Business

• Trump close to decision on addressing Chinese trade practices (Reuters); White House Weighs Trade Measures Against China (WSJ)
• Republicans Pivot to Tax Cuts Amid Frustration at Lack of Detail (BBG)
• Russian losses in Syria jump in 2017, estimates show (Reuters)
• Market Paradox: Firms Get Punished for Posting Earnings (WSJ)
• OPEC’s ‘Catch-22’: How to Unwind Its Deal to Cut Oil Output (WSJ)
• Trump’s CEO Brain Trust Hasn’t Done Much (BBG)
• How the World’s Biggest Buyout Deal Crashed and Burned (BBG)

With much of the investing world preparing to take the next two weeks off for vacation right after Friday's payrolls number hits, one question being thrown around by traders is "what could possibly go wrong" in the immediate future?

Answering this question this morning are two bank economists, first, below we present the thoughts from UBS' global chief economist Paul Donovan.

With the USD now nearly 7% lower since Trump told the WSJ back in April that he thinks "our dollar is getting too strong", some - such as ING - have started to wonder if Trump's slogan, at least in the world of FX, wasn't MAGA but rather MEGA: Make Everyone (Else) Great Again. The bank's head of FX strategy, Chris Turner explains:

Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 0.8% after Apple surged to record highs following a strong beat and optimistic projections ahead of the launch of the company's new batch of iPhones. Eminis are little changed, up 0.1% to 2,475, trailing Asian markets, while European stocks and crude oil fall.

Authored by Chris Whalen via The Institutional Risk Analyst,

“While the US and the UK have been mired in political chaos this year, the EU has enjoyed improved economic conditions and some political windfalls. The question now is whether this good news will inspire long-needed EU and eurozone reforms, or merely fuel complacency – and thus set the stage for another crisis down the road.”

 

Philippe Legrain, Project Syndicate