Closing bell: Merger Monday and Valeant's ex-CEO may be in hot water again

October 31, 2016

Stocks went nowhere to start the week after weak US economic data and a slew of mergers.

We've got all the headlines, but first, the scoreboard:

General Electric agreed to combine its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes. The newly-formed company would have revenues of roughly $32 billion according to the announcement.
CenturyLink is buying Level 3 Communications in a $34 billion deal. The combination of communications providers would add 200,000 route miles of fiber to CenturyLink's portfolio. CenturyLink will also take on $7 billion of debt to fund the deal and the stock tanked after the announcement.
Valeant's ex-CEO is reportedly facing a criminal probe. A report form Bloomberg said that Michael Pearson, the former CEO of troubled pharmaceutical company Valeant, is being criminally investigated and could be charged "within weeks." The stock fell a little more than 12% following the news.
Mark Carney will remain as the head of the Bank of England through June 2019. This would extend the five-year term of the central bank head by six months which he said would allow him to oversee financial conditions during the country's exit from the European Union.
Oil got crushed on more OPEC rumors. The cartel members met informally in Vienna over the weekend and the possibility that the nations will not cap production led the US crude oil benchmark down by nearly 4%.
Chicago PMI fell more than expected. The index on Midwest business activity fell to 50.6, much lower than the 54.0 projected by economists.