| Donald Trump again downplayed an Iranian attack after a Navy drone was shot down, and oil surged the most in three years on the news. Xi Jinping makes a landmark visit to North Korea. And the quant known as Mr. Bear turned bullish at just the wrong time. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today. 'Loose and Stupid' Donald Trump suggested Iran's downing of a U.S. drone was a decision by a "loose and stupid" individual, a comment that may ease escalating tensions. The president said the Islamic Republic made "a very bad mistake" by shooting down the unmanned aircraft but declined to detail any potential response. The UN called for "maximum restraint" as Tehran and Washington disputed whether the drone was over international or Iranian waters. Stocks, Oil Surge Oil jumped the most this year on the drone attack, with WTI futures surging as much as 6.1%. Speculative traders who'd turned against crude recently are ready to pile back in, according to LPS Futures. Asian equity futures are flat to slightly higher after U.S. stocks advanced, with the S&P 500 opening at a record high. And the global bond rally marched on. Ten-year Treasury yields dropped below 2% for the first time since November 2016 as a shift toward easing global central bank policy and Iran tensions pushed investors toward havens. The dollar fell across the board, as the Norwegian krone and Swiss franc both gained more than 1%. Xi's Push Xi Jinping told Kim Jong Un he's visiting to push for a political settlement on the Korean peninsula, and said China is willing to play a constructive role in denuclearization. Beijing is ready to help Pyongyang "address its legitimate security and development concerns," as part of a deal, according to CCTV's account of the Chinese president's remarks. Southeast Asia Convenes The leaders of Southeast Asia's economies are set to gather in Thailand this weekend as the shadow of Trump's trade war keeps the region on edge. While China is the biggest trading partner for most of the participants, they also can't afford to offend the U.S. Aside from slowing growth, the 10-nation summit in Bangkok is expected to focus on sustainability, ways of knitting the region's markets together and efforts to foster digital innovation without compromising privacy and security. Mr. Bear Turned Bullish John Rachmat spent three years researching, backtesting and tweaking his quantitative investment model before he was convinced he had a winning formula. The former sell-side strategist, who accurately predicted the last two bear markets in Indonesia, has dropped near the bottom of the country's performance rankings after his fund's move to turn bullish on mining stocks shortly after it began trading in mid-2018. What we've been reading This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours. And finally, here's what Cormac's interested in this morning The initial stock market reaction to the latest Federal Reserve missive seems to be a case of sometimes it's better to travel than arrive. After trading on tenterhooks all week, the S&P 500 Index rose just 0.3% Wednesday after the Fed signaled it was ready to lower interest rates for the first time in 11 years. All the action was in the bond and currency markets, where the yield on the U.S. two-year note slumped and the dollar weakened against all major peers. Asian equity moves Thursday were equally nondescript, with the exception of a surge in Chinese shares on next week's FTSE Russell index changes.  While the Fed gave the market what they wanted — an open door to rate cuts — there may be a feeling it has pushed that door a little too far. The statement included a line that uncertainties about the outlook have increased and the growth assessment was downgraded, which may have created a sense of unease about what the Fed knows that the market doesn't. There is still the U.S.-China trade war to be resolved and a host of geopolitical concerns from saber-rattling in the Middle East to Brexit. If the Fed is going to cut rates because growth is about to slump, even equity bulls will find it hard to get too carried away. Cormac Mullen is a Cross-Asset reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Tokyo. Even before Trump's trade war, China was the world's biggest story. It's reshaping the global economy — but its ascent hasn't come without major problems. Sign up to get Next China, a weekly dispatch on where the country stands now and is headed next. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more. | 
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