday. The National Hurricane Center predicted Isaac would grow to a Category 2 hurricane over the warm Gulf of Mexico and possibly hit late Tuesday somewhere along a stretch that starts west of New Orleans and runs to the edge of the Florida Panhandle.

Republican officials were forced to cancel convention events on Monday because of the threat of Tropical Storm Isaac.

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel

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