Thursday Morning Reads

Economy

It looks like another strong open for U.S. stock index futures as traders gear up for an action-packed November, with an upcoming G-20 summit, midterm elections, the latest jobs report and a Fed meeting on monetary policy. U.S. stocks rebounded strongly for a second day on Wednesday, as investors scooped up beaten-down technology and internet favorites as strong corporate results lifted sentiment.

The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates on hold today, with many focusing on what Governor Mark Carney says about the state of the Brexit negotiations. During the summer, Carney said the prospect of a "no deal Brexit" had gotten "uncomfortably high," but he hasn't given an updated view since the October summit of EU leaders that failed to yield a breakthrough in the Brexit talks.

Political tensions with the EU are beginning to take a toll on the Italian economy. The nation's unemployment rate ticked up to 10.1% in September, from 9.8% the previous month, reversing a downward trend throughout this year. Italy’s gross domestic product was also unchanged in Q3 from the second quarter, marking the worst showing in almost four years.

Chinese economic data has been in focus in recent months as the U.S.-China trade war continues to worry investors. The latest? The Caixin China manufacturing PMI nudged up to 50.1 in October, from 50 in September, managing to hold above the 50-point level separating expansion from contraction. In comes after top economic advisor Larry Kudlow said "nothing is set in stone right now" on whether Washington will impose additional tariffs on Beijing.

President Trump may now deploy as many as 15,000 troops to the southwest border ahead of a caravan of Central American migrants. He has also promised to end so-called catch-and-release policies by erecting tent cities and to end birthright citizenship. While the move will stiffen defenses at and near legal entry points, closing busy ports of entry along the border could impede the flow of goods, affecting the U.S. economy.

Stocks

Apple is turning to traditional broadcasting to boost its streaming service, exploring a tie-up with iHeartMedia (OTCPK:IHRTQ), the largest U.S. radio group that is attempting to claw itself out of bankruptcy, FT reports. iHeartMedia is hoping Apple (AAPL) will take an equity stake worth tens of millions of dollars, but others suggest the deal could result in a multimillion-dollar marketing partnership rather than a direct investment.

Netflix is set to debut three of its upcoming original films - Roma, Bird Boxand The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - in a limited number of theaters before the movies appear on the streaming service. That's a change from the company’s traditional practice of releasing movies online and in cinemas on the same day, and could open the door to Netflix's (NASDAQ:NFLX) first best picture nomination at the Academy Awards early next year.

Hundreds of Google employees will walk out of more than 20 offices around the world today to protest the company's handling of sexual misconduct in the wake of a bombshell NYT report. It's the latest employee activism at the tech giant. Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) cloud unit in June said it would not renew a controversial Pentagon contract following intense internal backlash, while outrage is growing about a censored search app in China.

The Federal Reserve has unveiled a proposal that takes a tiered approach to match regulations for large banking organizations with their risk profiles. If enacted, the new rules could ease liquidity and compliance requirements for such banks as PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC), Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and Capital One (NYSE:COF) by establishing four categories of standards for large banking organizations - those with more than $100B in total consolidated assets.

Overnight earnings roundup: Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) -2.9% premarket after a challenging summer and increased volatility in emerging markets. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) +0.4% boosted by rising crude prices and pushing ahead with one of the world's largest share buyback programs. BT Group (NYSE:BT) +8.5% upgrading its outlook following a rise in first-half earnings.

General Electric fell for a sixth straight session yesterday after Moody's lowered the company's credit rating by two notches to Baa1 from A2, three notches above "junk" territory. The downgrade, which came a month after S&P cut GE's credit rating, reflected "the adverse impact on GE's cash flows from the deteriorating performance of the Power business... and misjudgment of financial prospects and operational missteps."

Having completed the sale of most of its U.S. onshore oil and gas assets to BP, BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) said it will return $10.4B to shareholders through a stock buyback and special dividend. It will determine the latter's per share amount on Dec. 17 once the off-market buyback is completed. BHP added that the latest outlays would bring the total cash handed back to shareholders over the past two years to $21B.

Indonesian divers have retrieved a black box from a Lion Air jet that crashed into the sea this week as lead investigators said the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (NYSE:BA) hit the surface of the Java Sea with enough speed that it "disintegrated" upon impact. Boeing, which is participating in the probe, has reportedly expressed an interest in whether the pilots received unreliable speed data and about the maintenance history of the plane.

Self-driving news... Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) and Ford (NYSE:F) are in "exploratory talks" to jointly develop autonomous vehicles and EVs in a far-reaching alliance meant to save the companies billions of dollars. Volvo Cars (OTCPK:GELYY) and Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) have also teamed up to develop and mass product self-driving electric cars in China. Meanwhile, an upgrade to Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) 'Summon' auto-parking feature will be ready within six weeks and will allow vehicles to drive around a parking lot, find an empty spot and read parking signs.