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US EQUITIES OPENING HEADLINES INCLUDING: Citigroup made USD 1.4bln of its Q3 profit or 36% of the total, in the Asia-Pacific region citing a memorandum

Last updated: 10:07 25 Oct 2011 EDT, First published: 09:07 25 Oct 2011 EDT

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Stock futures moved lower following the latest news on the European bailout talks. Germany is reportedly objecting to a clause that would allow the ECB to continue taking extraordinary steps. On the other hand, third quarter earnings have been much better than expected, lifting investors' hopes that the economy can avoid a double dip recession. 

US ICSC Chain Stores (Oct 25) W/W -0.8% vs. Prev. 0.1%, US ICSC Chain Stores (Oct 25) Y/Y 2.4% vs. Prev. 3.6%

FTSE (-0.47%), CAC (-1.10%), DAX (+0.48%), FTSE MIB (-0.96%), IBEX (-0.99%), SMI (-1.03%), prices taken at 1348 BST.

Pre-market activity following earnings released earlier on:

Du Pont - up 1.28%
UPS – down 1.65%
Texas Instruments – down 1.86%
3M – down 6.18%
Netflix – down 34.6%

DJIA

Earnings:
            
DuPont - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.69 vs. Exp. USD 0.56, Q3 revenue USD 9.20bln vs. Exp. USD 8.88bln. (RTRS/Sources)
- Co. sees slowing global growth, some de-stocking in Q4 
- Q3 US & Canada sales USD 2.9bln; Latin America sales USD 1.5bln 
- Q3 Asia-Pacific sales USD 2.4bln; EMEA sales USD 2.4bln 
- Co. narrows 2011 adjusted EPS view to USD 3.97-4.05 vs. Exp. USD 3.96

3M - Q3 EPS USD 1.52 vs. Exp. USD 1.61, Q3 Revenue USD 7.53bln vs. Exp. USD 7.78bln, cuts forecast. (RTRS/Sources)
- Co. cuts FY11 EPS view to USD 5.85-5.95 with items from USD 6.10-6.25 vs. Exp. USD 6.16 
- Q3 health care sales USD 1.25bln
- Q3 electro and communications sales USD 838mln
- Q3 consumer and office sales USD 1.10bln
- Q3 display and graphics sales USD 935mln
- Co. says that the business environment remains challenging

Other news:

Johnson & Johnson – The European Commission’s probe into the co.’s generic drug deal with Novartis will not affect the Synthes deal. (Sources) 

Bank of America - PNC Financial announced the hiring of Mike Lyons as its head of corporate and institutional banking, causing Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan to lose a key adviser. (WSJ)

Boeing - The Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety directive calling on airlines to check for corrosion on movable tail parts on hundreds of Boeing 757 jets. (WSJ)

Alcoa - Three years after law-enforcement officials began looking at millions of dollars allegedly paid to gain aluminium contracts, two key figures in the bribery investigation of the Alcoa's activities in Bahrain have been arrested abroad. (WSJ)

Microsoft – Co.’s new verification system for Window 8 - OA 3.0 - will reportedly lead to complications for upstream production lines and generate significant extra costs, leading to controversies between notebook ODMs and brand vendors as to who will have to shoulder increased costs. (Digitimes) In other news Nokia's first Windows Phone might miss the US in 2011 based on leaked ad plans obtained by AdAge, which show that Nokia is still picking ad agencies and will not start actively pitching phones in the US until 2012. (theflyonthewall.com)

AT&T - A judge ruled that the Department of Justice cannot share confidential data collected from AT&T with rival Sprint, which seeks to block a proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA. (Sources)

Companies paying dividend: General Electric (USD 0.1500)

S&P 500

Earnings:

Texas Instruments – Co. Q3 EPS 0.51 (on USD 0.09 charges so adjusted EPS at USD 0.60) vs. Exp. USD 0.57, Q3 revenue USD 3.47bln vs. Exp. USD 3.31bln. (RTRS/Sources)
- Co. sees Q4 revenue USD 3.26bln-3.54bln 
- Co. sees Q4 EPS USD 0.28-0.36
- Co.’s FPS forecast was hurt by about USD 0.15 on acquisition costs
- Co. to moderate share buybacks going forward
- Co. sees Q4 "similar" to Q3 due to economic uncertainties
- Q3 inventory USD 1.97bln, up USD 541mln from a year ago
- Q3 orders USD 3.07bln, down 10% from a year ago 
- Co. sees FY11 CapEx USD 900mln
- Co. sees FY11 R&D expense USD 1.7bln

United Parcels Service - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 1.06 vs. Exp. USD 1.05, Q3 Revenue USD 13.2bln vs. Exp. USD 13.14bln, reaffirms forecast. (RTRS)
- Co. says Asia exports slowed significantly during Q3
- Co. sees US economy stabilizing, showing modest growth

Peabody Energy - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.87 vs. Exp. USD 0.85, Q3 revenue USD 2.04bln vs. Exp. USD 2.02bln, Cont ops EPS USD 1.01. (RTRS/Sources) 
- Co. backs 2011 capex USD 900-950mln 
- Co. sees 2011 coal sales volume 245M-255M tons 
- Co. backs 2011 adjusted EPS view of USD 3.70-4.15 vs. Exp. USD 3.93
- Co. says that ArcelorMittal has accepted PEAMCoal’s offer for Macarthur Coal 

Cummins - Q3 EPS USD 2.35 vs. Exp. USD 2.25, Q3 Revenue USD 4.6bln vs. Exp. USD 4.61bln

PACCAR - Q3 EPS USD 0.77 vs. Exp. USD 0.70, Q3 Revenue USD 4.26bln vs. Exp. USD 3.82bln. (RTRS)

Illinois Tool Works - Q3 cont ops EPS USD 1.00 vs. Exp. USD 0.98, Q3 Revenue USD 4.58bln vs. Exp. USD 4.55bln. (RTRS/Sources)

Centene - Q3 EPS USD 0.55 vs. Exp. USD 0.54, Q3 revenue USD 1.3bln vs. Exp. USD 1.31bln. (RTRS)
- Co. sees 2011 EPS USD 2.09-2.13 vs. Exp. USD 2.18
- Co. sees 2011 Premium and Service revenues USD 5.1-5.2bln vs. Exp. USD 5.27bln

US Steel - Q3 EPS adjusted USD 0.72 vs. Exp. USD 0.52, Q3 Revenue USD 5.08bln vs. Exp. USD 5.05bln. (RTRS/Sources)

Xerox - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.26 vs. Exp. USD 0.25, Q3 revenue USD 5.58bln vs. Exp. USD 5.59bln. (RTRS/Sources)
- Co. expects to repurchase USD 400M of stock in Q4 
- Co. sees year adjusted EPS USD 1.08-1.11
- Co. sees Q4 adjusted EPS USD 0.32-0.35 vs. Exp. USD 0.33 

Lexmark - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.95 vs. Exp. USD 1.03, Q3 revenue USD 1.03bln vs. Exp. USD 1.0bln, sees Q4 adjusted EPS USD 1.15-1.25 vs. Exp. USD 1.12. (RTRS)

National Oilwell - Q3 EPS ex-charges USD 1.26 vs. Exp. USD 1.16, Q3 revenue USD 3.74bln vs. Exp. USD 3.65bln. (RTRS/Sources)

Other news:
 
Citigroup – Co. made USD 1.4bln of its Q3 profit or 36% of the total, in the Asia-Pacific region citing a memorandum. (WSJ) 

Eli Lilly – Co. has updated its FY11 financial guidance as a result of the announced withdrawal of the company's Xigris product following clinical trial results not meeting their primary end-point. Co. now expects its FY11 EPS per share to be in the range of USD 3.84-3.89. Lilly's FY11 EPS guidance on a non-GAAP basis remains unchanged at USD 4.30-4.35. (RTRS)

Visa/MasterCard – Co.’s are considering ways to use what they know about people's card purchases for targeting them with ads online. Their plans would tie people's Internet lives with shopping activities, but erode the idea of anonymity on the Web. (WSJ)

Walgreen/Express Scripts – Walgreen’s charges for customer counselling are a central issue of stalled contract talks with Express Scripts that still threaten to keep millions of customers from using Walgreen services after January. (WSJ)

Bank of America/Allstate - A federal judge ruled that Allstate cannot sue Bank of America for USD 700mln in downgraded Countrywide Financial mortgage-backed securities. (Sources)

BlackRock – Co. sees a "massive" opportunity in mining stocks that have been hard hit in recent months but now offer compelling valuations and healthy balance sheets. (WSJ)

Eastman Kodak – Co. has held discussions with several hedge funds about providing about USD 900mln in rescue financing to strengthen company's finances while it tries to sell patents. (WSJ)
                
Companies paying dividend: Best Buy (USD 0.1600), Molex (USD 0.2000)

Nasdaq 100

Earnings:

Netflix – Co. Q3 EPS USD 1.16 vs. Exp. USD 0.95, Q3 revenue USD 822.00mln vs. Exp. USD 812.80mln. (RTRS/Sources)
- Co. forecast Q4 profits lower than expected 
- Co. sees Q4 EPS USD 0.36-0.70 vs. Exp. USD 1.10. 
- Co. also sees DVD subscriptions to sharply decline in Q4 due to price changes 
- Co. says weekly rate of DVD cancellation is "steadily shrinking" 
- Co. expects total unique US subscribers to up slightly in Q4 
- Q3 net domestic subscriber additions down 81,000 
- Co. sees Q4 Domestic DVD subscriptions 10.3M-11.3M 
- Co. sees Q4 Domestic Streaming subscriptions 20M-21.5M 
- Co. ended Q3 with 21.4M streaming subscriptions, 13.9M DVD subs 

Amgen – Co. Q3 adjusted EPS USD 1.40 vs. Exp. USD 1.30, Q3 revenue USD 3.94bln vs. Exp. USD 3.87bln. (RTRS/Sources)
- Co. boosted share buybacks to USD 10bln
- Co. raises FY11 EPS view to USD 5.15-5.30 vs. Exp. USD 5.21
- Co. raises FY11 revenue view to USD 15.4-15.6bln vs. Exp. USD 15.43bln 
- Co. agrees in principal to settle allegations on sales, marketing practices

Other news:

Apple - China Mobile said that 10mln of Apple's iPhones are being used on its network, even though it doesn't have a deal yet with Apple. (RTRS) According to three people with knowledge of the project, Jeff Robbin, the software engineer who built iTunes and helped create the iPod, is working on Apple's internal development of the new TV effort. (Sources)

Microsoft/Apple/Google/Hewlett-Packard/Research in Motion/Amazon - Shipments of tablets with ARM and iOS processors are expected to grow considerably more in 2011 than those tablet PCs that use other brands' processors, according to DisplaySearch. (Digitimes)

Research in Motion – Co. announces Blackberry cloud services for Microsoft Office 365, with open beta for the service launching today in over 30 countries. (RTRS)

News Corp – Co.’s James Murdoch received 65% ‘in favour’ votes to remain as a co. director. (theflyonthewall.com)

Google/Motorola – Google has yet to file application with China’s antitrust regulator for its proposed acquisition of co. (Sources)

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on US corporate earnings

Tuesday - Cramer said to buy 3M on any weakness. He was also bullish on Cummins, UPS along with DuPont.

Wednesday - Earnings from Ford, a stock that's on the move with the possibility of a labor strike gone, along with troubled gold miners Agnico-Eagle Mines and Goldcorp. Cramer said he prefers the SPDR Gold Shares in the space. 

Thursday - Cramer was bullish on Bristol Meyers-Squibb, Celgene, International Paper, Waste Management, Procter & Gamble, Deckers Outdoor and Electronic Arts. Avon Products was the sole negative call in the group. 

Friday - Cramer was bullish on Chevron and Weyerhaeuser, two stocks he'd buy on any weakness. 

Broker moves

Upgrades:

VF Corp. – Co. price target raised to USD 152 from USD 135 at UBS, Shares are Buy rated

Oracle – Co. price target raised to USD 37 from USD 32 at BofA/Merrill, Shares are Buy rated

Lowe's – Co. upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital, Price target raised to USD 27 from USD 20

JA Solar – Co. upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray, firm has a USD 4 price target for shares

Range Resources – Co. price target raised to USD 105 from USD 72 at Brean Murray, Shares are Buy rated

Downgrades:

Netflix – Co. downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, firm lowered its price target for shares to USD 95 from USD 220

Netflix – Co. downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Janney Capital, Price target cut to USD 51 from USD 102

Verizon – Co. price target lowered to USD 32 from USD 33 at Bernstein, Shares are Underperform rated

AT&T – Co. downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein, Price target lowered to USD 30 from USD 31

HealthSpring – Co. downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo

Forest Labs – Co. downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus

Other News

Zynga - Sources familiar with the matter say Zynga's bankers are looking to launch the social gaming company's IPO in November on the heels of the expected completion of the IPO of Groupon. (WSJ)

Chrysler - Workers at Chrysler's Jefferson North assembly plant have voted in favor of approving the company's new national contract with the UAW. (Detroit News)

US Banks - Following a serious of hold-ups, foreclosure settlement talks between major banks and a coalition of government officials are back on track and could finish within two weeks. (NY Post)

US Banks - The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it would eliminate a rule that had prevented homeowners whose mortgages exceeded 125% of their properties' value from refinancing with loans backed by Fannie and Freddie. (RTRS)

T. Rowe - Q3 EPS USD 0.71 (Inc. items) vs. Exp. USD 0.73, Q3 Revenue USD 679.4mln vs. Exp. USD 691.90mln

Regions Financial - Q3 EPS USD 0.08 vs. Exp. USD 0.04. (RTRS)

Weatherford - Q3 EPS USD 0.26 vs. Exp. USD 0.26, Q3 revenue USD 3.37bln vs. Exp. USD 3.32bln. (RTRS)           
                
Office Depot - Q3 revenue USD 2.84bln, and Q3 EPS adjusted break even. (Sources)

Zions Bancorp - Q3 EPS USD 0.40 vs. Exp. USD 0.34. (RTRS) 

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