The Hong Kong division of Alibaba may go private as part of a refinancing and a buyback of Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) shares. (Reuters)

Financial backers of Greece say they are concerned about whether a deal to lend the company more money will hold. (Reuters)

Economists concerned about the U.S. economy a few months ago change their opinions. (Reuters)

A fall off in investment bank activity hurts Barclays (NYSE: BCS) earnings. (Reuters)

China’s imports fall, raising demand concerns. (Reuters)

The new CEO of Sony (NYSE: SNE) will try to marry hardware and software for many of the firm’s products, just as he did with the PS3. (Reuters)

The head of Xstrata is under pressure to get a better deal for a Glencore merger. (Reuters)

A new settlement between banks and the government could help one million homeowners. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to launch a home entertainment system as it moves into the hardware space as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has. (WSJ)

An insider trading bill is broadly supported by Congress members. (WSJ)

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) expands its use of web-based software products. (WSJ)

The FDA will speed the approval of biosimilar drug treatments. (WSJ)

An Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reorganization could cost 1,800 jobs. (WSJ)

Weekly unemployment benefits numbers improve steadily. (WSJ)

Greek unemployment rises to 20.9%. (WSJ)

The head of the European Central Bank pushes banks to take inexpensive loans to stabilize eurozone financials. (WSJ)

Canada will allow uranium exports to China. (WSJ)

A Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) and Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) partnership to marry physical games with online ones. (WSJ)

Southern Co.’s (NYSE: SO) plan to build a reactor in Georgia receives NRC approval. (WSJ)

Apple’s market cap passes that of Google and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) combined. (WSJ)

New research suggests the education gap between rich and poor has widened. (NYT)

German officials are worried that the ECB has cut lending standards too much. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Greek leaders face a deal for settling sovereign debt matters as workers strike. (Reuters)

Toyota (NYSE: TM) posts good third-quarter profits and says the U.S. will be a difficult market. (Reuters)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) may have trouble with its 787 deliveries after flaws were found in the body of the aircraft. (Reuters)

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Redbox set a deal to compete with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) may open a physical store in Seattle. (Reuters)

House Republicans move to reopen debate on the Keystone XL pipeline. (Reuters)

Problems with regulators have made the Medco (NYSE: MHS) merger with Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) less likely. (Reuters)

The U.S. will create programs to help the troubled money market industry. (WSJ)

Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) will bid as the New York Fed auctions risky bonds it got as part of its AIG (NYSE: AIG) bailout. (WSJ)

Greece will cut 15,000 public sector jobs. (WSJ)

Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) wants a 2.25% royalty on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone sales based on IP claims. (WSJ)

Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Univision are in talks to create a 24-hour news channel. (WSJ)

India cuts its growth forecast to 6.9%. (WSJ)

Eugene Isenberg of Nabor Industries (NYSE: NBR) gives up a $100 million retirement payout. (WSJ)

The Obama budget will have $3 trillion in cuts over 10 years and $1.5 trillion in new taxes — mostly on the rich. (WSJ)

Japan wants to enter a large Asia-Pacific trade agreement, but the U.S. may object. (WSJ)

Satellite makers say that U.S. regulations make it difficult for them to compete overseas. (WSJ)

Republic Airways (NASDAQ: RJET) is about to sell Frontier. (WSJ)

New LeadershipIQ research breaks companies into four groups based on management style and systems to create results. (WSJ)

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) promotes a manager to be the new CEO of its China operations. (WSJ)

Some large European banks will not take European Central Bank loans because they fear it will make them appear weak. (WSJ)

BP (NYSE: BP) raises its dividend. (FT)

An escrow fund may be set to help Greece instead of all aid money going to the nation directly. (FT)

Farmers to plant the largest corn crop since 1984. (Bloomberg)

Walmart will lower fat, sodium and sugar in some foods. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

The World Bank sharply cuts global growth forecasts. (Reuters)

Greece and private creditors race to settle on a deal to avoid a financially dangerous default. (Reuters)

Fallout from the Chinese housing bubble may hit GDP. (Reuters)

More Americans use savings to help during what remains a harsh economic climate. (Reuters)

Olympus says the potential of an equity partner would be delayed until new management receives appointments. (Reuters)

Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) plans to cut 1,600 people when it breaks into two companies. (Reuters)

Asia-based companies may buy Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM); Samsung states it has no interest. (Reuters)

Calpers plans to sell much of its real estate portfolio. (WSJ)

A Harvard Business School project finds that graduates voice concerns about the tax code and political gridlock. (WSJ)

More companies buy Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Macs than in past years. (WSJ)

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) report loan growth as they announce earnings. (WSJ)

More Chinese citizens now live in cities rather than rural areas. (WSJ)

Spain plans to cut debt within it major states. (WSJ)

The National Science Board says more R&D jobs have moved to Asia. (WSJ)

The National Automobile Dealers Association says new fuel economy rules would damage sales. (WSJ)

An Abu Dhabi-based fund puts money into struggling UniCredit. (WSJ)

The FDIC proposes bank stress tests. (WSJ)

The United States Conference of Mayors says few cities have added jobs since the recession. (NYT)

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos says many investors in Greek sovereign paper will take large losses. (NYT)

Factory growth in the U.S. beats that among all G7 nations. (FT)

The World Bank says developing nations should prepare for a poor economic environment. (FT)

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) will all bid for AIG (NYSE: AIG) debt portfolios held by the U.S. government. (FT)

Central banks increase the gold they lend for the first time in a decade. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Congress reaches a tentative deal to keep the government open. (Reuters)

Bill Gross’s PIMCO Total Return Fund continues to do poorly. (Reuters)

The maker of Angry Birds may have its IPO in Hong Kong. (Reuters)

Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) will begin the sale of its asset management business. (Reuters)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) delays its QNX system until 2012, an unexpected development. (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) struggles to gain market share in China. (Reuters)

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) enters the HR software industry. (Reuters)

Sony (NYSE: SNE) will launch its Vita device. (WSJ)

Battelle Memorial Institute reports that R&D spending should increase next year. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund’s Lagarde says all major nations must help Europe. (WSJ)

United, Delta (NYSE: DAL)  and US Airways (NYSE: LCC) begin to challenge Southwest (NYSE: LUV) at the low end of the price market. (WSJ)

The CEO of the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) departs. (WSJ)

Investors in Sino-Forest ask the CEO to leave. (WSJ)

Facebook will release new software to make it easier for advertisers to use the social network. (WSJ)

MF Global’s Jon Corzine says he knew about fund transfers to Europe. (WSJ)

Japanese regulators again attack Citigroup (NYSE: C) over its mutual fund sales. (WSJ)

Property prices in Asia fall quickly. (WSJ)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) cuts 1,600 jobs. (WSJ)

Some retailers will have “Super Saturday” before Christmas. (NYT)

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) to bet its $21 billion buyout of El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) will give it a chance to enter the booming natural gas market. (NYT)

Russia may invest $20 billion in an EU bailout, with the money moving through the IMF. (NYT)

The co-CEOs of RIM will cut their salaries to $1. (FT)

Fitch cuts the ratings of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Barclays (NYSE: BCS). (Bloomberg)

PSA Peugeot Citroen , Fiat SpA and General Motors (NYSE: GM) lead a drop in European car sales. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Spain is a particular winner.  Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) is up almost 5% at $7.94; and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBVA) has not traded but shares are indicated up around $8.90 in New York after a $8.53 close on Friday.

The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) is up almost 4% at $5.02.

The Swiss banks are on the rise as Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) is up 2.6% at $25.25 and UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) is up 1.6% at $12.44.

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) is up 1.2% at $40.48.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) has not yet traded.

The British Banks are higher as well and they are technically not a part of the Euro Zone other than doing business in Europe.  Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) is up 4.1% at $12.35; The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE: RBS) is up 5.9% at $7.15.

JON C. OGG

Most major league sports stadiums get substantial public exposure. Fans see the name while attending the games. In many cities, the arenas are a major landmark. They can be spotted, along with their emblazoned names, for miles around from the ground or the air. Then there are the nationally and internationally televised games when millions of people around the country — and sometimes the world — see and hear the sponsor company’s name as announcers refer to the venue. Over the 20-year lifespan of a naming rights deal, tens of millions of people see and hear the sponsor’s name over and over.

Read: The Most Valuable Stadiums in America

Some of the stadium sponsors on the 24/7 Wall St. list are headquartered in the same city as the sports venue. This is the case with American Airlines in Dallas. The airline gets local exposure in its home city. And because the airline is international, the fact that the stadium’s name appears on television and in sports promotions further extends awareness of the airline’s brand. American has spent $195 million on a 30-year naming rights deal to the basketball and hockey arena in Dallas. It is impossible to say whether that amount is too high or too low. But that is also true of most advertising and branding the carrier does.

Some of the stadium names are actually more for local or regional exposure than national or international branding. This is the case with Reliant Stadium in Houston, which is named for the local electrical and energy service company. While Reliant’s parent company, NRG (NYSE: NRG), is a Fortune 500 corporation and has no need for local branding, it must believe there is a value to Reliant’s brand promotion. It has 1.5 million customers in the Texas.

The final reason for purchasing naming rights is personal. Lucas Oil purchased naming rights to the football stadium in Indianapolis mostly because founder Forrest Lucas was born there. The company actually provides oil and performance car products, and it also sponsors a number of sports cars. It is easier to see why a car oil company would do auto branding rather than have its name on a stadium. But Lucas has the wealth to put his name on almost anything he pleases, as long as the branding rights are available.

It is impossible for a company to determine the return on investment it makes when it attaches its name to a stadium for an amount that is often more than $100 million with a term of several decades. The sponsor has no way of telling whether the teams that use the stadiums will do well, or whether attendances will remain high. But like many forms of branding, it is part of a larger strategy to keep the name of a product, or a company, in the consumers’ minds. One way to accomplish that is to put it in front of the millions of people who see the stadium in person or in the media.

Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE: ALU) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) Started as Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Started as Buy at MKM Partners.
Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) Raised to Outperform with $48 target at Credit Suisse.
Human Genome Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE: LAD) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) Cut to Strong Sell at S&P (late-Monday call).
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
Questar Corporation (NYSE: STR) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG

We do not want to contribute to any rumor-mongering.  It was rumor-mongering on top of serious underlying problems and on top of serious financial leverage which helped to expedite and exacerbate the situations at Bear Stearns and at Lehman Brothers ahead of and during the financial meltdown.  We also want to note on thing: it is Friday and any ‘stabilization rumors’ would probably greatly change the very negative pre-market tone we are seeing this morning.

There have been loose reports that Jon Corzine had sought a deal with Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS).  Frankly, the odds seem very low considering that U.K., European, and American regulators are not keen on banks and brokerage firms getting larger.  Bloomberg also reported that MF Global has drawn down on its credit lines this week as its credit ratings were cut to “junk” by both Moody’s and Fitch.

Dick Bove of Rochdale went on record this week saying that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) may be interested in buying the company, but he clarified that this might not be an equity purchase.  He noted that it could be a reorganization purchase, which implies nothing for existing shareholders.

We also cannot expect that Jamie Dimon from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) nor that Brian Moynihan of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) will be willing at all to step in as they did during the financial crisis.  After all, these banks are being “encouraged” to limit their risk-taking activities.  Both banks, along with Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C), are said to be lenders in that prior Bloomberg report.

We have seen analyst downgrades this week from Keefe Bruyette & Woods as well as from Raymond James.

MF Global’s most recent earnings were no harbinger of great things.  Revenues were down by a double-digit percentage drop, compensation ratios were higher on lower revenues, charges hit the GAAP results, and even the adjusted earnings showed a loss. The company noted, “As of September 30, 2011, MF Global maintained a net long position of $6.3 billion in a short-duration European sovereign portfolio financed to maturity (repo-to-maturity), including Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. The laddered portfolio has an average weighted maturity of October 2012 and an end date maturity of December 2012, well in advance of the expiration of the European Financial Stability Facility in June 2013.”

As of yesterday’s close, MF Global had a market cap of almost $236 million.  It does need to be noted that Evercore Partners Inc. is advising the company on options for MF Global’s brokerage operations and for other options.

On Monday this was a $3.55 stock.  Shares fell to under $2.00 after earnings to close at $1.86 on Tuesday after the report.  Shares have slid each day: $1.70 on Wednesday and $1.43 on Thursday.  There are over two hours until the market opens this Friday morning and shares are indicated down close to 12% at $1.26.  Shares were down as much as 15% earlier this morning.

JON C. OGG

Mega-banks, too, are building more storage space for gold. Barclays Capital, a subsidiary of Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), and Brinks Co. (NYSE: BCO) are all building new or expanded secure storage to hold all that yellow metal.

Adding to the demand for gold, of course, are the ETFs that purchase bullion: the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU). A single gold bar weighs 27.5 pounds and is 7 inches long by 3.675 inches wide by 1.75 inches high. The SPDR Gold Trust holds more than 1,250 metric tons of gold bullion in a vault owned by HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HBC), or about 2.75 million pounds. That’s 100,000 gold bars with a total dollar value of about $72 billion.

The world’s central banks hold more than 30,000 metric tons of gold, and the world’s gold miners added more than 400 tons to the globe’s supply of gold in the second quarter of this year. The newly-mined gold totaled the equivalent of 32,000 gold bars. Nearly 40% of that is converted into about 12,800 gold bars.

There are plenty of analysts who don’t believe the gold rally can continue. George Soros, for example, sold all his interests in both SPDR and iShares gold trusts. Warren Buffett thinks investing in gold is, at best, peculiar.

For now, though JP Morgan, HSBC, and Brinks, the three largest vault-providers in the UK are sitting pretty. Small gold investors, though, may be facing higher storage prices as insurance costs are rising. The vault owners, as you might expect, have no comment.

The obvious question, of course, is what happens to all these new vaults when investors unload their hoards of gold?

Paul Ausick

Active Power Inc. (NASDAQ: ACPW) Started as Buy at Merriman.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) Cut to Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Raised to Outperform at BMO.
Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Brightpoint Inc. (NASDAQ: CELL) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) Raised to Sector Perform at RBC.
HCA Inc. (NYSE: HCA) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) Raised to Hold at Argus.
OM Group, Inc. (NYSE: OMG) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (NYSE: PT) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

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JON C. OGG