Wednesday Morning Reads

Signs of a slowdown in China

Under pressure from slowing demand at home and the fallout from the Sino-U.S. trade war, profits at China’s industrial firms slid 9.9% Y/Y in October to 427.56B yuan ($60.7B). That marks the greatest slump since the January-February period and compares with a 5.3% decline in September. "The big drop suggests the real economy is still facing plenty of difficulties... likely prompting authorities to unveil more growth-boosting measures in a gradual and restrained way," said Nie Wen, economist at Shanghai-based Hwabao Trust.
Go deeper: Sara Hsu asks if consumption is China's best growth engine.

Thanksgiving retail on watch

Retailers are preparing for one of their biggest weekends of the year, with an estimated 165.3M Americans going shopping Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. The majority of consumers are planning to make their purchases on Black Friday, though the day is becoming less and less crucial to retailers as sales stretch beyond Thanksgiving week and more shoppers opt to make their purchases online.
Go deeper: Relative performance of XLY to XLP can boost decision making, writes Andres Cardenal.

Repo operations escalate

Stepping up its actions to prevent another surge in repo rates, the New York Fed added $92.7B in temporary liquidity to the financial system on Tuesday. The previous day, the bank conducted the first operation of its third, longer-term repo loans, which - at 42 days - go beyond year-end. The Fed has been intervening in markets in the current fashion since mid-September and hopes to cut back on interventions at the start of 2020.

NYC bans all flavored e-cigarettes

As federal officials waver on a flavored e-cigarette ban, state and municipal officials are grappling with how to address the resurgence of youth nicotine addiction. The latest to take action is NYC, which becomes the largest city in the U.S. to outlaw all vaping flavors except tobacco. A nationwide public health matter is also spreading, with a mysterious vaping lung disease that has so far sickened more than 2,100 and killed 42 people.
Go deeper: The U.S. vaping slowdown will lead to slower growth, according to British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI).

Criminal opioid probe

Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into whether opioid companies violated the Controlled Substances Act in connection with shipping large quantities of the painkillers that contributed to a healthcare crisis. Companies that received subpoenas include Teva (NYSE:TEVA), Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Amneal Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:AMRX), AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC) and McKesson (NYSE:MCK). The probe is in the early stages, and additional firms could receive subpoenas in the coming months.
Go deeper: Chris Lau says the bear attack on Teva must end.

Chicago ride-hail congestion tax

Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) shares rose slightly on Tuesday despite the Chicago city council's approval of a congestion surcharge on ride-hail trips. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's plan, which increases charges on single-passenger trips and lowers the tax on shared rides, seeks to raise $40M for the fiscal year that begins Jan. 1. It's another blow to the industry after California passed its "gig-worker rule" and Tfl stripped Uber of its license to operate in London.

Another hurdle for the 737 MAX

The FAA now intends to be sole issuer of airworthiness certificates for all new 737 MAXs (a role it previously shared with Boeing), meaning it will inspect and sign off on every jet individually before delivery to airlines. It's another public pushback by the agency against company pressure to accelerate the plane's reinstatement. While Boeing (NYSE:BA) has been angling to start some MAX deliveries by late December, FAA leaders have stressed they don't have a timeline and won't sacrifice safety to speed up the process.

What else is happening...

Disney+ (NYSE:DIS) is getting 1M new subs per day - NY Post.

Xerox (NYSE:XRX) goes hostile with HP (NYSE:HPQ) takeover bid.

ByteDance (BDNCE) moves to ringfence TikTok app.

Hong Kong-listed Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) shares advance for second day.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) poised to take IPO trophy from NYSE (NYSE:ICE).

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Cybertruck orders reach 250K.