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Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

(Bloomberg) --

Good morning. The U.S. and China are said to be nearing a deal, Trump berated the boss of his country’s central bank again and May got a bit of a Brexit boost, according to weekend press. Here’s what’s moving markets this morning.

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Washington and Beijing are close to an agreement to lift most or all U.S. tariffs as long as China follows through on a number of pledges like better protecting intellectual-property rights and buying a significant amount of American products, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg. Chinese stocks surged to their highest level since June

Fed gentleman

President  Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. dollar is too strong and referred to  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as “a gentleman that likes a very strong dollar.” The economy is doing well despite the actions of the central bank, Trump said. There was limited reaction in the U.S. currency.

Brexit boost

Theresa May got a Brexit boost, as pro-leave Tories outlined their terms for supporting the PM's plan, including stronger language that the Irish border backstop will be temporary, according to the Sunday Times. Meanwhile, the U.K. attorney general abandoned attempts to secure a hard time limit or unilateral exit mechanism from the Irish backstop, according to the Telegraph. The pound rose against the dollar, but has since given back much of the gain.

Crude’s climb

Oil climbed on signs of slowing U.S. production growth and as OPEC and its allies deepened output cuts aimed at averting a global glut. OPEC’s output dropped last month, aided by unplanned supply losses in Iran and Venezuela. The group’s key ally, Russia, also made deeper production curbs.

Coming Up...

It’s Carnival time! But while most of you would rather be in Rio, there’s also markets matters to attend to. After a sleepy Monday, the pace picks up as China announces an economic growth target at its annual National People’s Congress overnight tonight, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney testifies in parliament Tuesday, and the ECB delivers its monthly rate decision and press conference on Thursday. Purchasing managers index data from around Europe will also be closely followed this week, given the recent run of soft economic numbers in the region. 

What We’ve Been Reading

This is what’s caught our eye over the weekend.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net

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