U.S.-China trade talks in focus
Wall Street looked set to open lower on Monday after a report by Bloomberg News said that China may not be willing to compromise as much as the U.S. hopes, when the two sides resume their trade talks later this week in Washington.
According to the report, Chinese officials are increasingly reluctant to reach a wide-ranging trade deal pursued by the Trump administration. The officials have considerably limited the scope of the discussions, the news outlet said, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to Bloomberg, China’s top trade negotiator, Vice-Premier Liu He has stated that Beijing’s offer to Washington won’t include commitments to reform Chinese government subsidies or industrial policy.
At around 5:06 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were down 117 points, or about 0.44% to 26,408. The S&P 500 futures declined 14.12 points, or around 0.48% to 2,936.88 while those on tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were seen dropping 38.25 points, or roughly 0.49% to 7,729.
Another whistleblower comes forward in Trump-Ukraine call
A second whistleblower with “first-hand” information about President Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has come forward, according to Mark Zaid, the attorney representing the first one.
Speaking to ABC News, Zaid said the second whistleblower was also an intelligence official and has already spoken to the inspector general. No details have been released about the claims of the second whistleblower.
On Sunday, Trump lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, suggesting they ought to be impeached.
HSBC reportedly planning to lay off up to 10,000 workers
HSBC Holdings Plc. (NYSE: HSBC) is planning to lay off 10,000 workers or roughly 4% of its global workforce, according to the Financial Times.
The job cuts are aimed at bringing down costs and will focus on high-paid roles mostly in Europe, the FT reported on Sunday, citing two people briefed on the matter.
HSBC is likely to announce the job cuts when it publishes its third-quarter financial results later this month. Earlier this year, the banking giant announced 4,000 jobs and the departure of chief executive John Flint.
Noel Quinn is currently serving as interim CEO while HSBC searches for a permanent replacement.