BY THE NUMBERS

IN THE NEWS TODAY

STOCKS TO WATCH

Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded FedEx (FDX) shares this morning, citing the abrupt departure of the head of the company's Express unit last week. Facebook (FB) increased its stock buyback authorization by $9 billion, on top of a previously authorized $15 billion. The embattled stock has dropped about 22 percent for the year. Gilead Sciences (GILD) named Roche executive Daniel O'Day as its new chief executive officer as of March. Gregg Alton will serve as interim CEO from January to March. The drugmaker said in July that CEO John Milligan would step down at the end of this year. A potential merger between Deutsche Bank (DB) and Commerzbank would have the approval of Germany's finance ministry, according to a Bloomberg report. Yelp (YELP) is under fire from longtime shareholder SQN Investors. The Wall Street Journal reports that SQN is planning to send a letter to the online review company pushing the board to add new members and consider all options to get the business back on track, including a sale. Papa John's (PZZA) founder John Schnatter has engaged a financial adviser to help him review alternative for increasing shareholder value, according to an SEC filing.

WATERCOOLER