U.S., Allies Demand Russia Stop Attacks on Syria Opposition (BBG) Russian Airstrikes Defend Strategic Assad Regime Stronghold on Syria’s Coast (WSJ) Emerging Stocks Head for Weekly Advance Before U.S. Jobs Data (BBG) Wage Strife Clouds Car-Sales Boom (WSJ) Oregon town reels from classroom carnage (Reuters) Oregon shooter came from California, described as shy and skittish (Reuters) At Glencore, a Mining Emperor Tries to Save His Realm (WSJ) Ackman, Einhorn Lead Hedge Funds on Track to Rival '08 Slump (BBG) Chipmaker AMD to cut 500 global jobs, take $42 million charge (Reuters) Sprint Expected to Cut Jobs, Up to $2.5 Billion in Costs (WSJ) China Billionaire With Canal Dream Confronts Biggest Loss of '15 (BBG) Gundlach's DoubleLine Capital posts 20th month of inflows in Sept (Reuters) Oil Ignoring Bad News Usually Means a Rebound Is Near, Says Jim Rogers (BBG) Hurricane Joaquin May Miss U.S. Coast After Pounding Bahamas (BBG) EU Regulators Weigh Seeking Concessions on FedEx-TNT Deal (WSJ) ECB President Mario Draghi Says Eurozone Returning to Growth After Policy Moves (WSJ) The Only Banker Sued for the Housing Crisis Prepares Her Appeal (BBG) Overnight Media Digest WSJ - RRJ Capital, based in Hong Kong and Singapore, closed the largest-ever private-equity fund for an Asian firm at $4.5 billion, giving prolific deal-maker Richard Ong a war chest to hunt for new opportunities across the region. (http://on.wsj.com/1JIp55w) - A growing number of women in China have gone public with their choice to freeze their eggs in the United States and elsewhere. This has ignited a debate in China, which restricts fertility treatments as part of its family-planning controls. (http://on.wsj.com/1P8jVqH) - A 26-year-old gunman opened fire at Umpqua Community College, Oregon, killing at least nine and wounding seven in this tight-knit timber community. The suspected shooter, identified by officials as Chris Harper Mercer was killed during a shootout with officers.(http://on.wsj.com/1OaZHgD) - Russia's first airstrikes in Syria showed a meticulously planned effort to eliminate any rebel threat to the coastal stronghold of Moscow ally President Bashar al-Assad and his Shiite-linked Alawite minority. (http://on.wsj.com/1j4lbiH) - Tencent Holdings Ltd is in talks to invest in a Chinese startup that lends money to students, as the Internet giant broadens its reach into financial services but it is still unclear how much money will be raised or how big Tencent's investment might be. (http://on.wsj.com/1KYO4CB) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday delivered a fiery address here condemning the Iranian nuclear deal, largely unbowed in his opposition despite losing steep political ground to President Barack Obama over the issue this year. (http://on.wsj.com/1FJSMIT) - The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co said it has dissolved its 16-year global alliance with Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd , clearing the way for the United States tire maker to finally begin selling its namesake brand in Japan. (http://on.wsj.com/1PRgMcV) - Thailand's new economics czar, Somkid Jatusripitak, is trying to turn around one of Asia's worst performers, offering interest-free loans and cash injections to help reinvigorate small businesses and tax waivers to lure high-end manufacturers to the country. (http://on.wsj.com/1KUP0Ji) FT Apple has appointed former Chief Financial Officer and Corporate President of Boeing, James Bell to its board of directors. Bell replaces Mickey Drexler, the J Crew chief who resigned from Apple's board in March. Shares of PJT Partners, a boutique advisory firm created by former Morgan Stanley banker Paul Taubman, tanked as much as 16 percent on its debut, signalling the waning interest among investors over the mergers and acquisitions boom. PJT shares closed 12.5 percent lower at $21 at the New York Stock Exchange. Snapchat, the messaging platform popular with teenagers, may launch a new advertising format to earn more money. The company would sell "sponsored lenses" that would help advertisers feature in users' selfies. Two Sigma, a $28 billion quantitative hedge fund, has hired former Google executive Alfred Spector, a PhD in computer science from Stanford University, to be its chief technology officer. Before joining Two Sigma, Spector was vice president of research and special initiatives at Google, working on speech recognition, translation and machine learning. NYT - The United Automobile Workers union plans to resume discussions with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles after nearly two-thirds of the company's hourly workers rejected a proposed new contract which included wage increases and bonuses but failed to put a cap on the number of lower-paid workers. (http://nyti.ms/1WAVeWa) - Amazon said that it would stop selling devices from Apple Inc and Google Inc that compete with its own streaming media players. The unusual move for Amazon is not about retail sales, but rather about shoring up its Fire TV streaming devices, which are crucial to its vision for the future. (http://nyti.ms/1KUPMWu) - With Germany's biggest corporation, Volkswagen AG , undergoing the worst crisis in its modern history, new questions are being raised about what some see as the too-cozy relationship between Germany's leaders and its auto industry. (http://nyti.ms/1OL0pRX) - Bayer AG said it would lower the expected price range for the planned initial public offering of its polymer business, Covestro AG, amid a volatile period in global stock markets. (http://nyti.ms/1VrBneG) - German prosecutors looking into possible criminal fraud in the Volkswagen AG's emissions scandal backtracked from earlier statements and said that there was no formal investigation of Martin Winterkorn, who was chief executive of the automaker until his resignation a week ago. (http://nyti.ms/1ObMHri) - A new front opened in Puerto Rico's debt battle as the island's powerful Government Development Bank went to court, seeking $400 million in local property tax revenue it said was being illegally held by a local collection agency. (http://nyti.ms/1L8cwG1) - Under growing pressure to join in an international accord to battle climate change, India announced its long-term plan to reduce its rate of planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution and to aggressively ramp up its production of solar power, hydropower and wind energy. (http://nyti.ms/1PRpqrX) Canada THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** National Bank of Canada announced job cuts and a new share offering, in a surprise move that acknowledged volatile markets and shifting consumer preferences for the way they conduct regular banking. The bank said the share offering would raise C$300 million ($226.53 million), providing a cushion to regulatory requirements that mandate how much capital a bank must hold. (http://bit.ly/1P8IhAJ) ** Repsol SA, the Spanish oil company that took over Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc this year, is cutting 1,500 jobs as it seeks to reshape itself against a backdrop of depressed world oil prices. Repsol did not say how many of the cuts will be in Canada. The staff reductions, to be made over three years, represent almost 6 percent of the company's global work force. (http://bit.ly/1P8Inbv) ** A Chinese-owned mine in northeastern British Columbia has passed another hurdle toward opening its controversial coal project. British Columbia's government has granted an environmental assessment certificate to HD Mining International Ltd for the Murray River Coal project, near Tumbler Ridge. (http://bit.ly/1P8Ipju) NATIONAL POST ** SNC-Lavalin is turning another page on its sullied past with a deal to settle corruption allegations in two African countries in a move it hopes could provide a formula to resolve problems in Canada. Under the deal, the company has agreed to pay C$1.5 million and accept certain conditions to settle a corruption case filed by the African Development Bank Group, both the bank and SNC said Thursday. (http://bit.ly/1P8IF1S) ** Minimum wage earners in five provinces are getting a pay hike. Starting Thursday, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador are raising the minimum wage employers must pay their workers. Alberta's New Democratic Party government says it's a first step toward a C$15 minimum wage by 2018. (http://bit.ly/1L05sqB) ** Canadian Volkswagen sales fell off a cliff in September, plunging 19.6 percent even though the company's emissions-rigging scandal didn't come to light until the latter half of the month. The Volkswagen fallout had little impact on overall Canadian auto sales, which rose 3.7 percent to the seventh monthly record so far this year. (http://bit.ly/1P8JcB9) Britain The Times Britain's factories laid off staff in September for the first time in more than two years as the recession in the manufacturing sector bit. (http://thetim.es/1L7MdQu) Katherine Garrett-Cox is to be removed from the board of Alliance Trust PLC and stripped of the title of chief executive of the Dundee-based company, one of Britain's biggest and most widely-held investment trusts. (http://thetim.es/1L7MnHm) The Guardian Volkswagen AG has admitted that it continued selling new cars in the UK fitted with "defeat devices" to cheat diesel emissions tests even after U.S. authorities uncovered the scandal. (http://bit.ly/1L7MJ0I) The UK government's plan to charge a new levy on businesses to help reach ambitious apprenticeship targets is facing resistance from big employer groups who warn ministers not to sacrifice quality of training. (http://bit.ly/1L7MRxr) The Telegraph Transport for London's proposed clampdown on Uber could suck public ride-sharing apps into the fray, hurting consumers by adding to travel costs and traffic in the capital, Ali Clabburn, the chief executive of Liftshare has claimed. (http://bit.ly/1L7N43z) Mike Lynch, the founder of Autonomy, has sued Hewlett-Packard for more than $160 million over the allegations of massive fraud it has levelled against him. (http://bit.ly/1L7Nebd) Sky News The Consumer Rights Act 2015 aims to make it harder for retailers to "wriggle out" of offering refunds to customers for substandard goods and services and unfair terms - and should see disputes resolved more quickly. (http://bit.ly/1L7NvuF) Sky News has learnt that Danny Jowell QC of Brick Court Chambers has been recruited by Scott + Scott, a law firm which specialises in shareholder legal actions, to pursue damages from lenders including Barclays PLC, HSBC Holdings PLC and Royal Bank of Scotland The Independent Marks and Spencer Group PLC has launched a new social media campaign called #ShowYourStrap, featuring women who have either survived breast cancer or have lost a loved one to it. (http://ind.pn/1L7O5bX)