Updated throughout the day
August 19
Good evening everyone. After falling over 5% by the midday break, Chinese shares staged a huge rally in the afternoon, managing to break through the red with just 15 minutes to go before closing. The Shanghai Composite ended the session up 1.23% at 3,794.11, while the Shenzhen Composite finished the day up 2.2% at 2,222.05. Hong Kong equities however weren’t so lucky, with the Hang Seng Index ending the day down 1.3%. A selloff in transport and retail shares meanwhile dragged the Nikkei 225 to a one-month low, leaving the index to close down 1.6%. Over in FX, Asian currencies continued to receive a hammering against the dollar today with the Taiwan dollar falling as much as 1.7% while the South Korean won tanked 1.5%. They have since recovered some of those losses but the overall trend seems to be down. Here’s what else you need to know:
German MPs vote in favor of third Greek bailout. The approval comes despite concerns of a rebellion within the ranks of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right group. 454 MPs voted in favor of the 86 billion euro ($95 billion) bailout deal while 113 voted against, 18 abstained. Guardian
Vietnam devalues dong by 1%.Right after widening the dollar-dong trading band to 2% last week, the State Bank of Vietnam announced that it has further widened the band to 3%, effectively devaluing the dong by a whole percentage point. Reuters
Insurers chalk up $1.5b loss after Tianjin blast. Insurance losses resulting from the chemical warehouse blast in the Chinese port city of Tianjin last week could reach $1.5 billion, says rating agency Fitch. The death toll now stands at 114, with 57 more missing. Financial Times (paywall)
Nikesh Arora bets big on SoftBank. Masayoshi Son’s successor made some big waves today, announcing that he has personally purchased Y60 billion ($483 million) worth of SoftBank shares, calling the move “a measure of his commitment” to the group and a way for him to “ensure an alignment of vision, with our founder and Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son.” SoftBank
Japan’s econ data turns ugly.Buoyed by a weaker yen, exports from the land of the rising sun grew 7.6% in July, well above the expected 5.2% climb but also far below June’s 9.5% growth reading. The nation’s trade deficit meanwhile widened to Y268.1 billion, five times more than the expected Y53 billion drop. FX Street
Thai police release video of Bangkok bomber. CCTV cameras have captured footage of a man wearing a yellow t-shirt leaving a backpack near the busy Bangkok shrine were a bomb went off killing 22 people, and injured 120 others, on Monday. Police think the bomber could be Thai. Quartz
China arrests 10 Ruihai Logisitics execs over Tianjin blast. State authorities have detained eight more company executives yesterday following the blast at a Ruihai International Logistics chemicals warehouse in northern China that killed 114 people last week. This adds to the arrests of company president Yu Xuewei and vice-chairman Dong Shexuan. Shanghaiist
Sri lanka election blocks return of former president. Voters have reaffirmed their support for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his United National Party following legislative elections in the Southeast Asian nation. The result has prevented the return of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa who was voted out of office in January after 10 years in power. Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Greece gets an upgrade. On the back of the nation’s upcoming third bailout, Fitch Ratings has raised Greece’s credit rating from “CC” to “CCC,” saying that “last week’s deal was reached relatively quickly and without the brinkmanship seen in the run-up to previous deadlines…This suggests that relations with the creditors have improved, as implied by the public statements from key players, although they remain delicate.” The agency also upgraded the rating on the nation’s senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds to the same grade. CNBC
Pound soars as U.K. inflation picks up. U.K. inflation came in higher than expected in July, prompting the pound to soar 0.8% against the greenback and 0.9% versus the Euro. July CPI for the nation came in 0.1% higher than the year before, beating economist’s estimates for it remain unchanged at 0%. Core inflation meanwhile jumped 1.2%, also higher than the 0.9% rise expected by analysts. The Telegraph
SEC fines BNY Mellon over interns. BNY Mellon is set to pay the SEC $14.8 million over allegations that it has provided student internships to family members of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund officials in order “to influence their actions.” The bank has neither denied nor admitted the charges, though it did say that they will “enhance…controls” over their internship hiring. NexChange
Hackers finally post Ashley Madison data. And if you find your name there – don’t worry – you seem to be in good company. A certain “TBlair” from the U.K.’s Labour government seems to be on there as well. Wired
Photo: Allan Ajifo