Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a weaker start for Wall Street on Monday following the announcement that Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti intends to resign by the end of the year and as budget negotiations continue between the White House and Congress.
European stocks were moving lower. Monti said over the weekend he found it impossible to lead Italy after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's party, the largest in Parliament, dropped its support.
Asian shares ended Monday's session with gains following an increase in factory output in China. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.1% to close at 9,533.75.
No U.S. economic releases are scheduled for Monday.
U.S. stocks on Friday closed mixed after a better-than-expected November jobs report was tempered by worries about the progress on the U.S. budget talks in Washington and dimmer consumer confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 81 points, or 0.62%, at 13,155. The blue-chip index rose 1% on the week.
American International Group (AIG) said it plans to sell up to 90% of International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) to a Chinese consortium led by Weng Xianding, chairman of New China Trust Co., for about $5.28 billion.
Ingersoll-Rand (IR), under pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz, could announce as soon as Monday a spinoff of its security division, a buyback and a dividend hike, according to multiple reports.
McDonald's (MCD) is expected to report same-store sales for November on Monday. Analysts forecast global same-store sales at McDonald's, the fast-food giant, to rise 0.1%.
Texas Instruments (TXN) releases its mid-quarter update on Monday.
FedEx (FDX) expects Monday -- just more than two weeks away from Christmas -- to be the busiest day in company history, when 19 million packages are expected to move through its networks.
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joseph Woelfel >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com.
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