Hello friends and Fortune readers.
Wall Street stock futures are higher this morning on a positive lead from China and Europe this morning. The dollar has given up some of its gains against the euro, which now trades at $1.0744, while crude oil futures remain in the doldrums below $44 a barrel after yesterday’s sobering outlook from the International Energy Agency.
Today’s must-read story is by Fortune’s Geoff Colvin on the real power behind Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy has won a landslide victory in national elections. It’s not just about having the right message but the power of authenticity behind it. Read more here.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Megabrew Inc. is happening
The world’s two biggest brewers have formalised the terms of their proposed $105 billion deal to create what they say will be the world’s “first truly global beer company.” Anheuser Busch-InBev and SABMiller Plc removed the biggest antitrust obstacle to their planned deal by agreeing to sell SABMiller’s 58% stake in MillerCoors to its partner in the joint venture, Molson Coors Inc., for $12 billion.
2. China celebrates Singles Day.
It’s the biggest spending day of the year in China as singles across the nation head online and into stores to celebrate what’s known as the “anti-Valentine’s Day.” Chinese singles particularly love their online shopping and a slew of e-commerce sites are offering deals to lure their spending dollars. Last year Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) notched $9.3 billion in sales last year, and it’s hoping it can go even higher this year. In the first 90 minutes of sales, starting at midnight in Beijing, Alibaba processed $5 billion worth of transactions already.
3. Apple iPad Pro goes on sale.
Apple’s latest iPad update is ready for pre-order online today before it officially hits shelves later this week. The iPad Pro boasts a larger 12.9-inch display and pricing starts at $799 for a 32-gigabyte model. It also comes with an additional add-on feature long derided by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs: a stylus. The Apple Pencil looks like the real thing, albeit in the standard Apple (AAPL) silver color, and allows users to more deftly work with items on the touchscreen. It will retail separately for $99. Apple–and other tablet makers–are hoping that this new iPad can re-stoke interest in the device after overall tablet shipments fell by 12.6% year-over-year in the third quarter.
4. Macy’s reports.
Macy’s (M), which operates both its namesake stores and Bloomingdale’s, updates investors with its third-quarter sales before the market open, which are expected to fall below the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters data. The mediocre results are likely a combination of heavy discounts and slower store traffic given the unseasonally warm weather. That’s dampened demand for cold-weather items that typically sell heavily during the months of September and October.
5. AB Inbev offer deadline looms.
The deadline for Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) to formally present its $104 billion takeover offer to SABMiller is today at 5 p.m. GMT. It’s the second extension on the official offer since the two companies announced an agreement to merge on Oct. 13. The delays were requested in order to finish complex paperwork and iron out the details of the deal, including the sale of SABMiller’s U.S. business. The combination would create a global beer behemoth with a 28.4% share of the worldwide beer market.
