Morning Brief

World stocks under pressure after North Korea revives geopolitical fears

Key Points

BY THE NUMBERS

Stock futures were lower this morning after North Korea's Kim Jong Un threatened to test a hydrogen bomb and revived geopolitical tensions. On Thursday, the Dow fell for the first time in 10 days. The S&P and Nasdaq also closed lower. (CNBC)

*Jamie Dimon: North Korea a 'terrible threat' but markets shouldn't expect a bad outcome (CNBC)
*An obscure economic report may soon take on added significance (CNBC's Trading Nation)

European stocks were slightly lower this morning, amid geopolitical concerns and as investors awaited a key speech from the U.K.'s prime minister Theresa May, who is set to deliver a key speech at 9:15 a.m. ET on the country's negotiations with the European Union. (CNBC)

*Brexit: Here's all you need to know ahead of May's speech in Florence (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

North Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs says that his country might test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean, according to a report. The minister said the potential test of "the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb" would be one possible "highest-level" action against the U.S. (CNBC)

*North Korea leader Kim says 'deranged' Trump 'will face results beyond his expectation' (CNBC)
*Trump signs order aiming to cut off funding for North Korean missile program (CNBC)

Hurricane Maria barreled toward the Turks and Caicos this morning after lashing Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands with winds and rain that destroyed homes, flooded streets, devastated economies and left at least 32 people dead. (Reuters)

*Paul Ryan expects to pass more hurricane relief funds as early as October (CNBC)
*Puerto Rico faces mountain of obstacles on the road to recovery (NY Times)

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows public opinion signals a narrow path for President Trump and congressional GOP to press their tax cut agenda. The poll finds that most Americans say taxes should be increased for both the wealthy and corporations.

*What Trump and the GOP could learn from Kansas' failed tax experiment (CNBC)

South Korea approved $8 million worth of humanitarian aid for Pyongyang in a move likely to muddle international efforts aimed at isolating the nuclear-armed state. (CNBC)

Iran will strengthen its missile capabilities and will not seek any country's permission, President Hassan Rouhani said today in a snub to demands from Trump. At the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said Iran was building its missile capability and accused it of exporting violence to Yemen, Syria and other parts of the Middle East. (Reuters)

CEO Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will share information with Congress about suspected Russian-linked election ads. Facebook had released results of an investigation into the 2016 election and found about $100,000 in ad spending from June 2015 to May 2017 associated with roughly 3,000 ads believed to be from Russian profiles. (CNBC)

*Kremlin: Russia did not use Facebook adverts to sway U.S. election (Reuters)

London's transport regulator today stripped Uber of its license to operate from the end of the month, affecting over 40,000 drivers in a huge blow to the taxi app. (Reuters)

Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, who killed himself in prison in April, had a "severe case" of the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a lawyer said on Thursday as he sued the team and NFL on behalf of the athlete's young daughter. (Reuters)

Add kidney disease to the list of health problems associated with air pollution. A team of scientists found an association between tiny particulate matter and kidney disease in two different datasets. The study consistently found that risk of kidney disease rose along with air pollution levels across the continental U.S. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is planning to ax at least 5,000 workers, or about 10 percent of its staff, by the end of this year, according to a Bloomberg report.

Amazon (AMZN) announced that it plans to bring more than 2,000 jobs to New York City over the next three years, promising to create roughly 6,000 jobs across the state by 2019. Amazon will take 360,000 square feet of space at Brookfield's 5 Manhattan West.

Apple's (AAPL) two new smartphone models, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus, will go on sale around the world today. Sour reviews have been hitting the stock.

WATERCOOLER

General Mills, the U.S.-based maker of multi-colored kids' cereal Trix, said it will bring back the original, artificially-colored version after customers complained. "Classic Trix," which is colored artificially, will sit on store shelves alongside the new, natural-flavor version, the company said. (CNBC)

Break out the pumpkins and colorful leaves: The first day of fall is today. The autumnal equinox, which marks the astronomical start of fall, arrives at 4:02 p.m. ET. (USA Today)