Billionaire buy-and-hold investor Ron Baron told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday he sees three factors driving the stock market in the long term: the economy, low interest rates, and low oil prices. (CNBC)
China's securities regulator said Friday it would allow initial public offerings to resume, as the country tried to slow a stock market crash. (Reuters)
Toyota (TM) said Friday it will invest $1 billion over the next five years to establish an artificial intelligence-focused company in Silicon Valley and . (Reuters)
Exxon Mobil (XOM) is the subject of an investigation by the New York attorney general into whether the oil major lied to the public about the risks of climate change or to investors about , The New York Times reported. (NY Times)
Mobile payments company Square said in a regulatory filing it expects its initial public offering to be priced at between $11 and $13 per Class A common share and raise up to $403.7 million. (Reuters)
DuPont (DD) is in separate talks with Syngenta (SYT) and Dow Chemical (DOW) about combining agricultural assets, according to Dow Jones. (CNBC)
Britain's AstraZeneca (AZN) said Friday it will pay $2.7 billion to buy , which has developed a treatment for hyperkalaemia, or elevated potassium levels. (AP)
President Barack Obama said Thursday it is possible a bomb brought down the Russian passenger plane that crashed in Egypt last week, while British Prime Minister David Cameron said a terrorist bomb was more likely that not the cause. (NY Times)
U .S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter flew to a U.S. aircraft carrier transiting the disputed South China Sea on Thursday, a week after an American guided-missile destroyer challenged territorial limits around one of China's man-made islands. (Reuters)
Jeb Bush told NBC News his father, George H.W. Bush, was trying to "create a new narrative" by criticizing former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for their performance during George W. Bush's presidency. Bush made the comments to his biographer, The New York Times reported. (NBC News/NY Times)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have been bumped from the portion of the next Republican presidential primary debate that features front-runners because they did not meet criteria set by moderator Fox Business. (WaPo)
BY THE NUMBERS
The 8:30 a.m. ET release of October jobs data is expected to show non-farm payroll additions of 183,000 for last month following 142,000 new jobs in September. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.0 percent from the prior 5.1 percent.
Earnings are also part of the mix this morning, although in a far less busy manner than earlier this week. Cigna (CI), Humana (HUM), and Vimpelcom (VIP) are out this morning, while Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, BRKB) will be out with its quarterly numbers after the closing bell. Berkshire is one of the few companies that releases earnings on a Friday afternoon.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Dow component Walt Disney (DIS) reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.20 per share. That beat estimates by 6 cents, but Disney's revenue missed forecasts, despite higher revenues from advertising and from its theme parks.
DreamWorks (DWA) earned an adjusted 2 cents per share for the third quarter, surprising analysts who had expected a per share loss of 5 cents. The movie studio's revenue also beat Street forecasts, thanks in part to higher licensing fees for its content.
Shake Shack (SHAK) beat estimates by 5 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 12 cents per share. The restaurant chain also scored a beat on the top line and issued strong sales guidance for the current quarter as its comparable restaurant sales surge.
Kraft Heinz (KHC) fell 18 cents shy of estimates with quarterly profit of 44 cents per share, and missed on the top line as well. The food producer said the strong dollar had a significant negative impact on overseas sales. Separately, Kraft Heinz announced a 4.5 percent dividend increase to 57-1/2 cents per share.
News Corp. (NWSA) missed estimates by a penny with adjusted quarterly profit of 5 cents per share, with revenue for the media company also below estimates. Print ad weakness and the negative impact of the strong dollar both hurt News Corp.'s results.
Towers Watson (TW) is running into opposition to its planned takeover of insurance broker Willis Group (WSH). Roxy advisors ISS and Glass Lewis have separately recommended against shareholder approval, saying the consulting firm is paying too little for Willis.
WATERCOOLER
The Fort Lauderdale Boat Show — known as the Super Bowl of super yachts — takes place throughout this weekend, featuring seaborne behemoths like newspaper magnate Duane Hagadone's Lady Lola, which features a floating golf course system.
Bigger isn't always better. Falling orders for the Airbus 380 are raising concerns about the decade-old jumbo jet's viability at a time when airlines are turning to smaller, twin-engine planes.
