5 things to start your day

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/19369110.235879/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcw/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdB18919356 [Get the newsletter]( China tariff cut boosts market rally, coronavirus toll continues to rise, and OPEC+ talks move into third day. Love letter China is showing that tariffs can go down, as well as up, with Beijing’s announcement that the country will [halve duties on $75 billion of imports]( from the U.S. on Valentine’s Day. The move comes as part of the phase-one trade agreement, with Washington set to implement reductions at the same time. The announcement helped boost the rally in Asian stocks, while equities in Europe [hit record highs]( this morning. S&P 500 futures are [pointing to further gains at the open]( as markets seem to be shaking off coronavirus fears for now. No end in sight That’s even as the situation in China continues to worsen, with over 28,000 confirmed cases and 563 deaths from the outbreak, [according to the latest figures from the country’s National Health Commission](. Travel restrictions to and from China are increasing, with Saudi Arabia the [latest to announce bans]( on visits to the country. Authorities in Beijing accused those imposing the restrictions of “[sowing panic](” and going against WHO recommendations. Businesses are also suffering, with China’s top LNG buyer declaring [force majeure on contracts](. Sponsored Content by[Global X ETFs]( Themes for Defensive Positioning As markets trade near all-time highs, we explore how investors can retain exposure to disruptive themes with high growth potential, while still [positioning their portfolio]( more defensively in the event of an economic pullback.  Crisis talks The technical discussions in Vienna between OPEC and its allies have been [extended into a third day]( as Russia and Saudi Arabia remain split over the two oil-producing nations’ response to the demand hit from the extended shutdown in China. Traders still expect the talks to lead to a full emergency ministerial meeting that will seek to avert a surplus in global supply. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate was [trading at $51.35]( by 5:45 a.m. Eastern Time. Victory lap President Donald Trump will make his second address to the nation this week at noon from the White House, a speech that he said will discuss “[our Country’s VICTORY on the impeachment hoax!](” (emphasis his). The president will be [emboldened by his acquittal]( yesterday in the Senate, where [Mitt Romney]( was the only GOP senator to vote in favor of conviction. Meanwhile, in the continuing Iowa Democratic caucus count, Bernie Sanders has [pulled level with Pete Buttigieg](, with the final few results expected to be announced today. Coming up… There’s one last look at the health of the U.S. jobs market ahead of [tomorrow’s payrolls number]( when weekly jobless claims are published at 8:30 a.m. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Fed Governor Randal Quarles are scheduled to speak later. In earnings today Twitter Inc., Uber Technologies Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and Yum! Brands Inc. are among the many companies announcing results. What we've been reading This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - “It’s like fighting a war -- some things are hard, [but must be done](.” - Trump has few options to [juice the economy]( ahead of November. - Angela Merkel calls for reversal of her party’s “[unforgivable](” far-right deal. - Switzerland could find itself labeled a [currency manipulator](. - Brexit [gets worse for Wall Street]( with EU shaking up MiFID. - Why hedge fund managers say they [avoid sustainable investing](. - [Sexaquarks]( could be immortal, or not exist at all. And finally, here’s what Joe's interested in this morning A few months ago when Elizabeth Warren was flying high in the polls, various billionaires and investors were tripping over each other to declare what a disaster she would be for the stock market. Of course, a bunch of them said the same thing about Trump and Obama while they were candidates. So in general it's a probably a good idea to just ignore anyone trying to draw some connection between an electoral outcome and a market one. Lately it's been Bernie Sanders on the rise, both in the betting markets and among old-school pundits. Yet this time around there hasn't been much talk yet about how bad for markets he would be. Perhaps it's because many people still don't believe he can get the nomination, or they assume he'd be obliterated in a general election. That said, if the popular view about his prospects of winning it all were to rise significantly, it seems to safe to say that we'd suddenly start to get a raft of panicked calls from money managers about what his presidency would mean for stocks. There is a counter-argument though. Yesterday on TV we talked to Naufal Sanaullah, the Chief Macro Strategist at Eia Alpha Partners, who put forth the idea that a Sanders presidency would be good for pre-tax corporate profits. The argument, [which you can see at the 36:20 mark](, is essentially that larger government deficits (a reasonable assumption under Sanders) translate to higher private sector savings. Combined with a more robust social safety net that allows lower income Americans to have a financial cushion and access to credit, it's not unreasonable to think that it all translates into a robust environment for the corporate sector. This doesn't mean Sanders would be slam-dunk bullish for stocks, any more than people thought Trump would be bad for stocks. But given how terrible conventional wisdom is at this stuff, it's worth thinking about alternative arguments. And for further reading on his argument about the connection between deficits and private sector profits, this paper from the [Jerome Levy Forecasting Center]( is a worthy read. 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