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[Bloomberg]( Brexit deal hopes dim, China warns of retaliation over Hong Kong bill, and earnings roll on. Brexit trouble If yesterday was dominated by hopes of an imminent agreement over the U.K.’s exit from the European Union, today is — so far — dominated by fears that a [deal may not be possible](. One of the main stumbling blocks continues to be whether Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, on whom Prime Minister Boris Johnson relies for his parliamentary majority, [will support the deal](. With one British official saying the prospects for a breakthrough are now low, [pound volatility has jumped]( as the currency [retreats from yesterday’s high](. Foreign policy China threatened unspecified “[strong countermeasures](” if the U.S. Congress enacts legislation supporting Hong Kong protesters after the House passed a [package of measures]( backing a pro-democracy movement in the former British colony. For investors, worries are increasing that this may make [negotiations over a trade deal]( between the U.S. and China more difficult. Elsewhere, Turkey has [banned short-selling of the country’s banks]( after an indictment was filed Tuesday in Manhattan against Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS accusing the state run-lender of a plot to [help Iran avoid U.S. sanctions](. Sponsor Content by PIMCO PIMCO Cyclical Outlook: Window of Weakness The global economy is about to enter a period of vulnerability. Will it end in recession or recovery? [Read more.](  Earnings cont. Yesterday’s bumper day for bank earnings produced results which generally beat market expectations, helping push JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares to [an all-time high](. Today it’s the turn of Bank of America Corp. before the open. Costs and the interest rate outlook will be key for the lender, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Away from banks, there will also be interest in [Netflix Inc.’s performance]( amid increased competition from Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp., Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. Markets mixed Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7% while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.7% higher, paring earlier gains of as much as 1.6% after China’s warning to the U.S. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.3% lower at 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time with Brexit headlines dominating market sentiment. S&P 500 futures were pointing to a [drop at the open](, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.724% and gold was slightly higher. Coming up… The U.S. retail sales report for September is forecast to show a small slowdown in growth to 0.3% for the headline number when the data is released at 8:30 a.m. In Federal Reserve events, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Fed Governor Lael Brainard all speak later, and the Beige Book is published at 2:00 p.m. TIC flows data for August is released at 4:00 p.m What we've been reading This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - Biden’s [clash with Warren]( shows Democratic race in new phase. - Spanish prime minister pressured to respond to [night of Catalan chaos](. - Being [short Treasuries and long Argentina]( is not working out for Hasenstab. - Top London money manager [accused of sexual harassment](, groping. - GM, UAW [continue talks]( as signs point toward the strike ending. - The biggest opponents of [German fiscal stimulus]( are coming round. - [This pun](. And finally, here’s what Joe's interested in this morning Yesterday I talked about the connection between[financial market conditions and real world economic activity](, and I used Netflix as an example of a company that has been slowing its pace of hiring (according to Citi) ever since the stock peaked in the middle of 2018. That turned out to be perfect timing, because a few hours later Bloomberg reported Netflix is going to reduce spending on [high-cost standup comedy specials](, which have become part of its bread and butter offering. Inevitably, this slowdown will ripple through the comedy world, and though (as far as I know) it's not a major contributor to GDP, everything interesting happens at the margins. Less money pouring into the comedy space reflects the consequences of investors being less willing to pay for endeavors that burn a lot of cash. At the same time as the Netflix news came out, Disney was revealing the movie line up for its Disney+ project. It includes [old family favorites like The Shaggy Dog](, which has been sitting in the Disney archives forever, will cost the company nothing, and which probably holds a lot of nostalgic resonance for the boomer parents who'll be buying Disney+ for their kids. The new competitor to Netflix arguably has the perfect model for 2019. Rather than borrowing money in the bond market to pay up for new content, it just monetizes the old stuff, and spins cash from assets it already owns. The battle isn't just about content, therefore, but about business models, and right now investors are turning against players with voracious demands for capital. You can see it in their share prices: Disney is up 11% in the past year, while Netflix is down about 18%. 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. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. [Learn more](. 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