Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: RBC Capital Markets strategists Blake Gwinn and Izaac Brook said in a Thursday report that U.S. government debt could rise if Democrats win both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, as tighter AI regulation may accelerate a flight to safety. They have low confidence in the yield-curve move under that scenario, however, because safe-haven buying could be offset by fiscal concerns under a Democratic majority.

TREE NEWS reports: Brent crude oil rose 4.0% on the day to trade at $113.21 a barrel. The intraday move marks a sharp jump in the benchmark’s price.

TREE NEWS reports: Elon Musk said earlier this week that merging SpaceX and Tesla is a “good idea” and that a special committee has been formed to discuss the combination. JPMorgan analysts said the move could quietly open a path for SpaceX to join the S&P 500, where Tesla is already a constituent, because a stock-for-stock deal could let the index committee exercise discretion to waive certain eligibility rules.

TREE NEWS reports: Brent crude climbed above $111 to a five-month high as Nvidia, Meta and chip stocks fell, pulling Asia’s benchmark indexes down by as much as 3.5%. The selloff came a week after South Korea’s Kospi plunged 7.57%, with the declines also weighing on the S&P 500.

TREE NEWS update: Nickel Industries said producers at Indonesia’s Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) will implement coordinated production cuts, executive director Justin Werner told analysts on an earnings call without specifying a percentage. Sources said companies are considering halving output of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), used in EV battery chemicals, and cutting nickel pig iron (NPI) production by 20%. Nickel Industries holds 10% of the Huayue nickel-cobalt project in IMIP, partnered with Huayou Cobalt.

TREE NEWS update: Chile’s mining output could contract by about 8% to 9% this year, Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz said Wednesday at the Enagro 2026 national agriculture conference, revising down his earlier estimate of roughly 7%. The gloomier assessment underscores a deepening slump in the world’s largest copper producer.

TREE NEWS reports: The Federal Reserve’s overnight reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) facility saw $351 million in usage on Thursday, Oct. 22, across two counterparties, up from $237 million the previous trading day. The figures reflect demand at the Fed’s RRP facility, which offers eligible counterparties a place to park cash overnight at the central bank’s administered rate.

TREE NEWS reports: DoubleLine Capital Deputy CIO Jeff Sherman said the firm is underweight long-end US Treasuries and remains bearish on longer-duration bonds. He cited heavy US government borrowing and weak demand as factors that will continue to weigh on the bond market.

TREE NEWS update: L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said the company expects its business to “slightly underperform” the market, a shift from prior outperformance. Hieronimus also said increased use of weight-loss drugs will boost the skincare business. The remarks were made in a statement carried in the material.

TREE NEWS reports: Shanghai copper closed down 0.74% and international copper fell 0.91% in night trading, with zinc the weakest base metal at -1.48%. Aluminum slipped 0.19%, nickel dropped 1.19% and tin lost 1.01%, while lead was the sole gainer at +0.25%. Alumina fell 1.31% and aluminum alloy 1.27%, and stainless steel closed 0.84% lower.

TREE NEWS update: The US Treasury auctioned $26 billion of five-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities on Wednesday, clearing at a yield of 2.367% — the highest since 2023. The auction drew a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.41, reflecting demand for the inflation-protected debt at the elevated yield.

TREE NEWS reports: Germany’s 10-year Bund yield fell 8.7 basis points to 3.334% in late European trading on Thursday, October 22, after edging higher at the open and then declining steadily toward its August 31 low of 3.324%. The two-year yield dropped 9.2 bps to 3.035% and the 30-year fell 8.1 bps to 3.678%, breaking below its 100-day moving average of 3.7% and approaching its August 13 low of 3.640%. The 2/10-year spread widened 0.474 bps to +29.616 bps.

TREE NEWS reports: LME copper fell $278 to close at $14,078 per ton, leading a broad decline across London Metal Exchange base metals. Aluminum dropped $32 to $3,010/ton, zinc lost $84 to $3,671/ton and tin slid $1,159 to $50,089/ton. Nickel fell $114 to $16,120/ton and lead shed $12 to $1,898/ton, while cobalt was unchanged at $34,620/ton.

TREE NEWS update: Yemen’s armed forces said they carried out 780 strikes in the past 24 hours, hitting about 512 Houthi fighters and commanders and destroying or damaging more than 330 military vehicles and troop transports. Government forces continued their offensive against the Iran-backed militia across multiple front lines.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the city welcomes infrastructure projects from APEC economies to raise financing in Hong Kong, following the 33rd APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting held in the city on October 20-21. Chan said Hong Kong’s experience in fiscal consolidation, financial inclusion and corporate listing can help APEC economies ease public finance pressure, and that the city can offer listing and other financing solutions for the region’s large infrastructure investment needs.

TREE NEWS reports: ICE UK natural gas futures rose 4.01% to 223.850 pence per therm on Thursday, October 22, extending gains to hit 225.280 pence at 21:13 Beijing time and surpassing the October 20 intraday high of 222.600 pence. TTF Dutch benchmark gas futures climbed 4.46% to 90.885 euros per megawatt-hour, reaching 91.416 euros at 21:18. ICE EU carbon allowance futures edged up 0.42% to 86.27 euros per tonne.

TREE NEWS reports: Kering said flagship brand Gucci’s third-quarter sales fell 6% to €1.29 billion ($1.44 billion), weighed down by weak demand, denting hopes for a near-term recovery at the luxury group. Gucci accounts for about half of Kering’s profit, and group revenue slipped 1% on a constant-currency basis. Asked on a call whether Kering still targets group growth this year, finance chief Armelle Poulou declined to comment, saying the company would address it with full-year results.

TREE NEWS update: European Central Bank Governing Council member Santos Pereira said Europe must deepen its single market. The remark was delivered as a call for further integration of the bloc’s internal market, with no additional policy details disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Bitcoin extended daily losses to 3% as US stocks came under pressure from President Donald Trump’s comments on Iran military action. The cryptocurrency was circling its ETF cost basis near $81,500, a level that has served as a reference point for ETF holders. The move came as equity markets reacted to the geopolitical remarks.

TREE NEWS reports: The premium on call options on US Treasury futures has turned more expensive than puts for the first time since March, signaling bond traders are paying more to hedge against a larger rise in long-end yields rather than betting on a selloff. One-way flow on Thursday showed buying across multiple call structures.