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China is setting growth forecasts, Merkel secures a fourth term and Australia's central bank meets. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about.

China's National People's Congress 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang opens the national parliament's annual session Monday with the release of economic targets against the backdrop of a looming trade clash with the U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week that he plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. China tried to defuse some of the tension, saying it would host U.S. officials for a new round of dialogue on trade issues. China doesn't want a trade war, but wouldn't allow its interests to be harmed, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said. Meanwhile, U.S. allies including Canada and the U.K. won't be excluded from the tariffs despite their pleas. 

Merkel's Fourth Term 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has secured a fourth term after the Social Democrats voted to stay in her government. But she will have her work cut out for her. Trump's threat of tariffs on European cars, China's global investment push and Emmanuel Macron's calls for a closer-knit euro area all demand a German response following more than five months of political stalemate in Europe's biggest economy. 

Rethinking Inflation

Asian central banks from Mumbai to Manila are looking at ways to retool how they measure inflation. As the region's burgeoning middle class is embracing online shopping, nowhere is the global e-commerce wave having more of an impact right now than in Asia. To that end, South Korea's statistics office has more than doubled the number of products it surveys online;  India is looking at ways to incorporate online sales into its inflation index and Japan has set up a task force to bolster its data collection among some the actions policy makers are taking. 

Coming Up…

The markets will digest the trio of political events concerning China, Germany and Italy. The week ahead also has a packed economic agenda with the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting on Tuesday, Australian GDP and a Malaysian rate decision Wednesday, an European Central Bank meeting on Thursday and a Bank of Japan one Friday, then U.S. payrolls to round it all off. We may get EU Council President Donald Tusk circulating draft negotiating guidelines about the future relationship between the EU and the U.K. 

Mixed Start 

Equity markets across the Asia Pacific headed for a mixed start to the week. Japanese futures pointed to a flat open, while Hong Kong contracts signaled declines. Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index futures nudged higher. The euro was stronger after the progress seen in Germany, while currency traders await the outcome of Italy's election. The greenback was broadly weaker early Monday morning.

What we've been reading

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

• South Korea to send envoys to Pyongyang to broker talks with Washington. 
• How to make money out of China's National People's Congress. 
• Markets are giving up on the prospect of an Australian rate rise this year. 
• How the bond market will handle trade wars. 
• Noble Group paid its co-CEO $20 million as company lost $5 billion. 
• Italians go to the polls. 
• It's the Oscars! 

--With assistance from Garfield Clinton Reynolds

To contact the author of this story: Andreea Papuc in Sydney at apapuc1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adam Haigh at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net.

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