M&A

6 November, 2009

WEEKAHEAD-The view from Reuters editors in the Americas

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Following is the view from Reuters editors in the Americas on the news likely to matter most for the week starting Nov. 8. -- HEALTHCARE REFORM - U.S. House legislation heads for passage -- OBAMA IN ASIA - Obama visits China, Japan other countries -- KRAFT AND CADBURY - Kraft faces deadline for Cadbury bid -- FED SPEAKERS - Fed officials on the lecture trail HEALTHCARE - If all goes as congressional Democratic leaders hope, the U.S. House of Representatives will pass its version of a massive overhaul of the American healthcare system by the beginning of the week. We'll have full coverage over the weekend, including voting on Saturday and a SCENARIOS piece on what's next. After the House vote, the action returns to the Senate where a bill still has to go the full chamber. But with the Veterans Day holiday on Wednesday, it's unlikely there will be movement in the Senate during the week. Once both bills have been passed, they have to be reconciled. President Barack Obama wants to sign legislation by year's end, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated that deadline may have to slip. If the bill fails to pass the House, expect Democrats to be licking deep wounds. For full coverage of healthcare reform, double-click on [ID:nN20512341]. frances.kerry@thomsonreuters.com OBAMA GOES TO ASIA - President Obama makes his first trip to Asia since taking office, visiting Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea from Nov 12-19. His trip to China will spotlight administration moves to cement a relationship with that country that has been defined by mutual economic need. But U.S. trade moves, denounced by China as protectionist, underscored one area of tension. Preview pieces on the trip [nOBAMAASIA] include an analysis on the White House strategy on China [ID:nN03468552] and another on how more Obamamania may not break out in Asia. [ID:nSP532286]. Previews continue through the week, including a piece on Tuesday on all the countries on Obama's trip and a Q+A on what he hopes to achieve at each stop and at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. howard.goller@thomsonreuters.com KRAFT/CADBURY - Kraft Foods (KFT.N) must "put up or shut up" in its proposed bid for British chocolatier Cadbury (CBRY.L). The UK Takeover panel, at Cadbury's urging, has set 1200 EST/1700 GMT Monday as the deadline for the U.S. company to either make a formal offer or walk away for six months. There is still a gap of about 8 percent between Cadbury's share price and Kraft's informal offer, which valued the UK company at about $16.9 billion. Kraft is widely expected to keep its original offer for now, leaving room to sweeten it later, and could make its announcement over the weekend. Coverage will include Newsmakers, Analyses, Factboxes, Graphics and a Take a Look. michele.gershberg@thomsonreuters.com FED SPEAKERS - Having laid out guideposts to help financial markets gauge how long they will keep interest rates ultra-low, Fed officials hit the lecture circuit to offer their views on the outlook. Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo speaks on financial regulation on Monday, but is likely to get questions on the economy's health. On Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, San Francisco Fed chief Janet Yellen, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and the Dallas Fed's Richard Fisher all speak. New York Fed President William Dudley addresses regulatory reform on Friday, but he too could face questioning on monetary policy. Are officials placing more stock in signs that job losses are slowing? Or are they concerned that mounting unemployment could derail recovery? tim.ahmann@thomsonreuters.com WAL-MART EARNINGS - Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N), which is causing headaches for competitors such as Target by slashing prices in the run-up to the holiday shopping season, is expected to report higher third-quarter earnings on Thursday. The company has said it expects U.S. same-store sales to be flat to up 2 percent. Some analysts think there's a chance sales actually may have fallen as consumers become a bit more confident about the economy, but the weak jobs report might have altered that view. Wal-Mart no longer reports U.S. sales on a monthly basis. michele.gershberg@thomsonreuters.com MARKETS - After October payrolls cemented the belief that the Federal Reserve will continue following its easy-money policy through the middle of next year, U.S. markets will turn back to fundamental drivers next week. A bevy of retailers headlined by Wal-Mart Stores will provide the latest forecasts for the all-important holiday shopping season as investors wait to see if the stock market can regain its momentum. Treasury bond investors will tackle $81 billion of new debt, though early indications suggest longer-dated 10- and 30-year securities could struggle to find buyers as inflation fears build. In the foreign exchange market, traders will focus on a further breakdown in the relationship between rising equity and gold prices, and the falling dollar. christopher.sanders@thomsonreuters.com FINANCIAL REGULATION - The battle over the future of the U.S. financial industry moves into the Senate next week when influential Sen. Christopher Dodd is expected to announce his plan to concentrate regulatory power in a new council at the expense of the Federal Reserve. Similar ideas floated by the Obama administration proved too controversial in the House of Representatives, and Dodd's bill is likely to face opposition in the Senate. For a story, click on: [ID:nN05134854]. tim.ahmann@thomsonreuters.com NOVEMBER CROP REPORT - On Tuesday, the USDA will update its estimates of corn and soybean production this year. This report will be watched more closely than usual because the harvest is three to five weeks behind normal due to frost damage to some crops and rains keeping equipment from fields. There has been a lot of guessing as to how this will affect yields and production, which only a month ago was expected to be near-record for soy and corn. Estimates for corn crop losses range from 150 million to 200 million bushels. The USDA has also resurveyed in six states that were behind harvesting and planting winter wheat. It may release an update to its Sept. 30 report on small grains production, which is usually the final word for the year. alden.bentley@thomsonreuters.com HONDURAS - The de facto government has effectively trashed the recent deal for setting up a unity government and having Congress vote on Zelaya's return to power; de facto leader Micheletti now says he will lead the country until a new president takes office in January. The United States had brokered the deal but now appears ambivalent and is not pushing hard for ousted president Zelaya's return to power. That position puts Washington out of line with the OAS and Latin American heavyweights like Brazil, and could weaken Obama's promise of a new, improved relationship with Latin America. kieran.murray@thomsonreuters.com OIL PRICING - We're chasing comments from oil exporters across the globe for signs they could join Saudi Arabia in pricing crude sold to the United States based on the Argus Sour Crude Index, rather than West Texas Intermediate (WTI). Some in the oil patch have complained that supply, storage and transport constraints around WTI have influenced the price in recent years, distorting the value of crude headed toward the world's top consumer. But will the new system bring import prices closer to fundamentals? matthew.robinson@thomsonreuters.com ENERGY MARKETS - Oil markets continue to weigh economic indicators that could foreshadow an increase in demand and weak fundamentals. While U.S. inventories showed a draw last week, it was more due to refiners cutting back production than a solid rebound in demand. We'll be looking at weekly crude and product inventory data as well as the MasterCard Spendingpulse gasoline demand report for signs a turnaround in consumption is gathering strength or still a ways off. matthew.robinson@thomsonreuters.com REUTERS HEALTH SUMMIT - The Reuters Health Summit, running Monday-Thursday in New York, has the usual fabulous line-up of speakers, including the FDA commissioner and CEOs from Merck (MRK.N), Pfizer (PFE.N) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L). Pharmaceutical companies are striking mega-deals, diversifying and cutting costs to prepare for an avalanche of patent expirations, and there are signs that the industry is becoming more productive in its research labs after a long dry patch. But investors are not convinced the industry is on the path to sustained profits; pharmaceutical stocks have underperformed the broader market in 2009. martin.howell@thomsonreuters.com TAKE A LOOK-Five world markets themes next week [MKT/THEMES] Weekahead Europe [WKAHEAD/EM] Weekahead Asia [WKAHEAD/A] Economic events [M/DIARY] Company news [GLO/EQUITY] For all diaries [DIA]

(Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: http://www.reuters.com