5 things to start your day

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/19293211.242887/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcw/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB4dcad3d0 [Get the newsletter]( Coronavirus toll continues to rise, it’s decision day at the Fed, and impeachment trial rolls on. Cases soar The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China [grew to almost 6,000](, surpassing the country’s total from the 2003 SARS outbreak. The death toll has climbed to 132, with the number of [new countries reporting incidents of the illness]( continuing to climb. Restrictions on travel to China are widening, with several airlines including British Airways announcing they [are suspending flights]( to the country. Economists now predict that China’s GDP growth could “[materially drop](” from the 6% pace seen in the last quarter of 2019. Fed decision At today’s decision from the Federal Open Market Committee, announced at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, it is all but certain [there will be no change in benchmark rates](, with the statement expected to reinforce the case for policy to stay on hold. There is a chance there could be a small tweak to a secondary rate called the IOER (interest rate on excess reserves). The fireworks, if there are any, will come in the post-decision press conference at 2:30 p.m. where Chairman Jerome Powell may speak about the rate of [not-QE]( asset purchases, possibly flagging a reduction in the current pace as the repo market remains calm. He is also likely to be asked about possible changes to the bank’s [inflation goal]( amid its ongoing policy framework review. Sponsored Content by GEP GEP – Global Leader in Digital Procurement and Supply Chain Transformation To learn more about our range of strategic and managed services, please visit [www.gep.com]( | For more about SMART by GEP, our AI-powered, cloud-native, source-to-pay platform, please visit [www.smartbygep.com](.  Maybe not Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told members that he [does not yet have the 51 votes required]( to quickly wrap up the impeachment trial on Friday. Today’s session will see senators [question both sides](, with more of the same scheduled for tomorrow, ahead of the crucial vote on Friday over whether to acquit President Donald Trump or call new witnesses. Should that lead to an extension of the trial, Republican senators have threatened to call the son of Democrat presidential nominee leading candidate [Joe Biden](. Markets rise Global markets are generally trading higher this morning as the virus-related sell off pauses. Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.2% as the Hang Seng Index opened for the first time since the Chinese Lunar New Year to post a [better-than-feared loss of 2.8%](. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index was trading 0.4% higher by 5:50 a.m., driven by a rebound in mining and banking stocks. S&P 500 futures pointed to [further gains at the open](, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.63% and oil [continued its recovery]( from a three-month low. Coming up… December wholesale inventories and goods trade balance for the U.S. are at 8:30 a.m. with pending home sales data at 10:00 a.m. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will hold its first ever investor day later. The Fed decision is at 2:00 p.m. It is a huge day for corporate earnings with Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Boeing Co., Tesla Inc., McDonald’s Corp. and General Electric Co. among the many reporting results. What we've been reading This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - Trump offers [Mideast plan]( that Palestinians say is a non-starter. - Market linchpin rejects argument [it is to blame for repo chaos](. - Wall Street’s London outposts are [braced for a Brexit beating](. - [Sixteen leading quants]( imagine the next decade in global finance. - ‘[Peak car](’ may have already happened. - Son of a Russian billionaire is renting a [$500-a-month apartment](. - [Instant hydrogen production]( for powering fuel cells. And finally, here’s what Luke's interested in this morning There’s a lot to be on edge about right now if you’re a trader. Some financial professionals are turning into amateur epidemiologists in an attempt to game out how to trade through the [spread]( of the coronavirus. The biggest American companies are reporting [earnings](. The political calendar is about to [heat]( up, too. By comparison, today’s Fed decision and press conference come amid relatively little [fanfare]( – even if there are some indications that suggest it might not be that much of a snoozer. For one, investors treated the Friday-Monday swoon in risk assets as something that might change the central bank’s stance. The two-day drop in the yield on fourth Eurodollar futures contract was basically in line with what would’ve been expected during an equity [retreat]( in 2019. But the story coming into this year was that the bar for any kind of action from the Fed was materially higher. So either there may be somewhat of a disconnect between the central bank’s reaction function and market participants’ perception of it, or there’s a real worry about the magnitude of the ramifications the virus could have on U.S. growth. The prospect of [technical]( tweaks not strictly related to the stance of monetary policy (an upwards adjustment to the IOER or, more likely, commentary about a slowdown in the growth of its balance sheet) could also sow some angst or confusion among algos or traders. As such, the cost of straddles -- an options bet that the Fed will cause a move in equity markets in either direction -- is exactly in-line with its five-year average, according to Wells Fargo equity derivatives strategists Pravit Chintawongvanich. 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](.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022