Pompeo hints at broader US restrictions for Chinese tech: CNBC
US: Iran briefly seized oil tanker near the strategic Strait of Hormuz: AP
Next big Covid-19 hurdle: producing hundreds of millions of vaccines: Politico
US favors new tariffs on certain goods made in France and Germany: BBG
China fears deepening financial war as tensions rise with US: Reuters
US economic recovery headwind: state budget cuts due to coronavirus: WSJ
Buffett Indicator — stock-market-cap-to-GDP ratio — is flashing warning: MW
Are new US reporting rules for Covid-19 creating risks for accuracy? NYT
US consumer inflation continues to rebound but 1-year trend remains mild: MW

A number of encouraging economic indicators suggest that the US is recovering from the coronavirus recession that crushed output in the second quarter. But deciding if a bounce off a very deep bottom is laying the foundation for a robust, sustained recovery remains unclear. There are still too many unknowns lurking to develop a high-confidence forecast for the second half of 2020.

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Kamala Harris beats rivals to become Biden’s running mate: Politico
Is Russia’s rush to roll out a coronavirus vaccine at risk of backfiring? CNBC
China accelerates effort to be more reliant on domestic economy: WSJ
UK economic activity crashed in Q2 with a record 20.4% decline in GDP: CNBC
Eurozone industrial output rose for a second month in June: MW
Small Business Optimism Index edged down in July after strong gain in June: NFIB
US wholsale inflation rose sharply in July but 1yr trend still negative: MW
Economists warn that economic-crisis risk will rise without more jobless relief: FTE

Reviewing the global equity market as a single portfolio reveals a sleepy affair for year-to-date results through yesterday’s close (Aug. 10). But slicing and dicing shares into the major equity regions reveals a more dramatic story, including a strong lead for China’s stock market, based on a set of exchange traded funds.
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Putin says Russia is the first country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine: Reuters
Trump may block some US citizens returning to America due to Covid-19: Reuters
Trump says he’s considering a capital gains tax cut: BBG
Employers are skeptical of Trump’s plan for deferring payroll taxes: WSJ
New US sanctions on Hong Kong complicate banking industry links to China: CNBC
Big Tech meets the Biden campaign: NYT
German investor sentiment rebounded more than expected in August: Reuters
UK employment fell the most in over a decade in Q2: BBC
US job openings rose more than expected in June: BBG

Shares in foreign developed-market nations topped returns last week for the major asset classes. After retreating for two weeks, this corner of global equity markets rebounded and led a wide-ranging rally in risk assets for the trading week through Aug. 7, based on a set of exchange-traded funds.
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Trump signs executive order extending some pandemic relief: CNBC
US virus relief package at standstill after failed negotiations in Congress: BBG
US’ top health official praises Taiwan’s democracy, raising US-China tension: NYT
China briefly sends fighter jets into Taiwan airspace: Reuters
Financial crisis spawned by pandemic is especially bad for millennials: WSJ
Global extreme poverty expected to rise by 100 million, World Bank predicts: AP
US payrolls rose 1.763 million in July, beating Wall Street expectations: CNBC
Consumer borrowing picked up in June, first monthly gain during pandemic: MW
30%-to-40% of US renters may be at risk of eviction: NLIHC.org

Here’s a quick review of three proprietary strategies that will feature regularly in The ETF Portfolio Strategist:

https://etfps.substack.com/p/three-proprietary-strategies

● Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles
William Quinn and John D. Turner
Summary via publisher (Cambridge U. Press)
Why do stock and housing markets sometimes experience amazing booms followed by massive busts and why is this happening more and more frequently? In order to answer these questions, William Quinn and John D. Turner take us on a riveting ride through the history of financial bubbles, visiting, among other places, Paris and London in 1720, Latin America in the 1820s, Melbourne in the 1880s, New York in the 1920s, Tokyo in the 1980s, Silicon Valley in the 1990s and Shanghai in the 2000s. As they do so, they help us understand why bubbles happen, and why some have catastrophic economic, social and political consequences whilst others have actually benefited society. They reveal that bubbles start when investors and speculators react to new technology or political initiatives, showing that our ability to predict future bubbles will ultimately come down to being able to predict these sparks.

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Last November, The ETF Portfolio Strategist (ETF-PS) debuted in beta form. The original plan was to formally roll it out in Q1:2020. But thanks to a certain health crisis that reordered life as we know it, priorities shifted and, well, here we are in August. No matter — the case for market intelligence and analytics on ETF-based portfolio strategies is an evergreen topic and so we’re back – delayed but no less committed to crunching the numbers and analyzing the crucial trends for making informed decisions on portfolio design and management via ETFs.

The design has changed a bit from the initial concept. The main difference is that ETF-PS components will be published individually on a semi-regular schedule rather than in one complete issue on a given day. The other big change: the newsletter will appear here: etfps.substack.com To receive updates of future editions, subscribe today!