TREE NEWS reports: The Bloomberg Grains Subindex rose 0.06% to 30.1125 at the New York close on Thursday, Oct. 29, after falling to 29.8514 at 23:19 Beijing time, near its July 2 low of 29.4769, before a short-term rebound. CBOT corn futures slipped 0.11% and soybean futures fell 0.28%, while CBOT wheat futures rose 0.71% after a brief rally at 23:21.
TREE NEWS update: US Defense Department senior general Brett Sylvia, director of the Joint Staff’s strategy, plans and policy directorate, has been relieved of duty, with no reason given. Anonymous defense officials cited by US media said Sylvia failed three polygraph tests over alleged leaks of internal information on the Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars. He previously commanded the Army’s 101st Airborne Division and was close to former Army Chief of Staff Randy George, who was dismissed in April.
TREE NEWS update: US Democratic lawmakers said they will refuse to provide a bailout for an AI bubble. The remark signals political resistance to backstopping the artificial-intelligence sector should its valuations falter. No further details, figures or specific lawmakers were given.
TREE NEWS reports: The onshore yuan closed at 6.6612 per dollar at 03:00 Beijing time, up 48 pips from Wednesday’s overnight close. Trading volume totaled $46.717 billion.
TREE NEWS reports: The Hang Seng Index main futures contract closed up 0.36% at 23,108 points in overnight trading. The Hang Seng Tech Index futures also rose, closing up 0.21% at 3,773 points.
TREE NEWS update: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on October 29 that Moscow supports any steps to restore relations with European Union countries. Putin said his October 27 calls with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre covered a wide range of issues, and that both leaders stressed at the start that they represented their own countries, not the EU. Putin said some in Europe want dialogue with Russia rather than a strategic defeat, and that Russia does not want a Hormuz Strait-like situation in the Baltic.
TREE NEWS reports: The Trump administration plans to strike Iran after next week’s US midterm elections, with US military aircraft being moved into position and the MOAB — the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, or “mother of all bombs” — expected to be used, current and former US officials said. The timing would place the operation immediately after the midterm vote.
TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump warned that a Democratic victory in the midterm elections would trigger an economic depression comparable to 1929. He made the warning as the midterm elections dominate the political calendar, without specifying which policies he said would cause the downturn.
TREE NEWS reports: Spot gold dropped 1.5% on the day to trade at $4,005.82 an ounce, extending a intraday decline. The move marks a sharp pullback for the precious metal, which has traded near record highs in recent sessions.
TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump predicted a sharp decline in oil and gasoline prices. No further details, figures or timeline were provided in the statement. The remark comes as energy markets remain sensitive to policy signals from Washington.
TREE NEWS reports: WTI December crude futures settled at $102 per barrel, NYMEX reported. November natural gas futures closed at $2.9520 per million British thermal units. November gasoline settled at $3.1850 per gallon and November heating oil at $4.7360 per gallon.
TREE NEWS reports: The Shanghai Futures Exchange crude oil futures 2612 contract closed the night session up 1.96% at 721.50 yuan per barrel. In precious metals, Shanghai gold fell 1.02% and Shanghai silver dropped 4.10% in night trading.
TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump reiterated his push to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the ‘Gulf of America’ and proposed renaming the Strait of Hormuz as the ‘Strait of Trump.’ The proposal, which concerns a strategic waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, was not accompanied by further details or a timeline. The remarks restate a renaming effort Trump has promoted previously.
TREE NEWS update: Yemen’s Houthi movement said the Saudi-led coalition carried out 116 airstrikes and missile attacks across six Yemeni provinces in the past 24 hours, causing numerous casualties including women and children. The Houthis said the strikes hit Saada, Hajjah, Bayda, Al Jawf, Taiz and Lahij, and that the total number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks since the latest escalation began has reached 3,596.
TREE NEWS update: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a national security strategy called the Stronger Canada Plan on the 29th, the country’s first in more than 20 years. The strategy states that the line between economic security and national security has disappeared, and sets five priorities: strengthening economic security, pursuing a robust and diversified foreign policy, rebuilding the armed forces, reinforcing public safety, and improving intelligence capabilities. The government said it will update the strategy at least every four years.
TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said Canada has recently been treating the United States well, in a brief remark with no further details provided. The comment comes amid ongoing trade tensions between the two countries. No specific policy change or agreement was mentioned.
TREE NEWS reports: Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., the world’s second-largest gold producer, warned that rising diesel prices could raise its gold production costs by as much as $80 per ounce next year. CFO Jamie Porter told analysts that high diesel prices are expected to add about $50-60 per ounce to fourth-quarter costs, up from roughly $30 in the prior quarter. The Canadian company’s shares fell as much as 4.5% in Toronto amid a broader mining selloff.
TREE NEWS update: Microsoft is set to raise $25 billion through a high-grade bond issuance, the company’s latest large-scale debt sale. The offering is expected to draw strong demand given Microsoft’s top-tier credit rating. Further terms of the bond sale, including maturity and pricing, were not disclosed.
TREE NEWS update: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on the 29th that his government will take firm action to comprehensively strengthen safety protections across the rail network, after a high-speed train collision in Toledo province. Speaking after a meeting of the integrated emergency coordination centre, Sánchez said it is absolutely unacceptable for major rail accidents to occur in quick succession, and pledged to prevent a repeat of such a tragedy.
TREE NEWS reports: Partners Group’s flagship US private equity fund received $2.2 billion in redemption requests in the third quarter, equal to 15% of its net asset value, more than double the $900 million requested in the second quarter. The Swiss group exercised its right to limit redemptions to 5% in both the second and third quarters.