A daily morning look at the financial stories you need to know to start the day

STOCKS/ECONOMY

-Stock futures are just slightly higher after yet another flat close on Tuesday Retail earnings will be in focus today.

OIL/ENERGY

-Crude is down more than 1% and back to the $42/barrel level.

-Gasoline prices held overnight at $2.12/gallon, national average.

ELECTION

-Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have tentatively agreed to three debates as scheduled by the debate commission.

-Hillary Clinton still leads Donald Trump by one point in the LA Times/USC poll.

-But Clinton has more comfortable leads in the battleground states of Pennsylvania,Ohio, and Iowa according to a new NBC/WSJ/Marist poll.

-Newly released Clinton emails show how Clinton Foundation donors often asked then-Secretary of State Clinton for favors.

-House Speaker Paul Ryan easily defeated his primary challenger in yesterday's voting in Wisconsin.

DEALS/NO DEALS

-British bookmaking company William Hill is so far rejecting a $4.1 billion takeover bid from Israel's 888 and the UK's Rank Group.

TERROR/DEFENSE

-Just how deep have Saudi Arabia's Yemen war losses been? Deep enough for the Saudis to need to buy more than 150 new Abrams Tanks from the US to replace their losses. The cost of the just-approved deal is about $1.2 billion.

-The Department of Homeland Security is calling on the tech sector to come up with new wearable tech devices that first responders can use in disaster situations.

TECH WARS

-More than 250 people have gone to work for the Obama administration from Google or vice versa.