10 things you need to know in markets, October 17

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

AP

1. Asian equities got some relief on Wednesday after
upbeat US earnings drove a rebound on Wall Street and
helped restore a little confidence in emerging market stocks and
currencies. US stocks had jumped more than 2% on Tuesday in
reaction to upbeat earnings reports from companies including
UnitedHealth and Goldman Sachs.

2. Rupert
Murdoch’s six children are in line for about $2 billion each
in proceeds from the sale of 21st Century Fox, the
Financial Times reports. All six heirs are beneficiaries of
the Murdoch Family Trust, which owns a 17% stake in 21st Century
Fox. Rupert Murdoch doesn’t have a financial interest in the
trust, although he still controls it. Murdoch’s four adult
children — Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James — are direct
beneficiaries of the Trust.

3. Analysts are warning that
oil prices could hit triple-digits if tensions between Saudi
Arabia and the US escalate. Saudi Arabia has pushed
back against the overwhelming evidence that it was behind the
disappearance of a prominent journalist. And while the
oil-rich country isn’t likely to follow through with what many
saw as a veiled threat to pressure the energy market if the West
imposes sanctions against Riyadh, analysts aren’t ruling that
scenario out.

4. Chinese search engine
Baidu has become the first Chinese company to join an artificial
intelligence (AI) ethics group led by top US tech
firms, amid wider political clashes over AI competition between
China and the United States.

5. Ride-hailing firm
Uber increased the size of its debut bond offering to $2
billion as orders for the private placement swelled
during an otherwise slow week for junk-bond sales, Bloomberg
reported on Tuesday. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said the
company is on track to go public next year.

6. There’s little evidence that an
escalating trade war with the US is impacting China’s industrial
sectors, according to Macquarie Bank’s China
Business Cycle Indicator, or MCBCI for short. “The MCBCI
continued to track sideways in October, with a modest dip to
50.8, well within the range that could be accounted for by
statistical volatility,” Macquarie Bank said.

7. Switzerland’s
nine-year streak as the world’s most competitive economy came to
an end on Wednesday, dethroned by the United States
in an annual league table published by the World Economic Forum.
A revamp of the WEF’s rankings, reoriented towards future
technology-driven growth, pushed Switzerland into fourth place,
with Singapore second and Germany third out of 140 countries,
each marked on a scale from 0 to 100.

8. The Trump administration said late on Tuesday it has

withdrawn or delayed more than 2,200 regulatory
actions since taking office in January 2017 as it
vows to reduce the role of government.

9. Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler and Renault led a
23.4% European car sales decline in September, the
main regional industry body said on Wednesday, as automakers
continued to suffer from the introduction of tougher new
emissions tests.

10. Prospects for a
new treaty cementing ties between Switzerland and the European
Union, its biggest trading partner, appeared to fade
on Wednesday as four years of negotiations failed to produce a
breakthrough by the EU’s mid-October deadline.