News Briefs

The Wall Street Journal reports that China’s Commerce Ministry acknowledged that Beijing and the U.S. agreed to a 90-day pause in tariff increases to allow negotiations to proceed. Top government agencies and China’s supreme court also announced new, strict punishments for violating intellectual property rights, a key demand from the Trump administration. WSJ

Mike Bird at the Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. yield curve is close to inversion, indicating lower expectations for future economic growth. Yields on longer-dated bonds have dropped while yields on short-dated Treasurys have remained flat due to falling longer-term growth and interest rate expectations. WSJ