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Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

Get up to date on all that's moving the global markets. 

Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and founder of Facebook Inc., speaks during the F8 Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) --

What’s next for Hong Kong’s protests. U.S. officials send mixed messages on trade talks. And Italy’s prime minister says arrivederci. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.

Crucial Time for Hong Kong

The next six weeks are particularly sensitive for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. Oct. 1 is the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, and will feature a military parade through Beijing personally inspected by President Xi Jinping. That has raised some fears that Xi will seek to get Hong Kong under control by then to avoid any headline-stealing violence. Much may depend on what happens in the first week of September, when students who have been driving the demonstrations are set to return to universities and high schools. In the meantime, here’s how China is trying to quell the protests without sending in troops. 

Let’s Not Make a Deal

U.S.-China trade talks are likely to continue despite friction over Huawei. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said other firms present national-security risks but didn't name them during an interview with CBS. He also called on Beijing to respect Hong Kong demonstrators' rights and the city's autonomy in order to fulfill its promises—which is important for a trade deal. President Trump showed no urgency to resolve trade friction with China, saying "I'm not ready to make a deal with China." He also called for Russia to be readmitted to the G-7, threatened to tax European automobiles and agreed to drastically scale back plans to slash billions of dollars in foreign assistance.

Facebook Under Fire

Libra is in the EU's crosshairs. Antritrust regulators are already probing Facebook's two-month-old digital currency project, according to a document seen by Bloomberg, "investigating potential anti-competitive behavior." Officials are concerned about how Libra may create "possible competition restrictions" on the information that will be exchanged and the use of consumer data. It adds to another EU investigation into whether the social network uses its size to squeeze smaller rivals. Facebook also came under fire from the English-language China Daily newspaper for closing accounts that it said originated in China and were attempting to manipulate news about the protests in Hong Kong.

We Confuse

"A masterpiece of obfuscation." That's how an analyst described the prospectus for WeWork's share sale. The We Co., which is expected to raise about $3.5 billion, must have made a big effort to conceal the unit economics behind its offering, Triton Research CEO Rett Wallace said. "If the underlying facts were positive, why would a company go to so much trouble to prevent you from understanding them?" 

Conte Concedes

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he'll resign, and pointed the finger for Italy's current political crisis at "irresponsible" Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini. President Sergio Mattarella is expected to accept the resignation and will begin consultations on a possible alternative government Wednesday. Italian bonds rallied, leading euro-area gains, while its benchmark stock index fell.

Chinese Checks

China is cracking down on banks and brokers that it suspects of inflating bond trading volumes in an effort to win more business, people familiar said. A PBOC subsidiary has been monitoring large transactions on the X-Bond system for signs of abnormal trading, after turnover on a China Development Bank note spiked to a record July 16 and then plummeted.

What we’ve been reading

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

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexandria Arnold at abaca3@bloomberg.net

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