M&A slump: Wall Street firms are downsizing as deal volume craters. But some lower-ranked rivals are hiring investment bankers, betting a boom is around the corner. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/5fsau68h

Big bank stimulus: China’s top leaders will probably fail to deliver big-bang stimulus for the weakening economy this week, economists say, disappointing financial markets. https://tinyurl.com/4fkvvzah

More focus: Bain Capital has agreed to buy the 90% stake Gautam Adani’s family holds in an Indian shadow bank, allowing the embattled billionaire to pare down his non-core businesses. https://tinyurl.com/2uks6h6f

Doubling down: HSBC is wooing wealthy Indians over Michelin star meals and is planning to recruit more than two dozen wealth bankers for doubling down on private banking in the country. https://tinyurl.com/3zyhpktv

New rules: “Basically every week, we feel that we are going to be eliminated." Here’s how AI is rewriting the rules of $200 billion games industry. https://tinyurl.com/4d5zjvue

Looming risk: Rice prices are set to surge after top exporter India banned a large chunk of shipments, adding to stresses on global food markets that have already been roiled by bad weather. https://tinyurl.com/5e83v2hj

Break down: Byju's rapid ascent into a $22 billion tech company captivated global investors. Here's how a series of missteps sank it into crisis. https://tinyurl.com/2hdryccn

Renewed focus: Xiaomi plans to focus on 5G smartphones and a leaner product portfolio in India, trying to claw back market share lost to rivals including Samsung in its second-biggest market. https://tinyurl.com/y6c5mfcj

Subsidy wars: Joe Biden’s subsidies have kickstarted a global contest that’s straining alliances and warping economies. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/455kwma9

Raising funds: Billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate is testing lender demand for financing that may total more than $1 billion, the latest sign it’s slowly regaining the ability to raise funds after a scathing short-seller report. https://tinyurl.com/yvhmyh6x

Private debt: Less than five years after a shadow banking crisis spooked India's financial sector, a growing list of global asset managers, including Apollo and Cerberus, are stepping up their operations in the country. https://tinyurl.com/3zjzk78p

Tainted medicines: A cold medication made in India and sold in Iraq is tainted with toxic chemicals, a test commissioned by Bloomberg News shows, the latest in a series of alarming revelations about syrup medicines used by children around the world. https://tinyurl.com/mrxvefwr

Adani's grip: Billionaire Adani's infrastructure network dominates large parts of India's economy. A Bloomberg analysis reveals how his empire is a crucial vehicle for India's growth, helping it recover from the fallout of allegations from Hindenburg Research. https://tinyurl.com/55x2vey9

Rally picks up: Chinese stocks extended gains from last week as Beijing showed its determination to shore up the economy by boosting consumption and supporting the property sector. https://tinyurl.com/426d9dt6

Pakistan bomb blast: Forty-five people were killed and more than 135 injured in an attack at a rally organized by a key party in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition. https://tinyurl.com/dzuvxdx5

Warning to coup leader: West Africa’s regional economic bloc is threatening a military intervention to remove the leader of a coup in Niger unless the junta reinstates the nation’s democratically elected president. https://bloom.bg/3DDYCMR

Nigeria central bank probe: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has ordered a special investigator probe the central bank’s operations as part of the government’s fight against corruption, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg News. https://bloom.bg/3OmUOVk

Small business loans : A UK initiative will provide Ghana’s small businesses with loans in the local currency, helping to tackle the $4.8 billion funding gap that is one of Africa’s largest for the sector.  https://bloom.bg/3q9G3Nk

Drone startups: A Blackstone alum is doubling down on India's drone-making sector after an early bet on a Mumbai-listed company generated a return of almost 600%. https://tinyurl.com/mr24devm

New public offers: Smaller IPOs in India are booming after investors were burned by hyped mega-listings like Paytm and LIC. https://tinyurl.com/5fe95rhu

Trade in a new world: The $32 trillion world of global trade is being shaken up by war, AI and climate change. Here’s what that upheaval looks like. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/bddhneyh

Myanmar’s junta has pardoned Aung San Suu Kyi for some charges more than two years after she was detained as part of a military coup https://trib.al/f1BdpRg

📷: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Coup threatens French strategy: Niger’s president is being held hostage by his own security guards following a coup, and France’s Africa strategy is in tatters as it struggles to convince nations in the Sahel region the presence of a former colonial power can bring results. https://bloom.bg/44Q4RZJ

Coal rush: The highways and communities of South Africa are collateral damage as global demand for coal intensifies, reaching a record last year and rose further still in the first half of 2023. https://bloom.bg/3Yn7vnC

Global trade shake up: War, AI and climate change are shaking up $32 trillion in global trade. In Morocco trucks from a Connecticut logistics company ferry car parts and clothing across the Strait of Gibraltar. In Japan a new semiconductor plant transforms a once-quiet farm town. In France a battery plant’s staff learns to supervise new colleagues: robots. https://bloom.bg/3rXdLWM

LIVE: Singapore’s PM is set to speak in parliament, where he is expected to comment on a corruption probe and other political scandals.

Follow our live blog for the latest updates — it's free to read https://trib.al/n4d1PCj

Rating downgrade: The US had its credit rating cut one step to AA+ from the top ranking of AAA by Fitch Ratings. Here's what that means for investors and the economy. https://tinyurl.com/46y3ttbf

Cricket rights: India’s cricket governing body is trying to lure global giants Amazon and Alphabet to bid in a media rights auction of its team’s games after seeing less interest from firms which had recently competed for the wildly successful Indian Premier League. https://tinyurl.com/mr2hf5me

China alternative: India could pick up almost half of the shortfall from slowing demand growth for commodities in China this decade, driven mainly by higher energy purchases, ANZ says. https://tinyurl.com/ynaz246n

BRICS expansion plans: A planned announcement on the expansion of BRICS at a forthcoming summit in South Africa will mark a significant change in the global order, the nation’s ambassador to the five-nation bloc said. https://bloom.bg/3qfiyT6

Miners cash crunch: Trafigura Group has been forced to seek new funding for one of its flagship investments — a $600 million copper-cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo — in the latest headache for the trading house’s embattled metals business. https://bloom.bg/3OiYNlx

Africa water projects: The African Water Facility seeks to tap private investors to help create a $500 million urban-sanitation fund as it rolls out an expansion plan that includes beginning to lend to projects.  https://bloom.bg/3KqXXlz

Banker exits: Standard Chartered is losing several senior long-serving executives in its India operations, with some heading for new opportunities at rival local banks. https://tinyurl.com/45492msa

Nuclear plants: India’s state-controlled nuclear power industry is considering allowing greater participation of private firms, with an aim to developing small modular reactors to help decarbonize industry. https://tinyurl.com/2ust3nu7

Murder mystery: The murder of a billionaire couple remains unsolved six years later. In that time, investigators have uncovered family drama, vendettas and grudges. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/4jjed77x

Sanctions on junta bite: Diplomatic and economic sanctions imposed by Niger’s neighbors in the wake of a coup are beginning to bite, as the junta begins talks with regional leaders about the political crisis, the nation’s ambassador to the US said. https://bloom.bg/45vDmVB

Nigerian labor unions resume talks: Nigerian labor unions called off protests and resumed talks with the government following demonstrations against what they called President Bola Tinubu’s “anti-poor policies” that have caused a surge in the cost of living. https://bloom.bg/44Tzhu7

Darfur atrocities: Attacks on Mohamed Adam’s El Geneina neighborhood in Sudan’s western Darfur region continued relentlessly for a month before he finally fled the onslaught by members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Arab Rizeigat militia. https://bloom.bg/3KsoajH

Junta ends defense pacts: Niger’s military junta said it has ended several defense cooperation agreements with France, adding to uncertainty about Paris’s continued military engagement in the Sahel region. https://bloom.bg/3Yob2Sk

Ethiopia declares state of emergency: Ethiopia’s government declared a state of emergency in the northern Amhara region, where fighting between government forces and a rebel group erupted earlier this week. https://bloom.bg/455GM0W

Nigeria's biggest companies lose big: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s move to allow the nation’s currency to weaken has contributed to combined losses of $385 million at six of the nation’s biggest companies. https://bloom.bg/3Krsv6F

Tiny gains: Short seller Hindenburg Research probably reaped relatively small profits from his bets Against billionaire Adani's conglomerate and Jack Dorsey's payments venture. People close to him say money isn't his main motivator. https://tinyurl.com/yc4k44ef

Asia stocks: India and China both offer investors the chance to benefit from the rising powers' economic growth. Read the stock pickers' playbook to profit from Asia. https://tinyurl.com/2wannpae

Reinstated: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to parliament after a stay on his defamation conviction, allowing him to contest 2024 India elections. https://tinyurl.com/yc3z7ch7

Niger closes airspace: Niger’s junta partially closed the country’s airspace, warning of an attack by a “foreign power.” This comes as a deadline — imposed by West African neighbors — passed on Sunday to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. https://bloom.bg/47jqlzZ

Cape Town taxi chaos: Striking minibus taxi drivers blocked off roads across the city, hindering commutes for thousands of people. https://bloom.bg/3s68gFf

South Africa prepares for Xi: President Cyril Ramaphosa will welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit, with a meeting in Pretoria on Aug. 22. https://bloom.bg/45cGRR3

Violent clashes: Prime Minister Narendra Modi might address the deadly ethnic violence in northeast India before a no confidence vote brought by the opposition this week. https://tinyurl.com/4nvtfjc8

Swings to profit: SoftBank's Vision Fund swings to a quarterly profit of $426 million, a boost for Masayoshi Son after losing $48 billion on startups in the last two years. https://tinyurl.com/y7nc632h

Collision with hyperinflation: Decades of failed policies and repeated debt defaults have led to a 116% inflation in Argentina. The question is who, if anyone, can avert a crash. Read The Big Take. https://tinyurl.com/h6ym6uv6

US backs Niger diplomacy: Niger’s junta moved to consolidate power as regional leaders prepared for a second emergency summit since the country’s July 26 coup. https://bloom.bg/3rSW7n5

Lagos seeks power funding: Nigeria’s biggest city and commercial hub of Lagos plans to raise as much as $10 billion in private investment to boost electricity supply to nearly five million households by 2032, state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olusaid. https://bloom.bg/3YsyAWq

South Africa climate plan delays: South Africa’s government will need another two to three months to complete an energy transition implementation plan, further delaying the flow of funds from an $8.5 billion climate finance agreement with some of the world’s richest countries. https://bloom.bg/44ZnoTE

Soaring cost: Rice prices soar to the highest in almost 15 years in Asia on mounting concerns over global supplies as dry weather threatens production in Thailand and after India widened its shipment ban. https://tinyurl.com/5ab46687

Giving away: Shriram's R Thyagarajan is arguably one of the world’s most idiosyncratic financiers. In a rare interview, the 86-year-old tycoon says there's nothing unusual about his decision to give away a stake now worth more than $750 million. https://tinyurl.com/ys8txw3e

Modern money flow: The US dollar's dominance in $7 trillion of global money flows is encountering an emerging challenger: China's digital yuan. https://tinyurl.com/hhafhkxn