EMEA Morning Briefing : Stocks Seen Lower Ahead of -2-

TZE'ELIM, Israel-In the sun-torched plains of southern Israel, thousands of soldiers wait for the go-ahead from politicians and commanders to do what the Israeli military has trained for years to do: fight in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military has built a replica of a generic Palestinian village nicknamed "Little Gaza" at a base in the Negev Desert, where soldiers train for combat against armed terrorists in narrow streets and a labyrinth of tunnels.

Armenia Seeks Western Support as Relations With Russia Deteriorate

YEREVAN, Armenia-Abandoned by its traditional Russian ally and squeezed between two hostile neighbors, Armenia is reaching out for Western support as it fears another war.

This week, the landlocked country of three million people signed a deal to purchase from France modern air defenses, moving to fill a key capability gap that allowed Azerbaijan to rout Armenian forces in 2020. The agreement was announced in Paris as some 3,000 Turkish and Azerbaijani troops began joint drills on both sides of Armenia.

Israel Agrees to U.S. Request to Delay Invasion of Gaza

Israel has agreed, for now, to a request from the U.S. to delay its expected ground invasion of Gaza so the Pentagon can place air defenses in the region to protect U.S. troops, according to U.S. officials and people familiar with the Israeli planning.

The Pentagon is rushing to deploy nearly a dozen air-defense systems to the region, including for U.S. troops serving in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, to protect American forces from missiles and rockets. U.S. officials have so far persuaded the Israelis to hold off on sending tanks and foot soldiers into Gaza to end Hamas rule until those pieces can be placed in the region, as early as later this week.

Ford Reaches Tentative Labor Deal With UAW Six Weeks Into Historic Strike

The United Auto Workers secured a new tentative labor deal with Ford Motor Wednesday night, potentially ending a six-week strike at one automaker while negotiations continue at General Motors and Chrysler-parent Stellantis.

The labor agreement, which is subject to a member vote before being ratified, contains a 25% wage increase during the span of the contract, including an 11% bump in the first year, according to Chuck Browning, the UAW's lead bargainer with Ford. The overall increase, which will be spread out over four years, would put the top wage for assembly workers at around $40 an hour.

Berkshire Adds to Stake in Occidental, Now Holds Over 25%

Berkshire Hathaway lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum in recent days, making its first purchase since late June. Berkshire bought 3.9 million shares, increasing its stake to 228 million shares worth $14.5 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK/A) bought the stock on Monday through Wednesday, according to a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It now holds a 25.8% stake in Occidental Petroleum (OXY), whose shares rose 1.2% Wednesday to $63.47.

Berkshire paid an average price of close to $63 a share for its latest purchase.

Morgan Stanley Names Ted Pick as Next Chief Executive

Morgan Stanley said Wednesday that it named Ted Pick as its next chief executive to succeed longtime CEO James Gorman, ushering in a new era for the Wall Street powerhouse.

Pick, who leads Morgan Stanley's investment-banking and trading operations, was one of three finalists selected as possible successors for Gorman, who said in May that he would step down from the CEO role he has held since 2010.

Meta Reports Record Sales as Ad Rebound Continues

Facebook parent Meta Platforms reported its largest quarterly revenue since going public more than a decade ago as demand for advertising picked up and the company continued to reap the benefits of cutting costs and developing new AI technology.

Meta's sales increased to $34.1 billion, up more than 23% compared with a year ago. That represents Meta's third quarter in a row of rising revenue after the company saw its business shrink for most of 2022. The 23% increase is Meta's largest year-to-year growth in revenue since the third quarter of 2021.

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Expected Major Events for Thursday

06:00/SWE: Sep Foreign trade

06:00/NOR: Aug Labour force survey SA, incl unemployment

07:00/SPN: 3Q Economically Active Population Survey

07:00/SWE: Oct Quarterly Business Tendency Survey

07:00/SWE: Oct Consumer Tendency Survey

08:30/UK: Sep Capital issuance statistics

09:00/LUX: Aug Trade

10:00/UK: Oct CBI Distributive Trades Survey

11:00/TUR: Turkish interest rate decision

12:15/EU: ECB interest rate announcement

23:01/UK: 3Q BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-26-23 0014ET