NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are 10 things you should know foraWednesday, Oct. 1: 1. -- U.S. stock futures were flat to slightly lower Wednesday after equities finished September in the red. European stocksawere mixed on Wednesday, with London markets moving lower on disappointing economic news and corporate worries. The Hong Kong market, rocked by fears of a government clampdown on pro-democracy protesters, was closed on Wednesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 closed down 0.56%. 2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. onaWednesday includes theaADP National EmploymentaReport for September at 8:15 a.m. EDT, theaISM Index for September at 10 a.m., and construction spending for August at 10 a.m. Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks 3. -- U.S. stocksaon Tuesdayafinished with a fizzle on quarter-end squaring and profit-taking as the S&P 500 took a dive for the month. For the third quarter, however, all three major benchmarks closed out higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average afell 0.17% to 17,042.90 on Tuesday but was 1.3% higher for the quarter. The S&P 500afella0.28% to 1,972.29, up 0.64% for the quarter. The Nasdaq shed 0.28% on Tuesday to 4,493.39 but rose 1.93% for the quarter. 4. -- Shares ofaTekmira Pharmaceuticals jumped as much as 28% on Tuesday after officials announced that the first case of Ebolaahad been diagnosed in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control said a patient being treated at a hospital in Dallas tested positive for the disease. Tekmira has been working on a treatment for the deadly disease. The stock was rising 26% in premarket trading to $26.60. 5. -- Amazon.com appears to be close to settling a nearly two-month dispute with Walt Disney during which the online retailerastopped offering Disney DVDs for preorder, The Wall Street Journal reported. The dispute included issues over pricing, promotion on the Amazon Web site and questions over who makes up the difference when Amazon loses money to match the prices of competitors, the newspaper said. Details of the talks weren't available and it's unclear whether the two companies are finalizing a new long-term deal or have simply progressed far enough that Amazon was willing to make a concession, according to the Journal. But upcoming Disney DVD releases including "Guardians," and "Maleficent," returned to Amazon last week, a knowledgeable person confirmed to the Journal. 6. -- Automakers such as Ford and General Motors will be releasing auto sales for September throughout the day. Kelley Blue Book predicted light-vehicle sales in Septemberaof 1.24 million, up 9% from a year earlier. KBB also raised its full-year sales forecast to 16.4 million vehicles from 16.3 million. Must Read: 10 Stocks George Soros Is Buying 7. --aAngie's Lista reportedly has hired bankers to explore strategic options, including a sale of the company.a Angie's List has held talks with some prospective buyers, but it remains to be seen if the company will ultimately hit the go button on a buyout, the Financial Timesareported. The newspaper didn't identify its source for the report nor the bank or bankers said to have been hired by Angie's List. A company spokeswoman, Cheryl Reed, told TheStreet:a"We don't comment on rumors." 8. -- A federal judge on Tuesday ruled against investors who are trying to collect billions of dollars in profits of government-chartered mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac . The decision by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to dismiss the investors' lawsuits was a victory for the government. "There can be no doubt" that the investors understood the risks involved in investments in closely regulated companies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lamberth wrote, and therefore have no reasonable expectation of profiting. During the recent mortgage crisis, the government pumped $187 billion into the troubled companies, which have since recovered and now have quarterly profits running into the billions. 9. -- The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday it charged two men with insider tradingaafter they learned that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was betting against Herbalife's stock. The SEC said Filip Szymik, 28, was told by his roommate, then an analyst at Ackman's hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, that Ackman was going to announce a negative view of Herbalife. The roommate was not named by the SEC because he is not accused of wrongdoing. The SEC said that Szymik then told another friend, 30-year-old Jordan Peixoto, that Ackman was going to announce a negative view ofaHerbalife. Ackman has bet heavily against the weight loss and nutritional company and described it as a pyramid scheme. He is not accused of any wrongdoing by the SEC in this case. His New York-based hedge fund, Pershing Square, declined to comment on Tuesday. 10. -- Mercer, an influential pension consultant, stripped Pimco's Total Return bond fund of its top rating. Mercer downgraded Total Return and four other funds that had been run by Bill Gross, the Pimco founder who walked out of the firm after 43 years last week, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the move. The downgrade immediately triggered a review of Pimco holdings by one of its U.K. pension fund clients, the FT reported. Must Read: 7 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling in 2014 -- Written by Joseph Woelfel To contact the writer of this article, click here:Joseph Woelfel To submit a news tip, send an email to:tips@thestreet.com. Follow @josephwoe58
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