| Jerome Powell signals a rate cut as a global chill outweighs good U.S. news. Asian equity futures are mostly higher after the S&P 500 hit all-time highs. And Australia's stock rally is nearing a record high. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today. Fed Cut Cometh Jerome Powell telegraphed his intention to lower borrowing costs as soon as this month, telling the House that risks from the trade war with China overshadow the healthy labor market. Asked if June's stronger-than-expected jobs report had changed the central bank's thinking, the chairman said: "A straight answer to your question is, no." The Fed chief said also Donald Trump lacks the authority to fire him. When asked if he would leave if the president told him to, he said: "Of course I would not do that. My answer would be no." 3,000 Asian equity futures are mostly higher after U.S. stocks hit all-time highs on Powell's dovish comments. The S&P 500 briefly rose above 3,000 for the first time. Treasuries were mixed, with 10-year yields dropping then recovering to hold at about 2.06%. The dollar lost ground against almost every major currency, and gold jumped more than 1%. Silent War Fishermen are on the front lines of Asia's most complex territorial dispute: the South China Sea. Six claimants, as well as outside powers like the U.S., have an interest in protecting a waterway that carries more than $3 trillion in trade each year. China's Coast Guard stepped up patrols in contested areas a few years back, with fishermen from countries like Vietnam and the Philippines reporting encounters with Chinese officials warning them off fishing in certain areas – sometimes with the aid of electric prods. Convicted The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it's just seen the first-ever local criminal convictions for front-running prosecuted as an insider-trading offense. Leong Chee Wai, E. Seck Peng Simon and Toh Chew Leong received prison sentences of as long as 36 months. The seven-year scheme had yielded profits of S$8.1 million ($6 million), the regulator said. Nearing a Record Australia's stock market could soon reach a new all-time high, with the S&P/ASX 200 just short of its record from 2007. The nation's benchmark has surged 18% this year, adding about $210 billion in value despite a sluggish economy and a housing slump. Still, analysts are divided on where Aussie stocks will go. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are cheering the surge, while Goldman Sachs looks elsewhere for gains. 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 Investors banking on the "Fed Put" keeping the U.S. equity rally going should be worried about the direction of earnings growth, according to UBS strategist Francois Trahan. He suggests a drop below 0% in estimated earnings growth for S&P 500 Index members would likely bring an end to the "bad news is good news" dynamic that's helped propel the stock rally. Expected growth has slumped from over 20% late last year to just 3% at the moment, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.  Trahan sees parallels between today's markets and those in 2001 and 2007, when traders ignored negative economic developments in the hope that Fed stimulus would boost stocks. The market returned to "normal" with shares responding poorly to disappointing economic news, once earnings growth dropped below zero, he said. If the strategist is right, bullish investors should keep a close eye on the upcoming earnings season before prematurely thanking Jerome Powell. 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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