US will not introduce restrictions to curb the new COVID-19 wave; Congress introduces infrastructure bill

After months of work, US senators finally presented a large bipartisan infrastructure development plan of $1 trillion (investing in roads, railroads, bridges, ports, high-speed Internet, electric car charging stations, water pipe replacement, and other infrastructure) that will certainly impact economic growth and labor market. It is a five-year plan. But on the other hand, Democrats want to offset the social spendings with tax increases for corporations and wealthy Americans earning more than $400,000 a year.

With Beijing tightening requirements for Chinese companies planning to list abroad, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun requiring additional disclosures from Chinese companies.

Oil prices corrected slightly on Friday and Monday due to negative manufacturing PMI data from China, the world’s second largest oil consumer. It should be noted that OPEC+ countries are increasing oil production on a daily basis, which is driving oil prices lower as demand begins to catch up with supply. In other news, the United States and Britain said Sunday that they believe Iran attacked an Israeli-operated oil tanker off the coast of Oman on Thursday and promised to respond to the event.

Despite the rise in precious metal prices over the past month, it is impossible to single out any of the top four precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, and palladium). As long as the Fed keeps its monetary policy soft, fundamentally, precious metal prices will rise gradually. But any hint of QE program cutting may trigger a strong sell-off. But before August 27, there is a high probability that there will be no change.

Asian businesses had a tough period in July as rising raw material costs and a new wave of coronavirus infections are seriously slowing down the region’s recovery. Manufacturing activity picked up in Japan and South Korea, but companies suffered supply chain disruptions and a lack of raw materials, which led to an increase in costs. However, the growth of industrial activity in July has fallen sharply in China. Housing prices in Australia continue to grow despite the restrictions. The International Monetary Fund lowered its growth forecast for developing Asian countries for this year.