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Market Insider | What's Shaking | Earnings to Watch | Before the Bell

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell on Wednesday:

Smithfield Foods — The beef and pork producer is said to be near a deal to sell itself to China's Shineway for up to $5 billion, according to Dow Jones. A deal of that size would be the largest ever done by a China-based company in the United States.

Stewart Enterprises —The funeral home and cemetery operator will be bought by rival Service Corp. International (SCI) for $1.1 billion in cash, or $13.25 per share. The price is a 36 percent premium over Tuesday's closing price.

Michael Kors — The clothing and accessories maker earned 50 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter, 11 cents above estimates, with revenues also beating analyst forecasts. That performance came as same-store sales soared 37 percent from a year earlier.

Fresh Market —The specialty grocer earned 46 cents per share for the first quarter, two cents above estimates, but revenue came up short of consensus. Fresh Market did see an improvement in same-store sales and profit margins.

Chico's FAS — The clothing retailer reported quarterly profit of 31 cents per share, five cents below estimates, with revenue also falling short as comparable store sales came in flat.

DSW — The shoe retailer earned $1.00 per share for the first quarter, ten cents above estimates, with revenues also beating forecasts. Same-store sales, however, were down 2.4 percent from a year earlier.

Wal-Mart —The retailer will pay a fine of $81.6 million after pleading guilty to improperly disposing of pesticides and other hazardous products.

Apple — CEO Tim Cook hinted that wearable devices are among the innovations coming from Apple in the future. Cook spoke Tuesday at the annual All Things Digital conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Sprint Nextel — Sprint and suitor SoftBank have reached a deal with U.S. regulators over security concerns surrounding the potential takeover of Sprint by the Japanese company, according to Reuters. The government would be allowed to veto purchases of new equipment by Sprint in certain situations. SoftBank has a deal in place to buy 70 percent of Sprint, although that deal is being challenged by a rival bid from Dish Network.

IAC/InterActive — The media and Internet giant is seeking buyers for Newsweek, according to trade publication Variety. Newsweek was bought by IAC in 2010, and stopped putting out a print edition last year.

Health Management Associates — Chief executive officer Gary Newsome is retiring as of July 31, with the hospital operator's board beginning a search for his successor.

Amgen —The biotech giant has signed an agreement Japan's Astellas Pharma to develop and sell new drugs in Japan.

Citigroup — The banking giant has settled with the Federal Housing Finance Agency in a suit involving the purchase of $3.5 billion in mortgage-backed securities by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The court filing that revealed the dismissal did not specify the terms of the settlement.

Wet Seal — Wet Seal reported a first quarter profit, with the retailer also providing optimistic guidance for the current quarter amid better profit margins and lower expenses.



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—By CNBC's Peter Schacknow

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