Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
- The Federal Reserve’s provision of $30 billion each to four central banks’ need to sell assets in support of their currencies, said Matthew Moore, an interest-rate strategist in New York at Banc of America Securities LLC. The Fed on Oct. 29 agreed to provide so-called currency swaps to the central banks of Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore, expanding to emerging nations its efforts to thaw frozen money markets. If tapped, the swaps make it less likely they’ll have to sell reserve assets, which tend to consist largely of Treasuries and agency securities, to prop up their currencies, Moore wrote.

- The cost of protecting corporate bonds from default fell to the lowest in two weeks as central banks around the world cut interest rates, helping to further ease constraints in the credit markets. Credit-default swaps on the Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index, linked to the bonds of 125 companies in the U.S. and Canada fell 3 basis points to 200 basis points as of 8:55 a.m. in New York, according to Barclays Capital. In London, the benchmark Markit iTraxx Europe index dropped 8 basis points to 147, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. prices. Credit-default swaps on the Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of 50 companies with mostly high-risk, high-yield credit ratings decreased 24 basis points to 761, JPMorgan prices show.

- Crude oil fell as reduced imports by Asian refiners reinforced concern that a demand slowdown is spreading to emerging markets. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's biggest refiner, will process less oil at units because of falling demand, its parent said today. South Korea imported 1.4 percent less oil in October. Crude oil for December delivery fell $2.26, or 3.3 percent, to $65.55 a barrel at 11:23 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices, which have tumbled 55 percent since reaching a record $147.27 on July 11, are down 32 percent from a year ago. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the ``downside risk'' to its year-end forecast of $70 a barrel for crude oil has increased, amid signs of slowing emerging-market demand. In addition, OPEC is unlikely to fulfill all of its announced production cuts within the next couple of months, Goldman analysts, led by Jeff Currie in London, said in a report today.

- Dollar borrowing costs in London and yields on short-term corporate debt in the U.S. fell on speculation European central banks will cut interest rates this week to limit the ravages of a likely global recession. The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, that banks charge one another for three-month loans in U.S. currency slid 17 basis points to 2.86 percent today, a 16th day of declines, data from the British Bankers' Association showed. It hasn't been as low since the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Sept. 15. Interest rates on some commercial paper, or short-term debt companies sell to cover expenses such as payroll and rent, fell to the lowest level since Aug. 8, adding to evidence as much as $3 trillion of emergency funds provided by governments to battle a collapse in trust among banks may be working.

Wall Street Journal:

- A combination of this year’s credit crisis and slumping commodities triggered an exit from exchange-traded notes, with investors pulling about $460 million out of the 30 ETNs tracked by researcher Morningstar Inc. Barclays Plc, which runs iPath Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return, and which is the biggest ETN with $2.7 billion, lost 12% of assets in October.

- What We’re Fighting For. Protectionism and tax hikes are wrong for the economy. By John McCain.

LA Times:

- Utilities putting new energy into geothermal sources.

CNNMoney.com:
- Is buy-and-hold dead and gone? As volatile and scary as stocks look now, here are three big reasons not to abandon your investing strategy. That's about the craziest thing I've ever heard!" shouts Jeremy Siegel through the phone when I mention the headline of this story.

Reuters:
- CVS Caremark Corp (CVS) hopes women will still treat themselves to little luxuries like a $15 lipstick, even as cosmetics makers feel the pinch of consumers cutting back. The drugstore chain is rolling out its first upscale Beauty 360 store in a new CVS in Washington, DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood on Monday.

- Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG) said on Monday its property and casualty insurance units will remain well capitalized, causing its beaten-down shares to soar. The assurance overshadowed a projection by the company that its year-end capital margin may fall short of its prior forecast. The shares rose $2.40, or 23.3 percent, to $12.72 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.