Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks rebounded on Friday and were largely supported by surprisingly dovish comments from Fed's Williams, who said that in his view, the Fed can still cut rates in the near term given current policy is modestly restrictive, indicating that would be his preference in December. The comment helped lift stocks and bonds with a dovish repricing in Fed money markets which saw as much as a 62% chance of a 25bps cut, but pared back a couple of bps after the BLS announced the Oct. CPI is cancelled and November CPI will be released after the December FOMC meeting, meaning the Fed will not have access to inflation or labour market data until after the confab.
• US Secretary of State Rubio said they made a tremendous amount of progress in Ukraine peace talks in Geneva and have a foundational document, while he said they were able to narrow down the points of the plan, but added that work remains to be done.
• Looking ahead, highlights include Singapore CPI, Japanese markets are closed for Labor Day.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Singapore CPI, Japanese markets are closed for Labor Day.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks rebounded on Friday and were largely supported by surprisingly dovish comments from Fed's Williams, who said that in his view, the Fed can still cut rates in the near term given current policy is modestly restrictive, indicating that would be his preference in December. The comment helped lift stocks and bonds with a dovish repricing in Fed money markets which saw as much as a 62% chance of a 25bps cut, but pared back a couple of bps after the BLS announced the Oct. CPI is cancelled and November CPI will be released after the December FOMC meeting, meaning the Fed will not have access to inflation or labour market data until after the confab.
• SPX +0.98% at 6,603, NDX +0.77% at 24,240, DJI +1.08% at 46,245, RUT +2.80% at 2,370.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• White House is reportedly preparing a tariff fallback ahead of the court ruling, according to Bloomberg.
• China welcomed more Italian companies to enter the Chinese market and hopes Italy will provide a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese investment in Italy.
• Canadian PM Carney and German Chancellor Merz discussed partnerships in critical minerals, clean energy, AI, aerospace, energy and defence, while Carney also met with French President Macron, and it was stated that the leaders remained focused on key global priorities such as critical minerals, clean energy and AI. Furthermore, Carney said that he and Indian PM Modi launched negotiations for a trade deal that could more than double their trade to USD 70bln.
• UK abolished its "de minimis" rules, which exclude cheap imports below GBP 135 from paying tariffs, according to a report on Friday by Sky News.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed’s Collins (2025 voter) said she has not made up her mind about the December rate decision and still sees reasons to be hesitant about a cut, while she added that financial conditions are a tailwind for the economy and that the Fed’s mildly restrictive policy is appropriate.
• US President Trump said there is massive crime and rioting in the Chicago loop area, following an incident where 7 people were shot on Friday.
• US Treasury Secretary Bessent said they are seeing prices get better and will see an announcement this week on healthcare costs, while he added that inflation is up because of services, not imported goods. Bessent said he expects some prices to come down in weeks and others in months. Furthermore, he said that Republicans should end the filibuster if Senate Democrats close the government again, while he added that the government shutdown caused a USD 11bln permanent hit to US GDP.
• US Appeals Court rejected the Trump administration’s bid to expand rapid deportations.
• Texas officials asked the US Supreme Court to allow a pro-Republican electoral map that a lower court blocked.
• JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citi (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are among those that have been notified by SitusAMC that their client data may have been taken, according to NYT.

FX

• SNB President Schlegel said uncertainty is poison for the economy and that 15% tariffs are better than 39% for Switzerland, while he added that Switzerland still has a lot of gold on an international basis.

COMMODITIES

• World oil majors are returning to Libya as they hunt for new energy reserves and with Tripoli launching its first exploration auction in 18 years, according to FT.

GEOPOLITICAL

MIDDLE EAST

• Israel’s military said it killed a Hamas commander in Gaza City, while the Israeli military confirmed that Hezbollah military leader Ali Tabtabai was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Beirut.
• Canadian PM Carney and German Chancellor Merz discussed the situation in the Middle East and noted their support for the comprehensive peace plan to end the war in Gaza, while they reaffirmed support for Ukraine and underscored that any settlement must include Ukraine’s involvement.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said they are grateful for all efforts by US President Trump and the US to end the war. Zelensky said they also thank Europe, the G7 and the G20 for helping them protect lives, while they are working on every point and every step to achieve peace. Zelensky also commented that there are signals that the US team is hearing them.
• US President Trump said ‘no’ when asked if his offer is the final one for Ukraine. Trump separately commented that the Ukrainian leadership has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts and that Europe continues to buy oil from Russia.
• US Secretary of State Rubio said we’ve had the most productive and meaningful meeting so far and made good progress. Rubio said there is still some work left to do, and their teams will revert on Sunday night with more updates, while Rubio added this will have to be signed off by their presidents, but he is comfortable about that. Rubio later commented that they made a tremendous amount of progress and have a foundational document, while they were able to narrow down the points of the plan, but added that work remains to be done. Furthermore, he said they are much further ahead than when they began on Sunday morning and noted there are some outstanding issues involving the role of the EU and NATO, but stated that none of the outstanding issues are insurmountable.
• US official said that talks between US and Ukrainian officials so far have been productive and even conclusive in some areas, while it was also reported that US and Ukrainian officials were discussing a possible trip by Ukrainian President Zelensky to Washington to discuss the peace plan, possibly this week, according to sources cited by Reuters.
• European leaders’ summit on Ukraine stated that they believe the US 28-point peace plan requires additional work and they are concerned by proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, while they are clear on the principle that Ukraine’s borders must not be changed by force.
• European counterproposal to the US’s Ukraine peace plan proposes that the Ukrainian military be capped at 800,000 in peacetime and stated that Ukraine joining NATO depends on the consensus of NATO members, which does not exist, while NATO agrees not to permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine in peacetime. The counterproposal also stated that NATO jets will be stationed in Poland and Ukraine will receive a US guarantee that mirrors NATO’s Article 5, as well as noted that Ukraine will be compensated financially, including through Russian sovereign assets that will remain frozen until Russia compensates for damage to Ukraine. Furthermore, Ukraine commits not to recover its occupied sovereign territory through military means, while negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the line of contact, and Ukraine will hold elections as soon as possible after the signing of the peace agreement.
• Nordic-Baltic Eight Leaders’ joint statement noted that they spoke with Ukrainian President Zelensky and stated that Russia has so far not committed to a ceasefire or any steps leading to peace, while they will continue to arm Ukraine and strengthen Europe’s defence to deter further Russian aggression.
• Russia’s Ryabkov said regarding chances of another Trump-Putin meeting that the issue is on the agenda and nothing can be ruled out, while he added that progress in building dialogue between Russia and the US is impressive and that contacts are yielding results.
• Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian forces took control of Petrivske in Ukraine’s Donetsk and took control of the Tikhe and Odradne regions in eastern Ukraine, according to TASS. It was also reported that Russian forces captured Nove Zaporizhzhia and Zvanivka in eastern Ukraine, according to RIA.
• Ukrainian drones struck a heat and electricity station in Moscow region’s Shatura, which caused a fire.

OTHER

• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang said China urges Japan to reflect on and correct mistakes as soon as possible and not become obsessed, while he added that Japan’s leader sent a wrong signal of trying to intervene in the Taiwan issue by force and crossed the red line that should not be touched. Wang also said that if Japan continues down this path, countries have the right to re-examine Japan’s historical crimes. It was separately reported that a senior Japanese government spokeswoman said China’s claim that Japan has altered its position is entirely baseless, while Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi said during a visit to the island of Yonaguni in Okinawa that Japan is on track to deploy missiles to the island, which is near Taiwan.
• US is poised to start a new phase of Venezuela-related operations and is weighing options, including to overthrow Venezuela’s government, while covert operations are expected to come first, according to officials cited by Reuters.
  - Armed bandits kidnapped more than 300 students from a Catholic school in Nigeria on Friday, while it was reported on Sunday that fifty of the kidnapped students have escaped.
• White House said South Africa is refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency and has weaponised its G20 presidency to undermine the G20’s founding principles.

GLOBAL NEWS

• Brazilian federal police took former president Bolsonaro into custody after being determined a flight risk, according to BBC.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• BoJ board member Masu said on Friday that the BoJ is 'close' to the decision to raise rates but can't say which month. Masu stated it is not good for real interest rates to be deeply negative and that Japan's policy rate is lower than the neutral rate, which he strongly believes they need to change quickly, while he said they won't wait until after the Spring wage talks to end in raising rates.
• Japan is said to be open to intervening in the currency market “to mitigate the side effects of a weak yen,” according to a government panel member.
• New Zealand PM Luxon vowed to increase the pension saving scheme, according to Bloomberg.

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK Chancellor Reeves is expected to further protect those on the national minimum wage at the Budget, according to the UK Treasury. It was also reported that Reeves will freeze rail fares in a cost-of-living push and the US is to extend EV subsidies to blunt the tax increase in the Budget, according to Bloomberg.
• UK Budget’s pensions tax raid to raise over GBP 3bln, while the expected move by Chancellor Reeves in the week ahead faces strong pushback from businesses, while Reeves is preparing to lift the two-child benefit cap in the Budget, according to FT.
• UK and Indonesia agreed on a GBP 4bln maritime deal securing 1,000 jobs in the UK.
• ECB President Lagarde warned against viewing monetary policy as a solution to debt problems, implicitly rejecting recent suggestions from France’s far-right party that the ECB should relaunch large-scale asset purchases, according to Bloomberg.
• Moody’s affirmed the UK at Aa3; Outlook Stable, while it raised Italy’s sovereign rating by one notch from Baa3 to Baa2; Outlook Revised to Stable from Positive.