1. Yahoo hacking: Shares in Yahoo are slated to drop Thursday after the company admitted to another hack that may have affected more than 1 billion accounts.
The breach dates back to 2013 and is thought to be separate from a massive cybersecurity incident announced in September.
The new hack threatens Verizon’s $4.8 billion deal to buy Yahoo, given the hit to Yahoo’s brand.
“As we’ve said all along, we will continue to evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation,” Verizon said in a statement Wednesday. “We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions.”
2. New food combo?: Two food giants are reportedly considering a major combo.
Shares in Oreo-maker Mondelez International are surging in extended trading based on reports that Kraft Heinz is considering a takeover. Other reports say there’s no takeover in the works.
Kraft Heinz and Mondelez declined to comment.
A takeover would be unusual because Mondelez was spun off from Kraft back in late 2012.
3. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures are holding steady after dipping a bit on Wednesday.
Investors were in a negative mood yesterday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, which was widely expected.
European markets are mixed in early trading. Asian markets are mostly closing the day with losses.
Oil prices are recovering a tad after falling Wednesday in reaction to the rate hike.
4. Earnings and economics: Adobe Systems and Oracle are the two key companies reporting earnings on Thursday after the close.
U.S. inflation data for November is set to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
And the Bank of England is making its interest rate decision Thursday. It’s widely expected to keep rates unchanged to help the economy deal with the the bumpy road to Brexit, even though inflation is rising.
5. Cashing in: Venezuela is scheduled to introduce new cash into circulation to deal with extreme inflation that has made its money essentially worthless.
The biggest bill, worth 100 bolivars, is being phased out as it’s only worth about two cents, based on the unofficial exchange rate.
It’s planning to introduce a number of new bills, with the biggest bill worth 20,000 bolivar.
6. Coming this week:
Thursday – Bank of England rate decision; Super Mario Run for the iPhone releases; Venezuela’s new currency debuts
Friday – “Star Wars Rogue One” nationwide release in the U.S.