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Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

Get up to date with all that’s moving the markets this morning. 

Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Xi Jinping, China’s president, shake hands during a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. (Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) --

China responds to unrest in Hong Kong, trade talks resume and there’s a ramp up in no-deal Brexit planning.

China Briefing

China’s top office for Hong Kong affairs plans a briefing on the city’s unrest, after a weekend of demonstrations illustrated the challenge of quelling a protest movement that’s leaderless, unpredictable and widespread. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, which reports to China’s cabinet, scheduled a news conference Monday in Beijing, which the South China Morning Post newspaper said was a first since the end of British colonial rule in 1997.

Trade Talks

Almost three months after their trade talks broke down in acrimony, Chinese and American negotiators meet again in Shanghai this week amid tempered expectations for breakthroughs in their yearlong trade war. Two days of talks are scheduled to restart Tuesday after an uneasy truce reached by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, last month. Deep tensions remain, though, and recent days have brought mixed signals from both sides, with neither showing an urge to compromise.

Brexit Plans

Boris Johnson is getting serious about a no-deal Brexit. The U.K. PM formed a war cabinet of six senior ministers to plan for an exit by Oct. 31, with senior aide Dominic Cummings saying the divorce will happen by "any means necessary," according to the Sunday Times. Johnson is prepared to suspend Parliament or hold an election to thwart those that may get in his way. "No deal is now a very real prospect," Michael Gove wrote in the newspaper.

Warning to the World

As the world sinks into an era of ever-lower interest rates and a chasm of negative-yielding bonds, Japan’s experience offers investors an invaluable precedent. It’s two decades since the nation pioneered zero rates and more than six years into central bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda’s record stimulus. The money managers who’ve witnessed it all provide unique insights into strategies to survive such a regime.

Markets Wrap

Asian stocks looked set to start the week on a mixed note as U.S.-China trade talks resume and the Federal Reserve is expected to deliver its first interest-rate cut in a decade. Futures pointed to modest gains in Japan and Australia, while Hong Kong contracts inched lower. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes hit fresh records Friday as technology shares rallied. Treasuries were little changed and the dollar advanced against its major peers after White House adviser Larry Kudlow said the U.S. has ruled out plans to intervene in foreign-exchange markets.

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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alex Millson at amillson@bloomberg.net

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