Meg Whitman will ring the bell of the New York Stock Exchange this morning, as the brand-new company she will lead - Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) - begins trading. The move will mark the end of the yearlong process of dividing the 76-year-old giant, resulting in two companies that are expected to have about $50B in annual revenue and be among America's 500 largest public companies. On one side will be HP (NYSE:HPQ), which will largely consist of personal computers and printers. On the other will be HP Enterprise, which will sell servers, data storage, networking and consulting services.

Economy

Asian stocks slid to their lowest level in nearly three weeks on Monday, after China's factory gauges signaled that manufacturing still hasn't bottomed out despite a raft of stimulus measures. Caixin's purchasing managers' index edged up to 48.3 in October, marking the eighth-straight month of contraction, while the country's official PMI came in at 49.8, missing market expectations of a 50.0 level. China has cut interest rates six times since last November to boost its economy, which is forecast this year to grow at its slowest annual pace in a quarter of a century, but more actions may be needed to stimulate growth.

The ECB's massive stimulus program has done little to spur manufacturing growth in the eurozone, as factories again resorted to cutting prices to boost trade. Markit's final manufacturing PMI was 52.3 last month, only slightly up from September, but it has been above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for over two years. "With factory production lacking vigor, employment growth sagging to an eight-month low and output prices falling at the fastest rate since February, it's easy to see why the ECB is considering additional stimulus," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

Turkey's AK Party swept back into office in Sunday's parliamentary elections, strengthening President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 13-year grip on power following a political standstill that began in June. The lira, which has taken a beating this year, jumped as much as 4.7% to 2.7850 per dollar after the poll results, while the government's 10-year bond yields plummeted 53 basis points to 9.24%.

Greece's four biggest banks, which suffered severe losses this past summer, must raise €14.4B ($15.9B) in new money to withstand any new crisis, the European Central Bank said on Saturday. The figure is much less than the €25B maximum earmarked for the banks as part of the country's latest bailout program, but there's still a rush to get recapitalization completed. If it's not done by the end of the year, new EU regulations would mean large depositors may have to take a hit to their accounts. Greek banks: OTCPK:ALBKY, OTCPK:BPIRY, OTCPK:EGFEY, NBG +11.4% premarket.

Puerto Rico has failed to submit audited fiscal 2014 financial statements by a self-imposed Oct. 31 deadline, stating it "cannot provide an estimate at this time of when it will be able to complete and file" them. The commonwealth's annual report is now 181 days late, the longest that Puerto Rico has been overdue on its yearly audited statements since at least 2000.

Stocks

HSBC beat expectations for third-quarter profits in spite of China's market collapse denting revenues, as the bank benefited from lower regulatory costs and reassured investors about its Asian loan portfolio. Pre-tax profit at Europe's largest lender jumped 32% to $6.1B, topping forecasts of $5.2B, although revenue dropped 4% to $14B. HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) did not give any further details on its domicile review, which began in April, but warned the year-end deadline it had imposed could slip.

Commerzbank Chief Executive Martin Blessing has rejected an offer by the bank's supervisory board to extend his contract beyond October 2016, becoming the latest CEO to join an unprecedented wave of management changes at Europe's banks. "It is now time for me to embark on a new chapter in my professional life," he said in the statement. Blessing, who became CEO in 2008, was given the task of leading Commerzbank (OTCPK:CRZBY) out of the financial crisis and subsequent €18.2B bailout.

MSCI will begin to add overseas-listed Chinese shares to its emerging market indexes this month, which could eventually lead to mainland-listed stocks, known as A-shares, finding their way into global equity portfolios. The addition of American Depositary Receipts will be the first test of foreign demand for greater exposure to China since its stock market plunge over the summer. About $1.6T tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (ETF: EEM), which will be the most affected fund by the ADR inclusion.

Although a string of megadeals were unveiled last month, dealmakers have just completed the weakest October for almost 20 years in terms of quantity. According to Thomson Reuters data, $514B worth of deals were disclosed last month (the fifth-biggest month in M&A history dollar value), but the total number of October's deals was just 2,177, nearly 40% lower than the average. Still, with close to $4T worth of deals already announced this year, 2015 is on track to beat the all-time record of 2007, when the credit bubble helped generate $4.3T worth of transactions.

Whatever the figures may be, several more billion dollar deals were announced this morning. Shire (NASDAQ:SHPG) is buying Dyax (NASDAQ:DYAX) for about $5.9B to gain access to the drug developer's late-stage treatment for a severe breathing difficulty, and Visa (NYSE:V) is acquiring Visa Europe, in a deal valued at as much as €21.2B ($23.4B) to unify the brand after eight years as separate companies.

Brazil's main oil union began a nationwide strike on Sunday to halt asset sales by Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), although the state-owned energy giant said a work stoppage from some units won't affect its production or deliveries to the market. The strike is the latest in a series of setbacks for the company, which had its debt downgraded to non-investment grade in September and faces a widening graft scandal that has resulted in some of its suppliers seeking bankruptcy protection.

Israel's economy minister, who had been holding up a government plan that would've fast-tracked the development of Leviathan - the country's largest gas field - will step down in a move that likely give the industry a major boost. The decision permits PM Benjamin Netanyahu to take control of the Economy Ministry and give final approval to a framework deal he reached in August with Texas-based Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) and Israel's Delek Group (OTCPK:DGRLY). That outline leaves the partners in control of the field, while forcing them to sell smaller, yet sizable, assets.

Russia has grounded A321 jets flown by the Kogalymavia airline, after one of its Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) fleet crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. A branch of Islamic State said it brought down the plane "in response to Russian airstrikes that killed hundreds of Muslims on Syrian land", but Russia's Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told Interfax news agency the claim "can't be considered accurate". International carriers are now re-routing flights away from the peninsula, including Lufthansa (OTCQX:DLAKY), Air France-KLM (OTCPK:AFLYY), Emirates, Air Arabia and Flydubai.

After selling his "local pharmacy" to a company tied to Philidor for $350K last year, pharmacist Russell Reitz began finding his national pharmacy license number on an avalanche of prescriptions nationwide, LA Times reports. National sales for the tiny pharmacy were suddenly tracking at $230M/year. Many of Valeant's (NYSE:VRX) expensive brand-name medicines are similar to generic medicines available for far less, so the company has been distributing coupons that allow patients to lower or even avoid a co-pay if they ordered the drugs through Philidor. Latest fallout: Citron Research is scheduled to issue a new report on Valeant later today.

Electrolux shares are deep in the red after the DOJ rejected a proposal to resolve a government lawsuit seeking to block the $3.3B takeover of General Electric's (NYSE:GE) household-appliance business. The U.S. claims the tie-up threatens to raise prices for consumers, and the company's offer to sell assets falls "well short" of replacing the competition that would be lost as a result of the deal. Electrolux (OTCPK:ELUXY) shares -6.2% in Sweden.

Swatch plans to introduce a smartwatch capable of making payments in Switzerland sometime next year, according to CEO Nick Hayek. The company already sells a smartwatch in China that can be used as a debit card. The strategy in the U.S. for Swatch (OTCPK:SWGAY) is to boost consumer awareness of the Tissot brand, and add new retail selling channels, through a global NBA sponsorship deal.

Putting some clarity to a two week bidding war, PMC-Sierra Inc (NASDAQ:PMCS) said Microsemi's (NASDAQ:MSCC) latest stock and cash proposal is not superior to Skyworks Solutions' (NASDAQ:SWKS) all-cash offer, which provides "more value certainty" to shareholders. The board of directors continues to recommend the amended and restated merger agreement with Skyworks to its shareholders. On Friday, Microsemi hiked its offer to buy PMC-Sierra to about $2.33B, topping a $2.27B proposal from Skyworks Solutions five hours after the latter raised its bid.

Sprint aims to slash fiscal 2016 expenses by as much as $2.5B, through job cuts and a wide array of cost controls, expanding its ongoing turnaround efforts. "We are leaving no stone unturned and looking at all areas," company spokesman Dave Tovar said in an interview, but declined to predict how many employees would be laid off. The estimated cost savings for Sprint (NYSE:S) would be equivalent to about 10% of its current annual operating costs of $26B.

Health officials are investigating an outbreak among people who became ill with E. coli after eating at Chipotle (NYSE:CMG) restaurants over the past two weeks in the Portland Metro area and several counties in Washington State. As of October 31, there were three cases in Oregon and at least 19 in Washington. Chipotle has now shut 43 restaurants in the affected areas, and will work with authorities to determine when to reopen them. CMG -5.3% premarket.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan -2.1% to 18683. Hong Kong -1.2% to 22374. China -1.7% to 3325. India -0.4% to 26559.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.3%. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt +0.8%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.1%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude -1.8% to $45.79. Gold -0.4% to $1137.20.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +2 bps to 2.17%

Today's Economic Calendar

9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
10:00 Construction Spending