North American morning briefing: equity futures -2-

Apartment rents are rising rapidly, spurred by the return of young professionals to the city and an expensive housing market that keeps many of them rented.

Stock prices of publicly traded apartment companies surged in the process. The FTSE Nareit Equity Apartments Index, which tracks these owners, is up 42% since January, beating the S&P 500’s 17% gain over the same period.

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Bundled commercial real estate loans hit sales record

Sales of securities backed by riskier commercial real estate loans hit a record high, highlighting investor demand for higher yielding debt and expectations of a recovery in commercial real estate.

Loan bonds secured by commercial real estate are created by private real estate investors. In these deals, lenders sell debt and equity to provide short-term loans to borrowers who are renovating commercial properties, especially multi-family dwellings. Money from interest payments and principal from the bridge loan pool goes to bondholders, while any remaining cash goes to stockholders.

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Pension plans have the best one-year returns for more than three decades

Investments held by public pension plans, backed by private and publicly traded stocks, posted their best returns since 1986 for the one-year period that ended in June.

Yields reached a median of almost 27% in the 12 months to June, down from around 3.4% in the previous year period, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service. Pension fund managers attribute part of the substantial gains to private equity.

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Janet Yellen to adopt measures to avoid exceeding debt ceiling

WASHINGTON-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday revealed new measures to avoid exceeding the federal government‘s borrowing limit and urged Congress to raise or suspend the limit, which came back into effect on Sunday.

As of Monday, the Treasury Department will suspend reinvestments of a number of pension funds for civil servants and postal workers, Ms. Yellen said in a letter to congressional leaders. The funds will be returned to full once the debt limit is suspended or increased, she said.

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Delta Variant blocks Asia’s economic recovery after early rebound

Asia is emerging as a weak link in an otherwise strong global economic recovery, as new pandemic restrictions restrict manufacturing in some countries and the exports that have fueled the recovery in China show signs of slowing.

With progress in vaccination slower than in the West, Asia is reaching new pandemic heights driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. The spread of the virus threatens to hurt consumer confidence and erode the advantage of many Asian economies as manufacturing powers.

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RBA continues QE Taper even as lockdowns cripple economic outlook

SYDNEY-The Reserve Bank of Australia will continue plans to cut government bond purchases in September, even as the economic outlook deteriorates sharply amid pandemic lockdowns in several cities.

The RBA move means it will cut its government bond purchases to A $ 4 billion ($ 2.95 billion) per week in September, from A $ 5 billion as planned, with further scrutiny of its purchases scheduled for November.

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United States says it has shared 110 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine abroad

WASHINGTON-President Biden’s administration has shipped more than 110 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to 65 countries, the White House said, as it struggles to share the supply with the rest of the world at the following regulatory and logistical setbacks.

The numbers come about a month behind the White House’s June target of delivering 80 million doses overseas, as part of a larger campaign to donate vaccines from the United States in the coming months.

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CDC’s Covid-19 mask mandate clouded by flawed data

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is fighting Covid-19 without a full arsenal of data that some public health experts have said should be persuaded more people to take action to contain the pandemic.

When CDC director Rochelle Walensky said last week that people should once again wear masks indoors in areas with “substantial” levels of Covid-19 transmission, for example, she said that evidence shows that the Delta variant could be spread just as easily by vaccinated people who are infected as by unvaccinated people. The CDC has pointed the finger at Provincetown, Massachusetts, where it said large gatherings in July at bars, nightclubs and house parties led to hundreds of Covid-19 infections. Other studies published over the weekend supported the CDC’s finding, Dr Walensky said.

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Beijing wants more control over opinions on the arts via algorithms and big data

China’s ideological watchdogs want stronger management of public opinion and commentary on literary and artistic works with the use of big data and recommendation algorithms.

The Communist Party’s propaganda department and four agencies have been pushing for improved recommendation algorithms to better guide opinions on the arts, according to guidelines released Monday night by the state-run Xinhua News Agency. Such algorithms are widely used by social networks and video streaming platforms to promote content.

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Belarusian Olympic athlete who refused to return home says she will never come back

TOKYO – The Belarusian sprinter who refused her team’s orders to return home after a public argument said she would never return home out of fear for her life and is looking to continue her athletic career – and possibly achieve other Olympics – in another country.

In her first press interview since the incident, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who received a Polish humanitarian visa on Monday, said her husband had fled Belarus for neighboring Ukraine and that they were planning to meet in Poland. Ms Tsimanouskaya plans to travel to Warsaw on Wednesday.

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Donald Trump to oppose publication of tax returns, lawyer says

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump will oppose any attempt by the Treasury Department to submit his tax returns to Congress, a lawyer for Mr. Trump said on Monday, days after the Justice Department ordered the agency to provide the documents to a House panel.

“There is no evidence of wrongdoing here and I oppose the release of the statements not only on behalf of my client but on behalf of all future holders of the office of President of the United States,” said Ronald Fischetti, a lawyer. for Mr. Trump.

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Governor Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment investigation nears completion

The New York State Attorney General’s investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo has entered its final stages and is expected to end this month, people familiar with the investigation said.

Investigators interviewed the Democratic governor in his Manhattan office on July 17 and have since conducted follow-up interviews with at least two of his accusers, some people said. Last week, several outside attorneys working on the Attorney General’s investigation visited the executive mansion and governor’s office at the State Capitol – the sites of some of the alleged harassments being investigated, said two of the people.

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Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com

TODAY IN CANADA

Earnings:

5N Plus Inc. (VNP.T) 2Q

Aptose Biosciences Inc. (APS.T) 2T

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC.T) 2T

Cargojet Inc. (CJT.T) 2T

Finning InterNtnl. Inc. (FTT.T) 2T

Gibson Energy Inc. (GEI.T) 2T

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (GTE.T) 2T

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO.T) 2T

Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (INE.T) 2T

InterNtnl. Petroleum Corp. (IPCO.T) 2T

Neighborly Pharmacy Inc. (NBLY.T) 1T

Sleep Country Canada Hldngs Inc (ZZZ.T) 2Q

Stella-Jones Inc. (SJ.T) 2T

Stingray Gr. Inc. (RAY.AT) 1Q

Economic indicators (ET):

–0930 Jul Canada Manufacturing PMI

Actions to watch out for:

No posts published

Other news:

No posts published

Market Discussion:

No posts published

Major events scheduled for Tuesday

11:45 a.m. / United States: weekly index of chain store sales

12: 55 / US: 07/31 Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index

13: 30 / CAN: Jul Canada Manufacturing PMI

2:00 p.m. / US: June shipments, stocks and manufacturers’ orders (M3)

14: 00 / US: IBD / TIPP Economic Optimism Index for August

8:00 p.m. / US: July National Automotive Industry Sales

20: 30 / US: 07/30 API Weekly Statistical Bulletin

11:01 p.m. / UK: 3Q CBI SME Trends Survey

Every hour in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.

Expected profits for Tuesday

Armada Hoffler Properties (AHH) is expected to release a report for 2Q.

Blue Apron Holdings Inc (APRN) is expected to release a report for the second quarter.

CF Bankshares Inc (CFBK) is expected to release a report for Q2.

California Bancorp (CALB) is expected to net $ 0.28 for the 2T.

Clorox Co (CLX) is expected to return $ 1.31 for the 4T.

Comstock Mining Inc (LODE) is expected to release a second quarter report.

ConocoPhillips (COP) is expected to net $ 1.09 for the 2T.

Cummins Inc (CMI) is expected to make $ 3.99 for the 2T.

Eli Lilly & Co (LLY) is expected to bring in $ 1.77 for the 2T.

Evoqua Water Technologies Corp (AQUA) is expected to return $ 0.16 for the 3T.

Expeditors International of Washington Inc (EXPD) is expected to bring in $ 1.60 for the 2T.

FTI Consulting (FCN) is expected to bring in $ 1.49 for the 4T.

Fannie Mae (FNMA) is expected to declare $ 0.53 for the 2T.

Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) is expected to earn $ 0.37 for the 2Q.

First Citizens Bancshares Inc. Cl A (FCNCA, FCNCB) is expected to bring in $ 11.74 for the 2T.

First Financial Northwest Inc (FFNW) is expected to bring in $ 0.28 for 2Q.

Franklin Resources (BEN) is expected to return $ 0.69 for the 3T.

Houlihan Lokey (HLI) is expected to report $ 1.06 for the first quarter.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (J) is expected to bring in $ 1.42 for the 3T.

L3Harris Technologies Inc (LHX) is expected to release a report for 2T.

LGI Homes Inc (LGIH) is expected to declare $ 4.00 for the 2T.

Leidos Holdings Inc (LDOS) is expected to return $ 1.27 for the 2T.

Materion Corp (MTRN) is expected to earn $ 0.74 for the 2T.

(MORE FOLLOWING) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2021 06:15 ET (10:15 GMT)

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