Good morning! Here’s what you need to know in markets on Monday.
1. China’s stocks are falling again, with the Shanghai Composite Index down more than 2%. The latest selloff follows the release of Chinese industrial profits over the weekend that showed a 4.1% increase over the past year, the weakest level since March this year. Annual growth in industrial profits has now fallen for five consecutive months, adding to signs of weakening economic activity in the world’s second-biggest economy.
2. 11 people died after a gunman opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue during prayer services on Saturday morning. US President Donald Trump blames the news media for the increase in political division felt across the country. Vice President Mike Pence also rejected the suggestion that Trump’s rhetoric contributed to recent bursts of violence in the US. Here’s exactly how the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting unfolded.
3. Anti-Brexit parliament members should accept UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal and fight to rejoin the EU during transition.Philippe Lamberts, who sits on the European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group, claimed there isn’t enough time left for pro-EU MPs in Westminster to stop Brexit before exit day in March 2019.
4. Also in the UK, British finance minister Philip Hammond will use his annual budget speech on Monday to urge his divided Conservative Party to get behind the government's push for a Brexit deal, or put at risk a long-awaited easing of austerity. Hammond, who routinely angers many Conservative lawmakers by calling for close ties with the European Union after Brexit, will offer a glimpse of higher spending after nearly a decade of cuts to many public services.
5. IBM has struck a deal to acquire cloud software company Red Hat for $34 billion. IBM will pay $190 per share for the software company, which it described as the world's leading provider of open source cloud software.
6. Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician who has garnered comparisons to President Donald Trump, has won Brazil's presidential election, marking a dramatic shift to the right in the country's political landscape. The 63-year old former army captain has been criticized for at-times misogynistic, homophobic, and militaristic views, but has amassed large numbers of supporters for his outspoken rhetoric.
7. The Bank of Japan is considering tweaking its bond buying operations to allow the government debt market to better reflect fundamentals, people familiar with the matter said, following years of heavy central bank buying in the sector.
8. Daimler does not rule out cooperating with Tesla in future even though the German luxury car producer sold its stake in the US electric vehicles company, Daimler's CEO told a Polish newspaper.
9. Takeda Pharmaceutical has proposed to European regulators it could sell a Shire treatment in development due to concerns of overlap in inflammatory bowel disease treatments and its own drug Entyvio as it seeks clearance for the two companies' merger.
10. The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 on Sunday to secure their fourth World Series title in the last 15 Major League Baseball seasons. The Red Sox, who had MLB's best record during the regular season, clinched the best-of-seven series 4-1 over a Dodgers team that have lost in the championship round for a second consecutive year.
