🌹【August 20 Morning News Highlights】
1. According to the Ministry of Finance, from January to July, the national general public budget revenue reached 135839 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.1%. Among them, national tax revenue was 110933 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.3%; non-tax revenue was 24906 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2%. From January to July, stamp duty was 2559 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.7%. Among them, stamp duty on securities transactions was 936 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.5%.
2. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and five other departments issued a notice (Regarding Issues Related to the Receipt of Personal Pensions), further enriching the scenarios for receiving personal pensions and clarifying specific operational methods, effective from September 1. The notice specifies three new scenarios for receiving personal pensions: ① Medical expenses related to basic medical insurance incurred by the applicant (or their spouse or minor children) within 12 months prior to the application date, with personal burdens (referring to the self-paid portion within the medical insurance directory) exceeding the previous year's per capita disposable income of residents in the province (autonomous region, or municipality); ② Receiving unemployment insurance benefits for a cumulative total of 12 months within two years prior to the application date; ③ Currently receiving urban and rural minimum living security funds.
3. On August 19, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning hosted a regular press conference. A reporter asked about reports from Indian media claiming that China has lifted restrictions on rare earth exports to India. Mao Ning stated that she was not aware of the situation mentioned. China is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries and regions to jointly maintain the stability of the global supply chain.
4. On August 19, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments held a seminar on the photovoltaic industry, emphasizing the importance of regulating competitive order for the high-quality development of the photovoltaic industry and promoting healthy and sustainable development together. Strengthen the investment management of photovoltaic industry projects and promote the orderly exit of outdated capacity through market-based and legal means.
5. On August 19, the General Office of the Guangdong Provincial Government published (Several Policy Measures for Promoting the High-Quality Development of Commercial Space in Guangdong Province (2025-2028)). Among them, it proposed to encourage various industries to purchase domestic satellite-related data and products; accelerate the promotion of satellite internet services in frontier areas such as the low-altitude economy, mobile communication, logistics transportation, smart cities, space mining, space tourism, and emergency rescue, and implement a number of major application scenario innovation demonstration projects; encourage commercial space companies to apply for weaponry research and production permits.
6. A video conference on promoting the replacement of old consumer goods was held in Beijing, attended by Deputy Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping, who delivered a speech. The meeting emphasized the need to steadily and orderly advance the next phase of work on replacing old consumer goods. It is necessary to effectively implement policies to stimulate consumer growth and accelerate the cultivation of new growth points in the consumer market.
7. Industry insiders reported that the Apple iPhone 17 has entered the large-scale production stage. Foxconn, as the main contract manufacturer for Apple iPhones, is conducting recruitment during the peak season at its Zhengzhou factory.
8. On August 19, the Shanghai Municipal Economic and Information Commission and other three departments jointly released the (Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Development of 'AI + Manufacturing' in Shanghai). Among them, it proposed to build 'AI + Manufacturing' factories and promote the practical deployment of various types of embodied intelligence, represented by humanoid robots, in typical scenarios.
9. With the market heating up, the commission war initiated by brokerages to attract new customers has intensified. Overall, several brokerages have set the commission level for new accounts at the floor price of 0.08%. Commissions for ETFs and convertible bonds have dropped to as low as 0.05%, meaning the net commission collected by brokerages is only 0.02%. However, some brokerages stated that such ultra-low commissions are only available to high-frequency trading investors.
10. The three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed, with the Nasdaq down 1.46%, the S&P 500 index down 0.59%, and the Dow Jones up 0.02%. The Dow Jones even hit a record high during trading. Nvidia fell over 3%, marking its largest single-day drop since April 21. Intel surged about 7%, after SoftBank Group announced a $2 billion equity investment in Intel. Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) fell over 42%, marking the company's worst single-day performance since its IPO in the U.S. Popular Chinese stocks broadly declined, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closing down 0.9%.
