FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Arcturus Therapeutics said new clinical data on its ARCT-154 vaccine showed high, sustained geometric mean fold rises in neutralizing antibodies against all evaluated Omicron variants. ECONOMIC IMPACT * Asian shares were left in limbo on Friday while the U.S. dollar made all the running as recession clouds gathered over Europe and highlighted the relative outperformance of the U.S. economy. * Japan's core consumer inflation accelerated in July to its fastest in seven-and-a-half years, driven by fuel and raw material prices and adding to the costs of living for households yet to see significant wage gains.

The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended the use of French drugmaker Valneva's COVID-19 vaccine. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, click on COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of the news. cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=1592404098 ASIA-PACIFIC

* North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a ceremony to thank and praise military medics for spearheading the country's fight against the coronavirus in the capital Pyongyang, state media said on Friday. * Mainland China reported 2,804 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 18 of which 603 were symptomatic and 2,201 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday.

* Shanghai reported three new domestically transmitted asymptomatic coronavirus cases for Aug. 18, down from four cases a day earlier, while no local symptomatic cases were reported, the same as a day earlier, the city government said on Friday. EUROPE

* The Bank of England set out plans to auction off around 200 million pounds ($241 million) of corporate bonds a week starting next month, as it moves ahead with plans to unwind its huge stimulus push of recent years. * British households are feeling "a sense of exasperation" about the surging cost of living which has pushed consumer sentiment to its lowest since at least 1974, according to the country's longest-running survey of household finances.

* The economic outlook for Germany, Europe's largest economy, is gloomy due to energy price rises and supply chain disruptions, the Finance Ministry said in its August monthly report, published on Friday. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Novavax's Nuvaxovid vaccine was granted expanded provisional approval in New Zealand for adolescents aged 12 through 17. * Arcturus Therapeutics said new clinical data on its ARCT-154 vaccine showed high, sustained geometric mean fold rises in neutralizing antibodies against all evaluated Omicron variants.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * Asian shares were left in limbo on Friday while the U.S. dollar made all the running as recession clouds gathered over Europe and highlighted the relative outperformance of the U.S. economy.

* Japan's core consumer inflation accelerated in July to its fastest in seven-and-a-half years, driven by fuel and raw material prices and adding to the costs of living for households yet to see significant wage gains. * Tapestry Inc and Estee Lauder Cos Inc forecast full-year earnings below estimates on Thursday, underscoring the hit global luxury goods companies are taking from China's COVID-19 lockdowns.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)