ASIA The Nikkei fell 0.5% as growing concerns about the US economy and the dollar's slip against the yen put Toyota Motor Corp and other exporters under pressure (RTRS) Oil fell below $94 a barrel, while nagging fears that a credit market squeeze will sap global growth weighed on the dollar and the region's exporters (RTRS) At 0625 crude was trading 93.86 down 56c. The FT runs the headline 'Opec to discuss rise in output' citing that the cartel will look at all information available after prices fell more than $3 a barrel yesterday. US Stocks rebounded on Tuesday after Mondayâs sell-off, boosted by strength in financials after Abuâs Dhabiâs investment arm agreed to invest $7.5 billion in Citigroup. Shares of the company rose 1.74% to $30.32 after more than a 3% loss yesterday. Despite the capital infusion, some analysts, including CIBC and JP Morgan, were still cautious on Citigroup with CIBC saying it still expects the company to cut its dividend. Elsewhere in the sector, shares of JP Morgan rose 4.67% to $42.35 and Bank of Americaâs shares gained 2.53% to $42.94. There was also strength in the tech sector after JP Morgan raised its 2007 and 2008 EPS estimates for Intel (+3.04% to $25.11) before the open. Shares of Apple gained 1.3% following positive comments from Morgan Keegan on iPod Touch demand. One sector that lagged today was energy amid sharp declines in the energy futures after supportive OPEC commentary on a possible output hike in December. Shares of ConocoPhillips fell 0.8%, while shares of Valero Energy dropped 3.2% to $62.00. Exxon Mobil shares bucked the trend to rise 0.82% at $86.38. The DJI rose 215 pts. (1.7%) to 12,958. S&P 500 Index rose 21 pts (1.5%) to 1428.23 and the Nasdaq 100 Index gained 2.23% to 2033.76. After the close Freddie Mac announced that it cut its Q4 dividend 50% to $0.25 and said it is offering $6 billion in preferred stock. The stock traded lower after the announcements. Citigroup - The WSJ reports that the company is still on rocky terrain and although the capital infusion gave a lift CDO troubles persist. (WSJ)* Wells Fargo - The company will further tighten home equity lending standards, will record a pretax provision of USD 1.4 billion, cites higher losses in some indirect channels. (BBG)** Freddie Mac - The GSE cut its dividend by 50% to USD 0.25/share, says it will offer USD 6.0 billion of preferred stock. (DJ)** FTSE Barclays - BarCap plans to double revenue and staff in Asia by 2013. (RTRS) BHP Billiton - The company said it did not see China, its major customer, putting up obstacles to its USD 120bln takeover approach for rival Rio Tinto. (RTRS) DSG International - The company posted a 26% fall in 1H profits after its Italian business has continued to suffer. 1H sales came in at GBP 3.4bln vs Exp. GBP 3.37bln. The company said it is cautious about the consumer environment in 2008. (RTRS)* Johnson Matthey - The company posted 1H net of GBP 88.1mln vs Exp. GBP 85.6mln, and said that 2H growth will be slower than the 1H. (RTRS)* Compass Group - FY net GBP 515mln vs Exp. GBP 322.9mln, FY revenue GBP 10.3bln vs Exp. GBP 10.4bln. (RTRS)* Woseley - Trading profit fell by 12% for the 3 months ended 31st October. The company said sales trends and the outlook are uncertain. (S&P)* Sage Group - FY pretax ex-items GBP 251.3mln vs Exp. GBP 221.3mln. The company said it has significant resources for takeovers and sees organic and acquisition opportunities. (RTRS)** Companies going ex-dividend today: Next Plc (0.18000 GBP), 3iGroup (0.06100 GBP), Man Group (0.09180 GBP), National Grid (0.11700 GBP), SABMiller (0.16000 USD), Daily Mail & Trust (0.0990 GBP) Companies paying dividend today: Barratt Developments (0.24300 GBP) CAC Carrefour - The company is in talks with Indian real estate firm Parsvnath Developers Ltd to set up hypermarkets in India. (Mint Paper) DAX Volkswagen - Porsche CEO said will not take over VW before Christmas. (NYT) SMI Novartis - The U.S. FDA has said that the company's Myfortic drug poses risks in pregnancies. In separate news, the EU Commission has approved the Tasigna drug for use in chronic myeloid leukaemia for patients who no longer respond to Glivec. (RTRS)** Roche - The U.S. FDA has said that the company's Tamiflu drug does not adequately address safety worries. (RTRS) ABB - The CEO does not see a marked slowdown. (S&P) BROKER UPGRADES/DOWNGRADES AXA GOLDMAN SACHS DOWNGRADES TO SELL FROM BUY AIR FRANCE CUT TO `HOLD' VS `BUY' AT DEUTSCHE BANK VW SOCGEN DOWNGRADES TO SELL FROM HOLD LINDE RAISED TO 'BUY' VS 'SELL' AT CITIGROUP The above commentary was provided by Real-time Analysis & News (R.A.N) Ltd (known to traders as âRansquawkâ) operates from 0630GMT until 2200GMT to incorporate full coverage of the US bond and equity futures markets. Currently R.A.N covers Bond, STIR and Index futures in the US, UK and Eurozone as well as NYMEX crude and Gold. Furthermore, R.A.N has a stand alone Forex service (Ransquawk FX) which covers all the major currency pairs. Coverage is based around the economic calendar for that day but the product finds its value looking at flows, rumours and breaking news and delivers that information to the customer via an internet âsquawk-boxâ. For more information and a 1-week free trial please email us at info@ransquawk.com