Good morning, friends and Fortune readers.
U.S. stock futures are mixed this morning, one day after the market saw its best day of the year, pulling the Dow back into the black for 2014. Earnings reports continue to roll in today, and many of America’s favorite industries — cars, planes and indulgent food — are in the news. On top of that, we’ve got IBM making a partnership with Lufthansa and Total dealing with the aftermath of its CEO’s untimely death. Here’s what you need to know about today.
1. Target is bringing ‘Tar-zhay’ back
With the holiday season coming up fast, the discount retailer is focusing more on designer collaborations, exclusive toys and upping its e-commerce game to make sure it gets its share of sales in what promises to be another bruising holiday season, reports Fortune’s Phil Wahba.
2. Boeing keeps soaring
Boeing (BA) has been having, quite frankly, a remarkably successful year, with earnings soaring last quarter and its orders continually outpacing its European rival Airbus. With its report today, the aerospace company announced that core earnings per share had risen 19% — plus, later in the firm’s conference call, we could hear a bit more about the company’s plan on what to do with the contract it won to build the craft to taxi astronauts to the International Space Station.
3. Total talks new leadership
After its former CEO Christophe de Margerie died in a bizarre accident earlier this week, French oil company Total has appointed Patrick Pouyanne as his successor. Former CEO Thierry Desmarest, meanwhile, will return as president, according to Bloomberg.
4. Want a slice of Cheesecake?
The Cheesecake Factory(CAKE) will look to get its earnings back on track this afternoon. Zack’s notes that the restaurant chain has missed earnings targets for the past three quarters, largely driven by increasing food costs. Lets just hope the press release isn’t as long as the menu.
5. Daimler gets big money on Tesla sale
German automaker Daimler is selling its stake in electric car manufacturer Tesla (TSLA), and is expecting to pull in a cool $780 million, according to the New York Times. Despite selling off the 4% stake, the two companies are expected to continue to work together on electric car projects.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said General Motors will report its quarterly earnings today. The story has since been updated.
