As of Sept 18, margin financing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange was 1,334.562 bln yuan, up 0.457 bln from the prior trading day; on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange it was 1,265.714 bln yuan, down 1.707 bln; combined balance 2,600.276 bln yuan, down 1.25 bln.

William Lawrence, former US diplomat and American University professor of international relations, said Saudi Arabia did not respond quickly enough to a Houthi offensive in Yemen because each side assumed the other would deal with the threat. He said both Washington and Riyadh assumed the other would defend Mocha; when then-President Trump denied Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s request for assistance, Saudi forces were too late to intervene there. Lawrence added the Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition’s new command-and-control architecture—designed to improve defense and coordination—appeared to collapse at the outset of the Houthis’ lightning raid along the Red Sea coast toward the Bab al-Mandeb. A Saudi counteroffensive has begun but has delivered limited success so far in retaking Houthi-held areas; Lawrence characterized the problem as a delayed reaction to the scale of the attacks rather than a misjudgment of Houthi capability.

Fed President Kashkari said the US economy remains strongly resilient despite the war.