Here are five things you need to know for Wednesday, November 3:

1. – Cautious futures as the Fed’s decision waits

U.S. equity futures were mixed on Wednesday, with investors around the world cautiously navigating a series of risk headlines ahead of what could be one of the Federal Reserve’s most important meetings in more than a decade .

With growth slowing in China as COVID infections rise and the government shifts from one attack on corporate profitability to another, Asian stocks have lagged global gains, with investors eyeing results of today’s Fed policy meeting in Washington. European stocks, meanwhile, slipped from another all-time high once traders analyzed another list laden with corporate earnings.

On Wall Street, stocks look poised for a mixed opening, with little change from the three major benchmarks ahead of the Fed’s decision today at 2 p.m. EST and pre-market earnings by CVS Health (CVS) – Get the CVS Health Corporation report, Marriott (MAR) – Get the report from Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) and Humana (HUM) – Get the Humana Inc. (HUM) report.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average show a modest opening decline of 2 points while those linked to the S&P 500 are valued for a 1 point move lower. Futures contracts linked to the tech-driven Nasdaq Composite show a 10 point gain from last night’s close.

2. – The Fed Taper signals clearly, inflation forecasts are uncertain

Federal Reserve officials will release the results of their two-day policy meeting at 2:00 p.m. EST, with analysts looking for details on how and when the central bank will begin to slow the pace of its monthly purchases of ‘obligations. .

The Fed bought $ 120 billion in government, corporate and agency bonds each month as part of its broader efforts to keep market interest rates low and spur growth and jobs .

However, with inflation at its highest pace in three decades and growth rebounding firmly from pandemic lows, the removal of some of these buys – analysts expect a so-called “taper” of around $ 15 billion per month – not only will allow more fluid price discovery in treasury markets, but also marks the first step towards a formal interest rate hike at the end of next year.

The timing of this move, however, may also be linked to comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who has so far insisted inflationary pressures will ease next year as the chain of supply was unlocked and energy prices fell.

3. – Bed, bath and beyond the moon

Bed, bath and beyond (BBBY) – Get the Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. report soared in pre-market trading after the home-based retailer – and unique stock of memes – unveiled a distribution partnership with Kroger Co KR and said it would complete its share buyback program from a billion dollars by the end of its fiscal year.

Bed, Bath & Beyond said the deal will see its signature and “BuyBuy Baby” products sold on Kroger.com, as well as in the grocery chain’s physical stores, starting in 2022.

The retailer will also step up its share buybacks in 2021 from $ 325 million to $ 625 million, with a goal of completing its $ 1 billion program by the end of February – three years ahead of its original schedule.

Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond were marked 60.9% higher in pre-market trading on Wednesday to indicate an opening bell price of $ 29.65 each.

4.- Zillow Shutters Home Buying Company

Zillow Group (ZG) – Get the Class A report from Zillow Group, Inc. collapsed in pre-market trading after the home buying website closed its home flipping business and after a larger-than-expected loss in the third quarter.

Zillow has said it will shut down its Zillow Offers business, which buys homes directly through its site only to resell them in the short term, over the next few months after “determining that the unpredictability of home price predictions exceeds by far from what we had planned “. The move follows a $ 304 million write-down of its existing inventory of around 6,000 homes and will likely result in a downsizing of around 25%, the company said.

A further loss of $ 240 to $ 265 million will be recorded in the current quarter as homes bought earlier this year will eventually close, Zillow said.

Zillow shares were marked down 16.5% in pre-market trading on Wednesday to indicate an opening bell price of $ 71.40 each.

5. – Atlanta Braves win World Series after 26 years of drought

The Atlanta Braves ended a 26-year championship drought by beating the Houston Astros 7-0 last night to win the team’s first World Series since 1995.

In one of the biggest turnovers in baseball history, the Braves – who were not due to challenge the pennant until at least mid-August – knocked out the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers to earn their place in this year’s World Cup. Series against the heavily favored Astros.

However, despite losing starting pitcher Charlie Morton to a broken leg in Game 1, the Braves managed to outscale the Astros with consistent hitting, superb base run and disciplined defense.

Last night’s win, which included a monster 446-foot home run from Jorge Soler – who only joined the squad in late July – also ended a streak of 16 consecutive appearances in a match. winless post-season for the Braves.

“We’ve hit every pothole, every bump you could possibly hit this year, and somehow the car always went the other way,” the player said. Braves star first baseman Freddie Freeman. “It’s just an amazing group.”