- Scope of Sandy's devastation widens, death toll spirals (Reuters [19])
- On Staten Island, cries for help replaced by a loss for words (Reuters [20])
- China responds to Japan’s provocation (FT [21])
- Japan governments open to compromise to avoid “fiscal cliff” (Reuters [22])
- It's Global Warming, Stupid (Businessweek [23])
- Sharps says there is "Material Doubt" about its ability to survive (Bloomberg [24])
- Thomson Reuters operating profit slips, trading faces pressure (Reuters [25])
- Germany's Schaeuble says debt reduction is global task (Reuters [26])
- The Luxury Repo Men (Businessweek [27])
- Deutsche Bank Faces Top Surcharge as FSB Shuffles Tiers (Bloomberg [28])
- Storm over ‘Lagarde list’ intensifies (FT [29])
- Greek, European Officials Dispute Budget Reprieve (WSJ [30])
- Rivals part ways over economy (FT [31])
- Fed’s Rosengren: Fed Should Buy Bonds Until Unemployment Hits 7.25% (WSJ [32])
- New Dutch finance minister promise cuts, tough line on euro zone (Reuters [33])
- Aussie Strength Allows Economy to Run Lower Rates, Swan Says (Bloomberg [34])
Overnight Economic Digest
WSJ
* On the lower east side, thousands of residents, many of them elderly, remained trapped in high - rise buildings with no water, power or heat - and limited phone service to call for help after hurricane Sandy hit the eastern coast, officials said.
* James Murdoch was re-elected to the board of British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, with 95 percent of the vote.
* In a change that reflects a shifting balance of power between Europe and the developing world, many southern European companies that are struggling to raise financing at home are turning to their emerging-markets businesses for relief.
* Canadian oil companies are rethinking investment in one of North America's earliest and fastest growing "unconventional" oil frontiers-Alberta's oil sands.
* Sharp Corp posted a $3.12 billion loss and said it had doubts about remaining a "going concern," another sign of the problems gripping Japan's consumer-electronics makers. Sony Corp also reported a loss.
* China is marshalling its vast security apparatus ahead of a once-a-decade shuffle of party leaders, its first such transition in the era of social media, with half a billion Chinese swapping information online.
FT
BANK OF ENGLAND'S CULTURE ATTACKED
Excessive deference and hierarchy is damaging the Bank of England's effectiveness, according to three independent reviews that criticise the central bank's culture.
BANKS IN LINE OF FIRE OVER PPI FIGURES
The bill for UK banks for mis-selling payment protection insurance is set to hit 10.8 billion pounds on Friday when RBS sets aside another 400 million pounds.
SHARP ADMITS 'MATERIAL DOUBT' ON SURVIVAL
Sharp has admitted there is "material doubt" about its ability to stay in business as it warned of a second year of record losses.
SHELL WARNS REFINING BOOM TO END SOON
The refining boom that buoyed oil majors' third-quarter results could be shortlived, Royal Dutch Shell has warned.
EUROPEAN CORPORATE BUYBACKS HIT LOWS
Share buybacks by European companies have sunk to the lowest levels since 2009 as pessimism over business conditions spurs managements to hold on to cash.
POTASH IN TALKS TO BUY ISRAEL CHEMICALS
Potash Corp has approached the Israeli government for approval to buy rival Israel Chemicals (ICL ), which has a market value of $15 billion.
MOSCOW DEFENDS ROSNEFT MOVE ON TNK-BP
Igor Shuvalov, Russia's first deputy prime minister, has defended Rosneft's acquisition of TNK-BP as helping to speed the privatisation of the state oil group.
STORM OVER 'LAGARDE LIST' INTENSIFIES
Greece's parliament has been asked to investigate why two former finance ministers did not pursue possible tax evaders with Swiss bank accounts.
NYT
* Damages from hurricane Sandy double a previous forecast, with economists warning that it could shave a half percentage point off the nation's economic growth.
* The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's broad crackdown is aimed at manipulation of energy prices.
* The Congressional Research Service withdrew a report that found no correlation between top tax rates and economic growth after senators raised concerns.
* Policy makers are being urged to address long-term unemployment before those looking for work decide to give up trying for good.
* Dragged down by advertising and circulation declines, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will lay off staff and reduce magazines.
* Sony Corp, Sharp Corp and Panasonic Corp have all reported significant losses, their boom years ended by global crisis and their own poor decisions
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
* Prime Minister Stephen Harper will land in India this weekend with a simple mission: rekindling a number of high-profile trade deals with this rapidly expanding economy that have either stalled or made slow progress.
* Just two days after vowing he would not hide from the corruption scandal that has swamped his city and brought an emergency ethics crackdown from the province, the mayor of Montreal Gerald Tremblay has left on a surprise vacation.
Reports in the business section:
* BCE Inc vowed to protect its dividend strategy and consider other takeovers if last-ditch efforts to rescue a C$3 billion bid for Astral Media Inc fail.
* The Andean gold project that is key to driving future growth at Barrick Gold Corp just got more expensive to build, and the company is still not done looking at costs.
The Toronto-based miner said the Pascua Lama project, set in the mountains between Chile and Argentina, will now cost as much as $8.5 billion to develop.
NATIONAL POST
* Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is defending his decision to leave another city hall meeting in order to coach his high school football squad, arguing that a game that ended early because of a dispute Thursday "could have gotten really ugly" if he hadn't been there to control his team.
* The Parti Quebecois government is introducing new anti-corruption measures in its first piece of legislation and will subject companies to increased scrutiny if they want public contracts.
FINANCIAL POST
* National Bank of Canada is cutting about 300 jobs, including 10 vice presidents, as the country's sixth biggest lender shakes up its organizational structure to tighten expenses.
* Crescent Point Energy Corp, Canada's No. 4 independent oil exploration company, said Thursday it has agreed to buy closely held Ute Energy Upstream Holdings LLC for $784 million in cash.
China
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
-- China should encourage city commercial banks and rural banks to list on the stock market and may lower listing requirements for these banks, said Chen Dongzheng, president of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
-- Zhejiang Shibao Co Ltd abruptly changed its forecast for 2012 net profit on the night before listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The new forecast says net profits may drop 27-31 percent.
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
-- Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel) said it had bought back 242 million shares in a price range of 4.51 to 4.65 yuan per share as of Nov. 4.
CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn [35])
-- Microsoft Corp has signed an agreement with the Shanghai government and 21Vianet to offer public cloud services to businesses in the city as well as to the government.
-- Tourists visiting the southern island of Hainan will have a higher duty-free allowance starting this week, in a bid to make the island even more popular as a tourist destination.
PEOPLE'S DAILY
-- In order to help rural residents renovate dilapidated houses, China's central government has already dispersed 15 billion yuan ($2.40 billion) originally budgeted for 2013.