U.S. futures are up this morning as the earnings season kicks off with several major financial earnings reports. BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) are scheduled to report before the bell, while regional banks Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) and Pinnacle Financial (NASDAQ:PNFP) will report post close. Healthcare majors Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) are due to report before the open; United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and J.B. Hunt Transport (NASDAQ:JBHT) from the transport sector will report post close. Dow futures are trading up 0.40%, S&P 500 up 0.40% and Nasdaq up 0.50%.

EU Negotiator Says Brexit Deal Possible

EU negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters a Brexit deal "is still this week," even though reaching an agreement is proving more difficult than anticipated. Barnier says talks have been “intense over the weekend and yesterday” and that “work has just started now today.” Sterling rose against the dollar following Barnier’s comments.

Market is eyeing trade news

Market watchers will keep an eye on trade news after yesterday’s end to Turkey trade negotiations and the U.S. treasury secretary’s warning that China tariffs could go up if there’s no deal by December. However, Mnuchin said he expects to reach a deal by then.

China consumer inflation up 3%, near six-year high

A surge in pork prices is largely responsible for Chinese consumer inflation that hit a near-six-year high Tuesday. The country's consumer price index rose 3% year over year, up from a 2.8% pace in August; nonfood prices rose 1%, but food prices rose 11.2% led by pork that jumped 69.3%. While consumer prices increased at a hot pace, producer prices declined sharper, dropping 1.2% Y/Y in September vs. 0.8% in August.

WeWork reportedly favoring JPMorgan rescue over SoftBank

Struggling WeWork (WE) is favoring a junk debt rescue from banks led by JPMorgan (JPM) over a lifeline from backer SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY), Bloomberg reports. JPMorgan's $5B package would be one of the riskiest offerings in years but could be the last best chance for key private backers to avoid heavy dilution; SoftBank (which already owns a third of WeWork) would offer billions more in equity and debt but take control of the company. With a pulled IPO, WeWork risks running out of cash by November's end.
 

TikTok sets up merely miles from Facebook, poaches employees

Fast-growing app TikTok has set up office space just miles from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) headquarters and is increasingly poaching its employees, CNBC notes. TikTok, owned by ByteDance (BDNCE), has moved into space previously held by Facebook's WhatsApp and has hired more than two dozen Facebookers since 2018, in part using salaries that can be 20% higher. TikTok's also hiring from Snap (NYSE:SNAP), Hulu, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), YouTube (GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
 

UAW summons local leaders to Detroit

The United Auto Workers wants local union leaders in Detroit on Thursday to discuss GM (NYSE:GM) negotiations. Historically, such a meeting indicates either a tentative deal was reached or a vote is needed to pursue a new action. Last Friday, the UAW said it had countered an offer from GM.

California governor wants rebates for PG&E customers hit by outages

California Governor Newsom says PG&E (NYSE:PCG) should provide credits or rebates to customers affected by its “failures in execution” during last week’s planned power outages. Newsom wants the rebates to come from shareholders rather than ratepayers. California’s regulations don’t require the company to cover losses from intentional blackouts.
 

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan +1.87%. Hong Kong -0.07%. China -0.56%. India +0.78%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.11%. Paris +0.51%. Frankfurt +0.46%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.40%. S&P +0.40%. Nasdaq +0.50%. Crude -2% to $52.54. Gold +0.10% to $1,499.10. Bitcoin -0.16% to $8,309.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -6.7 bps to 1.686%.

Today's Economic Calendar

4:25 Fed's Bullard: “The Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Options”
8:30 Empire State Mfg Survey
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 Fed's Bostic Speech
12:45 PM Fed's George: “U.S. Payments System”
3:30 PM Fed's Daly Speech