U.S.:
Dissecting the $250 Billion China Deals Trump Got for U.S.
How does $250 billion in deals get sliced? The White House has unveiled a slew of agreements with China as President Donald Trump seeks to address an imbalance in trade. While Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross boasted a total of $250 billion in business deals, getting to that figure may require some fuzzy math. Many of the deals weren’t broken out into separate valuations, while a large number were in the form of non-binding memoranda of understanding or involved agreements with existing Chinese partners. Boeing Co.’s $37 billion aircraft order consists mostly of previously agreed deals, according to officials with knowledge of the matter. An agreement involving Cheniere Energy Inc. was presented at the signing ceremony as worth $11 billion, though neither company involved announced the value. Other pacts are stretched over lengthy periods, such as a 20-year shale gas and chemical project in West Virginia.
Europe:
Sterling skirts Westminster turmoil, holds steady vs dollar
Britain’s sterling inched up on Thursday as expectations for a gradual tightening of policy from the Bank of England protected the pound from the political turmoil engulfing Prime Minister Theresa May’s government. A string of scandals leading to two resignations from the cabinet in the space of just one week has raised doubts over the Conservative government’s ability to secure a strong deal in negotiations over Britain’s leaving the European Union, due to restart later in the day. However, sterling remained broadly stable on Thursday, as high levels of uncertainty in British politics have largely been priced in by the markets, analysts said. “In the short-term, political uncertainty will remain high. But it is unlikely to rise even further,” Credit Agricole currency strategist Manuel Oliveri said. “A lot would be needed to derail political sentiment even further,” he said. Foreign aid minister Priti Patel was forced from office on Wednesday over undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials, just days after May’s ally Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, resigned in a sexual harassment scandal.
Asia:
China Factory Prices Surge Again as Pollution Drive Curbs Output
China’s factory prices kept surging last month as authorities curb production in smokestack industries to combat pollution.
Key Points
- The producer price index rose 6.9 percent in October from a year earlier, versus a projected 6.6 percent rise in a Bloomberg survey and matching September’s pace
- The consumer price index climbed 1.9 percent, the statistics bureau said Thursday, exceeding the median forecast of 1.8 percent
Policy makers signaled a shift away from the growth-at-all-costs model at their twice-a-decade Party Congress last month amid greater focus on curbing pollution and taming financial risk. China has stepped up restrictions on steel mills and aluminum factories before winter, when pollution levels are often at their worst in the northern part of the country. “Today’s inflation data basically dismiss any hope for monetary policy easing,” said Raymond Yeung, chief greater China economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Hong Kong. “The authorities will continue to maintain a tightening bias. Onshore rates are seeing upward pressure.”
