The complete list of Swiss ADRs traded in the U.S. can be found below:

• Buffett buys Burlington for a cool $44B. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) announced it will acquire the 77.4% of Burlington Northern (BNI) it doesn't already own for $100/share in cash and stock - a 30% premium to Monday's close of $76.07. The transaction is worth $44B, including $10B in outstanding debt. Here's what Warren Buffett had to say: "Our country's future prosperity depends on its having an efficient and well-maintained rail system. Conversely, America must grow and prosper for railroads to do well. Berkshire's $34B investment in BNI is a huge bet on that company, CEO Matt Rose and his team, and the railroad industry. Most important of all, however, it's an all-in wager on the economic future of the U.S. I love these bets."
• Stocks slide; futures fall. Global stock markets painted a gloomy picture Tuesday, with bourses in Asia and Europe taking 2%-plus losses as risk appetite took a breather and investors clamored for safe-haven assets, sending the dollar and U.S. Treasurys climbing and futures tumbling (see data below in Today's Markets). "The basis for the correction seems to rest on three legs," Merrill economist Bill O'Neill said. "Worries over prospects for holders of equity in banks; concern that interest-rate hikes are imminent; and paradoxically, that recovery in 2010 will be crippled by a U.S. consumer unwilling or unable to open his or her wallet." Others took the recent downturn as a sign equity prices had gotten ahead of real improvements in the economy.
• Stanley, B&D craft $8.4B merger. Stanley Works (SWK) agreed to buy rival Black & Decker (BDK) for $4.5B in stock, the culmination of a courtship that spanned 27 years and three other attempts. The bid values B&D at about $57.57/share, a 22% premium to Monday's close. "The more we talked, the more we felt like these were two very complementary and unique companies," BDK CEO Nolan Archibald said, adding both CEOs were "totally swayed" by potential synergies of $350M. Stanley shareholders will own about 50.5% of the combined company; B&D shareholders will get 49.5%.
• Lloyds, RBS diverge on aid. Lloyds (LYG) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) unveiled agreements with the U.K. Treasury over their participation in its program to insure toxic assets, and detailed the divestments they will need to make to satisfy EU regulators. Lloyds opted out of the expensive U.K. asset-protection scheme, saying it would raise £21B, including a £13.5B rights issue; the government will maintain its 43% stake in the bank. The move subjects Lloyds to more modest EU demands: Lloyds said it will dispose of "a retail banking business" with a 4.6% market share and about 19% of its mortgage portfolio; sell £180B in noncore assets; and limit acquisitions over the next 3-4 years. RBS will enter the asset-protection scheme to insure £282B of its illiquid loans, with the first £60B in losses borne by RBS. The government will inject another £25.5B into RBS, raising its stake to 84.4%. RBS will sell its RBS retail network in England and Wales and NatWest branches in Scotland; RBS insurance; Global Merchant Services; and its stake in RBS Sempra Commodities. LYG +2.8% premarket. RBS -8%.
• Outflows continue to plague UBS. Shares of UBS (UBS) are -7% premarket after the Swiss bank said it doesn't expect client inflows to recover anytime soon due to its mangled reputation as a result of its tax dispute with the IRS. UBS posted a fourth straight quarterly loss of 564M francs (-$552M), worse than the 207M loss expected by the Street. Total client outflows rose to 36.6B francs ($35.8B), led by a doubling of outflows at its Americas wealth-management division. On a media call, CFO John Cryan cited UBS's "residual reputational issue" along with "some morale issues among advisers" that it needs to face, and said UBS expects "modest outflows from Swiss clients until we return to profit."
• EU sees gradual recovery. The EU lifted its 2010-2011 growth forecast to 0.75% and 1.5% respectively, but cautioned its outlook is "highly uncertain" given that "significant fiscal and monetary policy measures" are supporting the recovery. Predicting government deficits will swell to 7.5% of GDP, the Commission said a "protracted period of fiscal consolidation will have to follow at some stage to put public debt back on a sustainable footing."
• RBA hikes rates again. Australia's central bank, the first G-20 member to break from super-loose monetary policy, raised interest rates for the second time in two months - to 3.5% - amid a rapidly improving economic outlook. The bank hinted it may not boost rates again in December, saying the rises in October and November would work to temper inflation and ensure a sustainable upswing in the economy, which sent the Aussie dollar (ETF: EWA) lower. The central bank has never hiked rates three months in a row.
• CRE breaks death spiral. Prices of investment-grade commercial real estate rose 4.4% in Q3, according to the MIT CRE's transaction-based index, possibly signaling an end to the sector's year-long downward spiral. "One quarter does not a trend make and we are still well below normal trading volume," David Geltner, director of research at MIT/CRE, said. "Nevertheless, this is the strongest sign of a bottom that we've had in two years." The positive news comes in stark contrast to gloomy remarks from the Fed's John Greenlee, who said Monday (.pdf) that regional banks building up "unprecedented concentrations of CRE loans" will suffer the impact of worsening conditions in real estate markets, and warned, "Poor loan quality, subpar earnings, and uncertainty about future conditions raise questions about capital adequacy for some institutions."
• Hat trick of upside surprises. U.S. manufacturing activity hit its highest level in 3.5 years and pending home sales contracts unexpectedly surged, reducing fears the economy's budding recovery would falter. ISM's manufacturing index climbed 3.1 points to 55.7 (vs. 53.3 consensus) as companies began rebuilding inventories. "Overall, it appears that inventories are balanced and that manufacturing is in a sustainable recovery mode," ISM said. Pending home sales rose for the eighth straight month, the longest streak on record, with NRA's index gaining 6.1% (vs. +0.7% consensus) to 110.1. The index is now at its highest since Dec. 2006. And construction spending (.pdf) rose 0.8% (vs. -0.3% consensus) to an annual $940B, though the gain was offset by a large downward revision to August's number.
• Pensions bulge while market caps shrink. Pensions rose an average of 19% for top executives in 2008, even as their companies' stock prices fell by 37% amid a global downturn, according to an analysis of SEC filings. The growth was largely due to arcane pension formulas that have received little scrutiny.

Earnings: Tue. Before Open

• Alpha Natural Resources (ANR): Q3 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $729M (+5.9%) in-line. Shares -0.9% premarket. (PR)
• American Tower (AMT): Q3 EPS of $0.17 in-line. Revenue of $444M (+8.5%) vs. $430M. (PR)
• AmerisourceBergen (ABC): FQ4 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $18.27B (+9.7%) vs. $18.06B. Shares +5.5% premarket. (PR)
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): FQ1 EPS of $0.77 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $14.9B (-29.5%) vs. $17.9B. Shares +0.1% premarket. (PR)
• Cameron International (CAM): Q3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.23B (-18.1%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
• Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH): Q3 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $853M (+16.2%) vs. $806M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.45 vs. $0.42 and revenue of at least $880M vs. $830M. Shares +6.9% premarket. (PR)
• Emerson Electric Company (EMR): FQ4 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $5.32B (-20.5%) in-line. Sees 2010 revenue of $19.45-19.87B vs. $20.21B. "We are well positioned for economic recovery, but the shape and speed of the recovery remains unknown and we expect weakness to continue in the near-term." Shares -1% premarket. (PR)
• Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD): Q3 EPS of $0.27 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $1.04B (-33.7%) in-line. "There certainly were significant challenges during the latter part of this quarter as both air and ocean carriers imposed capacity reductions in order to implement very aggressive price increases. While we wouldn't call it 'The Perfect Freight Storm,' the rapidity of these carrier moves created a pricing environment that resulted in our experiencing single digit airfreight yields out of Asia during the first several weeks of September. Ocean yields were also significantly impacted." (PR)
• Frontier Communications (FTR): Q3 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $527B (-5.6%) in-line. Shares -0.3% premarket. (PR)
• Gaylord Entertainment (GET): Q3 EPS of -$0.32 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $199M (-12.2%) vs. $202M. (PR)
• IntercontinentalExchange (ICE): Q3 EPS of $1.18 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $256M (+27.3%) in-line. Shares +0.2% premarket. (PR)
• Marathon Oil (MRO): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $14.48B (-37.9%) vs. $13.7B. Shares +1.3% premarket. (PR)
• Marvel Entertainment (MVL): Q3 EPS of $0.26 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $106M (-42.1%) vs. $92.5M. Disney (DIS) is due to acquire Marvel by year-end. (PR)
• MasterCard (MA): Q3 EPS of $3.48 beats by $0.54. Revenue of $1.36B (+1.9%) in-line. Gross dollar volume +0.3%. Purchase volume +0.4%. Shares +3.3% premarket. (PR)
• Medco Health Solutions (MHS): Q3 EPS of $0.75 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $14.79B (+17.8%) in-line. Shares +2.5% premarket. (PR)
• Northgate Minerals (NXG): Q3 EPS of $0.03 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $120M. (PR)
• Oshkosh Truck (OSK): FQ4 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $1.49B (-19.8%) vs. $1.4B. "We expect to be solidly profitable in fiscal 2010, led by significant revenue growth in our defense business, which should more than offset anticipated low demand at our construction-related businesses." Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)
• Petroquest Energy (PQ): Q3 EPS of $0.07 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $50.3M (-35.8%) vs. $52.2M. Shares -6.5% premarket. (PR)
• Polo Ralph Lauren (RL): FQ2 EPS of $1.75 beats by $0.44. Revenue of $1.37B (-3.8%) vs. $1.31B. "We are raising our sales expectations for the remainder of the year, but we continue to be cautious with our outlook and are planning accordingly." Shares +2.7% premarket. (PR)
• Rockwell Collins (COL): FQ4 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.19B (-7%) in-line. Shares -2.7% premarket. (PR)
• Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL): Q3 EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.8B (-14.5%) in-line. Sees "a slight loss" in Q4 vs. consensus of +$0.04. "Like many other travel companies, we saw more strength than we expected during our peak season but have been experiencing more pricing pressure on some of our traditionally softer fall season sailings." Shares -3.2% premarket. (PR)
• St. Joe Company (JOE): Q3 EPS of -$0.08 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $43.2M (+30.1%) vs. $28.9M. (PR)
• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA): Q3 EPS of $0.89 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $3.55B (-7.6%) vs. $3.63B. Shares -2% premarket. (PR)
• Viacom (VIA): Q3 EPS of $0.69 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $3.32B (-2.7%) in-line. Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
• Vornado (VNO): Q3 FFO of $1.25 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $671M (-0.7%) vs. $637M. Shares -0.5% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Mon. After Close

• Anadarko (APC): Q3 EPS ex-items of $0.40 may not compare to estimate of -$0.33. Gains that may affect comparability, including reversed accrual and unrealized derivatives loss, of $0.51/share. Revenue of $2.7B (-55%) vs. $2B. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
• Avis Budget Group (CAR): Q3 EPS of $0.54 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.5B (-14%) vs. $1.6B. Shares +6.5% AH. (PR)
• Axis Capital (AXS): Q3 EPS of $1.05 beats by $0.33. Revenue of $452M (-29%) vs. $581M. (PR)
• Chesapeake Energy (CHK): Q3 EPS of $0.70 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.8B (-76%) vs. $2B. Shares -1.1% AH. (PR)
• Forest Oil (FST): Q3 EPS of $0.48 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $177M (-50%) vs. $252M. Shares -1.8% AH. (PR)
• Hecla Mining (HL): Q3 EPS of $0.09 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $95.2M (+39%) vs. $68.7M. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
• Kinross Gold (KGC): Q3 EPS of $0.00 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $582M (+16%) vs. $578M. Shares +0.4% AH. (PR)
• MannKind (MNKD): Q3 EPS of -$0.42 beats by $0.06, on no revenues. "While we continue to be fully engaged in the task of navigating our NDA through the FDA review process, we are continuing to run additional studies of AFRESA." Shares +4.5% AH. (PR)
• Republic Services (RSG): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $2.07B (+149%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.46-1.48 vs. $1.46. Shares -0.2% AH. (PR)
• Principal Financial Group (PFG): Q3 EPS of $0.74 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $2.3B (-9%) vs. $2.5B. Shares +2.4% AH. (PR)
• St. Mary Land (SM): Q3 EPS of $0.23 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $186M (-43%) vs. $187M. (PR)

Today's Markets

China was the lone gainer on an otherwise dismal Tuesday in Asia. Europe shares are getting pummeled. Stock futures are under severe pressure. Treasurys and the dollar are up strongly.

The video clips below provide a handy summary of the reports expected on the economic, financial and corporate front around the globe during the week ahead.

US: Employment, autos, rates

• Economy surges back to growth. Stocks logged their best one-day gain in three months on Thursday after the U.S. economy returned to growth in Q3. The government's first estimate of GDP showed the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.5%, the first growth quarter in more than a year, and well ahead of Street estimates of 3%, sending Treasury prices and the dollar lower as traders exited safe havens. As recently as last week economists had called for a 3.3% gain, but they pared their estimates in the past couple days after week durable goods sales data came up short. "The economy has emerged with gusto from the deepest recession since WWII," one economist said. "The short-term prospects for the economy remain good."
• Private sector must lead the way - Geithner. The return to GDP growth is encouraging but the recovery is still fragile, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at a Q&A session Thursday evening following yesterday's Q3 GDP announcement. "The number today was really encouraging... it was broad and strong and it wasn't just cash-for-clunkers and it wasn't just economic stimulus... but it's important to remember that it's very early," he said. Geithner stressed that a robust recovery would have to be led by the private sector, saying the U.S. can't borrow-and-spend its way to health.
• Repsol strikes again. Repsol (REP), long derided as the oil company with no oil, will today announce a "fairly sizeable" discovery in the Gulf of Mexico's Shenzi field that it says will help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Today's discovery comes on top of big finds in Brazil and West Africa, and leaves Repsol with the unexpected challenge of developing a sudden surge in oil and gas resources. "We've had some success in exploration," CEO Antonio Brufau said.
• CIT, Goldman adjust $3B credit line. CIT Group (CIT) reached an agreement with Goldman Sachs (GS) to amend a $3B loan facility, ending their dispute over a $1B "make whole" payment CIT would have owed Goldman if it files for bankruptcy. Goldman will reduce the loan size to $2.13B, wiping out the unused portion of the facility, for which CIT will pay Goldman a $285M penalty, and post an additional $250M of collateral. The announcement, made in an 8-K filing, comes two days after CIT raised an additional $4.5B to bolster its restructuring.
• Rio Tinto doubles capex. A confident Rio Tinto (RTP) doubled its planned 2010 capital spend to at least $5B after it cut debt and saw signs of economic recovery. Rio had planned to cut capex to $2.5B - just enough to sustain current mines. "We will continue our program of cost reduction and debt repayments, but our renewed strength enables us to focus on disciplined capital expenditure on premier growth options," CEO Tom Albanese said. Rio, the world's #3 mining group, said it had cut its debt by 42% so far this year to $22.3B. (statement)
• EDF/Constellation deal at risk. State-owned nuclear power operator EDF is facing pressure from the French government to abandon its $4.5B deal to buy 49.9% of Constellation Energy Group's (CEG) nuclear assets and build four reactors with the U.S. company. "For us, the priority strategy for EDF is indeed in Europe, notably the U.K. and Italy, and everything outside Europe is less essential to EDF's expansion," an unnamed government official said.
• Credit crunch continues. Loan defaults by small and medium-sized U.S. businesses rose in September to 0.85% from 0.81% in August, according to risk management firm PayNet, but accounts in moderate (30 days plus) and severe (90 days plus) delinquency decreased to 4.22% (from 4.35%) and 1.4% (from 1.48%) respectively, the lowest since January. PayNet's Small Business Lending Index, which measures the volume of financing, is down 22% from a year ago, a sign lenders remain reluctant to extend credit to small and medium-sized businesses. "It's hard to imagine a robust recovery when you see numbers like this," PayNet founder Bill Phelan said.
• BoJ holds steady. The Bank of Japan left its key rate unchanged at 0.1%, but said it would discontinue its corporate bond and commercial paper purchase program at the end of December, as scheduled - "given that issuing conditions in the CP and corporate bond markets have been improving markedly, and thus the purpose of the purchases to restore market functioning has been achieved." Still, the BoJ stressed that this doesn't signal the beginning of its exit strategy, and extended its special lending facility to provide three-month funds at 0.1% until the end of March. Remarking on the decision to scrap its corporate funding support, Japan's PM Yukio Hatoyama remarked that it's hard to be as optimistic as the BoJ. (statement)
• House Energy and Commerce Committee OKs consumer agency. A second House panel voted Thursday to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee mortgages, credit cards and other financial products, with a full House vote expected in November. The House bill falls short of the administration's original proposal, exempting auto dealers, credit, mortgage and title insurers and banks with less than $10B in assets, among others - exceptions some worry will weaken the agency's power.
• Sands gets OK for $2-3B IPO. Sources say Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has received approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange for a $2-3B IPO of its Macau unit. Sands will kick off pre-marketing next week, and launch its roadshow on Nov. 9, with a trading debut set for the end of November. Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup (C) and UBS (UBS) are coordinating. LVS rose 12% Thursday after posting a surprise Q3 profit; shares are up another 12% premarket.
• Junk bond rally becomes self-fulfilling. Demand for junk bonds hit record highs last week, with investors pouring another $207M into junk bond funds, pushing YTD inflows to a record $27.8B. Junk bond indexes are up more than 50% YTD, as investors become more comfortable with risk. The growing cash flow enables shaky companies to head off default - adding more fuel to the rally.
• AIG won't sell Japan units. AIG (AIG) says it will not sell its two Japanese insurers, AIG Edison Life Insurance and AIG Star Life Insurance, reversing its decision from a year ago at the height of the crisis. AIG said in a statement it now believes it would improve its corporate value to keep the two Japanese units, which have a very firm financial base and strong sales network.
• Energy IPO runs out of steam. Former Enron unit AEI, which operates power and gas distribution lines in Latin America, canceled its IPO Thursday hours after it slashed the size of the deal by two-thirds in the face of weak demand. The IPO, managed by Goldman Sachs (GS), Credit Suisse (CS), Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan (JPM), is the first U.S.-listed IPO this year to be withdrawn after an attempt to price the offering. AEI faulted market conditions for the withdrawal, but analysts say its debt load, risk exposure and expected payout to its private-equity owners also raised concerns.
• ChiNext soars on debut. China's Nasdaq-lookalike ChiNext stock market launched trading Friday with strong gains. An initial 28 companies listed, and shares gained 46-123% from their IPO prices, in line with expectations. The listees priced their IPOs at a hefty 56x 2008 earnings.

Earnings: Fri. Before Open

• Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): Q3 net loss of €182M vs. -€174.4M consensus. Sales of €3.69B (-9.3%) vs. €3.88B consensus. Says it has achieved 80% of its goal to reduce annual expenses by €750M. Shares -2.9% premarket. (PR)
• Ameren (AEE): Q3 EPS of $1.16 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $1.82B (-11.9%) vs. $2.1B. (PR)
• American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL): Q3 EPS of -$0.18 beats by $0.20. Revenue of $410M (-22.4%) vs. $420M. Shares -1.4% premarket. (PR)
• Aon (AOC): Q3 EPS of $0.65 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $1.81B (-2.1%) in-line. (PR)
• Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIV): Q3 FFO of -$0.35 in-line. Revenue of $319M (-7.3%) vs. $313M. (PR)
• Arch Coal (ACI): Q3 EPS of $0.16 beats by $0.12. Revenue of $615M (-20.1%) vs. $605M. Shares +3.9% premarket. (PR)
• Chevron (CVX): Q3 EPS of $1.72 beats by $0.25. Revenue of $46.63B (-40.9%) vs. $47.84B. "In our downstream operations, we continued to experience weak margins on the sale of gasoline and other refined products. Weak demand and plentiful supply affected all our major markets." Shares +0.7% premarket. (PR)
• CMS Energy (CMS): Q3 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.02. (PR)
• Constellation Energy Group (CEG): Q3 EPS of $1.23 beats by $0.16. Revenue of $4.03B vs. $4.48B. Sees full-year EPS of $3.25-3.45 vs. consensus of $3.10. (PR)
• Coventry Health Care (CVH): Q3 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.14. Revenue of $3.44B (+17.7%) in-line. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
• Cummins (CMI): Q3 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $2.53B (-31.5%) in-line. “While we saw improvement in some markets in the third quarter, we expect the economic climate to remain challenging until late 2010 - especially in the U.S. and Europe.” (PR)
• Dominion Resources (D): Q3 EPS of $0.99 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $3.65B (-16.4%) vs. $3.94B. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.55-0.65 vs. $0.67. (PR)
• Duke Energy (DUK): Q3 EPS of $0.40 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $3.4B (-3.2%) vs. $3.8B. "Industrial sales volumes continued to show signs of stabilization." (PR)
• Estee Lauder (EL): FQ1 EPS of $0.85 beats by $0.51. Revenue of $1.83B (-3.7%) in-line. Shares +4.5% premarket. (PR)
• ITT Industries (ITT): Q3 EPS of $1.03 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $2.7B (-6.3%) in-line. (PR)
• NYSE Euronext (NYX): Q3 EPS of $0.53 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.05B (-9.6%) in-line. Announces equity investment in its U.S. futures exchange by Citadel, GETCO, Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and UBS (UBS), with NYX to remain largest shareholder. (PR I, II)
• Penske Auto Group (PAG): Q3 EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.59B (-12.9%) in-line. Shares (PR)
• Progress Energy (PGN): Q3 EPS of $1.22 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $2.82B (+4.7%) in-line. (PR)
• Regency Centers (REG): Q3 FFO of $0.69 in-line. (PR)
• Simon Property Group (SPG): Q3 FFO of $1.38 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $925M (-1.1%) vs. $892M. Shares -0.4% premarket. (PR)
• Sony (SNE): FQ2 net loss of ¥26.3B ($287.5M) vs. consensus of -¥40.4B. Revenue of ¥1.66T (-20%). Sees full-year net loss of ¥95B, up from a previous forecast of -¥120B and -¥98.9B last year. Sees sales -5.6%, unchanged. (PR)
• Tim Hortons (THI): Q3 EPS of C$0.34 misses by C$0.12. Revenue of C$564M (+10.7%) vs. C$552M. (PR)
• Ultra Petroleum (UPL): Q3 EPS of $0.57 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $155M (-47.8%) vs. $239M. (PR)
• Weyerhaeuser (WY): Q3 EPS of -$0.26 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $1.41B (-33.2%) in-line. (PR)

Earnings: Thur. After Close

• AllianceBernstein (AB): Q3 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.22. Revenue of $806M (-5%) vs. $737M. AUM down 16% Y/Y to $498B. Shares +3.8% AH. (PR)
• Bally Technologies (BYI): FQ1 EPS of $0.53 in-line. Revenue of $197M (-17%) vs. $206M. Shares +0.6% AH. (PR)
• BMC Software (BMC): FQ2 EPS of $0.66 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $462M (-1%) vs. $463M. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $2.55-2.65 vs. $2.51. Shares +1.8% AH. (PR)
• Callaway Golf Company (ELY): Q3 EPS of -$0.25 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $191M (-11%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of -$0.30 to -$0.35, vs. -$0.21. (PR)
• Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF): Q3 EPS of $0.45 may not compare to estimate of -$0.07. Revenue of $666M (-44%) vs. $535M. Shares +4.5% AH. (PR)
• DTE Energy Company (DTE): Q3 EPS of $0.96 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $2B (-16%) vs. $2.1B. Sees full-year EPS of $2.75-3.05 vs. $3.19. Shares -7.7% AH. (PR)
• Eldorado Gold (EGO): Q3 EPS of $0.08 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $82M (-20.3%) vs. $85M. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
• Genworth Financial (GNW): Q3 net income available to common shareholders of $0.04 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $2.4B (+10%) vs. $2.5B. Shares +9.7% AH. (PR)
• Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ): Q3 EPS of $0.15 misses by $0.09. Revenue of $2B (-16%) in-line. Raises full-year EPS guidance to $0.21-0.23 from $0.12-0.15, vs. $0.20. Shares +2.9% AH. (PR)
• Human Genome Sciences (HGSI): Q3 EPS of -$0.32 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $19M (+61%) vs. $24M. Shares +0.9% AH. (PR)
• Ingram Micro (IM): Q3 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $7.4B (-11%) vs. $6.7B. Shares +2.4% AH. (PR)
• KLA-Tencor (KLAC): FQ1 EPS of $0.15 beats by $0.13. Revenue of $343M (-36%) vs. $332M. Shares +0.8% AH. (PR)
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS): Q3 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $1.1B (+3%) in-line. Shares +8.4% AH. (PR)
• Manitowoc (MTW): Q3 EPS of -$0.04 misses by $0.12. Revenue of $882M (-20%) vs. $934M. Shares -7.2% AH. (PR)
• Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM): FQ1 EPS of $0.13 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $449M (-12%) vs. $438M. Shares -4% AH. (PR)
• McAfee (MFE): Q3 EPS of $0.62 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $485M (+19%) vs. $487M. Shares -5.8% AH. (PR)
• MetLife (MET): Q3 EPS of $0.87 in-line. Revenue of $12.4B (-1%) vs. $12.3B. Shares -2.3% AH. (PR)
• Mohawk Industries (MHK): Q3 EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $1.4B (-22%) in-line. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.28-0.38 vs. $0.45. Shares -5.3% AH. (PR)
• PEPCO Holdings (POM): Q3 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.5B (-17%) vs. $2.9B. (PR)
• PerkinElmer (PKI): Q3 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $437M (-9%) vs. $430M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.23-1.26 vs. $1.22. (PR)
• RealNetworks (RNWK): Q3 EPS of $0.00 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $140M (-8%) vs. $141M. (PR)
• Regal Entertainment Group (RGC): Q3 EPS of $0.05 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $674M (-11%) vs. $702M. Shares +0.3% AH. (PR)
• SBA Communications (SBAC): Q3 EPS of -$0.43 misses by $0.17. Revenue of $139M (+17%) in-line. Sees 2010 sales of $512M-532M vs. $604M. Shares -1.3% AH. (PR)
• Southwestern Energy Company (SWN): Q3 EPS of $0.34 in-line. Revenue of $503M (-26%) vs. $387M. Shares +0.2% AH. (PR)
• Standard Pacific (SPF): Q3 EPS of -$0.01 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $327M (-18%) vs. $285M. Shares +3.4% AH. (PR)
• Varian Medical Systems (VAR): FQ4 EPS of $0.78 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $642M (+8%) vs. $593M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.52-0.56 vs. $0.60, and full-year EPS of $2.65-2.75 vs. $2.61. Shares -2.3% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Overseas markets were mixed Friday, with strong gains in Japan and China, but some weakness in Europe early on. Futures have moved lower overnight.

• Goldman defends dark pools, status quo. In a letter to the SEC (.pdf), Goldman Sachs (GS) dispelled five common myths about so-called 'dark pool' anonymous trading exchanges, saying the venues benefit both institutional and retail traders by reducing transaction costs and increasing competition. The rest of the 56-page document - which summarizes a Sept. 24 SEC/Goldman gettogether - sheds light on industry practices of short selling, high-frequency trading, flash trading and naked access, which have come under varying levels of criticism in recent months.
• India begins exit. With inflation pressures building, the Reserve Bank of India took the first step toward withdrawing its record fiscal stimulus by ordering lenders to keep more cash in government bonds. "It may be appropriate to sequence the 'exit' in a calibrated way," governor Duvvuri Subbarao said today after boosting the liquidity ratio to 25% from 24%. BofI kept its benchmark rates unchanged, and maintained its 6% GDP growth forecast. "We will start to see G-20 economies exiting now, starting with the emerging ones and then the advanced countries," economist Mridul Saggar said. India's BSE Sensex was down 2.3% amid a broad Asia pullback. (ETF: INP)
• New IRS group targets ultra-rich. A new IRS unit will target the ultra-wealthy by helping decode partnerships, offshore trusts and other complex techniques used to hide earnings. Speaking to an accountants' trade group Monday, IRS commissioner Doug Shulman said the new Global High Wealth Industry group will begin its first audits next month, honing in on individuals with assets or income in the tens of millions - for whom, he said, you cannot assess compliance "by looking only at their 1040s."
• Gross sees weaker U.S., pressure on Treasurys. Influential bond manager Bill Gross warned Monday that an end to the Fed's debt buyback schemes could add selling pressure to several credit markets, including U.S. Treasurys. Gross also said he believes emerging economies will grow faster than the U.S.: "The emerging world, whether it's in Asia, Australia or other associated countries, will do much better from the standpoint of growth, and that's where money should eventually move to. It moves there because of higher profits and it moves there actually because of higher real interest rates."
• China predicts more growth ahead. China reported a 190% jump in overseas investment (to $20.5B in Q3), and forecast industrial production would rise 16% in Q4 after a 13.9% gain in Q3. Analysts say Beijing may be encouraging Chinese companies to invest abroad to ease upward pressure on the yen. Last week, China reported an 8.9% gain in Q3 GDP, leading to speculation about an imminent exit from its super-loose monetary stance. This morning, Morgan Stanley's Stephen Roach said investors are wrong to bet on China reining things in: "The Chinese really are fixated on one thing and one thing alone which is social stability - they don’t want to take a risk of another negative growth surprise." (ETFs: FXI, PGJ)
• Japan's Fujii criticizes BOJ. Japan's finance minister lashed out at its central bank Tuesday, calling its view of the economy too rosy and narrowly informed. "The BOJ has repeatedly said the economy is getting better, but they are dealing with different people," Hirohisa Fujii said at a meeting. The BOJ has a developed a reputation of allowing its jawboning to push it to act in a contrary way just to demonstrate its independence. (ETF: EWJ)
• UBS hires McCann to rebuild Americas unit. UBS (UBS) named Robert McCann - former chief of Merrill Lynch's brokerage unit - to head its Americas wealth management businesses. UBS has been hurt by a tax dispute with the U.S. government, not to mention bad bets on auction-rate securities, writedowns, and capital outflows. McCann dispelled rumors the unit may be up for sale: "I had to go to court against two of my former employers to be able to work with UBS. I would have not done that if the whole goal was to sell the company." Analysts say the unit remains 'strategically challenged,' and are skeptical a new helmsman can combat the negative implications of UBS's loss of its status as banker to the ultra-secretive.
• Utex leads bidders for GE Security. Sources say United Technologies (UTX) has emerged as the frontrunner for GE's (GE) fire alarm and surveillance systems unit, which it put on the block earlier this year. A deal would bolster United's strategy of locking in revenue streams by offering multi-year service contracts for equipment and systems in commercial buildings. GE is thought to want about $2B for the unit.
• EU approves Pepsi bottlers merger. PepsiCo (PEP) received the European Commission's blessings for its $7.8B deal to buy Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) Tuesday, despite some overlap in their businesses. "The proposed transaction would not significantly change the market structure. Consequently, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns," it said.
• Europe lending dries up. Euro zone private-sector loans fell 0.3% from a year ago, the first contraction on record, but economists said a slight rise in month-over-month lending was a sign credit in the area was slowly beginning to flow again. "The year-on-year fall is going to catch everyone's imaginations, but that's a lagging indicator of what's been going on," Fortis's Nick Kounis said. Loans to households rose by €14B from August, the fifth sequential increase.
• Data point to bumpy recovery. Regional reports Monday suggested the economy is approaching levels associated with the end of recession, but isn't exactly surging to new highs. Chicago Fed's national activity index (.pdf) fell to -0.81 from -0.65 in August, with production/income making the only positive contribution. Still, the index's three-month moving average makes quite a strong case for a V-shaped recovery. Dallas Fed said Texas-area factory activity declined, and its production index moved into negative ground after leveling the month before. The Chicago Fed's manufacturing index (.pdf) rose 1% to 82.3, but remains 15.7% lower than a year ago.

Earnings: Tue. Before Open

• ACGO Corp. (AGCO): Q3 EPS of $0.13 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $1.4B (-32.7%) in-line. (PR)
• AK Steel (AKS): Q3 EPS of $0.06 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $1.04B (-51.7%) in-line. Shares +1.1% premarket. (PR)
• Avery Dennison (AVY): Q3 EPS of $0.82 beats by $0.25. Revenue of $1.55B (-10.2%) vs. $1.47B. "While the rate of volume decline in the third quarter improved compared with the first half of the year, this was largely due to a slowdown in inventory reductions. Our end-markets remain soft, and we continue to be cautious about the pace of their recovery." (PR)
• BE Aerospace (BEAV): Q3 EPS of $0.36 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $460M (-21.8%) in-line. Expects a substantial increase in earnings and revenue in 2011. (PR)
• Boyd Gaming (BYD): Q3 EPS of $0.09 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $398M (-6.6%) vs. $411M. "While visitation levels remained fairly constant, spend per visitor continues to be down significantly year-over-year, as consumers are still being cautious with their spending." (PR)
• BP (BP): Q3 earnings of $4.67B (-47%) vs. consensus of $3.25B. Sees 2009 costs down by $4B vs. a previous $3B. Total production +6.9%. Shares +5% premarket. (PR)
• Canadian Pacific Railway (CP): Q3 EPS of $0.85 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $1.09B (-14%) in-line. (PR)
• Celanese (CE): Q3 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.15. Revenue of $1.3B (-28.5%) in-line. (PR)
• CommScope (CTV): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $750M (-29.4%) vs. $784M. (PR)
• Convergys (CVG): Q3 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $765M (+13.2%) vs. $653M. (PR)
• Corn Products International (CPO): Q3 EPS of $0.70 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $971M (-10.5%) vs. $983M. (PR)
• EarthLink (ELNK): Q3 EPS of $0.28 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $174M (-24.4%) in-line. Net subscriber losses of 146K, down from 149K in Q2 and 275K a year ago. Shares +3.8% premarket. (PR)
• Del Monte (FDP): Q3 EPS of $0.61 beats by $0.24. Revenue of $766M vs. $819M. (PR)
• FirstEnergy (FE): Q3 EPS of $1.11 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $3.4B (-12.8%) vs. $2.96B. (PR)
• FPL Group (FPL): Q3 EPS of $1.38 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $4.47B vs. $4.96B. Shares -3.1% premarket. (PR)
• Honda (HMC): FQ2 profit of ¥54B (-56%) beats consensus by ¥11B. U.S. vehicle sales -25% to 300K. Sees full-year net income of ¥155B, almost triple its previous forecast, and global sales of 3.4M, up 3.2%. (Bloomberg)
• Hospira (HSP): Q3 EPS of $0.90 beats by $0.21. Revenue of $1.01B (+8.9%) vs. $0.94B. Shares +3.7% premarket. (PR)
• IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI): Q3 EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.21. Revenue of $337M (-8.9%) in-line. Shares +1.3% premarket. (PR)
• Iconix Brand Group (ICON): Q3 EPS of $0.31 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $59.4M (+7.7%) vs. $53.9M. Shares -1.3% premarket. (PR)
• Johnson Controls (JCI): FQ4 EPS of $0.52 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $7.87B (-15.5%) in-line. (PR)
• L-3 Communications (LLL): Q3 EPS of $2.12 beats by $0.27. Revenue of $3.84B (+4.9%) in-line. (PR)
• Life Technologies (LIFE): Q3 EPS of $0.73 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $805M (+2.7%) vs. $791M. Shares +4.1% premarket. (PR)
• Sonic Automotive (SAH): Q3 EPS of $0.21 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $1.52B (-5.9%) in-line. (PR)
• TD Ameritrade (AMTD): Q3 EPS of $0.26 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $658M (+1.3%) vs. $630M. Avg. client trades +35% to 411K/day. Used 70% of net income to buy back shares at average of $11.94/share. Shares +1.4% premarket. (PR)
• Textron (TXT): Q3 EPS of $0.12 vs. consensus of -$0.03. Revenue of $2.55B (-26.6%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $0.33-0.63 vs. consensus of -$0.06. (PR)
• Under Armour (UA): Q3 EPS of $0.52 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $270M (+16.2%) vs. $250M. Shares +1.6% premarket. (PR)
• United States Steel (X): Q3 EPS of -$2.11 beats by $0.76. Revenue of $2.82B (-61.5%) vs. $2.72B. Shipment volumes and operating rates increased significantly from the very low levels of Q2. Remains cautious in its outlook for end-user demand, as customer order rates have decreased from Q3. Shares +4.4% premarket. (PR)
• Valero (VLO): Q3 EPS of -$0.39 misses by $0.06. Revenue of $19.5B (-45.8%) vs. $18.8B. Refining margins continued to suffer from a combination of weak demand for refined products and high inventories. Shares +0.6% premarket. (PR)
• Wynn Resorts (WYNN): Q3 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.18. Revenue of $773M vs. $743M. Shares +1.9% premarket. (PR)

Earnings: Mon. After Close

• Arris Group (ARRS): Q3 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $276M (-7%) vs. $274M. Shares +0.7% AH. (PR)
• Baidu.com (BIDU): Q3 EPS of $2.16 beats by $0.35. Revenue of $187M (+39%) vs. $188M. Sees Q4 revenue of $174M-180M vs. $203M. Shares -13.1% AH. (PR)
• Cabot Oil & Gas (COG): Q3 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $207M (-15%) vs. $205M. (PR)
• DryShips (DRYS): Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $228M (-30%) vs. $210M. Shares -0.3% AH. (PR)
• Flextronics International (FLEX): FQ2 EPS of $0.13 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $5.8B (+1%) in-line. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.14-0.16 vs. $0.13. Shares +2.7% AH. (PR)
• Health Management Associates (HMA): Q3 EPS of $0.10 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $1.1B (+6%) in-line. Shares -1.1% AH. (PR)
• Masco (MAS): Q3 EPS of $0.08 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $2.1B (-17%) vs. $2B. Sees full-year adjusted EPS of $0.12-0.22 vs. $0.07. Shares -0.1% AH. (PR)
• Plum Creek Timber (PCL): Q3 EPS of $0.12 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $294M (-29%) vs. $274M. Sees Q4 EPS of $0.12-0.17 vs. $0.12, and full-year EPS of $1.39-1.44 vs. $1.35. Shares +0.6% AH. (PR)
• SL Green Realty (SLG): Q3 EPS of $0.98 in-line. Revenue of $250M (-7%) vs. $224M. (PR)
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX): Q3 EPS of -$0.71 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $25M (-21%) vs. $30M. (PR)
• VF Corp. (VFC): Q3 EPS of $1.94 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $2B (-5%) in-line. Shares -7% AH. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asia's markets dropped strongly on Tuesday, but Europe is above breakeven at midday, and futures are flat after a U.S. pullback Monday.

• ING drops on spin-off, rights issue. Dutch financial services company ING Group (ING) said Monday it will raise up to €7.5B ($11.3B) in a share issue, and split up its insurance and banking businesses, after reaching a deal to repay the government half of its €10B bailout loan ahead of schedule. ING has until the end of January to repurchase government-owned shares, and will launch the share issue on Nov. 25. "We appreciate the ongoing support of the Dutch state," CEO Jan Hommen said, "but fully recognize that it is in the best interest of all parties that we get back on our own feet as quickly as possible." Shares -8.1% premarket.
• Peltz takes a foothold in Legg Mason. Legg Mason (LM) will name activist investor Nelson Peltz to its board after he quietly accumulated a 4.3% stake; in exchange for the board seat, Peltz's Trian will agree to accumulate no more than 9.9% of the company over the next two years, and will vote its share in favor of the company's slate of nominees during that period. "We welcome Nelson," Legg CEO Mark Fetting said in a statement. "We look forward to benefiting from his insights and experience as we work together to build greater value for our clients and our shareholders." Peltz prefers to think of himself as a 'constructivist investor,' though he is known to pepper management with 'idea' phone calls and emails at late hours and on weekends.
• BofA's TARP exit hits snag. Sources say Bank of America's (BAC) plans to repay its TARP loans have fallen into question due to a dispute over how much more capital it needs to raise in order to exit government oversight. Having raised $40B in new equity since May, BofA thinks it's ready to return the government's $45B investment. But some officials say it should be required to raise more than the $40B determined by government stress tests, to give it the ability to deal with any potential economic relapses. Until it exits government assistance, BofA remains bound by pay czar Kenneth Feinberg's compensation limitations, which bank executives fear will hamper its abilities to recruit talent.
• NABE survey offers cheery outlook. U.S. companies expect to hire and invest more over the next six months, according to a survey released this morning by the National Association for Business Economics, and for the first time in a year more businesses reported a rise in capital spending over the previous quarter than a decline. All 78 panelists said business decisions are being made with expectations of positive GDP growth in 2010; of those, 73% see real GDP expanding 1-3%. The survey "provides new evidence that the U.S. recovery is underway," Chicago Fed's William Strauss said. "Improving credit conditions might be part of the explanation, with respondents indicating that credit remains tight but less so than earlier in the year."
• Capmark goes under. Not unexpectedly, troubled commercial real estate lender Capmark filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, wiping out the private-equity investments of KKR, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Five Mile Capital, which bought 75.4% of Capmark for $1.5B in cash and more than $7B in debt in 2006; GMAC owns the remainder. Capmark is negotiating the terms of the bankruptcy with its creditors, including Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan (JPM), but they have not yet reached an agreement over a prepackaged bankruptcy. U.S. banks hold more than $1T worth of mortgages backed by commercial property, on which analysts predict they could suffer losses in the neighborhood of $150B. Bad commercial property debts have played a pivotal role in the demise of many of the 106 banks that have failed so far this year.
• FDA OKs BioCryst's swine flu drug. The FDA approved emergency use of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' (BCRX) experimental intravenous antiviral drug peramivir to treat severe cases of H1N1. "Based upon the totality of scientific evidence available, it is reasonable to believe that peramivir IV may be effective in certain patients," it said in a letter. The authorization is only for hospitalized patients who are not responding to either oral or inhaled antiviral treatments, or for whom nonintravenous drug delivery is not feasible.
• China: undertones of an exit. China's economic growth is likely to speed up this quarter, but the government will stay the course with its loose fiscal policy, senior officials said today. Still, analysts say the "unmistakable shift" in official statements signal Beijing is starting to think about how to unwind its pro-growth policies. China set itself a goal of 8% GDP growth this year, which officials say it's on track to fulfill.
• Lloyds eyes outsourcer CPA Global. Lloyds' (LYG) private-equity arm LDC is reportedly in talks to acquire legal outsourcing company CPA Global for £400M ($652M). Lloyds is stepping up its buyout activity, aiming to become a dominant player in Britain's dwindling private-equity deal market.
• Blackstone hopes for magic from Merlin. Looking to take advantage of buoyant equity markets, Blackstone (BX) is reportedly preparing to float its theme park operator Merlin Entertainments next year. Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Deutsche Bank (DB), UBS (UBS) and Nomura (NMR) are advising on what could be a $3.3B IPO. Merlin - which owns the London Eye, Madame Tussauds and the Sea Life centers - is the world's number-two park operator, after Disney (DIS).
• Madoff crony found dead. Jeffrey Picower, alleged to have extracted $7.2B from Madoff's Ponzi scheme, was found dead at the bottom of his Palm Beach pool Sunday. Madoff trustee Irving Picard alleges Picower and a group of longtime Madoff investors knew or should have known of the fraud, because they requested and received oversized returns of up to 950% on their investments.

Earnings: Mon. Before Open

• Alberto-Culver (ACV): FQ4 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $358M (-7.2%) vs. $387M. (PR)
• Corning (GLW): Q3 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.48B (-4.9%) vs. $1.42B. (PR)
• Lorillard (LO): Q3 EPS of $1.44 misses by $0.08. Revenue of $1.42B (+26.1%) vs. $1.32B. (PR)
• McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP): Q3 EPS of $1.07 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.88B (-8.4%) vs. $1.94B. Avg. daily volume for major exchange-traded derivatives fell 23.2% from a year ago. (PR)
• National-Oilwell Varco (NOV): Q3 EPS of $0.95 beats by $0.16. Revenue of $3.09B (-14.5%) vs. $2.9B. "While difficult credit market conditions have led to order rates below our expectations so far this year, we continue to pursue new rig opportunities aggressively, and seek and execute strategic internal growth and acquisition opportunities." (PR)
• RadioShack (RSH): Q3 EPS of $0.30 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $990M (-3.1%) vs. $961M. (PR)
• Tellabs (TLAB): Q3 EPS of $0.07 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $389M (-8.3%) vs. $394M. Shares +2.1% premarket. (PR)
• Verizon (VZ): Q3 EPS of $0.60 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $27.27B (+10.2%) in-line. Shares +2.4% premarket. (PR)
• Weingarten Realty Investors (WRI): Q3 FFO of $0.50 misses by $0.04. Revenue of $145M (-6.2%) vs. $143M. Sees full-year FFO of $2.08-2.16 vs. $2.26 consensus. Overall occupancy increased to 91.1% from 90.9% in Q2. "Conditions across most of the existing portfolio appear to be stabilizing as retailers are learning to adapt to current market conditions by managing inventories." (PR)

Today's Markets

Overseas markets were mostly higher Monday.

Cognizant (CTSH) recently announced a definitive agreement to acquire UBS India Service Centre Private Limited for about $75 million. Based in India, UBS ISC is a captive service provider to UBS AG (UBS) and currently employs 2,000 associates.

Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, UBS AG is a global firm providing services to private, corporate and institutional clients. New Jersey-based Cognizant is a leading provider of consulting, technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) services.

• CME weighs its CBOE options. CME Group (CME) - the largest futures market in the world - is reportedly in early talks to fold Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) into its empire. Sources say a deal could be worth up to $5B, or a 50% premium to CBOE’s current worth, and would give CME the biggest share of trading in listed U.S. options – a market growing at lightening speed. Analysts say any deal could still be months off, however, due to issues over how CBOE's membership interests would be divided.
• C'mon, Ben! Barron's magazine's Andrew Bary urged Ben Bernanke to hike interest rates to a "more normal" 2%, or risk fostering another financial bubble. Barron's says with the economy recovering, the dollar falling, and commodities on the rise, keeping rates near zero will only fuel speculation and anger America's economic partners and foreign creditors - and potentially stoke inflation. Bary worries the Fed is failing to distinguish between normal accommodative monetary policy and crisis accommodative policy.
• Earnings rule the day. Markets will be closely watching a fresh battery of earnings this week - including consumer-related companies such as Apple (AAPL), McDonald’s (MCD), Whirlpool (WHR) and Hasbro (HAS) - looking to see just how healthy the consumer is, and by extension the economic recovery. Last week Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), and General Electric (GE) disappointed, reporting heavy consumer-related losses, which stomped out a rally kindled earlier in the week.
• Citigroup might lose Mexican unit. Citigroup (C) could be forced to sell its highly-prized Mexican subsidiary, Banamex. A case being decided by Mexico's Supreme Court this week will rule on whether the Citigroup arm is in breach of Mexican law that bans foreign governments from owning a stake in domestic banks; some claim an earlier ruling allowing the "transitory" stake was unconstitutional. Banamex accounts for about 15% of Citi's global profits, and has an estimated worth of about $20B. Other banks with Mexican operations that could be affected by the ruling include AIG (AIG), Bank of America (BAC) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK).
• Vivendi to GE: pay up. GE (GE) and Vivendi are at odds to the tune of about $500M over what Vivendi should get for its 20% stake in NBC Universal. The sale is critical to a deal that GE has reportedly been negotiating with Comcast (CMCSA). GE, which owns 80% of NBC Universal, and Comcast are in the midst of due diligence. Vivendi wants to be paid at least book value for its stake, or about $6.3B. sources say. If Vivendi and GE reach an agreement, a deal on the Comcast-NBC Universal transaction could come as soon as next month.
• Drug companies to benefit from healthcare bill. Some healthcare industry executives believe drug companies stand to profit more handsomely than insurance companies from the government’s healthcare overhaul, as coverage extends to some 29M more Americans. Senate Democrats meet this week to write the bill they plan to bring to the floor. With a surge in coverage, drug companies, pharmacies and hospitals would be protected from carrying the cost of customers who can’t afford to pay up. In contrast, insurance companies would no longer be able to reject those with pre-existing illnesses – which could prove costly.
• CIT throws sop to bondholders. Hoping to crank up bondholder support for its debt exchange plan, CIT Group (CIT) said late Friday night that it sweetened terms of the proposed deal. Some junior bondholders will get more stock in exchange for their bonds and higher interest on new debt. The pool of eligible exchange participants will also be enlarged. CIT, one of the largest lenders to small and mid-sized companies, is looking to slash its $31B in bonds by at least $5.7B and to extend debt maturities. Bondholders will have to choose between the exchange offer and a possible prepackaged bankruptcy plan.
• Wall Street insider crackdown coming. The arrest of billionaire hedge-fund chief Raj Rajaratnam late last week could be the tip a much larger sting operation about to strike Wall Street, sources say. The Fed crackdown, brewing for two years, targets large institutional investors such as hedge-fund managers, lawyers and other Wall Street players. Rajaratnam's ring, extending to the likes of IBM (IBM) executive Robert Moffat, a close confidant of IBM's CEO, allegedly reaped some $20M in profits from trading on insider information.
• U.S. customers: beware of UBS mail. U.S. clients of Swiss investment bank UBS (UBS) could be nailed for tax evasion simply by opening their mail. UBS is reportedly warning U.S. clients, via registered mail, that their account details are being sent to U.S. tax authorities. This could give U.S. authorities an early leg up in tracing customers on their tax evasion hit list – well before such details are due to be shared under a U.S.-Swiss double taxation agreement – and in potential violation of Swiss secrecy laws, sources say. In August, Switzerland handed over details of 4,450 U.S. accounts at UBS to settle the tax evasion furor.
• Stagecoach gallops to National's rescue. Just days after being abandoned by CVC Capital, Britain's National Express Group said Stagecoach Group has stepped forward with a preliminary all-share bid valued at £1.7B ($2.8B). The U.K. rail operator said it was considering a share sale over the next few weeks to reduce debt after CVC dropped its £765M bid.

Earnings: Mon. Before Open

• BB&T (BBT): Q3 EPS of $0.23 beats by $0.01. Revenue +16.1%. Provision for credit losses almost doubled to $709M. "Our earnings continue to be negatively affected by a significant provision for credit losses and other costs related to the credit environment." Shares -2.1% premarket. (PR)
• Eaton (ETN): Q3 EPS of $1.21 beats by $0.29. Revenue of $3.03B vs. $3.13B. Sees Q4 EPS of $1.15-1.25 vs. $1.06. (PR)
• Hasbro (HAS): Q3 EPS of $0.99 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.28B (-1.8%) in-line. “We believe we can grow revenues in 2009 if our consumer retail takeaway continues to improve in line with recent fourth quarter trends." (PR)
• Weatherford International (WFT): Q3 EPS of $0.13 in-line. Revenue of $2.15B (-15.4%) in-line. North America rig count -52%; international rig count -11%. Shares +1.4% premarket. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asia markets posted strong gains to kick off the week. Europe stocks are higher at midday, and futures look poised to carry solid gains into the open.

The Financial Times has a style of reportage that I would place somewhere between a newswire and The Economist. The reporters are superb, the coverage is excellent, and I happily pay my monthly subscription for online-only access. But because of that same style, the FT all too rarely delivers stories that can deliver memorable analysis and insight. Those sorts of things tend to get shunted into "special reports" and the opinion section.

But occasionally there is an exception, and Sundeep Tucker and Jamil Anderlini penned one in early July entitled "Exiting the Dragon," which chronicled the recent spate of global banks divesting their China financial holdings, putting that activity into the context of the troubles that the global financial industry has faced in trying to build businesses in China.

Between the billions of dollars lost in valuations and the thousands of investors who simply said goodbye to the markets since September last year, nobody is quite sure how much of estimated $7 trillion of privately-held “offshore” wealth still rests in Switzerland. But Swiss banking insiders concede that their country’s claim to controlling 30% of the world’s “hot” money is certainly subject to debate.

And, any further deterioration in Switzerland’s status as a pre-eminent safe haven could seriously impair the profitability outlook for Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), Credit Suisse (CS) and a number of elite private banks in Zurich, Geneva and Lugano.

The 50 biggest banks in the world based on total assets was recently compiled by Global Finance magazine. The number of banks with more than $1 Trillion in assets grew to just 25 from 24 due to the credit crunch last year.

click to enlarge

If charts do not come out well, go here.

Follow-up on my May 14 initial post NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN BANK RANKINGS. I excluded Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) because their bank status is so recent. All data is translated in US$ based on May 14 exchange rates. To facilitate reading the charts, US banks are in blue, Canadian banks in red and European banks in yellow.

UBS AG (UBS) intends to close its relationship with the Swiss government by purchasing its toxic assets back from the bad bank deal and hopes to turnaround by next year. With the recent rebound in the credit markets, the company believes that it could add back its assets to its balance sheets. However, this would not be possible before the second half of 2010.

UBS AG is engaged in a fight with FINMA, Switzerland’s financial independent supervisory authority over its plan to opt out of the bad bank scheme. Under the bad bank scheme, the company incurs hefty charges for protecting against huge losses on toxic assets. However, FINMA has ruled out such possibilities in the midst of the current unstable market. Though the Swiss government sold its 9% stake in UBS last month, around $23.5 billion of UBS assets are there in the government’s bad bank.

4:19 PM, Sep 29, 2009 --

• NYSE down 12.9 (0.2%) to 6,926.82.
• DJIA down 47.16 (0.5%) to 9,742.
• S&P 500 down 2.4 (0.2%) to 1,061.
• Nasdaq down 6.7 (0.3%) to 2,124.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• FDIC to tap banks for $36B. Sources say the FDIC will propose U.S. banks prepay three years of regular assessments to top off its shrunken deposit insurance fund at a meeting this morning to discuss proposals (see calendar below). The move would give the FDIC another $36B (3 times $12B), while banks would not be required to report the expense until the fee was actually due. Bankers have complained upfront fees could weaken banks just as their balance sheets are starting to recover. After the failure of 95 lenders, the fund now stands at about $10.4B. Some worry the FDIC's newfound creativity in fundraising raises red flags about the agency's viability.
• World Bank pres. trash talks dollar. The dollar's days as the unchallenged reserve currency are numbered as the euro and the Chinese renminbi assume bigger roles, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said Monday. Zoellick's speech was unusually provocative, arguing the U.S. and its cronies could no longer dominate the world economy. He also criticized President Obama’s plan to put the Fed in charge of monitoring and reducing systemic risk, arguing the Treasury, which reports to Congress, should be leading the charge: "It will be difficult to vest the independent and powerful technocrats at the Federal Reserve with more authority." (read Zoellick's full speech)
• CNOOC eyes large Nigeria stake. Sources say Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC (CEO) is in talks with Nigeria to buy a large stake in some of Africa's richest oil blocks, at a possible value of $30B. A successful buy would put CNOOC in competition with western oil majors with a strong presence in the area (TOT, RDS.A, CVX, XOM). Industry sources say it's no secret China has an eye on Nigeria, but that the size reported is surprising.
• BofA sued for billions over Merrill. Five pension funds are leading a class-action suit seeking billions of dollars in damages from Bank of America (BAC) over the Merrill Lynch takeover, Ohio AG Richard Cordray said after filing a complaint in Manhattan federal court. The suit also goes personally after BofA CEO Kenneth Lewis, former Merrill chief John Thain, other executives and the board.
• iPhone trio. Vodafone (VOD) announced it will sell Apple's (AAPL) iPhone in the U.K. and Ireland starting early 2010. The announcement comes one day after France Télécom's (FTE) Orange got the go-ahead to sell the iPhone in the U.K., ending O2's (TEF) two-year exclusive contract.
• Flu fever. Amid rising concern about the threat of flu pandemics, three big drugmakers announced deals that give them rights to new flu vaccines, increasing their exposure to one of pharma's brightest, but riskiest, segments. The largest deal was Abbott Laboratories' (ABT) €4.5B acquisition of Belgian conglomerate Solvay's (SVYSY.PK) drug unit, which includes a vaccine-making business. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) paid $441M for an 18% stake in Crucell NV (CRXL) in order to jointly develop vaccines, while Merck (MRK) said it obtained marketing rights to CSL's seasonal flu vaccine for an undisclosed sum. Investors responded warmly to Abbott's move, with shares up 2.6% Monday.
• Heads roll at Sequenom. Shares of Sequenom (SQNM) plunged 45% in after-hours trading after the company fired its CEO, Harry Stylli, and senior VP of R&D, Elizabeth Dragon, and also said it secured the resignation of CFO Paul Hawran, following its internal investigation into the mishandling of test data of its prenatal Down syndrome treatment. The company "failed to put in place adequate protocols and controls for the conduct of studies" Chairman Harry Hixson said. "This is a significant setback and the company will face challenges." Besides throwing the company into disarray, the abrupt upheaval is likely to push testing back to 2011.
• Warner Music, YouTube coming to terms. Sources say Warner Music Group (WMG) and YouTube (GOOG) are close to settling their licensing dispute, a deal that would return Warner's music videos to YouTube after a nine-month hiatus. The proposal would give Warner the right to sell ads that run next to its videos and receive the bulk of the revenue, a formula Google has used to resolve a number of recent disputes with content owners looking for greater monetization.
• UBS wants out of gov't scheme. UBS's (UBS) U.S. wealth management unit, Paine Webber, isn't a core part of the bank's operations, but UBS won't sell it at fire-sale prices, CEO Oswald Gruebel says. "We've had a lot of inquiries from potential buyers but it wouldn't make sense to sell at current valuations." UBS bought Paine Webber in 2000 for about $10B. Gruebel also told the FT he's looking to sever ties with the Swiss government by buying its way out of a 'bad bank' scheme, an about-face from a statement on Aug. 27, and that he hopes to return to health within a year. Separately, UBS said Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and Shell CEO Peter Voser will be leaving its board.
• Opel deal nowhere near done. GM's planned sale of Opel to a group led by Magna International (MGA) faces fresh uncertainty after Spain urged European regulators to investigate the agreement, and Germany's Free Democrats, consistent critics of the deal, are poised to clinch a powerful position in Germany's new government. The deal has run into steady fire from Magna customers and European governments alike. "Overall, this deal is not as near to completion as many people are trying to present," one auto analyst says.
• Midwest activity declines. The Chicago Fed's National Activity Index fell to -0.90 in August, from -0.56 in July. Three of the four categories of indicators made negative contributions, but production and income were positive for the second straight month. Meanwhile the Dallas Fed's factory outlook showed the first signs of bottoming, with a near zero reading. Shipments and new orders turned positive, while other components improved but remained negative.

Today's Markets

Hong Kong led Asia higher Tuesday, but Europe stocks are under some pressure and stock futures are showing modest losses.

Moody’s allegedly hastened the credit crisis earlier in the decade by assigning top ratings to mortgage-backed securities that deteriorated later. Moreover, it is being probed by regulators worldwide, with several ongoing reviews in Europe for rating a European debt product, constant proportion debt obligations (CPDOs), at a higher-than-merited AAA.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Eric Kolchinsky, a former analyst with Moody's Corp. (MCO), has accused Moody's Investor Service of issuing inflated ratings and will make the matter public by taking it to U.S. Congressional investigators.

• Dell buys Perot for $3.9B. Dell (DELL) said early Monday it will acquire Perot Systems (PER) for $3.9B, or $30/share, creating a "comprehensive, customer-focused IT-solutions company." Perot will become Dell's services unit, to be headed by Perot CEO Peter Altabef; Dell directors will 'consider' chairman Ross Perot Jr. for appointment to its board. Over the past year, the two have produced a combined $16B in enterprise-hardware and IT-services revenue, with half of that coming from enhanced services and support. Shares of Perot closed at $17.91 on Friday.
• Building a more robust global economy. Ahead of this week's Pittsburgh summit, G-20 leaders are scrambling to finalize a framework that will promote stable global growth in part by correcting imbalances in the U.S. and China. The U.S.-led proposal, known as the Framework for Sustainable and Balanced Growth, involves broad changes to economic policies in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, including the U.S. saving more and reducing its deficit, and China relying less on exports. Potential sticking points include China's reluctance to participate, how to enforce any commitments, and a divergence of opinions on how to estimate future world growth.
• BofA forced to spill the beans. A House panel has told Bank of America (BAC) it cannot use attorney-client privilege to keep details of its purchase of Merrill Lynch out of Congress. Panel chairman Edolphus Towns wants Bank of America to reveal information it's kept secret for months, which could impact a range of ongoing probes into the merger, including one by the SEC, another by NY AG Andrew Cuomo and a third by the DoJ. Towns has given BofA until noon today to provide answers and documentation.
• Fed rejects public review. Sources say the Fed has rejected a request by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner for a public review of its structure and governance. Fed officials say the review - which would have examined the Fed's ability to accomplish its existing and proposed functions, and the role of regional Fed banks - could have threatened its independence.
• FCC to push for open internet. The FCC will today recommend broad new rules that aim to force internet carriers to treat all traffic equally. Currently, some providers block and/or slow the transfer of large files such as videos and music, which they say hogs bandwidth. Sources say FCC chief Julius Genachowski will also push to expand net equality to wireless internet access, a concept fiercely opposed by wireless carriers like AT&T (T). If implemented, net neutrality could drastically impact how ISPs and wireless carriers charge for access, and could encourage internet companies to launch new data-intensive services.
• RBS weighs huge share sale. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is in talks with shareholders to gauge the appetite for a £5B ($8.1B) share issue in an attempt to stop the British government's stake in the bank from creeping higher. The U.K.'s stake in RBS is set to reach more than 80% under the terms of its toxic asset insurance program. Last June, RBS raised £12.3B in a disastrous takeover of ABN Amro.
• Ka-boom! Walt Disney's (DIS) $4B acquisition of Marvel Entertainment (MVL) hit a snag Sunday after heirs to revered comic book artist Jack Kirby, creator of many of Marvel's mainstays, filed claims challenging Marvel's long-term rights to some of its superheros. In a statement, Disney said the claims are an attempt to terminate Marvel's rights 7-10 years from now, and "were fully considered in the acquisition."
• Santander to raise $7.35B in Brazilian IPO. Santander (STD) plans to raise almost €5B ($7.35B) through the previously announced IPO of 16% of its Brazilian unit. The target is well above the €2.5B analysts expected. The bulk of the proceeds will be spent opening another 600 branches in Brazil.
• Heading off say on pay. A group of companies including AT&T (T), Cisco (CSCO), H-P (HPQ) and Tyco (TYC) will announce today a joint effort to voluntarily change their pay practices, a move aimed at heading off potentially more onerous restrictions out of Washington. The group, led by the Conference Board, will endorse principles that tie incentives to long-term success rather than short-term gains, and advocates doing away with 'overly generous' golden parachutes, but stops short of signing off on 'say on pay' legislation that would give shareholders a vote on executive pay.
• The return of risk appetite. Global and emerging-markets bond funds, and global stock funds and sector funds, saw the highest inflows this year in the latest week, while money-market funds had their second-biggest weekly outflows. Risk appetite is clearly on the rise, although the move remains cautious, with bond funds growing at a faster clip than stock funds.
• One more chance. The IRS will announce today it's extending its amnesty program, giving wealthy Americans with secret offshore accounts another 22 days, until Oct. 15, to come forward. The program, which began in March as a way of luring UBS (UBS) clients of out of the woodwork, has attracted 3,000 taxpayers so far, compared with just 80 last year.

Earnings: Before Open

• Lennar (LEN): Q3 EPS of -$0.97, including $0.42 charge for valuation adjustments and writeoffs and another $0.34/share charge, vs. consensus of -$0.46. Revenue of $721M (-34.9%) vs. $774M. New home deliveries decreased to 2,660 from 3,694 last year. Backlog grew 19% from Q2 to $647M. (PR)

Today's Markets

Asia markets, only partially open, were mixed overnight, but Europe has turned lower, as have futures.