1. Brazil’s central bank: raise the benchmark lending rate by 100 basis points to 6.25%, in line with expectations. At the same time, it promised to raise interest rates by another 100 basis points in October.

2. Russian Space Agency: issued project bidding documents for the research and organization of manned missions to the moon. The total contract amount is 1.7 billion roubles and the elements involved in the project will be completed by mid-November 2025. The first landing of Russian astronauts on the moon will take place in 2030.

3. UK: keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.1 per cent and the total size of asset purchases unchanged at £895 billion, in line with market expectations.

4. On September 23, local time, the WTO released the latest barometer of trade in services, with a reading of 102.5, indicating that global trade in services continued to recover in the second and third quarters. However, the reading has declined, and if the COVID-19 epidemic continues to have an impact on trade in services, the recovery of trade in services will be weak. Data show that global trade in services fell 13.9 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. Trade in services fell sharply in the early stages of the epidemic, but has only partially recovered since then, and the epidemic will continue to put pressure on the tourism industry.

5. According to Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, on the 22nd, the United States has lifted all restrictions on food imports from Japan since the nuclear accident at Fukushima in 2011. According to the restrictions, 54 countries and regions have imposed import restrictions since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011, but with the lifting of US restrictions, the number will be reduced to 14 countries and regions. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, a total of 100 commodities can now be exported to the United States in 14 counties, including rice and shiitake mushrooms in Fukushima Prefecture.

6. As of September 22, more than 6 billion doses of vaccine had been given worldwide. China accounted for nearly 40 per cent, reaching 2.18 billion doses, followed by 826 million doses in India and 386m doses in the United States.

7. Russian satellite news agency: Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian president, said Russia fulfilled all its contractual obligations to supply natural gas to Europe and was close to an all-time high in terms of supply.

8. Thailand’s National Tourism Administration: the opening of Bangkok, Chonburi, Biburi, Bashu and Chiang Mai, which were scheduled to open to international tourists in October, will be postponed to November. The reason is that the vaccination rate of COVID-19 vaccine in these five provinces has not yet reached 70%, and some areas are still waiting for the Ministry of Health to distribute enough vaccines.

9. At 2:00 Beijing time on September 23rd, the Federal Reserve will announce its September interest rate resolution, and Federal Reserve Chairman Colin Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30. The Fed is widely expected to keep its policy unchanged, but will hint at a reduction in the timing of its $120 billion-a-month bond-buying program.

10. Us media: the United States has announced that starting from early November, travel restrictions will be relaxed for all foreign tourists who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. According to the new guidelines issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the COVID-19 vaccine approved by the United States in the relaxed travel restrictions includes not only those authorized in the United States, but also those that World Health Organization (WHO) has put on the emergency use list. including Pfizer vaccine, Indian Serology Institute vaccine, AstraZeneca vaccine, Johnson vaccine, Modena vaccine, as well as China’s Sinopec and traditional Chinese medicine vaccines.