Hong Kong’s loss, Singapore’s gain

For the first time in two years Amazon missed earnings expectations, Singapore seems to be benefiting from Hong Kong's unrest, and the Australian property market turnaround is making some people think a bubble is returning. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.

As U.S. earnings season develops, Amazon.com is today’s fallen hero. The company reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than two years and missed analysts’ estimates, amid higher spending to speed up package delivery. Amazon projected operating income of $1.2 billion to $2.9 billion in the current quarter — but analysts’ estimates were $4.31 billion, and shares fell more than 7% in extended trading. Traders have been keeping a close watch on Amazon’s spending, as the company expands one-day delivery for its Prime program members and invests in its Amazon Web Services cloud-computing group. This year’s ramped-up outflows curbed investor enthusiasm, even after shares had neared records as recently as July.