Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

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It's budget day in the U.K., China posts a surprise trade deficit, and Mnuchin is having trouble filling some vacancies. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.

Budget day

At 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will present his 2017 budget in a speech to the U.K. parliament in which he is expected to say the country is well placed to the weather the challenges of Brexit. He is expected to give a boost to British bondholders, with analysts forecasting gilt issuance for the next fiscal year at its lowest since the financial crisis. In the House of Lords yesterday, Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit bill was defeated when rebels from her own party voted to rewrite the draft law. The defeat will only serve as a delay to the bill, as the changes in the upper house can be overturned by a vote in the House of Commons which will probably come next week.

China trade

China reported its first trade deficit in three years in February as imports soared 38.1 percent while exports dropped 1.3 percent. Economists had been expecting a 14 percent rise in exports according to a Bloomberg survey. The results were skewed by the timing of Lunar New Year, which fell in February this year but took place in January back in 2016. Authorities in Beijing seem more concerned with events in North Korea at the moment, as they call on the hermit kingdom and the U.S. to de-escalate the sabre rattling in the region. 

Mnuchin's vacancy problem

Steven Mnuchin is having trouble getting his picks for top positions at the U.S. Treasury approved by the White House as aides to the president resist some of his choices, according to people familiar with the matter. President Trump may face questions over a brief meeting with the Russian ambassador last April despite claims by his spokeswoman that he had "zero" involvement with the country's officials during the campaign.

Markets mixed

Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained less than 0.1 percent, while Japan's Topix index slipped 0.3 percent with drugmakers leading the losses following Trump's tweets yesterday. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.1 percent higher at 5:40 a.m. with investors seeming to remain cautious ahead of tomorrow's ECB decision. U.S. stock futures were flat. 

Oil peace?

The battle between OPEC and U.S. shale for oil-market supremacy may ease following a rare off-the-record chat about the future of oil at a dinner in downtown Houston. The other main non-OPEC producer, Russia, is still presenting a united front with Saudi Arabia on production cuts agreed last year. None of the global detente is helping prices of the commodity, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate slipping below $53. 

What we've been reading 

This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours.

• How to calculate the true value of the dollar.
• Why falling unemployment may spell bad news for investment. 
• How the euro could break up - or be saved.
• The old order is fading in France.
• As Trump makes threats, Iran makes friends.
• Wikileaks adds to Samsung headaches with claims of spying TVs.
• One reason investors are bullish on global stocks. 

To contact the author of this story: Lorcan Roche Kelly in Dublin at lrochekelly@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joe Weisenthal at jweisenthal@bloomberg.net.