White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that negotiations over a phase one trade deal with China are down to the final stages, with both sides in communication every day. Talks are focusing on details such as the timeline of Chinese purchases of agricultural goods and Beijing’s demand for the removal of existing tariffs as part of a deal. This morning global shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S added its voice to those warning about the fallout from the trade war, saying it is less optimistic about growth as the standoff dents the economic outlook. (Bloomberg)

The 50 state and territory attorneys general investigating Google for antitrust violations are set to expand their probe into the search and Android businesses, after initially focusing only on its ad business. The AGs will write up civil investigation demands to help the inquiry, but sources told CNBC the subpoenas might not be served immediately. Google already received a $5B fine in the EU for favoring its Android operating system, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing the tech giant's business practices. (SA)

Amazon will appeal the Trump administration’s decision to grant a $10bn defense contract to its rival Microsoft, accusing the US government of having shown “unmistakable bias” in its procurement process.  The company said on Thursday it was lodging a legal case against the decision, following accusations that Donald Trump manipulated the process to harm Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder.  The Pentagon awarded the so-called Jedi cloud computing contract to Microsoft last month after several rounds of bidding.  (FT)

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.