Updated throughout the day
September 2
The stock market clawed back some of its losses Wednesday after the royal rout on Tuesday. Both the Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 ended about 1.8% higher; the Nasdaq jumped 2.5%. Helping clinch the day’s returns: The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book — a survey of local districts — pointed to expansion, including “wage pressures” in several areas. That report overshadowed the initial ADP jobs numbers, up only 190,000 jobs in August, falling short of the 215,000 expected in the private sector. Factory orders were up for the second straight month, boosting manufacturing 0.4%. Crude oil inventories grew by 4.7 million barrels last week. U.S. crude imports were up by 656,000 barrels/day. The supply numbers weren’t as bearish as some had expected, plus the Beige Book report helped lift crude prices to $46.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Chinese naval ships off Alaskan coast. Three Chinese combat ships, a replenishment vessel, and an amphibious ship moving toward the Aleutian Islands. It’s the first time Chinese ships have been spotted in the area. Wall Street Journal
Hillz wins Puerto Rican support. New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has endorsed Clinton for president, ahead of Clinton’s first trip to Puerto Rico this weekend. Clinton supports the island declaring bankruptcy and restructuring its $58 million debt. CNN
Obama winning Iran deal. Maryland Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski is backing President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. Mikulski is the 34th vote, making it impossible for the GOP to kill the deal in Congress. Politico
Lego is world’s biggest toy maker. The Danish Lego had a 23% sales increase for the first half of 2015, while Mattel was hit with a 5% drop. “The Lego Movie” as well as special sets for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and others have boosted the toy maker to world domination. Financial Times (paywall)
Trouble ahead? China cracks down on “grey market” margin lending. Beijing is putting the kibosh on the non-bank market, estimated to be 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion). The goal may be to stop stock manipulation but the result could be a liquidity crisis. Reuters (h/t Quartz)
Beijing wouldn’t let the stock market rain on its parade. That parade, of course, has long been in the making to mark the end of World War II. A stock market slump just wouldn’t do. So Beijing worked its magic, turning a 4.7% collase on the Shanghai Composite into a 0.2% barely-there loss. Ditto the more volatile Shenzhen Composite, which trimmed its 4.8% drop to down 1.98%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Japan’s Nikkei Average meanwhile, slipped 1.18% and 0.39% respectively.
China sharpens the competition to the World Bank. Sources say the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will not ask borrowers to privatize or deregulate — unlike the World Bank. The White House has opposed the creation of the AIIB. Now, that was effective. Reuters/Quartz
One more from China: Currency controls. The country that claims to love free-market forces when all is going well is about to launch currency controls. The central bank will make it pricier for investors to push the yuan down against the U.S. dollar. Major lenders are clamping down on big customers and the regulators are working on ending illegal money-transfer agents. Foreign reserves are shrinking. Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Europe, U.S. looking up after dismal performance Tuesday. Most market indices are up about 0.5%. The Dow tumbled 3% in the previous session.
“I am not sorry,” says North Korea. The hermit state has denied Seoul’s claims that Pyongyang’s recent expression of “regret” after a marathon negotiations amounted to an apology for a land-mine explosion that maimed two South Korean soldiers. Japan Times
U.K. construction hits longest growth period. The U.K.’s construction sector notched up its 90th month of growth today as the Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI came in at 57.3 for August. The reading is slightly higher than July’s 57.1 showing and, as Markit notes, is well above the 50 threshold separating contraction from expansion. Markit
Argentina calls for the head of HSBC chief. Argentina’s central bank has ordered HSBC to replace its chief executive in the country within 24 hours, accusing the bank of failing to prevent tax evasion and money laundering. The bank was accused of helping clients hide money in Swiss bank accounts. BBC
Streaming service Netflix launches in Japan. Netflix has partnered with Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank in a joint bid to tap some 36 million households with high-speed Internet access as part of global push. Channel News Asia
Thailand arrests “main” bombing suspect. Police hunting those responsible for the shrine bombing that killed 20 people in central Bangkok two weeks ago arrested a second foreign suspect on Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha describes the man as the main person in the bombing. South China Morning Post (paywall)
India festival brings in selfie ban. A “no selfie zone” has been introduced at a major Hindu festival over fears they cause stampedes. Organisers say a study that showed people visiting the sacred Godavari river to bathe took too long taking selfies, slowing down the flow of people, leading to panic. BBC
You won’t believe this…
WeWork improves jobs for support staff — but only for those who didn’t complain. Custodial staff at a contractor agitated for better wages and benefits. After the contractor terminated its relationship with WeWork, the real estate company hired a handful of the contractors on a permanent basis, but only those who didn’t make trouble. We think there’s a word for that. BuzzFeed
Say it ain’t so Kermit! Kermy the Muppet has been spotted with a new lady friend, following his breakup with long time love Miss Piggy earlier this summer. Kermit says he’s “just friends” with Denise, a rather young looking pig who works as an ABC marketer. Miss Piggy seems to be bouncing back as well, posting recent photos with actors Liam Hemsworth and flirtatiously tweeting at William Shatner. CNN
Photo: Wired Photostream