The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. refinery utilization rose to its highest level since September 2018 in the latest week.

1. Trump Considers Renaming Lake Ontario to Pressure Canada – US President Trump: The United States is seriously considering renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” because we do not expect to do much more business with Ontario in the future. 2. Claims Iran Can't Pay Military Personnel – US President Trump: Iran is not paying a large number of military personnel. The humanitarian crisis in Iran must stop immediately. 3. Will Never Interfere with Canadians Speaking French —Trump tweeted: “I will never interfere with Canadians speaking French! In fact, I have never thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was fabricated by a weak and incompetent (Canadian) prime minister to gain political support from the people of Quebec, who have completely lost that support. I love French Canadians.” According to foreign media reports, French has become a point of contention in the trade dispute between Canada and the United States. 4. Warns of Destroying Iranian Mine-Laying Ships —US President Trump tweeted: I have just been informed by the US Navy that all mines in international waters of the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared and/or detonated. The United States has notified Iran that any ships or vessels laying new mines will be systematically destroyed immediately. We monitor every inch of the Strait of Hormuz through the U.S. Space Force, as well as the "Gaoshan" nuclear facility and three other facilities that have already been destroyed. 5. Face-to-face meeting with the British Prime Minister next month —According to the Financial Times: British Prime Minister Burnham will hold his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump next month. Burnham stated that he will attend the UN General Assembly in New York in September, but British officials are also expected to explore the possibility of meeting with Trump at the White House. 6. Considering further trade sanctions against Canada—According to foreign media reports, the Trump administration is discussing further trade sanctions against Canada after Canadian Prime Minister Carney announced retaliatory measures against newly imposed U.S. tariffs. 7. Submitting the Saudi nuclear agreement to Congress —A U.S. government official stated that Trump has submitted a landmark Saudi civilian nuclear agreement to Congress for consideration, but has not abandoned his last-minute demand—that Saudi Arabia must normalize relations with Israel. 8. No Military Action Against Iran for Now —According to Axios, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told officials from several allied countries that the US does not currently expect to launch a new military strike against Iran. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the Trump administration's current policy is to "temporarily avoid military action against Iran," instead increasing economic pressure through a US naval blockade and a new round of Treasury sanctions, and pushing as much oil as possible through the Strait of Hormuz into the global energy market. 9. Threat to Demolish Historic Buildings That Cannot Be Named —Trump's lawyers warned in court documents that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., faces the risk of demolition if it does not undergo a $250 million renovation. This threat comes as the Trump administration urged a federal judge to dismiss a new legal challenge against Trump adding his name to the Kennedy Center.

The Nikkei 225 index closed up 405.73 points, or 0.62%, at 66,262.16 on Wednesday, August 26.