Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Yemen’s Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree repeated a warning on the 15th that Saudi airspace and airports are “unsafe,” excluding Mecca and Medina. In a social media statement, he said the group has repeatedly issued such warnings to airlines and is able to mount a “reciprocal response” to Saudi military operations against Houthi-controlled areas. Earlier the same day, Saree said the group carried out no attacks inside Saudi Arabia that day and denied Saudi claims that Medina was struck.

TREE NEWS reports: Freddie Mac said the US 30-year fixed mortgage rate came in at 7.4% last week, unchanged from the prior week’s 7.4%. The reading marks at least the highest level since November 2023 and a seventh consecutive weekly increase.

TREE NEWS reports: US crude oil inventories fell by 8.56 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration reported, far exceeding a Bloomberg user forecast of a 2.4 million-barrel draw and analyst expectations of a 9.55 million-barrel build. The prior week saw a decline of 3.186 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute had earlier estimated a drop of 11.123 million barrels.

TREE NEWS reports: US gasoline inventories rose by 3.518 million barrels in the week ended October 9, 2025, the EIA reported, following a 382,000-barrel build the prior week. The figure reflects the latest weekly petroleum status data on US gasoline stockpiles.

TREE NEWS reports: US EIA refinery utilization changed by 0.8% for the week of October 9, up from a prior reading of 0.2%, the Energy Information Administration reported. The weekly figure tracks the change in the share of US refining capacity in use. It is a key gauge of domestic fuel production and crude demand.

TREE NEWS reports: The UK is supplying additional long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on October 15, citing people familiar with the matter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met British Prime Minister Burnham in London on October 14. Amid a recent deterioration in Ukraine’s relations with the US government, the UK reaffirmed its support for Kyiv and announced further military assistance.

TREE NEWS reports: Bitcoin held above $81,000 after U.S. wholesale prices rose 1.3% in September, the largest jump since 2022, with energy accounting for more than 80% of the increase. The largest cryptocurrency rose less than half a percent over 24 hours through the first two hours of U.S. trading, and none of the five largest tokens moved more than 1% in either direction.

TREE NEWS update: Russian President Vladimir Putin said recent attacks on oil refineries caused no significant damage. He made the remarks in a statement reported on the recent strikes. No further details on the incidents or damage assessments were provided.

TREE NEWS reports: ICE UK natural gas futures fell 0.86% in late European trading on Thursday, October 15, while the TTF Dutch benchmark dropped 0.74%. ICE EU carbon allowance futures declined 1.17% over the same session.

TREE NEWS update: Yemen’s government said the presidential palace in Aden was struck by Houthi forces. The announcement, issued by the internationally recognized government, identified the site as the presidential palace in the southern port city. No further details on casualties or damage were provided.

TREE NEWS reports: The MSCI Nordic Countries Index fell 0.2% to 392.59 points, with the Nordic financial sector posting the steepest decline among the ten sectors tracked. Nordea Bank Abp dropped 7.8%, the worst performer among Nordic individual stocks.

TREE NEWS reports: The US Treasury auctioned four-week bills at a high yield of 4% with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.56, and eight-week bills at a high yield of 4.050% with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.26. Both auctions were held on the same day, with the shorter-dated bills drawing stronger demand than the eight-week offering.

TREE NEWS reports: Germany’s DAX 30 index provisionally closed up 0.36% at 25,388.73. France’s index finished 0.74% higher, while the UK index rose 1.18%. Italy’s index closed down 0.56%, with its bank index falling 1.29%.

TREE NEWS reports: Europe’s STOXX 600 index closed provisionally up 0.38% at 640.19 points. The Eurozone’s STOXX 50 index finished 0.32% lower at 6,171.27 points. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index gained 0.40% to close at 2,556.40 points.

TREE NEWS reports: European Central Bank officials are growing impatient with President Christine Lagarde for not clarifying her future plans. The dissatisfaction centers on the lack of a clear signal about how long Lagarde intends to remain in the role. No timeline or decision has been announced.

TREE NEWS reports: Chip stocks shed about $1 trillion in market value, yet ETF investors bought the dip. The $72 billion VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) drew more than $430 million over the past three trading sessions, on track for its biggest weekly inflow since early September. The $19 billion Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL) took in roughly $3.8 billion even as its value fell nearly 21% this week, enough to set a single-week inflow record.

TREE NEWS reports: Nearly $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated as hot inflation data revived Federal Reserve rate-hike bets, whipsawing Bitcoin and punishing leveraged bulls. The liquidation wave followed the inflation print, which shifted rate expectations back toward tightening.

TREE NEWS reports: The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index climbed 2% as Chinese ADRs rallied, with New Oriental up over 5.5%, Xiaomi up 5.2% and Yum China up 3.6%. Li Auto, Nio and NetEase each gained at least 2.2%, while Alibaba slipped 0.6% and ASE Technology fell 5.7%. Among ETFs, CQQQ dropped 0.3% and KWEB rose 0.1%.

TREE NEWS reports: Bitcoin fell below $80,000 after September US producer price inflation overshot expectations by 100 basis points, the largest monthly gain since March 2022. BTC buyers attempted to defend the $80,000 support level following the hotter-than-expected PPI print.

TREE NEWS reports: Negotiations between Antofagasta Minerals and two striking unions at Chile’s Centinela copper mine made no progress on Thursday. Three workers taking part in a hunger strike have now gone seven days without food. The standoff at the Centinela operation continues with no breakthrough reported by either side.