Good morning! Here’s what you need to know in markets on Thursday.
1. UK Prime Minister Theresa May has reportedly landed a deal with the EU over markets access post-Brexit. The tentative deal would give UK financial services companies continued access to European markets after Brexit. The pound gained 0.8% against the dollar.
2. Australia’s top cyber spy says Chinese tech is too good to be allowed near its key infrastructure. He says Chinese telecoms are a threat to critical infrastructure and that’s why companies like Huawei and ZTE were banned from Canberra’s growing 5G network.
3. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission will propose a regulatory regime known as a “sandbox” for crypto exchanges, its chief Ashley Alder said on Thursday. “Sandboxes” typically afford fintech firms special regulatory waivers for a limited period of time.
4. Saudi Arabia hopes the world will forget about Jamal Khashoggi's killing, and still hasn't answered simple questions about his death. Investigators have not even said where Khashoggi's body is.
5. Google CEO Sundar Pichai emailed Google staff saying he was "deeply sorry" for the firm's record on sexual misconduct.The email came after news emerged that Google employees were planning a walkout to protest the company's handling of the sexual-misconduct allegations.
6. Tech giants such as Facebook and Google have grown so dominant they may need to be broken up, said Tim Berners-Lee, a London-born computer scientist who invented the Web in 1989. The digital revolution has spawned a handful of US technology companies that now have a combined financial and cultural power greater than most sovereign states.
7. Apple has held talks with iHeartMedia to take a stake in the US radio company, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. iHeartMedia is hoping the iPhone maker will take an equity stake worth millions of dollars.
8. Volkswagen and Ford are in "exploratory talks" to jointly develop self-driving and electric vehicles in a far-reaching strategic alliance meant to save the companies billions of dollars, according to a person familiar with the matter. The German and US automakers are expected to provide an update on the progress of the talks before year end.
9. Hong Kong closed its last remaining bookstore which sold titles banned in China. The closure has caused concern among rights groups and publishers, who have pointed to China's tightening grip over the island.
10. A Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss is donating $US1 billion in an attempt to save the planet's wild lands and waters from destruction. Only 15% of the Earth's lands and 7% of the oceans have been protected in a natural state.
