Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

On Thursday, August 20, the Bloomberg EV Price Return Index rose 0.41% to close at 3,453.01 points. The index surged to a daily high of 3,484.50 points during Asia-Pacific morning trading at 10:06 AM Beijing time before gradually

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the region's manufacturing activity index rose to 47.4 in August, up 6.0 points from the previous month and marking the highest level in over 5 years. The figure far exceeded market expectations of 25.0, more than doubling the forecast. The inde

China-focused stocks declined today, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index falling 1.15%. Among major Chinese equities, NetEase dropped 5.7%, New Oriental fell 3.3%, while Tencent and Pinduoduo each declined 0.8%. Alibaba gained 0.9%, and MediaTek rose 2.3%. The Nasdaq-100 China Tech ETF (KWEB) fell 1

According to Jin10 data, on August 20, the U.S. dollar index rose 0.06%, closing at 98.894 in the forex market. EUR/USD moved to 1.1676 from 1.1674 the previous day, while GBP/USD advanced to 1.3628 from 1.3607. USD/JPY climbed to 159.14 from 158.32, reflecting continued dollar strength against

On Thursday (August 20), the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose 4.35 basis points to 4.6902% by New York close. Treasury Secretary Bessent's remarks on potential buyback increases above $4 billion triggered a V-shaped reversal, pushing yields to 4.7120% intraday; yields have since stabilized near the

U.S. Treasury yields climbed sharply in 2026, with the 30-year Treasury yield recently moving above 5.2% and the 10-year yield remaining around 4.7%. The selloff reflects a mix of rising government debt, persistent inflation concerns, heavy bond issuance and weaker demand for long-dated U.S. debt. T

Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Oracle issued nearly $223 billion in bonds as of August 20, according to LSEG. The issuance surge, more than double the amount seen in all of 2025, aims to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout. Krishna Guha, head of economics and central bank

According to LSEG, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Oracle have issued $223 billion in bonds as of August 20, 2026, more than double the amount raised throughout all of 2025. The surge reflects hyperscalers' increasing capital needs to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout.

Alphabet Inc.'s Google announced on Thursday that its Gemma family of open AI models surpassed one billion downloads, with developers publishing more than 100,000 model variants over the past two years. The milestone reflects adoption across applications including healthcare, space-based image

According to a Forbes analysis, an old video of U.S. Vice President JD Vance has revived debate over whether the dollar's role as the world's dominant reserve currency benefits the U.S. economy. Vance, then a senator, argued that global dollar

According to Google, the company's Gemma family of open-source AI models surpassed one billion downloads on Thursday, with developers creating more than 100,000 model variants over the past two years. The models are being deployed across healthcare, space-based image analysis, and marine research

St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Mussalam stated on local time 20th that gradual interest rate increases are preferable to larger, potentially more abrupt hikes, describing them as more desirable and less disruptive. In a CNBC interview, Mussalam said he maintains an open mind heading int

According to a CNBC interview on August 20, Alberto Musalem, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said gradual interest rate increases are preferable to larger, potentially sharper hikes later, as they are less disruptive. Musalem noted that monetary policy is currently neutral or

Anthropic, developer of the AI model Claude, is pursuing an initial public offering that may surpass SpaceX's record $75 billion fundraising, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter. The company is reviewing figures to publicly file IPO documents as early as the end of this mo

According to the U.S. Labor Department, initial jobless claims came in at seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ending August 15, below the consensus forecast of 210,000 on Thursday morning. Spot gold, reacting to the stronger-than-expected labor data, approached its session low of $4,450 per

According to Citi analysts on August 21, the Permian Basin in West Texas faces intensifying power supply strain as oil and gas producers and technology companies both expand operations in the region. Diamondback Energy, one of the largest oil producers in the Permian, expects its electricity

Charter Communications completed its acquisition of Cox Communications, creating a U.S. broadband and cable group serving approximately 37 million customers across 45 states. The transaction values Cox at roughly $34.5 billion including debt, with Cox Enterprises receiving about $21.9 billion in tra

According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), U.S. money market assets reached $7.93 trillion in the week ending August 20.

Charter Communications has completed its combination with Cox Communications, creating a U.S. broadband and cable group serving approximately 37 million customers across 45 states. The transaction values Cox at roughly $34.5