Author: Steven Sahiounie

02:17 – Source: CNNHong KongCNN —  Country Garden, one of China’s top property developers, suspended trading in 11 of its onshore bonds on Monday, adding to speculation the company may be preparing to restructure its debt as it struggles to raise enough cash in time to avoid default. Shares in Country Garden plummeted 16% on Monday to a new record low, leading the losses among the Hang Seng Index constituents, as investors pondered whether the property giant’s woes could further weigh on an already sluggish recovery in the world’s second largest economy. Those shares have lost a third of their value since last Tuesday,…

DPRK leader Kim Jong tours important weapons factories and urges a substantial rise in missile manufacturing. DPRK leader Kim Jong Un has visited crucial weapons factories and called for a significant increase in missile production, as reported by state media. The inspections involved visits to factories producing tactical missiles, rocket launcher shells, and armored combat vehicles. Kim expressed satisfaction with the progress made in these facilities and set a goal to enhance missile production capacity. “He set forth an important goal to drastically boost the existing missile production capacity” and underlined the factory’s role in “speeding up” war preparations, KCNA said. The DPRK leader emphasized…

Shortly after the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, Construye Movement announces the selection of a new candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. Construye Movement, the political party affiliated with the late Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, has announced the selection of a new candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Following the assassination of Villavicencio, his running mate Andrea Gonzalez Nader was initially named as the party’s choice for the presidential race. However, the party later revealed that Ecuadorian journalist Christian Zurita would now be their candidate in the election scheduled for August 20. Tragedy struck the campaign when Villavicencio…

Sergey Shoigu viewed the operation of a mobile battlefield aircraft repair system that can be deployed at permanent airbases and operational airfields and can provide for the repair of aircraft engines, among other things Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu inspected advanced aviation innovations, including the latest drones, helicopters and air-launched weapons at the Kubinka airfield near Moscow as part of the Army 2023 international military-technical forum. “There should be a reasonable cost/efficiency ratio of any item and, therefore, it is better to repurpose some of the armaments displayed here. Advanced armaments should represent guided weapons with the enhanced…

Russia’s Defense Ministry has announced that contracts worth over $4.3 billion are expected to be inked at the event The Army 2023 international military-technical forum’s expositions have begun their work near Moscow, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene. This year, the international arms show’s expositions located on an area of about 300,000 square meters feature about 28,000 military and dual-purpose exhibits. Russia’s Defense Ministry has announced that contracts worth over 433 billion rubles (about $4.3 billion) are expected to be inked at the Army 2023 forum. The forum is running simultaneously with the 11th Moscow conference on international security.…

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu will pay a visit to Russia and Belarus from August 14-19, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Monday. “At the invitation of Russian Defense Minister [Sergei] Shoigu and Belarusian Defense Minister [Viktor] Khrenin, member of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and Minister of Defense Li Shangfu will visit Russia from August 14-19, where he will take part in the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, as well as will visit Belarus,” Qian was quoted as saying by the Chinese Ministry of Defense. Source: Sputnik

New YorkCNN — Shares of US Steel soared Monday on news that rival Cleveland-Cliffs has proposed a purchase of the company, a move that would create the nation’s largest steelmaker. US Steel (X) said it has rejected the proposal but Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), which is already the nation’s No. 2 steelmaker behind Nucor (NUE), said it will continue to pursue the deal. Cleveland-Cliffs proposes paying $17.50 a share in cash, and 1.023 shares of Cliffs stock for each US Steel share. Based on Friday’s closing price, that would be worth $32.53 for each US Steel share, a 43% premium from US Steel’s Friday closing price. Shares…

The heightened threat level in Sweden follows a string of Quran burnings The British government has advised citizens traveling to Sweden to stay “vigilant at this time” due to the increased threat of extremist violence. “Terrorists are very likely to try and carry out attacks in Sweden. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by foreigners,” the UK Foreign Office travel advice warned on Sunday. The statement added that Swedish authorities have already “disrupted a number of planned attacks and made a number of arrests.” According to the Swedish police website, the risk of terrorism is currently at level 3, meaning there is an “elevated threat.” …

New YorkCNN —  After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in July to the highest level in 22 years, Wall Street’s focus is on whether September will bring another rate hike. But does it really matter whether the Fed raises or pauses rates next month? The Fed’s current target range for the fed funds rate is 5.25-5.5%. The central bank has raised rates 11 times since March 2022 to get there and has hinted that another rate could come later this year. Yet moderating economic data in recent months has investors hopeful that the central bank could not only pause rates…

Heavy rains lashing China’s northeast are ravaging crops in some areas of the country’s grain basket, threatening to increase imports at a time of rising food insecurity across the globe. Recent flooding has destroyed rice planted in parts of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, local media reported. The rains are expected to continue across most of the region this week as typhoon season continues to wreak havoc, raising the risk that more agricultural land will be inundated, according to the National Meteorological Center.The northeastern region, which also includes the province of Liaoning and Inner Mongolia, produces almost 30 percent of China’s…