Stocks shrug off Ebola concerns; P&G drops Duracell; Amazon reports big loss

Stocks are pushing forward and are on pace for a big weekly gain after wobbling at the open.

Investors seem to brushing off the first reported case of Ebola in New York City and instead focusing their attention on another batch of better-than–expected earnings and strong data on housing.

The Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes jumped to a six-year high last month, up 0.2%  to 467,000 units.

However, one earnings report that was a big disappointment was Amazon (AMZN).  Shares got hit hard after the online retailing giant reported one of its worst quarterly losses in history despite a 20% increase in revenue.  But even that number fell short of estimates.  And what might be even more disconcerting to Wall Street--Amazon is warning sales during the all-important holiday shopping quarter may not be so rosy, either.

Microsoft (MSFT) stock moved closer to its yearly high of $47.57 a share in early trading. The tech giant reported earnings and revenue that glided past forecasts last quarter thanks to a recent comeback in personal computer sales and strong demand for its cloud software and services.    

While Microsoft stock is up more than 20% percent this year based on yesterday’s close, it is quite the opposite for Amazon stock, which is down more than 20% for the year. 

Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task says, “For the moment you want to own Microsoft and be out of Amazon."

However, Yahoo Finance’s Jeff Macke doesn't agree and he compared Amazon relationship with Wall Street to Elizabeth’s Taylor’s relationship with Richard Burton.  He says they will back together again soon. 

Related: Amazon stock crushed after earnings miss

Procter & Gamble (PG) is getting out of the battery business. The consumer products giant will be spinning off its Duracell division into a separate company to focus more on profitable brands.

Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli said the move by P&G to exit Duracell makes sense because it didn’t really fit in their portfolio, they acquired it when they acquired Gillette back in 2005.

Task pointed out that Wall Street goes in cycles and now we're in the breakup era, think eBay (EBAY) and PayPal and Hewlett Packard (HPQ).

Related: Amazon angst; P&G powers down Duracell; UPS delivers a beat

In other earnings news, UPS (UPS) delivered on both earnings and revenue, with both top and bottom line topping expectations. Revenue rose nearly 6% from a year earlier as it saw strength across all its businesses.  UPS also said it expects shipments in December to rise 11%.  

Ford (F) third quarter profit and revenue topped analysts' forecasts, although both were lower than the same period last year.  Ford was slowed a bit as it had to retool its Dearborn, Michigan plant for the rollout of its new F-150 truck.  Still, it was the 21st consecutive profitable quarter for the company.

Outside the world of earnings, shares of Lionsgate (LGF) are higher in early trading. Alibaba may be putting the big pile of cash it raised from its record-setting IPO last month to work. The New York Post is reporting that the Chinese e-commerce giant is considering buying a 37.4% stake in Lionsgate Entertainment, the studio behind the blockbuster film "Hunger Games."  Alibaba (BABA) founder Jack Ma has reportedly been making the rounds at Hollywood studios looking to acquire online content. Our parent company Yahoo (YHOO) owns about a 16% stake in Aliababa.

Related: Airbnb and the new world order for business

And the new economy is making headlines once again.  Apartment rental firm Airbnb is getting set for an employee stock sale-- and reports say the company's value is now $13 billion dollars!  That's up from $10 billion dollars six months ago and would make Airbnb worth more than some big hotel chains such  as Hyatt (H) and Wyndam (WYN).