Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are 10 things you should know for Wednesday, March 6:

1. -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher open for Wall Street Wednesday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high.

European stocks were rising in early trading while Asian shares were carried higher by the global momentum. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.1% to close at 11,932.27, the highest finish since September 2008.

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2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. Wednesday includes the ADP Employment Change report for February at 8:15 a.m. EST, factory orders for January at 10 a.m., and the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book for March at 2 p.m.

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3. -- U.S. stocks on Tuesday surged, with the Dow gaining 125.95 points, or 0.89%, to finish at 14,253.77, an all-time closing high.

The S&P 500 finished up 14.59 points, or 0.96%, at 1,539.79. The Nasdaq was higher by 42.1 points, or 1.32%, at 3,224.13.

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4. -- Verizon (VZ) is looking to acquire 100% of Verizon Wireless, its joint venture with Vodafone (VOD), Bloomberg reported.

Vodafone's 45% stake in the venture could fetch $115 billion, according to analysts, Bloomberg said.

Verizon is eager to take over the unit this year, said people familiar with the situation.

Vodafone and Verizon also discussed a full merger of the two companies as recently as December, said two of the people familiar with the talks, Bloomberg reported. But negotiations broke down over disagreements on leadership and the headquarters location, making a buyout or partial sale of Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless a likelier outcome, the people told Bloomberg.

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5. -- Members of J.C. Penney's (JCP) board will consider selling the company or replacing Ron Johnson as CEO if a deep drop in sales can't be reversed this year, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

The group includes activist hedge-fund manager William Ackman, who as the retailer's largest shareholder was instrumental in establishing Johnson as CEO, the newspaper said.

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6. -- Staples (SPLS) is expected by Wall Street to report earnings of 45 cents a share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $6.72 billion.

Staples' conference call is at 8 a.m. EST and it's likely the topic of the recently announced merger of rivals OfficeMax (OMX) and Office Depot (ODP) will be mentioned.

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