05:46 AM EDT, 08/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Commerzbank in its "European Sunrise" note of Monday highlighted:

Markets: Bullish steepening in United States Treasuries (UST) extend in Asia. Asian stocks are mixed, e-minis consolidate. The euro (EUR) rises to $1.12 before consolidating. Brent hovers just above $79.5/barrel.

Fed: Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee says it's time to pay more attention to the employment side of the dual mandate. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker says it's time to start the process and the path down should be "methodical."

Fed: San Francisco Fed study says corporate debt maturities matter for monetary policy (working paper).

US: NY Fed gross domestic product (GDP) Nowcast for Q3 improves slightly to 1.94% from 1.84%, St. Louis Fed model rises to 1.65% from 1.3%.

CFTC: Hedge Funds extend net shorts in two- and 10-year UST future to new records.

IMF: The International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says it's right for the US to cut rates, while there is still an upside risk to inflation. He sees scope for the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to keep raising rates.

Middle East: Israel and Hezbollah traded messages saying neither wants further escalation, according to diplomats, after Israel carried out a preemptive attack on Hezbollah as Hezbollah began and concluded the "first phase" of response to last month's killing. No agreement in Sunday's ceasefire talks in Cairo (Reuters).

== EUROPE:

Germany: Islamic State claims responsibility for stabbing three people to death and wounding eight in Solingen. Police arrested the suspect.

Ratings: S&P affirms Austria at AA+ and raises outlook to positive from stable due to energy supply improvements. Moody's did not update Austria's Aa1/stable rating in periodic review. Scope upgrades Ireland to AA/stable from AA-/positive.

== ASIA:

China: The central bank (PBoC) has initiated stress tests with financial institutions on their bond investments. It didn't seek or will seek to ban legitimate investments or trading in its government bonds (Bloomberg).