8月20日，中国证监会召开2021年系统年中监管工作会议，深入学习贯彻习近平总书记“七一”重要讲话、7月30日中央政治局会议和中央财经委第十次会议精神，分析当前形势，研究部署下阶段重点工作。证监会党委书记、主席易会满作了题为《坚持稳中求进 深化改革开放 进一步推动资本市场实现高质量发展》的报告。党委委员、副主席阎庆民主持会议。党委委员、副主席李超、方星海、赵争平，党委委员、中央纪委国家监委驻证监会纪检监察组组长樊大志出席会议。

　　会议指出，今年以来，面对复杂严峻的外部环境，证监会系统认真贯彻党中央、国务院重大决策部署，在国务院金融委的统一指挥协调下，聚精会神抓改革、谋发展、促稳定，毫不松懈防风险、强监管、优秩序，高质量高标准推进系统党的建设，以资本市场“十四五”良好开局迎接建党百年。一是扎实开展党史学习教育，落实“学党史、悟思想、办实事、开新局”和“学史明理、学史增信、学史崇德、学史力行”的总要求，精心组织开展多层次、全覆盖的学习教育，在学理论、悟思想、办实事中进一步增强“四个意识”，坚定“四个自信”，践行“两个维护”。二是紧扣服务构建新发展格局，全力支持实体经济高质量发展。强化科创板“硬科技”定位，提升创业板对成长型创新创业企业的服务功能，引导要素资源加速向科技创新领域集聚。加强大宗商品期现联动监管，服务保供稳价大局。三是蹄疾步稳推进资本市场全面深化改革开放。有序推进全面实行股票发行注册制各项准备工作。平稳实施深市主板和中小板合并。基础设施领域公募REITs试点成功落地。常态化退市机制正加速形成。资本市场对外开放稳步推进。四是持续巩固重大风险防范化解攻坚战成效。股市、债市、期市总体保持平稳运行，私募基金、债券违约等重点领域风险化解处置成效持续巩固。五是强化“零容忍”的执法震慑。落实中办、国办《关于依法从严打击证券违法活动的意见》，加快推动建立健全证券执法司法体制机制，持续强化大要案惩治，首单证券纠纷特别代表人诉讼进入正式审理阶段。六是全面加强系统党的建设。与驻证监会纪检监察组同向发力、协作互动，深入推进会系统全面从严治党和党风廉政建设，加强干部队伍建设，持续营造良好政治生态。

　　会议认为，当前全球疫情仍在持续演变，外部环境更趋严峻复杂，但国内经济持续恢复、稳中加固、稳中向好的发展态势没有改变，促进资本市场稳健发展也具备诸多有利条件。会议强调，全系统要切实把思想和行动统一到中央对形势的科学判断和决策部署上来，努力把握新变化新趋势，坚定信心，保持定力，坚持把“高质量”作为贯穿“十四五”时期资本市场改革发展的主线，坚持稳中求进，坚持“建制度、不干预、零容忍”，坚定不移推动发展方式转型，不断开创资本市场高质量发展新局面。

　　第一，必须完整、准确、全面贯彻新发展理念。自觉心系“国之大者”，不断健全资本市场服务构建新发展格局的体制机制，努力在支持科技自立自强、推动绿色低碳转型等方面取得更大实效，努力在推动提高发展的平衡性协调性包容性上取得更大实效。加强监管协同，严把资本市场入口关，促进各类资本规范健康发展。

　　第二，必须统筹好总量、结构和效益的关系。坚持规模与结构、速度与质量、发展与安全的有机统一，更加注重拟上市企业质量和结构，科学合理保持IPO常态化。更加关注行业专业能力提升、产品业务结构优化和良好投资理念培育，推动证券基金行业高质量发展。

　　第三，必须坚持把严监管、防风险、促稳定放到更加突出的位置。把依法从严监管的理念贯穿到资本市场各条线各领域。统筹做好重点领域风险防范化解，保持风险处置工作的及时高效和平稳有序，努力走在市场曲线前面，牢牢守住不发生系统性区域性风险的底线。

　　第四，必须着力构建归位尽责、良性互动的生态体系。尊重市场规律，平衡好市场各参与方的责权利，让做坏事的人受惩罚，让规矩做事的人受激励。增强政策的稳定性、连续性和可预期性，推动各方坚守法治、诚信、契约精神等市场经济的基本准则，切实维护市场“三公”秩序。

　　第五，必须充分体现借鉴国际最佳实践和立足国情市情相统一。坚定不移扩大开放，以开放促改革促发展，服务建设高水平开放型经济新体制。立足中国特色和发展阶段特征，把资本市场发展一般规律同中国实际更好结合起来，努力建设规范、透明、开放、有活力、有韧性的资本市场。

　　会议要求，全系统要坚持目标引领与问题导向相结合，更加突出贯彻新发展理念和推动高质量发展的要求，加强对表对标，扎实做好下半年重点工作，确保全年任务圆满完成。

　　一是为全市场注册制改革打牢坚实基础。注册制改革已进入关键推进期，要继续扎实细致做好各项准备。重点推进改革优化发行定价机制、提高招股说明书披露质量、进一步厘清中介机构责任、健全防范廉政风险的制度机制等工作。进一步深化新三板改革，努力提升服务“专精特新”中小企业的能力和水平。

　　二是坚定不移推进资本市场制度型对外开放。统筹好发展与安全，稳步推出资本市场进一步扩大开放的政策措施，积极加强开放条件下的监管能力建设。创造条件推动中美审计监管合作，加强市场沟通，稳定政策预期和制度环境。深化内地与香港市场互联互通，坚定支持香港资本市场稳定发展。

　　三是全面深入贯彻“零容忍”方针，进一步完善市场发展生态。发挥好打击资本市场违法活动协调工作小组作用，坚决查办财务造假、资金占用、违规担保及操纵市场、内幕交易等违法违规案件，全面提升大要案查处质效。深入推进法治建设和投资者保护，推动证券纠纷特别代表人诉讼常态化开展。把好“入口”“出口”和公司治理关，持续推动提高上市公司质量。切实强化行业机构股东监管，推动提高治理有效性。加强科技监管建设，提高监管数字化智能化水平。

　　四是坚决打赢防范化解重大金融风险攻坚战持久战。加强宏观研判，强化对外溢性、输入性和交叉性风险的防范化解，更加突出稳预期，完善信息沟通和政策协调机制，防止在处置其他领域风险过程中引发次生金融风险，努力维护市场平稳运行。继续稳妥有序化解私募基金、债券违约等重点领域风险。完善资本市场舆论引导机制，积极营造良好外部环境。

　　五是全面提升系统党的建设质量，为资本市场高质量发展提供坚强政治保证。深入开展党史学习教育，进一步学深悟透“七一”重要讲话精神，不断增强政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力。进一步突出专业廉洁的选人用人导向，重点加强对“一把手”的监督，打造“忠专实”监管干部队伍。持之以恒推进系统全面从严治党，一体推进惩治金融腐败和防控金融风险。

　　中央纪委国家监委驻证监会纪检监察组，公安部、审计署相关部门的负责同志应邀出席会议。证监会机关各部门、系统各单位副局级及以上干部现场或通过视频参加会议。

Waiting for the day those with nasdaq listing is able to be included in hong kong stock connect. Probably will slowly increase my exposure on hkex.

Still a china bull

SHANGHAI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - China's top social media platforms, Wechat, Douyin, Sina Weibo and Kuaishou, said on Saturday they would begin to rectify irregular practices of "self-media" accounts that publish financial information, reported state media Global Times.

This follows an announcement by China's cyberspace regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), that it would look into accounts that have repeatedly released financial news illegally, distorted economic policy interpretation, badmouthed financial markets, spread rumors and disrupted network communications.

The term "self-media" is mostly used on Chinese social media to describe independently operated accounts that produce original content but are not officially registered with the authorities.

Wechat said in a statement on Saturday that from now until Oct. 26, it would investigate and shut down financial self-media accounts that "badmouth the financial market" and "blackmail and spread rumors."

Sina Weibo, Douyin and Kuaishou also released similar statements on Saturday, reported the Global Times, with Sina Weibo and Kuaishou adding that they would severely crack down on accounts that violate the rules.

Global food prices climbed back to near the highest in a decade on smaller crop prospects, reviving concerns about inflationary pressures.

After easing in the previous two months, a United Nations gauge of food costs rose 3.1% in August to near a peak set in May. The advance was driven by reduced grain production expectations, frosts that hurt sugar-cane crops in top grower Brazil and tightening oilseed supplies, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday.

World food prices have rallied about 33% in the past year, increasing inflation risks for central banks as well as consumers, particularly those in poorer nations that are dependent on imports. Food supply chains have also been affected by a shortage of workers amid the coronavirus pandemic and higher shipping costs.

The chances of any relief in prices in the coming months will probably be limited, according to Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the Rome-based FAO.

Further supply chain disruption and price distortion/volatility is expected until year end. whether this will turn into a lasting inflation is remain to be seen.

A growing chorus of the top investment banks says the dream run enjoyed by US equity markets is approaching a reckoning, as slowing growth and an expected tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve coincides with a period of seasonal weakness.

Despite the S&P 500 hitting fresh highs more than 50 times this year, Morgan Stanley warned that a “rolling correction” has taken place under the surface, with 56 per cent of the index dropping by more than 10 per cent since May.

The broker’s base case for the benchmark is a decline of 5.2 per cent from its current level to 4225 by June next year.

“As has been the case for rolling corrections over the last several years, we think this rolling correction will end with a consolidation in the higher quality, leadership areas of the market,” Morgan Stanley’s chief US equity strategist Michael Wilson said.

“That finishing move will happen in the near term and that it will lead to a benchmark level correction of [approximately] 10 per cent.”

Wall Street has already shown signs of vulnerability in September – a historically soft month – after a stellar run that saw the US sharemarkets double from their pandemic low. On Friday, the Dow Jones and S&P 500 lost 0.8 per cent each, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.9 per cent.

Morgan Stanley downgraded its recommendation for US equities to underweight last week, citing weaker-than-expected economic growth and the Federal Reserve tapering asset purchases as possible triggers for a pullback in the S&P 500.

Similar caution was expressed by Bank of America as it forecast a 6 per cent drop in the index to 4250 by the end of this year, while predicting a soft 2 per cent rise to 4600 in 2022.

“Sentiment is all but euphoric with our Sell Side Indicator closer to a sell signal than at any point since 2007,” the bank’s equity strategists said in a note.

Citigroup said that any minor correction was at risk of being amplified given the extent of bullish positions, while Goldman Sachs strategists suggested that hedges should appeal to investors in the short term, given the glory days for US equities appear to have passed.

“While the broad US market outlook is solid in our central case, we think peak cyclical optimism in the US may be behind us,” said economics research strategist at Goldman Sachs, Dominic Wilson.

Credit Suisse echoed concerns about the clouded outlook for US shares, retaining its underweight recommendation based on regulatory risks and extreme valuations.

The firm’s key exposure remains Europe, but its position on global emerging markets, except Japan, was raised to overweight given equity and currency valuations remain close to 15-year lows.

“Global emerging markets benefit from a weaker US dollar, rising inflation expectations and China PMIs now being close to lows (and China close to an easing cycle),” wrote Credit Suisse’s head of global equity strategy, Andrew Garthwaite.

Credit Suisse said it liked India, Mexico and South Korea in particular and has upgraded Taiwan to overweight.

Which means.. We need to do the opposite which is buy!

With a helping hand from the Federal Reserve, the great reopening trade is staging a return on Wall Street as money managers bet the U.S. consumer won’t be cowed by the delta-virus variant.

Equities tied to the economic cycle including value and financials are rebounding, while investors just sank $5.5 billion into the largest ETF tracking the Russell 2000 Index of small-cap companies -- the most in five years.

Last week’s hawkish U.S. central bank meeting is powering rate-sensitive trades as inflation-adjusted yields hit the highest since June.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. data shows hedge funds are re-building exposure to stocks hitched to the expansion, with plenty of ammo to extend longs anew. Meanwhile, an index of economic-data surprises is rebounding from recent lows, suggesting supply-side woes have yet to derail the recovery in investment and consumption as much as feared.

“The gradual shift in central bank policy reflects optimism over economic growth, rather than worries over inflation,” UBS Group AG’s global wealth management team led by Mark Haefele wrote in a Monday note. “Rather than ending the equity rally, we expect the rise in yields to favor cyclical sectors such as financials and energy, over growth sectors such as technology.”

Bonds are selling off after the Fed signaled it will cut asset purchases from November, with a rise in long-end rates steepening the yield curve. Real rates remain negative but are above historic lows. If yields edge higher yet, it would mark a reversal from cross-asset trends over the last two quarters, when rising caution over delta-virus cases drove cash back to long-duration bets like bonds and Big Tech. 

Energy and financials were the best performers on the S&P 500 last week, while bond proxies like utilities and real estate fared worst. With the 10-year Treasury yield rising above 1.5% for the first time since June, the Dow Jones Industrial Average -- which favors cyclical shares -- is outperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 in Monday trading.

Hedge funds have bought more stocks that gain from inflation and rising bond yields, while net exposure to both remains below average, JPMorgan analysts led by John Schlegel wrote in a Friday note.

The long-short ratio on a basket of shares tied to the U.S. recovery remains around the fifth percentile since January 2018, meaning that it has only been lower 5% of the time in that period, data from the prime brokerage shows.

Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said Friday they’ve developed a drug that reduces the risk of hospitalization or death by around 50% for patients with mild or moderate cases of Covid.

The companies plan to seek emergency authorization for the antiviral Covid treatment after the medicine showed “compelling results” in clinical trials.

The drug, molnupiravir, is administered orally and works by inhibiting the replication of the coronavirus inside the body.

An interim analysis of a phase 3 study found that 7.3% of patients treated with molnupiravir were hospitalized within 29 days. Of the patients who received a placebo, 14.1% were hospitalized or died by day 29. No deaths were reported in patients who were given molnupiravir within the 29-day period, while eight deaths were reported in placebo-treated patients.

All 775 trial participants had laboratory-confirmed symptomatic Covid-19 and were randomly given molnupiravir or a placebo within five days of symptoms.

Every participant was unvaccinated and had at least one underlying factor that put them at greater risk of developing a more severe case of the virus. The most common risk factors included obesity, being over age 60 and having diabetes or heart disease.

The phase 3 part of the trial was conducted at more than 170 sites, in countries including the U.S., Brazil, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Taiwan and Guatemala.

Molnupiravir’s efficacy was not affected by the timing of symptom onset or patients’ underlying risk factors, the study showed. It also proved to be consistently effective in treating all variants of Covid, including the widely dominant and highly transmissible delta strain.

Adverse events were comparable in the molnupiravir and placebo groups, with around 10% reporting adverse events. Just 1.3% of the molnupiravir group discontinued therapy due to an adverse event — less than the 3.4% of the placebo group who did so.

Recruitment into the study is being stopped early due to the positive results, at the recommendation of an independent Data Monitoring Committee and in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Merck is also testing molnupiravir in a separate global phase 3 study to evaluate its efficacy in preventing the spread of Covid within households.
‘Profound impact’

Robert M. Davis, CEO and president of Merck, said in a press release Friday that the company would do everything it can to bring molnupiravir to patients as quickly as possible.

“With these compelling results, we are optimistic that molnupiravir can become an important medicine as part of the global efforts to fight the pandemic,” he said.

Ridgeback Biotherapeutics CEO Wendy Holman added: “With the virus continuing to circulate widely, and because therapeutic options currently available are infused or require access to a healthcare facility, antiviral treatments that can be taken at home to keep people with Covid-19 out of the hospital are critically needed.”

“We are very encouraged by the results from the interim analysis and hope molnupiravir, if authorized for use, can make a profound impact in controlling the pandemic,” she said.

Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, warned that prices have climbed to “unhealthy” levels.

“While natural gas prices are an outcome of basic market fundamentals including supply and demand, the current price levels observed in global markets are unhealthy for both producers and consumers,” the Gulf nation’s Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi said after a virtual discussion with Kadri Simson, the European Union’s commissioner for energy.

His comments come amid a crisis in gas markets, with prices in Europe and parts of Asia having surged in recent weeks. They eased on Wednesday following comments from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin suggesting that Moscow could raise exports.

Qatar is spending around $30 billion to increase production, though that will take years. Kaabi said last month the country would struggle to boost output in the near term as it was pumping at maximum capacity.

“They are queuing up for LNG,” he said on Sept. 21. “We have huge demand from all our customers and unfortunately we can’t cater for everyone.”

U.K. bonds declined, adding to a global debt selloff, as rate-hike bets accelerated further after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned on the need to respond to price pressures.

Money markets now see 36 basis points of rate increases in December and are pricing 15 basis points of tightening next month. Traders are also now betting the Bank of England’s key rate will hit 1% by August, from 0.1% currently.

The move comes after BOE’s Bailey said on Sunday the central bank will “have to act” to curb inflationary forces. That’s in contrast with economists who are growing increasingly pessimistic about the outlook for the U.K. recovery, trimming their expectations for 2022 growth by by 0.4 percentage points to 5.1% in a Bloomberg survey.

U.K. five-year yields climbed to as high as 0.89% on Monday, a level not seen since May 2019. That mirrored a surge in their counterparts in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, where expectations for policy tightening have picked up. The increase in yields around the world indicates growing concern among bond investors that supply-chain disruptions and soaring energy prices will drive up living costs in most economies.

“The global theme is that higher inflation will likely be less transitory than earlier expected amid elevated commodity prices,” said Andrew Ticehurst, a rates strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Sydney. “Strong U.S. retail sales data on Friday and much stronger-than-expected third-quarter CPI data in New Zealand this morning are encouraging this trend.”

Investors on Thursday piled into shares of the special-purpose acquisition company taking former President Donald Trump’s new social-media platform public, igniting a buying frenzy reminiscent of the SPAC craze from early this year.

Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. more than quadrupled to $45.50 in the first trading session following the deal announcement. Trump Media & Technology Group said late Wednesday it would combine with the SPAC and soon launch a new social network called Truth Social. The deal values the Trump media company at about $875 million, including debt.

The unveiling of the new company comes after Mr. Trump’s access to several social-media platforms including Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. was restricted following the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. He held discussions with a number of different platforms throughout the year to find a new online megaphone. Mr. Trump had nearly 89 million followers on Twitter.

China’s largest cross-border brokers plummeted in U.S. premarket trading after a central bank official questioned the legitimacy of their operations amid Beijing’s continuing crackdown on private enterprise.

These online brokers are engaged in “illegal financial activities” because they have no “driving licenses” to operate in China, Sun Tianqi, a senior People’s Bank of China official wrote in an article published on the website of Finance 40 Forum. He added that calling them illegal has nothing to do China’s capital control rules.

Tencent Holdings Ltd.-backed Futu Holdings Ltd. tumbled as much as 31% in premarket trading while Xiaomi Corp.-backed Up Fintech Holding Ltd., known as Tiger Brokers, fell as much as 23%. Both stocks had soared since going public in New York in 2019.

China has been tightening controls over broad swathes of its economy, in particular cracking down on firms that collect data from consumers such as ride-hailing apps and other technology giants. Futu and Up Fintech have been operating in a gray area, allowing millions of Chinese investors to evade capital controls to trade shares in markets such as Hong Kong and New York.

“Seems consistent with what China has been doing to rein in capital outflows leakages -- via crypto assets or any cross-border venue,” said Derek Tay, head of investments at Kamet Capital Partners Pte.

In an analysis earlier this month, the People’s Daily said online brokerages operating across borders run the risk of violating data privacy rules. The firms are in the spotlight as China’s personal information protection law takes effect on Nov. 1. The article said user data of both brokers are at risk of being compromised as they are required to provide information to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Janet Yellen on inflation...
February: nothing to worry about.
March: small and manageable.
May: temporary.
June: could reach 3% but transitory.
October 5: higher for next several months.
Today: trillions more in spending will drive it down.

Nickel spiked briefly above $100,000 a ton on the London Metal Exchange amid a short squeeze that’s embroiled a major Chinese bank and encouraged rule changes from one of the world’s top commodity exchanges.

The material used in stainless steel and electric-vehicle batteries surged as much as 111% to $101,365 a ton after closing up 66% the day before. It pared gains to be up 74% at $83,500 a ton as of 3:10 p.m. in Shanghai.

The market on the LME is in the grip of a massive squeeze in which holders of substantial short positions are being forced to cover at a time of low liquidity. To give a sense of nickel’s dizzying surge, it has risen around $11,000 a ton over the last five years. This week alone, it’s jumped by as much as $72,000.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/202...smashed-records

Believe similar is happening with other commodities also.