TOP STORIES
SLOW U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING SIGNALS CAUTION
U.S. consumer spending grew slowly in October, rising only 0.1%,
while Americans stepped up their savings, a sign of caution among
households that could weigh on the economy heading into the final
months of the year.
U.S. STOCKS INCH HIGHER
Health-care shares helped U.S. stock indexes edge higher on
Wednesday, the last full trading day of the week.
U.S. CONSUMER SENTIMENT SLIPS
U.S. consumer confidence slipped at the end of November,
suggesting retailers could face a challenging holiday season.
U.S. NEW-HOME SALES CONTINUE ROBUST PACE
Sales of newly built homes rose in October, leaving the housing
market on track for its best year since 2007.
DEERE REPORTS CONTINUED SALES DECLINE
Deere & Co. said fourth-quarter revenue tumbled and warned
sales would continue to slide next year amid lower demand for its
farm equipment.
EPA REVOKES APPROVAL OF DOW CHEMICAL HERBICIDE
The Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn approval for a
Dow Chemical Co. herbicide designed to be used on genetically
engineered crops, saying it has new information that suggests the
weedkiller is more toxic to surrounding plants than previously
thought.
U.S. DURABLE ORDERS CLIMB 3% IN OCTOBER
Orders for long-lasting goods rose in October, climbing 3.0%-a
sign demand for manufactured products could be firming after
falling for most of the year.
U.S. JOBLESS CLAIMS FELL LAST WEEK
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment
benefits decreased last week, a healthily signal for the labor
market.
TAKATA U.S. EMPLOYEES SAW PROBLEMS IN AIR-BAG TESTS
For a decade, Takata employees in the U.S. raised concerns
internally about misleading testing reports on air bags that later
became prone to explosions.
PETROCHINA SELLING GAS PIPELINE UNIT STAKE
Chinese state-controlled oil company PetroChina moved to shore
up confidence in its balance sheet, announcing a plan to sell off a
greater-than-$2 billion stake in natural-gas pipeline assets.
RUSSIA KEEPS UP TOUGH STANCE ON TURKEY JET SHOOTDOWN
Turkish and Russian leaders issued warnings on Wednesday,
stoking tensions between the two Black Sea neighbors a day after
Turkey downed a Russian jet for what it said was violating its
territory from Syria.
ROSNEFT REPORTS $1.7 BILLION NET PROFIT FOR THIRD QUARTER
Rosneft's third-quarter net profit was based on a large
foreign-currency gain, after the company posted zero profit for the
same period last year.
ENERGY FUTURE HOLDINGS CHAPTER 11 EXIT PLAN ADVANCES
Energy Future Holdings could win confirmation of its chapter 11
exit plan as early as next week, far ahead of schedule, after a
rash of recent settlements that were approved on Wednesday by a
bankruptcy judge.
ISLAMIC STATE SAYS IT CARRIED OUT TUNIS ATTACK
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the fatal attack on
a bus carrying members of the Tunisian presidential guard.
SPAIN'S ABENGOA FILES FOR CREDITOR PROTECTION
Spanish renewable energy and engineering firm Abengoa is filing
for preliminary creditor protection, an initial step that could
lead to the largest bankruptcy case in the country's history.
U.K. TREASURY CHIEF BACKTRACKS ON WELFARE CUTS
U.K. Treasury chief George Osborne backtracked on cutting tax
credits, a key plank of plans aimed at reducing government
spending, but said he remained on course to achieve his goal of
eliminating Britain's deficit.
CITIC SECURITIES OVERSTATED EQUITY-SWAPS NUMBERS
Chinese brokerage Citic Securities said it overstated certain
financial transactions during a period of extreme volatility for
China's stock market around the middle of this year.
PFIZER'S LYRICA FAILS TO TREAT TRAUMATIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN
Drug maker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that its drug Lyrica
didn't reduce pain any more than a placebo for those suffering from
chronic nerve pain caused by traumatic accidents or surgeries.
ECB SAYS NEGATIVE RATES HAVEN'T DISRUPTED MARKETS
The experience of smaller European countries with negative
interest rates suggests they don't pose a risk to financial
stability, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio said.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE FEUD GROWS, WITH HALTED FLIGHTS, ENERGY
Kiev said it would close its airspace to Russian airlines and
halt gas purchases from Russia, while Moscow accused Ukraine's
government of "silent consent" to a power outage in the disputed
Crimea region.
======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES =======
Middle East News
U.S. SAYS SYRIA IS BUYING OIL FROM ISLAMIC STATE
The Obama administration on Wednesday charged Syria's government
with purchasing oil from the Islamic State terrorist group and
sanctioned a Syrian businessman for allegedly facilitating these
transactions.
Business
SOME MALLS PRESSURE RETAILERS TO OPEN ON THANKSGIVING
While most department stores set their own hours, the small
shops that line mall hallways tend to follow the lead of their
landlords, which take their cues from chains like J.C. Penney and
Macy's.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2015 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.