Here are the 10 most important stories for investors Wednesday morning

A woman pulls shopping carts through the aisle of a Target store in Torrington, Connecticut.
Jessica Rinaldi | Reuters

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

STOCKS/ECONOMY

-Stock futures are higher after Tuesday's flat close. We get the Fed Minutes at 2PM Eastern Time today and this morning we get data on housing starts. Here's what investors are expecting to hear from the Fed Minutes today.

-There's some better retail news this morning as Target beat top and bottom line estimates with its earnings report and so did Urban Outfitters.

-New mortgage applications rose just 0.1 percent last week despite the lowest mortgage rates since the election.