What to expect from the FOMC meeting decision later today?
No changes in terms of policy is expected, so without the accompaniment of updated projections i.e. the infamous „dot plots“ among them, today’s meeting decision will be all about scrutinising the language and the words offered up by Powell.

Nippon TV reports on the matter
This comes with a record amount of daily cases seen in other prefectures across the country, with Kyoto reporting 175 new cases and Saitama reporting 870 new cases today.

Bitcoin knocking on the door of $40,000 again today
The high today hit $40,352 but price is trading back just under the key figure level for now, as buyers continue to look poised in search of a fresh upside push.

Risk a little softer still but the overall mood is much better now
As mentioned earlier, with Chinese markets closed for the day, the market may be able to breathe easier that the bleeding has stopped and knowing the fact that Wall Street also has a knack for buying up dips as seen over the past

Latest data released by CBI – 27 July 2021
– Prior 25
Of note, the retail sales expectations balance was 29 for the month ahead in August as opposed to 46 as seen in July previously. CBI notes that stock levels to expected sales reached another record low this month and is expected to remain low in

The sour tones from China weighed on sentiment earlier but the bleeding has stopped as local markets are closed now
That is perhaps helping to see the pullback in risk trades abate slightly as the focus now turns towards European trading and attention turning back to the Fed tomorrow.

Holzmann says there is too much uncertainty now for policy decisions
A lot will depend on how economic releases play out in the weeks ahead but perhaps more importantly, how the virus trend in Europe is progressing amid the spread of the delta variant. If not September, the ECB will have to communicate something by December

Remarks by BOE policymaker, Gertjan Vlieghe
– Thinks it will remain appropriate to keep current stimulus in place for several quarters at least, and probably longer
This doesn’t exactly scream much of a hawkish tilt and this just means that we’ll likely get more of the same from the BOE going into the August meeting next week.

Remarks by BOE policymaker, Gertjan Vlieghe

Reuters reports, citing senior US administration officials on the matter
As mentioned earlier in the day, don’t expect much from the talks here in Tianjin. They are merely for the optics and won’t change how things are developing between the two countries given the fact that the officials in attendance aren’t the major „generals“.