Sep 1 update

China bolstered efforts to boost economic growth and prop up its currency. The central bank announced it would lower the foreign-exchange reserve-requirement ratio for financial institutions. The policy is typically used to increase the amount of dollars in the economy and to boost the yuan. At least 11 banks also cut interest rates on several deposits. The lenders are also reportedly preparing to lower rates on existing mortgages to help revive the ailing property sector.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said his country has built a new long-range weapon that can hit targets 700km away. The remarks, made on social media, came days after the Kremlin accused Ukraine of launching an aerial attack on Russia. Mr Zelensky did not provide any more details about the weapon, but said his country was working towards increasing its range.

Xi Jinping, China’s president, is reportedly planning to skip next week’s G20 summit in India. China’s foreign ministry refused to comment, but Mr Xi’s decision is believed to be a result of tensions between the two countries. Earlier this week India lodged a formal objection to China over an official Chinese map that shows internationally recognised Indian territory in the Himalayas within China’s borders.

Joseph Biggs, the former leader of Proud Boys, an American far-right group, was sentenced to 17 years in prison over his role in the assault on the Capitol on January 6th 2021. Mr Biggs was convicted for seditious conspiracy; his prison term is among the longest handed out in the 1,100 cases stemming from the Capitol riots.

The Philippines imposed a price cap on rice amid rising inflation. The office of Ferdinand Marcos junior, the country’s president, said the move would alleviate the “considerable economic strain on Filipinos”. It blamed “hoarding”, among other things, for the recent increase in the grain’s price. India’s partial ban on rice exports has also pushed up global prices.

Prisoners in Ecuador took 57 prison guards hostage, hours after two car-bombs exploded in the capital, Quito. Both incidents are believed to be muscle-flexing by organised-crime gangs. The unrest came a day after authorities carried out an extensive search for weapons in one of the country’s biggest jails, in the Andean city of Latacunga. Over 400 inmates have died in Ecuadorian prisons since 2021.

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering brought against him by prosecutors in Georgia, who accuse him of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Mr Trump waived his right to be present at an arraignment next week, as did several of his 18 acolytes also charged in the case. In total, Mr Trump is facing four prominent indictments.

Figure of the day: 14, the number of attempted or successful coups globally since 2020. In the 2000s there were just 22. Read the full story.

---

PHOTO: REUTERS

Singaporeans’ constrained presidential choice

On Friday Singaporeans choose their new president. The winner will have partial veto power over the spending of Singapore’s huge (but undisclosed) reserves. Beyond that, though, the role is mostly symbolic: the president is meant to have no political affiliation.

In reality, presidential candidates are approved by a government-appointed committee according to strict criteria and are often establishment figures. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the front-runner, is a former deputy prime minister who was also a minister for both finance and education. He is trailed by Ng Kok Song, once chief investor for the sovereign-wealth fund, and Tan Kin Lian, who ran the insurance arm of the country’s trade unions.

Yet Singaporeans—for whom voting is mandatory—still have a little leeway to make their feelings known. A large number of spoiled ballots or a good showing by anyone other than Mr Shanmugaratnam will be interpreted as a sign of dissatisfaction with the ruling People’s Action Party, which favours him.

PHOTO: AP

America’s jobs boom slows down

The American labour market may finally be cooling off. Data released on Friday are expected to show that the economy added about 170,000 jobs in August, making it the third consecutive month below the 200,000 mark—something which has not happened since 2019.

The unemployment rate is likely to remain close to 3.5%, hovering just above a five-decade low. But the extreme imbalance in the labour market is starting to improve. Figures earlier this week showed that there were about 8.8m job openings last month, well down from the high of 12m in early 2022.

A gradual slowdown in hiring is exactly what the Federal Reserve wants to see. The hope is that this will enable companies to attract and retain workers without having to offer big salary boosts that end up feeding through into inflation. The Fed is not about to declare victory—but it must be feeling pleased with the direction of travel.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Pope Francis’s Mongolian mission

Pope Francis arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Friday for an intriguing trip to Mongolia. Even members of the tiny Catholic community (1,340 souls, 0.04% of the population) say they are baffled, if delighted. The official line is that he wants to show no corner of the Catholic world is too small or remote to merit the pope’s attention. But is that all?

Mongolia is sandwiched between Russia and China, and the Vatican is keen to sort out relations with both countries. It is probably no coincidence that Bishop Stephen Chow of Hong Kong (who visited Beijing earlier this year) will be in Mongolia with a delegation at the same time as Francis. And there is speculation that the trip could somehow fit into the pope’s efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. They have not gone well: in August he upset many Ukrainians by appearing to praise two monarchs who embodied Russia’s imperialist expansionism.

PHOTO: AP

An economic evaluation for Lula

Brazil’s GDP figures for the second quarter are due on Friday. The first quarter saw a rise of 1.9%, driven by a bumper harvest. Analysts expect a more modest increase of up to 0.5% this time around. Optimism for 2023 as a whole, though, is rising: growth of 2.31% is now predicted, up from earlier forecasts of 0.89%.

That is good news for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president. Lula took office in January amid fears of a spending spree like the one that characterised his party’s last stint in government (which ended in a recession in 2016). Instead, the economy looks rosier than before. The inflation rate, which hit 12% in 2022, is at 3.99%. Unemployment, at 7.9%, is at its lowest level since 2014. But analysts remain sceptical about the longer term. Predictions for GDP growth for 2024 and 2025 remain stuck below 2%.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Football’s transfer deadline day

For football fans in England, the summer transfer window—when European clubs can buy and sell players—is becoming both more exciting and eye-watering. Premier League teams have forked out a record £2.1bn ($2.7bn) on new stars this year, beating the record set in 2022, according to Transfermarkt, a football-statistics website. Expect more deals by Friday night, when the window for the men’s game shuts.

Elsewhere, spending is not so freewheeling. Clubs in France, Germany, Italy and Spain have spent less combined this year than in 2019, as revenues fail to keep pace with the Premier League.

The challenge to the Premier League’s financial dominance now comes from a tough new opponent: the state-backed Saudi Pro League. From relative obscurity, it has become the second-highest spending league globally, shelling out £725m so far this summer, £260m of it on players from the Premier League, estimates Transfermarkt. And Saudi clubs are not done yet. Their transfer window remains open until September 20th.