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Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
(Bloomberg) --
Good morning. U.S-China talks hit another snag and economies are slowing due to trade tensions, but oil is bouncing back. Here’s what’s moving markets.
Snag
U.S.-China trade talks hit a snag over the agricultural purchases the pair have been negotiating, news that sent cyclical shares tumbling for a second day on renewed jitters about how the talks are going. Asian stocks dipped a little on this, along with Chinese data and worries about the situation in Hong Kong. Beyond those snags in the U.S.-China talks, U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to strike a trade deal with Turkey and described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a pariah in Washington over his country's military offensive into Syria, as a “good friend.”
Slowdown
If one were looking for evidence of the impact those trade tensions are having, economic data from China and Japan lays it bare. China’s economy slowed further in October, with trade concerns and subdued domestic demand offsetting the piecemeal stimulus the government is pumping in to shore things up. Worryingly, economists say the slowdown there is yet to hit the bottom. Japan’s economy, meanwhile, slowed sharply in the third quarter with exports falling, all as its government considers the size of a stimulus package it intends to launch to counter the weakness.
Bounce Back
It's been a busy week for energy traders, what with Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering and the International Energy Agency’s views on when crude demand will peak spooking parts of the market, but oil is bouncing back. Crude futures are up for a second day after a report that the OPEC cartel sees a potential reduction in supply coming from non-OPEC members along with an “upswing” in the forecast for demand growth. This as the U.S. Energy Information Administration raised its forecast for crude output in 2020, even as the pioneers of the shale boom think production growth will slow.
Election Land
The parties fighting the U.K.’s election continue on with what has been an uneasy campaign thus far. Conservative leader Boris Johnson faced flood-hit communities in northern England and said Brexit is holding back the country’s economy. The Liberal Democrats, who support remaining in the European Union, see an opportunity after the Brexit Party’s retreat from hundreds of seats. Social media pasts are haunting many of the candidates, the Netherlands is making a play to take London’s spot as the top restructuring hub and Brexit has cost the U.K. a Tesla factory. Just another day in Brexit election land.
Coming Up…
Investors will be digesting yesterday’s first day of public testimony in the impeachment probe into Trump. There are a large number of central bank officials speaking, beyond the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell testifying at a House Budget Committee meeting. Central bankers from the Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of Canada are all on the slate. Euro-area and German GDP data are due too and there will be an interest rate decision from Mexico later.
What We’ve Been Reading
This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours.
- WeWork’s quarterly loss doubled as its IPO faltered.
- There’s a flaw in McDonald’s ordering kiosks.
- Mental health is still a “don’t ask, don’t tell” subject at work.
- A genetics company wants everyone to live to 99.
- Mongolia is a hotbed for road rage.
- Open-source code can survive the apocalypse.
- Travel hacks from the youngest person to visit every country.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net
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