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Good morning. Today we’re covering:
Hundreds killed in Lebanon’s deadliest day since 2006
US energy secretary likens scrapping IRA to self-harm
The rise of antimicrobial resistance drugs
But we start with a swath of new stimulus measures unveiled this morning by China’s central bank.
The measures include cuts to the People’s Bank of China’s benchmark interest rate, government funding to boost the stock market and aid share buybacks, as well as more support for the stricken property sector.
The package of measures sent China’s CSI 300 of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed shares up 4.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 3.9 per cent, led higher by mainland Chinese companies listed in the territory. Shares in Europe also rose.
China’s economy has slowed this year as a prolonged downturn in the property sector has weighed on consumer sentiment and curbed spending. Economists are sceptical that growth will hit the government’s 2024 target of 5 per cent, down from 5.2 per cent last year.
“In our view, this signals a new round of policy easing ahead to support the real economy,” Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients this morning.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
US Congress: Novo Nordisk chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen testifies in a hearing focusing on prices for weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. The cybersecurity and infrastructure protection subcommittee holds a hearing into July’s global IT outage. Adam Meyers, senior vice-president for counter-adversary operations at CrowdStrike, the company at the centre of the outage, testifies.
Monetary policy: US Federal Reserve board governor Michelle Bowman speaks about the economic outlook and monetary policy at the Kentucky Bankers Association annual convention in Hot Springs, Virginia.
FTX: Caroline Ellison, a former executive of bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Alameda Research who testified against founder Sam Bankman-Fried, is scheduled to be sentenced on fraud charges.
UN: US President Joe Biden will address the UN General Assembly for the last time as president. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will open the 79th session of the general assembly later today in New York.
Five more top stories
1. Israeli air strikes against what it said were Hizbollah targets yesterday killed almost 500 people in Lebanon’s deadliest day for decades. The “new phase of the war” heightened concerns about escalating hostilities in the Middle East and spread panic across Lebanon. The death toll was the highest since Israel launched a ground offensive against Hizbollah in 2006.
‘Leave your homes now’: The strikes came hours after Israel sent warnings via texts and phone calls. Raya Jalabi reports on yesterday’s chaotic exodus from Beirut.
Netanyahu’s popularity: The Israeli prime minister’s standing in national polls has recovered from post-October 7 lows after he launched more aggressive operations in Lebanon and Iran.
2. The US Department of Justice is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, accusing the payments company of anti-competitive behaviour. Federal prosecutors are set to file a lawsuit as early as today, said a person familiar with the matter. Here’s what to expect.
3. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has opposed a UniCredit takeover of Commerzbank after the Italian lender said it was raising its stake from about 9 per cent to 21 per cent. The emergence of UniCredit as a major shareholder has ignited political opposition in Berlin against a cross-border tie-up. Here’s what’s driving the uproar.
4. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ leader, met US President Joe Biden in Washington yesterday to advance artificial intelligence co-operation as the Gulf nation tries to secure easier access to US-made technology. The meeting underscores the UAE’s ambitions to become a leader in the new emerging technology.
5. Boeing has offered staff a 30 per cent pay increase in an attempt to end a debilitating strike, sparking anger from union leaders who accused the aircraft maker of circumventing normal bargaining by taking the offer directly to workers. The manufacturer has said the offer is only good if union members vote in favour by Friday. Read the latest on the fractious talks.
Today’s big read
China’s demand that the public sector step up its use of domestic semiconductors can best be seen in Huawei’s Qingyun L540 laptop. The “safe and reliable” device features a self-designed processor and a Chinese-made operating system. Ryan McMorrow peers into the Chinese company’s best-selling laptop, and finds out what it tells us about Beijing’s dream of tech self-sufficiency.
We’re also reading . . .
Jennifer Granholm interview: The US energy secretary likens Donald Trump’s plan to gut the Biden administration’s sweeping climate legislation to “stabbing ourselves”.
Levi Strauss: The retailer’s new chief executive explains why a $10bn annual revenue target must be pushed back.
Tech regulation: Lawmakers should resist lobbyists’ assertion that “regulation stifles innovation”, writes Stanford University’s Marietje Schaake.
Tim Walz: Every successful leader needs a running mate like him, writes Stephen Bush, because getting the country to love you is telling it that you love it, too.
Chart of the day
Tuberculosis is a prime example of the growing threat from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to medicines on which humanity has relied for decades. Drug-resistant strains of TB are estimated already to account for about a third of the millions of deaths annually associated with AMR. The director-general of the World Health Organization warned last week that AMR endangered a “century of medical progress”.
Take a break from the news
From the US to the UK and even in France, sex is at an all-time low. Rosanna Dodds speaks to sexologist and intimacy coach Michaela d’Artois, who has ideas on how to end this “epidemic of loneliness”.
Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm
Source: Economy - ft.com
