- Philippines Left Reeling in Wake of Storm (WSJ)
- Khamenei controls massive financial empire built on property seizures (RTRS)
- Race to Bottom Resumes as Central Bankers Ease Anew (BBG)
- U.S. Postal Service to deliver Amazon packages on Sundays (LA Times)
- Obama Stocks Among Best After Re-Election as Rally Tested (BBG)
- Health-Law Rollout Weighs on Obama’s Ratings, Agenda (WSJ)
- Twitter in Celebrity Spat With Facebook as Rivalry Builds (BBG)
- Iran deputy industry minister shot dead (AFP)
- Financier of Taliban-linked group shot dead in Pakistan (RTRS)
- Obama: The Lonely Guy (Vanity Fair)
- Shire Buys ViroPharma for $4.2 Billion to Grow in Rare Diseases (BBG)
- Apple Finds Surprising Growth Market in Japan (WSJ)
- U.S. retailers tread tight path in shortened holiday race (Reuters)
- They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets (NYT)
- Acer’s CEO Is Out, Another Victim of the iPad (BBG)
- Worry Over Inequality Occupies Wall Street (WSJ)
- IPhone App Wipes Out Population to Show Contagion Risks (BBG)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* Johnson & Johnson and Amazon.com Inc are clashing over complaints that Amazon isn’t doing enough to prevent people from selling damaged or expired J&J products-Tylenol painkillers and Rogaine baldness treatments, among others-on its website.
* A political stalemate could persuade Office Depot to move more than 2,000 jobs out of Illinois as lawmakers grouse about the growing number of companies seeking special tax treatment.
* JPMorgan and Credit Suisse are considering blocking employees from computer chat rooms that have become pervasive tools of the modern trading floor, but which face mounting scrutiny from regulators.
* The second film in the God of Thunder franchise from Walt Disney’s Marvel Studios grossed $86.1 million in North America following a huge international haul.
* Sony and Microsoft are preparing for one of the biggest holiday battles in years, as the companies overhaul their videogame consoles. But software could be a decisive weapon this time.
* The EU and the United States open a second round of trade talks Monday. The biggest economic gains are expected to come from chipping away at trade barriers, but the two sides have different approaches to regulation.
* The Washington state legislature completed passage of key elements of an incentive package Saturday aimed at guaranteeing Boeing will locate manufacturing work for its 777X jetliner in Puget Sound.
* The U.S. government has been fighting to try to seize a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper it says is secretly owned by the Iranian government. After the U.S. won a ruling, a court monitor has signed a long-term lease for the retail space to a venture including one of the city’s top landlords.
* Luxury-car brand Mercedes-Benz, facing stagnant sales in Europe and troubles in China, is doubling down on expansion in the United States as part of its plan to overtake rivals BMW AG and Volkswagen AG’s Audi in global luxury sales.
* Cooper Tire & Rubber Co isn’t yet entitled to an order forcing India’s Apollo Tyres Ltd to close its takeover of the Ohio-based tire maker at the agreed-on $2.2 billion price, a Delaware judge said over the weekend.
FT
Renault-Nissan would miss its target for global sales of electric cars, chief executive Carlos Ghosn said in an interview, adding that the market is failing to live up to his expectations.
BP Plc for the first time challenged directly payments for losses not caused by its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico basing its arguments on the issue of causation in a fresh attempt to limit the cost of its compensation settlement, according to court documents filed by the company late last week.
JPMorgan Chase & Co is one of several banks considering banning traders from electronic chat rooms, which face scrutiny from regulators as a platform exchange of market information, as part of a probe into the foreign exchange market, according to people familiar with the matter.
Co-operative Group said it would scrap dividend payments to its 7.6 million members as part of a review to help pay for a 1.5 billion pound ($2.4 billion) rescue of its banking division.
Analysts are forecasting a profit warning from Serco Group Plc this week as the outsourcing firm continues to grapple with problems with contracts for UK prisons and Australian asylum centres.
China Investment Corporation is set to buy Chiswick Park, a west-London office development, from U.S. private equity group Blackstone for about 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
NYT
* The CBS news magazine issued a rare retraction and apology for its report on an attack on Americans in Libya, saying it was misled by a source.
* Start-ups are gathering data and analyzing it much faster than was possible even a couple of years ago, aiming to project economic trends from seemingly unconnected information.
* Labor leaders and businesses are closely watching a Supreme Court case to be argued this Wednesday that involves a popular strategy used by unions to successfully organize hundreds of thousands of workers.
* Twitter is counting on millions of websites to link to the service and encouraging legions of independent developers to find creative new uses for its platform, driving up activity and the number of advertisements that Twitter users see.
* In their efforts to attract children, television networks are starting to show programs online before they appear on old-fashioned TV.
* Vox Media, a company with three strong digital brands, including the technology site The Verge, is adding to its portfolio. The company plans t
o announce on Monday that it is buying Curbed.com LLC, which runs three web publications that deliver in-depth neighborhood coverage, with attitude, of real estate, dining and retailing.
* The Treasury’s schedule of financing this week includes the regular weekly auction of new three- and six-month bills on Tuesday, delayed for the Veterans Day holiday, and an auction of four-week bills on Wednesday.
* The saving of BlackBerry may represent a patriotic calling to Prem Watsa, but he is not used to dealing in as public an arena as the company does. ()
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
* Western Canadian farmers and grain handlers are struggling to move a record crop amid a shortage of railcars that some say is worsened by the surge in the energy industry’s oil shipments by rail.
* Negotiators at the United Nations climate summit are searching for broad agreement that will lead to a new treaty requiring deeper cuts to each country’s greenhouse gas emissions after 2020, even as Canada struggles to achieve its existing commitments.
Reports in the business section:
* As discounter Wal-Mart Canada Corp ramps up its food aisles and U.S. arch rival Target Corp expands in this country, conventional chains such as Loblaw Companies Ltd and Metro Inc feel the mounting pressure.
* Economists have been surprised by the degree to which Canada home sales have bounced back from the pounding they took in the summer of 2012, when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tightened the mortgage insurance rules.
NATIONAL POST
* Officials have been sent to the Philippines to assess whether Canada should send a military team to provide medical care and water to typhoon victims, Canada’s foreign affairs minister said.
* Ontario Provincial Police are confirming five people have died in a plane crash in northwestern Ontario near the community of Red Lake. They have also confirmed there were two survivors.
China
PEOPLE’S DAILY
– A commentary by the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) said the country’s new leadership has launched a slew of innovations aimed to building up a democratic political system since they came into power a year ago. The commentary was issued as the party is convening a crucial central commission plenum.
CHINA DAILY
– China will take major steps to reform its gigantic state-owned enterprises, allowing private capital to have easier access to invest in the state sector, after the four-day Third Plenum of the CPC’s 18th Central Committee, which started on Saturday, said Huang Shuhe, vice-chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervisions and Administration Commission.
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
– Chongqing Iron and Steel Co said the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has approved its plans to issue new shares to its parent and other parties to raise money to buy new assets from its parent, a move expected to narrow its losses sharply next year.
– Oil giant Sinopec Corp said its parent on Friday bought back 39 million yuan-denominated A shares. The parent last week announced a plan to spend an estimated maximum of $17.7 billion to buy back a 2 percent stake in Sinopec’s Shanghai-listed entity over the next year, in a move to support the mainland’s sagging stock market.
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
– China has quietly opened the second-batch tenders for high-speed trains this year worth an estimated 56-57 billion yuan ($9.18-$9.34 billion). The country in August lifted a suspension of tenders of high-speed trains imposed after a crash that killed dozens of passengers in 2011.
– A total of 757 companies are now on the waiting list to launch initial public offerings (IPOs) in the mainland’s stock exchanges, CSRC data shows. China quietly suspended IPOs one year ago to help check a slide in the domestic stock market .
SECURITIES TIMES
– The Shenzhen Stock Exchange will blacklist those companies that announce poorly conceived merger and acquisition plans aimed at boosting their own share prices.
CHINA DAILY
– An editorial by a senior editor criticized Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group’s IPO strategy in Hong Kong, saying Hong Kong was right to reject Alibaba’s proposal to list under a tiered share structure that would allow management and preferred shareholders to retain control after listing, in contravention of the Hong Kong Exchange’s rules.
Fly On The Wall 7:00 AM Market Snapshot
ANALYST RESEARCH
Upgrades
Alon USA Energy (ALJ) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse
American Tower (AMT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup
BT Group (BT) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
Best Buy (BBY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
Concho Resources (CXO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord
LPL Financial (LPLA) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS
Mueller Water (MWA) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman
Netgear (NTGR) upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital
Rocket Fuel (FUEL) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital
TD Ameritrade (AMTD) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James
WEX Inc. (WEX) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital
Youku Tudou (YOKU) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Brean Capital
Downgrades
AGCO (AGCO) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman
Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman
Diodes (DIOD) downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James
Eli Lilly (LLY) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman
Hill-Rom (HRC) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
KLA-Tencor (KLAC) downgraded to Negative from Neutral at Susquehanna
Penn National (PENN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays
Range Resources (RRC) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer
Teekay Offshore Partners (TOO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill
Initiations
Ann Inc. (ANN) initiated with a Sell at Goldman
Antero Resources (AR) initiated with a Hold at Deutsche Bank
Burlington Stores (BURL) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust
Burlington Stores (BURL) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman
Burlington Stores (BURL) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan
Discovery Labs (DSCO) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray
Empire State Realty (ESRT) initiated with a Buy at KeyBanc
Empire State Realty (ESRT) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman
Express (EXPR) initiated with a Buy at Goldman
Franklin Resources (BEN) initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital
Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) initiated with an Equal Weight at Barclays
Gulfport Energy (GPOR) initiated with a Buy at Deutsche Bank
Mazor Robotics (MZOR) initiated with an Overweight at Barclays
Movado (MOV) initiated with a Hold at KeyBanc
Veeva Systems (VEEV) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord
Veeva Systems (VEEV) initiated with a Buy at Deutsche Bank
HOT STOCKS
Shire (SHPG) acquired ViroPharma (VPHM) for $50 per share or $4.2B
Mitel (MITL) to acquire Aastra for C$392M
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) said NYSE Euronext (NYX) deal to close November 13
PepsiCo (PEP) announced targeted investment of $5.5B in India by 2020
State of Washington worked out incentives to keep Boeing 777X work, WSJ reports
Transocean (RIG) announced agreement with Carl Icahn (IEP)
Amazon.com (AMZN) announced USPS to deliver packages on Sunday
Suntech (STP) received approval for a provisional liquidation from Cayman Islands
Denbury (DNR) to initiate quarterly dividend, increased share repurchase authorization
EARNINGS
Companies that beat consensus earnin
gs expectations last night and today include:
Sterling Construction (STRL), CTI Industries (CTIB), Enzymotec (ENZY), Arkansas Best (ABFS)
Companies that missed consensus earnings expectations include:
RadNet (RDNT), Rexford Industrial (REXR), Ballantyne Strong (BTN), Nordic American Tanker (NAT), Tesoro Logistics (TLLP)
NEWSPAPERS/WEBSITES
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Amazon.com (AMZN) are clashing over complaints that Amazon isn’t doing enough to prevent people from selling damaged or expired J&J products on its website, the Wall Street Journal reports
Big banks (JPM, CS, RBS, BCS, UBS, C) are considering blocking employees from computer chat rooms that have become pervasive tools of the modern trading floor, but which face mounting scrutiny from regulators as potential venues for collusion and market manipulation, the Wall Street Journal reports
U.S. retailers (AMZN, WMT, TGT, M) have little room for error in the fast-approaching and shortened holiday shopping season, a period that typically generates 30% of annual sales. Plus, a late Thanksgiving has cut six days off the gift-buying season, Reuters reports
Even with the flawed roll out of health-care reform and uproar over spying, President Obama is enjoying one of the best stock markets for a re-elected president. Signs are building that it might not last, Bloomberg reports
Cooper Tire & Rubber (CTB) isn’t yet entitled to an order that would force Apollo Tyres to pay a contractually agreed $35 a share for the company, a judge said in a weekend letter to lawyers. Cooper must prove it had satisfied all the conditions of the $2.5B buyout agreement, Bloomberg reports
Panasonic (PCRFY) said it can afford a deal worth $1B as the maker of electric-car batteries and solar panels looks to expand its automotive and housing businesses, Bloomberg reports
BARRON’S
GulfMark Offshore (GLF) could rally another 30%
International Paper (IP), Hanesbrands (HBI), Xerox (XRX), L-3 (LLL) are bargains
Devon Energy (DVN) is undervalued by 25%
Twitter’s (TWTR) prices indicates investors’ bet on advertising plan (GOOG)
SYNDICATE
Bright Horizons (BFAM) files to sell 7.5M shares for holders
CDW Corporation (CDW) files to sell 15M shares for holders
Hansen Medical (HNSN) files to sell 5.29M and 62.6M shares for holders
Wisdom Tree (WETF) files to sell 835,000 shares for holders
     |
via Zero Hedge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zerohedge/feed/~3/g8gc3E0vt54/story01.htm Tyler Durden