UK sanctions Russian oil companies and related tankers

(1) Analyst Lee Hardman from Mitsubishi UFJ Bank stated that recent negative developments in the Eurozone have increased the attractiveness of the pound relative to the euro. (2) Hardman noted that although the UK's fiscal issues are also a concern—with the 10-year UK government bond yield rising to its highest level since before the 2007 global financial crisis—the fiscal challenges currently faced by the UK are not as serious as those in France. (3) He pointed out that, according to media reports, given the challenging global bond market environment, the UK government will strive to minimize the risk of triggering a negative market reaction in the budget to be released on October 28, which will be positive for the pound.

PepsiCo (PEP.US) CEO: We are not satisfied with the performance of our beverage business.

GlobalFoundries surged over 5% pre-market after the company signed a $2 billion silicon interposer agreement with TSMC, with an initial term of five years.