The retail sector is in the spotlight this week with big reports due in from Walmart and Target. Both Walmart and Target saw big inventory builds during the first quarter and warned of a fall in earnings this year as consumers increasingly shopped for lower-margin goods such as food and fuel. Since the major retailers last reported quarterly results, prices shoppers pay for a variety of goods and services have shown signs of cooling following a relentless rise

China reported data for July that came in well below expectations as the real estate slump and Covid controls dragged down growth.  Industrial production, retail sales, and home prices all dramatically missed expectations. 

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Sunday it is ready to raise crude oil production to its maximum capacity of 12M bbl/day if asked to do so by the Saudi government. The comments came as Aramco reported a 90% surge in Q2 profit to a stronger than expected $48.4B, the state oil company's highest quarterly net profit since it started trading shares on the Saudi stock exchange in 2019

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