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Good morning. Today we’re covering:
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Biden under fresh pressure
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India’s risk-taking ‘finfluencers’
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Warner Bros Discovery dramatic break-up plan
But we start in Beijing where China’s leaders warned of “risks” facing the country’s slumping property market, government debt and financial institutions at a top Communist party meeting yesterday.
At the final day of the third plenum, one of its most important policy meetings, leaders also called for tighter social controls, giving security the same level of importance as economic growth.
“It is necessary to co-ordinate development and security, implement various measures to prevent and resolve risks in key areas such as real estate, local government debt and small and medium-sized financial institutions,” policymakers wrote in a communiqué from the meeting.
They added that China must “weave a dense social security risk prevention and control network, and effectively maintain social stability” and step up state propaganda. “It is necessary to strengthen public opinion guidance and effectively prevent and resolve ideological risks,” they wrote.
The statement is regarded as a general summary of the meeting. Read what else the document revealed about China’s priorities.
Here’s what else is happening today and over the weekend:
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Japan inflation data: The consumer price index will be released today.
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Martyrs’ Day: The Myanmar holiday commemorates the 1947 assassination of Aung San and other leaders of the pre-independence interim government.
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Corporate results: India’s JSW Steel and Reliance Industries both release first-quarter results.
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Tour de France: The cycling tournament finishes in Nice on Sunday.
Five more top stories
1. Joe Biden is under renewed pressure to drop his re-election bid as influential Democrats including former president Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have reportedly voiced concerns in private. There’s growing panic in the party that Biden would lose the US presidency and boost Republicans’ chances in congressional races.
2. Netflix added 8mn new subscribers in the second quarter thanks to hit shows such as Baby Reindeer and Bridgerton, lifting the streaming service’s revenue and earnings past Wall Street forecasts. Read the full story.
3. Grant Thornton is weighing a deal to unite its transatlantic affiliates, according to people familiar with the proposal. The accounting group’s US business has discussed a possible deal to acquire its UK and Irish affiliates in what would be one of the most ambitious M&A transactions in the sector to date.
4. The Hong Kong funds arm of Bosera Asset Management has debuted an ETF that tracks major listed Chinese companies owned by the central government. It’s the first of its kind on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
5. Taiwan is trying to crack down on rampant oil smuggling out of its ports by toughening measures against terrorist financing. It’s the latest attempt to combat trade that has undermined international sanctions against North Korea for years. Here’s what’s in the the proposals.
Did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.
The Big Read
Online “finfluencers” are tapping into frenzied enthusiasm for trading among India’s vast millennial and Gen Z cohort. As tens of millions of first-time domestic investors pile into stocks and mutual funds, the country’s regulators are growing concerned about the explosion of risk-taking.
We’re also reading . . .
Chart of the day
Warner Bros Discovery has discussed a dramatic plan to split its digital streaming and studio businesses from its legacy television networks as the US media giant behind CNN and HBO weighs options for boosting its sagging share price. WBD’s shares have fallen by about 70 per cent since AT&T spun off Warner Bros and it merged with Discovery two years ago.
Take a break from the news
People have been drinking their vegetables since at least the 1920s, when bartender Fernand “Pete” Petiot was said to have invented the Bloody Mary. Increasingly, the options are becoming adventurous. There’s much to learn about the virtues of a vegetable cocktail.
Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Tee Zhuo
