TOP STORIES 
 
ABOUT 25 EUROZONE BANKS TO FAIL ECB STRESS TESTS 

About 25 eurozone banks failed the ECB's financial-health checks on the continent's leading lenders, although more than half of these banks are said to have taken the necessary steps to shore up their balance sheets this year.

 
U.S. STOCKS TRADE HIGHER 
 

U.S. stocks rose, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite on track to post their biggest weekly gains in more than a year, as investor confidence in the health of the U.S. economy continued to strengthen. The DJIA was up 90 points in midday trading.

 
P&G TO EXIT DURACELL BATTERY OPERATIONS 
 

Procter & Gamble reported fiscal 1Q profit of $1.99 billion as sales edged down to $20.79 billion. It also plans to exit its Duracell battery business and will likely split the operation off into a separate company. Shares up 2%.

 
MUSIC SALES AT APPLE ITUNES FALL MORE THAN 13% 
 

Digital music sales at Apple's iTunes store are said to have fallen 13% to 14% world-wide since the start of the year, underscoring the fragility of the music industry's nascent recovery.

 
U.S. QUARANTINE PROCEDURES QUESTIONED 
 

Members of a House oversight committee said that a new Ebola case in New York City raises questions about quarantine procedures applied to U.S. troops and aid workers in the region on their return to the U.S.

 
FORD'S PROFIT FALLS 34% 
 

Ford's net income fell to $835 million from $1.27 billion a year ago as lower truck production and higher warranty and recall costs hurt results in its core North American operations and losses in Europe widened. Shares down 4%.

 
U.S. TO NAME NEW AUTO-SAFETY CHIEF 
 

The Obama administration is close to naming a permanent top auto-safety regulator amid criticism of the agency's handling of large air-bag recall, which an administration official called "suboptimal."

 
UPS RESULTS BOOSTED BY OVERSEAS DELIVERIES 
 

UPS's revenue rose 5.7% to $14.29 billion in the latest quarter, helped by higher daily package volumes and strength overseas. It posted a profit of $1.21 billion, or $1.32 a share. Results beat expectations. Shares rose 1%.

 
U.S. NEW-HOME SALES UP 0.2% IN SEPTEMBER 
 

New-home sales rose slightly in September after surging in August, hitting their fastest pace of the recovery despite downward revisions to sales during the summer months. Economists had expected a September decline.

 
PEPSI TO TEST DRINKS IN SODASTREAM MACHINES 
 

PepsiCo confirmed that it will test some of its drinks in SodaStream International's home-carbonation machines in the U.S. PepsiCo and SodaStream said their agreement is limited to a "small-scale, limited-time test" scheduled for later this year.

 
TURKEY, KURDISH FORCES TRADE ACCUSATIONS 
 

Syrian Kurds defending Kobani were locked in a political war of words with Turkey over how many additional fighters would deploy to help them battle the extremist Islamic State in the northern Syrian city.

 
 
 
 
  ======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES ======= 
 
 
The Wall Street Journal 
BOJ LIKELY TO STICK TO BULLISH INFLATION VIEW 
 

The Bank of Japan will stick to its bullish inflation outlook when it meets next week, while likely taking a more bearish view on growth, people familiar with the central bank's thinking say.

 
Money Talks 
BOND MARKET SEES GERMANY LOOKING LIKE JAPAN 
 

Germany is widely seen as the eurozone's big winner, the flagship of growth while other economies sank into long term stagnation. Which makes it particularly worrying that the bond market thinks Germany looks a lot like Japan.