Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were suggesting a mostly flat opening for Wall Street on Monday following Friday's sharp rally.

European stocks were trading mixed early Monday. Asian shares ended the session mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6%.

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The economic calendar in the U.S. Monday includes factory orders for December at 10 a.m. EST.

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U.S. stocks on Friday finished with gains of more than 1% as traders focused on upward revisions in the latest payroll report and anticipated continued accommodative policy from the Federal Reserve in light of the lukewarm January jobs release.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 149 points, or 1.1%, to 14,010. The blue-chip index earlier in the session broke 14,000 for first time since 2007. The Dow gained 0.8% for the week.

The S&P 500 jumped 15 points, or 1.01%, to 1,513. The index climbed 0.7% for the week. The Nasdaq rose 37 points, or 1.2%, to 3,179. The tech-heavy index increased 0.9% for the week.

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Talks for a potential buyout of PC maker Dell (DELL) continued Sunday evening, The Wall Street Journal reported, as people involved in the negotiations aimed to finalize a deal within days.

People familiar with the talks told the newspaper that stockholders would be offered a price of around $13 to $14 a share. Sunday evening, the share price was still being negotiated, one of the people told the Journal.

Shares of Dell closed Friday at $13.63.

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Yum! Brands (YUM), the owner of the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands, is expected by analysts Monday to post fourth-quarter earnings of 82 cents a share on revenue of $4.12 billion.

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Humana (HUM), the health insurer, is expected by Wall Street to report fourth-quarter earnings of $1.07 a share on revenue of $9.73 billion.

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Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences (GILD) is expected by Wall Street analysts Monday to post fourth-quarter profit of 48 cents a share on revenue of $2.4 billion.

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Two U.S. pension funds filed a lawsuit against asset manager BlackRock (BLK), alleging the company "looted" securities-lending revenue from iShares exchange-traded funds investors, and breached its fiduciary duties, Reuters reported.

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The Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII , 34-31, overpowering the San Francisco 49ers early in Sunday's game with strong passing.

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



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