Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
      Asian stocks inched following a tech-led rise on Wall Street, although the latest exchange of trade threats between Beijing and Washington capped gains and drove safehaven flows to the dollar, which hovered near a two-week high.

    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices held steady near a one-year low amid a resilient U.S. dollar and were headed for a fourth straight weekly fall.
       
  • • OIL
      
      Oil prices edged lower after strong gains the previous day, easing on persistent supply concerns as Russia increased production in July and Saudi Arabia cut the price of crude for its Asian customers.     
             
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar stayed firm against the yuan and a basket of currencies, with markets gripped by worries over escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.
       
    • CRYPTO CURRENCY
      
      Bitcoin fell below the $7,500 mark as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly making efforts to enhance blockchain security.
       
    • JAPAN
      
      Japan has been discussing ways to promote infrastructure development in the United States with its ally but has no concrete plan now to establish a sovereign fund to support it.

    • AUSTRALIA
      
      Australia’s government called for more banks to challenge the industry’s oligopoly, after the country’s top economic adviser said the “Big Four” lenders’ market dominance has been detrimental to customers.

    • SRI LANKA
      
      Sri Lanka’s central bank left its key policy rates unchanged as expected, saying the decision backed its goals for stabilizing inflation and fostering sustainable economic growth.

    • US
      
      Apple Inc. became the first U.S. company to reach the hard-to-conceptualize milestone, which is sure to spark a debate about whether the stock market is just one big bubble waiting to burst. After all, Apple’s market capitalization is bigger than the economies of all but 17 countries in the world.

    • UNITED NATION
      
      The United Nations Yemen mediator said that he has plans to invite the warring parties to Geneva on Sept. 6 to discuss a framework for peace talks and confidence-building measures as he tries to negotiate an end to the more than three-year conflict.

    • CHINA
      
      China must manage the relationship between steady economic growth and risk prevention as external uncertainties are increasing, according to a recent meeting of a high-level government body.

    • BREXIT
      
      Prime Minister Theresa May meets French President Emmanuel Macron as part of a diplomatic drive to win European leaders over to her Brexit vision. With just 11 weeks until a divorce accord is meant to be signed, May needs to chart a path to a deal. One possible course is emerging.