BY THE NUMBERS
Futures were lower this morning ahead of the final November trading day. The Dow and S&P 500 should finish November with small gains. That would've seemed impossible days ago, before the Wednesday rally inspired by Fed chief Jerome Powell. (CNBC)
* It's now up to Trump to rescue market from ending year in the red (CNBC)
Minutes released from the November 7-8 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee pointed toward the strong likelihood of another quarter-point adjustment in the Federal Reserve's benchmark rate target next month. (CNBC)
* The Fed is still tweaking its balance sheet unwind (CNBC)
Marriott International (MAR) said today the Starwood guest reservation database was breached, potentially exposing information on about 500 million guests. The company said it has taken steps towards fixing the problem. (Reuters)
The only economic report on today's calendar is the Chicago Purchasing Manager's index for November, out at 9:45 a.m. ET. Consensus forecasts call for a reading of 58.0, down slightly from October's 58.4. There's no earnings reports of note today. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss trade at the G-20 summit in Argentina — a meeting closely watched for clues on where tensions between the two economic powerhouses are going. (CNBC)
President Trump lashed out at special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and called for its demise after his former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying in hopes of covering up potential Russian ties. (USA Today)
* Mueller's Russia probe is red hot again after midterm election (CNBC)
CNBC has learned Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who lost a surprisingly tight race against Sen. Ted Cruz, has been invited to New Hampshire to speak with voters and meet experienced political operators in the crucial presidential primary state.
Communities in California are reevaluating everything from evacuation routes to communications systems to prepare for a "new normal" of heightened fire risks in the aftermath of the state's deadliest wildfire. (WSJ)
Facebook (FB) Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told the company's communications staff to carry out research on the financial interests of liberal billionaire George Soros, according to a new report by The New York Times.
Speaking at the Forbes Healthcare conference this week, early Amazon (AMZN) investor John Doerr said he's expecting CEO Jeff Bezos to roll out an offering for medical and health products that resembles Amazon Prime. (CNBC)
A long-time Google employee has started soliciting money for a fund to support workers that strike or resign in response to the latest report about Google's plans for a censored search app in China, dubbed Project Dragonfly. (CNBC)
Prices for lettuce varieties including iceberg and Boston lettuce soared as much as 168 percent after an outbreak of E. coli linked to romaine lettuce stopped sales of the popular salad green. (CNBC)
STOCKS TO WATCH
HP Inc. (HPQ) reported adjusted quarterly profit of 54 cents per share, matching Street forecasts, with the computer and printer-maker's revenue slightly beating estimates on growth in the company's personal systems business.
GameStop (GME) reported adjusted quarterly profit of 67 cents per share, beating consensus forecasts by 10 cents. The videogame retailer's revenue was very slightly above estimates, but the shares are under pressure after the company cut its full-year outlook. GameStop is seeing hardware — which has lower margins than other parts of its business — exhibit more dominance of its sales mix than expected.
Workday (WDAY) came in 17 cents above estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 31 cents per share, while the human resources software company's revenue beat Street forecasts as well. Workday's results were driven by a 35 percent increase in subscription revenue.
VMWare (VMW) earned an adjusted $1.56 per share for its latest quarter, six cents above estimates, with revenue essentially in line. The cloud software-maker also raised its 2019 guidance.
PVH (PVH) beat estimates by seven cents with adjusted quarterly profit of $3.21 per share, while the apparel-maker's revenue was very slightly below estimates. PVH is seeing weakness in its Calvin Klein business, although it said its Tommy Hilfiger brand is outperforming expectations.
Deutsche Bank (DB) headquarters were raided by police in Frankfurt for a second day, amid money laundering allegations linked to the so-called "Panama Papers".
CVS Health (CVS) closed its deal to buy insurer Aetna earlier this week, but a judge is now raising the prospect of not approving the deal. Judge Richard Leon said the government and the two companies are treating him as a "rubber stamp" for the deal by already having closed it, although Aetna said in a statement that such an action is commonplace.
AT&T (T) told investors it is committed to cutting up to $20 billion in debt next year. It also told its Investor Day gathering that it plans to launch three versions of a new video streaming service next year featuring original content from its Warner Brothers, Turner and HBO units.
WATERCOOLER
NBA player Steph Curry is making his signature basketball shoes with Under Armour (UAA) available to girls after a nine-year-old fan wrote him, saying she was disappointed her dad couldn't find them on the company's web site. (CNBC)