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Good morning. It's U.S. jobs day, there's more updates on plans to control the coronavirus in Europe and Brexit trade talks are gridlocked. Here's what's moving markets. U.S. Jobs The May U.S. jobs report comes this afternoon and is forecast to show the unemployment rate climbed above 19% last month. Statistics Thursday showed Americans filed nearly 2 million applications for unemployment benefits last week, reflecting a slowing -- though far from a halt -- of job losses. In tackling the effects of the pandemic, the Trump administration expects to spend up to $1 trillion in the next round of stimulus, people familiar with the matter said. Markets Higher European stock futures are higher and Asia is mixed amid comments from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that he feels "very good" about the progress of the phase one trade agreement with China. In a switch from the longer-term trend, European equities are now outperforming their U.S. peers in the latest leg of the rebound, boosted by bets of a swift recovery and a string of stimulus plans. Italian bonds were back in fashion after Thursday's European Central Bank update and the Euro isflashing warning signs amid its longest rally in nearly a decade. Finally, oil was headed for asixth weekly gain after OPEC+ reached a tentative agreement to extend record production cuts until the end of July. Masks and Bubbles There was more news on countries' efforts to resume normal life following the coronavirus. In the U.K,. all passengers using public transport in England will be required to wear face coverings, while research from the University of Oxford said the best way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus post-lockdown is for people to limit their interactions to a few repeated contacts, or so-called social bubbles. On the continent, Spain said its land borders are likely to remain shut until next month, correcting earlier comments from a minister suggesting it could open borders with Portugal and France on June 22. Brexit Stalemate The latest round of talks between the U.K. and European Union over their future relationship is set to finish without agreement, with both sides stuck after a week of making little progress. Officials are still far apart on crucial issues ahead of a key deadline at the end of the month, and the tense atmosphere hasn't improved significantly, according to people familiar with the matter. The failure to narrow the gap between the U.K. and EU positions will add to pressure for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to intervene directly to break the deadlock when they hold talks later this month. Coming Up… The European tech sector could be in focus after U.S. firm Broadcom Inc. issued an underwhelming outlook, while telecoms group Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG has agreed to sell a portfolio of wireless towers, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Today's economic data also includes German Factory orders which are expected to have plunged again in April. Finally, the ninth straight night of protests in the U.S. were largely peaceful in most cities. What We've Been Reading This is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours. And finally, here's what Cormac Mullen is interested in this morning Longer-dated dividend futures are not showing the same level of optimism as the broader stock market. Despite a historically strong relationship with stocks, contracts on S&P 500 Index payouts for 2023 remain about 24% lower than where they started the year, while the benchmark itself has pared declines to around 4%. In Europe, 2023 equivalents are down over 18%, while the Euro Stoxx 50 has pared declines to 14%. Longer-maturity contracts paint a similar picture -- even out to the end of the current decade. With a wave of dividend cuts already part of the 2020 investment story, question marks over future payouts remain a legitimate concern, including for believers in a V-shaped recovery. But it would take the grizzliest of grizzly bears not to expect dividends to follow earnings as they eventually recover from the impact of the pandemic. Dividend futures are not the most liquid securities, and are often influenced by technical factors such as hedging activity linked to the sale of structured products. But as strategists at Goldman Sachs pointed out in a note this week, the longer-dated contracts look to be trading at somewhat of a discount, which could be of interest to long-term investors. Cormac Mullen is a Cross-Asset reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Tokyo. Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Clos |
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