Morning Brief

Wall Street seeks direction after eight straight weekly gains

Key Points

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures were mixed this morning. The Dow and S&P 500 were riding eight straight weekly gains, and record high closes on Friday. The Nasdaq also finished Friday at a record, and logged six positive weeks in a row. This year, the Dow closed at 56 all-time highs, the S&P at 51, and the Nasdaq at 63. (CNBC)

In what would be the largest technology deal in history, Broadcom (AVGO) has made an unsolicited bid to buy Qualcomm (QCOM) for more than $100 billion to become a dominant supplier of communications chips to the wireless industry. (CNBC)

* Rivals Intel and AMD team up on PC chips to battle Nvidia (WSJ)

Sprint (S) and T-Mobile US (TMUS) have called off merger talks, saying they were unable to find mutually agreeable terms. At the same time, Sprint announced a new multi-year agreement to provide wireless services that will be sold by cable operator Altice USA (ATUS).

Earnings reports out this morning include the latest numbers from Cardinal Health (CAH) and Mylan (MYL). Today's after the bell earnings calendar includes Etsy (ETSY), GoDaddy (GDDY), Priceline Group (PCLN), and Weight Watchers (WTW). (CNBC)

Oil jumped to its highest in over two years today as Saudi Arabia's crown prince cemented his power through a what's being billed as a crackdown on corruption, while world stocks eased a notch and major currencies traded in tight ranges. (Reuters)

* Billionaire Prince Alwaleed arrested in corruption crackdown (CNBC)
* Citigroup, Twitter among secret holdings, of Alwaleed (CNBC)
* 'Game of Thrones' in Saudi Arabia may have implications for oil (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

At least 26 people are dead and 20 others are wounded after a man dressed in black tactical-style gear and armed with an assault rifle opened fire inside a church in a small South Texas community on Sunday. Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, was identified as the shooter, according to law enforcement officials. Kelley was found dead after the attack. (AP)

Speaking at a joint press conference in Tokyo, President Donald Trump said he believed the Texas church shooting was caused by a "mental health problem," and not because of a problem with U.S. gun laws. (CNBC)

During his Asia trip, Trump said
Japan could shoot down North Korean missiles with U.S. military technology. He said the purchasing of military equipment would bring employment to the U.S. and safety to Japan. (CNBC)

* Trump says Japan's economy is not 'as good as ours' and(CNBC)
* Trump says unsure if Tillerson will remain secretary of State (Reuters)

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said today reports that he did not disclose ties to a firm linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin are wrong. Ross was revealed to have business links to a firm with close ties to Putin during a leak of financial documents over the weekend. (CNBC)

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators have enough evidence now to bring criminal charges against President Trump's former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, and Flynn's son, NBC News reports, citing sources.

The House tax-writing committee will begin revising the GOP's tax reform bill today with tweaks and some more substantial changes expected to a number of individual and corporate tax proposals. Republicans last week unveiled the first draft of a 429-page tax bill. (Reuters)

New York Fed President William Dudley, a key figure in the unprecedented government response to the 2008 financial crisis, is expected to announce his retirement as soon as this week, sources tell CNBC.

Amazon (AMZN) is cutting the prices of products from third-party sellers as the holiday season approaches. The sellers would still get full price while allowing Amazon to compete more aggressively with Wal-Mart (WMT) and other competitors. (Reuters)

* Toys R Us, which sought bankruptcy protection, to open on Thanksgiving (USA Today)

J.C. Penney (JCP) will no longer have a chief merchandising officer, once one of the most powerful jobs in retail, further demonstrating the industry's turmoil. Its current CMO will be leaving the company and will not be replaced. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

CVS Health (CVS) this morning reported earnings that beat expectations and quarterly revenue that basically matched forecasts. Meanwhile, CVS is working toward finalizing a more than $70 billion acquisition of insurance giant Aetna (AET), according to Reuters, in hopes of completing a deal as early as December.

Anthem (ANTM) Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish is planning to step down as soon as this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The health insurer is said to be planning to name former UnitedHealth Group executive Gail Boudreaux as its new CEO.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) reported quarterly profit of $2,094 per share, short of the $2,402 per share consensus estimate. The company's results were hurt by insurance claims related to the quarterly's hurricanes as well as the Mexico earthquake.

Papa John's (PZZA) said it is re-evaluating its sponsorship of National Football League broadcasts in the wake of declining ratings. President Steve Ritchie said a continuing slide in ratings would mean that the pizza chain would need to shift advertising dollars into more effective venues.

Netflix (NFLX) and "House of Cards" producer Media Rights Capital have cut ties with the program's star, Kevin Spacey, after sexual harassment accusations were made against Spacey by actor Anthony Rapp last week.

WATERCOOLER

Consumers turned out in droves over the weekend to purchase Apple's (AAPL) new high-end smartphone, iPhone X, and by Sunday it was sold out. The tech giant said on its website, the phone was unavailable in 20 major cities. (USA Today)