Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Reuters
Updated ·2 min read
FILE PHOTO: A health worker in a protective gear takes a blood sample from a woman at the makeshift rapid testing center for the coronavirus disease (COVID19), in Lalitpur

(Reuters) - Shanghai reported no new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus cases for Aug. 28, down from eight a day earlier, while zero local symptomatic cases were reported, the city government said on Monday.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, click on COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news. cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098

ASIA-PACIFIC

* China reported 1,696 new COVID-19 infections on Aug. 28, of which 352 were symptomatic and 1,344 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday.

AMERICAS

* Moderna sued Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement in the development of the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in the United States, alleging they copied technology that Moderna developed years before the pandemic.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Asian shares slid on Monday as the mounting risk of more aggressive rate hikes in the United States and Europe shoved bond yields and the dollar sharply higher, and tested equity and earnings valuations.

* China's factory activity likely contracted again in August, a Reuters poll showed, as COVID flare-ups and a distressed property sector pummelled demand while a power crunch in southwestern China hit production.

* Central banks will fail to control inflation and could even push price growth higher unless governments start playing their part with more prudent budget policies, according to a study presented to policymakers at the Jackson Hole conference in the United States.

* Hungarian consumer and business confidence both deteriorated further in August, a survey by think tank GKI showed, with households' confidence plunging to its lowest since April 2020, the first wave of the COVID pandemic.

* Profits at China's industrial firms sank in July, reversing previous gains as fresh COVID-19 curbs dragged down demand and squeezed factory margins, while power shortages due to heatwaves threatened production.

* Hong Kong private home prices in July dropped to the lowest since February 2020, official data showed, as homebuyers turned more bearish due to rising interest rates and an uncertain outlook.

* India likely recorded strong double-digit economic growth in the last quarter but economists polled by Reuters expected the pace to more than halve this quarter and slow further toward the end of the year as interest rates rise.

(Compiled by Sherry Jacob-Phillips; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)