(Photo Credit: Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen/AP)

Morning Money Memo:

President Obama's decision to pursue normal relations with Cuba has many U.S. companies scrambling to consider opportunities in a brand new market that has been off limits for more than 50 years. Banks, airlines, cruise lines, hotel operators and telecom firms are among the many that could benefit. "U.S. companies from General Motors, to agribusiness giant Cargill to furniture retailer Ethan Allen Interiors applauded the White House move," reports The Wall Street Journal.

A pledge from the Federal Reserve to remain "patient" when deciding when to lift interest rates gave the stock market its biggest gain in more than a year Wednesday. Stock futures rose this morning. The first move by the Fed to raise rates may not come until the middle of next year.

Alarm bells are ringing in Hollywood after the hacking attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment forced the studio to cancel all release plans for "The Interview," a comedy about an assassination of North Korea's leader. Published reports say the production company New Regency has canceled plans for a thriller set in North Korea that would have starred Steve Carell.

Avon Cosmetics will pay $135 million to settle criminal and civil charges. Its China unit pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing officials there. Avon is the world's largest direct to consumer seller of cosmetics

New York's attorney general wants retailers to stop selling toy guns that are nearly indistinguishable from real firearms. Eric Schneiderman's office says letters were sent to Walmart, Amazon, Kmart and Sears telling them to follow a state law intended to ensure that toy guns aren't mistaken for the real thing. The law says toy guns cannot be sold in realistic colors unless they bear an orange stripe on the barrel. Schneiderman's office says the toys were sold online and, in one case, at a Rochester-area Kmart. A Walmart spokesman says the company will work with Schneiderman to ensure compliance. The move comes after a 12-year-old Ohio boy with a pellet gun was fatally shot by police.