(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a

columnist for Reuters.)

By Anna Szymanski

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Everything Mike Dolan and the

ROI team are excited to read, watch and listen to over the

weekend.

From the Editor

Hello Morning Bid readers!

Expectations of a thaw in U.S.-China relations gave Asian

equities a boost on Friday, after the White House said on

Thursday that President Donald Trump would meet with Chinese

President Xi Jinping next week during the U.S. leader's Asia

trip.

Negotiations with another large U.S. trading partner, Canada,

took a somewhat strange turn on Thursday, with Trump writing on

Truth Social that trade talks between the North American nations

were "TERMINATED," because of what he deemed to be a

"fraudulent" ad showing former President Ronald Reagan

criticizing tariffs.

In other trade news this week, the U.S. and Australia signed a

deal on Monday that will see up to $8.5 billion invested in

projects to develop and refine metals vital to industries

including defence, advanced manufacturing and the energy

transition. ROI Asia Commodities Columnist Clyde Russell argues

that this deal is far from a game-changer, but it is a decent

first step as the U.S. and its allies seek to reduce their

reliance on China.

On the domestic front, investors, starved of data during the

government shutdown, will finally get some official economic

information today: CPI inflation for September. The consensus

expectation is that it will remain steady at 3.1%

year-over-year.

But, as ROI editor-at-large Mike Dolan writes, markets are

likely to meet the announcement with a shrug, as almost no one

seems to care about inflation anymore.

What matters instead is the job market, or at least that's the

steer Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell gave investors at the

September FOMC meeting. ROI markets columnist Jamie McGeever

argues that the drop in Treasury yields this month - the 10-Year

yield fell below 4% earlier this week - shows that investors are

hearing Powell loud and clear.

Third quarter earnings season continued, with strong reports

from Intel and many other firms, alongside disappointing results

from Netflix and Tesla. Jamie McGeever suggests that maybe, just

maybe, we could be seeing signs that the equity rally is about

to broaden.

Over in energy markets, geopolitics were once again center stage

this week, as President Trump slapped sanctions on two Russian

oil giants, Rosneft and Lukoil on Wednesday, in an effort to

pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a

ceasefire deal in Ukraine. ROI Energy Columnist Ron Bousso

argues that the effectiveness of these measures will hinge on

Trump's willingness to enforce secondary sanctions and risk an

energy price spike.

The announcement sent Brent crude prices up over 5% on Thursday,

but this jump may be short-lived, as the global oil market is

widely believed to be oversupplied. Ron Bousso notes that any

selloff should be limited, however, by the uncertainty

surrounding OPEC+ production.

Staying on fossil fuels, ROI Energy Transition Columnist Gavin

Maguire pointed out that natural gas consumption by U.S. LNG

firms looks set to overtake gas use by U.S. households for the

first time in 2025, stoking tensions between the export-oriented

LNG sector and domestic gas consumers.

Over in metals, ROI Columnist Andy Home gives his key takeaways

from the recent London Metal Exchange week. Spoiler alert,

everyone loves Doctor Copper.

And, finally, the most famous metal of all, gold, took a tumble

on Tuesday, with prices dipping the most in five years. Of

course, gold fell from a record-high above $4,300 and is still

up more than 50% this year, so no one needs to pity the poor

gold trader.

As we head into the weekend, check out the ROI team's

recommendations for what you should read, listen to, and watch

to stay informed and ready for the week ahead.

This weekend, we're reading...

CLYDE RUSSELL, ROI Asia Commodities and Energy Columnist: My

suggestion this week is an OECD report on Australia's green iron

potential. It outlines the scale of the opportunity but also the

massive challenge in funding and coordinating such a massive

shift for the world's biggest iron ore producer.

MIKE DOLAN, ROI Financial Markets Editor-at-Large: This

thought-provoking column by Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the

Peterson Institute considers whether a fiscal crisis in France,

the EU's only nuclear power, might result in transferring

France's nuclear deterrent costs to the EU level.

RON BOUSSO, ROI Energy Columnist: This fascinating Reuters

investigation shows that dark fleet tankers are no longer just

for dodgy Iranian and Russian oil trading. The vessels are also

being used by Mexican drug cartels in a flourishing market of

illegal oil trading and tax evasion.

ANDY HOME, ROI Metals Columnist: My most interesting read of the

week is about the underground marathon that will take place in

Boliden's Garpenberg zinc mine in Sweden. Participants will

endure temperatures of up to 30°C as well as total silence and

will be running in complete darkness with only their head

torches for light.

We're listening to...

GAVIN MAGUIRE, ROI Global Energy Transition Columnist: This is a

fascinating podcast about what's possible with EV battery

recycling. In short, the plan is "to turn a massive wave of

incoming used batteries into a key resource for the grid."

And we're watching...

ANNA SZYMANSKI, ROI Editor-in-Charge: Yes, I did recommend the

Reuters World News vodcast last week, but I'm doing it again

just to make sure you don't miss the new video version of

Reuters flagship podcast.

Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect

the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is

committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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