Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a lower start for Wall Street on Tuesday following the sharp gains on Monday after optimism grew that U.S. lawmakers would avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

European stocks were trading lower after Moody's downgraded France's credit rating one notch to Aa1.

Asian shares ended Tuesday's trading session mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1% after the central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged near zero after a policy meeting.

---

The economic calendar in the U.S. Tuesday includes housing starts and building permits for October at 8:30 a.m. EST.

---

U.S. stocks on Monday soared as positive housing market data gave extra mileage to a rally fueled by optimism over budget talks in Washington.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 208 points, or 1.65%, to close at 12,796. The index, which has lost ground in five of the past six weeks, is now up 4.7% in 2012.

---

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben plans to deliver a speech Tuesday at the Economic Club of New York. Bernanke will give his speech -- "The Economic Recovery and Economic Policy" -- at 12:15 p.m. Investors will be parsing the Fed chief's comments to gauge the central bank's next steps after the expiration of Operation Twist.

---

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) named on Monday Marianne Lake as its next chief financial officer, succeeding Doug Braunstein, who is becoming the bank's vice chairman.

Lake, currently the financial chief of the company's consumer and community banking business, is expected to transition into the CFO role during the first quarter of 2013.

---

Credit Suisse (CS) said Tuesday it was overhauling its investment banking division and merging its private banking and wealth management arms to cut costs and satisfy regulators.

The Swiss bank restructured its "investment banking model resulting in a high returning, lower risk, client-oriented business," said CEO Brady Dougan. "Our private banking model is highly scalable and suited for the new regulatory environment. And we have sharpened the focus of our asset management business."

---

Best Buy (BBY) reports third-quarter earnings before Tuesday's opening bell and Wall Street is looking for profit of 12 cents a share from the consumer electronics retailer on revenue of $10.73 billion.

---

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is expected by analysts Tuesday to post fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.14 a share in the October-ended period on revenue of $30.43 billion.

---

Reports are also expected Tuesday from Campbell Soup (CPB), H.J. Heinz (HNZ), American Woodwork (AMWD), Chico's FAS (CHS), DSW Inc. (DSW), Eaton Vance (EV), Fred's (FRED), Genesco (GCO), Hormel Foods (HRL), Medtronic (MDT), Salesforce.com (CRM), School Specialty (SCHS), Tech Data (TECD), Valspar (VAL) and Zale (ZLC).

---

Hedge fund Tiger Global Management disclosed it had purchased a stake of 65 million class A shares in Groupon (GRPN), which represents 9.9% of the daily deal company's outstanding class A stock.

---

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joseph Woelfel

>To submit a news tip, send an email to: [e-mail].

Copyright 2012 TheStreet.com Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.