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

columnist for Reuters.)

By Anna Szymanski

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) -

Everything Mike Dolan and the ROI team are excited to read,

watch and listen to over the weekend.

Hello Morning Bid readers!

Wall Street got spooked on Thursday, with Microsoft and Meta

both seeing their share prices fall on concerns about the AI

capex binge. However, the big news of the week was chip giant

Nvidia becoming the first company to see its market cap eclipse

$5 trillion, having hit $4 trillion only three months ago. With

U.S. equity futures up before the bell on Friday, it looks like

Halloween may be more "treat" than "trick."

The week began with news that we would likely see an agreement

between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart

Xi Jinping. And we saw just that on Thursday following a meeting

described as a "12 out of 10" by the U.S. president.

The two settled on a deal that would see reduced U.S. tariffs on

Chinese goods and a delay of China's rare earths curbs, among

other promises. But don't get too excited, warns ROI Markets

Columnist Jamie McGeever, the U.S.-China story has been here

before.

Another big news item this week came courtesy of Federal Reserve

Chair Jay Powell. While the Fed's decision to cut interest rates

by 25 basis points on Wednesday was widely expected, the Chair

also signalled that a December cut was far from a slam dunk.

This may be an acknowledgement that interest rate cuts will

likely be a pretty lousy tool if the Fed's goal is to support an

economy suffering from labor supply issues.

The Fed's hawkish tone gave another boost to the U.S. dollar -

which is on track for a roughly 2% gain this month - something

that likely won't go down well with the Trump administration, or

so argues ROI editor-at-large Mike Dolan.

In energy markets, OPEC will meet this Sunday and is expected to

announce another output increase. Saudi Arabia, OPEC's de facto

leader, appears to be caught between Donald Trump and a hard

place, argues ROI Energy Columnist Ron Bousso, as the U.S.

president's latest oil sanctions on Russia force Riyadh to weigh

competing geopolitical and economic priorities.

Staying on sanctions, how useful have those on Russia actually

been? ROI Asia Commodities Columnist Clyde Russell considered

this question earlier in the week, arguing that it all depends

on how success is measured.

On the renewables side, ROI Energy Transition Columnist Gavin

Maguire this week discussed how China's electric vehicle output

and exports may now hit reverse following a significant policy

pivot.

Finally, in the metals markets, copper made headlines again as

the London Metal Exchange price hit an all-time nominal high of

$11,200 per metric ton on Wednesday.

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.

I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me at

This weekend, we're reading...

This shows how a small insurer in New Zealand is a key

link in the dark fleet responsible for shipping Iranian and

Russian oil.

Former IMF and World Bank top official Anne Krueger's

column for Project Syndicate this week makes a powerful case for

- to replace the hobbled WTO, supporting the push by Canadian

Prime Minister Mark Carney.

This recent report from the explains how China, India and

Indonesia - three of the world's largest coal consumers - could

all hit peak power sector emissions by 2030.

Copper prices hit a new all-time high in London this week,

so here's a timely overview of the market from the . Everything

you wanted to know about copper but were too afraid to ask.

We're listening to...

I highly recommend the in general, but especially the

latest instalment where the Reuters Russian bureau chief and

commodities editor discuss the intensifying energy war that has

developed between Russia and Ukraine. They discuss its impact on

the Russian economy as well as the global energy market.

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

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committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.