• Asian stocks drop on National Australia loss, Canon earnings; Yen advances.
  • Consumer Confidence in US unexpectedly fell in October on job concerns.
  • Euro up slightly to $1.4830 in European morning trade amid US consumers' worries.
  • Oil falls to near $79 a barrel in Asia amid mixed signals about strength of US recovery.
  • France announces €1.65B plan to prop up the country's agricultural companies.
  • Home Prices in 20 US cities rise for third straight month: S&P/Case-Shiller.
  • Russia postpones plan to sell up to $1.7B in gold after news was leaked to local media.
  • AK Steel's Q3 profit tumbled 97% to $6.2M as shipments plunged 29%.
  • ArcelorMittal's Q3 net falls 76% to $903M on 35% dip in revs and shipments fell 29%.
  • E*Trade's Q3 loss widened to $832M on charges related to debt exchange it completed.
  • EcoLab posts Q3 profit rise of 15% at $145M, despite 5% decline in sales to $1.55B.
  • Franklin Resources beats by $0.27, posts Q4 EPS of $1.60. Revs fell 6.3% to $1.24B.
  • GMAC may receive as much as $5.6B in third US government bailout.
  • Harrah's Ent's Q3 loss widened to $1.62B on $1.33B of write-downs. Revs dip 14%.
  • Heineken NV raised its Y09 forecast for organic net profit growth to low double-digit growth.
  • National Australia Bank turns to loss of $69M on bad-debt charge, tax settlement.
  • News Corp., CBS Corp. asking cable operators to pay monthly fees to carry their stations.
  • Praxair's Sept. net income declines from $355M last year to $325M this year.
  • Publicis Groupe SA says advertising markets have started a gradual recovery.
  • SAP AG cut Y09 revenue outlook; sees decline of 6-8% (prev 4-6% decline).
  • TD Ameritrade Q4 net slips 8.9% to $156.7M despite highest qtr of trading activity in its history.
  • Textron's Q3 profit beats est., at $4M helped by savings from job cuts.
  • US Steel anticipates losses in Q4; posts Q3 loss of $303M as revs slump 61% to $2.82B.
  • Valero reported a wider-than-expected Q3 loss of $489M on shrinking margins, low demand.
  • Visa Q4 net hints at turnaround; profit of $514M suggests spending is stabilizing.
  • Wynn Resorts' Q3 net falls 33% to $34.2M on higher interest costs, lower tax benefit.
  • WellPoint's 3Q profit declines 11 percent as enrollment in employer plans continues to slip.

Economic Calendar: Data on Durable Orders, New Home Sales, Crude Inventories to be released today.

Earnings Calendar: ABD, ARGN, ASH, BWA, CACI, CBG, CBT, CCE, CDR, CHDN, COP, E, ESRX, FMC, GD, GSK, GT, HBI, HERO, IP, LVLT, MT, PEG, PX, STD, SYMC, WLP, XRAY.

Recent Egan-Jones Rating Actions
SEALED AIR CORP (SEE)
UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP (UTX)
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC (VZ)
THOMAS & BETTS CORP (TNB)
ROPER INDUSTRIES INC (ROP)
CRANE CO (CR)
TEXTRON INC (TXT)
VF CORP (VFC)
JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP (JBLU)
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO (AXP)
TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP (TUP)
FORTUNE BRANDS INC (FO)
CELESTICA INC (CLS)

Data provided by Egan-Jones Ratings and Analytics