Trump threatens more China curbs. A virus tragedy takes off in India. And Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party starts its campaign for a new leader. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today. President Donald Trump said he intends to curb the U.S. economic relationship with China, contrasting himself with Joe Biden by threatening to punish any American companies that create jobs overseas and to forbid those that do business in China from winning federal contracts. "We'll manufacture our critical manufacturing supplies in the United States, we'll create 'made in America' tax credits and bring our jobs back to the United States and we'll impose tariffs on companies that desert America to create jobs in China and other countries," Trump said at a White House news conference on Monday where he complained at length about his Democratic opponent. He did not say when he would implement the policies but framed the moves as part of a second-term agenda. Asian stocks looked set for modest gains Tuesday after European shares climbed, showing resilience to the tech-led downdraft in the U.S. Futures pointed higher in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong. Europe's Stoxx 600 rose Monday with broad gains led by automakers, while contracts on the S&P 500 Index ticked higher. Oil extended its retreat below $40 a barrel as a price cut by Saudi Arabia signaled fuel consumption is wavering in key markets. The dollar gained. Meanwhile, the pound extended its drop to the longest since June as the prospects of a trade accord with the European Union looked increasingly remote. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday he's willing to walk away from talks rather than compromise on what he sees as the core principles of Brexit, and set an Oct. 15 deadline to reach an agreement. Six months into the pandemic, the virus is arriving with a vengeance in India's vast hinterland, where 70% of its more than 1.3 billion citizens live. The country is now adding more than 80,000 confirmed infections per day, with about 71,000 deaths so far, numbers experts say are likely being under-counted. On Monday India galloped past Brazil to become home to the world's second-biggest outbreak, a sobering preview of what could happen once the coronavirus spreads in earnest across other poor, densely populated places from Nigeria to Myanmar. It now seems inevitable that India will at some point overtake the U.S. to have the most cases globally. The trouble in India, the world's fifth-largest economy and a crucial node in global supply chains, could weigh on any global recovery from the coronavirus — epidemiological or economic. Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party officially starts its campaign for a new leader Tuesday, even though key heavyweights have already stacked the deck in favor of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's top aide. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who has enough backing from the LDP's powerful factions to win the party vote, is expected to formally file for the race to replace Abe. Two other contenders — former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and ex-Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida — have also said they will run to succeed Abe. After the filing at about 10 a.m., campaign speeches start from about 1 p.m. Suga made clear in announcing his candidacy last week that he wanted to keep in place the ultra-easy monetary policy known as "Abenomics." Any sign of a departure from it could send the yen surging and stocks sliding, triggering a re-evaluation of the outlook for the nation. There's no turning back on Abe's Japan reforms even as he steps down, according to hedge funds. A report that SoftBank is making billions by using options to bet on technology stocks has stirred speculation the Japanese conglomerate could have been a driving force behind the rally — but not everyone is convinced. Evidence suggests the kind of strategies pursued by institutions like SoftBank have a minimal effect on stock-market volatility, according to Benn Eifert, chief investment officer of hedge fund QVR Advisors. Citing commentary from derivatives trading desks, he said the real power is being wielded by day traders buying enormous amounts of call options on tech stocks. Eifert's analysis speaks to a debate that's been raging in the stock market about who is behind a surge in options trading and what it all means for investors, after reports about Masayoshi Son's foray into highly leveraged derivatives. What We've Been ReadingThis is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours: And finally, here's what Cormac's interested in this morningTwo of the most talked about trades in markets recently have involved Japan: Warren Buffett's wager on the country's historic trading houses and now SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son's bullish option bets on U.S. tech stocks. While one is a long-term investment and the other seems more like a trade, both are giant wagers on the value versus growth theme at a key moment in history when global equities are already at record highs. So who do you follow?  The fundamentalists will quickly opt for Warren. After all, Japan's Topix Index is trading at 1.2 times its book value versus a nosebleed 8.2 times for the Nasdaq 100 (if we take those benchmarks as proxies for the two strategies). The momentum traders will point to the seemingly unstoppable rise in megacap tech, which — unlike during the dotcom bubble — comes with solid earnings and strong growth prospects. But it's hard not to have more comfort with the level of diligence Buffett is renowned for over the seemingly more instinctive approach of Son. Reports the tech trades have been deeply controversial within SoftBank — a company not known for a shrinking-violet approach to corporate valuation — are worrying, and its investors clearly weren't impressed with shares slumping Monday despite the reported size of paper gains. I'm going with Buffett on this one. Cormac Mullen is a Cross-Asset reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Tokyo. | 
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