August 5, 2022 - Financial Occultist

US politics update. With market implications. Via Reuters:

Democratic U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema said on Thursday she agreed to “move forward” on a $430 billion drug pricing, energy and tax bill, subject to a Senate arbiter’s approval of the bill, which Democrats intend to pass over Republican objections.
The bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act, introduced last week by Schumer and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, represents a key priority for Democrats and President Joe Biden
With the 100-seat Senate split 50-50, Democrats plan to pass the bill without Republican support through a parliamentary process known as reconciliation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier on Thursday the chamber would convene on Saturday to vote on a motion to proceed and then begin debate on the bill.

Via other sources:

North Korea has tested explosive devices and begun other activity at nuclear test site

Via a draft UN report obtained by Japaneses media (Nikkei), North Korea has tested explosive devices and begun digging new underground tunnels at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site

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Tensions are high in Asia, China’s Communicst Party has gone full North Korea, lobbing five missiles into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according a statement from Japanese defence minister Nobuo Kishi.