Good morning. Donald Trump softens his tone on trade with China. Emmanuel Macron names a new cabinet. And central London’s exorbitant rents are spreading. Listen to the day’s top stories.

— Victoria Batchelor

US stock futures jumped and oil rose after Donald Trump signaled openness to a deal with China, improving sentiment after markets were rattled by a sharp escalation in trade tensions. Crypto bounced back from a record wipeout, while silver hit the highest in decades and gold set a fresh peak. Declines in Asian shares, which were closed when Trump made his comments Friday, signal concerns about the durability of the truce.

Hamas released seven Israeli hostages to the Red Cross today, as Trump heads to the Middle East looking to seal a peace deal, the biggest diplomatic achievement of his second term.

Emmanuel Macron announced a new cabinet as pressure builds for him and his reappointed prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, to quell a political crisis and pass a French budget. Marine Le Pen said her National Rally party would file a no-confidence motion today. Read how bond holders want an ever-higher premium to hold the debt of developed-nation governments as politics eclipse central bank policy as a key market driver. 

Trump said he’d consider arming Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles that would allow strikes deeper into Russia, and he might use the sale as leverage with Vladimir Putin to end the war. The US president and Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke by phone for a second day on air defense, long-range weapons and energy in talks deemed “very productive” by Ukraine’s leader. 

UK household balance sheets are in their best shape for over two decades after a period of spending restraint that has taken a heavy toll on the economy. For politicians and the Bank of England, the question is: Will consumers now feel confident enough to loosen the purse strings? 

Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets.

Deep Dive: Female Fortunes

More than a dozen women in the world’s 500 richest people have become billionaires after the death of a spouse, the highest number ever. 

• These so-called sideways inheritances are increasingly shaping global business as women take over huge empires, from finance to consumer goods and gambling. They oversee record fortunes totaling $365 billion, roughly tripling since 2016, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
• The changes are creating huge implications for how vast sums are invested, philanthropy, and the way that wealth is passed on to the next generation.
• “It’s a growing trend,” said Michelle Yue, co-founder of The Beam Network, a private financial education platform for rich women. “And yet the wealth management industry still treats spouses—especially women—as peripheral, when they are central to succession.”
• Take Renata Kellnerova, who unexpectedly inherited one of the world’s biggest fortunes when her husband Petr tragically died in a helicopter crash four years ago. The Czech native was suddenly confronted with the new reality of managing the family business while coming to terms with huge personal loss.

The Big Take

Opinion

The opposition to Keir Starmer’s plan to roll out a national system of mandatory digital identity cards is formidable, Martin Ivens writes. In an era when trust in authority is at an all-time low, the UK PM needs to lead a conversation with the voter. So far, persuasion has not been his forte. Without it, he risks losing the public, forfeiting a digital revolution and crashing yet another Starmer-era policy.

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Before You Go

Central London's exorbitant rents are spilling over as people get pushed out of prime postcodes into places like Brockley and Bethnal Green, according to an analysis of data from flat-share website Spareroom. The cost of a room is rising fastest in mid-priced areas, with some seeing a roughly 9% jump year on year.