Reuters:   The US sees “no reason” to challenge the Toyota (NYSE:TM) plan to fix cars it has recalled for pedal trouble.

Reuters:   The new budget has programs to save jobs but also creates huge deficits.

Reuters:   Boeing (NYSE:BA) says its airplane order book is getting smaller.

Reuters:   Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) may cut its CEO’s pay package because of outside pressure

Reuters:   Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) quarterly profit topped forecasts.

WSJ:   Banks are no longer toughening lending standards and manufacturing has rebounded.

WSJ:   Banks are prepared to fight the Administration over new legislation about proprietary trading.

WSJ:   Burkle has challenged the Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) poison pill and may wage a proxy fight.

WSJ:   Google (NYSE:GOOG) plans a store for business apps.

WSJ:   Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) settled some stent patent claims with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).

WSJ:   France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) will get a new CEO.

WSJ:   Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) and the AP reached a content licensing deal.

WSJ:   Exxon (NYSE:XOM) is drilling in more high risk areas and it’s gambling on big deposits which are hard to reach.

NYT:   Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has challenged the chip industry by designing its own processor for the iPad.

NYT:   The new budget raises the issue of  the future of the Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) bailouts

NYT:   Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is increasingly clashing with European lawmakers over copyright and antitrust issues.

NYT:   Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) reports that $700 billion in junk debt is due between 2012 and 2014.

FT:   Obama will target overseas tax breaks.

FT:   Global manufacturing is increasing quickly.

FT:   US companies have issued positive earnings forecasts.

FT:   Demand for corporate loans in soft in the US.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters:   The head of the AIG (AIG) unit that caused most of the firm’s losses is back in US.

Reuters:   The G20 has set up a long struggle over bank capital rules.

Reuters:   Xerox (XRX) is buying ACS (ACS) to increase it software business.

Reuters:   BNP Paribas raised money and will pay back the government early.

Reuters:   China will cut fuel prices, probably by 3%.

Reuters:   UBS (UBS) will hold off selling its wealth management unit.

Reuters:   Dell (DELL) launched a high-end business PC.

Reuters:   Starbucks (SBUX) has debuted its new Via instant coffee across the US.

WSJ:   Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Abbott (ABT), and Merck (MRK) are making big flu vaccine bets.

WSJ:   The FDIC is likely to make banks pre-pay their assessments for the next three years.

WSJ:   Big Wall St. firms will resist the “uptick” rule which affects short selling.

WSJ:   Warner (TWX) and YouTube are near a video deal.

WSJ:   The return of special purpose acquisition companies is showing an increase appetite for financial risk.

WSJ:   Bank of America (BAC) was sued by pension funds over the Merrill deal.

WSJ:   China antitrust authorities approved GM’s plan to buy part of Delphi.

WSJ:   The sale of Opel still faces uncertainty.

WSJ:   Sequenom Inc (SQNM) fired its CEO over tainted test results.

WSJ:   Consumer electronics companies are likely to have a rough holiday season.

WSJ:   Virtual desktops are making gains.

WSJ:   China’s exporters are eying sales to Chinese consumers.

WSJ:   The SEC is looking into more disclosures in the securities lending business.

WSJ:   Singapore’s investment arm lost $42 billion in the last fiscal year.

WSJ:   Public companies are doing well selling follow-on offerings.

WSJ:   Realogy restructured its debt with help from Icahn.

WSJ:   Asia’s IPO boom is slowing.

WSJ:   The recent rise in stocks has been led by companies with the largest percentage of their shares sold short.

WSJ:   Toyota (TM) and Nissan said their China sales in August were not as bad as in past months this year.

WSJ:   SK Telecom will sell back its stake in China Unicom (CHU).

WSJ:   France Telecom’s (FTE) Orange unit will sell the Apple (AAPL) iPhone in the UK.

NYT:   The head of the World Bank sees the role of the dollar diminishing.

NYT:   G.I.C., Singapore’s giant sovereign wealth fund, said it had recovered some losses because of the market rally.

NYT:   Foreign airlines are ahead of US carriers in use of cellphones on flights.

FT:   China’s CNOOC is in talks to buy one-sixth of Nigeria’s oil reserves.

Bloomberg:   Bank pay rules may put B of A and Citigroup (C) at recruiting disadvantages.

Bloomberg:   Xerox’s (XRX) deal to buy ACS (ACS) underscores that more companies want to be like IBM (IBM)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters:   Manpower says the outlook for hiring is US is weak.

Reuters:   Gold futures topped $1,000.

Reuters:   Kraft (KFT) will probably up its bid for Cadbury.

Reuters:   The World Economic Forum says the Switzerland passed the US as the world’s most competitive economy.

Reuters:   Greenspan says US banks need to keep higher capital.

Reuters:   Brad Garlinghouse, formerly a Yahoo! (YHOO) executive, will run e-mail operations for AOL.

Reuters:   Chinatrust may raise more cash as it stayed quiet about a bid for AIG’s (AIG) China group.

WSJ:   The markets are vulnerable to a sell-off because of debt burdens.

WSJ:   The GM board will meet to discuss the future of Opel.

WSJ:   The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will launch a marketing campaign against a new Obama-planned consumer protection agency.

WSJ:   AIG (AIG) could speed up the spin-out of its insurance units.

WSJ:   A group hoping to protect Linux, which includes IBM (IBM) and Sony (SNE), may buy patents from Microsoft (MSFT).

WSJ:   Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom plan to merge their UK wireless operations.

WSJ:   Roche named a new head of its pharmaceuticals group.

WSJ:   A Chinese firm is bidding for Australia’s Energy Metals.

WSJ:   China backs several companies over their reactions to losses from derivative contracts.

WSJ:   Kraft’s (KFT) bid puts Cadbury in play.

WSJ:   Google (GOOG) cut back on its plan to make books available online in Europe.

WSJ:   Abu Dhabi will by Chartered Semiconductor.

WSJ:   Twitter is becoming a recruiting tool for companies including Verizon (VZ) and McDonald’s (MCD).

WSJ:   Treating depression may help treat heart disease.

NYT:   Buffett is buying fewer stocks and more government and corporate debt.

FT:   Regulators are working out details for tougher regulation of banks around the world.

Bloomberg:   Saudi Arabia signaled that oil prices at current levels were fine.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The Nikkei rose .7% to 10,393. Toyota (TM) traded higher.

The Hang Seng was up 1.5% to 20,941.

The Shanghai Composite was higher by 1.7% to 2,930.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE rose .4% to 4,951. The Dax was up .3% to 5,479. Deutsche Telekom (DT) rose. The CAC 40 was up .3% to 3,660. France Telecom (FTE) was up.

Data from MarketWatch and Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Crocs (CROX) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
France Telecom (FTE) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Marsh & McLennan (MMC) Raised to Buy at UBS.
MetroPCS (PCS) Raised to Hold at Auriga.
Aqua America (WTR) Cut to Neutral at HSBC.
Leap Wireless (LEAP) Cut to Market Weight at Thomas Weisel; Cut to Hold at Soleil.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Telecom Italia (TI) Cut to Neutral at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Thomson Reuters (TRI) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.

JON C. OGG

The Nikkei rose .5% to 10,165. Honda (HMC) rose on good results as did Sony (SNE).

The Hang Seng was up .9% to 20,312. Lower oil prices pushed down shares in PetroChina (PTR).

The Shanghai Composite was up 1.7% to 3,322.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE was up .9% to 4,586. The Dax rose .6% to 5,303. The CAC 40 moved up .7% to 3,390.  France Telecom (FTE) and Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) both rose.

Data from Reuters and MarketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters writes that Facebook is stressing its independence among all of the M&A talk about large internet companies.

Reuters writes that News Corp (NWS) is launching a online financial ad network based around its Dow Jones properties.

Reuters writes that Asian funds worry that inflation could cause a sucker rally.

The Wall Street Journal writes the Daimler and BMW are considering setting up a joint venture to buy car components.

The Wall Street Journal reports that curbs on carbon emissions could help the nuclear power industry.

The Wall Street Journal reports that EA (ERTS) is likely to extend its offer for Take-Two (TTWO).

The Wall Street Journal reports that rising PEs of stocks may mean that are no longer bargains.

The Wall Street Journal reportes that some retailers are cutting back on their luxury items due to a fall off in demand.

The Wall Street Journal writes that a unit for France Telecom (FTE) has signed a deal with Apple (AAPL) to market the iPhone in Africa and some Middle East countries.

The New York Times writes that bank terms could kill the LBO of Bell Canada

The New York Times writes that search advertising may be killing the market for complex and expensive display ads.

The FT writes that money manager are working on getting rights to run a new $10 billion Saudi fund.

Bloomberg writes that stocks in the US and UK are recovering from their worst drop since 2001.

Bloomberg writes that auction rate securities cost Google (GOOG), UPS (UPS), and JP Morgan (JPM) shareholder $1.8 billion.

Bloomberg reports that, despite record investments, BP (BP) Exxon (XOM), and Shell can’t find enough oil.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The FTSE rose .3% to 6,069. Barclays (BCS) fell 4.1% to 458.75. RBS (RBS) fell 4% to 357.75.

The DAXX was up .3% to 6,807. Deutsche Bank (DB) was off 1.3% to 75.52. VW was up 2.2% to 190.63.

The CAC 40 moved up .3% to 4,926. France Telecom (FTE) rose 1.2% to 20.23. Societe Generale fell 1.5% to 72.78.

Data from Reuters

Douglas A. McIntyre

The FTSE rose .6% to 6,013. Barclays (BCS) fell 1.1% to 473.5. Lloyds fell 2.6% to 431.25.

The DAXX was up .8% to 6,733. Deutsche Bank (DB) was up 1.5% to 75.8. RWE was down 3.7% to 74.5.

The CAC 40 was up 1% to 4,909. Credit Agricole was up 1.8% to 21.06. France Telecom (FTE) was off 1.6% to 19.55.

Data from Reuters

Douglas A. McIntyre

The FTSE was up .1% to 6,052. Barclay’s (BCS) rose 2.6% to 491.5. SABMiller was up 5.5% to 1,182.

The DAXX moved up .1% to 6,708. Deutsche Telekom (DT) was down 2% to 11.08. Man Ag was up 1.2% to 90.67.

The CAC 40 traded higher by .7% to 4,887. France Telecom (FTE) was off 3.5% to 20.13. Societe Generale was up 4.8% to 71.31.

Data from Reuters

Douglas A. McIntre