| The U.S. and China finally signed the the first phase of a trade pact, banks are drawing out a surge in debt trading, and Russian President Putin is instating sweeping changes to his government. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today. It's been three years in the making, but it looks like the phase-one trade deal has finally come to fruition. The U.S. and China signed what they're billing as the first phase of a broader trade pact on Wednesday amid persistent questions over whether President Donald Trump's efforts to rewrite the economic relationship with Beijing will ever go any further. The deal commits China to do more to crack down on the theft of American technology and corporate secrets by its companies and state entities, while outlining a $200 billion spending spree to try to close its trade imbalance with the U.S. It also binds Beijing to avoiding currency manipulation and includes an enforcement system to ensure promises are kept. The ceremony at the White House was a rare moment of friendship between the world's two largest economies after almost acrimonious talks. The benchmark S&P 500 Index set an intraday record high for the sixth consecutive trading session. Here's a list of the key points contained in the deal. Ina decision announced in conjunction with the signing of the trade deal, China has brought forward the planned opening of its $21 trillion capital market by eight months. Global investment banks like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and their rivals will now be allowed to apply to form fully owned units to do a broad array of investment banking and securities dealing in the Communist Party-ruled nation in April, compared with an earlier deadline of December. While Wall Street's giants and their European counterparts have been present in mainland China for decades, they have until now had to operate through joint ventures with local partners. By dismantling the wall to its financial market, China is counting on foreign financial firms to plow $1 trillion in fresh capital into the nation over the next few years, cushioning a slowdown in the economy and helping a transition to more consumer-led growth model. Stocks in Asia looked set for modest gains as investors parsed details of the U.S.-China deal. U.S. equities eked out new all-time highs and Treasuries rose, while futures nudged higher in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. The S&P 500 Index climbed as investors took solace from that easing of tensions between the world's two largest economies, though ended the session off its high. Soybeans slumped after China signaled purchases would be demand based. The dollar dipped and Treasury yields retreated. Meanwhile, Russia's ruble weakened after President Vladimir Putin announced changes to his government. Oil drifted, with West Texas Intermediate crude trading around $58 a barrel, and gold nudged higher. Whether it was juicy spreads in repo lending or a rally in junk bonds, the fourth quarter broke all the right ways for Wall Street's trading desks. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America on Wednesday joined the trend of surging past expectations for fixed-income trading in the fourth quarter. The four biggest Wall Street firms posted a collective 56% jump in that business, the biggest leap in more than eight years. The fourth quarter offered relief for Wall Street's largest business after the year got off to a rough start with the worst first half in a decade. As more trading moves to electronic platforms, the biggest banks are betting that the scale of operations will help them gain market share. "Investors are more willing to trade in this environment," KBW analyst Brian Kleinhanzl said in an interview. Russian President Vladimir Putin is shaking things up. He replaced his long-serving prime minister and called for sweeping constitutional changes, fueling speculation that the Russian leader is moving to extend his grip on power beyond the end of his term in 2024. The constitution now requires Putin to step down as president, but he could take on another post to ensure his continued influence. Putin's proposals didn't include any overhauls that would have created a new post for him. But the shifts could reduce the sweeping powers currently held by the president, potentially reining in any successor. Putin gave little public explanation for the dramatic and unexpected upheaval, which saw Dmitry Medvedev, one of his most loyal lieutenants, ousted after nearly eight years in office. He will take a new position as deputy chairman of the Security Council, reporting to Putin. What We've Been Reading This is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours. And finally, here's what Tracy's interested in this morning Remember when the yield curve inverted last year? It was just five or so months ago that the world seemed to be collectively wringing its hands over the fact that short-term rates on U.S. Treasuries were higher than longer-term ones, since such yield curve inversions are supposed to be signals of impending recessions. But fast forward to 2020, when the curve is firmly in positive territory, and the whole kerfuffle seems to have been pretty much been forgotten.  That might be a mistake -- as many have pointed out before, it can take up to two years for recession to arrive after a curve inversion (and it doesn't necessarily matter if the curve "de-inverts" in the meantime). But it does make you think more about those technical factors that were said to have been pushing long-term rates lower. You can follow Bloomberg's Tracy Alloway at @tracyalloway. Australia has some big decisions to make about its future. 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