TOP NEWS • Wells Fargo names BNY Mellon's Charles Scharf as CEO Wells Fargo & Co named Charles Scharf, the chief executive officer of Bank of New York Mellon, to its top job. • Democrats appeal for more witnesses to come forward about Trump-Ukraine matter Democrats are urging people who might have more information about President Donald Trump's effort to persuade Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden to come forward as Trump struggles to contain the fallout from the scandal. • China's top diplomat says Beijing willing to buy more U.S. products China's top diplomat said on Thursday that China was willing to buy more U.S. products, and said trade talks would yield results if both sides "take more enthusiastic measures" to show goodwill and reduce "pessimistic language" in their trade dispute. • 'Roller coaster' of politics and trade threaten economy -Fed's Barkin The U.S. economy and labor market continue to be strong but there are "several headwinds," particularly uncertainty around trade and politics that affect business confidence, the president of the Richmond Federal Reserve said on Thursday. • JPMorgan managers agreed to help prosecutors in Australian cartel case to avoid charges, court told Two former executives of JPMorgan Chase & Co in Australia agreed to co-operate with regulators on condition of immunity in a criminal cartel case by the state against Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, a Sydney court heard. BEFORE THE BELL Futures for major Wall Street’s stock indexes were higher on optimism about an easing of U.S.-China trade tensions. European shares were up, helped by gains in mining stocks. Chinese stocks ended slightly higher, but posted their sharpest weekly loss since early August, and Japanese shares fell the most in almost five weeks. Oil prices fell, weighed down by lower demand outlook. Gold slipped as the dollar rose, denting bullion's appeal. Data on consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures price index is scheduled on economic calendar. STOCKS TO WATCH Results • Micron Technology Inc (MU). The chipmaker forecast first-quarter profit below Wall Street targets, saying it was "mindful" of economic and trade uncertainty even though there were signs of an uptick in memory chip demand. Micron said it expects adjusted profit in the range of 35 cents to 49 cents per share in the first quarter, below the analysts' average estimate of 48 cents. Net income attributable to the company fell to $561 million, or 49 cents per share, in the quarter ended Aug. 29, from $4.33 billion, or $3.56 per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 42.3% to $4.87 billion, but beat analysts' average estimate of $4.57 billion. Excluding items, the company earned 56 cents per share, above analysts' expectations of 49 cents. Moves • Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (LGFa). The company named Jeffrey Hirsch as president and chief executive of the Starz cable network as it mounts an aggressive global expansion. From 2016, Hirsch served as chief operating officer of the network owned by Lions Gate and has been running it since the departure of Chris Albrecht, a former HBO executive. At Starz, Hirsch has been credited with launching the Starz mobile application in the United States and helping to add more than a million new U.S. customers last year, as the total rose from 23.5 million to 24.7 million subscribers. • Wells Fargo & Co (WFC). The bank named Charles Scharf, the chief executive officer of Bank of New York Mellon to its top job. Wells Fargo's interim CEO, Allen Parker, will continue to serve in the role until Scharf joins on Oct. 21, the company said. Parker, 64, was thrust into the position in March when former CEO Tim Sloan resigned abruptly, saying pressure from politicians and regulators had become a distraction in running the scandal-plagued bank. Scharf, also former Visa CEO, serves on the board of Microsoft. IPOs • Endeavor Group Holdings Inc (EDR). The entertainment and talent agency company backed by Hollywood powerbroker Ari Emanuel, said on Thursday it had abandoned its initial public offering (IPO) following weak stock market investor demand. Endeavor pulled its $400 million IPO late on Thursday, hours before it was scheduled to price and one day before it was due to list on the New York Stock Exchange. It had lowered its indicated price range earlier in the day in a futile bid to salvage it. Endeavor will revisit plans for an IPO in 2020 if market conditions improve, a source said. In Other News • Amazon.com Inc (AMZN). A Florida resident is suing the company for marketing charcoal produced on land he says Cuba confiscated from his grandfather after the 1959 revolution, the latest in a recent slew of lawsuits regarding the island piling up in U.S. courts. In the lawsuit filed on Thursday, Daniel Gonzalez says he is the rightful owner of 2,030 acres of land in Cuba's eastern Granma province that were nationalized in 1964. Authorities gave his family only seven days to leave with just their personal belongings, he says. Gonzalez claims Amazon promoted the sale of Marabu charcoal produced on that property, meaning it was trafficking in stolen property. • American Airlines Group Inc (AAL) & Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL). Delta said on Thursday it would buy a 20% stake in LATAM Airlines Group for $1.9 billion, creating a major new airline partnership and ending the Chilean carrier's ties with American Airlines. The surprise deal with Latin America's largest carrier will give Delta a much bigger footprint in the region, a key growth market in which LATAM flies to dozens of destinations including cities in Argentina, Peru and Brazil. American Airlines, which has long been the leading U.S. carrier in the region and was pursuing a deeper route alliance with LATAM, said the loss of its Chilean partner would not have a significant impact on its financial results. • Citigroup Inc (C), Deutsche Bank AG (DB) & JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM). Two former executives of JPMorgan in Australia agreed to co-operate with regulators on condition of immunity in a criminal cartel case by the state against Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, a Sydney court heard. Deutsche's defence lawyer, Murugan Thangaraj, told the court on Friday that former JPMorgan capital markets managers Jeffrey Herbert-Smith and Richard Galvin were given immunity, which added to questions over the credibility of their witness statements.The former JPMorgan managers gave witness statements about the calls after being shown transcripts and other bankers' notes of the conversations, Citi lawyer Dean Jordan told the court. • Credit Suisse Group AG (CS). The company has hired about a dozen analysts from Asian brokerage CLSA for its China Quantitative Insight team to produce data-driven thematic research reports as it expands in the world's second-largest economy. The team will be led by David Murphy, who has been with CLSA since 2005, Credit Suisse said. Others joining the newly created team from CLSA are Haixu Qiu and Lei Chen. The team will produce reports in addition to the bank's research coverage of China-listed firms, said Neil Hosie, Credit Suisse Asia Pacific head of equities, adding the reports will serve hedge funds, institutional and private banking clients. • ENI SpA (E). The Italian oil and gas group said on Thursday its chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, was under investigation for a conflict of interest issue over dealings in the Congo. A source close to the matter said prosecutors in the Congo probe were alleging Descalzi had not disclosed the fact that his wife, Marie Magdalena Ingoba, was behind Petroservice. "I firmly reject the alleged accusation. It is without any foundation," Descalzi said in the statement. According to a search warrant seen by Reuters, prosecutors in the Congo case allege Petroservices benefited from nearly $105 million worth of contracts with Eni from 2012 to 2017. • Hasbro Inc (HAS), Funko Inc (FNKO) & Walt Disney Co (DIS). Actors from the "Star Wars" franchise headlined a global livestreamed event at Britain's famed Pinewood Studios on Thursday to unveil new Walt Disney merchandise tied to the latest movie instalment and series spin-offs. The new toys, clothes and gadgets will officially go on sale on Friday Oct. 4, a date marketed by Disney as "Triple Force Friday", as it seeks to build buzz ahead of the premiere of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in December. New merchandise included products from Hasbro, Funko and The Lego Group. • Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC). The energy company said the company's board supports Gary Heminger as the chief executive officer after a report that two shareholders were calling for his ouster. The shareholders, Paul Foster and Jeff Stevens, sent a letter to the company on Thursday evening calling for the CEO's removal, the Wall Street Journal reported. The shareholders also backed a proposal by hedge fund Elliott Management Corp to split Marathon into three units, the Journal reported citing a copy of the letter. • PPG Industries Inc (PPG). The chemicals maker said on Thursday a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the alleged role of a former controller of the company in inflating profits has been resolved with no financial penalty. "In its order, the SEC acknowledged PPG's self-reporting, its ongoing cooperation throughout the investigation and its prompt remedial actions," the company said in a statement. PPG also said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania would not pursue any action further. • Quad/Graphics Inc (QUAD). The Wisconsin marketing and printing services company will pay $9.9 million to settle U.S.