US business activities continued to slow down in August. With the shortage of raw materials and labor, and the rise in the number of new crown infections, the expansion of business activities fell to the lowest level in eight months. Data released by IHS Markit on Monday showed that the purchasing managers' composite index (PMI) of the service industry and manufacturing industry fell to 55.4 in August from 59.9 a month ago. A reading above 50 indicates expansion of economic activity, which has been declining month by month since it hit a record high of 68.7 in May.

Second-hand housing sales in the United States increased for the second consecutive month in July, indicating that housing demand is strong, and the shortage of houses for sale is showing signs of easing. According to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Monday, second-hand housing sales in July rose 2% from the previous month, equivalent to an annual rate of 5.99 million units.

The Fed's use of overnight reverse repurchase agreements rose to a record high on Monday. The use of the Fed’s overnight reverse repurchase tool by 76 participants totaled US$1.136 trillion, up from US$1.112 trillion last Friday, and exceeding the all-time high of US$1.116 trillion set on August 18.

The number of new crown cases in Malaysia is soaring, which may exacerbate the shortage of semiconductors and other parts, and these problems have plagued automakers for months. Historically, this Southeast Asian country is not as important as Taiwan, South Korea or Japan to the technology supply chain. However, in recent years, Malaysia is emerging as an important center for chip testing and packaging. Infineon, NXP Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics have all set up factories in the country.

The Bundesbank stated that the recovery of the German economy this year may not be as strong as originally expected because the situation of the new crown epidemic is still uncertain. The agency said in its monthly report on Monday that “the slowing of the delta strain and vaccination may lead to more stringent protection measures.” It also stated that after the disappointing economic activity in the first half of the year, the economic growth rate in 2021 may increase. "Slightly below" the 3.7% forecast in June. Although Germany initially performed better than other European countries during the months of the lockdown, German manufacturing has recently been hampered by shortages of raw materials and other supply chain bottlenecks.

According to the press release of the People's Bank of China, Governor Yi Gang hosted a symposium on analyzing the monetary and credit situation of financial institutions to study the current monetary and credit situation and plan the next step of monetary and credit work. The meeting held that since the beginning of this year, loans have grown steadily, the credit structure has been optimized, and the overall social financing costs have been steadily and slightly reduced. Efforts are still needed to maintain stable credit growth. It was pointed out at the meeting that the financial sector must coordinate the macroeconomic policies of this year and the next, maintain the stability of monetary policy, and enhance its forward-looking and effectiveness.

The Jingdong report showed that due to improved consumer spending, the company's sales in the second quarter exceeded analysts' expectations. Regulatory rectification that dragged down the growth of the entire industry did not have a significant impact on performance. The e-commerce giant reported that in the three months to June, it achieved sales of RMB 253.8 billion (US$39.1 billion); analysts expected an average of RMB 248.5 billion. Sales increased by 26% year-on-year, which was the slowest growth rate since China took the lead in getting out of the epidemic last year. Net profit fell to 794.3 million yuan in the second quarter, down from 1.64 billion yuan in the same period last year.

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