• Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) new head of its commercial aircraft division, Jim Albaugh, said the long-awaited Dreamliner test will happen by yearend
• Citigroup (NYSE:C) plans to sell Bellsystem 24, a Japanese telemarketing company, to Bain Capital for $1 billion, bringing to $10.8 billion the dollar amount Citi has raised from sales of Japanese assets
• Hedge fund Paulson & Co. reported in a September 30 filing Citigroup (NYSE:C) holdings of 300 million shares, valued at $1.45 billion
• Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) raised its bid for Tandberg ASA to $3.4 billion, or about an 11% increase, and extended its offer to December 1
• According to a Bloomberg report, Mitsubishi UFJ has hired JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to manage an $11 billion secondary offering, Japan’s largest ever. The company plans to sell about 2.5 billion common shares
• Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) said it plans to spin off its 83% stake in Mead Johnson Nutrition Company
• JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) said it is offering to purchase the remaining 50% of stockbroker Cazenove, placing a valuation on the firm of $3.32 billion
• General Motors (NYSE:GM) plans to start repaying its Treasury loan early, beginning by yearend with $1 billion quarterly installments to the US and $200 million quarterly to Canada
• General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) third quarter revenues bettered estimates at $28 billion versus $22.9 billion expected, rising $4.9 billion from the second quarter. Inventories dropped 158,000 to 424,000
• Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) reported inline third quarter earnings of 24 cents on revenues of $11.38 billion, versus Zacks estimates of $11.27 billion. The company said, “We are beginning to see signs of improved performance in some of the hardest-hit housing markets including California, Florida and areas of the desert Southwest.”
