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China says that US sanctions are a gross interference of its internal affairs

Comments by the Chinese foreign ministry

  • US sanctions are unjustified
  • Says US defense secretary, Mark Esper, is talking nonsense
  • Affirms that China abides by international laws, UN conventions
This relates to the latest escalation between the two countries involving the South China Sea as seen yesterday here. But as long as tensions continue to just play out slowly and not lead to a breakdown in the Phase One trade deal, this is petty stuff for markets.

Hurricane Laura weakens to Category 3 – NHC

The latest update by the NHC on Hurricane Laura

Laura made landfall earlier in the day as a Category 4 storm, but is reported to have now weakened to a Category 3 major hurricane over the past few hours.
Peak winds were expected at around 150 mph as it hit Southwest Louisiana and though the storm has weakened, it is still a major one to contend with for now at least.
Just be mindful as this has more impact on oil prices and production/refining. That said, natural disasters aren’t exactly the most influential of factors leading to major price breakouts but on a day where markets can be volatile, you never really know.
Keep an eye on Brent crude as price is testing its 200-day moving average:
Brent

Nikkei 225 closes lower by 0.35% at 23,208.86

Asian equities mixed as focus stays on Powell today

Nikkei 27-08
Japanese stocks are not really taking much heart in the record closes in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq yesterday, as Asian equities in general have been more mixed on the session.
The Hang Seng is also down by 0.9% while the Shanghai Composite is seen up by 0.4%. Elsewhere, US futures are down by ~0.2% but all eyes are on Fed chair Powell’s speech later today so there isn’t much to really chew at for now.
In the major currencies space, the trading ranges continue to keep more narrow with little change across the board. If anything, expect European morning trade to reflect more of the same subdued and quiet tones as we wait on Powell.

Switzerland Q2 GDP -8.2% vs -9.0% q/q expected

Latest data released by the Federal Statistics Office – 27 August 2020

  • Prior (Q1) -2.6%; revised to -2.5%
  • GDP -9.3% vs -10.4% y/y expected
  • Prior -1.3%; revised to -0.7%

This just reaffirms the biggest quarterly contraction on record in the Swiss economy, which is reflective of global economic conditions in general during Q2. The recovery trajectory is still questionable, with price pressures a key concern for the SNB at this stage.

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre -My favorite 15 quotes

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1/ The desire for constant action irrespective of underlying conditions is responsible for many losses in Wall Street even among the professional.

2/ In this business a man has to think of both theory and practice. A speculator must not be merely a student, he must be both a student and a speculator.

3/ When you know what not to do in order not to lose money, you begin to learn what to do in order to win.

4/ Not even a world war can keep the stock market from being a bull market when conditions are bullish, or a bear market when conditions are bearish. And all a man needs to know to make money is to appraise conditions.

5/ They say you never grow poor taking profits. No, you don’t. But neither do you grow rich taking a four-point profit in a bull market.

6/ When you are as old as I am and you’ve been through as many booms and panics as I have, you’ll know that to lose your position is something nobody can afford.

7/ The big money was not in the individual fluctuations but in the main movements— that is, not in reading the tape but in sizing up the entire market and its trend. It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting.

8/ One of the most helpful things that anybody can learn is to give up trying to catch the last eighth—or the first. These two are the most expensive eighths in the world.

9/ The average man doesn’t wish to be told that it is a bull or a bear market. What he desires is to be told specifically which particular stock to buy or sell. He wants to get something for nothing. He does not wish to work. He doesn’t even wish to have to think.

10/ I don’t buy long stock on a scale down, I buy on a scale-up. Remember that stocks are never too high for you to begin buying or too low to begin selling.

11/ When I am long of stocks it is because my reading of conditions has made me bullish. But you find many people, reputed to be intelligent, who are bullish because they have stocks. I do not allow my possessions—or my prepossessions either—to do any thinking for me

12/ The trend has been established before the news is published, and in bull markets bear items are ignored and bull news exaggerated, and vice versa.

13/ A speculator must concern himself with making money out of the market and not with insisting that the tape must agree with him.

14/ A man can excuse his mistakes only by capitalizing them to his subsequent profit.

15/ Of all speculative blunders, there are few greater than trying to average a losing game. Always sell what shows you a loss and keep what shows you a profit.

Here is the agenda for the Federal Reserve Jackson Hole symposium

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City hosts central bankers, policymakers, academics and economists from around the world at its annual economic policy symposium, Aug. 27-28, 2020.

Its a virtual event this year.
Link to the full agenda is here Note that All times listed on the agenda are in the Central Time Zone. 
To follow along live,
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s YouTube channel beginning at 8 a.m. CST, Aug. 27, 2020.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City hosts central bankers, policymakers, academics and economists from around the world at its annual economic policy symposium, Aug. 27-28, 2020.

More on Moderna’s proposed COVID-19 vaccine – could be effective in high risk groups

Reuters recap on the coronavirus vaccine news overnight from Moderna (its candidate, mRNA-1273)

  • the firm says its proposed vaccine induced immune responses in older adults similar to those in younger participants
  • offering hope that it will be effective in people considered to be at high risk for severe complications from the coronavirus
More:
  • Moderna said the immune responses in those aged between ages 56 and 70, above age 70 and those 18 to 55-years-old were similar.
  • company has so far enrolled over 13,000 participants in its late-stage study
  • Here is the link for further
While we wait for a vaccine, a piece of advice from the BOJ:
Reuters recap on the coronavirus vaccine news overnight from Moderna (its candidate, mRNA-1273)

Coronavirus – Abbott launches a $5 Covid-19 test, 15 min turnaround. No lab required.

This is the Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card test

  • The test delivers results in just 15 minutes
  • no instrumentation required
The firm cite:
  • demonstrated sensitivity of 97.1% and specificity of 98.5% in clinical study
  • Company will ship tens of millions of tests in September, ramping to 50 million tests a month at the beginning of October
Note – not a vaccine, not a cure, not palliative. ‘Just’ a test.
But, rapid testing can enhance detection and subsequent isolation and help inprove the ‘R’ number (get it lower). So it is significant.
ps. This new test has been in the news, so its not a ‘breaking’ development.
This is the Abbott BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card test