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On Saturday, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Iranian state television that Iran is calling on all countries, including its neighbors, not to join the US's "economic war." He said any country that participates in imposing economic restrictions on Iran will be considered an enemy and warned of "hellish" retaliation. Hamidreza Aziz, a researcher on Iran at the Klingendal Institute in the Netherlands, said that Iran appears to be trying to establish deterrence at an earlier stage by signaling that even preparations for an attack against Iran could provoke a response. Aziz stated that two elements are emerging in the new "offensive doctrine": 1) preemptive strikes, aimed at preventing perceived threats from becoming a reality; and 2) asymmetrical retaliation, aimed at increasing the cost of any actual attack. Iran's warning to Gulf states about joining Trump's economic war is essentially an ultimatum to them, and Iran's military and security apparatus is increasingly preparing for a new round of escalation.

The German DAX 30 index opened down 39.55 points, or 0.15%, at 26,089.00 on Monday, August 24th; the UK FTSE 100 index opened down 1.56 points, or 0.01%, at 10,815.00 on Monday, August 24th; the FCHI index opened down 5.02 points, or 0.06%, at 8,479.41 on Monday, August 24th; and the Eurozone... The Stoxx 50 index opened down 19.90 points, or 0.31%, at 6445.75 on Monday, August 24; the Spanish IBEX 35 index opened up 24.25 points, or 0.12%, at 19985.75 on Monday, August 24; and the Italian FTSE MIB index opened down 68.04 points, or 0.13%, at 52600.00 on Monday, August 24.

At midday closing, most domestic futures contracts rose, with container shipping to Europe up over 5%, ethylene glycol (EG) up nearly 5%, coking coal and gold futures up nearly 3%, platinum, soda ash, and caustic soda up over 2%, and propylene and glass up nearly 2%. On the downside, apples, polysilicon, and live pigs fell over 2%, while eggs, rapeseed, paraxylene, rapeseed oil, and PTA fell over 1%.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister: (Refuting former Israeli Prime Minister Bennett's claim that Iran's military power has been dismantled) To deal with this Iran, the United States needs to launch the "largest financial attack in history" and mobilize "all American institutions and departments"? Is this a victory or a bitter admission of defeat?

Ukrainian President Zelensky: We do not ask the United States to protect us, we only hope that they will provide us with the supplies we need to defend ourselves.

Ukrainian President Zelensky: Urges allies to impose further sanctions on Russia to force it back to the negotiating table.

Hedge fund strategies across various sectors saw returns fall to approximately +0.8% by August 23rd, after exceeding +2% last week. Crowded trading in the US has clearly taken a toll, but there are signs that the worst may be over. More importantly, the total rolling inflow of US hedge funds bottomed out on August 20th and has begun to improve. Since 2018, this indicator has turned positive annually by mid-September, suggesting a seasonal possibility of renewed increases in total positions in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, momentum (quantitative or trend-following strategies that chase highs and lows) has recently experienced a significant drawdown. Historically, returns after deep drawdowns have been significantly more divergent, thus caution is warranted regarding the future direction of momentum. (The above views are from a JPMorgan report dated August 23rd.)

French Finance Minister: Reiterates that the government will do everything possible to get as close as possible to the 5% deficit target.

According to Iran's Fars News Agency, a container ship linked to Iran has successfully crossed the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and entered Iranian waters, according to the Superbro platform.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 35.20 points, or 0.39%, at 9094.10 on Monday, August 24.

German energy company Uniper has signed an agreement with Statoil to import more than 30 terawatt-hours of natural gas annually from 2027 to 2041.

ECB Executive Board member Cipollone: ​​The risk of economic stagnation and a sharp rise in inflation is quite low.

European Commission: Approves €6.1 billion in aid for Ukraine's defense.

The commander of the Ukrainian drone force stated that Ukraine shot down a Russian MiG-29 fighter jet and two Russian ships in the Black Sea.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: Europe supports Ukraine and we will provide the necessary assistance when it needs it.

EU: Today's approval of financial aid to Ukraine is an addition to the already approved €16 billion Ukraine procurement program.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen: The latest financial aid to Ukraine will be used to help Ukraine with its much-needed missile defense systems, munitions and radar.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister: European Council President Costa and British Prime Minister Burnham have arrived in Kyiv to celebrate Ukraine's Independence Day.

In its latest research report, JPMorgan Chase stated that with AI companies' revenue exceeding expectations in the second quarter, the economic sustainability of the AI ​​capital expenditure cycle has significantly improved compared to six months ago. The investment bank's internal credit research projects AI-related capital expenditures of approximately $5.5 trillion between 2026 and 2030, with external forecasts reaching as high as $10 trillion. Based on the median estimate of approximately $7.5 trillion, AI cloud, model providers, and new AI cloud service providers (Neocloud) could generate $1.6 trillion in revenue by the end of 2026. If this figure increases by 10%-20% annually thereafter, revenue could rise to $2.5 trillion-$3 trillion by 2030. Demand is primarily driven by enterprises, with large companies' AI spending as a percentage of "expenses + capital expenditures" expected to rise from 4.5% in the past 12 months to 5.8% in the next 12 months. Considering the approximately $30 trillion in expenses and capital expenditures of large global enterprises, this corresponds to approximately $1.7 trillion in AI spending. Therefore, JPMorgan Chase believes that the pessimistic argument that "AI infrastructure far exceeds its monetization potential" has weakened, but the actual returns after considering profit margins, depreciation, utilization rates, pricing power, and payments within the industry chain still need to be verified. (The above views are from JPMorgan Chase's report dated August 20.)

A spokesperson for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated (regarding US officials' claims that Iranian radar was attacked and that oil tankers were able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz): "These claims are mostly media hype. The Revolutionary Guard's surveillance and intelligence capabilities are not limited to radars known to the enemy. We have other surveillance methods that the enemy may not yet be aware of. If Iran didn't have the capability to monitor maritime activity, how could it accurately strike specific targets in sensitive locations?"