“The secret to being successful from a trading perspective is to have an indefatigable and an undying and unquenchable thirst for information and knowledge.” — Paul Tudor Jones

1. EU Open to More U.S. Beef Imports — the EU is willing to start talks with Washington on increasing U.S. beef imports, a move aimed at cementing a trade truce agreed upon in July. The bloc already upped its U.S. soybean imports, which rose 283% Y/Y in July, bringing the EU’s total American soybean share to 37%, up from 9% a year ago. Both agricultural products have been hit by retaliatory tariffs from China and Mexico, with U.S. beef producers forced to stockpile meat in cold storage facilities.
2. China Warns of Retaliation Over New U.S. Tariffs — according to the country’s commerce ministry “If the U.S., regardless of opposition, adopts any new tariff measures, China will be forced to roll out necessary retaliatory measures,” . Due to China’s massive trade surplus over the U.S., many expect the nation could further devalue its currency or crack down on U.S. firms inside the country. The Trump administration is reportedly ready to move ahead with a next round of tariffs .
3. Emerging-Market Stocks Hover Near Bear Territory — Emerging markets were teetering on the verge of bear territory last week as a rising dollar and higher U.S. interest rates are siphoning money from the developing world and making their debts more expensive. The gauge of 24 emerging-market countries has now dropped by a fifth since its January high after steep falls in the Turkish and Argentine currencies sparked a wider selloff. The Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 24% from its peak in January, while the yuan is down around 6% since June. The recent bout of selling was partly triggered last month by sharp declines in the Turkish lira, which is down by more than 40% this year, and later the Argentine peso, which has fallen 51%. Elsewhere, the Indian rupee reached its weakest-ever levels this week, and the Indonesian rupiah is trading around two-decade lows.
4. Goldman Sachs Is Said to Cool to Crypto-Trading as Bitcoin Runs Cold — Crypto prices continue to tumble following a Business Insider report that stated Goldman Sachs was dropping plans to open a trading desk for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is down about 12% over the last 24 hours to a low of $6,279. The alts posted far worse during that time, with the price of Ethereum (ETH-USD) tumbling by 20%, Ripple (XRP-USD) dropping by 14% and Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD) falling 19%.
5. Ebola Outbreak Spreading in Congo — Congo has confirmed its first Ebola death in the eastern city of Butembo, the first urban outbreak of the virus. The current wave has already killed 89 people and it’s close to becoming the eighth largest Ebola outbreak in history. A vaccination campaign has already been underway for weeks, with experimental treatments from companies like Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD).

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

Tags: China/US Trade War

This entry was posted on Monday, September 10th, 2018 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Weekly Summary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.