10 things you need to know in markets August 9

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Good morning! Here’s what you need to know in markets on
Thursday.

1.
Chinese state media on Thursday accused the United States of a
“mobster mentality” in its move to implement additional tariffs
on Chinese goods, and warned that Beijing had all the necessary
means to fight back. The comments mark a ratcheting
up in tensions between the world’s two largest economies over a
trade dispute, which is already impacting industries ranging from
steel to cars and causing unease over which products could be
targeted next.

2.
Asian shares were subdued on Thursday after a new round of
tit-for-tat tariffs in the US-Sino trade conflict torpedoed oil
prices, while the Russian rouble tumbled as the US slapped fresh
sanctions on the country. MSCI’s broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan barely budged as caution
dominated. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.12% as of 7:43 a.m. BST (2.43
a.m. ET). The Russian Ruble had stabilised against the dollar at
the same time.

3.
The pound fell below $1.29 for the first time since September
2017 on Wednesday as fears about a possible no-deal Brexit
continued. The currency continued to fall on
Thursday morning, down 0.11% to $1.2875 at 7:58 a.m. BST (2.58
a.m. ET).

4.
Intel on Wednesday said it sold $1 billion of artificial
intelligence processor chips in 2017, the first time the world’s
second-largest chipmaker disclosed revenue from the fast-growing
computing segment. As PC sales have stagnated, Intel
has increasingly been depending on its sales to data centers,
which provide behind-the-scenes computing power for mobile and
web-based apps.

5.
The New York City Council on Wednesday agreed to cap the number
of licenses for ride-hailing services such as Uber for one year,
dealing a blow to the companies that have relied on the largest
US metro area for a major source of their revenue.
The City Council measure was aimed at reducing traffic congestion
and increasing driver paychecks in the wake of the explosive
growth of for-hire vehicles and a rash of suicides among New
York’s “Yellow Cab” drivers who have seen their incomes fall.

6.
China has revamped a national leadership group charged with
planning and studying its key technological development
strategies, signaling potential policy shifts are underway as its
technological ambitions fueled a backlash
abroad.The group, formerly called the
“National Technology and Education leadership Group” under the
state Cabinet, has been renamed without the mention of education
to reflect a focus on technology. Shares of China’s leading tech
firms rallied on Thursday, with investors expecting a policy
boost for their sector.

7.
Twenty-First Century Fox’s quarterly revenue jumped 17.7% as the
Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company received higher fees from
cable distributors. Fox said on Wednesday net income
attributable to shareholders increased to $920 million or 49
cents per share in the fourth quarter ended June 30, from $476
million or 26 cents per share a year earlier.

8.
German-owned discount supermarket Aldi is rolling out scores of
new products in the United States, it said on Thursday, in an
aggressive push to expand in the country even as rivals are
struggling in a drawn-out price war. Aldi, the
world’s No. 5 retailer owned by Aldi Sud, embarked on a $5
billion plan last year to remodel and expand its US chain to
2,500 by the end of 2022 from 1,600 in June 2017.

9.
Conservationists on Wednesday notified the Trump administration
that they would sue over its reversal of a 2014 decision
prohibiting bee-killing pesticides and genetically modified crops
on US wildlife refuges. The reversal, issued on
August 2 in a US Fish and Wildlife Service memo, suggested that
neonicotinoid pesticides, or neonics, were needed for “farming
practices” in refuge areas where that was allowed.

10.
Mazda and Suzuki conducted improper fuel economy and emissions
tests on their vehicles, the latest in a series of compliance
scandals in Japan’s auto sector, the Nikkei business daily
reported. Mazda and Suzuki have submitted reports of
their findings on their tests to the transport ministry and will
publicize details on Thursday, the Nikkei said.