10 things you need to know in markets today

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

1. Deutsche Bank on Wednesday posted a 14% drop in net profit in the second quarter from a year earlier, as Germany’s largest bank restructures under new leadership.Deutsche last week already flagged that net profit would be more than double analysts’ forecasts in a rare piece of good news for the bank, which is cutting costs to revive profitability.

2. Tight checks by Chinese customs officials to halt the smuggling of scrap steel to Southeast Asia have forced some exporters to cancel or delay shipments, benefiting rivals like Russia that are prowling for market share amid a raging Sino-U.S. trade war.Among those that have canceled or delayed cargoes are Chinese exporters that have been taking advantage of Beijing’s generous tax rebate system on value-added steel, Reuters reports.

3. US President Donald Trump told Mexico’s President-elect in a letter that a quick renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would bring more jobs for both countries, but warned of a “very different” path otherwise.In a letter to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who won Mexico’s presidential election on July 1, Trump said that he was looking forward to working closely together to build a great relationship.

4. Brussels, Athens and Piraeus are among cities London insurance brokers could consider for European Union subsidiaries, with time running out to plan for a hard Brexit, a trade body said on Wednesday.The Lloyd’s of London commercial insurance market is setting up an EU subsidiary in Brussels to start writing business from January 2019.

5. The Chinese yuan tumbled to a 13-month low Tuesday as Beijing announced it would pursue tax cuts and other expansionary measures, spurring expectations for loosening monetary policy. The yuan dipped as low as 6.8264 per dollar overnight, its weakest point since June 2017.

6. Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman has the highest approval rating of any major bank CEO, according to data from the UBS Evidence Lab. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, and Goldman Sachs’ outgoing leader, Lloyd Blankfein came in second and third, while Tidjane Thiam of Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank’s new boss Christian Sewing brought up the rear.

7. The European Union’s budget commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, said on Wednesday the bloc could try to seek a wide reduction of tariffs in negotiations with the United States this year.“In this way, we want to avoid a further escalation of the trade conflict, and to avoid a trade war,” Oettinger, a German, told Deutschlandfunk radio.

8. The European Commission has found evidence that carmakers are already manipulating emissions for new climate rules that take effect in 2020, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.The EC’s Joint Research Centre, or JRC, said it found evidence from 114 data sets that indicate some automakers were “configuring their test vehicles in such a way that the measured Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) are inflated.”

9. The cost of insuring Tesla bonds against default via credit default swaps hit an all-time high on Tuesday.The cost of insuring $100 of Tesla debt hit $6.58 around 10:30 am Tuesday, according to data from Bloomberg, amid fresh fears over Tesla’s cash position. The car company has $10.68 billion of outstanding debt.

10. The NHS is preparing to stockpile medicines and blood products in case of a “no deal” Brexit, Matt Hancock has said. The Health Secretary said he met with medical industry leaders to “accelerate” preparations for the possible outcome.