Bloomberg:
- US stocks rose, led by consumer companies, after JC Penney(JCP) and Gap Inc.(GPS) said profits will exceed analysts’ estimates.
- The euro fell to the lowest level in more than two weeks against the US dollar as ECB President Trichet said European growth may slow.
- President Bush said the US Senate must promptly vote on his backlog of some 200 nominees, including three for the Federal Reserve Board, and stop treating them like “political pawns.”
- GSO Capital Partners LP, the hedge fund being bought by Blackstone Group LP, hired Najib Canaan and a trading team from Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP to invest in mortgages and bonds hit by the credit-market contraction.
- Bank of America(BAC) increased its stake in Ambac Financial(ABK) from 5.1% at the end of September to 7.06%.
- Copper is surging 3.7% as falling inventories quelled concern that demand for the metal may slump.
- US Treasuries declined as demand was weaker than expected at the government’s $9 billion auction of 30-year bonds, which drew the lowest yield on record.
Wall Street Journal:
- Lehman’s(LEH) Harris Tops List of Forecasters.
- The European Central Bank faces a tough task when it reviews interest rates today, not only because of the economic slowdown but also because hedge funds are trying to exploit disparities within the European Union.
- Actively managed ETFs, soon to become reality, may not offer the low costs and tax-efficiency that have been ETF’s biggest attractions.
- Alcatel-Lucent SA(ALU), the telephone equipment maker that saw its shares drop 60% in 2007, may be a good buy as an industry price war subsides.
NY Times:
- Wal-Mart Will Expand In-Store Medical Clinics.
LA Times:
- Yahoo(YHOO) said to step up talks with Google(GOOG).
- Al-Qaeda Shifts Iraq Tactics to Salvage Image.
Economic Times:
- Deutsche Bank is on the prowl for acquisitions, its CEO said on Thursday, after it dodged the subprime disaster that hit rivals.
Asharq al-Awsat:
- Saudi Arabian investors have $400 billion in investments in the