The daily business briefing: October 29, 2018

1. Web host ditches social media site used by Pittsburgh shooting suspect

Gab, the social media service where Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect Robert Bowers posted hateful rants against Jews and immigrants, has been dropped by its web host and payment processor Stripe, following a similar rejection by PayPal. "Gab's new hosting provider, has just pulled our hosting service," Gab tweeted. "They have given us until 9am on Monday to find a solution. Gab will likely be down for weeks because of this. Working on solutions. We will never give up on defending free speech for all people." Gab earlier removed Bowers' account. The site touts itself as a champion of free speech, but its loose rules on offensive and hateful content have made it a haven for white supremacists and other far-right users rejected by Twitter and Facebook.

Deadline The Washington Post

2. IBM agrees to buy Red Hat for $34 billion

IBM said Sunday it had agreed to buy software company Red Hat for $34 billion. The deal, by far IBM's biggest acquisition, will help the technology hardware company diversify by moving more into higher margin software and services. "The acquisition of Red Hat is a game-changer," said IBM CEO Ginni Rometty. "IBM will become the world’s No. 1 hybrid cloud provider, offering companies the only open cloud solution that will unlock the full value of the cloud for their businesses." Red Hat specializes in open-source Linux operating systems, and charges fees to corporate customers for custom features, maintenance, and technical support. Red Hat's business will give IBM a lucrative source of subscription revenue, helping it to catch up with Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft in the booming cloud business.

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Reuters

3. U.S. stock futures rise, looking to rebound from last week's losses

U.S. stock-index futures rose early Monday, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street following last week's big losses. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent, while those of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq-100 gained 0.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. The S&P 500 fell by 3.9 percent last week, capping an 8.8 percent drop this month, as investors worried about rising interest rates and dimming prospects for global economic growth. The Dow fell by 3 percent last week, leaving it 6.7 percent lower this month. The Nasdaq lost the most of all as the tech sector stumbled. It fell by 3.8 percent last week and was down by 10 percent from its recent peak.

MarketWatch

4. HSBC shares gain as profit rises

HSBC, Europe's largest bank, reported Monday that its third-quarter pre-tax profit rose by 28 percent over the same period a year ago to $5.9 billion. Its revenue increased by 6.3 percent to $13.8 billion. Both figures fell slightly below expectations, according to data firm Refinitiv. Still, the improvement over last year showed strength, CEO John Flint said in a statement. "We are doing what we said we would — delivering growth from areas of strength, and investing in the business while keeping a strong grip on costs," he said. HSBC's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped by 5 percent after the news. The bank's shares in both London and Hong Kong have fallen by more than 20 percent this year due to concerns that trade tensions will hurt global economic growth.

CNBC CNN

5. Chinese stocks fall on continuing trade worries

Chinese stocks declined on Monday as concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions continued to drag down global shares. The Shanghai Composite closed down by 2.2 percent, and the Shenzhen Composite smaller-cap index dropped by 1 percent. Other Asian markets started trading with strong early gains, but backtracked before the close. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index bounced back from Friday's selloff with 1 percent gains at the open, but finished up just 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei was up by 0.6 percent earlier in the day but closed down by about 0.2 percent. South Korea's Kospi closed down 1.5 percent.

MarketWatch