Henan provincial government office issued new measures to boost private investment, actively promoting infrastructure REITs issuance. As infrastructure REIT issuance becomes regular, the plan encourages private capital to help unlock high-quality existing assets and supports eligible private investment projects issuing infrastructure REITs, including exploring a step-by-step listing/issuance model. The measures also push commercial real estate REITs issuance to help private firms broaden equity

Goldman Sachs cut its yen forecast, now projecting USD/JPY at 165 within a year (prior forecast 155), making it one of the most bearish institutions on the currency. Strategist Fishman cited widening US‑Japan rate differentials, Japanese fiscal pressure, elevated US Treasury yields and slow Bank of Japan tightening as drivers of further yen weakness, even as the currency appears deeply undervalued. Goldman raised its near-term USD/JPY forecasts to 162 in three months and 163 in six months (previously 160 and 158). The bank said official intervention would likely be short‑lived and the underlying causes of depreciation remain. Hedge funds’ short positions on the yen hit a high not seen since 2017 last month, and market-implied probability of USD/JPY at 165 by June next year is about 72%. Goldman also favors using the yen as a funding currency for carry trades.

Under a new US-EU trade agreement the EU has pledged to buy $750bn of US energy products over the next three years, with LNG to account for the bulk. Higher Asian gas prices have drawn US exporters eastward, and European purchases of US LNG fell in June to a two-year low. EU gas storage sits near a 15-year low for the season after last winter’s drawdown, Middle East tensions and supply disruptions, leaving winter supply pressure elevated. A 2027 ban on Russian LNG imports would, by some estimates, leave the US supplying as much as 80% of EU LNG imports. At the same time EU restrictions on North Sea and Arctic oil and gas development limit domestic production upside. Measures meant to reduce reliance on Russian energy could therefore increase Europe’s dependence on US supplies.