BETWEEN THE HEDGES: Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

Wall Street Titans Poised to Grow in China After Frustrating Era. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. are finding patience pays off in China. The trio now have an advantage over some of their largest Wall Street rivals after officials in charge of the world’s No. 2 economy promised on Friday to let foreigners take majority stakes in securities firms there -- raising limits that had long frustrated U.S. and European bankers. JPMorgan Chase & Co. pulled out of a joint venture in China in 2016, and Bank of America Corp. also doesn’t have one.

Alibaba(BABA) Singles' Day Posts Record 168 Billion Yuan in Sales. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Singles’ Day shopping bonanza generated a record 168.2 billion yuan ($25.3 billion) in sales, as the company’s investment overseas and effort to link traditional retailers with the internet paid off. The annual frenzy posted a 39 percent increase in sales, exceeding Citigroup Inc. estimates and defying concerns of an economic slowdown. The event helped at least 82 brands top 100 million yuan in sales-- Nike Inc., Xiaomi Corp. and Uniqlo Co. coming out as some of the biggest winners.

Hedge Funds Pile on Bullish Oil Bets as Mideast Tension Heats Up. The Middle East is kicking things up a notch in the oil market. Hedge fund bets on rising Brent crude prices hit a fresh record as tension in the oil-rich region reached a whole new level, sending prices to their highest in more than two years. Disruptions in exporting countries such as Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela in past months hadn’t fazed investors enough to trigger strong rallies, but Saudi Arabia and Iran? That’s another story. Hedge funds raised their Brent net-long position -- the difference between bets on a price increase and wagers on a drop -- by 2.4 percent to a record 543,069 contracts in the week ended Nov. 7, according to data from ICE Futures Europe. Longs surged by 2 percent to an all-time high, while shorts tumbled 2 percent to the lowest in more than eight months.

Wall Street Journal:

China Enlists Western Media to Spread Its Message. Tie-ups linked to propaganda arm aid mission to ‘tell Chinese stories well’.

What to Do in a Shooting? Americans Stream to Classes to Learn ‘Run, Hide, Fight’. After Texas church shooting and others, practicing how to face down a shooter in libraries, churches, schools and offices.

Polish Nationalist Youth March Draws Thousands in Capital. Crowd of mostly young people carries banners that read ‘Europe Will Be White’ and ‘Clean Blood’.

Barron's: