10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Yum Brands is splitting into to companies. Yum Brands is spinning off its China operations. Sales in China have taken a hit amid food safety concerns; climbing only 2%, compared to the 9.6% expected. Activist investor Keith Meister, who was recently added to Yum's board of directors, believes a spin-off could be worth as much as $16 per share, or $7 billion, according to Bloomberg.
IBM reported mixed results and cut its forecast. The IT behemoth announced adjusted earnings of $3.34 per share, outpacing the $3.30 that analysts were expecting. Revenue tumbled 13.9% from a year ago to $19.3 billion, which was shy of the $19.6 billion estimate. IBM now sees full-year 2015 operating adjusted EPS of $14.75 to $15.75, down from its previous forecast of $15.75-$16.50. The Wall Street consensus is at $15.68. IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer Ginni Roometty said, "In the third quarter we again made progress in the transformation of our business to higher value, with strong growth in our strategic imperatives and expanded operating margins."
Ferrari's IPO prices after the close. Sports car marker Ferrari is expected to price 17.2 million shares at between $48 and $52 per share, valuing the company at close to $10 billion. The stock will trade under the ticker 'RACE.'
Western Digital is in talks to buy SanDisk. Two people close to the matter told Bloomberg, Western Digital is considering a bid of between $80 and $90 per SanDisk share. The flash memory maker finished Monday's session at $72.00 per share, and is up about 8% in pre-market trade after registering gains of as much as 13% in after-hours trading.
United Airlines names an acting CEO. Brett Hart, United Airlines' general counsel, will take over as acting CEO while Oscar Munoz recovers from last week's heart attack. According to Reuters, Hart has been responsible for "government and regulatory affairs, corporate real estate, security and customer experience in his prior role of executive vice president and general counsel." The length of Munoz's absence has not yet been determined.
Deutsche Bank had a 'fat finger' error. Deutsche Bank mistakenly paid $6 billion to a hedge fund, according to the Financial Times. The error was the result of a "fat finger," and not an actual trading loss. The money was retrieved the following day.
Trudeau won a majority in Canada. Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party won a majority in Monday's election, taking 184 out of the 338 seats. The victory for Trudeau ends Stephen Harper's time as prime minister, a position he has held since 2006. Harper's Conservative Party had held a majority since 2011. The Canadian dollar is little changed at 1.3008 per dollar.
Stock markets around the globe are mixed. China's Shanghai Composite (+1.1%) led the advance in Europe and Spain's IBEX (-1.4%) paces the decline in Europe. S&P 500 futures are down 6.75 points at 2020.50.
US economic data remains light. Housing starts and building permits will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 2 basis points at 2.04%.
Earnings reporting is heavy. Harley Davidson, Lockheed Martin, Travelers, United Technology and Verizon Communications highlight the names scheduled to report ahead of the opening bell. Chipotle Mexican Grill, VMware and Yahoo are among the companies reporting after markets close.