1. Let’s make a deal: Wall Street is waking up to a big announcement from General Electric and Baker Hughes.
GE is taking a majority stake in Baker Hughes to create a giant firm that will sell equipment and services to the oil and gas industry. The so-called “new Baker Hughes” will have $32 billion in revenue.
GE will hold 62.5% of the new firm, and Baker Hughes shareholders will own the other 37.5%.
An investor webcast to discuss the deal is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. ET.
2. Stocks get spooked: Stock markets around the world are getting the jitters this Halloween as investors worry that Hillary Clinton is losing voter support right ahead of election day.
The FBI revealed Friday it would review newly discovered emails related to its investigation into Clinton’s personal email server. Controversy over Clinton’s emails has consistently dogged her campaign.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average immediately fell 125 points on Friday in reaction to the announcement, before regaining most of those losses.
U.S. stock futures are now steadying, but European markets are all declining in early trading and most Asian markets ended the day with losses.
3. Economics: Official figures released Monday show the eurozone economy grew 1.6% in the latest quarter compared to the same time last year. That was right in line with forecasts.
The data comes days after the U.K. defied expectations and posted solid growth in the same quarter.
Mexico is also set to report its third quarter economic growth on Monday.
4. Coming this week:
Monday – Happy Halloween!
Tuesday – Fed meeting begins, Sony, BP and Shell earnings, Autos sales report
Wednesday – Facebook, Time Warner, 21st Century Fox and Alibaba earnings
Thursday – Bank of England’s rate decision, News Corp, CBS and Starbucks earnings
Friday – Jobs report, Adidas earnings, International trade report
