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On August 19th, Suren Thiru, chief economist at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in the UK (ICAEW), stated that the UK's inflation rate rebounded to 2.9% in July, reigniting the possibility of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of England. "The July increase is unlikely to be a one-off event. Drought has led to higher food prices and soaring energy costs, increasing the likelihood of inflation exceeding 3.5% later this year, especially given the ongoing disruptions to traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," he noted. He pointed out that the decline in services inflation is unlikely to reassure Bank of England policymakers, as it appears to reflect a temporary reduction in VAT on tourist attractions and children's meals, rather than a cooling of underlying price pressures. While these figures are unlikely to trigger an interest rate hike in September, they increase the likelihood of further monetary tightening before the end of 2026.

Argus Research: Raises its target price for ConocoPhillips (COP.N) from $136 to $153.

On August 19, the Ministry of Justice responded to a reporter's question regarding the EU's foreign subsidy investigation, stating that the EU's recent investigation into JD.com, using its Foreign Subsidies Regulation, arbitrarily demanded extensive and unnecessary information about China from the Chinese entity. This constitutes an undue demand on the entity and a serious violation of international rule of law. To safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens, legal persons, and other organizations, the Ministry of Justice, in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-Unfair Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, together with the Ministry of Commerce and other relevant departments, has identified and determined that the EU's actions constitute unfair extraterritorial jurisdiction measures, and demands that no organization or individual implement or assist in the implementation of such measures. The Ministry of Justice hopes the EU will immediately correct its erroneous practices, cease abusing the "foreign subsidy" investigation tool, and create a fair, just, and predictable market environment for companies investing and operating in the EU. If the EU persists in its unilateral actions, China will resolutely retaliate in accordance with the law.

Market news: During a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament called for special status for Iraq's oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz.

Market news: The Turkish Chief of General Staff held talks with the US Chief of General Staff.

A spokesperson for the German Finance Ministry stated that the rise in German borrowing costs is related to the need for increased defense spending in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

On August 19th, the Securities Association of China released special statistics on securities firms' bond underwriting business for the first half of 2026. The data shows that the technology narrative in the capital market's bond market continued to strengthen, and securities firms' technology innovation bond business expanded significantly. In the first half of 2026, a total of 73 securities firms acted as lead underwriters or ABS managers for technology innovation bonds, underwriting and managing 553 products with a total scale of 500.078 billion yuan. Compared with the same period in 2025, 68 securities firms participated, underwriting 380 products with a scale of 381.391 billion yuan, showing significant growth in both the number of issuances and the underwriting amount.

BioNTech SE (BNTX.O) rose 14% in pre-market trading, while Novavax (NVAX.O) rose 5.8% in pre-market trading.

The Israeli military says it has launched a criminal investigation into the 2025 incident in southern Gaza that killed 15 aid workers.

The MBA 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the United States was 6.77% for the week ending August 14, unchanged from the previous week.

The MBA mortgage application activity index in the United States for the week ending August 14 was 247.7, compared with 248.6 in the previous week.

The MBA Mortgage Refinancing Activity Index for the week ending August 14 was 755.9, compared to 744.4 in the previous week.

The MBA Mortgage Purchase Index for the week ending August 14 was 154.8, compared to 157.9 the previous week.

According to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan will lift sanctions on more Syrian entities.

Moderna (MRNA.O) extended its pre-market gains to 30%.

On August 19, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada approved the appointment of Yevgeny Khmara as Minister of Defense with 312 votes in favor. According to Ukrainian sources, Khmara joined the Security Service of Ukraine's "A" Special Operations Center in 2011. In August 2025, he will become the head of the "A" Special Operations Center, and in July 2026, he will serve as Acting Minister of Defense.