Updated throughout the day
August 17
Good evening everyone. Asian shares ended mostly higher today with the SHCOMP climbing 0.71%, the SZCOMP jumping 0.74%, while the Nikkei and the Topix rose 0.49% and 0.51% respectively. Tanking financial and property shares meanwhile left Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index to finish the day down 0.74%. Over in FX, traders betting on a September rate hike sent Asian currencies to new lows today, with the Thai baht and the Malaysian ringgit – again – among the hardest hit. The baht lost 0.5% to the dollar today while the ringgit fell as much as 1.4%. Here’s what else you need to know:
Chinese officials confirm cyanide in Tianjin. Anger over the Tianjin explosions have intensified recently after it was confirmed that several hundred tones of cyanide were held in two buildings within the blast zone. Around 3,000 soldiers were deployed to handle the dangerous chemicals. SCMP (paywall)
Greece might get debt relief. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that she expects the IMF to be on board in Greece’s €86 billion bailout plan, hinting that the IMF’s conditions – debt relief, to be exact – will be met. The Guardian
Sony may regain investment grade status. After losing its investment grade status in 2012, Japanese electronics giant Sony looks set to regain that ranking after Fitch revised its credit outlook for the company from “stable” to “positive.” It’s still three notches below investment grade though. Hollywood Reporter
Japanese GDP fell weaker than expected. Japanese quarter-on-quarter GDP growth came in at -0.4% today, slightly better than the -0.5% reading expected by economists. Year-on-year growth meanwhile came in 0.3% above forecasts. It wasn’t all good news though; exports and consumption – two highly important aspects of the Japanese economy – continued to fall. CNBC (video)
Thai GDP growth slows down. Thailand’s economy grew 2.8% in the second quarter, as expected but down from the 3% year-on-year growth the nation posted in the first quarter. Sluggish exports continue to plague the nation, despite an uptick in government spending and tourism. Wall Street Journal
U.S. State Department sends warning to Chinese on foreign agents in U.S. The Obama administration is cracking down on Chinese operatives who are trying to repatriate nationals on charges of corruption. The covert operation, known in China as Operation Fox Hunt, strong-arms expats here, threatening their families. President Xi Jinping is slated to visit Washington, D.C., next month and it is likely tensions will be running high. The U.S. is convinced that China was behind a mammoth hacking of government personnel files and is also concerned about the recent human rights crackdown on the mainland as well as the abrupt devaluation of the yuan. New York Times (paywall)
Big read on China: Sinologist Christopher Balding evaluates the top six reasons for the yuan devaluation. To the key questions, did China devalue to free the RMB to market forces; to start a currency war, or to become a currency reserve — Balding says: Yes and no. Balding’s World (h/t Quartz)
Death toll in Tianjin rises to 112. The levels of sodium cyanide stored at the warehouse that exploded earlier this week are reported to have been 70 times above the legal limit. Ninety-five people are still missing and the area has been evacuated. Firefighters are donning gas masks and hazard suits. The Guardian
Julian Bond, civil rights leader, dies at 75. The grandson of a slave, he protested U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and became the first African American to be nominated as vice president of the United States. He withdrew his name because at 28 he was too young. Bond was the first leader of the Southern Poverty Law Center and was also president of the NAACP. No cause of death was given. Reuters
A missing Indonesian plane carrying 54 people was found in a remote region of Papua. No word yet on whether there were any survivors. BBC
Donald Trump issues white paper on immigration. The plan would require Mexico to build a wall on the U.S. southern border; would rescind automatic citizenship to children of immigrants; and would put a “pause” on green cards. CNN
Oil companies get approval to export oil. The U.S. Department of Commerce has signalled that it will allow U.S. oil companies to export light sweet crude to Mexico in exchange for the heavy oil pumped there. This gives oil companies a new market for exports. Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Big read on Amazon. An inside look at the often times brutal workplace of the online retail juggernaut. New York Times (paywall)
KKR’s Samson files for bankruptcy. KKR’s Samson Resources will file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. KKR will lose $4.1 billion in cash in the move, that comes after the firm finalized a restructuring with key lenders Friday. Wall Street Journal
Soros slashes China investments. Soros Fund Management sold off most of its stakes in Chinese companies Alibaba and Baidu. The firm bought an iShare ETF that tracks large-cap Chinese companies. Wall Street Journal
GE homes in on E.U. deal. The E.U. is expected to approve a $13.8 billion bid of GE for the French Alstom’s power business. Reuters
Buffett discloses new investments. Berkshire Hathaway added to its stake in Charter Communications, but also dropped its stakes in National Oilwell Varco and Phillips 66. The firm also invested in paint company Axalta Coating Systems. Reuters
You won’t believe this:
A museum dedicated useless inventions. Like transparent suitcases and a buttonhole from Napoleon’s vest. To get to the Nonseum, you’ll need to fly to Vienna and rent a car for the hour-long drive. It just might be worth it. The Local
Lord Snoop Dogg? Snoop thinks of himself as royalty. The American hip-hop artist and marijuana aficionado commissioned two paintings of himself as old European nobility. Snoop Dogg appears as Italian duke Cesare Borgia and Austrian Archduke Leopold Wilhem. Esquire
Photo: ~ezs