Justin Trudeau is heading to China next week for a five-day trip that includes meetings with Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping. While advance reporting suggested Trudeau would launch free-trade talks during his visit, the official party line is less definitive. “I look forward to meeting again with China's leaders to strengthen our relationship and set the stage for even greater trade and investment cooperation,” Trudeau said in a press release. We’ll aim to re-establish expectations today and gauge the stakes for Canada’s hospitality industry ahead of the 2018 Canada-China Year of Tourism.

CATALYST-HEAVY WEEK

OPEC meets Thursday. Janet Yellen testifies Wednesday. Jerome Powell’s confirmation hearing is Tuesday. And bank earnings get going tomorrow. We’ll set expectations.

KOCH BROTHERS HELP FINANCE TIME TAKEOVER

Time Inc. has agreed to sell itself to Meredith Corporation for US$1.8 billion (US$2.8 including debt), putting a stable of magazines including Time, Sports Illustrated and People under new ownership. The Koch brothers are providing US$650 million in financing to help bankroll the takeover. BNN's Tara Weber will delve into how they’ve made some of their riches in Canada.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:

-TSX record high watch: 16,131.79 is the all-time high set on Nov. 7. Came within five points of crossing that threshold on Friday.

-Bitcoin rose as much as 18 per cent in early trading, putting it within less than $300 of US$10,000.

-The Ontario Conservative Party released an election platform this weekend that, among other things, promises tax cuts for the middle class, hydro relief, a longer runway to raising the minimum wage to $15/hour, and a crackdown on financial advisors who don’t work in the best interest of their clients.

-Houston-based Civeo is buying oil sands lodging provider Noralta for $367 million in cash and stock.

-Still waiting for the daily update from TransCanada on Keystone clean-up efforts in South Dakota. As of late Friday, the company said it was expecting to extract the culprit section of the pipeline sometime Sunday.

-And, of course, the big news of the day: Prince Charles announced today that Harry is engaged to Meghan Markle, with the wedding set for next spring.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable data: U.S. new home sales

-10:30 a.m. ET: Justin Trudeau meets with World Economic Forum Chairman Klaus Schwab in Toronto

-12:00 p.m. ET: Toronto Mayor John Tory delivers speech on "Keeping Toronto Affordable" 

Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.