News Highlights: Top Equities Stories Of The Day

TOP STORIES GM BOARD DECIDES TO KEEP OPEL General Motors' board of directors has switched course on the company's decision to sell control of its Opel and Vauxhall units to Magna International, citing an "improving business environment" and the strategic importance of the two brand's to the auto maker's strategy. BUFFETT BETS ON US ECONOMY WITH BURLINGTON NORTHERN Warren Buffett will buy the 77% of railroad he doesn't already own in a cash and stock deal that values the company at about $34 billion. Berkshire plans 50-for-1 split of its Class B stock to go along with its biggest deal ever. See full coverage. FORD, GM OCTOBER SALES RISE; CHRYSLER LAGS U.S. auto sales strengthen in October despite a fall in incentives, fueling optimism about a sector recovery. Ford continues to standout with a 3.3% rise, and GM sees sales gain for first time since January 2008. Chrysler's sales fall 30%. KRAFT EARNINGS BEAT; SHARES DOWN ON SALES VIEW Kraft Foods' 3Q profit declines a less-than-expected 40% to $824 million, or 55c a share, as food giant's 2008 profit was helped by the sale of its cereal business. But the company lowers its outlook for sales growth this year. Shares fall 2% late. US FACTORY ORDERS RISE MORE THAN EXPECTED U.S. factory goods orders rise 0.9% in September, more than Wall Street had expected. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft rise 1.8% during September. The orders are seen as a barometer of capital spending. YAHOO TO ROLL OUT REAL-TIME SEARCH TEST Yahoo is expected to begin this week showing a portion of its users search results that are ranked by their popularity with Internet users in real-time, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. US STOCKS END MIXED, BUT TRANSPORTS RALLY A buyout by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has Burlington Northern and a bevy of other transport stocks rallying although analyst-induced declines for Intel, SanDisk and other chip stocks keeps any market gains muted. CITIGROUP, INVESTORS SPAR OVER AN ALLEGED FRAUD Citigroup has identified several victims of a possible fraud committed by a Hong Kong-based financial adviser that went undetected for about four years and promised returns of between 7% and 18% a year. US GOVT ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN TOXIC-ASSET PROGRAM The U.S. Treasury Department announced that another investment fund has met the necessary requirements and is prepared to partner with the federal government to purchase soured real-estate related assets. J&J TO CUT UP TO 7% OF WORK FORCE Health-products giant says up to 7% of the company's nearly 120,000-person work force will be eliminated under plan to generate up to $1.7 billion in pretax cost savings and other means when planned moves are fully implemented in 2011. HARTFORD LOSS NARROWS, RAISES 2009 VIEW Hartford Financial's 3Q loss narrows to $220 million, or 79c a share, on improving equity markets. Shares rise 4% late as the life insurer's results top analysts' view and it raises its 2009 guidance sharply. ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= TAKING STOCK Rising Gold Not Necessarily Bearish For Stocks Gold has more than tripled in value since 2000 and could climb higher yet in coming years, but that doesn't mean stocks will be hurt by this rise, writes Palash Ghosh. DEAL WATCH Buffett Parks Some Cash With Burlington Northern Warren Buffett billed his latest deal as "an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States." Indeed, the railroad industry is a good proxy for the state of the industrial economy, so buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe is a classic cyclical play, John E. Morris writes. ============ U.S. MARKETS ACTION =========== DJIA down 17.53 points to 9771.91 NASDAQ up 8.12 points to 2057.32 S&P 500 up 2.53 points to 1045.41 10-year T-note 101 09/32 at 3.469 yield down .130 NYMEX Spot Crude up $1.47 at $79.60/bbl at close Dollar/Euro down 0.0012 at 1.4712