U.S. stock futures were higher today, indicating a possible positive start on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve, in a coordinated effort with other central banks acted to calm the markets, injecting $180 billion in to money markets. Also in focus are WaMu and Morgan Stanley, both are said to be on the block. Weekly initial jobless claims will be announced an hour before the market opens, and could sway sentiment in the face of the deteriorating employment picture. The Philly Fed survey for September and August leading indicators are also on tap.

The New York Times reported that according to its sources,Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is considering a merger with Wachovia (NYSE: WB). Morgan Stanley is considering other options as well, but so far all talks are preliminary and no deal may emerge. According to CNBC, Chinese bank Citic is also in talks with Morgan Stanley. If a deal goes through, it would leave Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) as the last one of the large independent brokers. MS shares are up 4% in pre-market trade, WB's up 10%.

Another option for Morgan Stanley reported by CNBC is sale of a minority stake to China's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation(CIC), which already owns 9.9% of Morgan.

The New York Times also reported Wednesday that according to their sources, Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM) has also begun exploring a sale in the event that it cannot find some other way to raise additional capital. Washington Mutual has hired Goldman Sachs to assess its options, which could include Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and HSBC (NYSE: HBC). According to Bloomberg, Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) have also expressed interest. WaMu shares are up 14% in pre-market trade. In general, all finanacial are up in pre-market over 2% and higher.