The past Premier League matchday brought key decisions at both ends of the table. Arsenal defeated Chelsea thanks to perfectly executed set-pieces, allowing the Gunners to maintain pace in the race for the English championship. Meanwhile, Tottenham's situation is becoming dramatic; after another defeat, the specter of relegation has become real, and players must reckon with drastic salary cuts in case of leaving the elite.

Despite lower-than-forecast quarterly dynamics (GDP grew by 0.1% q/q against expected 0.5%), the Japanese economy avoided a technical recession on a semi-annual basis, recording growth of 0.4% year-on-year.

This is good news for the Bank of Japan, giving it an argument to maintain the current monetary policy favoring a weak yen, which may support Japanese exports.

Gold is performing exceptionally well on commodity exchanges, reaching new highs.

The rise in the precious metal's price is driven by expectations regarding the future policy of the Fed and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

On Wall Street, we observed a negative session yesterday, in contrast to stable indicators in Asia and Europe.

Investor sentiment worsened due to US labor market data, indicating a higher number of new unemployed, which affected the decline in treasury bond yields.

The competition in the English Premier League has entered a decisive phase, and the weekend clashes delivered emotions worthy of the fight for the highest goals. The main event was the London derby, in which Arsenal beat Chelsea. The victory of Mikel Arteta's charges was achieved mainly thanks to set-pieces, which led the manager to accept the nickname 'Set-Piece FC'. Despite the win, defender Jurriën Timber admitted that the team must better handle the pressure and anxiety from the stands, which affects the players in key moments of the title race. The match also had its scandalous dimension; Chelsea finished the match with a reduced squad, which became the impetus for manager Liam Rosenior to announce a new disciplinary policy. Rosenior declared that players who cannot control their emotions on the pitch will be unequivocally dropped from the squad, aiming to curb the wave of red cards flooding the team from Stamford Bridge. Completely different moods prevail in North London. Tottenham Hotspur is in its deepest crisis in years, and experts openly speak of a real threat of relegation from the league. The situation is so serious that media reports have emerged about clauses in players' contracts, stipulating significant salary cuts after relegation. Manager Igor Tudor defended his tactical decisions after the latest defeat, but the statistics are relentless – Spurs 'have forgotten how to win matches'. In the lower regions of the table, Nottingham Forest is also fighting, grappling with an injury plague; defender Nicolo Savona is likely out for the rest of the season due to knee surgery. Their direct rival in the survival battle, Brighton, set an example of stability by extending the contract with experienced striker Danny Welbeck until 2027. The Premier League is the richest football league in the world, founded in 1992 after top clubs broke away from the Football League. Since then, only seven clubs have managed to win the championship title, with Manchester United doing so the most times. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, despite joy over the three points, did not hide that the match cost him a lot of health. Meanwhile, at Nottingham Forest, manager Vitor Pereira admitted that fighting on several fronts, including European aspirations, negatively affects the team's form stability in the league. The weekend events showed a stark contrast between Arsenal's methodical building of power and the chaos reigning at Chelsea and Tottenham.

Mentioned People

  • Greta Thunberg — She was detained by police during a climate protest in Stockholm.