A U.S. Senate committee approved President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics by a 12-11 vote.

Market participants expect regulators to curb high-risk leveraged ETFs, including possible hikes to minimum margin requirements, after South Korea's Lee said the domestic stock market needs time to stabilise following an unprecedented rapid rally and urged swift action on the issue. Lee told senior officials in Seoul the market is "quite unstable" after a historic surge and will require time and some volatility to settle. He acknowledged controversy around leveraged ETFs and asked the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and Korea Exchange (KRX) to address the matter and set follow-up measures. The main opposition People Power Party criticised the government for pushing ambitious market targets while neglecting accumulating leverage risk, saying that encouraged excessive risk-taking.

By July 12 Shenzhen Airport had handled 1.022 mln foreign entries and exits year-to-date, up over 32.5% YoY and a same-period record; the 1 mln threshold was reached 71 days earlier than last year. Visa-free entry is boosting inbound travel: in 1H visa-free arrivals via Shenzhen exceeded 300k, up 43.9% YoY and 13.3ppt above the national average; top source markets include Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore. International network additions and frequency increases — new routes to Tashkent and Kathmandu and denser services to Vientiane, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok — extend international passenger routes to nearly 40 countries/regions and 63 service points. Border inspection figures to July 4 show cumulative checks of over 3.5 mln entries/exits, up 6.7% YoY; Shenzhen ranks fourth among Chinese airport ports by passenger throughput, also a same-period record.