TOP STORIES 
 
MCDONALD'S PROFIT FALLS 30% ON U.S., CHINA WOES 

McDonald's promised significant changes after reporting a worse-than-expected 30% drop in 3Q earnings and calling its challenges "more formidable than expected." Revenue fell 5% to $6.99 billion.

 
COKE UNVEILS BROADER COST-CUTTING PLAN 
 

Coca-Cola unveiled a broader cost-cutting program and warned it doesn't expect to meet its previous financial targets as it again posted lackluster soda volume and struggled with currency headwinds. Shares fell 6%.

 
U.S. STOCKS EXTEND GAINS 
 

U.S. stocks rose further as upbeat earnings from Apple helped the technology sector and after reports that the ECB is considering buying corporate bonds. The Dow industrials were up about 160 points.

 
U.S. EXISTING-HOME SALES RISE 
 

U.S. home sales climbed 2.4% in September to their highest level of the year, a sign of slowly building momentum in a housing market whose recovery has come in fits and starts over the past year.

 
ECB MULLS BUYING CORPORATE BONDS AS AN OPTION 
 

The European Central Bank is considering purchasing corporate bonds as an option if it concludes that more expansive measures are needed to pump additional money into the eurozone's fragile economy.

 
NY FED DIDN'T EXAMINE J.P. MORGAN 'LONDON WHALE' 
 

New York Fed failed to examine J.P. Morgan Chase's investment unit ahead of the bank's 2012 "London Whale" trading debacle, despite a recommendation from other Fed supervisors that they look at the unit involved in the trades, according to a new report.

 
CEO OF TOTAL DIES IN MOSCOW PLANE CRASH 
 

Russian investigators said that the plane that crashed in Moscow killing Total's chief executive and three crew members hit a snow-removal vehicle, whose driver was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, before bursting into flames and plowing into the runway.

 
GLASS LEWIS RECOMMENDS CHIQUITA HOLDERS REJECT MERGER 
 

Proxy-advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended Chiquita Brands International shareholders vote down the company's planned merger with Irish fruit grower Fyffes and consider other options.

 
J.P. MORGAN FINED $92 MILLION BY EU 
 

J.P. Morgan Chase was fined a total of more than $92 million by European Union regulators for rigging a benchmark interest rate and operating a separate cartel for Swiss franc derivatives, marking the latest phase in an EU crackdown on alleged market abuse by financial institutions.

 
TABLETS AGAIN DRIVE VERIZON'S SUBSCRIBER GROWTH 
 

Verizon posted a 3Q profit of $3.7 billion, or 89c a share. Revenue rose 4.3% to $31.59 billion. Verizon said it added 1.52 million of its most lucrative long-term wireless contracts, again driven by a surge in tablet connections.

 
WEST AFRICA EBOLA VACCINE TRIALS TO BEGIN IN JAN 
 

The first trials of vaccines designed to combat the spread of the deadly Ebola virus should be held in West Africa by January, a top World Health Organization official said.

 
 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
Heard on the Street 
THE ECB'S EVER-EXPANDING SHOPPING LIST 
 

It's still all about the central banks, writes Richard Barley, as can be seen in the market's the reaction to a report that the European Central Bank could decide as soon as December to buy corporate bonds.

 
The Wall Street Journal 
APPLE'S ICLOUD SERVICE UNDER ATTACK IN CHINA 
 

Apple's iCloud service for users in mainland China has been hit by an attack that could allow perpetrators to intercept and see usernames, passwords and other personal data, activists and security analysts said.