The Vice Premier of China, Liu He, will lead a delegation to Washington from Monday to Wednesday, according to a commerce Ministry spokesman.

Investors are also relieved by signs that the Iran and the US seem to move towards appeasement. The world's financial centers have been up and down with each new geopolitical event lately. With two constants since Washington eliminated Qassem Soleimani: variations are relatively modest and investors are showing great composure.

After the initial war-mongering statements, the US and Iranian leaders rather played appeasement yesterday, entering a phase that is more of a chess game than a physical confrontation. This did not prevent some shooting in Iraq. Yesterday, Donald Trump decided not to respond to the missile attacks that hit two Iraqi military bases where American personnel are stationed. Rumors have been circulating since last night that the weapons used by Iran were not necessarily intended to cause casualties.... Complex!

This period of hesitation is likely to continue and provocations could make their return. The stakes are high: the domination of the Middle East.

As far as investors are concerned, they remain stoic, even though the indices are evolving on historical peaks. There are many violent reactions to certain announcements, both upward and downward. But they are brief and the edifice still looks robust as the first 2019 corporate earnings start to fall. Neither the downward revision of the World Bank's growth projections for 2020 (from 2.7% to 2.5% for the global economy), nor the awful news of Harry and Meghan distancing themselves from Buckingham have undermined morale. But are investors overlooking the bad signs?

Today's agenda includes the German Industrial Production and Trade Balance, the Euro-Zone Unemployment Rate and the weekly US Unemployment Claims. Several speeches from Fed bankers are expected during the session. Earlier today, China reported slightly lower than expected inflation in December.