Monday's News Links

[Reuters] U.S. stocks pare gains after surprise fall in December construction spending

[Reuters] U.S. construction spending unexpectedly falls in December

[CNBC] US and China in 'final stages' of trade deal talks that could end this month, sources say

[Reuters] Easier for China to face tariffs than bend to U.S. pressure

[CNBC] 10 years ago this week, the market hit the climactic bottom of the Great Recession

[MarketWatch] Why a bomb like the one that blew up markets in 2008 may be ticking right now

[Bloomberg] China Plans $90 Billion Cut in VAT for Manufacturers

[Bloomberg] China’s Car Slump Has Dealers Slashing Prices, Giving Cheap Loans

[Reuters] BOJ will debate exit plan for easy policy at appropriate time: Kuroda

[Reuters] Australia economy hits dry spell as incomes fail to flow

[WSJ] Shale Companies, Adding Ever More Wells, Threaten Future of U.S. Oil Boom

[FT] Taiwan manufacturing gauge falls to 3 ½-year low

[FT] South Korean factory gauge falls to worst level since 2015

[FT] Deutsche and Commerzbank: why Berlin is backing a merger

Sunday Evening Links

[Reuters] Wall Street futures jump on U.S.-China trade deal hopes, Asian shares seen higher

[Reuters] U.S. and China could reach trade deal at summit around March 27: WSJ

[CNBC] China is reportedly offering to lower tariffs on U.S. farm, chemical, and auto products as trade deal gets closer

[Bloomberg] Trump Using Fed, Strong Dollar Complaints to Stir Voter Base

[Bloomberg] Das: The Bomb That Blew Up in 2008? We’re Planting Another One

[Bloomberg] The $22 Billion That's Spooking India's Bond Market

[Bloomberg] Australia's Credit Squeeze Has Created a Central-Bank Conundrum

[Bloomberg] Bill Gross Sees ‘Much Less’ Alpha in Era of QE and Quant Trading

[WSJ] U.S., China Close In on Trade Deal

Sunday's News Links

[Reuters] Trump says strong dollar hurting U.S. competitiveness

[Reuters] U.S. says rejects WTO's 'straitjacket' of trade obligations

[Reuters] North Korea has no economic future if it has nuclear weapons: Trump

[Reuters] India-Pakistan border quiet but Kashmir tense amid militancy crackdown

[Bloomberg] Trump Says Dollar Too Strong in Return to Criticism of Powell

[WSJ] Investors Scale Back Inflation Bets, Signaling Doubts About Growth

[FT] Federal Reserve’s fundamental rethink about inflation