• Australia's largest state hits record-high COVID-19 cases despite weeks of strict lockdown. 'It's a tinderbox ready to explode,' one official said.
• eToro says crypto made up 73% of trading commissions in the last quarter, as retail customers dived in
• A flight attendant says she was too exhausted to report a passenger who shoved her when a flight was overbooked: report
• US jobless claims climb for first time in 5 weeks, to 353,000

FOR THE UNITED STATES, the financial week may not really begin until Tuesday, but actually, starting tonight it’s going to be an epic week for the entire globe.

There are a few huge events:

First, it’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) day tonight – a crucial measure of manufacturing activity. We get Chinese PMI tonight, and then European PMI numbers on Monday, while the US is off for Labor Day.

Then on Tuesday, the US returns from summer, and we our first test of whether market volumes pick up. We also have the US manufacturing data and construction spending. The Democratic National Convention also starts on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, it’s a tad quiet, with more PMI reports around the world, but Thursday will be gigantic.

That’s because on Thursday the two most powerful people in the world are speaking: ECB chief Mario Draghi will give a press conference where he may lay out the most concrete steps taken yet to cool the Eurozone crisis.

Then at night, President Obama speaks to cap off the DNC and try to get his ‘bounce’.

Also on Thursday, we’ll have initial jobless claims – the number of people who declared unemployment in the US in the last month – and the ADP jobs report.

Finally, Friday: the jobs report! There are only three jobs reports left before the election, giving a hint of the level of job creation in the US each month, and this one – coming right after Obama’s convention speech, and right before the Fed meets the following week – is a biggie.

Like we said: epic week.

- Joe Wiesenthal