(Forbes) Lockheed Martin Claims Fusion Breakthrough That Could Change World Fore

Lockheed Martin, the aerospace and defense conglomerate based in Bethesda, Md., is claiming to have made a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion, which could lead to development of reactors small enough to fit on the back of a truck within a decade.

In the simplest terms, nuclear fission breaks a single atom into two whereas nuclear fusion combines two atoms into one.

Fusion, the holy grail of nuclear power, creates three to four times as much energy as fission. More importantly, fusion’s key advantage over fission is that it does not produce cancer-causing radioactive waste.


Tom McGuire, who heads the project, told Reuters that his team had been working on fusion energy at Lockheed’s Skunk Works program for the past four years, but decided to go public with the news now to recruit additional partners in industry and government to support their work.

Last year, while speaking at Google’s Solve for X program, Charles Chase , a research scientist at Skunk Works, described Lockheed’s effort to build a trailer-sized fusion power plant that turns cheap and plentiful hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) into helium plus enough energy to power a small city.

“It’s safe, it’s clean, and Lockheed is promising an operational unit by 2017 with assembly line production to follow, enabling everything from unlimited fresh water to engines that take spacecraft to Mars in one month instead of six,” Evan Ackerman wrote in a post about Chase’s Google GOOGL -1.5% talk on Dvice.

The key breakthrough involves using a “magnetic bottle” to contain the vast amount of heat, which rises into the hundreds of millions of degrees, created by the nuclear reaction. Containing and controlling the staggering levels of heat and pressure involved has hampered countless previous efforts to use fusion for generating electricity. The challenges associated with controlling the heat and pressure created by nuclear fusion has been especially difficult at smaller scales, which makes Lockheed’s claimed breakthrough all the more impressive.

“By containing this reaction, we can release [the heat] in a controlled fashion to create energy we can use,” Lockheed said in a statement. “The heat energy created using this compact fusion reactor will drive turbine generators by replacing the combustion chambers with simple heat exchangers. In turn, the turbines will then generate electricity or the propulsive power for a number of applications.”

Lockheed said in a statement that it would build a pilot fusion reactor in the next year.

If it works, the world will be a different place.

But in the meantime the emphasis should remain on the word “if.”

>>> Telecom Italia facing moves from Prime Minister to corporatise telephone net

Telecom Italia facing moves from Prime Minister to corporatise telephone network 

Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime Minister, is drawing up plans to corporatise the fixed-line telephone network of Telecom Italia (TI), Italian language daily La Repubblica reported. The report cited political sources close to the government who said that turning the network into a corporate entity in its own right would have the same effect as spinning off the network.

The report noted that there has been talk over the last several years of spinning off the network.

The report noted that under the plans FSI, the strategic investment fund controlled by Italian holding Treasury holding CdP would have a 40% stake in the network, with the aim of increasing that to a majority over a three-year period. The report said that the network would then be open to outside investors, including foreign players.

The operation would not be launched in the near future, the item said.

The government would use so-called "golden power" legislation designed to protect strategic assets from foreign takeover as the basis for the operation, the paper added.


Source La Repubblica

>>> What to look at today - 16th of October 2014

US MArket Losed lower, Market managed to climb off their lows, Russell closed 1% higher...Eco Data didn't helped the sentiment...the 10-yr note was up more than two points at its best level of the day with the benchmark yield down 34 basis points. That represented the sharpest move since the $1 trillion QE program was unveiled in March 2009, Treasuries may have also received a boost from comments made by The Wall Street Journal's Jon Hilsenrath, who said the recent drop in commodity prices gives the fed more room to delay its first rate hike. To that point, the fed funds futures market has pushed out the probability of the first hike from July 2015 to the end of 2015. Interestingly, the stock market all but ignored the report, leading to speculation that equity investors may be starting to question the power of the Fed and other central banks after years of asset purchases and rate cuts that have been followed by subpar growth and disinflationary pressures ...Volume were important @ 1.1bil shares...VIX @ 26.25 +15.18%...US After Hours HCA +7.2%, BGG +2.4%, HNI +2.3%, NFLX -26.2%, EXTR -21.0%, EBAY -1.0% following earnings/guidance...Asian markets continued to sell off on global concerns. Following a selloff in the Europe and US markets, China Ministry of Commerce also released Sept China FDI data attracting $9.0B, which was an increase of 1.9% y/y...Press sources reported China Sept power consumption was at +2.7% compared to the prior month's reading of -1.5%... BOJ Governor Kuroda said that the weak yen can boost exports, stocks. The rise in import costs from weak yen has somewhat offset by sharp fall in commodity prices...Nikkei -2.5% Hang Seng -0.71%...Shanghai -0.05%

Eur$1.2795 S&P+0.30% EuroStoxx +0.69% FTSE +0.42% DAX +0.79% SMI +0.15%

Macro
- Slowing Demand Caught Oil Market by Surprise: Repsol Economist
- China Sept. New Loans 857.2b Yuan; Est. 750b Yuan

Keep an eye on :
- CS FP : AXA SA Outlook to Positive From Stable by S&P; Rating Affirmed
- BKIA SM : Bankia Portfolio Sale Is Credit Positive, Moody’s Says
- CA FP : Carrefour 3Q Sales In Line With Ests.
- CBK GY : Commerzbank U.S. Settlement Postponed on Olympus Probe: Reuters
- COV US : Medtronic Remains Committed to Covidien Deal, Deutsche Bank Says
- DBHN GY : Deutsche Bahn to Get EU1b More for Infrastructure: Sueddeutsche
- EDEN FP : Edenred 3Q LFL Issue Vol. In Line With Ests., Confirms Forecast
- EDP PL : EDP Says 3.3% Increase Proposed for 2015 Residential Power Rates
- FCC SM : FCC Shareholders Meeting Will Consider Capital Increase
- GSZ FP : GDF Suez Won't Make Binding Bid for E.ON Italy Assets: Reuters
- NESN VX : Nestle 9-Mo. Organic Sales Growth 4.5%; Analyst Est. 4.7%, Nestle 9-Month Sales Growth Miss Ests.
- NOVN VX : Novartis Leukemia Therapy Tied to 90% Remission in Study
- NUM FP : Drahi Plans to Make Denoyer Head of SFR-Numericable: Figaro
- POM FP : Plastic Omnium Plans EU1.7B of Investments to 2018: Les Echos
- RCO FP : Remy 2Q Organic Sales Growth In Line With Ests.
- RIO LN : Rio Tinto CEO Says Not Seeking ‘Major M&A’, Nikkei Reports
- RIO LN : Chinalco Seeking Rio Tinto Board Seat, Bigger Role: Reuters
- ROG VX : Roche 3Q Sales Beat Ests.; Breast Cancer Drug Sales Grow
- RWE GY : Reportedly UK officials to block €5.0B sale of RWE oil and gas unit Dea to a Russian investor , BASF is said to be interested
- SLIGR NA : Sligro Says Supermarket Spending Under Pressure
- SYMM VX : Syngenta 3Q Integrated Sales Up 3% at Constant FX, Dropping Cash Flow Ex-M&A Target of $1.3b
- TIT IM : Italy Govt Studies Plan for Role in Telecom Italia: Repubblica
- ZIGGO NA : Ziggo 3Q Sales, Adj. Ebitda Rise; Keeps 2014 Forecast

>>> Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 16th of October

>>> Up
*AKZO NOBEL RAISED TO BUY VS NEUTRAL AT NOMURA
*ANTOFAGASTA RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT UBS
*H&M RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT GOLDMAN SACHS
*HAVAS RAISED TO OVERWEIGHT VS NEUTRAL AT HSBC
*K+S RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS REDUCE AT NOMURA
*LANXESS RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS REDUCE AT NOMURA
*MILLICOM RAISED TO HOLD VS SELL AT BERENBERG
*NORTHAM PLATINUM RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT UBS
*SIBANYE GOLD RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT UBS
*TELKOM SA RAISED TO NEUTRAL VS SELL AT UBS
*WHITBREAD RAISED TO ADD VS HOLD AT NUMIS

>>> Down
*CGG CUT TO REDUCE VS NEUTRAL AT NOMURA
*DSM CUT TO NEUTRAL VS BUY AT NOMURA
*ROSTELECOM CUT TO UNDERWEIGHT VS EQUALWEIGHT AT BARCLAYS
*SEADRILL CUT TO REDUCE VS NEUTRAL AT NOMURA

>>> PT Changes


>>> Initiation
*GREENCORE RATED NEW BUY AT BERENBERG
*ILIAD RESUMED OVERWEIGHT AT HSBC, PT EU210
*VIVENDI RESUMED BUY AT BOFAML, PT EU20

>>> Call
>> Stock
*AQUARIUS PLATINUM REMOVED FROM UBS MOST PREFERRED LIST
*ASTRAZENECA ADDED TO EUROPE 1 LIST AT BOFAML
*FERREXPO REMOVED FROM UBS LEAST PREFERRED LIST

>>> AbbVie's Board recommends stockholders vote against Shire (SHPG) transaction

AbbVie's Board recommends stockholders vote against Shire (SHPG) transaction
Following Shire plc's (SHPG) waiver of the three-day notice period, AbbVie (ABBV) announced its Board of Directors' withdraws its recommendation made on July 18, 2014 regarding the proposed Shire transaction and recommends that stockholders vote against the transaction.
  • AbbVie and its Board of Directors made this determination following a detailed consideration of the impact of the U.S. Department of Treasury's unilateral changes to the tax rules, as issued on September 22, 2014. The breadth and scope of the changes, including the unexpected nature of the exercise of administrative authority to impact longstanding tax principles, and to target specifically a subset of companies that would be treated differently than either other inverted companies or foreign domiciled entities, introduced an unacceptable level of uncertainty to the transaction. Additionally, the changes eliminated certain of the financial benefits of the transaction, most notably the ability to access current and future global cash flows in a tax efficient manner as originally contemplated in the transaction. This fundamentally changed the implied value of Shire to AbbVie in a significant manner.

F>>> After Hours Summary: HCA +7.2%, BGG +2.4%, HNI +2.3%, NFLX -26.



After Hours Summary: HCA +7.2%, BGG +2.4%, HNI +2.3%, NFLX -26.2%, EXTR -21.0%, EBAY -1.0% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: HCA +7.2%, UMPQ +3.6%, BGG +2.4%, HNI +2.3%, KMI +1.6%, URI +1.5%, LVS +1.2%, NAVI +0.3%, EPB +0.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: MSO +21.6% (confirmed multi-year media partnership with Meredith Corporation (MDP), will have an immediate impact on operating income), CVV +11.5% (reported $27.5 mln in new orders through Q3, representing an increase of ~239% in new orders from prior year), APP +6.0% (seeing reports that co has made an interest payment on its bonds), ANV +5.4% (announced preliminary Q3 production and sales: 49,630 ounces of gold produced vs 52,198 in prior year), CPA +2.4% (announced monthly traffic statistics for September 2014: System-wde passenger traffic increased 1.9% yoy), NVS +0.6% (announced that CTL019 data was published in the NEJM demonstrating efficacy in certain patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: NFLX -26.2%, EXTR -21.0%, EBAY -1.0%, AXP -0.5%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: EGLE -10.3% (completed financial restructuring; all existing equity interests cancelled, with such equity interests receiving, subject to dilution, 0.5% of new equity in the reorganized Eagle Bulk and seven-year warrants to acquire an additional 7.5% of the new equity), INSY -6.8% (provided update on Dronabinol Oral solution new drug application; co has received a Refusal to File Letter from the FDA), TTPH -6.2% (announced proposed public offering of common stock), RIG -1.1% (provided fleet status report: total value of new contracts since the September 22, 2014 update is ~$610 mln)

Fwd: Briefi>>> After Hours Summary: HCA +7.2%, BGG +2.4%, HNI +2.3%, NFLX -26.

After Hours Summary: HCA +7.2%, BGG +2.4%, HNI +2.3%, NFLX -26.2%, EXTR -21.0%, EBAY -1.0% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: HCA +7.2%, UMPQ +3.6%, BGG +2.4%, HNI +2.3%, KMI +1.6%, URI +1.5%, LVS +1.2%, NAVI +0.3%, EPB +0.1%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: MSO +21.6% (confirmed multi-year media partnership with Meredith Corporation (MDP), will have an immediate impact on operating income), CVV +11.5% (reported $27.5 mln in new orders through Q3, representing an increase of ~239% in new orders from prior year), APP +6.0% (seeing reports that co has made an interest payment on its bonds), ANV +5.4% (announced preliminary Q3 production and sales: 49,630 ounces of gold produced vs 52,198 in prior year), CPA +2.4% (announced monthly traffic statistics for September 2014: System-wde passenger traffic increased 1.9% yoy), NVS +0.6% (announced that CTL019 data was published in the NEJM demonstrating efficacy in certain patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: NFLX -26.2%, EXTR -21.0%, EBAY -1.0%, AXP -0.5%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: EGLE -10.3% (completed financial restructuring; all existing equity interests cancelled, with such equity interests receiving, subject to dilution, 0.5% of new equity in the reorganized Eagle Bulk and seven-year warrants to acquire an additional 7.5% of the new equity), INSY -6.8% (provided update on Dronabinol Oral solution new drug application; co has received a Refusal to File Letter from the FDA), TTPH -6.2% (announced proposed public offering of common stock), RIG -1.1% (provided fleet status report: total value of new contracts since the September 22, 2014 update is ~$610 mln)

>>> Asian Update

Asian Market Update: Shanghai supported by recovery in New Loans; Nikkei down sharply on safehaven Yen bid


***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA SEPT FOREIGN RESERVES: $3.890T V $4.010TE
- (CN) CHINA SEPT M2 MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 12.9% V 13.0%E; M1 MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 4.8% V 5.9%E
- (CN) CHINA SEPT NEW YUAN LOANS (CNY): 857.2B (3-month high) V 745.8BE
- (CN) CHINA SEPT AGGREGATE FINANCING (CNY): 1.050T V 1.150TE
- (CN) CHINA SEPT ACTUAL FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) Y/Y: +1.9% V -14.0%E
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND SEPT ANZ JOB ADS M/M: 2.4% V 1.7% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND SEPT BUSINESS MANUFACTURING PMI: 58.1 (14-month high) V 57.0 PRIOR
- (AU) AUSTRALIA OCT CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 3.4% V 3.5% PRIOR
- (AU) AUSTRALIA SEPT RBA FX TRANSACTIONS (A$): 910M V 381M PRIOR

***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -2.2%, S&P/ASX -0.6%, Kospi -0.6%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%, Hang Seng -0.8%, Dec S&P500 +0.3% at 1,851, Dec gold -0.4% at $1,239, Nov crude oil -1.3% at $80.76/brl

***Market Focal Points/Key Themes/FX***
- Asian markets continued to sell off on global concerns. Following a selloff in the Europe and US markets, Japan's Nikkei225 opened the session down almost 2%, briefly touching 14,672.55, the lowest level since late May. The Shanghai Composite, however, traded higher during the session continuing to rally following the release of the Sept lending and money supply data. Sept M2 money supply came in at 12.9%, just shy of the 13.0% expected, while Sept new yuan lending was at the highest level in 3 months at CNY857.2B, beating consensus estimates of CNY745.8B.

- The China Ministry of Commerce also released Sept China FDI data attracting $9.0B, which was an increase of 1.9% y/y. The non-financial overseas component or the amount of direct investment made overseas by Chinese investors outside the financial sector, increased 21.6%y/y.

- Press sources reported China Sept power consumption was at +2.7% compared to the prior month's reading of -1.5%. Although power consumption recovered from last month, demand continues to remain weak, as 2.7% marks the second lowest reading since Apr 2013. The official power consumption report is expected from China National Energy Administration (NEA) this week.

- The US Treasury released its semiannual currency report labelling no major trading partner as a currency manipulator. The report admonished South Korea for its currency interventions between May and July. South Korea officials subsequently said that the fx rate is determined by the market, limiting any intervention to a smoothing operation when there is excessive movement. On China the Treasury said the yuan remains undervalued, adding that China's intervention has slowed.

- In his address to the upper house of parliament, BOJ Governor Kuroda said that the weak yen can boost exports, stocks. The rise in import costs from weak yen has somewhat offset by sharp fall in commodity prices. In a response to inquiry regarding a yen drop to 170/dollar, he said he cannot necessarily say a decline would go that far. The governor reiterated that he has not set any deadline for easing by the BOJ, adding that it is too early to discuss exit strategy as inflation was still only halfway to meeting price target.

***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES: CRUDE: +10.2M (multi-year high build) v +2Me, GASOLINE: -3.1M v -1.5Me, DISTILLATE: -0.16M v -1.5Me
- (CN) PBoC to drain CNY20B in 14-day repos (22nd consecutive drain); net position zero this week vs injected CNY26B prior
- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid-point at 6.1395 v 6.1455 prior setting (strongest Yuan setting since Mar 19th)
- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥110B in JGB with maturity less than 1-yr, ¥100B in 10-25yr JGB, and ¥30B in JGB with maturity over 25-yr

***Equities***
US markets:
- MSO: Announces multi-year media partnership with Meredith Corporation; immediately accretive to earnings; financial terms not disclosed; +16.8% afterhours
- HCA: Reports prelim Q3 $1.16 v $0.98e, Rev $9.22B v $9.04Be; Raises FY14; +7.2% afterhours
- LVS: Reports Q3 $0.84 v $0.84e, R$3.53B v $3.67Be; Adds $2B to buyback plan (4.2% of market cap); +1.8% afterhours
- URI: Reports Q2 $2.20 v $2.05e, R$1.54B v $1.50Be; +1.7% afterhours

- AXP: Reports Q3 $1.40 v $1.38e, R$8.33B v $8.37Be; -0.2% afterhours
- EBAY: Reports Q3 $0.68 v $0.67e, R$4.35B v $4.37Be; -1.2% afterhours
- EXTR: Guides Q1 lower to -$0.02 to $0.00 v $0.06e, R$135-136.5M v $152Me (prior $0.06-0.08, R$150-155M); -22.3% afterhours
- NFLX: Reports Q3 $0.96 v $0.93e, R$1.41B v $1.41Be; -26.4% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Welcia Holdings 3141.JP +3.1% (FY13/14 results)
- Financials: Agile Property 3383.HK -1.2% (to issue shares)
- Materials: Perseus Mining PRU.AU +7.6% (Q1 production results); Robust Resources ROl.AU +2.6% (shareholder raises stake); Fortescue Metals FMG.AU -5.2% (Q1 production results); Iluka Resources ILU.AU -3.1% (Q3 production results); Perseus Mining PRU.AU +6.3% (Q1 production results); Tianhe Chemicals Group 1619.HK +2.9% (shares repurchase)
- Technology: Japan Display Inc 6740.JP -16.0% (cuts H1, FY14/15 guidance); NSFOCUS Information Technology 300369.CN +5.0% (investment in information security companies)
- Energy: Woodside Petroleum WPL.AU +0.2% (Q3 results)

>>> US Close Dow-1,06% S&P-0,81% Nasdaq -0,26% Russell+1,02%

NClosing Market Summary: Stocks Endure Roller Coaster Affair

The stock market endured another rough session, but the major averages managed to climb off their worst levels of the day ahead of the close. The S&P 500 lost 0.8% while the Russell 2000 rose 1.0% after showing relative strength throughout the session.

Equity indices stumbled out of the gate to continue the weakness that started in the futures market overnight. Also weighing on sentiment was a trio of disappointing economic reports with retail sales, PPI, and the Empire Manufacturing Index all missing expectations. The data was met with dollar weakness while Treasuries soared.

The dollar retreated against other major currencies with the euro (+170 pips), yen (+120 pips) and Swiss franc (+130 pips) benefitting from the greenback weakness. For its part, the Dollar Index (84.97, -0.85) lost 1.0%.

Meanwhile, the 10-yr note was up more than two points at its best level of the day with the benchmark yield down 34 basis points. That represented the sharpest move since the $1 trillion QE program was unveiled in March 2009. The benchmark yield recovered the bulk of its decline into the close, ending lower by five basis points at 2.15%.

Treasuries may have also received a boost from comments made by The Wall Street Journal's Jon Hilsenrath, who said the recent drop in commodity prices gives the fed more room to delay its first rate hike. To that point, the fed funds futures market has pushed out the probability of the first hike from July 2015 to the end of 2015.

Interestingly, the stock market all but ignored the report, leading to speculation that equity investors may be starting to question the power of the Fed and other central banks after years of asset purchases and rate cuts that have been followed by subpar growth and disinflationary pressures.

Eight sectors ended in the red with financials (-2.0%) posting the largest loss. Bank of America (BAC 15.76, -0.76) reported better than expected earnings, but the report could not stop the major sector component from settling lower by 4.6%.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, the top-weighted
group—technology—ended
just ahead of the S&P 500. Chipmakers displayed relative strength with the PHLX Semiconductor Index climbing 0.5%. That advance took place despite a 2.7% decline in the shares of
Intel (INTC 31.28, -0.87) after the industry giant reported a one-cent beat that was greeted with a Morgan Stanley downgrade to ‘Underweight' from ‘Equal-Weight.'

Also of note, the energy sector (+0.4%) was able to stage an intraday rebound while crude oil remained volatile. The energy component was down near 2.0% this morning, but ended the pit session with a ten-cent loss at $81.74/bbl. It is worth mentioning that the sector's outperformance followed heavy selling earlier in the month. The energy sector narrowed its October loss to 10.5%.

Similarly, the Dow Jones Transportation Average (+0.2%) rebounded to push this week's gain to 0.6%. The strength helped the industrial sector (-0.2%) end little changed.

Also of note, the utilities sector (-1.3%), which had shown relative strength earlier in the week, finished today's session among the laggards. Meanwhile, another countercyclical group—consumer staples (-1.2%)—was pressured by Wal-Mart (WMT 75.20, -2.78), which fell 3.6% after lowering its fiscal-year 2015 guidance to reflect expected sales growth of 2-3% (3-5% previous).

Today's wild ride invited above average participation with more than 1.1 billion shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Investors showed strong demand for volatility protection with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 25.35, +2.56) spiking to its highest level since November 2011 before pulling back.

Economic data included Retail Sales, PPI, Empire Manufacturing, Business Inventories, and the MBA Mortgage Index:
  • Retail sales declined 0.3% in September following an unrevised 0.6% gain in August, while the consensus expected a downtick of 0.2%. 
    • Motor vehicle sales declined 0.8% after increasing 1.9% in July, which was in-line with the decline in per unit sales reported by the motor vehicle manufacturers 
    • Excluding autos, retail sales declined 0.2% in September after increasing an unrevised 0.3% in August, while the consensus expected an increase of 0.3% 
  • Producer prices fell 0.1% in September after reporting no change in August, while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1% 
    • As expected, energy prices fell 0.7% in September, which was the third consecutive monthly decline 
    • Food prices fell for the second consecutive month and the fourth time in the last five months, dropping 0.7% after falling 0.5% in August 
    • Excluding food and energy, core PPI was flat after increasing 0.1% in August, while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1% 
  • The Empire Manufacturing Survey for October fell to 6.2 from 27.5, while the consensus expected a downtick to 20.4 
  • Business inventories increased 0.2% in August after increasing an unrevised 0.4% in July, while the consensus expected an increase of 0.4% 
  • The weekly MBA Mortgage Index rose 5.6% to follow last week's 3.8% increase 
Tomorrow, weekly Initial Claims (consensus 290K) will be released at 8:30 ET, while September Industrial Production (consensus 0.4%) and Capacity Utilization (expected 79.0%) will both be reported at 9:15 ET. Also of note, the Philadelphia Fed Survey for October (consensus 19.8) and the October NAHB Housing Market Index (expected 59) will both be reported at 10:00 ET.
  • Nasdaq Composite +0.9% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +0.8% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average -2.6% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 -7.8% YTD

>>> Reportedly at a closed door meeting last weekend Fed Chair Yellen expressed

Reportedly at a closed door meeting last weekend Fed Chair Yellen expressed confidence in the resilience of the US economic recovery despite recent turbulence and slower growth - press (update) 
- Sources at the meeting of the 'Group of 30' economic consultancy say Yellen indicated that the US in on track to reach 3% GDP growth going forward, that inflation will eventually rise back to the Fed's 2% target level, and unemployment has more room to fall.