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Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

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U.S. throws Rusal a lifeline, 10-year Treasury steps back from 3 percent and Deutsche Bank reins in ambitions. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.

Rusal revival

The U.S. Treasury made clear yesterday that it is not pushing for the collapse of United Co. Rusal while softening its position on some of the sanctions announced two weeks ago. It extended the period during which companies could keep trading with Rusal by almost five months and said that should Oleg Deripaska divest himself of the company, it would no longer be subject to any sanctions. Aluminum, which posted its biggest one-day drop since 2010 in London trading yesterday, is falling further today, while shares in the company jumped a record 43 percent in Hong Kong. Busy metal traders still face a bumpy ride ahead as many other uncertainties persist. 

Not quiet

Nearly never bulled a cow, and yesterday’s 2.9957 percent high in the 10-year Treasury yield means the bond continues to survive below the 3 percent psychological level. The yield continued to slip this morning, and was at 2.9659 percent by 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time as investors appeared to reassess the push higher. Rising commodity prices and associated inflation pressures have taken some of the blame for the selloff in Treasuries but the inability to break through the key threshold on the 10-year is giving some bond bulls confidence. 

Restructuring

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Shares in Deutsche Bank rallied 3 percent after Bloomberg reported it’s planning a restructuring. The German lender is considering extensive cuts to its U.S. cash equities business as part of a wider reorganization of the business, according to people familiar with the matter. A decision may be made as soon as this week.

Markets rise 

Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4 percent, while Japan’s Topix index closed 1.1 percent higher with equities boosted by a weakening yen. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.1 percent higher at 5:50 a.m., with investor focus remaining on earnings. S&P 500 futures pointed to a gain at the open, and gold was slightly higher.

China stocks

There was a rare shot in the arm for embattled Chinese stocks overnight when authorities there signaled they are prepared to tweak policy if trade or financial risks threaten a sharp deceleration in growth. A Politburo statement mentioned the need to boost domestic demand for the first time since 2015, and dropped a reference to deleveraging. The country’s stocks rallied the most in two months following the communication, a small change in fortune for indexes that have seen substantial losses so far this year. 

What we've been reading

This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours.

To contact the author of this story: Lorcan Roche Kelly in Dublin at lrochekelly@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Cecile Gutscher at cgutscher@bloomberg.net, Sid Verma

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.