Dell said it has received a $14.25 a share takeover offer from Blackstone and a $15 a share deal from Carl Icahn.
With the Fed's stimulus now tied to job market recovery, investors are more keenly awaiting nonfarm payrolls.
The Leucadia transaction could give the company the kind of capital it needs to embark on the final stage of that transformation from a second-tier trading firm into the latest generation of white-shoe investment bank.
Also, German economic sentiment drops.
Stocks are slightly lower amid light holiday trading volume.
The acquisition will help the struggling investment bank ride out the storms on Wall Street.
Investors really aren't sweating any legal trouble Apple faces, however.
The Nasdaq is within striking distance of 3,000.
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