Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: 20 million barrels of oil have been shipped out of the Strait of Hormuz. The figure covers crude volumes moved through the key Gulf chokepoint, through which a large share of global seaborne oil normally passes. No further details on the timing or the parties involved were given.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Finance opened bidding on October 8 for the first 2026 tranche of special treasury bonds earmarked for recapitalizing central financial institutions, with a competitive auction target of 150 billion yuan. The five-year fixed-rate bond will be distributed through October 9 and listed for trading from October 13. A second, seven-year tranche is scheduled to be auctioned on November 18.

TREE NEWS reports: Temasek’s chief investment officer, Rohit Sipahimalani, said at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore that a reversal in the AI trade is the biggest risk facing markets, though he does not see it as imminent. He said a stumble could come in 2027, and cited tighter safety-driven regulation or signs that companies are not earning adequate returns on AI spending as possible triggers.

TREE NEWS update: Finland’s permitting and regulatory agency LVV ordered Google subsidiary Tuike Finland Oy on October 6 to suspend construction at planned data centers in Muhos and Kajaani until an environmental impact assessment is completed. The halt covers tree felling, topsoil removal, excavation, quarrying, crushing, earthmoving, trenching and road and storage-area construction. The order comes a month after Alphabet’s Google pledged $15 billion for AI infrastructure in Finland.

TREE NEWS update: The US Department of Homeland Security on the 7th published a proposed rule imposing steep fees on international students who work in the United States through Optional Practical Training. Schools would pay $70,000 for each student’s first OPT application and another $30,000 for an extension. OPT allows student-visa holders to work in jobs directly related to their field of study and is a key bridge to work visas.

TREE NEWS update: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei said Wednesday that Tehran will deliver its response to the US proposal through intermediaries, adding that Iran has set out clear conditions for ending the war. He said Iran and Oman have also agreed on a safe transit route through the Strait of Hormuz and on how to notify relevant international bodies of the route.

TREE NEWS update: An adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Strait of Hormuz remains in a “closed” state and that illegal shipping lanes will soon be blocked. The statement, carried in the material, gives no date or detail on how the closure is being enforced. The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint.

TREE NEWS reports: FTSE China A50 index futures closed down 0.13% in continuous overnight trading, settling at 13,816 points. The move marks a marginal decline for the Singapore-listed contract tracking the 50 largest A-share companies on the mainland.

TREE NEWS update: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a speech in Athens, Greece, that the United States is pursuing national power without apology, warning Europe of the danger of Western decline. Rubio criticized other Western countries for letting their militaries atrophy and ceding sovereignty to global institutions, saying Washington is reclaiming supply-chain control, reindustrializing its economy, rebuilding its armed forces and competing for dominance in future technologies.

TREE NEWS reports: At the Wednesday, Oct. 7 New York close, S&P 500 futures fell 0.27%, Dow futures dropped 0.71% and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.21%. Russell 2000 futures lost 1.25%, the steepest decline among the four contracts.

TREE NEWS reports: The offshore yuan (CNH) closed at 6.7026 per US dollar in New York on Wednesday, down 11 pips from Tuesday’s New York close. The pair traded between 6.7005 and 6.7099 through the session.

TREE NEWS reports: Broadcom is working to arrange more than $50 billion in financing for chips needed by OpenAI, while Oracle is in talks with Apollo and Goldman Sachs on chip financing. SpaceX is also seeking debt agreements tied to AI chips. The moves underscore the scale of borrowing being lined up across the AI hardware supply chain.

TREE NEWS reports: Spot gold fell 1.33% to $4,108.72 an ounce in late New York trading on Wednesday, October 7, after a sharp intraday slide that hit a session low of $4,066.59, briefly approaching the $4,000 psychological level. Spot silver dropped 2.53% to $59.7890 an ounce, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index closed down 3.08% and the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index fell 2.61% to 2,455.91.

TREE NEWS reports: MSCI’s emerging markets stock index dropped 1%, while a gauge of developing-nation currencies slipped 0.05%. The moves mark a decline across emerging-market equities and foreign exchange.

TREE NEWS update: The US National Hurricane Center said Isaias is rapidly intensifying and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Thursday morning. The agency issued the update as the storm’s intensity increased. No further details were provided in the advisory.

TREE NEWS update: The Saudi-led multinational coalition said on October 7 that it carried out a military operation in Yemen’s capital Sanaa and destroyed a ballistic missile launch platform. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced the strike, which targeted the launch site in the city.

TREE NEWS update: Iran and Oman have reached consensus on the geographic coordinates of a safe transit route through the Strait of Hormuz, along with how the agreement will be announced internationally, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. The two sides agreed on both the route’s coordinates and the manner of the deal’s international publication. No further details on timing or the specific coordinates were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government will release 10 million barrels of diesel from strategic reserves over the next three months, a move expected to cut retail fuel prices by 12 to 18 euro cents per litre, speaking from his Paris office. He also pledged that electricity bills will not spike this winter, as part of a recent G7 agreement, aiming to ease the cost-of-living crisis and calm growing student protests.

TREE NEWS update: Syria’s national oil company plans to more than double crude production within a year, CEO Yousef Qiblawi said, with output targeted at about 250,000 barrels per day by end-2027 from roughly 110,000 bpd now through investment in existing fields. The company also plans to expand refining capacity. Syria currently relies on foreign-supplied crude and refined products, with Saudi Aramco, Trafigura and Vitol delivering under long-term agreements.

TREE NEWS reports: Costco Wholesale reported September comparable sales rose 11.4%, ahead of analyst expectations of 9.9%. US comparable sales for the month increased 8% excluding gasoline and foreign exchange effects, also beating the 7.2% consensus estimate. The figures cover the retailer’s September reporting period.