15th September 2025

MACRO:

• US and Chinese delegations discussed tariffs, TikTok and the economy in Madrid on Sunday, and plan to resume talks on Monday, a U.S. government official told Reuters. Trade experts said there was little likelihood of a substantial breakthrough in the talks hosted by Spain, although another TikTok deadline extension is seen as likely. (RTRS)
• China has formally invited US President Trump to Beijing for a summit with President Xi, but the White House has not yet responded as the countries are still far apart on trade issues and the flow of fentanyl, according to FT sources. Insufficient progress in talks has reduced the odds of a Beijing summit and made it more likely that Trump and Xi will hold a lower-profile meeting at the October Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea. (FT)
• China's Ministry of Commerce initiated an anti-discrimination investigation into U.S. trade policy over chips on Saturday, as well as a separate investigation into dumping, a day ahead of the new round of U.S.-China trade talks in Spain. (RTRS)
• Trump predicted a “big cut” from the Federal Reserve this week. “I think you have a big cut,” Trump told reporters on Sunday on his way back to Washington. “It’s perfect for cutting.” (BBG)
• Trump on Sunday made a final push to sway a US appeals court to let him oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud before next week’s Fed vote on interest rates, again telling the court that she’s failed to dispute the claims. (BBG)
• U.S. Democrats have asked the Trump administration to press China to curb "structural overproduction", essentially overhauling Beijing's economic model. (RTRS)
• 'US companies put brakes on hiring after Donald Trump’s tariffs hit' FT article notes industries most exposed to rising costs caused by trade wars launch wave of job cuts. (FT)
• Chinese export restrictions on germanium, a metal crucial for the defence industry, have created a “desperate” supply crunch and pushed prices to their highest level in at least 14 years, traders say. Germanium is essential to the production of thermal imaging systems used in military equipment, including fighter jets. (FT)
• The US and Britain will announce agreements on technology and civil nuclear energy during President Trump's unprecedented second state visit this week, as the UK hopes to finalise steel tariffs under a much-vaunted trade deal. (RTRS)
• South Korea's finance ministry is in talks with the U.S. to minimize any impact on the dollar-won market from a $350 billion investment package that is part of a trade deal between the countries, it said in a statement on Sunday. (RTRS)
• The appliance maker Whirlpool is stirring up a new trade dispute, telling the Trump administration that its overseas competitors could be evading hefty tariff bills by undervaluing their imports. (WSJ)
• Trump said on Monday he would call a national emergency and federalize Washington, D.C. after Mayor Muriel Bowser said its police would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (RTRS)
• The U.S. SEC vowed to give businesses notice of technical violations before "bashing down their door", as it scraps an aggressive enforcement agenda, Chairman Paul Atkins told the FT in an interview. (FT)
• China’s economic activity slowed more than expected across the board in August, adding to the likelihood that policymakers will roll out more stimulus to hit the official growth goal. Industrial output and consumption had their worst month yet this year after a sharp slowdown in July. (BBG)
• China's new home prices fell again in August, extending a prolonged slump in prices as persistently weak demand in the pivotal housing sector remains a drag on economic growth. (RTRS)
• The Chinese bond selloff that drove benchmark yields to the highest level in nine months last week is spurring speculation the central bank is moving closer to restarting debt purchases. (BBG)
• A fourth tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Russia's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project discharged its cargo at a Chinese port on September 14, four days after a third LNG vessel departed, LSEG ship-tracking data showed. (RTRS)
• China's coal output fell by 3% year-on-year in August, statistics bureau data showed on Monday, as curbs on production continued to weigh. (RTRS)
• ECB's Kocher said the bank can keep its interest rates steady at 2 per cent for the time being provided there are no major shocks. (FT)
• Citing political instability and rising debt, Fitch cut its rating late Friday to A+ from AA-, giving France its lowest credit score on record just days after President Emmanuel Macron tapped Lecornu to be his fifth prime minister in two years. (RTRS)
• Yields on the bonds of groups including L’Oréal, Airbus and Axa have sunk below those on French government debt of similar maturity in recent weeks, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs, in a sign that investors may see them as a safer bet. (FT)
• France’s new Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu dropped an unpopular proposal by his predecessor to cut two public holidays, while warning that the government will need to find other ways to trim its budget deficit. (BBG)
• Support for Germany's far right surged in local elections in the country's most populous state on Sunday, sending a warning to conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz's four-month-old national coalition with the Social Democrats, early projections showed. (RTRS)
• Italy plans to maintain forecasts for GDP growth of 0.6% this year and 0.8% in 2026 in the budget plan to be announced in the coming weeks, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Sunday, despite uncertainties linked to U.S. import tariffs. (RTRS)
• UK PM Starmer has until next May to turn around his government’s fortunes, according to a growing number of Labour MPs and trade union leaders, as his allies warily eye Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham as a potential challenger. (FT)
• The British government on Saturday announced over 1.25 billion pounds in fresh investment from major U.S. financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup, and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by President Trump. (RTRS)
• London led UK house prices to their first annual fall in almost two years, with the capital and other pricey areas facing the risk of further weakness amid fears of a new tax raid on property, a Rightmove report warned. (BBG)
• A new levy on UK employers is needed to fund the creation of a universal in-work health service that can stem the rising tide of people leaving the workforce due to sickness and disability, the Fabian Society think-tank said on Monday. (FT)
• Food inflation in the UK is expected to accelerate to the fastest pace since the start of last year as manufacturers struggle with the “financial burden of government policies,” according to The Food and Drink Federation, a group that represents the industry. (BBG)
• The cost of building the UK's Sizewell C nuclear power plant is set to add more than £200,000 a year to major businesses’ energy bills, already among the highest in Europe, according to analysis published by Cornwall Insight. (FT)
• Cryptocurrency groups are calling on the Bank of England to abandon plans to limit how many stablecoins people can own, which would give the UK much stricter rules for the fast-growing market than the US or EU. (FT)
• Macro hedge funds have increased bets on the Australian dollar, boosting exposure to options that pay off if the currency continues climbing against major peers, traders say. (BBG)
• New Zealand’s services industry contracted for an 18th straight month in August, suggesting that an economic rebound in the third quarter could be more sluggish than expected. (BBG)
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney launched a new government agency responsible for building affordable homes as he aims to boost the pace of construction over the next decade. (BBG)
• Old-fashioned barter is on the rise in Russia's foreign trade for the first time since the 1990s, as companies seeking to outfox Western sanctions swap wheat for Chinese cars and flax seeds for building materials. (RTRS)
• Taiwan’s life insurers look set to lift their currency hedging from near record lows in an attempt to shield overseas assets from further swings in the local dollar. (BBG)
• A dispute over the protected status of basmati rice is adding to tensions between India and Pakistan, threatening to complicate New Delhi’s push for a trade deal with the EU. (FT)
• Thai authorities are considering a tax on physical gold trading, according to Bloomberg sources, to slow a rally in the nation’s currency that has threatened exports and tourism. (BBG)
• An unusual surge in Thai gold exports to neighboring Cambodia has triggered calls for an investigation. The shipments are seen as one factor fueling a rally in the baht, which threatens to undermine the nation’s exports and tourism. (BBG)

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GEOPOLITCAL:

• Ukraine launched a large attack with at least 361 drones targeting Russia over the weekend, sparking a brief fire at the vast Kirishi oil refinery in Russia's northwest, Russian officials said on Sunday, reporting no injuries. Extent of damage is unclear. (RTRS)
• China is preparing for war to take Taiwan, the island's top China policymaker said in Washington on Friday, warning if Taiwan were to fall it would cause a regional "domino effect" that would threaten the security of the United States. (RTRS)
• China is intentionally mischaracterising World War Two-era documents to put pressure on and isolate Taiwan given those agreements made no determination of the island's ultimate political status, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei said. (RTRS)
• Australia will spend A$12 billion ($8 billion) on a defense hub to build naval ships and dock nuclear submarines, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Sunday, as Canberra seeks to bolster US backing for the Aukus pact. (BBG)
• The Philippines, Japan and the US deployed vessels and aircraft during a joint exercise in the South China Sea, the Philippine military said. (BBG)
• Rwanda and the DRC will commit to working with third parties, including the U.S., to revamp their mineral supply chains and develop reforms as they seek to spur investment following a peace deal reached in Washington. (RTRS)

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EQUITIES:

• Tesla plans to raise production at its German plant for the rest of the year due to strong sales, the head of the Gruenheide factory told Germany's DPA news agency on Sunday. (RTRS)
• Tesla chair Robyn Denholm has justified her decision to offer Elon Musk $1tn in stock, calling him a “unique” chief executive who must put in superhuman effort and achieve “impossible things” to receive the historic award. (FT)
• Elon Musk's xAI has laid off at least 500 workers from its data annotation team, which helps develop the company's Grok chatbot, Business Insider reported. (Business Insider)
• OpenAI has projected to share about 8% of its revenue with commercial partners, namely Microsoft, by the end of the decade, down from the current 20%, The Information reported. The difference between those figures adds up to more than $50 billion in additional revenue OpenAI would keep for itself. (The Information)
• Nvidia may be the 1st customer for TSMC’s most advanced A16 process technology (1.6nm) in the 2nd half of next year as it feels the heat from AMD, according to local media, noting most 2nm chips rolling off production lines initially will be for smartphones (Apple, MediaTek), but AMD will have the first 2nm AI chip, prompting Nvidia to consider A16 with back-side power supply. (CTEE)
• Nvidia has asked Taiwan supply chain partners to work on a new liquid cooling technology, MLCP (Micro-Laminar Cold Plate), to deal with extreme heat from its next generation chip architectures, Rubin and Feynman, which are expected to use over 2,000W of power. (UDN)
• UnitedHealth has sought meetings with President Trump, although it has not secured one yet. The attempts are part of a bolstered lobbying effort in Washington, D.C. (WSJ)
• 'Coinbase dominance at risk as Trump crypto embrace entices new entrants' FT article notes White House enthusiasm for digital assets boosts exchange’s share price but is stoking heightened competition. (FT)
• Chinese chip stocks surged after the country launched an anti-dumping investigation targeting certain US-made semiconductors, boosting expectations for the domestic industry. Citi analysts noted China may impose anti-dumping tariffs on US analog ICs or restrictive measures on usage of American chips, which is “positive for Chinese suppliers”. (BBG)
• The gold-mining arm of China’s biggest miner, Zijin Mining, is readying a public offering that could value it at about $40 billion at the top end of some estimates. (WSJ)
• Xiaomi Corp. will release its next flagship smartphone this month and update its branding in a measure to go head-to-head with Apple Inc. for a share of the premium smartphone market. (BBG)
• China's BYD said it would actively respond to an industry initiative that fleshes out rules on automakers making timely payments to suppliers, joining others in complying with a government call against price wars. (RTRS)
• CATL Jumps on JPMorgan Upgrade, China Energy Storage Plan. (BBG)
• UK supermarket group Sainsbury's said on Sunday it has terminated talks with Chinese e-commerce giant http://JD.com over selling the Argos general merchandise retailer, a day after confirming discussions were underway. (RTRS)
• Memory manufacturers are swiftly following SanDisk's announcement of a 10% price increase for NAND products, signaling a broader industry move toward higher pricing amid expected supply shortages starting in 2026 due to surging data centre demand. (DigiTimes)
• UK card reader company SumUp is exploring a stock market listing that could value the business at $10bn to $15bn and offer the London Stock Exchange a rare boost. The London-based fintech is weighing up an initial public offering in either London or New York, according to FT sources. (FT)
• Centrica is increasing its commitment to nuclear power as part of a £10bn plan to build the UK’s first advanced modular reactors in north-east England in partnership with US group X-energy. (FT)
• UBS is considering moving to the United States in response to proposals from the Swiss government on new capital requirements. (NY Post)
• Nestlé investors call for chair to step down over executive turmoil. (FT)
• Leonardo, Thales and Airbus could sign an initial agreement to combine their satellite businesses as early as this year, the head of Airbus' defence and space division said in an interview on Sunday. (RTRS)
• Orsted A/S plans to sell new shares at a 67% discount as the offshore wind developer works to rebuild investor confidence after a bet on the US market went wrong. (BBG)

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