• Dogecoin jumped after Trump announces 'DOGE:' Department of Government Efficiency.
• DirecTV's acquisition of Dish is likely dead.
• Volkswagen and Rivian's joint venture increased by $800 million.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. New inflation report

Stock futures were slightly lower Wednesday as Wall Street awaits inflation data from October's consumer price index. S&P 500 futures dropped by 0.2%, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 futures both slipped 0.1%. All three major averages ticked down during Tuesday's session for the first time since the postelection rally. The Dow fell 0.9% while the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1%. Follow live market updates.

2. DOGE boosts coin

Dogecoin briefly jumped 20% after President-elect Donald Trump announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, which he referred to as "DOGE" in his statement. The department, which hasn't been created or funded by Congress, will be led by Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump said the pair will "pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies." Dogecoin has been one of the biggest winners in the postelection rally, gaining 153% since election day compared with Bitcoin's 30% rise in the same period.

3. Dish deal dead

DirecTV's proposed acquisition of Dish more than likely is terminated after a group of bondholders rejected a revised offer, a DirecTV spokesperson said. DirecTV would have assumed roughly $10 billion worth of Dish debt and paid a nominal $1 to acquire Dish DBS, which includes both Dish and Sling TV, but the deal was contested by a group of bondholders. DirecTV made a revised offer that valued Dish bonds at a little more than 70 cents on the dollar, but the bondholders rejected the deal earlier this week. DirecTV does not plan to offer further concessions, said people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss confidential information.

4. It's raining cars

Volkswagen Group and electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive said the size of their joint venture has increased to $5.8 billion ahead of operations starting Wednesday. Shares of Rivian rose more than 13% during after-hours trading. The joint venture increased from an initial investment of up to $5 billion and was a result of the companies pulling ahead some potential future capital from VW, along with some changes in the deal's structure, officials said Tuesday. The first VW models to use Rivian's software and electrical architecture are estimated to arrive as early as 2027.

5. Lobbyists in demand

Lobbyists are in hot demand by companies looking to protect their businesses from President-elect Donald Trump's promised universal tariff policy. Trump made across-the-board tariffs a core tenet of his economic platform throughout his campaign, proposing a 20% tax on imports from all countries with a harsh 60% rate for Chinese goods. Corporations are now scrambling to make connections and find potential loopholes around tariffs in case Trump follows through with his promises. Wall Street analysts and industry leaders have warned that universal tariffs could increase production costs, which would in turn raise prices for consumers.

— CNBC's Hakyung Kim, Tanaya Macheel, Lora Kolodny, Rohan Goswami, Michael Wayland and Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.