MAJOR PAPERS:

• Looking to enter the Japanese market, sources familiar with the matter said that Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs recently met with NTT DoCoMo Inc (NYSE: DCM) to discuss a deal to offer its iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) is in talks with Mike Ashley to try and persuade the entrepreneur to not block its £285M takeover offer for Umbro, the Financial Times reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The Detroit News reported that in an effort to cut costs, General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) is looking to form a deal with the United Auto Workers on a buyout program for veterans.

WEB SITES:

• According to two people familiar with the fund, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) is looking to start Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, its newest stock hedge fund, with as much as $10B, Bloomberg reported.

Nike (NYSE: NKE) is buying British shoe company Umbro for just under $600 million. It does not seem to be a very big deal for the world's largest athletic apparel company, but Nike may be running out of new markets to attack.

Umbro soccer-related apparel, footwear and equipment is sold in more than 90 countries, according to CNNMoney. The news site indicates that the deal was backed by the Football Association, the governing body for English soccer.

A look at the Nike product line may provide a glimpse into the value of the deal.

Nike has a big footprint in running and basketball shoes. It also has a number of products for track, tennis, and golf along with its own line of soccer footwear. The company has diversified into clothing and equipment including watches, glasses, and golf balls.

To put it simply, Nike, with $4.7 billion in revenue last quarter, may be running out of markets for easy growth. Buying a company with an established niche in a market may be a faster way to get in than trying to go it alone.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Following Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) strong performance yesterday as it handily beat analysts' estimates and saw its stock surge over 7% in after-hour trading, stock futures are pointing to a higher start this morning on Wall Street. Apple, with its blowout quarter, along with solid results from two Dow components American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) and DuPont Co. (NYSE: DD), gave investors exactly what they needed to look past the disappointing earnings from the industrial sector that so far gave cause for a more sombre mood.

After a week of declines and a Friday tumble of 366 points in the Dow, stocks recovered somewhat yesterday. The technology heavy Nasdaq led gains throughout the day even as other indices were down and added 28 points, or 1.06%. Eventually the Dow Jones Industrial Average also rebounded and ended the day 44 points higher or 0.33% and the S&P 500 rose 5 points, or 0.38%.

Once again there is little economic data due out today. Oil prices continued to decline from the $90 a barrel record set last week, falling below $86 a barrel.

Overseas, Asian markets also rebounded with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ending the day up over 3.5%. European stocks were higher in early trading with Britain's FTSE 100 rising 1.49%, Germany's DAX index 0.94%, and France's CAC-40 1.17%.

Bloomberg also reported this morning that the Federal Reserve indicated its support for the plan brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to increase liquidity in the market for asset-backed commercial paper. The agreement is well-enough designed that it may help credit markets, according to one Fed official.

Concerns over the credit market have not alleviated though and the problems were seen plainly in American Express (NYSE: AXP) earnings report, where despite beating expectations, the company said delinquencies rose and that it boosted loan-loss provisions in preparation for further deterioration in credit. AXP shares rose over 3.5% in Frankfurt.

Chemical maker DuPont Co. (NYSE: DD) posted this morning a larger profit for the third quarter on agricultural and nutritional products in Latin America and the company boosted its full-year outlook. The company beat estimates.

BP Plc (NYSE: BP) shares are up over 2.2% in premarket trading despite the company reporting a third-quarter profit decline of 29% compared with a year ago because of lower margins and interruptions in refining. The market was apparently prepared for such news and seems to think the worse is over.

Other companies reporting today: AT&T (NYSE: T) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) after the close. Shares of Amazon are up over 2.4% in premarket trading ahead of its earnings.

Meanwhile, Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) agreed to buy Umbro Plc for 285 million pounds ($580 million), gaining the contract to outfit the English soccer team and sell replica jerseys worldwide.