The buzz

The South China Morning Post reported that China needs firmer commitments on lifting tariffs from the U.S. before a so-called phase-one deal can be agreed.

Xerox XRX, +2.67% is considering making a $27 billion bid for technology company HP HPQ, +10.54%, according to The Wall Street Journal. SoftBank Group SFTBY, +0.65%  didn’t have the greatest of quarters, reporting its first operating loss in 14 years, including a $4.7 billion hit on its investment in shared-office provider WeWork.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said monetary policy is probably not far off the neutral rate, and New York Fed President John Williams will answer questions. Productivity shrunk in the third quarter, according to data released Wednesday. Lots of earnings to digest, with health insurers CVS Health CVS, +5.02% and Humana HUM, +3.42%  raising their earnings guidance.

Politics will be in the limelight after the Democrats flipped both houses of the Virginia state legislature, and Andy Beshear declared victory in the tight race for Kentucky’s governor.

The market

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.15%, S&P 500 SPX, -0.12%  and Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.44%  are trading flat as the action gets underway Tuesday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury TMUBMUSD, -2.52%  fell 3 basis points to 1.83%.

Random reads

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton "has been quietly chipping away at an array of rules," according to this  Reuters profile.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is facing a complicated decision: whether to permit genetically altered trees.

A proposed law in New South Wales, Australia, would make it illegal to lie to get in bed with someone.

Deflation in everything—a man bought 1,000 hens for 96 cents.

