MORNING COFFEE

E-Reader Price Wars. Barnes & Noble (BKS) slashed the price of its Nook e-reader to $199 and unveiled a new Wi-Fi only model that costs just $149.  In response, Amazon (AMZN) said it will lower the price of its Kindle e-reader to $189 from $259. Both companies are concerned with the success of Apple's (AAPL) iPad.

Differences In Opinions Going Into G-20 Summit. Going into the G-20 summit countries are bringing different viewpoints on how to ensure a global economic recovery. The U.K. is pressing for success through austerity, and nations like China, Canada and Japan are leaning in that direction as well. The U.S. is pushing for more stimulus measures, not less, to provide continued support for economic growth.

FOMC Rate Decision. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release their decision on interest rates today at 2:15 ET.  Economist are expecting the Fed to keep rates unchanged at 0%-25% and Wall Street will be looking at the wording of their decision for hints of future rate hikes.

Upgrades

Mattel (MAT): Caris & Company raised their rating from Above Average to Buy and raised their target price from $29.00 to $32.00.

Volcom (VLCM): Longbow raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $25.00 on the company.

Coverage Initiated

Roadrunner Transportation (RRTS): Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $18.00.

Roadrunner Transportation (RRTS): Robert W. Bairdinitiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $20.00.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Cinemark (CNK): Caris & Company reiterated their Below Average rating and lowered their target price from $15.00 to $14.00.

Clean Harbors (CLH): Wedbush reiterated their Outperform rating and raised their target price from $72.00 to $76.00.

Earnings

Walgreen (WAG): Reported Q3 earnings of $0.57 missing estimates by -$0.01 on revenue of $17.2 billion.

·         Futures: Dow -0.3%. S&P -0.4%. Nasdaq -0.2%. Crude -1.3% to $76.80. Gold -0.4% to $1235.80.

·         Asia: Japan -1.2% to 10113. Hong Kong -0.5% to 20819. China +0.1% to 2589. India -0.7% to 17750.

·         Europe: London -1.4%. Paris -1.3%. Frankfurt -0.8%.