Business Maverick

Business Maverick

Tuesday, July 16: Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

Should the state allow the creation of private money, or should it tightly limit efforts like Bitcoin and Facebook's Libra, even at the risk of curtailing innovation, ask the writers. (Illustration: Leila Dougan)

Donald Trump weighs in on China GDP. Facebook won’t launch Libra until regulators are satisfied. And a former U.S. National Security Advisor spars with a Chinese diplomat on Twitter over race. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.


Let’s Make a Deal

The U.S. president again asserted that Beijing wants to make a deal on trade, pointing to China’s slower growth in the second quarter, the weakest since regular data began in 1992. The president tweeted that this shows firms are leaving for non-tariffed countries. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer expect to speak by phone with Chinese officials this week about negotiations. Economic adviser Larry Kudlow hinted that agricultural purchases would help talks advance.

Mixed Markets

Asian equity futures are narrowly mixed. A technology rally drove U.S stocks to fresh records at the start of a busy week for corporate earnings, economic data and Fed speakers. Treasuries advanced, with 10-year yields down more than three basis points. The dollar rose against the pound and loonie but dropped against the kiwi and Aussie. Oil and gold both retreated.

Failure to Launch

Facebook won’t launch Libra until regulators’ concerns are fully addressed. Executive David Marcus said in prepared testimony for the Senate Banking Committee that the cryptocurrency isn’t intended to compete with national currencies and won’t interfere with central bank monetary policy. Mnuchin said the Trump administration has “very serious concerns” about the project.

Beating the Giants

One of the best-performing funds in Japan this year invests in upcoming U.S. technology stocks at the forefront of a booming industry: fighting cybercrime. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management’s Cybersecurity fund has returned 37% in 2019, beating almost all peers, after shares of top picks surged. The fund invests in everything from online identity-management firms to cloud-based security providers, with stakes in 39 companies. Okta, its top holding, allows users to access multiple websites and applications with a single, secure password.

Twitter Spar

“You are a racist disgrace. And shockingly ignorant too,” former U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice said on Twitter of a senior Chinese diplomat, in an unusual and heated dispute over race in Washington.  In a series of tweets apparently aimed at making a broader point about diplomatic divisions over the mass detention of Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province, Lijian Zhao said that if “you’re in Washington, D.C., you know the white never go” to the southeastern part of the U.S. capital. After Rice tweeted, Zhao fired back: “You are such a disgrace, too. And shockingly ignorant, too. I am based in Islamabad. Truth hurts. I am simply telling the truth.”

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