Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Curbing shorts: Chinese regulators will suspend the lending of certain shares for short selling from Monday, in an effort to support the country’s sinking stock markets. Investors will be restricted from lending out shares during specified lock-up periods. The move follows news that Chinese authorities are considering a USD288 billion ($438 billion) rescue package to stabilise the flailing stock market, an update which temporarily buoyed stocks last week before they retreated again on Friday. (Bloomberg)
2.
Middle East conflict: Three American troops were killed and 25 more wounded in a drone strike on a US base in Jordan on Sunday. In a statement, President Joe Biden blamed the attack on "radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq”. The deaths are the first direct American fatalities amid months of strikes against US forces by Iran-backed groups across the Middle East, the frequency of which has increased as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues. The attack also came a day after a British warship destroyed a Houthi drone that was targeting the naval vessel in the Red Sea, according to UK officials. (Reuters)(The White House)
