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We also saw ex-factory prices rebound to 50.4, the first expansion in 3 months. Raw material prices rebounded to a 3-month high of 56.6.

The non-manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 49.0, disappointing market expectations (market: 49.4, ING: 49.4) for a slight recovery.

The subindex breakdown was generally unfavourable. New orders fell further to a 44-month low of 44.1, and orders on hand (42.8) fell to a 4-month low.

New export orders (47.0) and employment (45.4) remained unchanged on the month. Input prices, meanwhile, rose to 51.1, the first time above 50 in 3 months.

Policy support announced over the past month appears focused on interest subsidies. As positive impacts may be relatively marginal, more measures are expected in the weeks ahead.

For now, the PMI data suggests that we are due for another month of relatively sluggish domestic activity data in August, with any potential rebound likely to be limited.

Russia announced over the weekend that it would extend its ban on diesel exports by another month until the end of September 2026.

European gas prices are also stronger in early morning trading following this weekend’s strikes in the Persian Gulf. LNG flows from the region remain significantly restricted, leaving the global LNG market tight.

QatarEnergy also reportedly extended its force majeure for some buyers through until early November, signalling that the Northern Hemisphere is increasingly looking as though it will enter the 2026/27 winter without Qatari LNG supply. Tight supply entering the heating season leaves the market vulnerable to spikes higher later in the year.

The latest CFTC data shows that money managers decreased their net short position in CBOT wheat by 12,314 lots to 14,171 lots, driven by concerns over Black Sea tensions and tightening global supplies.

Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry estimates point to a smaller winter wheat sowing area for the 2026/27 season. The reduction is unlikely to materially affect domestic availability, as local consumption accounts for only around 25% of total wheat production.

France’s Agriculture Ministry reported that only 28% of the country’s corn crop was rated good to excellent as of 24 August. This is down slightly from the previous week and sharply lower than the 62% a year earlier, reflecting the impact of this summer’s heatwave across key growing regions.

focusing on customers is what ultimately drives performance.

Significant change is already underway, as the bank delivers its ANZ 2030 strategy and builds towards its longer-term ambitions.

The Board’s responsibility is to maintain a focus not only on the immediate priorities, but on the strength and sustainability of ANZ over the next 10, 20 and 30 years.

Hike odds have risen, but not odds-on; Short duration nation.

New Zealand: RBNZ policy decision, ANZ business confidence, building permits, ToT, building work.

Australia: Q2 GDP and partials, private credit, current account, dwelling approvals, goods trade balance.

Australia: Q2 GDP and partials, private credit, current account, dwelling approvals, goods trade balance.

CommBank says the Outer Central West now has the largest industrial development pipeline of the 17 Australian regions it monitors.

The proposed 5.5 million square metres of new space would take an estimated 10 to 12 years to develop.

By 2041, the region’s population is forecast to increase by about 653,000 people, or 26%.

For the Outer Central West, the combination of a new international airport, major infrastructure investment and a rapidly growing population means the economic impact is likely to unfold over decades rather than years.

Unlike more established industrial areas, where much development involves extensions or refurbishments, all of the projects identified in the region are new.

Quantitative frameworks and models enforce the systematic use of technical signals, rather than reliance on human judgment, which helps mitigate cognitive biases such as loss aversion and herding behavior.

TAA excess returns have historically shown low correlation to traditional active management

we evaluate the top-down levels of risk aversion in the market by using our proprietary Market Regime Indicator (MRI) to gauge risk sentiment and guide directional positioning.

We trimmed our overweight in long Treasuries and rotated into long credit bonds. The improved outlook for spreads made this move an opportunity to enhance returns without significantly altering duration profile.

They lack the fundamental approach’s ability to address factors not fully captured by the quantitative models—political events, market disruptions, or unconventional policies.

Stablecoins offer a different model: digital representations of value that can move on blockchain networks, which may help enable faster settlement, round-the-clock transfer, transparency and certainty of delivery.

Regulatory clarity is enabling institutional participation: As frameworks develop, institutions can assess stablecoin adoption with more defined expectations around risk management, controls and (where applicable) capital treatment.

The first impact is near real-time settlement. Stablecoins can allow value to move outside traditional settlement windows, which is useful for businesses operating across time zones, digital platforms or situations where faster availability of funds matters.

This creates a structural gap: the global economy is multi-currency, but stablecoin markets are still overwhelmingly dollar based.

One of the most closely watched developments in the accounting community is whether certain highly regulated, fully reserved stablecoins could eventually be viewed as sufficiently cash-like to warrant treatment that more closely resembles traditional treasury instruments.

Key risks include issuer risk, reserve risk, redemption risk, custody risk, network risk, regulatory risk, anti-money laundering (AML) /sanctions risk and operational resilience risk.

This ecosystem generated an estimated USD98.4 billion in revenue in FY26 and employs 2.36 million highly skilled professionals.

Micron’s recent investments brings the scale of the opportunity into focus. Following a groundbreaking in 2023, the company officially opened India’s first semiconductor assembly and test facility in Sanand, Gujarat earlier this year, representing a combined investment by Micron and its government partners of approximately USD2.75 billion.

Amazon’s intent to invest USD48 billion between 2026 and 2030 highlights the scale of opportunities created by digital adoption and an evolving business ecosystem.

GIFT City can serve as a strategic gateway for capital flows, enabling companies to centralise cross-border financing, foreign-currency liquidity and treasury operations within India.

Companies that align financing, liquidity and risk management with broader investment strategies will be better positioned to scale sustainably across the corridor.

At the individual currency level, the euro short was cut by 38% after speculators bought a net 22.7k contracts, equivalent to USD 3.3 billion, leaving the net short at USD 5.3 billion.

Going against the broader trend, the yen saw net selling for a second consecutive week, with speculators selling 10.4k contracts and lifting the net short to 63.3k contracts, or around USD 5 billion.

Across the ten major grain and soft commodity futures tracked in this report, the combined managed-money net long has now in the past two weeks surged by 546k contracts, the fastest pace on record, with the total rising above 1.1 million contracts, the highest in more than four years and representing a nominal exposure of more than USD 40 billion.

The buying was led by corn, where funds added a net 126k contracts to lift the net long to 376.5k contracts, the highest in more than four years.

Gold rose 6.2% during the reporting week, while the managed-money net long increased by just 4% to 151.3k contracts, leaving it close to its one-year high.

The weakness extended into today's session after bullion closed back below its 200-day moving average on Friday, currently at USD 4,528, forcing traders to reassess the short-term technical outlook. The next key support is around USD 4,328, the 50% retracement of the August rally.

In energy, funds cut Brent longs by 11% as increased Hormuz flows reduced the Middle East risk premium.

For that reason, positioning extremes can be useful contrarian indicators, but rarely in isolation: timing still depends on a fundamental or technical catalyst that changes the prevailing trend.

The Real Estate sector of the S&P 500, which includes REITs along with real estate management and development companies, has returned 14.66% year-to-date, ahead of the S&P 500's 12.97% return.

Data centers have been among the clearest beneficiaries of the AI investment cycle. As companies continue investing in AI infrastructure, demand for data center space has surged.