• Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that China supports globalization and free trade and will quicken the pace of opening its economy.
- China will participate in regional free trade pacts, Li said at his annual news conference at the end of the annual meeting of China's parliament.
- China aims to cut taxes and fees for companies by 1 trillion yuan ($144.65 billion) this year, Premier Li Keqiang said Wednesday.
- Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday that forecasts of a hard landing for the world's second largest economy should stop, though domestic and external risks remain and meeting the target of 6.5 percent growth for this year won't be easy.
• Markets aren't pricing in gains from a promised corporate tax cut by President Donald Trump, according to UBS managing director and head CIO of short-term investment opportunities, Vinay Pande.
And that could mean some stocks are set for outsized gains.
"I think that there are clear signs that this administration is looking to cut corporate taxes, if not this year, then later in the year, or early next year," Pande told CNBC's "Street Signs."
"Bottom up analysts have not forecasted any gains from tax cuts. And those gains could be substantial, whether they're this year or early next year, he said. "Every 5 percentage points net cut in the corporate tax rate translates into 4 percentage point increases in earnings per share growth. These are very big numbers, gigantic numbers."
• A group advising U.S. President Donald Trump on infrastructure has proposed an arbitration-style pilot program to slash the current 10 years it often takes to break ground on projects, without short-changing environmental standards.
Builders, unions and others often rue a permitting processes that can last a decade or more – a potential snag in Trump’s plan to launch a 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure building program to create jobs and bolster the world’s biggest economy.
Australia, Canada and Germany typically take two years to approve infrastructure projects compared with 10 years in the United States, he said.
• President Donald Trump's choice for the top U.S. trade negotiator on Tuesday pledged an "America First" strategy to aggressively enforce U.S. laws and trade deals to stop unfair imports and push China to scrap excess factory capacity.
Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative nominee, told senators at his confirmation hearing that Trump chose him because of his trade enforcement background.
Reference: Reuters
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