FDIC, Uptick Rule: Tuesday's Headlines

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Updated with Walgreen earnings, economic data, Gannett outlook.

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NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- Here are the top stock market headlines for the morning of Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Tuesday's Early Headlines

• FDIC May Propose Banks Prepay $36 Billion in Fees. - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is expected Tuesday to propose that U.S. banks prepay three years of fees to replenish the fund, reports say. A source, speaking to Reuters, said the FDIC likely would propose for the banking industry to prepay $12 billion a year in assessments, for a total of $36 billion. The Wall Street Journal said the fees could be as high as $54 billion after having the banks prepay fees for 2010, 2011 and 2012. The FDIC is meeting Tuesday. An FDIC spokesman declined to comment.
• China's CNOOC in Talks to Buy Nigeria Oil. - Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC (CEO) - Get Report is in talks to buy large stakes in some of the world's richest oil blocks in Nigeria, according to a report in The Financial Times. CNOOC is trying to buy 6 billion barrels of oil, which is equivalent to one in every six barrels of the proven reserves in Nigeria, the report said. The value of the Chinese offer wasn't disclosed in a letter from the office of Nigeria's president to a CNOOC representative that was obtained by The Financial Times.
• UBS to Lose Directors, May Sell Wealth Management Unit. - Swiss bank UBS (UBS) - Get Reportsaid Sergio Marchionne, the board's senior independent director, and Peter Voser will step down from the board in April. Marchionne is the CEO of Italian automaker Fiat. Voser is CEO of oil company Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) . Meanwhile, The Financial Times reports that UBS Chief Executive Oswald Gruebel said its U.S. wealth management unit Paine Webber is not a core part of the bank's operations but will not be sold at current valuations. Gruebel also told the paper the bank wants to cut ties with the Swiss government by buying its way out of a 'bad bank' scheme.
• S&P Downgrades MBIA Unit to Junk - Standard & Poor's Ratings downgraded MBIA's (MBI) - Get Report main bond-insurance unit to a BB+ rating, which is noninvestment grade or junk status. S&P expressed concern that the unit could suffer more losses from residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations it sold during the credit boom. S&P also said the outlook on MBIA and the holding company is negative.
• Vanguard, Goldman Sachs Take on Uptick Rule. - The Wall Street Journal reports that Wall Street firms, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs (GS) - Get Report, are arguing against new rules to restrict short-selling under consideration by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In letters filed last week with the SEC over the proposed restrictions, firms raised objections to a number of proposed limits on short-selling, the report said.
• Economic Data, Fed Speeches Scheduled - The S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Price index, released at 9 a.m. EDT, fell 13.3% in July, better than the 14.2% drop economists anticipated and the 15.4% slide in June. It was the lowest year-over-year decline since Feb. 2008. At 10 a.m. EDT, the Conference Board will release the September reading of its consumer confidence index, which should increase to 57 from 54.1 in August. Meanwhile, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser will offer remarks at separate appearances.

Tuesday's Earnings Roundup

• Walgreen (WAG) reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $436 million, or 44 cents a share, down slightly from a year ago but better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of 39 cents a share. Sales jumped 8% from a year ago to $15.7 billion.
• Gannett (GCI) - Get Report offered anticipated earnings for the third quarter, saying it adjusted earnings to fall between 39 cents and 42 cents a share. Results exclude charges related principally to various facility consolidations and workforce restructuring, the company said. Gannett expects to report revenue of between $1.307 billion and $1.32 billion. Analysts are looking for a profit of 28 cents a share on revenue of $1.38 billion. Gannett said it will offer its full third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 19. Gannett also said it intends to offer $400 million of senior notes in a private offering to institutional buyers.
• Nike (NKE) - Get Report will report results after the end of trading Tuesday, with analysts expecting a profit of 97 cents a share on revenue of $4.89 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Shares are up more than 15% in 2009