Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer, plans to ban the export of raw gold by 2030, President John Mahama said. The measure would require miners to process the metal domestically before shipment. No further details on implementation or legislation were provided.

TREE NEWS update: A US official said Iran’s claim about a US strike on an Iranian naval base is not accurate. The statement disputes Tehran’s account of the incident, though no further details on the attack or its target were provided. The exchange marks a new flashpoint in escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

TREE NEWS reports: WTI November crude futures settled $2.25 higher, up nearly 2.22%, at $103.66 a barrel. Abu Dhabi Murban crude futures fell 3.76% to $109.10 a barrel. NYMEX November natural gas settled at $3.0580 per million British thermal units, while November gasoline settled at $3.1914 a gallon and heating oil at $4.9201 a gallon.

TREE NEWS reports: Shanghai crude oil futures for the December 2612 contract rose 2.34% in night trading to 735.60 yuan per barrel. Shanghai gold futures fell 0.69% in the night session, while Shanghai silver slipped 0.28%.

TREE NEWS update: Reliance Industries said Monday that investors including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BlackRock and Fidelity bid in the anchor portion of Jio Platforms’ record $3.2 billion IPO. Two sources put total demand for the offering above $25 billion. The telecom, cloud and AI group opened the institutional book on Monday, with up to 30% of shares reserved for anchor investors, before the offering opens to the public on Wednesday.

TREE NEWS update: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran has no fundamental disagreements with countries in the region and is willing to resolve existing problems through dialogue. He made the remarks in a statement carried on Tuesday, without specifying which countries or issues were involved. The comments signal a readiness for regional engagement amid ongoing tensions.

TREE NEWS update: Argentine President Javier Milei signed a decree on May 19 placing the country’s latest weapons procurement under a secrecy regime, classifying the purchase plan as a military secret. The decree keeps the contract and details including weapon types, costs, suppliers and receiving units under absolute confidentiality.

TREE NEWS update: Brazil’s Ministry of Planning and Budget said Monday that the 2027 budget will require about 20 billion reais ($3.95 billion) in budget restructuring to fund policy initiatives recently announced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking re-election in next Sunday’s presidential vote. The ministry said in a statement that the amount is just over 1% of total recurring spending subject to the expenditure cap under Brazil’s fiscal framework, and that adjustments will be made while maintaining the overall spending cap and the government’s primary budget target.

TREE NEWS update: A mine collapse in Colombia’s Narino region has killed nine people, the death toll was reported on the same day. No further details on the cause of the collapse, the operator of the mine or the condition of any survivors were immediately available. The incident is one of the deadliest mining accidents in the region in recent memory.

TREE NEWS update: Luxury stores and other businesses in Milan closed early on Monday as Italy’s government prepared stricter security measures to curb violence amid fears of fresh clashes. The Meloni government plans to approve a decree as early as Tuesday giving police broader powers to question underage protesters and restrict gatherings, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the government would deploy an additional 500 soldiers to protect Milan.

TREE NEWS update: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the United States is continuing discussions with the United Kingdom about releasing diesel stockpiles. No further details on the timing, volume or scope of any potential release were provided. The talks come amid ongoing attention to global fuel supply and energy market conditions.

TREE NEWS update: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said construction on a natural gas pipeline in New York could begin in spring 2027. Wright gave the timeline without providing further details on the project’s permitting status or capacity. The remark points to a potential long-awaited buildout of gas infrastructure in the state.

TREE NEWS reports: Hedge funds slashed their technology holdings at the fastest pace since Goldman Sachs began tracking the data in 2016, during the five trading days through Oct. 15. The bank’s prime brokerage unit reported the largest such reduction on record, while total trading activity fell at the quickest rate in nearly three months. Tech was the worst-performing sector in the MSCI World Index over that stretch, as the Nasdaq 100 dropped 5.5% last week, its biggest decline since April 2025, amid a global unwind of AI-themed trades.

TREE NEWS update: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the evening of the 19th, discussing bilateral relations along with the latest regional and international developments. The two sides also exchanged views on ways to strengthen cooperation between their countries.

TREE NEWS update: The U.S. Department of Transportation has allocated more than $1.6 billion in emergency relief funds. The money will be used to repair interstate roads and bridges. No further details on the timing or distribution of the funds were provided.

TREE NEWS update: France’s prime minister’s office announced that four municipalities in the Nord department — Lille, Douai, Denain and Wattignies — will impose partial curfews from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday, with mayors’ consent. The Nord prefecture said the measures are still being finalized and will cover parts of those towns. Paris police later announced a curfew in some Paris districts from 11 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, plus a ban on demonstrations in parts of the city from 8 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday.

TREE NEWS update: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Nvidia plans to invest several billion dollars in Germany, without giving a figure or timeline. Merz also said Europe has the potential to catch up economically and that Germany needs to reform its social security system. He added the ECB can move quickly on leadership appointments if necessary but that there is no need to decide fast.

TREE NEWS update: The U.S. Department of Energy said it will allocate $42 million to Williams Co.’s Constitution Pipeline project for permitting and pre-construction work, as the Trump administration invokes an emergency wartime law to support the long-stalled project. First proposed more than a decade ago, the pipeline is designed to carry fuel from Pennsylvania shale fields to New York and New England, a push aimed at lowering natural gas prices in the Northeast.

TREE NEWS update: India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the country’s stock market offers foreign portfolio investors an easier exit route due to ample liquidity, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank meetings in Bangkok on Friday. She said people can exit easily because of abundant liquidity and easy access to funds, while adding that the fundamentals of the Indian economy are in good shape.

TREE NEWS update: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the evening of October 19 that he had ordered the Israeli military, the Mossad intelligence service and the military intelligence directorate to “topple the Iranian regime.” In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu cited U.S. President Donald Trump’s public support, saying Trump’s position was “very clear” that the core task is to eliminate the existential threat Iran poses to Israel.