War and extreme weather have driven agricultural prices toward their largest monthly rise in over a decade. The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index, tracking 10 major commodities, was up more than 13% in August as of last Friday, on course for its biggest monthly advance since July 2012. Wheat has been a primary driver after attacks on Black Sea ports cut shipments and pushed prices to three-year highs; sugar and cocoa have climbed roughly 20% as El Nifio strengthens. Higher energy and transport co

Taiwan Weighted Index closed down 202.98 points, or 0.44%, at 46,128.47 on Monday, Aug 31.

TIMIRAOS wrote KEVIN WARSH's remarks eased some market concerns about the Fed's anti-inflation strategy but set up a tougher test in three weeks. Two points in Warsh's speech point toward a possible September hike: he stopped short of calling current financial conditions restrictive, and summer's improvement in inflation did not convince him the trend is improving. Before Friday the Fed's default had been to hold unless data warranted action; former Fed vice chair Cohn said Warsh has flipped that logic — the default is now to raise unless incoming data show no need. Cohn said the decision will hinge on conditions before the September meeting, notably August CPI due Sept. 11; stronger data would weaken the case that inflation is returning to the Fed's 2% target and could prompt a hike, while softer data would argue against raising. A September hike could anger the White House if it comes weeks before the midterms; standing pat could reawaken the doubts Warsh sought to calm.