Stocks are set to resume slide at Wall Street's open

BY THE NUMBERS

Futures were lower this morning after the biggest weekly declines for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq since March. Strong gains for the major averages Friday still left the Dow and S&P 500 about 6 percent below their most recent record highs. (CNBC)

Sears Holdings (SHLD) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection , and plans to close 142 more of its stores. Appliance maker Whirlpool (WHR) issued a statement after the news saying the bankruptcy will have a limited impact on its finances. (CNBC)

* Here are 5 things Sears got wrong that sped its fall (CNBC)
* Sears is closing another 142 stores. Here's a map of the locations it has left (CNBC)

Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) will be out with quarterly earnings this morning, while Dow Transportation component J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT) will issue its numbers after today's closing bell. (CNBC)

* Bank of America earnings: 66 cents a share, vs 62 cents EPS expected (CNBC)

On the data front this morning, the government will be out with September retail sales figures at 8:30 a.m. ET. At 10 a.m. ET, August business inventories are seen rising 0.5 percent after July's 0.6 percent increase. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

J.P. Morgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink, and Blackstone (BX) CEO Stephen Schwarzman will not attend an investment conference in Saudi Arabia amid concerns about the suspected killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (CNBC)

* Saudi king orders investigation into Khashoggi case (Reuters)
* Missing Saudi journalist is creating major worries around the oil market (CNBC)

President Donald Trump plans to visit later today Florida and Georgia and see the recovery effort after Hurricane Michael's destructive march. Late last night, the president declared a state of emergency for Georgia. (AP)

* In areas hit by the hurricane, lines for necessities are growing longer (NYT)

A source told Axios that Trump has asked Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel to serve a second term as he builds his team for 2020. Trump has reportedly praised McDaniel's work on behalf of the America First agenda.

* The Democrats' 2020 crowd jumps the gun (Axios)
* GOP's grip on the Senate tightens even as Democrats threaten to take the House (CNBC)

Trump said in an interview over the weekend that he was "comfortable" in the White House after almost two years in office, despite political storms over immigration, tariffs and his nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. (Reuters)

Russia is currently unable to find a source for the critical carbon fiber components needed to make one of its hypersonic weapons, despite President Vladimir Putin's claims that the device has already entered serial production, sources told CNBC.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn will challenge Michael Dell's plans to take his namesake computer company public again. Icahn disclosed he has boosted his stake in shares that track Dell Technologies' (DVMT) interest in VMware (VMW). (WSJ)

Amazon (AMZN) has reportedly offered more than $400 million for a minority stake in India-based retailer Spencer's Retail, according to the Business Standard newspaper. They say Amazon was eyeing a 30 percent stake.

Chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) received final European Union antitrust clearance for its $19-billion purchase of software company CA Technologies (CA), and now expects the deal to close on November 5. (Reuters)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Walmart (WMT) announced the acquisition of online lingerie retailer Bare Necessities for an undisclosed amount.

Harris Corp. (HRS) and L3 Technologies (LLL) will combine in the largest-ever merger of defense companies. The all-stock transaction has a value of more than $15 billion, exceeding the prior record held by the 1997 combination of Boeing (BA) and McDonnell Douglas. L3 shareholders will receive 1.3 Harris shares for each share they now own, with Harris shareholders owning 54 percent of the combined company.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) was upgraded to "overweight" from "equal weight" at Barclays, with optimism over potential "Call of Duty" digital revenue for the video game maker among the factors cited.

Zoetis (ZTS) was upgraded to "overweight" from "neutral" at J.P. Morgan Chase, which thinks the drug maker will continue to grow sales faster than its peers.

Tapestry (TPR) was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Loop Capital Markets. Loop is concerned about the competitive positioning of Tapestry, the parent of Coach and other luxury brands.

WATERCOOLER

The New England Patriots showed championship mettle in a wild win Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Patriots' victory, 43-40, was won at the final gun with a 28-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal. (ESPN)