By Anna Prior
One of the most anticipated initial public offerings in recent
years is expected next week, with Twitter Inc. slated to make its
public trading debut.
Meanwhile, the October U.S. unemployment rate, set to be
released next Friday, is expected to rise to 7.4% from the 7.2%
reported for September, according to economists surveyed by Dow
Jones Newswires.
Retailers also are expected to report October sales data, while
corporate earnings season continues with reports expected from
office-supply retailers Office Depot Inc. (ODP) and OfficeMax Inc.
(OMX), which recently took another step toward merging.
Also, customers of collapsed brokerage MF Global Inc. may come
closer to recovering all of their money in the upcoming week.
Twitter IPO Possible
Twitter is expected to set a final price for its initial public
offering on Wednesday, according to a previous report in The Wall
Street Journal that cited people familiar with the company's
thinking. That means the microblogging service's stock could begin
trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Twitter will seek to sell as many as 80.5 million shares at $17
to $20 a share, which would raise as much as $1.6 billion at the
top of the price range, according to an October filing.
Other IPOs expected in the coming week include cybersecurity and
data-storage company Barracuda Networks Inc., telecommunications
software provider Mavenir Systems Inc. and website developer
Wix.com Ltd.
October Unemployment Rated Expected to Rise to 7.4%
Several economic reports are due in the coming week, including
the October employment report from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Economists expect nonfarm payrolls increased 120,000 last month,
down from the 148,000 added in September.
Retailers to Report October Sales
A handful of U.S. retailers, including Costco Wholesale Corp.
(COST), Gap Inc. (GPS) and L Brands Ltd. (LTD) are scheduled to
release their October sales results Thursday. Many retailers,
including the major department stores, have stopped reporting
monthly results over the past year, making it more difficult to
gauge the performance of the industry as a whole. Same-store sales
came in below expectations for September, with the nine retailers
tracked by Thomson Reuters posting 0.4% growth for the month, the
weakest showing since the recession when the index registered a
2.4% same-store sales decline in August 2009.
Office Depot, Office Max to Report Quarterly Earnings
Office-supply retailers Office Depot and Office Max are expected
to report third-quarter results next week as both companies
continue to edge closer to completing a merger.
The Federal Trade Commission cleared the way Friday for Office
Depot and OfficeMax to complete their $1.2 billion merger after
concluding the corporate marriage wouldn't harm competition.
Other companies reporting quarterly results during the week
include Kellogg Co. (K), AOL Inc. (AOL), CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS)
and Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA).
MF Global Could Return 100% of Customer Funds
Two years after MF Global went under, customers of the brokerage
may come closer to recovering all of their money.
The trustee overseeing MF Global's liquidation, James W.
Giddens, on Tuesday will ask the Manhattan bankruptcy court to let
him make a final payment of $305 million to MF Global's commodities
futures customers. The payout would result in a 100% recovery rate
for all of MF Global's customers, who hold more than 26,000 claims
against the brokerage.
In other bankruptcy news, GateHouse Media Inc. (GHSEQ) Wednesday
will seek bankruptcy-court approval of its plan to wrap up its
quick trip through Chapter 11 protection, while Patriot Coal Corp.
(PCXCQ) on Wednesday will ask the St. Louis bankruptcy court to let
it send its Chapter 11 exit plan to its creditors for a vote.
-Jacqueline Palank contributed to this article.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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