Today's data highlights: Two US airlines postponed the resumption of China-US routes; high temperature typhoons led to a decrease in the production of hairy crabs this year

1. Return to growth after 16 years! The central bank's balance of claims on the central government increased by 507 billion in August

Data released by the central bank showed that at the end of August, the central bank's balance of claims on the central government increased by 507 billion yuan, which was the first increase in 16 years since 2008. The reason for the increase was related to the central bank's purchase and sale of treasury bonds in the market in August, with a net purchase of bonds worth 100 billion yuan that month. The long-term bonds sold by the central bank may mainly come from borrowing, and the short-term bonds purchased were large in scale.

2. More than 2.7 billion express parcels were delivered nationwide during the Mid-Autumn Festival

Monitoring data from the State Post Bureau showed that during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday this year, the national postal express industry operated generally smoothly, collecting 1.307 billion express parcels, a daily increase of 35.4% over last year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday; and delivering 1.407 billion express parcels, a year-on-year increase of 45.7%.

3. Two US airlines postponed the resumption of China-US routes

With the new flight season approaching, US airlines have once again postponed the resumption of China-US routes that were opened before the epidemic.

Recently, United Airlines and Delta Airlines have successively applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation, hoping to be allowed to continue to postpone the resumption of multiple routes to China in the new flight season.

At present, the number of flights between China and the United States is not only far less than before the epidemic, but the recovery speed is also much slower than that of Asian and European countries. The number of flights from some countries to China has exceeded that before the epidemic. The competitive landscape of international routes has undergone tremendous changes after the epidemic.

Many industry insiders pointed out to reporters that China's international routes have undergone significant structural changes since the beginning of this year. Among them, passenger flights to "Belt and Road" countries including the Middle East accounted for 73.8%, an increase of 4.4 percentage points from before the epidemic. The newly opened routes of the three major airlines are also more to non-traditional markets. This is closely related to the impact of traditional European and American routes on reciprocal restrictions on air rights and the strengthening of economic and trade exchanges between China and "Belt and Road" countries.

1. JD.com has completed the acquisition of Walmart’s shares in Dada

On September 17, Beijing time, a U.S. stock announcement showed that JD.com has completed the acquisition of Dada shares held by Walmart, and its shareholding ratio has increased to more than 60%.

In May this year, Dada fully integrated and upgraded its instant retail brands JD 10-Hour Delivery and JD Home Delivery into the "JD Seconds Delivery" brand, accelerating its full integration into the JD ecosystem and unifying JD's business image in the instant retail field.

2. The box office of the National Day movie is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan

Data from Lighthouse Professional Edition shows that the box office of the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2024 will exceed 300 million yuan, and family films will become the box office winners of the reunion festival. The number of new films released during the Mid-Autumn Festival has reached a new high, and it also warms up for the upcoming National Day. So far, 10 films have been scheduled for this year's National Day, and many listed companies such as China Film, Bona Film Group, Alibaba Pictures, and Huayi Brothers have flocked to the layout. Industry insiders pointed out that the films to be released during the National Day holiday have different styles and rich themes. In 2024, the domestic movie box office is expected to exceed the 50 billion yuan mark.

Around 2020, "Chinese herbal tea shops" began to appear across the country, setting off a wave of Chinese herbal tea drinks. Chinese herbal tea drinks, which were once unprecedentedly popular, are now closing down in large numbers. Some of them only took three months from being a local internet celebrity check-in point to closing down; some broke up with their entrepreneurial partners in half a year. In Dalian, Suzhou, Hefei and other places, many netizens revealed that the business situation is not optimistic. There are also chain brands that opened more than 200 stores, but now there are less than 100 left.

3. High temperature typhoons have led to a decrease in the production of hairy crabs this year

On September 16, Suzhou was hit by Typhoon Bebejia. Yangcheng Lake, where hairy crabs are farmed, was also affected. The lake was turbulent. Some netizens were worried that the crabs would be blown away. Is the situation okay now?

In response, the Suzhou Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab Industry Association responded that the crab escape situation is not bad and is generally stable. The relevant competent authorities have set up a technical guidance group and will go to the site for on-site inspection and guidance on resuming production.

Earlier, according to media reports, crab farmers in the Yangtze River Delta region said that the water temperature was too high and the hairy crabs that had just shed their shells in July could not bear it, resulting in large numbers of deaths. This situation is rare in history, and the passage of this typhoon also affected the production of some crab farmers.

September is the crab-eating season. Currently, the price of a 3-liang premium female Yangcheng Lake hairy crab is 150 to 170 yuan per catty, and the price of a 3-liang ordinary female crab is 70 to 80 yuan per catty, which is about 40 to 50% higher than the same period last year.

1. Shanghai Regulatory Bureau requires commercial banks not to force bundled sales of financial products

According to the official WeChat account of Shanghai Market Supervision on September 18, the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau recently held an administrative guidance meeting for commercial banks across the city to standardize service pricing behaviors, and distributed the "Compliance Reminder Letter for Commercial Banks to Standardize Service Pricing Behaviors" on the spot, reminding commercial banks across the city to focus on eight aspects.

The "Reminder" points out that banks are not allowed to force customers to bundle financial products such as wealth management, funds, precious metals, etc., or require customers to go to designated third-party institutions to handle insurance and other businesses. Banks are not allowed to violate the true wishes of customers and force them to provide financing in the form of acceptance bills, etc., which will increase the burden on customers.

The "Reminder Letter" emphasizes that banks should provide services based on the actual needs of customers, in accordance with the price list, service procedures and the service content agreed with customers, and keep service records. They are not allowed to charge fees without providing services or provide less services, etc.

2. The Ministry of Water Resources has launched a Level IV emergency response for flood defense in five provinces and cities, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan and Hainan.

According to the Ministry of Water Resources on September 18, it is predicted that from September 18 to 20, under the influence of typhoons "Bebejia" and "Prasang" and tropical depressions in the South China Sea, the water level of Taihu Lake will continue to rise and exceed the warning number around the 21st. Some water level stations in the surrounding river network areas will stop falling and rise again and exceed the warning number again, maintaining high water levels; Qiantang River, Jiaojiang River, Oujiang River in Zhejiang, Qingyi Shuiyang River, Chaohu Lake, Chihe River in Anhui, Qinhuai River, Chuhe River in Jiangsu, Shaying River and the upper reaches of Wohe River in Henan, and the area from Huayuankou to Jiahetan on the main stream of the Yellow River. In addition, under the combined influence of astronomical tides and storm surges, some tidal stations along the coast of Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu and other places may exceed the warning number, and the flood discharge of coastal rivers is significantly supported by top support.

3. Shenzhen, the world's largest indoor ski resort, will welcome guests next year

Huafa Ice and Snow World, which is under construction in full swing, is about to enter the countdown to its one-year opening.

It is reported that the Huafa Ice and Snow World project will create an indoor ski resort with the world's largest vertical drop, the longest single track, the largest capacity in the country, the most professional slides in the country, and the most advanced cableway configuration.