Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were suggesting a lower start for Wall Street Wednesday in what's expected to be a light trading day because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

European stocks were down slightly. Eurozone finance ministers again failed to agree to a strategy that would have allowed them to release more money for debt-crippled Greece.

Asian shares ended Wednesday's trading session with gains. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9% to close at 9,222.52.

---

The economic calendar in the U.S. Wednesday includes jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EST, the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for November at 9:55 a.m., and leading indicators for October at 10 a.m.

---

U.S. stocks on Tuesday closed mixed, paring losses that followed in the wake of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke weighing in on the fiscal cliff.

"Currently, uncertainties about the situation in Europe and especially about the prospects for federal fiscal policy seem to be weighing on the spending decisions of households and businesses as well as on financial conditions," Bernanke said in a speech before the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday. "Such uncertainties will only be increased by discord and delay."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined more than 7 points, or 0.06%, to close at 12,789.

---

Deere (DE) reports earnings Wednesday and Wall Street is looking for a profit of $1.88 a share from the agricultural equipment maker in its fiscal fourth quarter on revenue of $8.85 billion.

---

Salesforce.com (CRM), the cloud computing company, on Tuesday delivered a 35% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest quarter.

The company also forecast non-GAAP earnings of 38 cents to 40 cents a share in its fiscal fourth quarter on revenue ranging from $825 million to $830 million, in line with analysts' estimates.

---

News Corp (NWSA)has expressed interest to CBS (CBS) about acquiring its Simon & Schuster book business, according to people familiar with the talks, The Wall Street Journal reported.

---

Research In Motion (RIMM)could lose the National Transportation Safety Board as a customer as the agency said it's looking to switch from RIM's BlackBerrys to Apple's (AAPL) iPhones, the Journal reported.

The NTSB said BlackBerrys "have been failing both at inopportune times and at an unacceptable rate," according to a notice the agency posted on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site.

---

Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies, said late Tuesday it failed to reach an agreement with its second-biggest union. Therefore, the company plans to continue with a hearing on Wednesday in which a bankruptcy court judge in White Plains, N.Y., will decide if the company can close down its operations.

---

AAA, in an analysis of Thanksgiving travel, said about 43.6 million Americans were expected to journey 50 miles or more between Wednesday and Sunday , a 0.7% increase from last year.

---

-- 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.