| **Supplemental cash flow information**            | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
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| **Supplemental Cash Flow Information [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| Cash Flow, Supplemental Disclosures               | Supplemental cash flow information The following table provides additional information about the Company's Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended October 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009:   For the Years EndedOctober 31,    2011 2010 2009(in millions)      Equity in income of affiliated companies, net of dividends      Equity in (income) loss of non-consolidated affiliates $71 $50 $(46)Dividends from non-consolidated affiliates 4 5 59Equity in loss of non-consolidated affiliates, net of dividends $75 $55 $13Other non-cash operating activities      Loss on sales of affiliates $— $8 $1Extraordinary gain on acquisition of subsidiary — — (23)Gain on increased equity interest in subsidiary (6) — (23)Loss on sale of property and equipment 2 1 8Loss (gain) on sale and impairment of repossessed collateral (1) 9 32Loss on sale of finance receivables — 39 48Write-off of debt issuance cost — 4 11Gain on sale of leaseback settlement (10) — —Other non-cash operating activities (15) 61 54Changes in other assets and liabilities      Other current assets $(28) $(39) $(34)Other noncurrent assets (32) 7 (10)Other current liabilities 130 (73) (85)Postretirement benefits liabilities 9 (40) 97Other noncurrent liabilities 94 (16) (102)Other, net (9) 1 (8)Changes in other assets and liabilities $164 $(160) $(142)Cash paid during the year      Interest, net of amounts capitalized $208 $170 $211Income taxes, net of refunds 9 27 (5)Non-cash investing and financing activities      Property and equipment acquired under capital leases $— $12 $6Transfers from inventories to property and equipment for leases to others 9 34 32 |

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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for supplemental cash flow activities, including cash, noncash, and part noncash transactions, for the period. Noncash is defined as information about all investing and financing activities of an enterprise during a period that affect recognized assets or liabilities but that do not result in cash receipts or cash payments in the period. "Part noncash" refers to that portion of the transaction not resulting in cash receipts or cash payments in the period.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6367179&loc=d3e4332-108586Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 95 -Paragraph 32 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009.  This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6367179&loc=d3e4313-108586Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6367179&loc=d3e4304-108586
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