Good morning, friends and Fortune readers.
Happy Friday! A busy week comes to a close today, with another American car company and a consumer giant both reporting earnings. Of course, a lot of the news today will be focused on the confirmed Ebola case in New York City, and what potential effect this could have on the stock markets. Here, though, is what else you need to know in business today:
1. Ford hits the skids
The Detroit automaker continues to post discouraging news. After announcing a cut in its outlook late last month, Ford posted pre-tax earnings of just $1.2 billion for the third quarter, down from $2.6 billion in 2013. Shares are more or less flat in pre-market trading.
2. Proctor & Gamble is steady as she goes
The consumer brands company posted earnings of $1.07 per share, up a bit from last year and in line with analyst expectations. P&G is in the middle of a big period of change, with one executive announcing she was leaving at the end of the year and a planned sell-off of half of its businesses underway.
3. Getting building
As always, keeping your ear to the ground on housing stats is a good way to look at the health of the US economy. Today we’ll see how many new homes have been sold in the US. Economists are expecting a bit of a slide. according to Fox Business News.
4. Pfizer’s got buyback fever
The US drugmaker is buying back $11 billion in shares. On top of the implications for shareholders, this likely kills the idea of the company buying British company AstraZeneca, a target for a possible inversion deal.
5. Target targets hipster territory
Slap a monocle on that logo, because Target is looking to Downtown Brooklyn for the opening of a new CityTarget store. These stores are smaller and more flexible than the normal big box stores. This Brooklyn outpost is set to open in 2016, the company tells Fortune’s Phil Wahba.