Asia

Following the horrific murder of dozens of worshippers in Texas yesterday, demands for gun control were prevalent, but President Trump, speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, said the mass shooting was not "a guns situation," pointing out that the problem was the killer's "mental health."

“I think that mental health is your problem here,” Trump said during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan in response to a question about the massacre in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

 

• Gunman kills 26 in Texas (Reuters)
• Trump Urges Japan to Buy More U.S. Military Equipment (WSJ)
• Ex-Catalan leader granted freedom to campaign for independence (Reuters)
• House begins revising Republican tax bill to quell dissent (Reuters)
• Why the Next Four Days Will Be Crucial for the GOP Tax Bill (BBG)
• Broadcom offers to buy mobile chipmaker Qualcomm for $103 billion (Reuters)
• Billionaire Olayan Family Said to Put Saudi IPO Plan on Hold (BBG)
• How Doctors Are Getting Rich on Urine Tests for Opioid Patients (BBG)

Following an early shaky start, which saw the Hang Seng tumble as much as 1.6% driven by weakness in financials and real estate names following the latest warning by PBOC governor Zhou about "sudden, complex, hidden, contagious, hazardous" risks In markets and a decline in local real estate prices, and pressure global risk, US equity futures have recouped all losses and are back to unchanged on monday morning, as President Trump continues on his first official trip to Asia.

With a stock price surge of 13% after Amazon’s most recent quarterly filing, Wall Street analysts were reportedly “shocked” by the company’s rapid growth. The e-commerce juggernaut beat both quarterly revenue and earnings forecasts, and continues to trailblaze with a 34% revenue growth rate.

In a move that appears to validate Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford’s concerns about China’s strategy of slowly expanding its territorial and military footprint in the Pacific, the Chinese government unveiled on Sunday a “magical” island-building ship on the eve of Donald Trump’s visit in a move likely to renew fears about its claims to territory in the South China Sea, the Financial Times reported.