Hello friends and Fortune readers.
Wall Street stock futures are lower this morning, on lingering concerns about the (fading) strength of the Chinese economy, after its headline annual growth rate fell to a six-year low of 6.9% in the third quarter.
Today’s must-read story is by Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alan Murray on plays to the same theme, albeit on a more upbeat note. China isn’t headed for a hard landing, he argues–at least not yet. However, growth is likely less than official estimates indicate. Read more here.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Liberals sweep to power in Canada
More tax, more spending, more refugees, legal pot and a question mark over the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal. It’s all on the cards after Canada’s Liberal Party swept back to power in the country’s general elections. The new Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau, son of Pierre Trudeau, who dominCated Canadian politics in the 1970s.
2. Verizon continues its transformation into a digital services provider.
Verizon (VZ), the largest U.S. wireless provider, reports its third-quarter earnings before the market opens today. Analysts expect the company to post earnings-per-share of $1.02, up from 89 cents a share a year earlier. Verizon is aggressively trying to adapt its business model to focus on digital services, as evidenced by the recent launch of its go90 smartphone video app, and as a result, it’s expecting its earnings to plateau next year as it invests in this change. The company has also been switching from contracts to installment based billing plans for smartphones, which only recently went into effect.
3. Yahoo earnings.
Yahoo (YHOO) is expected to reveal a third-quarter profit well-below analysts’ estimates when it reports its earnings after the market close today. However, revenues are expected to be up 15% year-over-year. The company has been struggling to pull in advertising dollars as it goes up against competitors like Alphabet (Google’s new holding company) and Facebook, while it works to revamp its media unit to focus on mobile. Investors will be looking for an update on how Yahoo plans to move forward with the spinoff of its stake in Alibaba Group (BABA).
4. U.S. housing update.
September data on housing starts and building permits will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Last month’s numbers are expected to be up from previous readings with new home starts increasing to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.15 million units. That’s up from 1.13 million units in August. Building permits were also likely higher at a predicted 1.164 million-unit pace from 1.161 million in August. Housing starts reached a near-eight year high in July when groundbreakings increased to 1.21 million units for the month.
5. Fiat Chrysler workers vote on new contract.
Union workers for Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) will vote on a proposed new contract today after a previous union-brokered deal was rejected by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Such a rejection hadn’t been seen in over 30 years at a major U.S. automaker. Voting for the 40,000 members will be consolidated into two days instead of more than a week for the failed deal. The latest four-year contract is considered to be much richer option.
