Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

(1) The Chinese Communist Party’s official mouthpiece called on the world’s biggest economies to “jointly safeguard hard-won achievements” from their latest trade talks, ahead of a high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

(2) Top trade negotiators for the US and China said they came to terms on a range of contentious points, setting the table for leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize a deal and ease trade tensions that have rattled global markets.

(3) HSBC will set aside $1.1 billion to cover litigation by investors who lost money in Bernard Madoff’s fraud, the latest global bank to face a significant hit from cases dating back years.

(4) President Javier Milei’s party won Argentina’s midterm vote Sunday, a result that will give the libertarian leader a strong foothold in Congress to continue pursuing aggressive free-market policies that have won praise and a financial lifeline from Donald Trump.

 
(5) Former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King says the Labour government lacks a coherent economic strategy.

(6) Trading houses, hedge funds and banks are on a hiring spree for specialist gold traders as interest in the metal soars, creating a battle for talent that is driving up pay packages in what has historically been a niche market.

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