Aug 31 (Mon) European benchmark indices at open: Germany's DAX opened down 119.74 points (-0.45%) at 26,463.61; France's CAC 40 opened up 9.71 points (+0.12%) at 8,410.89; Spain's IBEX 35 opened down 9.75 points (-0.05%) at 20,052.35; Italy's FTSE MIB opened up 8.88 points (+0.02%) at 52,625.00; Euro STOXX 50 opened down 8.72 points (-0.13%) at 6,476.95; UK FTSE 100 opened up 31.72 points (+0.29%) at 10,824.26.

Thailand will tighten regulation of the gold trading sector — covering online and physical transactions — to curb money‑laundering, fraud and other financial crime. The director of the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office, who is also a ministry spokesman, said on Friday the ministry is working with the BOT to draft legislation to strengthen oversight and increase transaction transparency. The government intends to shift gold trading to a fully digital system so regulators can trace funds’ sources and flows, close regulatory gaps, and more readily identify and verify suspicious activity. The spokesman said the key is full digitalization so information can be interoperable, allowing authorities to monitor the market and spot anomalies immediately.

Politico's Jonathan Martin says Senate control still turns on the Midwest. If Democrats flip Ohio and Iowa while holding Michigan they would likely net four seats and reclaim the Senate in Trump’s final two years. Republicans warn an agricultural backlash—tariffs, high diesel and fertilizer costs and cheaper imported beef—has created acute vulnerability in farm states that could spread beyond the Plains. Iowa is the likeliest flip; Kansas (no Democratic senator since 1932) could be competitive; Nebraska and Kansas incumbents face the toughest fights and southern Republicans show unusually weak polling. Democrats’ path now looks like holding Michigan, winning North Carolina, Ohio and Iowa, plus one of Maine, Alaska or Texas; in a worse scenario Nebraska, Kansas or Mississippi could also turn. Republicans cite high living costs, Trump’s weak standing with centrists and a Democratic enthusiasm gap; they say last month’s gasoline spike after the Iran ceasefire breakdown has hardened voter sentiment and, absent a major shift, the outcome could echo the 2006 Democratic takeover.