Good morning! Here’s what you need to know in markets on Wednesday.
1. Observers gave Trump an icy welcome as his motorcade travelled to a synagogue shooting memorial in Pittsburgh. The shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday left 11 Jewish worshippers dead.
2. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office asked the FBI to investigate claims that women were offered money to falsely accuse him of sexual misconduct. A plot reportedly led by conservative activists may have offered women large sums of money to lie under oath about Mueller.
3. Facebook’s revenue came in lighter than expected during the third quarter, but Wall Street breathed a big sigh of relief that users in the US did not flee the social network in droves after a string of scandals. Facebook’s daily users in the US – its most valuable market – flatlined at 185 million during the three months ended September 30, the same level as at the end of Q2.
4. British app-only bank Monzo said on Wednesday that its backers now value the lender at 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion), giving it unicorn status, after it raised 85 million pounds to fund the doubling of its workforce. That makes Monzo the latest of Britain's digital banks to reach unicorn status - or a valuation of at least $1 billion without tapping the stock market - after rival Revolut passed the landmark earlier this year.
5. EBay reported a 6 percent rise in third-quarter revenue on Tuesday, as tweaks to its websites and a focus on marketing attracted more buyers. The company's profit rose to $721 million, or 73 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $520 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier.
6. A Pentagon official is urging Taiwan to boost its defence spending in case of a possible attack by China. The official told a conference that the island "must have resources to modernise its military."
7. Apple held its second big event of the autumn, showing off its lineup of new iPad Pros, Mac computers, and more. Apple unveiled a new redesigned MacBook Air and a new Mac mini.
8. Facebook is banning far-right militia The Proud Boys.Earlier in October, five members of the Proud Boys were arrested after a violent incident with protesters in New York City.
9. The US Department of Justice is accusing Chinese intelligence officers of stealing sensitive information from aviation companies.The DOJ says over a dozen US and European aviation companies were hacked over a period of more than five years.
10. Scientists are terrified that Brazil's new president will destroy the "lungs of the planet."Jair Bolsonaro has indicated he wants to plow through Brazil's Amazon, the Earth's biggest and most diverse tropical rainforest, which helps cool the planet.
