Kourtney Kardashian
Image: Shutterstock

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
  • Asian markets were mostly lower, with the Shanghai SE Composite shedding 3.3%. Europe followed suit, with the French CAC and German DAX down moderately. U.S. futures are pointing to a higher open.
  • Standard & Poor's downgraded 37 financial institutions yesterday, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, setting off a cascade of worries among analysts that banks will need to post additional collateral against trades held. 

  • The People's Bank of China lowered reserve requirement ratios for banks by 50 basis points. Before the announcement, the PBOC held the requirement at 21.5% for the country's largest banks, on concerns that economic growth could cool.
  • South Korea’s industrial output dropped 0.7% sequentially in October, but increased by 6.2% year-on-year. The country's domestic machinery shipment index declined by 8.1%, while consumer trends ticked upwards as retail sales increased by 0.6% month-on-month.
  • Indian GDP grew by 6.9% in the quarter ending this September, its slowest expansion in more than two years. However, that was in line with analyst expectations. Manufacturing output increased 2.7% while mining fell 2.9%.
  • Today kicks off a slew of economic data announcements. ADP announces private payrolls, with analysts expecting growth of 130,000 jobs. At 2 p.m., the Federal Reserve's Beige Book will be released.
  • Silver Lake has entered a bid for a minority stake in Yahoo! at $16.60 a share, Brian Womack, Jeffrey McCracken and Douglas MacMillan of Bloomberg report. That comes in lower than a bid by TPG Capital and values the firm at $20.6 billion.
  • The FCC is allowing AT&T to withdraw its application to take over smaller wireless carrier T-Mobile for $39 billion. Documents delving into both carriers operations would have been made public had the FCC refused. Take a look at the investment banks that have it all riding on deals like this.
  • Pfizer's blockbuster cholesterol pill, Lipitor, loses its patent exclusivity today, allowing generic competitors to enter the market. Last year, Lipitor generated revenue of $10.7 billion. Analysts have predicted that could fall by nearly 70% in 2012 as generics begin competing for share.
  • Unemployment in Italy jumped unexpectedly as the economy slowed further. The jobless rate hit a 17-month high of 8.5%. Meanwhile good news in Germany, unemployment was revised lower to 6.9% as 2.9 million people remain out of work.