Economy
The crowds of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong decreased sharply today after the territory's chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, agreed to meet with demonstrator leaders over their demands for electoral reforms. It is still unclear if shrinking crowds will continue, or if it was a temporary lull before renewed demonstrations this weekend. Protesters have been pushing for open nominations for Hong Kong's first election to choose the territory's leader in 2017.

Gold miners have the greatest exposure to the Ebola outbreak, says Deutsche Bank. Iron ore and aluminum miners, and oil drillers also have some exposure. Randgold's (NASDAQ:GOLD) exposure is most acute, with 100% of its NPV in the affected region. AngloGold (NYSE:AU) has 53% NPV exposure. ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) has some exposure through its iron-ore mine in Liberia (6.5% of its output). BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and Anglo American (OTCPK:AAUKF, OTCPK:AAUKY) aren't exposed to the region.

Stocks
JPMorgan says its data breach this summer exposed the contact information of some 76M households and 7M small businesses, making it one of the largest data breaches in history. Names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses were compromised, although there was no evidence that hackers gathered detailed information, such as account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers or dates of birth. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) reiterated that it hadn’t seen unusual levels of fraud since the attack and that customers do not need to change their passwords or account information.

UBS could be hit with a fine as large as CHF6B ($6.3B) for tax evasion in France, Le Temps says. The report cites a legal document dated July 23 written by the investigative judges leading the case, who suspect UBS incited French residents to open accounts in Switzerland between 2004 and 2011. UBS (NYSE:UBS) has criticized the French investigation as a “highly politicized process” that hasn’t followed “elementary facets of the rule of law.” UBS -2.6% premarket.

Following on the heels of Apple and Google, Facebook is planning its entry into the field of healthcare, Reuters reports. The company is exploring several areas, such as creating online "support communities" that would connect users suffering from various ailments, and new "preventative care" applications that would help people improve their lifestyles. Meanwhile, EU antitrust regulators have approved Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) $19B offer for WhatsApp, stating the proposed acquisition "would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market."

Salix and Cosmo Pharmaceuticals have ended their $2.7B merger agreement, citing a "changed political environment". In July, Salix (NASDAQ:SLXP) had announced it would merge with Cosmo's Irish subsidiary under a tax-inversion, although recent "inversion" legislation from the U.S. Treasury seems to have been effective in curbing the deal. It was reported yesterday that Salix is in talks to sell itself to Actavis (NYSE:ACT), and that M&A talks with Allergan (NYSE:AGN) have faded.

BP has called for a retrial or revised judgement after identifying what it believes to be a legal mistake in the court ruling last month that found the company "grossly negligent" for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. BP (NYSE:BP) argues that U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier's ruling relied on evidence which he had agreed to exclude from the ongoing trial, which involves expert testimony about how the Macondo well's casing was weakened and breached.

Exxon Mobil is one of the first major U.S. companies to address the business impact of the Ebola outbreak in west Africa, with CEO Rex Tillerson announcing that the company is delaying plans to start offshore drilling in some areas. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) acquired an 80% stake in an oil prospect off the coast of Liberia last year, and has spent more than a year planning and preparing to drill there.

The foundation gifted with 5.8M Class A shares from GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) founders Nicholas and Jill Woodman has no immediate plans to sell them, WSJ reports. The gifted shares, worth about $500M, surprised investors yesterday, with the stock falling as much as 14%. GoPro stock rebounded but still closed down 6.9% at $85.46. GPRO -1.1% premarket.

Charles Schwab has dropped the Pimco Total Return Fund from its 10 target date funds and collective trusts, in yet another outflow from the fund following the departure of Bill Gross. The retail target date funds have $2.9B in assets - $141M of which had been in Pimco Total Return (NYSEARCA:BOND). Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) will reallocate the Pimco assets among its different strategies in the portfolios until it finds a permanent replacement for Pimco.

Bob Iger, previously set to retire in June 2016, will remain Disney's (NYSE:DIS) chairman/CEO for two years longer, under the terms of a contract extension. The extension "maintains the same annual compensation terms" as Iger's existing deal, but includes "the opportunity to earn a performance-based retention bonus if certain financial performance goals are met over a five-year period ending with fiscal year 2018." More details will be provided in an 8-K today.

Kellogg CEO John A. Bryant is planning to meet in London with British snack/cookie maker United Biscuits over a possible £2B ($3.2B) acquisition. At the same time, United is said to be prepping IPO documents, thus giving P-E owners Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and PAI Partners a second exit strategy. Blackstone and PAI bought United for £1.6B in 2006. Kellogg (NYSE:K) is not alone. Other bidders include Turkish biscuit company Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi (OTCPK:UELKY) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Marking the climax of an eight-year investigation, seven current and former managers at Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY), and previous shareholders Lagardere (OTCPK:LGDDF) and Daimler (OTCPK:DDAIF), will stand trial in a French court today over insider trading claims when they sold shares in what was then EADS in 2006. Prosecutors are expected to argue that the execs and shareholders knew the full extent of industrial problems on the A380 and the likelihood of a costly redesign of the A350 when they sold their shares.

RadioShack has reached an agreement with a consortium led by Standard General to refinance about $590M of loans to re-stock ahead of the holiday season, Bloomberg reports. The New York-based hedge fund will lead a group of lenders to refinance debt outstanding under a $535M asset-backed revolving credit line from GE Capital. The refinancing gives RadioShack (NYSE:RSH) access to more cash and greater flexibility, since the current debt agreement restricts how much money it can draw from the revolver.

Today's economic calendar:

8:30 Non-farm payrolls
8:30 International Trade
9:45 PMI Services Index
10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
11:00 Global Composite PMI
11:00 Global Services PMI