10 things you need to know in markets today
Barclays is reportedly getting a new CEO. Ex-JPMorgan investment banker James (Jes) Staley is set to take over as chief executive, according to the FT. He will replace Antony Jenkins, who was ousted in July.
Chinese trade data for September has come in mixed, with a surprisingly resilient performance from exports being largely overshadowed by another sharp plunge in imports. Exports declined by 3.7% in US dollar terms compared to a year earlier, an improvement on the 5.5% contraction recorded in August. But imports tanked, declining by 20.4% from September 2014.
Asian markets are down after the weak Chinese data. Japan's Nikkei is down 1.10% at 6.22 a.m. BST (1.22 a.m. ET), Hong Kong's Hang Seng is off 0.45%, and the Shanghai Composite is down 0.24%.
Crude oil futures are climbing, buoyed by light bargain-hunting. US and Brent crude posted their biggest daily percentage declines since the start of September on Monday. Global benchmark Brent crude had climbed 62 cents to $50.48 (£32.96) a barrel by 1.32 GMT, after dropping $2.79 (£1.82) to end Monday at $49.86 (£32.55). US crude for November climbed 41 cents to $47.51 (£31.02) a barrel after settling down $2.53 (£1.65) at $47.10 (£30.75).
Inflation data is coming. UK producer and consumer price index data for September will be released at 9.30 a.m. BST (4.30 a.m. ET) this morning. Economists are expecting the headline rate to remain at 0%, the level it hit last month.
Retail sales in Britain rose rapidly in September. Data released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) late last night show clothing sales were 3.9% higher in September than in the same month last year.
The US Justice Department is probing allegations that Budweiser-owner Anheuser-Busch InBev is seeking to curb craft beer distribution, according to Reuters. Reuters reports that the DoJ is probing allegations that AB InBev is buying distributors and making it harder for fast-growing craft brewers to get their products on store shelves. AB InBev is currently trying to buy London-listed rival SABMiller for £70 billion ($107.2 billion).
Standard and Poor's has cut the credit rating of Volkswagen's long-term debt. S&P said in a statement it was downgrading VW's long-term debt rating to A- and could cut "by up to two more notches" because of the fall-out from the emissions rigging software scandal.
SAP, Europe's biggest software maker, on Tuesday reported a 19% rise in third-quarter operating profit. Third-quarter operating profit, excluding special items, rose to €1.62 billion (£1.2 billion, $1.84 billion), beating the most optimistic estimate among 14 analysts polled by Reuters.
US Fortress Investment Group is planning to close its global macro hedge fund after suffering heavy losses and Michael Novogratz, the fund's portfolio manager, is expected to leave. It comes three months after Fortress reshuffled the senior ranks at its macro fund, making Novogratz, 50, the sole chief investment officer.