Flash News

TREE NEWS update: China Energy Engineering Group broke ground on Oct. 20 on the second phase of its “Qing Hydrogen No. 1” Songyuan hydrogen industrial park in Jilin, a green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol integration project with total investment exceeding 10.8 billion yuan. Once operational, the phase will produce 90,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and 400,000 tonnes of green ammonia a year, roughly double phase one, with long-term supply agreements already signed with several overseas buyers for use as marine fuel and in co-firing power generation.

TREE NEWS update: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC announced the incident without giving the vessels’ names, flags, cargoes or casualty details. The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint, and any disruption there affects global crude flows and energy prices.

TREE NEWS update: People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Xuan Changneng met Brazilian Treasury Secretary Daniel Leal in Beijing on Oct. 19, 2026. The two sides discussed bilateral financial cooperation, including Brazil’s issuance of sovereign panda bonds and connectivity between the Chinese and Brazilian financial markets.

TREE NEWS update: Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa said the government is considering investing in semiconductor company Rapidus after 2027, indicating continued state backing for the chip venture beyond the current support period. No amount or structure for the potential investment was disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on social media on the 20th that curfews will continue in various parts of France tonight as local conditions warrant. Lecornu said curfews in some areas the previous night produced good public-order results. Provincial governments, after consulting municipal councils, will decide whether to impose curfews in relevant cities from the night of the 20th to the early hours of the 21st based on local conditions.

TREE NEWS update: Amazon plans to invest €16 billion in Germany by 2027, covering technology and infrastructure, the company said. The figure, reported by Bloomberg, spans both tech and infrastructure spending. No further details on specific projects or locations were disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: WTI crude oil rose 2.0% intraday to trade at $100.55 a barrel. The move put the U.S. benchmark back above the $100 mark during the session, extending its gain on the day.

TREE NEWS update: China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing said on Oct. 19 the regulator will keep to the principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability and further improve a capital market that balances investment and financing, speaking at the opening of the 2026 Financial Street Forum. Ye Fan, chief economist at Southwest Securities, said the emphasis on stability combines vigilance over cross-border, cross-market and cross-industry risk transmission with measures such as active ETFs and long-cycle assessment to draw in medium- and long-term capital.

TREE NEWS reports: Eurozone construction output rose 1.4% year-on-year in August on a working-day-adjusted basis, turning positive from a 2% decline in the previous reading. The August figure marks a rebound in the bloc’s construction sector after the prior month’s contraction.

TREE NEWS reports: Germany’s ZEW economic sentiment index fell to 28.1 in October, missing expectations of 30 and down from 34.7 in the prior month. The reading marks a continued deterioration in analyst confidence in Europe’s largest economy.

TREE NEWS reports: Foreign institutions held 3.19 trillion yuan of bonds in China’s interbank market as of the end of September. The data covers overseas holdings of onshore interbank debt for the month-end period. No further breakdown of the holdings was provided.

TREE NEWS reports: JPMorgan has included Bitcoin in its long-term capital market outlook for the first time, projecting the cryptocurrency will outperform US stocks and gold over the next decade. The bank cautioned that Bitcoin’s volatility and unstable correlations limit its role in investment portfolios.

TREE NEWS reports: Barclays and Goldman Sachs said the selloff in CoreWeave’s roughly $1.5 billion of unsecured bonds, yielding about 15% with CDS spreads above 1,000 basis points, resembles the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank panic rather than a systemic credit collapse. Barclays’ Ajay Rajadhyaksha noted the notes sit behind about $35 billion in total debt, while Goldman argued the unsecured market no longer reflects CoreWeave’s true funding costs, estimated at 800-900 basis points.

TREE NEWS update: Eurozone October ZEW economic sentiment index, Germany’s October ZEW economic sentiment index and Eurozone August seasonally adjusted construction output are scheduled for release at 17:00 Beijing time. The data are due at that time.

TREE NEWS reports: The risk premium on French 10-year government bonds rose to 150 basis points. The spread measures the yield difference between French OATs and comparable German Bunds, a key gauge of investor confidence in French sovereign debt. The move reflects heightened scrutiny of France’s fiscal position.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump traveled to Kansas on October 19 for a campaign event and plans to visit Iowa later this week to support Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. The visits to traditionally Republican-leaning agricultural states signal the party’s focus on turnout in these areas as the elections approach.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange reported that cross-border capital flows from non-bank sectors, including companies and individuals, recorded a net inflow of $40.7 billion in September, down 35% from the previous month. SAFE deputy administrator and spokesperson Li Bin said the FX market has operated steadily overall, even as rate hikes by central banks in Europe, the US and Japan triggered volatility in some economies’ currency and bond markets.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s banks settled 1.9897 trillion yuan of foreign exchange in September 2026 and sold 1.6098 trillion yuan, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said. For January-September, cumulative settlement reached 16.3007 trillion yuan and cumulative sales 13.5947 trillion yuan.

TREE NEWS reports: Indonesian stocks rose 5% after the government took steps to address the risk of an MSCI downgrade. The move follows concerns that index provider MSCI could lower Indonesia’s market classification, prompting authorities to act. No further details on the specific measures were given.

TREE NEWS update: Iran said Egypt’s involvement in the Saudi-Houthi conflict is aggravating the situation. The comment frames Egypt’s role as a factor escalating tensions in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. No further details or specific actions were provided.