Daily Data Flow: U.S. Stocks Advance; Ichan Acquires 10% of Netflix

Most U.S. Stocks Rise as Markets Reopen After Hurricane (Bloomberg)
Most U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reversing an earlier loss, as equity markets in the world’s largest economy reopened after Hurricane Sandy caused the longest weather-related shutdown since 1888. “Today, traders are more heightened to a flash crash more than any day prior,” Rick Fier, director of equity trading at Conifer Securities LLC in New York, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $8 billion in assets. “Nobody cares about if the market goes up or down. You just want to make sure the market is functioning properly. With the better opening, it made the decision to sell that much easier.”

Ichan Acquires 10% of Netflix, Mulls Ways to Maximize Value (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Carl Icahn acquired almost 10 percent of Netflix Inc. (NFLX), operator of the largest online video streaming service, and is considering ways to maximize value. The shares rose the most since January. Netflix rose 14% to $79.24 at the close in New York to mark the biggest gain since January. The stock was unchanged for the year before today. The company closed the third quarter with 25.1 million U.S. customers who pay $7.99 a month to watch shows and films on TVs, computers and mobile devices, and is forecast to reach $3.6 billion in revenue this year.

Jobs Report: What to Expect (CNNMoney)
Extra attention will be paid to the job market this month when the government releases its jobs report Friday — the last before the presidential election next week. Most forecasts aren’t predicting job growth to be much of an improvement over the 114,000 jobs added last month. But the unemployment rate will be highly anticipated. With the jobs report coming so close to the election, the number is bound to act as a lightening rod for both sides. If the unemployment rate rises, Republicans will likely seize on it as evidence that things have not improved under Obama. If it falls, Democrats will argue they have.