Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are 10 things you should know for Tuesday, Feb. 26:

1. -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a slight rebound for Wall Street on Tuesday, but European stocks were declining amid political uncertainty in Italy that has renewed concerns that Europe's debt crisis could be revived.

Asian stocks weren't immune to the political gridlock in Italy. Japan's Nikkei 225 index slid 2.3% to close at 11,398.

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2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. Tuesday includes new-home sales for January at 10 a.m. EST and consumer confidence for February, also at 10 a.m.

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3. -- U.S. stocks on Monday declined as investors feared that updates from Italy's elections were portending the risk that the country could backpedal from its austerity programs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 216.40 points, or 1.55%, to close at 13,784.

The S&P 500 fell 27.75 points, or 1.83%, to settle at 1,487. The Nasdaq closed lower by 45.57 points, or 1.44%, at 3,116.

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4. -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to give his semiannual report to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

It's likely the central bank chief will be pressed to clarify the Fed's approach to the still-sluggish U.S. economy.

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5. -- Home Depot (HD), the biggest home-improvement retailer, is expected by analysts Tuesday to report fourth-quarter earnings of 64 cents a share on revenue of $17.69 billion.

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6. -- JPMorgan Chase (JPM) holds its annual Investor Day in New York on Tuesday, nine months after the 'London Whale" scandal caused a $2 billion trading loss.

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7. -- General Motors (GM) is proposing an $11.1-million pay package for Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson in 2013, $2.1 million more than it paid the executive last year, The Detroit Free Press reported, citing documents that it obtained.

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8. -- Goldman Sachs (GS) will begin its annual job-cutting process as early as this week, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters Monday, with its equities-trading business bracing for bigger cuts than fixed-income trading.

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9. -- Macy's (M) is expected by Wall Street on Tuesday to post quarterly profit of $1.99 a share on revenue of $9.3 billion.

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10. -- Tuesday is the second day of the trial involving the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Witnesses will share their theories on what caused BP's (BP) Macondo well to blow out in April 2010.

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-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



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