News Highlights: Top Equities Stories Of The Day

TOP STORIES US JOBLESS RATE JUMPS TO 10.2%; 26-YEAR HIGH U.S. unemployment rises more than expected in October to 10.2%, its highest level in more than 26 years, as nonfarm payrolls drop 190,000, with the largest job losses in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade. Economists had expected a 9.9% unemployment rate and 175,000 payrolls drop. AIG SWINGS TO PROFIT, TOPS VIEWS Government-controlled insurer posts 3Q profit of $455 million, or 68c a share, as operating income at its general-insurance business jumps more than six times. Excluding items, earnings of $2.85 a share come in above estimates, but shares fall 8%. LETHAL RAMPAGE AT FORT HOOD A U.S. Army major allegedly opened fire Thursday on fellow troops in the heart of the giant army base here, killing 13 people and wounding at least 30 in one of the worst incidents of soldier-on-soldier violence in U.S. military history. US STOCK OPEN LOWER AFTER JOBS DATA U.S. stocks fall at the opening after the U.S. unemployment rate soars to 10.2% in October, much higher than the 9.9% economists were expecting. Financials lead the decline, with American Express and JPMorgan Chase each down 2% early. INSIDE-TRADE PROBE SNARES 'OCTOPUSSY' Federal authorities widen their crackdown, uncovering an alleged network of conspirators with elements of a James Bond movie, including packages of money, throwaway cellphones, a ringmaster nicknamed "Octopussy" and an associate called "the Greek." FHFA SUPPORTS SALE OF FANNIE MAE TAX CREDITS Fannie Mae reaches an agreement to sell about $2.6 billion in unused low-income housing tax credits and received approval from the federal regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, The Wall Street Journal reports. UK REJECTS LEHMAN'S EUROPEAN SCHEME The U.K. Court of Appeal rejects an appeal from Lehman Brothers European administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to use a bespoke legal tool to expedite the return of $9 billion in client assets. MAGNA WILL NOT PURSUE AUTO ACQUISITIONS Canadian auto parts maker Magna International, which led a consortium in a failed bid for General Motor's Opel unit, says it will not pursue other auto maker acquisitions. Magna swung to profit in 3Q although its revenue fell 16%. CANADA SHEDS 43K JOBS; UNEMPLOYMENT UP Canadian employment falls unexpectedly in October after two months of double-digit gains to push the jobless rate to a higher-than-expected 8.6%, a sign that the labor market is still weak as the economy recovers from recession. BOSTON SCI REACHES $296M SETTLEMENT IN GUIDANT CASE Boston Scientific agreed to pay $296 million to resolve a Justice Dept. investigation into to product advisories at its Guidant defibrillator unit. BLACKSTONE LOSS NARROWS; MANAGED ASSETS RISE Blackstone loss narrows to $176.2 million, or 61c a share, and core results beat expectations amid stabilizing real-estate investments, though management and advisory fees drop. Shares rise 6%. ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= TAKING STOCK Herding Is Wrong But The Crowd May Be Right Behavioral psychology is a fascinating subject for those in the financial markets, as global strategist Dylan Grice said in a report this week, writes Martin Essex. Put simply, he says that while herding may be wrong, crowds can be very right. POINT OF VIEW SEC Looks Into 'Empty Voting' Securities and Exchange Commission is getting around to assessing a fundamental aspect of share ownership: do you need to have economic skin in the game in order to vote shares? Don't look for any action soon, writes Neal Lipschutz. ============ U.S. MARKETS ACTION =========== DJIA up 5.74 points to 10013.44 NASDAQ up 6.33 points to 2112.12 S&P 500 up 1.96 points to 1068.54 10-year T-note 100 22/32 at 3.541 yield down .024 NYMEX Spot Crude down $1.01 at $78.64/bbl Dollar/Euro up 0.0018 at 1.4891