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Markets await hints on the outlook for interest rates when Federal Reserve officials and policy makers from the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan head to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for an annual meeting later this week. Earlier on Wednesday, Japan posted shrinking factory activity for a third straight month in August, and the euro zone, France, Germany, Britain and the United States are set to release their own purchasing managers' index (PMI) data later in the day. Crucial to shoring up oil demand over the rest of the year is China, the world's second-largest economy. Crude stocks in the United States continued to fall, dropping by about 2.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 18, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. That was a slightly smaller draw than a drop of 2.9 million barrels analysts expected in a Reuters poll.

Persons: Jackson, Brent, Hiroyuki Kikukawa, John Evans, Paul Carsten, Yuka Obayashi, Andrew Hayley, Clarence Fernandez, Mark Potter Organizations: Danang Petroleum Machinery Technology JSC, U.S, West Texas, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, U.S . Federal, NS, Nissan Securities, PVM, Organization of, Petroleum, American Petroleum Institute, Energy Information Administration, Thomson Locations: Danang, United States, Jackson Hole , Wyoming, Japan, France, Germany, Britain, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, U.S, London, Tokyo, Beijing

REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummary China draws on record inventories amid high prices -dataBuoyant heating oil lifts crude prices -analystChinese economy and US rate risk continues to weighLONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Monday as tighter supply reflected in fewer exports from Saudi Arabia and Russia and high heating oil prices outweighed concern over global demand growth. Brent crude was up 52 cents to $85.32 a barrel at 1348 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 65 cents at $81.90. A weaker dollar makes oil purchases less expensive for holders of other currencies, potentially boosting demand. Another bullish factor is the high price of heating oil, which is in focus as the northern hemisphere approaches darker months, said John Evans of oil broker PVM. However, what is like trying to hit a "flying insect with a bazooka" is determining whether the buoyant heating oil market is enough to rally the oil complex or just hold it in the face of broader macroeconomic concerns, he said.

Persons: Lucy Nicholson, Brent, Warren Patterson, ING's, John Evans, Natalie Grover, Paul Carsten, Florence, Mohi Narayan, David Goodman, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, . West Texas, of, Petroleum, Thomson Locations: Bakersfield , California, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC, Saudi, London, Florence Tan, Singapore, New Delhi

☆ Corrie Driebusch — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Corrie Driebusch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Corrie DriebuschCorrie Driebusch covers the U.S. capital markets for The Wall Street Journal’s finance section where she regularly breaks news about the biggest IPOs. Corrie brings to her coverage a decade of experience covering the stock market and institutional investors to broaden the story beyond a stock’s first day of trading. Corrie previously wrote about the stock market and large retail brokerages for the Journal, as well as major market movers for Dow Jones Newswires. Prior to joining Dow Jones, she wrote for Institutional Investor's newsletter group, covering equity market structure and trading technology. Corrie graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a double major in political science and a concentration in economics.

Persons: Corrie Driebusch Corrie Driebusch, Corrie, Gerald Loeb, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Organizations: Technologies, Overseas Press, Global Inc, Institutional, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University

☆ Patricia Kowsmann — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Patricia KowsmannPatricia Kowsmann is a Europe finance reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She covers all things touching money, including banks, financial scandals, economic sanctions and crypto. She was a finalist in the 2014 Sabew Awards and the British Press Awards for uncovering a financial scandal at Portuguese lender Banco Espírito Santo, which ended up collapsing. She previously covered the eurozone crisis from Portugal, banks in London and the financial and real-estate sectors in Singapore. She started her career at the Journal covering corporate filings in Washington.

Persons: Patricia Kowsmann Patricia Kowsmann Organizations: Wall Street, Society for, Overseas Press Club of America, British, Banco Espírito Santo Locations: Europe, Brazil, Portugal, London, Singapore, Washington

Alexander SaeedyAlexander Saeedy covers credit markets, financial distress and sovereign debt for WSJ Pro Bankruptcy and The Wall Street Journal. He specializes in investigating and reporting on the finances of companies and countries who are struggling to pay their bills or facing unprecedented financial pressure. His stories have led him to investigate far-flung corners of financial markets, where he has written about collapsed cryptocurrency companies, emerging-market economies pummeled by global inflation, and multibillion-dollar deals gone wrong on Wall Street. Alex graduated with cum laude honors from Yale University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in history, with a concentration in modern economic history. He relocated to New York in 2018, and before joining the Journal, he covered distressed debt, leveraged finance and real estate in New York for Reorg Research and S&P's LCD.

Persons: Alexander Saeedy Alexander Saeedy, Alex Organizations: Pro, Street, Yale University, Overseas Press Club, Reuters News, Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Reorg Research Locations: Brussels, New York

Japan’s Q2 GDP grows fastest in more than two yearsMarcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics, said the export-driven momentum in growth is unlikely to be sustained. Exports expanded 3.2% in the second quarter led by car exports and inbound tourism, while capital expenditure was flat. Strong U.S. and European demand has also supported exports while the post-COVID boom in foreign tourists has given the economy a much-needed tailwind. That boost in external demand, or net exports, added 1.8 percentage points to second quarter growth. It doesn't mean a strong recovery in Japanese economy," said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Marcel Thieliant, Thieliant, Takumi Tsunoda, Shigeyuki Goto, Goto, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Pasit Kongkunakornkul, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, TOKYO, Capital Economics, Private, U.S, Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute, The Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia, China

BELEM, Brazil, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Amazon rainforest nations emerged from a summit this week with a stronger hand to play at upcoming United Nations climate talks, despite the meeting's lackluster final agreement, according to environmental groups. Lula will take that message on the road this year at the G20, United Nations General Assembly and U.N. COP28 climate summit. But he also applauded the symbolism of the eight Amazon countries meeting together for the first time in 14 years and joining their voices with the world's other major rainforests. STRONGER VOICERainforest nations have a stronger unified voice after the meeting, at least on paper, said Luis Roman, a representative of nonprofit WWF Peru. Rainforest nations thus far have focused on past funding commitments.

Persons: It's, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, André Guimarães, Marcio Astrini, Astrini, Luis Roman, Susana Muhamad, Jake Spring, Oliver Griffin, Brad Haynes, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Democratic, United Nations General Assembly, Amazon Environmental Research Institute, Observatory, WWF, Colombia's, Thomson Locations: BELEM, Brazil, Nations, Indonesia, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Venezuela, Lula, Bolivia, WWF Peru, European, Belem, Bogota

☆ Japan ex-PM Aso's 'fight for Taiwan' remark in line with official view, lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | Thomson Reuters | Kantaro Writes About Everything Japan'S Economic Indicators To North Korea'S Missiles To Global Regulation On Ai Companies. His Previous Stories Have Been Published In The Associated Press | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Japan's Former Prime Minister and current Vice-President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Taro Aso, speaks during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei, Taiwan August 8, 2023. Aso's speech angered China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Keisuke Suzuki, an LDP lawmaker who accompanied Aso's Taiwan visit this week, told the BS Fuji talk show on Wednesday that Aso had discussed the issue with Japanese government officials, indicating that Aso's view did not deviate from the official position. "The comment was not lawmaker Taro Aso's personal remark, but a result of arrangements with government insiders", Suzuki said. Aso's visit, which marked the most senior Japanese political official to visit Taiwan since 1972, when Japan normalised diplomatic relations with China, came as tensions have risen over democratically governed Taiwan amid China's increasing military pressure on the island during the past three years.

Persons: Taro Aso, Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Taro Aso's, Aso, Keisuke Suzuki, Aso's, Suzuki, Joe Biden, White, Hirokazu Matsuno, Kantaro Komiya, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Liberal Democratic Party, REUTERS, Japanese, Beijing, Fuji, United, Taiwan, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, TOKYO, Japan, United States, China, Aso's Taiwan, U.S

BELEM, Brazil, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A dozen rainforest countries formed a pact on Wednesday at a summit in Brazil to demand developed countries pay to help poorer nations combat climate change and preserve biodiversity. In the joint statement, the dozen countries called for financing mechanisms to be developed for the world to pay for the critical services provided by forests. They also expressed concerns that richer nations have not delivered on a promise to provide $100 billion in climate financing annually to developing countries. Additionally, they called on developed nations to meet an existing commitment to provide $200 billion per year for biodiversity preservation. At last year's climate summit, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia agreed to form an alliance to pressure rich countries to pay for conservation.

Persons: Saint Vincent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Jake Spring, Steven Grattan, Miral Fahmy, Deepa Babington Organizations: Our, Democratic, United Nations, Thomson Locations: BELEM, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Guyana, Indonesia, Peru, Republic of Congo, Grenadines, Suriname, Venezuela, Congo, Southeast Asia, United, Republic

BELEM, Brazil, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Eight Amazon nations agreed to a list of unified environmental policies and measures to bolster regional cooperation at a major rainforest summit in Brazil on Tuesday, but failed to agree on a common goal for ending deforestation. The failure of the eight Amazon countries to agree on a pact to protect their own forests points to the larger, global difficulties of forging an agreement to combat climate change. Bolivia and Venezuela are the only Amazon countries not to sign onto a 2021 agreement among more than 100 countries to work toward halting deforestation by 2030. But tensions emerged in the lead up to the summit around diverging positions on deforestation and oil development. Fellow Amazon countries also rebuffed Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro's ongoing campaign to end new oil development in the Amazon.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Marcio Astrini, Lula, Luis Arce, Mauro Vieira, Ricardo Stuckert, Gustavo Petro's, Petro, Alexandre Silveira, Silveira, Jake Spring, Steven Grattan, Brad Haynes, Rosalba O'Brien, Jason Neely, Peter Graff, Aurora Ellis, Richard Chang Organizations: Climate, Reuters, Bolivian, Brazil's, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, REUTERS, Amazon, Brazil's Energy, United Nations, Thomson Locations: BELEM, Brazil, Brazilian, Belem, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela

[1/2] A general view shows the water conditions of the Piraiba river before a summit of Amazon rainforest nations, in Belem, Para state, Brazil August 5, 2023. Leaders are expected to announce the final agreement, known as the Belem Declaration, late on Tuesday afternoon. Presidents from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela will attend, while Ecuador and Suriname will send other representatives. ACTO Executive Director Carlos Lazary said the final agreement may include Brazil's plans for a regional center in Manaus where Amazon countries can coordinate police operations. Norway and Germany, which have funded Amazon preservation, and France, which controls the Amazon territory of French Guiana, will also participate.

Persons: Ueslei Marcelino, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Jair Bolsonaro, Carlos Lazary, Jake Spring, Brad Haynes, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Ueslei, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, CNN Brasil, European Union, Thomson Locations: Belem , Para, Brazil, Ueslei Marcelino BELEM, Brazilian, Belem, Belem Declaration, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Suriname, policymaking, Manaus, Congo, DRC, Indonesia, Norway, Germany, France, French Guiana

[1/3] A general view shows the water conditions of the Piraiba river before a summit of Amazon rainforest nations, in Belem, Para state, Brazil August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoSAO PAULO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Eight Amazon rainforest nations are expected to face divisions over proposals to block new oil drilling and end deforestation when they meet on Tuesday for their first summit in 14 years. But at a pre-summit meeting last month, Colombian President Gustavo Petro pushed his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to block all new oil development in the Amazon. Brazil is weighing whether to develop a potentially huge offshore oil find near the mouth of the Amazon River. "Are we going to let hydrocarbons be explored in the Amazon rainforest?

Persons: Ueslei Marcelino, Gustavo Petro, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Petro, Lula, Jake Spring, Oliver Griffin, Lucinda Elliott, Brad Haynes, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Ueslei, Ueslei Marcelino SAO PAULO, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, Brazilian, Miami Herald, Global Forest Watch, Thomson Locations: Belem , Para, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Belem, Amazon, Lula's, Leticia, Bolivian, Bogota, Montevideo

European shares (.STOXX) slipped 0.6%, bruised by disappointing earnings reports and elevated U.S. bond yields, on course for their third straight day of losses. Sterling extended losses after the BoE decision, falling as much as 0.7% to its lowest since June 30. The BoE decision was closely watched for clues on how central banks globally will balance taming inflation and maintaining growth. U.S. 10-year yields hit a new nine-month peak of 4.17%, while 30-year yields rose to a fresh nine-month top. In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.4%, extending losses after a drop of 2.3% a day earlier.

Persons: Sterling, BoE, Stuart Cole, Morgan Stanley, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Mark Potter, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, Sterling, LONDON, Bank of England, FTSE, Equiti, Nasdaq, Treasury, U.S, AMAZON Investors, Apple, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Asia, Pacific, Japan, China, London, Sydney

European shares (.STOXX) slipped 1.1% after falling on Wednesday to two-week lows as rating agency Fitch cut the U.S. government's credit rating. UK shares (.FTSE) fell 1.3%, with the Bank of England (BoE) expected to raise interest rates later in the day. Pressuring stocks were a climb in long-term U.S. Treasury yields after stronger-than-expected private employment data and the announced refunding of the U.S. government's maturing debt. U.S. 10-year yields hit a new nine-month peak of 4.17%, while 30-year yields rose to a fresh nine-month top. The risk, investors said, was that a repeat of June's surprise half-point increase could fuel bets that major central banks are not done tightening yet.

Persons: Issei Kato, Fitch, BoE, Jonathan Petersen, Morgan Stanley, Sterling, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Kim Coghill, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Apple, LONDON, Bank of England, Nasdaq, Treasury, U.S, Capital Economics, APPLE, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia, SYDNEY, Pacific, China, London, Sydney

☆ Typhoon Khanun kills one man, knocks out power to one-third of Japan's Okinawa homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | Thomson Reuters | Kantaro Writes About Everything Japan'S Economic Indicators To North Korea'S Missiles To Global Regulation On Ai Companies. His Previous Stories Have Been Published In The Associated Press | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - High winds hit power lines in Japan's popular tourist destination Okinawa, knocking out electricity to more than 200,000 households on Wednesday morning, as powerful and slow-moving typhoon Khanun neared the country's southwestern islands. A man was crushed under a collapsed garage and went into cardiac arrest, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. A man was crushed under a collapsed garage and went into cardiac arrest, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Local utility Okinawa Electric Power (9511.T) said 212,530 households, or 34% of all houses covered, were experiencing power outages as of 10:55 a.m. Japan time (0155 GMT), according to its website. Kyushu Electric Power (9508.T) said power supply was down for 10,030 houses in Amami islands in Kagoshima prefecture, north of Okinawa.

Persons: Co's, Khanun, Kantaro Komiya, Sonali Paul Organizations: Disaster Management Agency, Japan Meteorological Agency, Local, Okinawa Electric, Kyushu Electric Power, Mobile, SoftBank Corp, Kadena Air Base, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Okinawa, Japan's, Tokyo, Japan, Amami, Kagoshima prefecture, Naha, Okinawa's, U.S, East China, Zhejiang, Taiwan, Kyushu, China, Philippines

European stocks (.STOXX) fell 0.2%, stepping back from a 2% gain in July, its second month of gains. UK stocks (.FTSE) edged up 0.1%, however, with HSBC (HSBA.L) climbing 2.6% after announcing a $2 billion share buyback and raising its key profitability target. Oil prices traded near a three-month high hit on Monday amid signs of tightening global supply. Also buoying prices were producers cutting output and demand in the United States, the world's biggest fuel consumer, remaining resilient. The U.S. dollar index - which measures the currency against six major peers - rose as high as 102.07 for the first time since July 10.

Persons: Sandrine Perret, Hong, HSI, Alec Jin, Tom Wilson, Kevin Buckland, Ankur Banerjee, Lincoln, Bernadette Baum Organizations: HSBC, LONDON, . Federal, Fed, Brent, Energy, BP, Bank of, Japan's Nikkei, Reserve Bank of Australia, U.S, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Unigestion, United States, London, Asia, Tokyo

Still, money market traders are split on the odds of another increase later in the year.FEDWATCH"The 25 basis point rise is a done deal. "The risk is that the Fed, looking at market bullishness, may not want to sound too dovish - they may want to keep the door open for more rate hikes." The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, was flat. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index (.HSI) was down 0.3% and China's blue chip CSI300 index (.CSI300) was off 0.2%. Positive sentiment had returned to China's market on Tuesday, when the CSI 300 Index snapped a six-day losing streak.

Persons: Luca Paolini, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage's, We're, David Chao, Tom Wilson, Scott Murdoch, Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill Organizations: Fed, Federal, Pictet Asset Management, NatWest, BBC, Lloyds, CSI, ECB, Brent, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, U.S, Germany, France, Britain, CHINA, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Hong Kong, London, Sydney

SAO PAULO, July 6 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell 34% in the first half of 2023, preliminary government data showed on Thursday, hitting its lowest level in four years as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva institutes tougher environmental policies. But that's an area more than three times the size of New York City, underscoring the challenge Lula faces to eliminate deforestation entirely. "It's very positive, but we continue to have very high levels of deforestation," said Daniel Silva, an analyst at nonprofit WWF-Brasil. An aerial view shows a deforested area during an operation to combat deforestation near Uruara, Para State, Brazil January 21, 2023. In June alone, Inpe satellite data showed deforestation totaled 663 sq km, down 41% from the same month a year ago.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Inpe, Lula, Daniel Silva, Jair Bolsonaro, Ueslei Marcelino, Marina Silva, Silva, Joao Paulo Capobianco, Carolina Pulice, Jake Spring, Gabriel Araujo, Sandra Maler Organizations: SAO PAULO, WWF, Brasil, REUTERS, Environment Ministry, Thomson Locations: New York City, Uruara, Para State, Brazil

"We'll have a much better sense after we get another major data point on Friday with the jobs report and the inflation data next week." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) closed 0.93% lower, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) lost 0.25%. In currencies, the U.S. dollar edged higher against other major currencies after Fed minutes reinforced expectations of another interest rate hike at the end of the month. The dollar index rose 0.272%, with the euro down 0.22% to $1.0853. And market participants were awaiting demand data from the July 4 U.S. holiday weekend, which tends to mark the peak U.S. travel season.

Persons: Mike Segar, outstrip Brent, Michael James, Jack Janasiewicz, Janasiewicz, ”, Paul Nolte, Sterling, Brent, Sinéad Carew, Lewis Krauskopf, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Dhara, Sam Holmes, Helen Popper, Will Dunham, Christina Fincher Organizations: Wall, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, . Federal Reserve, Wedbush Securities, U.S . Commerce, Companies, U.S, Solutions, Traders, Murphy, Sylvest Wealth Management, “, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Japan's Nikkei, Treasury, Brent, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Los Angeles, United States, China, Washington, Europe, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, New York, London, Sydney

"There's a lot of data we're going to see here over the next several weeks as we head to the end of July Fed meeting. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.78% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.39%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) closed 0.84% lower, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) lost 0.25%. The U.S. dollar was holding steady against other major currencies as traders awaited the Fed minutes. The dollar index rose 0.097%, with the euro down 0.04% to $1.0873.

Persons: Mike Segar, Tim Ghriskey, Ingalls & Snyder, Data, Sterling, Brent, Sinéad Carew, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Dhara, Sam Holmes, Helen Popper, Christina Fincher Organizations: Wall, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Reserve, Treasury, Federal, Investors, Tuesday's, Independence, Ingalls &, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Japan's Nikkei, Traders, U.S, Brent's, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Tuesday's U.S, New York, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, London, Sydney

European stocks (.STOXX) slipped 0.6%, heading for their first daily loss in eight sessions, with German shares (.GDAXI) down the same amount. The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.2%. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) dropped 0.8% after the China data. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) also fell 0.3% on profit-taking after climbing to three-decade highs. Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to $75.97 a barrel after climbing 2.1% overnight.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Guy Miller, Brent, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Dhara, Sam Holmes, Helen Popper, Christina Fincher Organizations: Global, Federal, Independence, CMC Markets, Reuters, Zurich Insurance Group, U.S, Japan's Nikkei, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, China, U.S, Europe, United States, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Tokyo, Saudi Arabia, Russia, London, Sydney

Wall Street was set for losses, too, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures down 0.2%-0.4%. The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, fell 0.2%. The U.S. dollar drifted near the middle of its range of the past three weeks against major peers, with the dollar index down 0.1% to 102.99, after tracking between 103.75 and 102.75 since early June. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) dropped 0.7% after the China data. Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to $76.05 a barrel after climbing 2.1% overnight.

Persons: Michael Hewson, Guy Miller, Brent, Tom Wilson, Stella Qiu, Dhara, Sam Holmes, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Nikkei, Global, Federal, Nasdaq, CMC Markets, Reuters, Zurich Insurance Group, U.S, Japan's Nikkei, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, U.S, United States, Asia, Pacific, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, London, Sydney

The SEC also sued Binance.US' operating company, BAM Trading, alleging that it misled investors about "non-existent trading" controls over its platform. A day later, the SEC asked a federal court to freeze Binance.US' assets, including more than $2.2 billion held in crypto and some $377 million in U.S. dollar bank accounts. 'ROUND OF LAYOFFS'Two Binance.US employees said on LinkedIn on Wednesday they were leaving the company, with one citing a "round of layoffs." Binance.US had avoided layoffs over the past year, Shroder wrote in the message. In a court filing on Monday, Binance.US' operator, BAM Trading, said the SEC's asset freeze request would "effectively put BAM out of business."

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Binance.US, Brian Shroder, Shroder, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Elisa Martinuzzi, Richard Chang, Louise Heavens Organizations: U.S, Reuters, SEC, BAM, Management, LinkedIn, Thomson

Employees in Binance.US' legal, compliance and risk departments were among those dismissed, the people told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the matter is private. The SEC also sued Binance.US' operating company, BAM Trading, alleging that it misled investors about "non-existent trading" controls over its platform. A day later, the SEC asked a federal court to freeze Binance.US' assets, including more than $2.2 billion held in crypto and some $377 million in U.S. dollar bank accounts. Two Binance.US employees said on LinkedIn on Wednesday they were leaving the company, with one citing a "round of layoffs." Reporting by Angus Berwick and Tom Wilson; edited by Elisa Martinuzzi and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Binance.US, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Elisa Martinuzzi, Richard Chang Organizations: U.S, Reuters, SEC, BAM, LinkedIn, Thomson

In its 13 charges, the SEC alleged that Binance and Zhao used Merit Peak and Sigma Chain, another trading firm controlled by Zhao, to commingle corporate funds with client assets and use the monies "as they please." This put customers' assets at risk while Binance sought to "maximize" its profits, the SEC wrote in its civil complaint on Monday. "All user assets on Binance and Binance affiliate platforms, including Binance.US, are safe and secure," it said in a statement on Monday. The funds received by British Virgin Islands-based Merit Peak between 2019 and 2021 flowed from Key Vision Development Ltd, also controlled by Zhao, the SEC filing on Tuesday showed. Reuters reported last month that Key Vision and Merit Peak, along with Binance's Cayman Islands holding company, formed the core of the global crypto exchange's financial network.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Binance, Zhao, Guangying Chen, Chen, Tom Wilson, Jane Merriman Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Sigma, British, Vision Development, Key Vision, U.S, Reuters, Vision, Binance's, Sigma Chain's, BAM, Thomson Locations: Seychelles, British Virgin Islands, Islands, Binance, United States, U.S, Singapore

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