Flash News

TREE NEWS update: China’s National Radio and Television Administration released a report on October 20 at the China-ASEAN Audiovisual Week in Beihai, Guangxi, stating that micro-dramas — a Chinese-born online audiovisual format — are now the fourth-largest global audiovisual product category after US films, Japanese animation and South Korean TV dramas. The report also said China-ASEAN micro-drama cooperation is deepening as a vehicle for digital-economy and cultural exchange.

TREE NEWS update: China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and six other departments issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the advertising industry, aiming to cultivate about 10 internationally competitive leading advertising enterprises by 2030. The plan encourages mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances to build scale and group structures, and supports leading firms in driving upstream and downstream coordination through resource sharing, open platforms and project cooperation.

TREE NEWS update: Shandong’s provincial government issued its 15th Five-Year Plan for tourism, targeting 6% of GDP from all-for-one tourism and related industries by 2030. The plan aims for 1.1 billion annual domestic and international visitors and 1.4 trillion yuan in total tourism revenue, alongside building a modern tourism province.

TREE NEWS reports: The UK’s September unemployment rate came in at 4.4%, unchanged from the prior reading of 4.4%. The change in jobless claims for the month was an increase of 13,000, against expectations of a 8,000 decline and following a 26,000 drop in the previous reading.

TREE NEWS reports: The UK unemployment rate on the ILO measure fell to 4.7% in the three months to August, below the 4.9% expected and down from 4.9% previously. Employment rose by 102,000 over the period, far exceeding forecasts of 0.5,000 and up from a prior increase of 66,000.

TREE NEWS update: Seven Chinese government departments jointly issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the advertising industry, targeting average annual growth of about 10% through 2030. The plan calls for higher-quality market entities, increased R&D and creative investment, and significantly improved digital and intelligent capabilities. It also aims to strengthen advertising’s role in industrial upgrading and consumption, advance “brand globalization,” and improve advertising laws and regulatory enforcement.

TREE NEWS reports: Germany’s producer price index rose 6.7% year-on-year in September, exceeding the 6.3% expected and accelerating from 4.6% in the prior month. On a monthly basis, PPI climbed 1.9%, above the 1.6% forecast and up from 1.1% previously. The figures point to persistent pipeline price pressure in Europe’s largest economy.

TREE NEWS update: The Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government issued the Beautiful Zhejiang Construction (Ecological Environmental Protection) 15th Five-Year Plan, placing nuclear and radiation safety at the highest priority. The plan calls for improving the regulatory system and coordination mechanism, building a provincial-municipal-county radiation monitoring network, and implementing three major projects: a nuclear and radiation safety risk monitoring and early-warning network, scientific research and technological innovation capacity building, and national defense mobilization capacity building for monitoring.

TREE NEWS reports: The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its October 29-30 meeting while signaling a possible rate hike as early as December. The central bank may also slightly raise its inflation forecast for fiscal 2027 at the same meeting.

TREE NEWS update: South Korea’s foreign ministry said on October 20 that it will withdraw some staff from the country’s embassy in Ukraine. The ministry did not specify how many personnel would be pulled out or give a timeline for the move. The decision was announced in a brief statement without further detail on the security situation on the ground.

TREE NEWS update: Hunan Chucheng Real Estate Co. acquired a low-density residential plot in Changsha’s Yuelu district on Oct. 20 for 1.036 billion yuan, the reserve price. The site covers 85,500.62 square meters (128.25 mu) with a planned gross floor area of 86,355.63 square meters and a floor-area ratio of 1.01, implying a starting floor price of 12,000 yuan per square meter.

TREE NEWS reports: The ChiNext Index reversed early gains and fell more than 1% in afternoon trading. The gauge had risen earlier in the session before the pullback deepened. No specific level or closing figure was immediately disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Combined turnover across the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges surpassed 1 trillion yuan. The figure was more than 10 billion yuan lower than at the same point in the previous trading session, indicating thinner trading activity.

TREE NEWS reports: The People’s Bank of China will study making overnight operations its main policy tool, a move experts see as a further reform of the monetary policy framework. Wang Jian, chief banking analyst at Guosen Securities, said the policy rate could shift from 7-day to overnight as overnight operations become routine, but cautioned this should not be equated with an interest rate cut.

TREE NEWS update: A US littoral combat ship, the USS Charleston, entered waters near Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands early on October 20 without Chinese government permission, the Southern Theater Command Navy said. The People’s Liberation Army Navy tracked and monitored the vessel in accordance with laws and regulations. China claims indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and their adjacent waters and called on the US to stop such activities immediately.

TREE NEWS reports: Taiwan’s weighted stock index fell 1% to 46,350.20 points. The decline marks a down session for the benchmark, which tracks the island’s largest listed companies. No further details on sector performance or drivers were provided.

TREE NEWS update: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said food prices will reflect the consumption tax reduction, indicating the government expects the tax cut to feed through to retail pricing. No timeline or specific tax rate was given in the statement. The remark links fiscal policy directly to consumer food costs in Japan.

TREE NEWS update: A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu on the 20th, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake had a focal depth of 10 kilometers. No further details were immediately available.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s 30-year government bond yield fell 5 basis points to 3.935% on Monday, extending a decline in the long end of the Japanese curve. The move came as yields on the super-long tenor retreated, though the material did not specify a driver for the drop.

TREE NEWS update: China’s South-to-North Water Diversion eastern route phase one began its 2026–2027 water transfer on Oct. 20, the earliest start in the project’s 14 years of operation. The annual plan adds a net 561 million cubic meters of supply to Jiangsu, 42 million to Anhui and 665 million to Shandong. The Taierzhuang pumping station is set to transfer 1.007 billion cubic meters to Shandong.