10 things you need to know in markets August 16

U.S.
President Donald Trump meets with supporters from a group called
“Bikers for Trump” at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New
Jersey, U.S.
Thomson
Reuters

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

1. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his tariffs on
foreign steel are saving the U.S. industry and he predicted that
in the future American steelmakers will mostly face domestic
competition, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a
20-minute interview with the newspaper, Trump said some people
may complain that steel prices may be “a little more expensive”
in the short term because of the tariffs, but that ultimately
they will drop.

2. China said on Thursday a delegation would attend the next
round of trade talks with U.S. counterparts in Washington later
this month, in the latest bid to defuse a conflict that has set
world markets on edge. A Chinese delegation led by
Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen will hold talks with U.S.
representatives led by Under Secretary of Treasury for
International Affairs David Malpass.

3. Goldman Sachs is officially advising Elon Musk on his plans to
take Tesla private. In a note to clients Wednesday,
Goldman Sachs said it was suspending research coverage of Tesla
because it is “acting as a financial advisor in connection
with a matter that is fundamental to the reasonable analysis of
the rating and price target for the stock.”

4. Stocks fell on Wednesday after the Chinese technology giant
Tencent reported a rare profit decline. Technology
and energy companies took the biggest hits following the
disappointing earnings report, which stoked fears of slowing
growth. The dollar rose, and Treasury yields fell. 

5. The MSCI Emerging Markets index has now fallen into a
bear market, as EM stocks fell by the most in six months
overnight. 
Continued pressure on EM
currencies and the commodity rout further rattled markets, with
the recent trend underpinned by the ongoing withdrawal of US
dollar liquidity.

6. The United States said on Wednesday the European Union and
four of its planemaker states have failed to bring subsidies for
Airbus into line with a WTO ruling of last May, an accusation
refuted by the EU. The EU asked the WTO last
week to certify that it has complied with WTO rulings that found
its Airbus subsidies illegal, attempting to forestall billions of
dollars of U.S. retaliatory sanctions.

7. The pound is now on its longest losing streak against the
dollar since the depths of the financial crisis as a perfect
storm “unravels” the UK’s currency. The pound has
fallen against its transatlantic counterpart for 11 consecutive
days as Brexit uncertainty and geopolitical concerns drag on
sentiment.

8. The US slapped sanctions on Chinese and Russian entities
for helping North Korea earn billions from smuggling banned
substances. The US Treasury said North Korea’s
illegal cigarette trade netted over $1 billion per year.

9. Investors have told Uber it would be wise to sell off its
self-driving car unit after it racked up losses of $125 million
to $200 million each quarter for the past 18 months.
That’s according to tech news site The Information, citing an
unnamed person familiar with the issue.

10. Amazon is sounding out some of Europe’s top insurance firms
to see if they would contribute products to a UK price comparison
website in what would be a major foray by the U.S. online retail
giant into the region’s financial
services. Three industry executives told
Reuters they had held talks with Amazon about the possible launch
of a site.