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The direct financial hit to Tesla is likely small, but the case adds to regulatory and reputational risk around Full Self-Driving, a product central to the company’s valuation story. A cease-and-desist order or fines in a fast-growing market would be a setback. Refund claims would be a bigger issue if they spread to other countries selling China-built cars. The dispute also highlights how much Tesla’s international software revenue depends on certification regimes it does not control, which matters as it pushes for approval in Europe. Investors will watch whether the regulator acts quickly and whether similar complaints emerge elsewhere.

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Tesla’s South Korean boom was built on China-made cars, and a consumer group says the company sold…

The warning adds pressure on European auto stocks heading into Frankfurt’s open, with Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen exposed to the same China weakness. The cut is partly self-inflicted, through faster restructuring and production ramp-up costs, so investors may treat it as less severe than a pure demand shock. The intact cash flow target supports that reading. Still, a margin range that includes a loss is a striking signal for a premium carmaker, and it could reinforce caution on the sector’s China exposure. Wednesday’s results will decide whether the selloff deepens or stabilises.

--- BMW’s car business could now lose money this year, though part of the damage comes from cutting jobs faster and building popular new models, not just from…

Trump’s remarks could take some heat out of crude, as they reduce the near-term chance of a fresh US-led escalation that markets had begun to price after Netanyahu’s hints. Any relief is likely to be limited, because oil’s risk premium rests on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks, the US blockade of Iranian ports and Monday’s limited US strikes keep supply risk live. The bigger swing factor for oil is whether the Qatari-mediated talks produce a Hormuz deal, which would ease shipping risk far more than any single comment from Washington. A divergence between Trump and Netanyahu also leaves open the risk of Israeli action without full US backing, which would likely push prices sharply higher.

If Trump is planning strikes he is doing…

The split in demand matters for price support: central banks tend to buy steadily rather than chase prices, so their stepped-up purchases act as a floor under gold in a way retail demand cannot. The weakness in jewellery and bar and coin buying shows gold’s rally has relied more on institutional and official money than on households, leaving it more exposed if fund inflows reverse. The near-collapse in recycling at these prices is notable, as owners appear to be holding gold rather than selling, which tightens available supply. Investors should weigh the council’s upbeat outlook against its position as an industry body funded by producers.

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Earlier:

• Gold trims gains after overnight strikes on Iran as the focus turns to the US midterm…

The RatingDog PMI data follows official and their manufacturing PMIs earlier this week:

• details on these in the wrap for Monday, investingLive Asia-Pacific market news: Oil eases on Doha talks

The NZ Q3 labour market data is due at 10:45am New Zealand time. 

What’s expected

Forecasts range from 5.4% to 5.6%. The June quarter’s 5.6% was the highest since September 2015. Westpac expects employment to rise 0.5% and the rate to slip to 5.5%. ANZ expects employment up 0.3% and the rate unchanged at 5.6%. ANZ’s flat call rests on a rise in labour force participation absorbing the job gains. The RBNZ’s September forecast was 5.5%. Wage growth is expected to stay modest. Private-sector labour cost growth is forecast at around 2.1%, which economists…

The after-hours selling suggests investors care more about how much revenue Booking earns from its bookings than about volume. Strong gross bookings did not make up for the shortfall. The miss lands on a stock already down about 30% this year, which leaves little room for disappointment and could weigh on online travel peers in early trade. Oil is part of the backdrop: the company has linked higher flight prices and weaker long-haul demand to the Middle East conflict, so energy-driven airfare costs remain a risk to travel revenue.

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Booking’s customers booked more travel than expected, but less of it turned into revenue, and that gap is what investors sold.

Summary:

• Q3 revenue was around $8.9bn, short of expectations near $9.6bn
• Adjusted…

Via oilprice.com:

Expectations I had seen centred on:

• Crude +1.9mn bbls
• Gasoline 0
• Distillate +0.4mn
• Cushing +0.5mn

Carney’s remarks offer modest support for the Canadian dollar, as any easing of the 50% US tariff would lift a weight on Canadian exporters and the growth outlook. The lack of a timeline limits how much a trade-deal premium can build, so USD/CAD is likely to stay more sensitive to the US midterm results and oil prices in the near term. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of crude to the US, so a broader settlement would also reduce one source of uncertainty for North American energy flows. Sectors hit by Canada’s counter-tariffs, including US steel, dairy and farm equipment exporters, stand to gain most if talks succeed.

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Carney is sounding more optimistic about a US trade deal than at any point since talks collapsed in August, but he…

For oil, the alert matters less for what has happened than for where Washington now sees risk. By naming Qatif and Yanbu, it points to the possibility of strikes on processing and export infrastructure, not just airports. That threat could support a geopolitical risk premium in Brent even without physical disruption. Yanbu is especially sensitive because it is Saudi Arabia’s alternative export route if Gulf shipping is threatened, so any attack there would hit a key buffer for global supply. The wider risk-off backdrop could also lift demand for haven assets, while Gulf equities and airline stocks remain exposed to further disruption.

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Washington’s latest Saudi alert reports no new strike, but it names the kingdom’s oil heartland and…

Oil has been falling this week but there's a fair argument that Trump could be attempting to send false signals in order to lower oil prices ahead of the vote. 

Behind the scenes, the US military has been angling to be in a position to attack immediately after the midterms. The New York Times cites US officials who say the US military could resume major combat operations against Iran as early as Wednesday.

There are two reasons they US could launch the type of short and intense campaign Trump has teased. The first is that there are currently three US aircraft carriers in the region but one must return home in early November.

• USS George H.W. Bush— Already operating in the region.

• USS George Washington — Redeployed from the Pacific to the…

The after-hours gain extends a rally that began with last month’s preliminary update, and the strong current-quarter guide gives the AI hardware trade another demand signal. In October, rival server makers Dell and HPE rallied in sympathy, so a similar read-through is possible in the next session. The full-year range is the weak point: it sits only modestly above expectations and could cap enthusiasm once investors work through the second-half arithmetic. The customer mix and margins remain the swing factors for whether the rally holds.

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Super Micro cleared even the higher bar it set for itself last month, though its full-year forecast quietly assumes the pace slows.

Summary:

• Q1 revenue was around $19.9bn, against expectations of about…

AMD’s guide adds to a strong evening for the AI hardware trade, landing alongside Super Micro’s beat and raised outlook, which may support chip and server names in the next session. The size of the fourth-quarter step-up will sharpen the comparison with Nvidia, since AMD is pitching Helios as a direct rack-scale rival. The slightly lower margin guide is unlikely to spoil the reaction on its own. It is still a reminder that volume growth in AI accelerators may come at some cost to profitability, which investors will weigh as the ramp scales.

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AMD beat modestly on the quarter but promised a big jump in the next one, betting that its Helios AI racks can turn into the growth engine investors have been waiting for.

Summary:

• Q3 revenue was…