As a profession, internal auditors often struggle to explain what it is they do. "We should never be stumped when we're asked what we do," writes IIA President and CEO Richard Chambers. "We need to know what distinguishes us as a profession, and the things that make us proud."

Negotiators for the US and China are drafting documents that could become the foundation for a trade agreement, sources say. Memorandums of understanding reportedly are being drafted on intellectual property rights, services, forced technology transfer, cybertheft, currency, agriculture and nontariff barriers to trade.

While the US economy is considered to be broadly healthy, CreditSights researchers point out trends that could prove adverse. Among them, banks appear to be tightening criteria for commercial and industrial loans, the number of new consumer credit accounts has fallen 6% from its 2016 peak and a University of Michigan survey shows a drop in consumer confidence.

Sovereign debt levels in the eurozone are unlikely to decline in the next few years as governments rely more on foreign and private funding, according to research from Moody's.

The European Central Bank Governing Council will discuss a scheme to offer a line of credit to the banking sector, Chief Economist Peter Praet says. However, a decision on the matter could take time, Praet says.

Outstanding derivatives notional at HSBC increased by 25% last year compared with 2017, hitting $34 trillion. Cleared over-the-counter trades reached $18 trillion, a 51% increase, while bilateral positions hit $14 trillion, up 5%.

If Brexit occurs without a transition agreement, UK financial firms will no longer be properly licensed to give advice to clients in the EU. Money managers are coming up with creative ways to circumvent the problem, but there are concerns this could lead to violations of the EU's revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the European Commission are working to let trading venues on both sides support Group of 20 derivatives changes, even though Singapore is not a G-20 member. The move toward equivalence for EU firms to continue trading interest-rate derivatives and credit default swaps on Singapore platforms requires approval from EU states.

Deutsche Bank accumulated a loss of $1.6 billion over almost 10 years from a complicated municipal bond deal it had invested in ahead of the financial crisis. The loss is one of the biggest the bank has suffered from a single deal, amounting to about four times its entire profit for 2018.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has agreed to acquire a 51% stake in Ronghui Tongjin Technology in China to reduce reliance on third-party vendors. The move also helps the exchange tap additional markets and expand its client base, HKEx says.