| Want the lowdown on what's moving European markets in your inbox every morning? Sign up here. Good morning. Informal talks on a possible pharma mega-merger, pandemic strategies under criticism and a nuanced deal on oil output. Here's what's moving markets. Covid Combination? AstraZeneca Plc is said to have made an informal approach to U.S. firm Gilead Sciences Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, a combination which would be the largest in the pharmaceutical industry's history. AstraZeneca, which has seen promising early results in treating the virus from a cancer drug, is one of the firms also involved in the White House's "Warp Speed" vaccine-development program and has received funding from the European Union towards its work on a vaccine with the University of Oxford. Gilead, meanwhile, is attracting optimism about the sales potential from remsedivir, the drug which got emergency authorization for treating coronavirus last month. Reopening Pains The U.K. and Spanish economies are starting to reopen after lockdowns but leaders in both countries are facing increasing pressure about their initial reactions to the outbreak. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeing crumbling public confidence in his handling of the crisis and will use speeches this month to attempt to refocus on rebuilding the economy. Similar anger is being expressed toward his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, in addition to ongoing warnings of the need for a debt-cut plan to accompany its stimulus efforts. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lovfen also faced a series of rebukes in a leaders' debate over his government's handling of the pandemic. New York will begin the path back to normal life on Monday in a country most Americans think is "out of control." OPEC+ Deal The closely-watched OPEC+ meeting of oil producers ended with an agreement on a one-month extension to output cuts and a stricter approach to making sure that members stick to the plan. Whether the deal can fix the unprecedented turmoil in the market and whether oil demand will ever return to previous levels remains to be seen. There is, however, some nuance in the strategy which indicates Saudi Arabia, Russia and their allies are borrowing from the playbook of central banks in an attempt to flip the oil-price curve by focusing not only on stockpiles but on short-term prices in relation to those further in the future. Recovery Mode Governments and central banks globally appear to be shifting out of rescue mode and focusing instead on recovery amid signs that the battering of the global economy is bottoming out. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will take center stage this week after the central bank's latest policy decision, with investors expecting reassurance that all the support provided will remain in place amid not only the coronavirus-driven downturn but also against a backdrop of widespread civil unrest. Wall Street isn't totally confident the stimulus being pumped in to save companies will work and bond market bears will be watching very closely. Coming Up… European stock futures are trending marginally lower and U.S. futures are slightly higher following small gains in Asia, with the dollar weaker and crude oil fluctuating. German industrial production numbers top the data agenda and eyes will be on European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde when she attends a European Parliament hearing. Watch too for any fallout from President Donald Trump's decision to pull troops from Germany, plus France's plan to pump money into its aerospace industry and the U.K. pushing ahead with a quarantine on international arrivals, a move likely to further pummel the airline sector. 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 Pound traders are shifting their attention back to Brexit from the coronavirus pandemic and their mood is turning ever more sour by the day. Speculative net short sterling bets have reached the most since November, according to the latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data, while Citigroup Inc.'s FX Pain Index for the currency — an indicator of active trader positions — has slumped to its lowest since 2018. The pound is the second-worst performing Group-of-10 currency so far this year against the dollar, down over 4%. That's despite its near 11% surge since late-March, when the greenback's recent sell-off began. With Brexit negotiations deadlocked, the end of June looms large as the deadline for the U.K. to ask to extend the negotiating period beyond the year-end, something the government has repeatedly ruled out doing. Patience seems to be wearing thin and traders are bracing for a bust-up.  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 Close. | 
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