10 things you need to know in markets, October 4

UK Prime Minister Theresa May.
WPA Pool/Getty

Good morning! Here’s what you need to know in markets on
Thursday.

1.
US bond yields are surging, hitting fresh multi-year or
multi-decade highs on Wednesday as strong US economic data
fuelled expectations the US Federal Reserve will continue to lift
official interest rates in the months ahead. The yield on
benchmark 10-year notes jumped to 3.18%, surpassing the previous
year-to-date high of 3.12%. It now sits at the highest level
since 2011. Just over a year ago, benchmark yields sat just above
2%. 

2. The Russian military intelligence agency accused of the
attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal has carried out a swathe of attacks
in the UK and abroad on political institutions, financial
systems, transport networks and the media, according to the
British government. This secret international cyberwar has
included the targeting of the US presidential elections which
brought Donald Trump to power,
according to a new report from the National Cyber Security Centre
(NCSC), as well the anti-doping watchdog in world sport.

3. It’s not just Russia. The US government on Wednesday
warned that a hacking group widely known as cloudhopper, which

Western cybersecurity firms have linked to the Chinese
government, has launched attacks on technology service providers
in a campaign to steal data from their clients. The
Department of Homeland Security issued a technical alert for
cloudhopper, which it said was engaged in cyber espionage and
theft of intellectual property, after experts with two prominent
US cybersecurity companies warned earlier this week that Chinese
hacking activity has surged amid the escalating trade war between
Washington and Beijing.

4. Oil traders have piled into wagers that US crude
oil could surge to $100 a barrel by next year.
The imminent return of US sanctions on Iran and bottlenecks
keeping US oil from getting to market have fueled a rally that
has taken benchmark oil prices to four-year highs. The
number of open positions on $100 December 2019 WTI call options
has risen by 30% in the last week, according to CME
data. Brent on Wednesday hit a four-year high of $86.74 a
barrel.

5. British Prime Minister
Theresa May’s officials are planning to rush her Brexit deal
through Parliament to stave off a rebellion from her own
party, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. May’s team want the
final withdrawal agreement ratified by lawmakers within two weeks
of signing the terms of the divorce in Brussels, Bloomberg said,
citing people familiar with the matter.

6. Democrats are zeroing in on The New York Times’ Tuesday
investigation into President Donald Trump’s
wealth, once again pushing to obtain the president’s tax
returns. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking
member of the Senate Finance Committee,
requested in a Wednesday letter to IRS Commissioner Charles
Rettig that he investigate the allegations laid out in The Times
report.

7. China’s foreign ministry
criticized the US for suggesting that Beijing was behind the
cancellation of sensitive security talks planned for this
month, underscoring the severity of trade tensions between the
world’s two biggest economies. China’s foreign ministry
spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement late on Wednesday
suggestions made by a US official that China had delayed the
talks “completely distorted the facts, had a hidden motive and
were extremely irresponsible”.

8. Bookseller
Barnes & Noble said on Wednesday it is exploring strategic
options after several parties, including its chairman Leonard
Riggio, expressed interest to buy the company. This comes
nearly a month after investor Richard Schottenfeld disclosed a
higher stake in the bookseller and said he had discussed with its
founder a possible sale of the company. Shares of the company
rose about 24% in extended trading following the news.

9. Brazil’s
far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro maintained his
lead over leftist Workers Party rival Fernando Haddad ahead
of this weekend’s election, an Ibope poll showed on
Wednesday. In a simulated first-round vote, the poll found
Bolsonaro had 32% of voter support while Haddad had 23%. If no
candidate wins a majority in Sunday’s vote, the top two vote
winners will face each other in an October 28 runoff ballot.

10. The
wife of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was charged
with 17 offences, including money laundering, on Wednesday,
as anti-graft agents investigate billions of dollars missing from
state coffers. The charges against Rosmah Mansor were read
out by prosecutors at a Kuala Lumpur court.