Good morning and welcome back, it’s Ainsley here with all the news you need to start your working week.

Today’s must-reads:
• US, China trade talks make progress
• Australia makes US trade talk priority list
• NZ’s plans to ban under-16s from social media

What's happening now

The US and China both reported “substantial progress” after two days of talks in Switzerland aimed at de-escalating a trade war, marking what Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng called “an important first step” toward resolving differences. He said the world’s two biggest economies agreed to create a mechanism for further talks, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and himself. Bessent said the US would share details on Monday and He promised a joint statement.

Staying with trade talks, President Donald Trump’s team has set a list of roughly 20 partners as the focus of early negotiations, people familiar with the matter said. The group includes nations such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. It also encompasses comparatively minor partners like Fiji, Lesotho and Mauritius, the people said. 

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said a proposal to ban children under the age of 16 from social media will be part of the government’s work program, increasing its chances of becoming law. Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the work and report back to cabinet with options. New Zealand is attempting to match steps in Australia.

In a world that was serious about cutting the quarter of the world’s emissions that come from methane, you’d be expecting a boom in electric valve actuators, writes David Fickling for Bloomberg Opinion. This humdrum piece of equipment is one of the lowest-hanging fruit if we want to rein in leaks of methane. 

What happened overnight

Here’s what my colleague, market strategist Mike “Willo” Wilson says happened while we were sleeping…

The dollar and stocks inched lower Friday, before trade talks between the US and China were held in Switzerland. Some progress was made over the weekend and both asset classes should get a boost as positive vibes were felt from both sides ahead of further information being released later today. The lift in global sentiment has stock futures pointing to opening gains for local indexes. It is also supportive of Aussie and kiwi into the Australian jobs report on Thursday and New Zealand manufacturing data on Friday.

Trump’s effort to secure peace in Ukraine is reaching a decisive moment with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy challenging Vladimir Putin to engage in talks this week. Following a weekend of hectic diplomacy, Zelenskiy said he will travel to Istanbul on May 15 where Putin has proposed direct negotiations between the two countries. 

After four days that saw the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in half a century, as well as some nuclear saber-rattling, Trump on Saturday declared that both countries had reached a “FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE.” But in the Indian capital of New Delhi, many top officials were seething. The US president’s post on Truth Social caught key officials involved by surprise, according to people familiar with the situation.

Hamas said it will release the last living American hostage it holds in Gaza, following renewed talks with the US administration in recent days over a ceasefire deal with Israel. The release of Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, who’s a US citizen, is a step toward reaching a new ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the militant group said late Sunday in a statement on Telegram. It didn’t say when Alexander would be released.

Varda Ben Baruch holds a photo of her grandson Israeli- American hostage Edan Alexander. Photographer: Amir Levy/Getty Images Europe

What to watch

• Nothing major scheduled 

One more thing...

Pope Leo XIV used his first Sunday address to call for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, building on the message of his predecessor, Pope Francis, and offering a glimpse into the likely geopolitics of his papacy. The first US-born head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics said he “carried in his heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people,” and called on leaders to “do what’s possible to achieve an authentic, just and lasting peace as soon as possible.”