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According to a Pew Research Center survey released on August 15th, US President Trump's tariff policies and "Big, Beautiful" tax and spending bill are both more disapproved than supported nationwide. 61% of respondents oppose the tariffs, while only 38% support them. 46% oppose the "Big, Beautiful" bill, while 32% support it, and 23% remain undecided. The survey shows that 53% of Americans believe Trump has made federal government operations worse, 27% believe it has improved, and 20% believe the changes are mixed. Trump's overall approval rating is 38%, down 9 percentage points from the beginning of his presidency. Appraisals of his honesty, concern for ordinary people, and role model have all declined compared to last year.

The 20-year Japanese government bond yield rose 2.0 basis points to 2.57%.

On August 15th, tech media outlet MacRumors reported that Apple (AAPL.O) may have inadvertently leaked chip configuration details for several unreleased devices. Code indicates the next-generation Vision Pro headset may be equipped with an M5 chip, which aligns with previous predictions from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The leak involves upgrades to several product lines: the iPad Mini may adopt the same A19 Pro processor as the iPhone 17 Pro (expected to be released in September); Apple TV plans to upgrade the current A15 Bionic chip to the iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip, significantly improving performance; the new HomePod Mini may adopt the same system-in-package (SiP) architecture chip as the Apple Watch Series 9/10; and the Apple Watch Series 11, which is speculated to be released next month and may continue to use this SiP platform.

Japanese government: Consumption and capital expenditure have grown for five consecutive quarters.

Japan's second-quarter GDP deflator annualized rate was initially estimated at 3%, in line with expectations of 3.10% and the previous reading of 3.30%.

Japan's second-quarter nominal GDP quarterly rate was initially estimated at 1.3%, compared with 0.90% in the previous quarter.

Foreign investors bought 733.2 billion yen of Japanese bonds in the week ending August 8, compared with -87.5 billion yen in the previous week.

Japan bought -225.5 billion yen of foreign stocks in the week ending August 8, compared with -752.1 billion yen in the previous week.

Japan's second-quarter real GDP quarterly rate was initially estimated at 0.3%, in line with expectations of 0.10%. The previous value was revised from 0.00% to 0.1%.

Japan's second-quarter GDP corporate spending quarterly rate was initially estimated at 1.3%, in line with expectations of 0.5%. The previous value was revised from 1.10% to 1%.

Japan's real GDP annualized quarterly rate in the second quarter was initially estimated to be 1%, in line with expectations of 0.4%. The previous value was revised from -0.20% to 0.6%.

Japan's second-quarter GDP private consumption quarterly rate was initially estimated at 0.2%, in line with expectations of 0.1%. The previous value was revised from 0.10% to 0.2%.

Foreign investors bought 489.3 billion yen of Japanese stocks in the week ending August 8, with the previous value revised from 193 billion yen to 193.9 billion yen.

Japan bought 254.9 billion yen in foreign bonds in the week ending August 8, with the previous value revised from -526.3 billion yen to -527 billion yen.

Trump nominated Rebecca Taibleson to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Wisconsin.

On August 15, according to a document from Goldman Sachs (GS.N), the bank is offering clients equity in Millennium Management, headed by Izzy Englander, with a minimum subscription threshold of $1 million and a maximum subscription threshold of $20 million. Millennium Management, which manages over $78 billion, is seeking to sell a 10% to 15% stake in the company at a valuation of approximately $14 billion. At the upper end of the range, the fundraising will reach $2 billion, of which about half will come from Goldman Sachs' Petershill division, and the rest will be raised by Millennium Management from existing large institutional clients such as sovereign wealth funds. People familiar with the matter said that the Goldman Sachs team has begun to widely contact potential investors, including high-net-worth clients and even employees of Millennium Management's main competitors. Choosing to cooperate with Petershill means that Millennium Management is trying to expand its potential buyer base from institutions to wealthy individuals.

Peru's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.50%.

Circle (CRCL.N) announced the pricing of its public offering of 10 million shares at $130 per share.

Mixue Group (02097.HK): The Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, to (among other things) consider and approve the Group's interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and their release, and to deal with other matters.

Market news: Amazon (AMZN.O) achieved its 100% renewable energy goal seven years ahead of schedule and is currently exploring new carbon-free energy sources to supplement renewable energy and meet the company's needs.