A Chinese warship arrives at Pireaus Port of Greece, Aug. 9, 2010. Two Chinese naval warships, the destroyer 'Guangzhou' and frigate 'Chaohu,' which are part of the fifth Chinese naval escort flotilla, arrived on Monday at Pireaus Port for a visit to Greece. Photo: Xinhua

During August, we will not be providing the 'Markets Afternoon' report due to holiday and site development work. Use the relevant links below for the latest data.

China on Tuesday reported a trade surplus of $28.7bn in July - - the highest since January 2009  - - as exports jumped and imports' growth lagged. The surplus of $28.7bn in July compared with $20bn in June as exports rose 38.1% from an already strong performance in the same month last year, the General Administration of Customs  (GAC) said, while imports rose 22.7%. The exports growth rate was down from a 43.9% surge in June. On a monthly basis, exports in July were up 5.9% from June, but July's imports edged down 0.4% from the previous month, the GAC said.

On June 19th, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, had announced an ending of a 2-year old fixed pegged of the yuan/renminbi to the US dollar. However, the authorities have only allowed a slight appreciation of 0.8% against the US dollar, in the interval.

China's foreign trade totaled US$262.31bn last month, up 30.8% from a year earlier.

The trade surplus for the first seven months totaled $83.93bn down 21.2% over the same period last year.

Trade with the European Union, the country's largest trade partner, climbed 36.6% year on year in the January-July period to $263.16bn, the GAC said.

Trade with the United States jumped 30.6% during the period while that with Japan expanded 34.9% in the first seven months compared with a year earlier.

Brazil overtook Russia to become China's 10th largest trade partner, with bilateral trade surging 54.6% to $32.51bn from January to July.

Also today, China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that housing prices in major Chinese cities rose 10.3% year on year in July, down from the 11.4% growth in June.

It was the third consecutive month that China's property prices rose at a slower pace and the lowest growth rate in six months.

The New York Times reports today that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology quietly published a list late Sunday of 2,087 steel mills, cement works and other energy-intensive factories required to close by Sept. 30th.

Energy analysts described it as a significant step toward the country’s energy-efficiency goals, but not enough by itself to achieve them.

The Bank of Japan has held off on policy steps and kept its view on the economy unchanged. Tey Tze Ming, market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets, says Japan's economy is in much better shape now, therefore giving the BoJ less urgency to intervene on the yen. He talks to CNBC's Christine Tan and Yousef Gamal El-Din:

Economic View: UK consumer confidence bites as house prices fall and retail sales growth slows; Goodbody economist, Juliet Tennent, comments - - "Two reports this morning provide an up to date picture on the state of the UK economy, although the latest evidence is not encouraging. The RICS house price balance turned negative in July for the first time in 12 months, falling to -8 from +8 in June vs. expectations of a drop to +5. This continues the trends in other house price indicators, which have all pointed to softening in house prices of late. Increased supply remains an issue following the increase in properties on the market in recent months. New instructions to sell continued to edge higher in July to 33 from 28 the previous month according to RICS. Buyer interest remained at low levels falling to -10 from -6 in June. The pace of contraction in the market appears to be gathering steam, with some surveyors saying that they have been “staggered by the ferocity of the downturn” since June’s emergency budget. With supply demand dynamics also continuing to deteriorate the outlook for house prices in H2 looks shaky.

The BRC retail sales monitor was also weaker in July, with lfl sales growth falling to 0.5% mom, from 1.2% mom in June, as spending flagged in the wake of the World Cup. The headline number was flattered by food sales, which rose by 1.6%. Concerns around further fiscal tightening, potential job cuts and income prospects are certainly weighing on consumer confidence. Despite the World Cup, the summer period overall has been a poor one for spending trends, with lfl sales up just 0.9% yoy in the May – July period. The outlook for both the UK housing market and the consumer remains uncertain, as an imminent fiscal squeeze and limited credit availability coupled with weak consumer confidence will prove significant headwinds for the remainder of the year."

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, joined CNBC to look back the the credit crunch three years ago:

US Markets

On Monday, the Dow rose 45 points or 0.42% to 10,699.

The S&P 500 added 0.55% and the Nasdaq advanced 0.75%.

A look ahead to the new week of trading with Robert Doll, vice chairman and chief equity strategist at US fund manager BlackRock: