By Pady Power

Fed’s Lacker said the US Federal Reserve has tools to withdraw the support it is giving the economy and can reduce the size of its balance sheet even before it begins to raise rates on reserves. (RTRS)

Also, Fed’s Fisher said that the US economy faces a weak recovery that will likely warrant extremely low Interest Rates for the foreseeable future. He also said that inflation is likely to remain subdued for some time, and thus our current policy is appropriate. Fisher further commented that thus far the USD has not been in a disorderly depreciation.

US Treasury’s Geithner says US, global rebound needs more time to take hold. US unemployment is “exceptionally high”. (BBG)

FDIC boss: Big banks still aren’t lending enough. (AP)

The head of the FDIC said Tuesday she’s “very worried” that the nation’s biggest banks aren’t lending enough and warned the economy could take another turn for the worse without increased access to credit. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said the FDIC’s upcoming quarterly report would show that “not many large institutions are doing a very good job of lending.” Instead, she said, some are taking advantage of near-zero Interest Rates by borrowing dollars cheaply to buy higher-yielding assets like stocks or commodities — a move known as the “Carry Trade.”

Baltic Dry bulk index rises 3.7% to 3,748 at 1315 GMT (0715 CST) in London. (BBG) USD Index down 0.08% and CRB Index up 0.11% at 1338 GMT (0738 CST)

The USD index weakened and reached a 15-month low, following Fed official comments that any recovery in the US economy would be erratic and bolstering the view that Interest Rates would stay low. (Ransquawk)

In OPEC news, the cartel upped its 2010 world oil demand growth forecast to 750,000 BPD from the previous estimate of 700,000 BPD. (BBG/RTRS)

Gold futures rise to a record USD 1,117.82 an ounce. (BBG)

US Bloomberg Global Confidence (Nov) M/M 60.3 vs. Prev. 61.70

Today the Nikkei closed +0.01% and at 1356 GMT (0756 CST) European Indices were trading at: FTSE 100 +1.03%, DAX +1.23%, CAC 40 +1.07%. (BBG)

Wall Street

Wal-Mart – Co. announced a one-week offer starting Saturday Nov. 14 on its full assortment of BlackBerry devices from all four major carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. With the purchase of any BlackBerry at WalMart Wireless and two-year contract from these major carriers, shoppers will receive a USD 100 WalMart Gift Card at purchase to use on a later transaction on anything in the store. This smart phone savings event is nationwide at all WalMart stores. (theflyonthewall.com)

Kraft – Co.’s USD 16 billion hostile bid for British candy maker Cadbury has been notified to EU regulatory authorities, the European Commission said. The Commission, the competition watchdog of the 27-nation European Union, has set a deadline for December 14 to make its decision, it said. It gave no further details. (RTRS)

S&P 500

Macy’s – Q3 ex-items loss per share USD 0.03 vs. Exp. loss per share USD 0.07, Q3 revenue USD 5.28bln vs. Exp. USD 5.26bln, Co. boosts forecast and sees Q4 adjusted EPS USD 1.00 – USD 1.05 vs. Exp. USD 1.14 and sees Q4 same-store sales down 1%-2%. Co. also sees year EPS ex-items USD 1.01 – USD 1.06, had seen USD 0.70 – USD 0.80. (BBG)

US Banks – A number of banks are restructuring commercial mortgages based on new U.S. guidelines that apply to loans considered nonperforming to see if they eligible to be reclassified under new guidelines from bank, thrift and credit-union regulators. (WSJ)

AIG – Co. CEO Robert Benmosche told the co.’s board of directors that he is considering resigning from the job he’s held only three months. (WSJ)

Prudential – Co. announced that its board has declared an annual dividend for 2009 of USD 0.70 per share of Common Stock, payable on December 18, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 24. The 2009 Common Stock declared dividend represents an increase of approximately 21% from the 2008 Common Stock dividend. (BBG/RTRS)

UPS – CEO Scott Davis says co. expects growth in its volumes next year as the global economy gradually recovers. UPS will hike shipping rates for 2010, which follows a similar move by rival Fedex, and it will announce the size of the hike later this month. “I believe the recovery is real, but it is gradual. It is sustainable but vulnerable,” notes Davis. He said this will lead the U.S. Holiday season to be slightly better than expected. (RTRS)

Lockheed Martin – Israeli moving closer to acquiring F-35 squadron, which is estimates at USD 100mln a plane. The first stage of the deal will be the purchase of 25 aircrafts. In a later stage, the IAF plans to purchase an additional 50 aircrafts. (Press TV)

Toll Brothers – FY09’s fourth-quarter net signed contracts of approximately 765 units and USD 430.8mln rose 42% in units and 62% in dollars compared to FY 2008’s fourth-quarter totals. FY09’s fourth-quarter totals also exceeded FY07’s fourth-quarter net signed contracts by 17% in units and 18% in dollars. (BBG/RTRS)

NASDAQ

Apple – Co. has become the world’s most profitable handset vendor in Q3 2009, overtaking Nokia, according to Strategy Analytics. In other news, France Telecom’s Orange breaks O2’s two-year exclusive grip on co.’s iPhone in the U.K and sold more than 30,000 iPhones within hours of opening their doors. (BBG/Guardian)

Oracle/Sun Microsystems – EU’s Kroes says “let’s be optimistic” on review of the deal. (BBG)

Teva Pharmaceutical – Co. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted final approval for the company’s Abbreviated New Drug Application to market its generic version of Tap Pharmaceutical’s proton pump inhibitor Prevacid Delayed-Release Capsules, 15 mg and 30 mg. Customers will begin receiving product on November 11. (BBG/RTRS)

Adobe – Adobe announced a workforce reduction to appropriately align its costs in connection with its 2010 operating plan. As a result, co. expects to eliminate approximately 680 full-time positions worldwide. (theflyonthewall.com)

Nvidia – Co.’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang says that the company is seeing strong demand due to a recovery in the global economy which has resulted in supply constraints across the board. (RTRS)