The Dow and S&P opened little changed and have remained that way throughout the early part of the session. The Nasdaq, though, has been boosted a bit by proposed dealmaking in the semiconductor sector. Meanwhile, oil prices have risen above $57 a barrel, marking their highest level since early last year, amid reports of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ordering about the arrest of prominent billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and at least 10 other princes of the kingdom. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., no major data was released. In central bank news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York confirmed president William Dudley will retire early in mid-2018, adding to the upcoming turnover at the Fed. In Europe, the final Eurozone services PMI reading of 55 for October was a touch better than the flash reading of 54.9. The Eurozone PPI for September firmed by more than expected, rising 0.6% month-over-month. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Sprint (S) have fallen 10% and T-Mobile (TMUS) is down 6% after the companies jointly announced over the weekend that they have ceased talks to merge as they were unable to find mutually agreeable terms. Majority owner SoftBank (SFTBY) announced that it intends to increase its stake in Sprint after the news, but does not intend to increase its ownership to 85% or more. Meanwhile, CNBC’s David Faber reported, citing sources, that SoftBank is willing to re-engage in takeover talks with Charter Communications (CHTR) if Charter management would indicate a willingness to negotiate… While this large deal broke down, another was proposed, as Broadcom Limited (AVGO) confirmed an offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) for per share consideration of $70.00 in cash and stock. For its part, Qualcomm confirmed that it has received the proposal and will assess it. However, sources told CNBC’s Faber that Qualcomm is resistant due to price and antitrust risk, while Broadcom has a belief that Apple (AAPL) would be supportive of the deal and the company is seen as willing to engage in a proxy fight if necessary… In other M&A news, The Wall Street Journal reported that Marvell (MRVL) is in advanced talks to acquire Cavium (CAVM). After the report, Cavium is up 11% and Marvell is up nearly 10%. MAJOR MOVERS: Among notable companies up after earnings were Michael Kors (KORS), which advanced 15% and Mylan (MYL), which gained 4%. Some noteworthy losers after reporting earnings were CVS Health (CVS), which slid 3%, Henry Schein (HSIC), which dropped 10% and Sysco (SYY), which dipped 4%. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 3.53, or 0.02%, to 23,542.72, the Nasdaq was up 16.46, or 0.24%, to 6,780.89, and the S&P 500 was up 1.98, or 0.08%, to 2,589.82.