UK three-month average regular pay excluding bonuses YoY (July) 3.5%; consensus 3.5%, prior 3.5%.

Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), China’s largest NAND flash maker, has begun connecting production equipment at its Wuhan third wafer fab (FAB3), and preliminary operations could start before year-end as commissioning enters final stages. State contractor China Electronics Corporation (CEC) subsidiary China Electronics System Engineering Second Construction Co. has started selecting builders for the “gas” segment of the FAB3 secondary piping A‑zone B‑package project; the secondary piping work links plant utilities (gas, water, etc.) to individual production tools, a step toward full tool readiness. The tender requires bidders to have YMTC, CXMT or equivalent 12‑inch fab construction experience. Market takeaway: the new capacity is unlikely to trigger near‑term NAND oversupply, but expanding domestic output and share could heighten competition for incumbent NAND vendors over the medium term.

A Gallup poll released Sept. 2 found 89% of US adults say government corruption is widespread, up 10 percentage points from a year earlier and above the 2010–2025 range of 72%–79%. By group: Democrats 91%, independents 90%, Republicans 83%. In 2025 the US rate is highest among OECD members; the OECD median is 59%.