Infrastructure & Local Economy: Essex County Council says pothole repairs jumped 60% in July after a £7.5m investment, adding dedicated repair teams across its 12 districts and launching an online dashboard to track work. Climate Finance & Development: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is pushing climate adaptation and local-currency financing as it expands its portfolio, having approved $68bn for hundreds of projects since 2016. Trade & Investment Policy: South Korea and China begin follow-up talks under their FTA to open more services and investment sectors, aiming to broaden market access beyond manufactured goods. SME & Entrepreneurship Support: Papua New Guinea’s SME growth is held back by gaps in practical business skills like bookkeeping and cash-flow management, while in Tennessee the Acceleration Project’s free “Edge” coaching program targets spending, saving, borrowing and planning. Business Growth & Talent: Singapore’s Rewardz launches VYBE, an employee-perks subscription built for SMEs to compete on retention without heavy HR budgets. Capital Markets: Augmont Enterprises heads to its IPO debut with strong grey-market sentiment and heavy subscription demand. Industrial Pulse: South Korea’s output was flat in July as retail sales fell and facility investment rose, with services hit hardest by inflation and heat. Data Centers: IFC approved up to $170m to back YCO Cloud’s Philippine data center expansion, supporting new capacity in Batangas and Bataan.