Nov. 3 Premarket Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

U.S. stock futures are down slightly Tuesday ahead of a day filled with corporate earnings and factory data.
By Joseph Woelfel ,

Here are 10 things you should know for Tuesday, Nov. 3:

1. -- U.S. stock futures were down slightly Tuesday ahead of a day filled with corporate earnings and factory data.

European stocks edged lower following a mixed day in Asia even as a European Central Bank report signaled its benign monetary regime would continue.

2. -- The economic calendar in the U.S. on Tuesday includes factory orders for September at 10 a.m. EST.

5. -- American International Group (AIG) - Get Report   reported third-quarter adjusted earnings that came in below analysts' estimates and the giant insurer said it would restructure its business. 7. --  Fitbit (FIT) - Get Report reported third-quarter profit of 24 cents a share, above analysts' forecasts of 10 cents.
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9. -- Automakers, such as Ford (F) - Get Reportand General Motors (GM) - Get Report , will be releasing sales reports for October throughout the day.

10. -- Earnings are expected Tuesday from Sprint (S) - Get Report , Tesla (TSLA) - Get Report , U.S. Steel (X) - Get Report , Groupon (GRPN) - Get Report , Kellogg (K) - Get Report , Zillow (ZG) - Get Report and Office Depot (ODP) - Get Report .

3. -- U.S. stocks on Monday rose in a week that analysts at RBS Securities are calling "fairly pivotal in shaping the market's (Federal Reserve) view."

The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.5%. The day's gains added to a surge of more than 8% in October.

4. -- Activision Blizzard (ATVI) - Get Report said late Monday it was acquiring King Digital Entertainment (KING) , the maker of mobile game Candy Crush Saga, for $5.9 billion.

Activision is the company behind video games Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

Activision will buy King for $18 a share in cash, a 16% premium to the closing price of King shares on Monday.

Candy Crush is one of the most popular apps on Apple's App Store.

Activision said the deal would give the combined company more than 500 million monthly active users across the world and would add to its estimated 2016 adjusted revenue and earnings by about 30%, Reuters reported.

AIG reported a loss of 18 cents a share in the period. Adjusted earnings were 52 cents a share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.03.

The company blamed lower income on hedge-fund investments and assets marked to fair value through earnings, lower realized investment gains, and lower income from settlements of non-operating litigation.

The quarter included $274 million in pretax restructuring and other costs. AIG said it would book up to $500 million in such costs through 2017 in order to make its business more efficient.

Reports said AIG is expected to eliminate about 300 to 400 senior-management positions.

AIG's announcement comes a week after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed he has a "large stake" in the company, which he called "too big to succeed." 

6. -- After waiting seven years for a decision, TransCanada (TRP) - Get Report , the company behind the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas, asked the U.S. State Department to suspend its review of the project.

The move comes as the Obama administration increasingly appears likely to reject the pipeline permit application before leaving office in January 2017.

TransCanada said Monday it sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry requesting that the State Department suspend its review of the pipeline application. Until recently, it would have been unimaginable for the Calgary, Alberta-based company to ask for a delay.

The wearable device maker posted said third-quarter revenue rose 168% to $409 million.

Fitbit said it sold 4.8 million health and fitness devices in the third quarter.

8. -- Online retail giant Amazon.com (AMZN) - Get Report plans to open its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in University Village in Seattle on Tuesday.

Amazon Books will carry 5,000 to 6,000 titles, best-sellers as well as Amazon.com customer favorites.

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