Stock market news today October 19

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A Wall Streeter who started his career on Black Monday
recalls the pandemonium of the biggest one-day crash in stock
market history

Friday, October 19, marks the 31st anniversary of Black Monday,
when the Dow Jones
industrial average suffered a record 22% crash.

David Rosenberg, now the chief economist at Gluskin Sheff, was
just starting out on Wall Street as the stock market crashed. “I
had never in my life seen such pandemonium either professionally
or personally,” he recalled.

In an interview with Business Insider,
Rosenberg shared his recollections of that day and the biggest
lessons they hold for investors.

Plaid, the fintech startup that quietly powers tech
behemoths like Robinhood, Venmo, and Coinbase, is seeking funding
at a $2 billion valuation

Plaid, a fintech company whose software is used by Silicon Valley
heavyweights like Betterment, Coinbase, and Robinhood, is holding
talks with potential investors about raising money
that could value the firm at more than $2 billion, according to
people familiar with the matter.

The fundraise is still in the early stages, the people said, and
a formal deal with investors has yet to be finalized.

In April, Forbes
reported that the company’s private
valuation was $1 billion — meaning that
Plaid, which
counts 10,000 banks among its customers, could see its
valuation double in less than six months.

A key indicator of Italy’s financial health is flashing
red as its EU budget row intensifies

The spread between yields on Italian and German bonds
climbed to its highest level in almost five years on Friday
as a row between Rome and Brussels over the country’s budget
threatens to boil over.

European Union authorities on Thursday rejected budget
proposals put forward by Italy earlier in the week,
accusing the eurozone’s third largest economy of an
“unprecedented” break of EU rules around spending and deficit
limits.

Citing Italy’s plans to increase spending and its deficit, and
allow its government debt to remain elevated, the European
Commission said the country is trying to undertake “a
particularly serious” breach of the rules.

“Those three factors would seem to point to a particularly
serious non-compliance with the budgetary policy obligations laid
down in the Stability and Growth Pact,” said a letter to Italian
finance minister Giovanni Tria, which surfaced late Thursday.

Facebook has hired Britain’s former deputy prime minister
as its global comms chief

Facebook
has hired the UK’s former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg to
head up its global communications team, in a move that has
sent shockwaves through the British political establishment.

The Financial
Times first reported that Clegg will become
VP of global affairs and communications, and the hire has been
confirmed by Facebook, Nick Clegg, and Facebook COO Sheryl
Sandberg.

Clegg will take over the role from Elliot Schrage, who originally
announced his departure from Facebook in June, but plans to stay
at the company as an adviser.

Business Insider understands that Clegg will be reporting to
Sandberg. Both she and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg
have been wooing the ex-politician since this summer and promised
that he would be influential in shaping the company’s future
direction.

In markets news