US multifamily homebuilding rose in October but construction of singe family dwellings fell as interest rates continue to creep up.The Commerce Department also said building permits declined last month and homebuilding completions were the fewest they had been in a year. Data for September was revised showing that starts dropped at a rate of 1.210 million units - higher than the previously reported drop of 1.201 million units.

Alphabet's Google is hoping that users in India can learn about local hotspots and facilities better and quicker – via the online platform's latest app, 'Neighbourly'. Launched exclusively in India, the app is a social network that allows people to get answers to their questions about various topics like street food/restaurants, car repair shops, plumbers, tuition classes etc.The replies will be sourced from other users.  Google began testing the app in Indian city Mumbai in May, followed by six other cities.

The market for Apple Inc.'s new iPhones - XR and XS - might not have gained enough steam yet. This week, a Wall Street Journal article said that Apple has cut production of its new iPhone models by a third from around 70 million units it had previously planned with its suppliers between September and February. Several reports indicate that consumer demand for iPhone XR is falling short of Apple’s expectations.The iPhone XS (that has a size closer to the iPhone 8) comes at a relatively steep price of $999 – another potential reason why iPhone 8 might still be strong in popularity amidst the launch of new models from Apple this year.  

Amazon has reportedly placed its first round of bid for Disney’s 22 regional sports networks. Disney had acquired those networks from 21st Century Fox earlier this year as part of a $71.3 billion deal.And now, it might be preparing to divest some of the assets - as Amazon alongwith several private equity firms like Apollo Global Management, KKR, Blackstone and  broadcast-TV companies Tegna and Sinclair participated in the first round of bidding for the regional networks that include the YES Network (which broadcasts New York Yankees games) and other networks showing live regional games  of the Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, as reported by CNBC, citing sources familiar with the bidding process. What’s more, Fox itself might be willing to buy back those 22 regional sports networks from Disney, as indicated by  Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch  earlier this month.

Marc Zuckerberg does not plan to leave his position as Facebook chairman, and wants Sheryl Sandberg to remain the company’s COO – amidst recent controversies surrounding the social networking platform. In an interview with CNN Business, Zuckerberg said, "Sheryl is a really important part of this company and is leading a lot of the efforts to address a lot of the biggest issues that we have," while adding, "She's been an important partner for me for 10 years.It also claimed that the tech company employed PR firm called Definers Public Affairs for dirt-digging on its competitors.  During the CNN interview, Zuckerberg emphasized that Facebook has been reshuffling its management team this year, in addition to doing some restructuring in production and engineering departments.

After declining more than 50% since hitting its peak in August, Michael Kors is slowly making a comeback as it showed good growth potential following the acquisitions of Jimmy Choo and Versace. After a substantial correction, the stock may be repositioning itself to the street as a long-term play, especially considering its current low valuation.Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 757,582 shares of the lifestyle brand after acquiring an additional 45,592 shares during the period.

Snapping four days of gains, oil prices plummeted again on Tuesday and crude futures also fell to fresh session lows, as the U.S. President in an official statement announced that the United States stands by Saudi Arabia. Brent crude fell by $4.72 or 7.1% to stand at $62.07 a barrel while the international benchmark for oil prices hit a fresh eight-month low on Tuesday.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) plunged by $4.18 or 7.3% to stand at $53.02, thus hitting its lowest level going back to October 2017. Crude futures and equities fell in tandem during this broad market sell-off, just like last month.

UBS analyst, Steven Winoker, in his recently released report has given GE a buy rating with a target stock price of $13. Despite the fact that the company’s bonds are on the verge of becoming junk-rated, he is still upbeat regarding GE and sees a path of improvement for both the leverage and valuation of the company. According to Steven Winoker, he expects General Electric to reduce its debt to far more acceptable levels by 2020, thus representing a long-term capital appreciation opportunity. With the company already starting a wave of transactions aimed at simplifying and restructuring its businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively in the long run, Winoker is optimistic the company is on the path of recovery and could be on the growth track again soon.

An analysis by Goldman Sachs forecasts emerging market stocks to produce double-digit returns in 2019, after this year’s stormy patch. The report says that developing-nation shares will probably return 12% in dollar terms next year, amidst the U.S. economy's potential expansion through 2020 and China’s fiscal stimulus.Asian stocks will outpace Latin American equities in 2019, according to the analysis. The study expects South African rand, Colombian peso and Mexican peso to appreciate, while taking a cautious stance on the Argentine peso and the Turkish lira. It sees value in higher-rated sovereign bonds in the Middle East and Asia.  

Boeing cancelled a conference call  with airlines about systems and features of its 737 MAX – a model which crashed in Indonesia in October. On October 29, a 737 MAX operated by Lion Air crashed, resulting in the death of all 189 passengers.) While Boeing has held off the conference call, the aircraft manufacturer will reportedly continue to interact with individual airlines on a regular basis, according to CNBC.

The pharma retail/healthcare company had previously anticipated the deal to close before the holiday. According to its Tuesday’s regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CVS has already received approvals of 26 out of the 28 state departments of insurance, and is in "the final stages" of approval processes with the remaining two states for the acquisition. The Department of Justice had given the preliminary nod in October to the CVS-Aetna deal, after CVS reached an agreement to sell off its Medicare Part D plan business to WellCare Health Plans.The divestiture was apparently a crucial step for CVS in preventing a ‘merger’ of its own Medicare segment with Aetna’s Medicare Part D plans, and therefore to ease regulatory concerns about a potential increase in monopolistic power in the Medicare sector due to CVS's acquisition of Aetna.

Target Corp.'s third quarter (Q3) earnings may have fallen short of analysts’ expectations a little, but its sales growth potentially speaks to the retail giant’s strength in an industry where competition is only getting intense. Target's adjusted earnings-per-share came in at  $1.09 for the quarter, up 20.2% from the year-ago period.Target’s total sales of $17.82 billion in Q3 topped analysts’ expected $17.80 billion. What’s more, the retailer seems to be upping the “Target” for the holiday season, by offering free two-day shipping on all orders from November 1 to December 22. It is the second-largest department store retailer in the U.S., after Walmart.  

Users will be notified of the deletion and encouraged to revoke their access from the popularity boosting apps, so that their account activity is more genuine. Earlier this year, Instagram increased its anti-harassment scrutiny, by introducing a new technology for detecting bullying comments on photos/captions in order to filter out detrimental activity on the website.Instagram’s moves comes amidst  increasing awareness and action among social networking platforms to restrict  fake news, online harassment and hate speech.

Apple now allows you to download all the data it keeps about you, your purchases, and how you interact with Apple services. It started providing an easy way for European users to request this data earlier this year because of GDPR, a European privacy regulation, but now the website is available to Americans, too. READ MORE...

Natural gas prices surged to a more than four-year high in panicky and volatile trading Wednesday, after the latest cold weather forecasts raised fears that the U.S. is heading for a potentially colder-than-expected winter with too little gas supply. READ MORE...

Germany's economy just saw its worst quarter for several years, flash data showed on Wednesday morning, but with news of a draft Brexit deal and Italy refusing to budge on its controversial budget plans, you'd be forgiven for not noticing. READ MORE...

Global oil supply will outpace demand throughout 2019, as a relentless rise in output swamps growth in consumption that is at risk from a slowing economy, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. READ MORE...

PG&E's stock lost more than 20 percent of its value Wednesday after the utility said it does not have nearly enough insurance coverage if it is found liable for a Northern California wildfire that has left at least 56 people dead and destroyed about 9,000 homes. READ MORE...

Many growth stocks have gotten hurt as the market turned south again the past week.But Medpace Holdings (MEDP) is showing unusual strength, which puts it among top stocks to watch. READ MORE:

Billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen said a bear market is coming within two years, adding to a chorus of voices who say the U.S. economy could falter by 2020. READ MORE...