Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

G-20 Eve

The G-20 summit is still a day away but U.S. President Donald Trump has given markets plenty to chew over before he holds talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.  If they can reach a deal, it could save the global economy $1.2 trillion.

Breach

Oil prices dipped a little on Thursday, but note this was after having hit a 5-week high following the biggest drop in U.S. crude stockpiles since 2016. Beyond the supply story, the tensions around Iran remain key for the direction of oil prices.

Illiquidity

H20 Asset Management, the money manager backed by French bank Natixis SA, is planning to jettison the controversial illiquid holdings which have triggered billions of dollars of withdrawals from its funds in the past week or so. Similar to U.K. fund manager Neil Woodford, it would appear that in a search for yield, funds have been piling into higher-risk assets that are more difficult to offload in a selloff.

Deja Vu

It’s beginning to look a lot like late 2017. Bitcoin is surging, topping the $13,000 mark on Wednesday and taking its gain for the year to around 200%. Crypto-related stocks are following Bitcoin higher, again echoing the stunning price swings seen during the heady days of the previous crypto craze, and the fortune of the Winklevoss twins has doubled. One difference this time? Consumers don’t seem to care as much. Short interest in Bitcoin is also at a record high and positions are having to be unwound due to the rise for the asset, so more short-covering is likely to continue to push prices higher. Strap in, folks.

Coming Up…

Asian stocks investors at least are optimistic that a deal is going to get done, with stocks rising and the Japanese yen falling the most since April.