Stock market news: Opening bell, October 9, 2018

Members
of French special police forces of Research and Intervention
Brigade (BRI) take part in a drill inside the Groupama Stadium in
Decines, near Lyon, France, as part of a G6 Interior Ministers
meeting of the six largest EU countries to discuss security and
anti-terror issues.
Reuters/Emmanuel
Foudrot

Here is what you need to know. 

The IMF downgrades its outlook for the global
economy. The IMF says the global economy will
grow at a 3.7% pace this year and next, down 0.2% from what it
had originally predicted in July. It sees the US economy growing
at a 2.9% clip in 2018, but that slowing to a 2.5% rate next year
as the impact from President Donald Trump’s tax cuts slow. 
  

Asian shares hit
17-month lows. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index
ex-Japan hit its lowest level since May of last year, Reuters
says. 

The
10-year yield hits a 7-year high. The benchmark
yield touched 3.2594% early Monday, its highest since 2011.

Hedge funds could keep the stock sell-off rolling.
Hedge funds’ most popular holdings are absorbing the brunt of the
recent selling, and UBS has a handful of recommendations to help
traders withstand the pressure.

Google shuts down its Google+ social network after report of a
huge security lapse. Google discovered in March
that personal-profile data from as many as 500,000 Google+ users
was exposed, and the company did not disclose the matter for fear
of the regulatory scrutiny it might draw in the wake of
Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data scandal, the Wall Street
Journal says.  

Tesla closes at its lowest level in more than 1 1/2
years. Shares finished Tuesday’s session down
more than 4% at $250.56, making for their lowest close since
March 2017. They have fallen more than 35% from their high on
August 7, the day of CEO Elon Musk’s “funding secured”
tweet. 

Volkswagen is looking into an IPO for its trucking
unit. The German auto maker is close to hiring
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan to help
with a potential public listing for its Traton trucking unit,
Reuters says. 

Faraday Future is trying to cancel a $2 billion investment as it
reportedly struggles to pay suppliers.  The
electric-vehicle startup is trying to cancel a $2 billion
investment in the Chinese healthcare
company Evergrande Health Industry Group, Reuters
reports, citing a Hong Kong stock exchange filing. 

China’s HNA has just put a bunch of real estate up for
sale. The Chinese conglomerate has listed at
least $11 billion worth of real estate for sale, including 850
Third Avenue in New York which has come under US government
scrutiny for its close proximity to Trump Tower, as it looks to
cut its heavy debt load and restructure, Reuters reports.

Hurricane Michael is barreling down on Florida’s Gulf
coast. The hurricane is expected to reach at
least a Category 3 status before making landfall on Wednesday,
according to the US National Hurricane Center.