Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned on Thursday that the global technology stock rally will eventually correct, saying the city-state is looking to seize the current window of opportunity. Speaking at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore, Wong said it is unknown when or how the adjustment will occur, or who will be hurt, but that no boom can last indefinitely.

TREE NEWS update: US Labor Secretary Sandlin said the government has launched criminal proceedings against the companies named today, after the US suspended green card applications for foreign employees at Microsoft and several other tech firms. The announcement was made in response to the suspension affecting foreign workers at the named companies.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s household spending fell 3.1% year-on-year in August, beating expectations of a 3.6% decline, with the prior reading also at -3.6%. The smaller-than-expected drop still marks a continued contraction in consumer outlays.

TREE NEWS reports: As of October 8, 29 Chinese brokerages had finalized their October A-share model portfolios, with 173 stocks selected in total. The brokerages anchored their picks on certainty in third-quarter earnings, favoring high-growth names in AI and innovative drugs while using banks and utilities as low-volatility dividend ballast for a balanced, offense-defense mix.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s live hog prices edged higher in early October after hitting a near three-month low on Sept. 30, with the external three-way crossbreed quoted at 10.3 yuan/kg and the internal three-way crossbreed at 10.63 yuan/kg as of Oct. 8, up about 0.24% and 0.2% from before the National Day holiday. Yin Weihua, a researcher at the State Information Center’s Economic Forecast Department, attributed the rebound mainly to shifts in the pace of supply-side marketings, with holiday demand only a secondary support.

TREE NEWS reports: Hong Kong’s IPO market saw 115 companies complete listings through Oct 8, up 89% year on year, with total proceeds of HK$385.566 billion, a 104.52% year-on-year increase, Wind data show. Another 363 companies are in the “processing” stage of hearings, 101 of them already A-share listed, accounting for 27.82%. Deloitte China capital markets services national leader Ji Wenhe said the strong momentum is expected to continue through year-end.

TREE NEWS reports: Morgan Stanley warned that delays to Oracle’s projects could create credit risk for the company. The bank flagged the project slippage as a potential strain on Oracle’s credit profile. No further details on the specific projects or timing were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: The Trump administration announced at a Washington summit on Thursday that Silicon Valley giants have pledged $2.4 billion to bolster scientific research, the latest move by Washington to promote and harness AI. The White House said the donations will provide AI tools and compute credits for its Genesis Mission, which aims to use AI to advance research across more than 15 federal agencies. Pledges include $1 billion from Nvidia, $500 million from AMD, $200 million from OpenAI, and $150 million each from Anthropic and Alphabet’s Google.

TREE NEWS reports: Chinese wealth management firms are revamping their investment and risk-control systems for “fixed-income plus” products, building tiered drawdown targets and low-volatility asset allocations as net-value-based reform deepens. The firms are also setting repair timelines for net-value recovery and optimizing investor experience, aiming for controllable drawdowns and steady returns across diversified mandates.

TREE NEWS update: New China Life Insurance increased its holdings of China AVIC H-shares through centralized bidding on the secondary market, with its stake reaching the disclosure threshold for the H-share capital of the listed company, the Insurance Association of China disclosed. The number of stake disclosures by Chinese insurers has fallen noticeably this year versus the same period a year earlier, though allocations to equity assets remain strong and are becoming more diversified across instruments, channels and strategies.

TREE NEWS reports: Chinese mutual funds are actively expanding into the A-share private placement market amid wide market swings, with a pronounced top-tier concentration among participants. China Post Fund, Nord Fund, E Fund, Industrial Global Fund, Yimi Fund, Guotai Fund and China Universal Fund are among the frequent participants, deploying index, ‘fixed income plus’ and active equity products in coordinated groups.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said he will not attack Iran before the midterm elections, stating the timing of any military action would come after the vote. Analysts cautioned that a full resumption of US military operations against Iran cannot be entirely ruled out. The remarks leave the possibility of renewed conflict open despite the pre-election pause.

TREE NEWS reports: Peer-to-peer stablecoin wallet activity in China has surged 43-fold despite the country’s ongoing ban on crypto trading, while South Korea’s crypto economy has reached $450 billion, the largest in East Asia. The figures underscore continued stablecoin demand in markets where formal crypto services are restricted.

TREE NEWS reports: The borrowing spree financing artificial intelligence is shaking investors in the more than $10 trillion US corporate bond market, forcing a repricing of risk around some of the largest technology companies as credit insurance costs spike and volatility rises. Oracle, Broadcom and SpaceX are among borrowers that have issued nearly $500 billion in new debt this year to fund AI infrastructure. The pace and scale of issuance, combined with uncertainty over the technology and rising rates, is pressuring the sector and pushing investors to demand higher compensation for lending.

TREE NEWS update: South Korean and Taiwanese stock markets are closed all day, while China may release its January-September aggregate social financing, new yuan loans and September M2 money supply data. The ECB’s Piero Cipollone and Isabel Schnabel are scheduled to speak, Canada publishes its September jobs report, and the US releases the preliminary October University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.

TREE NEWS update: The US federal government said on the 8th it will suspend Microsoft and several other technology companies from the PERM permanent labor certification program, the first step for H-1B visa holders to obtain employer-sponsored green cards. Nine US universities, including Harvard and Stanford, are also under investigation over suspected J-1 visa fraud.

TREE NEWS reports: Datong Securities advertised an account-opening commission rate of 0.00691% in late September, just 0.05 of a ten-thousandth of a point above the exchange’s mandatory fee collection, while Guosen Securities, Zhongtai Securities and other institutions cut new-account commission rates below the 0.01% threshold. Experts say brokerage business has entered a thin-margin phase where price competition is no longer sustainable, opening a deeper industry restructuring from competing on fees to competing on service.

TREE NEWS reports: Several Chinese insurance asset managers said they expect A-share market volatility to ease and a rebound window to open in the fourth quarter, favoring a mainly structural recovery. After the sharp third-quarter pullback, they plan to focus on value and defensive sectors, while in tech growth they will look for names with high earnings certainty.

TREE NEWS reports: The People’s Bank of China on Oct 8 conducted 606 billion yuan in overnight reverse repos and 1.2 trillion yuan in three-month outright reverse repos, leaving a net drain of 408.5 billion yuan after maturities. Analysts expect cash returning after the National Day holiday and earlier fiscal spending to support funding in early October, while tax payments, month-end and maturing medium- and long-term tools may stir conditions later in the month.

TREE NEWS reports: Chinese brokerage analysts said the recent pickup in A-share market volatility stems mainly from overseas disturbances and domestic institutional position adjustments, while underlying fundamentals remain intact. Several analysts told reporters that October market conditions are still worth anticipating given calendar effects, and recommended balanced allocation across AI, real estate and consumer sectors showing signs of recovery.