The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the AI SME Entrepreneurship Support Plan (2026–2028). It urges localities to leverage industry strengths to cultivate concentrated, high‑quality AI SME clusters. Qualified areas, including national AI innovation application pilot zones, are encouraged to build coordinated compute supply‑demand platforms, inclusive compute centres and other infrastructure/services to promote wider sharing of compute and data resources. The plan directs na

EIA natural gas report: For the week ended Aug. 28, U.S. working gas in storage was 3,214 bcf, up 30 bcf from the prior week, down 50 bcf YoY (-1.5%), and up 160 bcf versus the 5-year average (+5.2%).

Japan's finance minister Katayama is expected to be retained in an upcoming cabinet reshuffle, local media report. Reappointment would signal policy continuity on economic management, exchange-rate oversight and budget-process reform and preserve close coordination with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent, who has both pressed Japan to raise rates and assisted yen stabilization. Keeping Katayama should limit reshuffle-driven market volatility; replacing her could disrupt U.S.-Japan FX cooperation, add upward pressure to government bond yields and weigh on the yen amid tighter market conditions from government spending plans.