OUTLOOK: Price Signal Summary - Bull Cycle Extension In Gilts

The United States Senate is expected to confirm former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, as President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary today. The Senate will also vote to advance the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as Director of the FBI. 

• At Commerce, Lutnick will oversee a complex portfolio, including a large-scale trade review ahead of Trump's possible imposition of 'reciprocal' tariffs in early April. He will also head up the Bureau of Industry and Security, a department within Commerce that enforces export controls to safeguard US technology that was central to the Biden administration's measures against China.
• Semafor reports that Lutnick, "will be a go-to contact for Senate Republicans worried about Trump going too far," although there are some questions over his influence over Trump's trade policy.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR), appear to have been sidelined from discussions to formulate Trump’s trade policy.
• The Journal notes: “In their absence, a singular figure has risen as a leader of the trade agenda: Peter Navarro, the president’s special counselor on trade and manufacturing, known for his pugnacious personality and maximalist approach to tariffs.”
• Senator Thom Tillis (R-SC), articulating a view of moderate Republicans, said: “There are some people advising the president who view every tariff as found money. There are revenues to be derived from tariffs, but they have to be discounted against markets closing” because of retaliatory measures. 

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