By Wall Street Breakfast:
Economy
Global stocks were mainly lower at the time of writing as crude prices continued to tumble, with Brent Oil falling to $88.11 a barrel at one point, its lowest since December 2010. Brent was -0.6% at $89.53 while Nymex was -1.3% at $84.68. A 5.8% plunge in German exports in August - the figures were released yesterday - is continuing to weigh on world markets.
Bill Gross, in his first monthly investment outlook since joining Janus, has written that "We have had our Biblical seven years of fat. We must look forward, almost by mathematical necessity, to seven figurative years of leaner: Bonds - 3% to 4% at best, stocks - 5% to 6% on the outside."
Italian industrial output grew 0.3% on month in August after dropping 1% in July but missed consensus for +0.5%. Still, the monthly expansion provides a contrast to the general gloom surrounding the eurozone economy. Meanwhile, French August industrial output came in flat vs +0.3% in July and expectations of -0.2%.
Stocks
Symantec is splitting into two companies, with one to remain known as Symantec (SYMC) and to offer security software/services. The other firm will offer storage management software/services. Michael Brown and Thomas Seifert will respectively remain the CEO and CFO of the security business, while John Gannon, formerly Quantum's (QTM) COO and the head of H-P's (HPQ) commercial PC ops, will run the storage business. Symantec rose 0.3% in after-hours trading.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk last night unveiled a dual-motor high-end Model S vehicle, which will be able to travel 275 miles on a single charge and accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds - the same as the McLaren F1. Dubbed the P85D, the sedan will have "auto-pilot" software that includes self-parking. Tesla (TSLA) plans to start shipping the car in December.
The U.K.'s Financial Services Authority has accused six banks, including JPMorgan (JPM) and UBS (UBS), of system and control failures in their forex operations, the FT reports. The allegations are part of the FSA's investigation into the possible manipulation of currency markets. Last month, the regulator started settlement talks with the two banks, as well as with Barclays (BCS), Citigroup (C), HSBC (HSBC) and RBS (RBS). The discussions could lead to fines of ?1.5B in total.
Several microcontroller and analog/mixed-signal IC vendors, including Texas Instruments (TXN), fell in post-market trading after Microchip (MCHP) warned of weak calendar Q3 sales. Notably, the microcontroller maker said that it believes "another [chip] industry correction has begun and that this correction will be seen more broadly across the industry in the near future." Microchip's diversified customer base and recognition of distributor revenue based on sell-through rather than sell-in (unlike many peers) led it to be seen as a canary in the coal mine for the industry. Microchip fell 8.3%.
The cost of the world?s most expensive oil project, Kashagan in Kazakhstan, is set to rise by at least $3.6B as the companies developing it are forced to replace more than 200 miles of leaking pipelines, the FT reports. Those lucky companies include Shell ([[RDS.A]], [[RDS.B]]), Exxon (XOM), Total (TOT), Eni (E) and CNPC (PTR).
GT Advanced plans to file a motion seeking authorization to wind down operations at its sapphire manufacturing plants, and has been ordered by bankruptcy judge Henry Boroff to immediately make the submission. A hearing on the motion is set for 2PM ET on Oct. 15. GT Advanced (GTAT) was supposed to supply material for Apple (AAPL) iPhone screens, but that hasn't quite worked out.
Top Ideas
Nortek Inc. (NTK) - new article by Stanislav Ermilov ?
Horsehead Holding Corp. (ZINC) - new article by Bram de Haas ?
Mandalay Digital (MNDL) -16.2% since Sep. 30 New Capital article ?
Dominion Resources Black Warrior Trust (DOM) -43.8% since Jun. 17 The Forensic Accountant article ?
SA PRO subscribers get an early look at Top Ideas and access to the SA PRO research library. Learn about SA PRO ?
Today's Markets:
In Asia, Japan -1.1% to 15301. Hong Kong -1.9% to 23089. China -0.6% to 2375. India -1.3% to 26297.
In Europe, at midday, London -1.6%. Paris -1.8%. Frankfurt -2.3%.
Futures at 6:20: Dow -0.6%. S&P -0.6%. Nasdaq -1.1%. Crude -1.3% to $84.68. Gold -0.25% to $1222.20.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 2.3%.
Today's economic calendar:
8:30 Import/Export Prices
9:00 Fed's Plosser: Monetary Policy
1:00 PM Fed's George: Economic Outlook
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
Notable earnings before today's open: [[FAST]], [[INFY]], [[PGR]]