1. Stocks dragged down by Deutsche Bank concerns
Global markets dropped early Friday, the last trading day of the third quarter, as stocks added to Thursday losses sparked by concerns over the stability of Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender. Deutsche Bank shares plunged — they dropped by nearly 9 percent early Friday to their lowest price in decades before regaining some ground — after reports that major lenders were pulling out funds. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell by 1.3 percent early Friday. In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 200 points (1.1 percent) on Thursday, with futures pointing to a further 0.3 percent drop at Friday's open.
2. Obama administration requires contractors to provide sick leave
The Obama administration issued a rule on Thursday requiring federal government contractors to give workers paid sick leave. Under the rule, the Labor Department estimates that more than 1.1 million people will be able to get sick leave — up to seven days per year. "This is really part of a broader conversation across America about what a 21st-century social compact should look like," Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said. "Back in the day, when Beaver Cleaver got sick and June Cleaver was home, who takes off to stay with the Beav was a non-issue. In today's world of dual-career couples in the work force, our public policy has not caught up."
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3. Wells Fargo CEO hammered on Capitol Hill... again
Lawmakers harshly criticized Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf over the bank's sales scandal for the second time in two weeks on Thursday. Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, told Stumpf that Wells Fargo's sales abuses amounted to "some of the most egregious fraud we have seen since the foreclosure crisis." Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) accused Stumpf of presiding over "a criminal enterprise." At a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Stumpf to resign over the scandal, in which Wells Fargo employees opened as many as two million bank and credit card accounts without customers' authorization. Stumpf blamed the workers, not the corporate culture.
4. Oil prices drop slightly as doubts surface on OPEC output cut deal
Crude-oil futures edged down by 0.7 percent early Friday due to growing skepticism over the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' production cut deal. OPEC members unexpectedly made a preliminary deal to reduce output to between 32.5 million barrels and 33 million barrels a day, down from 33.2 million barrels a day in August. The news sent oil prices rising by more than 7 percent over the next two trading sessions, but doubts about whether the deal would ever be finalized prompted some investors to cash in on the gains.
5. Forbes cuts its estimate of Trump's fortune
Forbes magazine said Thursday that a drop in the value of some New York City real estate had reduced Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's net worth by $800 million, to $3.7 billion. During the presidential campaign, Trump has estimated his net worth to be as much as $10 billion. The magazine examined 28 Trump properties, and found that 18 had lost some value, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
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