Communist Party congress begins in China, Obamacare fix faces political hurdles, and the EU still doesn't know what the U.K. really wants.
Xi ambitions
China’s President
Xi Jinping’s three-hour speech to the twice-a-decade Communist Party
gathering in Beijing laid out a sweeping vision to transform the country by 2050. He touched on foreign policy, environmental concerns, and the continuing anti-corruption push in the address. When it came to markets,
the president said the country would continue to open up to foreign
businesses and seek to ensure “interest rates and exchange rates become
more market-based.” China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended the
session higher following a late rally that bore the hallmarks of an intervention by state funds.
Obamacare hurdles
Just two weeks before Americans start signing up for 2018 coverage, senators say they have reached a bipartisan deal
on fixes to stabilize Obamacare. Should the deal become law, it could
alleviate the chaos for insurers following last week’s move to dismantle parts
of the Affordable Care Act by the White House. That path to becoming
law is far from certain as there is already outright hostility from many
House Republicans and mixed signals from the Trump administration.
Own worst enemy
European Union officials are expressing frustration
with the U.K. on Brexit negotiations, saying the lack of consensus
within the British government makes it hard to know what the
latter wants. While ministers in Theresa May’s government have played down internal divisions, the European side see little room for progress at the leaders summit starting tomorrow. Data released this morning show U.K. unemployment remained at a 42-year low in the three months though August, while pay growth increased to 2.1 percent, well below inflation.
Markets mixed
Overnight,
the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed, while Japan’s Topix
index closed 0.1 percent higher. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.3
percent higher at 5:45 a.m. Eastern Time as investors keep track of earnings season. S&P 500 futures added 0.1 percent, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 2.334 percent, and gold was lower.
Bad deal
Rio Tinto Group Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese and ex-Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott face fraud charges
filed by U.S. authorities in relation to the company’s $3.7 billion
coal deal in Mozambique in 2011. Rio, which sold those assets for $50 million
in 2014, says it “intends to vigorously defend itself against these
allegations.” Shares in the company are trading 0.8 percent lower in
London this morning as investors seem content to view the debacle as ancient history rather than brewing storm.