Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Private warnings

US regulators have been quietly warning midsize lenders that they better shore up their liquidity planning, part of intensifying government supervision following multiple regional bank collapses earlier this year. The Federal Reserve is said to have issued a series of private warnings to lenders with assets of between $100 billion to $250 billion—including Citizens Financial Group, Fifth Third Bancorp and M&T Bank. The wide-ranging notices have touched on everything from capital and liquidity to technology and compliance. The crackdown comes as examiners look for signs of stress in a system already strained by the demise of First Republic Bank, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank. —David E. Rovella

China has asked two of the nation’s biggest financial firms to examine the books of Zhongrong International Trust, potentially paving the way for a state-led rescue of the troubled shadow bank. The plan underscores growing concern among policymakers about the $2.9 trillion trust sector’s impact on financial stability amid disappointing economic growth and a worsening property slump.

Zhongrong International Trust is one of China’s biggest shadow banks. Photograph: Bloomberg

The US government’s main measure of economic activity in the second quarter was revised lower as more moderate business investment than initially reported outweighed stronger consumer spending. Gross domestic product rose at a revised 2.1% annualized pace in the second quarter, below the government’s previous estimate. The downward revision to GDP reflected less inventory and nonresidential fixed investment. Household spending, the engine of the US economy, was revised higher to 1.7%.

Back in 2021, a hedge fund startup founded by two former Citadel money managers burst onto the European financial scene with $1.3 billion. Two years later, Niall O’Keeffe and Tio Charbaghi have seen their fund drop by 25% year-to-date.

Visa and Mastercard are planning to boost the fees that many retailers pay when accepting customers’ credit and debit cards. The additional Visa charges will be for online transactions and commercial credit, debit and prepaid cards. For Mastercard, there’s a new pre-authorization fee for credit-card purchases. With the increases, merchants could pay more than $500 million in additional fees each year.

Drone attacks targeted multiple regions deep inside Russia. Four Ilyushin Il-76 military transport planes were damaged at an airport in Russia’s northwestern Pskov region, state-controlled media said. Russian air defenses claimed they shot down drones in five other regions including near Moscow, as well as in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. The strikes came as the Ukrainian military cites progress in a grinding three-month counteroffensive to reclaim territory and steps up attacks far behind the front lines, including deploying sea drones against Russian ships in the Black Sea. Last week it also staged a special-forces raid in Crimea. At the same time, however, Kyiv has seen its heaviest air assault since the spring. But another weapon from the US may change that equation.

Russian forces have stepped up bombardment of residential areas like this one in the Kyiv region, as seen Aug. 27. Photographer: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP

Apple is said to be testing the use of 3D printers to produce the steel chassis used by some of its upcoming smartwatches, heralding a major change to how the company manufactures products.

Salesforce, which has said it plans to terminate thousands of employees, gave a revenue and profit forecast for the current quarter that topped analysts’ estimates following a push by activist investors. The shares jumped about 5% in extended trading.

• Bloomberg Opinion: Why Ukraine’s future may be Korean.
• Tesla internal purchasing probe is drawing federal scrutiny.
• Hurricane Idalia knocks out power, snarls flights across US Southeast.
• GOP Senate Minority Leader McConnell appears to freeze again.
• US health officials urge moving pot to lower-risk category.
• America jails more people than almost any nation. This city found a fix.
• Democratic cities are being taken over by Republican state governments.

Thailand is likely to ease visa rules for Chinese and Indian travelers and allow longer stays for visitors from all nations as new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin looks for ways to boost tourism revenue. Srettha said he wants the list of visa-exempt countries expanded as well as increased stay limits for most international travelers, with caps of 15 days or 30 days for many nationalities.

Visitors along Patong Beach in Phuket, in July. The new Thai  government says it aims to lift revenue from foreign tourists next year. Photographer: Andre Malerba/Bloomberg

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