Flagship

Eyes on key banking meet

Global central bankers will today open a highly anticipated meeting amid growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut rates soon. Ahead of the talks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, new data showed that the US economy created 818,000 fewer jobs in the year through March than previously reported, while minutes from the central bank’s July meeting indicated policymakers acknowledged a strong case for slashing rates then. Traders have increased bets that the Fed will cut rates because of weakness in the US economy, though expectations of a full-blown recession remain low. Other major central banks will likely follow suit: A European Central Bank official said that the eurozone would also probably see looser monetary policy.

China stimulus calls grow

A growing chorus of Chinese economists is pressing for Beijing to roll out fiscal stimulus to bolster the country’s flagging economy. The specific policies they recommend differ, but at least 11 mainstream analysts in some way linked to the state have called for increased government spending: In particular, “there is a consensus, or at least an overwhelming majority, that the aids could at least go to low-income groups,” the Beijing-based analyst Zichen Wang, who collected the economists’ assessments, wrote. Economic growth has fallen short of official expectations in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Chinese policymakers have thus far largely opted only to loosen monetary policy.

Walz prods Trump in DNC speech

Tim Walz accepted Democrats’ vice-presidential nomination, delivering a speech that sought to provoke Republican challenger Donald Trump while insisting that Walz’s was the party of “freedom.” Walz, who rose to prominence for popularizing Democrats’ main attack on Trump’s “weird” proposals and priorities, concentrated most of his remarks on his biography, an acknowledgment of his rise from relative obscurity. According to The Wall Street Journal, Democrats hope to throw Trump off-message by spurring him to combat their criticisms of him. Trump did receive some positive news, however, as independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scheduled a major address for Friday, with multiple outlets reporting that he plans to drop out of the race and potentially endorse the former president.

Mideast tensions rise

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged rocket fire, underlining the risks of a widening Middle East conflict even as Washington sought to resurrect flailing ceasefire talks in Gaza. The latest strikes across the Israel-Lebanese border came as a Greek-flagged oil tanker was set ablaze in the Red Sea as a result of suspected rocket fire by Yemen’s Houthis; Hezbollah and the Houthis, both proxies of Iran, have upped their activities over the course of the Gaza war, and analysts say a truce in the Palestinian enclave would go a long way to reducing those tensions. The conflict has reshaped politics farther afield, too, with the parents of a US-Israeli hostage held by Hamas addressing the Democratic National Convention.

Russia’s ‘new normal’ in Kursk

Both Kyiv and Moscow are gearing up for Ukraine holding Russian territory for a protracted period. The Kremlin is framing Ukrainian troops’ control of the Kursk region of eastern Russia as the “new normal,” Meduza reported, and Moscow has already postponed local elections due to be held in parts of Kursk next month. Russian President Vladimir Putin instead appears to be prioritizing an offensive in eastern Ukraine as well as the stability of his own regime, the Institute for the Study of War argued. Kyiv has its own concerns, with its sudden success meaning it now has to administer territory home to Russian citizens, resulting in “immense strategic dilemmas,” one expert wrote in World Politics Review.

UK looks to cut prison population

Britain’s new Labour government is rolling out plans to ease prison overcrowding. Though far short of US incarceration rates, Britain nevertheless jails more people per capita than its Western European peers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, himself a former chief prosecutor, appointed as prisons minister an executive whose key-cutting business employs hundreds of former inmates. Britain will soon begin reducing the minimum period of jail time required before automatic release is considered, and is looking to simplify the path for ex-prisoners to rejoin the workforce. The effort is not without challenges: Recent riots have put further pressure on prisons capacity, forcing the government to activate emergency measures.

Ghana starts building refinery

Ghana began construction of a $12 billion refinery that Accra hopes will boost the country’s flagging economy and turn it into West Africa’s oil hub. But critics say the project has “no bankable business plan” and could put the livelihoods of local farmers at risk, Reuters reported. Despite Africa having more than 125 billion barrels in oil reserves, equivalent to almost four years of total global demand, the continent imports the vast majority of its gasoline due to a lack of cost-efficient oil refineries.

Samuel Levine, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection will join Semafor’s editors to explore how online platforms can play a constructive role in communicating age restrictions for certain goods and services and the responsibilities and strategies of policymakers in effectively regulating social media use among young people.

Latam e-commerce hots up

Competition in the Latin American e-commerce market is heating up, but dethroning Mercado Libre, the region’s answer to Amazon, remains daunting. Last year, almost a third of Latin America’s population used the online shopping behemoth despite internet penetration rates remaining below 50% in some countries. However the company — which has at times been the most valuable publicly-traded firm in Latin America — has struggled to enter the region’s $132 billion fashion market, where Chinese retailers including Shein and Temu have rapidly made inroads. “Given the scale of the online opportunity, it’s no surprise Mercado Libre faces stiff competition,” Business of Fashion reported.

120 years of Deng Xiaoping

China marked the 120th birth anniversary of Deng Xiaoping, architect of the country’s economic overhaul. Deng presided over economic liberalization that was key to lifting hundreds of millions of Chinese out of poverty following Mao Zedong’s disastrous collectivization directives. Yet he was no political liberal, unleashing the 1989 Tiananmen massacre that killed off a nascent democracy movement. And while his economic reforms are often contrasted with current Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s focus on security, the South China Morning Post noted that the pair have more in common than it first appears. In particular, both saw Soviet political liberalization as a critical mistake, and insisted the Communist Party be the central organ within China.

The man rescuing endangered plants

Horticulturist Carlos Magdalena’s daring attempts to rescue plant species on the verge of extinction have earned him comparisons to Indiana Jones and the moniker “plant messiah.” In what has become part of botany lore, Magdalena — who works at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens — first gained fame in the plant world after saving the Ramosmania rodriguesi’s star-shaped flowers after months of intense study. Despite numerous significant rescues, the former bartender says much work remains. “There are still more than 100,000 threatened species that are sitting at the bar having their last beer,” Magdalena told The New York Times. “I have nothing else to do. Just this.”

• Muslim pilgrims march from Baghdad to the southern Iraqi city of Karbala to mark Arbaeen commemorations.
• Protests are planned in Indonesia over proposed changes to the country’s election law.
• Secret Lives of Orangutans, a documentary narrated by David Attenborough, debuts on Netflix.

The weight in carats of a diamond unearthed from a mine in Botswana. The stone is one of the biggest gems ever mined: Its weight is equivalent to roughly 80% of that of the Cullinan Diamond, the world’s largest and a part of which stands atop the crown worn by the King of the United Kingdom. Authorities in Gaborone will hope the find sparks a rally for flagging diamond prices: Botswana relies on diamonds for almost 80% of its exports and 25% of its GDP.

The Symphonies by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, directed by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The “thoughtful yet spontaneous-sounding” recording of Brahms’ four symphonies is “rich in detail throughout,” Gramophone wrote. Listen to it on Apple Music or Spotify.

• The Democratic ‘Godmother’ Pelosi steps into the convention spotlight.
• Europe’s chips are on the table with new TSMC factory and ‘Silicon Saxony’.
• A $5B German scandal is driving green firms out of business.