Records, Rebalances, and a Heavy Earnings Week Ahead

US Jobs Defy Gravity

October's US payroll print was the strongest for that month since 1997. Nonfarm payrolls reached 159,293 thousand, edging past last October's record of 158,408 thousand, according to ORTEX alt data. Average hourly earnings hit $38.00, the highest October reading since the series began in 2006. Canada moved in the opposite direction. Total employment fell to 21,100.1 thousand in October, a third straight monthly decline. The gap between the two North American economies is widening.

Earnings Collide with Heavy Short Books

Cisco Systems is the marquee print of the week, reporting Thursday at a $377 billion market cap. Options traders are positioning hard around it. CoreWeave reports Monday with 26.3% short interest and a year-to-date decline of 39%. Bears held their ground even after a 6% bounce. D-Wave Quantum goes into its print with an ORTEX short score of 74 and 11.97 days to cover. Borrow is exhausted. Any sharp move could force rapid covering. Rigetti Computing posted a 19% single-day gain this week. Shorts at 21.4% of free float did not flinch.

Japanese automakers add to the calendar. Nissan reports Monday with ORTEX alt data showing Japanese car registrations running 12% above a year ago. Polestar faces tougher reading: Dutch car registrations, a leading indicator for its revenue, are running 68% below the same quarter last year.

MSCI Clock Ticking; European Deal in Focus

The MSCI World November review announces Wednesday. Flutter Entertainment and Textron carry the highest deletion probabilities at 78% and 79%. Moderna heads the addition list with an 88% probability and $6.4 billion of forecast buying. In Europe, CVC Capital Partners' cash tender for Recordati carries a 93% completion probability. If completed, Recordati exits the FTSE MIB and $220 million of forced selling hits over roughly 10 days. The index announcement is expected Monday, effective Tuesday.

Europe: EVs Advance, Petrol Fades

European petrol car registrations fell to 4,548 vehicles in October 2026, the lowest October total on record since 2016. Finland's battery-electric registrations hit a record 3,404 vehicles in October, well above the previous best of 2,305 set in 2023, per ORTEX alt data.