10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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A woman looks at job advertisements on a wall in Qingdao West Coast New Zone in Shandong province, China.

Here is what you need to know.

1. Federal prosecutors are leading a criminal investigation into Huawei. The Chinese electronics giant is being investigated for stealing trade secrets from US companies, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
2. Europe imposes steel tariffs. The EU made temporary tariffs on steel imports permanent Wednesday, drawing the ire of European automakers.
3. Vanguard founder and low-cost investing pioneer Jack Bogle is dead. Bogle died at the age of 89 after years of having been in frail health, Reuters reports.
4. A $135 billion investors explains which sectors he likes this year. Don Townswick, director of equities portfolio management at the investment firm Conning, says FANG stocks are out and explains why he likes consumer discretionary, healthcare, and technology.
5. Germany is stepping up its efforts to merge 2 battered banking giants. Germany's finance ministry is "definitely looking" at merging Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank, creating what would be the third-largest bank by assets in Europe, according to the Financial Times.
6. Investors are allowed to subpoena Azealia Banks and Grimes in lawsuit against Elon Musk and Tesla. The US District Court of Northern California granted the motion to serve subpoenas to Azealia Banks and Grimes, as well as Business Insider, The New York Times, and Gizmodo, in order to prevent them from destroying certain documents, messages, and other potential evidence.
7. Snap's CFO reportedly went behind Evan Spiegel's back to ask for more money. Snap CFO Tim Stone, who resigned Tuesday, went directly to the board of directors to ask for a raise, which he was denied, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
8. Stock markets around the world were lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-0.42%) led the decline in Asia and Britain's FTSE (-0.4%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 was set to open lower by 0.42% near 2,605.
9. Earnings reporting remains light. Morgan Stanley reports ahead of the opening bell while American Express, JB Hunt, and Netflix release their quarterly results after markets close.
10. US economic data flows. Initial claims and the Philly Fed will both be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield was down 0.9 basis points at 2.71%.