Japanese local media confirms the timing of the press conference
Abe will be speaking to the media and addressing concerns surrounding his health, after having made hospital visits in the past week. This has seen questions raised about his political future amid some criticism surrounding his handling of the virus pandemic as well.

NHC with the latest on Hurricane Laura
Saying that it has strengthened into a major hurricane i.e. Category 3 now, adding that it is rapidly evolving into a catastrophic storm i.e. Category 4. The winds are anticipated to peak at around 130 mph and is expected to make landfall – currently swirling in the gulf of

Italy says no to another lockdown
This is via comments from Italian health minister, Roberto Speranza, speaking to Bloomberg in an interview. As mentioned before, this is all very much a political exercise and public expectations have very well changed from the beginning of the pandemic.

Comments by ECB executive board member, Isabel Schnabel
The crux of negative rates is that it punishes savers at the expense of borrowers. The Schnabel is trying to make relates more towards inflation and stimulating the economy, and to be honest there hasn’t been stellar progression on both fronts.

Forex news from the European trading session – 26 August 2020
Headlines:
Markets:
– NZD leads, EUR lags on the day
– European equities mixed; E-minis flat
– US 10-year yields up 3 bps to 0.714%

Latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week ending 21 August 2020
–  -3.3%
– Market index 770.6 vs 824.5 prior
– Refinancing index 3,423.0 vs 3,809.7 prior

The actual trade figures don’t matter and have not mattered for a while now
China soybean imports from Brazil surged in July, according to customs data, as China brought in 8.18 million tonnes of soybeans from Brazil last month – the figure is up by 27% from the 6.42 million tonnes imported in July 2019.

Forex news from the European trading session – 25 August 2020
Headlines:
Markets:
– GBP leads, JPY lags on the day
– European equities higher; E-minis up 0.4%

EUR/JPY pushes to a session high of 125.72 on the Ifo report
The pair has been nudging higher over the past hour, helped by a weaker yen as well with the currency slipping amid higher bond yields on the session.

Comments by German finance minister, Olaf Scholz
the ‚debt brake‘ issue
A potential market concern is that the economy may be moving in the right direction, so lawmakers choose not to suspend the ‚debt brake‘, but that in itself may hinder the path towards a quicker and more sustained recovery down the road.