Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Jinmao acquired a residential land parcel in Changsha’s Yuelu district for 348 million yuan at the base price. The site covers 63,350.16 square meters (95.03 mu) with a planned gross floor area of 69,528.32 sq m and a starting floor price of 5,000 yuan per sq m.

TREE NEWS update: China’s State Council appointed Zhang Li as deputy international trade representative at vice-ministerial level, removing him from his post as assistant minister of commerce. The same announcement named Wang Shouli as vice-chair of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and Feng Pengzhi as education chief of the National Academy of Governance, while dismissing Li Zhong from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and Qin Haixiang from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

TREE NEWS update: Iran said two oil tankers have been involved in accidents and are blocked in the Strait of Hormuz. The statement did not specify the cause of the incidents or the condition of the vessels. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments, and any disruption there can affect energy markets.

TREE NEWS update: Microsoft has priced a $25 billion, 10-tranche dollar bond offering, including two $1 billion floating-rate notes due 2028 and 2029 and eight fixed-rate tranches totaling $23 billion maturing between 2028 and 2066, with coupons of 4.85% to 6.35% and spreads of 25 to 105 basis points over Treasuries. The notes settle Nov. 4 and are rated Aaa by Moody’s and AAA by S&P. It is Microsoft’s first dollar bond sale since 2017.

TREE NEWS update: Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket struck commercial partnerships with CNN, CBS News, Dow Jones and CNBC ahead of the Nov. 3 US midterm elections, with the outlets citing election trading odds in coverage. Election-related trading volume on the two platforms totaled about $1.5 billion. CBS News named Kalshi its prediction-market sponsor, while CNBC disclosed a deal involving customer-acquisition revenue sharing and a minority equity investment; The Wall Street Journal runs a Polymarket odds column on its homepage. Fox and CNN said they will not broadcast odds live on election night.

TREE NEWS update: Chevron reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $5.28, beating the $4.93 estimate. Revenue and other income for the quarter came in at $67.8 billion, above the $62.55 billion expected. The oil major’s results cover the three months ended September 30.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance on Oct. 30 published draft standards for the first batch of government procurement of domestic products and opened them for public comment. The five products covered are portable Fourier-transform infrared gas analyzers, reverse-osmosis water treatment equipment, field-emission scanning electron microscopes, fixed multi-joint industrial robots and small and medium-sized helicopters.

TREE NEWS reports: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the Exchange Fund’s total assets stood at HK$4,308.4 billion as of September 30, 2026, down HK$27 billion from the end of August. Foreign currency assets fell HK$19.4 billion and Hong Kong dollar assets dropped HK$7.6 billion. The declines were mainly due to mark-to-market revaluation of investments and Hong Kong equities, respectively.

TREE NEWS update: Japan’s Sub-Capital Concept Law took effect, with the government set to publish basic guidelines on the sub-capital designation and a timetable for the selection process within November. Under the published criteria, Hokkaido, Aichi Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefecture could all qualify for sub-capital status, and all four plan to compete for the designation.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration issued guidance on preferential tax policies for corporate mergers and restructurings. Stamp duty already paid before a restructuring will not be levied again on taxable contracts signed before the restructuring but not yet performed, if the successor entity assumes the original rights and obligations without changing the tax base. Property transfer documents for corporate restructuring, mergers, splits, bankruptcy liquidation and public institution restructuring are exempt from stamp duty.

TREE NEWS reports: Hong Kong’s dollar M2 and M3 money supply both fell 0.8% in September from August but rose 7.5% year-on-year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said in statistics published Thursday. Seasonally adjusted M1 dipped 0.6% on the month and was up 4.4% from a year earlier, partly reflecting investment-related activity. Total M2 and M3 each rose 0.4% in September, up 10.1% and 10.0% respectively year-on-year.

TREE NEWS update: China’s National Energy Administration said on Oct. 30 that national electricity supply and demand will remain broadly balanced through the winter peak, though the supply situation is complex. Tan Hongjiang, deputy director of the NEA’s power department, said localized peak-hour tightness is possible if extreme cold or primary energy supply constraints emerge, and can be resolved through inter-regional power sharing and other measures.

TREE NEWS reports: The pound gained 0.4% against the dollar to trade at 1.3432, its strongest level since September 16. The move extends sterling’s advance, with the pair touching the session high on the day.

TREE NEWS update: Japan’s Ministry of Finance said it did not intervene in the foreign exchange market during the period from Sept. 29 to Oct. 28. The disclosure confirms no official yen-buying or selling operations took place over that window.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s central bank said the weighted average interest rate on newly issued commercial personal housing loans nationwide stood at 3.05% in the third quarter of 2026. The figure was released as part of the People’s Bank of China’s quarterly data on mortgage lending rates.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese airlines will raise the fuel surcharge on domestic passenger flights from November 5, 2026, with the levy set at 80 yuan per adult on routes of 800 km or less and 140 yuan on longer routes. That marks increases of 30 yuan and 50 yuan respectively.

TREE NEWS reports: Italy’s October consumer price index rose 0.7% month-on-month, far exceeding expectations of a 0.1% increase and matching the prior month’s 0.7% gain. The figure points to firmer inflation in the eurozone’s third-largest economy at the start of the fourth quarter.

TREE NEWS reports: Macau’s gross domestic product for the first three quarters reached an initial estimate of MOP 316.13 billion, up 2.9% year on year in real terms, the Statistics and Census Service said on the 30th. Service exports rose 3.4% as visitor arrivals kept climbing on tourism measures and major events, while gross fixed capital formation grew 4.6% and private consumption expenditure rose 2.8%.

TREE NEWS update: The Shanghai Futures Exchange will raise price limits and trading margin ratios for certain fuel oil and petroleum bitumen futures contracts from the close of settlement on Nov. 3, 2026. Fuel oil contracts FU2612 and FU2701 will have an 18% price limit, with hedge-position margins at 19% and ordinary-position margins at 20%. Bitumen contracts BU2611, BU2612 and BU2701 will have a 14% price limit, with hedge margins at 15% and ordinary margins at 16%.

TREE NEWS update: European Central Bank Governing Council member and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said the ECB will act decisively if necessary to bring inflation back to target, as consumer price growth has picked up again, driven mainly by higher energy costs. He said medium-term inflation expectations must stay firmly anchored at 2%, and officials are prepared to raise rates again if the December inflation outlook does not improve.