Opening Bell: 10.22.18

Turkey’s President Vows to Detail Khashoggi Death ‘in Full Nakedness’ [NYT]
Turkish officials have been leaking lurid details for weeks about the assassination and reported dismemberment of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, keen to maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia, has until now mostly held his tongue.
On Sunday, Mr. Erdogan broke his silence, promising that within 48 hours he would remove the lid completely from what his spokesmen are now calling a Saudi cover-up.
“We will reveal it,” he said in a televised speech. “It will be revealed in full nakedness.”

Oil holds near $80 as Saudi Arabia plans output increase [Reuters]
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told Russia’s TASS news agency that his country had no intention of unleashing a 1973-style oil embargo on Western consumers, but rather was focused on raising output to compensate for supply losses elsewhere, such as Iran.
Several U.S. lawmakers have suggested imposing sanctions on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while the kingdom, the world’s largest oil exporter, pledged to retaliate against any sanctions with “bigger measures”.

China stocks surge more than 4 percent, extending Friday's rally [CNBC]
The Shanghai composite added 4.09 percent to close at around 2,654.88. Earlier in the day, the index saw gains of more than 4.5 percent.
Elsewhere, the Shenzhen composite gained 4.899 percent to close at about 1,325.73.
The moves followed Friday's rally in Chinese stocks as authorities took steps to support the market after the release of weaker-than-expected GDP data.

Exclusive: Sears chairman Lampert seeks partner for bankruptcy financing - sources [Reuters]
Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc, has held discussions with Cyrus Capital Partners LP, an investment firm that holds some of Sears’ existing debt, about sharing the burden of funding portions of the $300 million loan, which would be separate from another $300 million bankruptcy loan that Sears’ banks have offered to provide, the sources said.
The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. A Sears spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

How Blackstone Landed $20 Billion From Saudis for New Fund [Bloomberg]
When Saudi Arabia pledged as much as $20 billion to help Blackstone Group LP build the world’s largest infrastructure fund, the kingdom wanted to be rewarded for its unprecedented commitment.
One way Blackstone agreed to do just that: For every dollar that any other investor pays the asset manager to oversee its cash, Saudi Arabia gets to pay 15 cents less. That fee discount -- linked to a portion of revenue from other investors -- is just one of the breaks that the sovereign wealth fund won last year as Blackstone set out to amass a record $40 billion war chest, according to terms reviewed by Bloomberg and described by people with knowledge of the deal. In exchange, the Saudis will match other investors’ deposits in the fund.

Italy Vows to Stick to Budget That Breaches EU Rules [WSJ]
In a reply to a European Commission letter sent last week, Rome said it wouldn’t back down from its plans to run a budget deficit of 2.4% of gross domestic product—triple the level agreed by the previous government.
The move could lead to the EU rejecting the Italian coalition government’s budget and imposing fines on the country.
“The Italian government is conscious that it has chosen a budget policy approach which is not in line” with EU rules, Economy Minister Giovanni Tria wrote. “It was a tough but necessary decision in light of the persistent delay in recuperating the pre-crisis GDP levels.”

Bizarre 'headless chicken sea monster' filmed swimming off Antarctica for first time [Mirror]
A bizarre sea creature known as the "headless chicken sea monster" has been filmed swimming in frigid waters off Antarctica for the first time.
Researchers were thrilled after an underwater camera captured the deep-sea swimming sea cucumber in the Southern Ocean.
The video was recently recorded off East Antarctica - the first time the creature - which has a transparent body - has been filmed off the continent.
Until now, the webbed creature had only been filmed swimming in warmer waters in the Bahamas.