Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: Guangdong’s 4A-level and above scenic spots received 2.906 million visitors on October 1, the first day of the National Day holiday, up 6.1% year-on-year, according to preliminary estimates from the provincial culture and tourism department. The figure covers the province’s highest-rated tourist attractions.

TREE NEWS update: The US Department of Defense posted photos on X on October 1 of the first meeting of “Project Meridian,” a new program announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on September 30 to study the future forms of warfare. Tech billionaire Elon Musk attended the meeting.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Topix index dropped 1%. The decline marks a pullback in Japanese equities, with the broad-based index giving up gains. No specific catalyst was cited for the move.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump reiterated that the United States should have the lowest interest rates in the world. The remark restates his position that US borrowing costs should undercut those of other major economies.

TREE NEWS update: Donald Trump reiterated that $5,000 payments would be distributed if Republicans win both the House and the Senate. The statement repeats a pledge tied to a Republican sweep of Congress. No further details on timing, eligibility or funding were given.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said Canada has been taking advantage of the United States for years, but that this will not continue going forward. The remark, delivered without further detail, signals continued pressure in US-Canada trade relations. No specific policy measure or date was attached to the statement.

TREE NEWS update: Researchers at the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, part of the Institute of Metal Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposed a new cathode design strategy based on the physicochemical behavior of trace elements, moving cathode exploration from trial-and-error toward target-oriented design. With multiple trace elements each near 1%, lithium-ion transport efficiency and structural stability improved simultaneously. The results were published on October 1 in the journal Nature Synthesis.

TREE NEWS reports: Taiwan’s weighted stock index opened nearly flat on the session, quoted at 48,390.65 points. The benchmark showed little movement from the prior close in early trade, with no further details on sector performance or turnover disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: FTSE China A50 index futures opened 0.30% higher, following a 0.25% gain in the previous trading session’s night session. The move reflects early positioning in the offshore contract tracking the 50 largest A-share companies.

TREE NEWS reports: South Korea’s September exports rose 83.5% year on year, up 14.8 percentage points from August’s 68.7%, with average daily exports up 104.7%, Huatai Securities said in a research note. The narrow AI chain — semiconductors and computers — contributed about 90% of export growth, while non-AI exports also recovered from August. The strength lifted South Korea’s third-quarter trade surplus to $115.3 billion, adding about 19.6 percentage points to nominal GDP growth.

TREE NEWS update: South Korea’s finance ministry said it may further reduce the volume of government bond issuance if necessary. The ministry did not specify the size or timing of any additional cuts. The remark signals continued flexibility in managing sovereign debt supply.

TREE NEWS reports: The Nikkei 225 extended its intraday decline to 1%, with the index deepening losses during the trading session. The move marks a widening pullback in Japanese equities on the day.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 0.9% lower on Thursday, while South Korea’s Kospi index opened down 0.5%. The weaker opens for both major Asian benchmarks came at the start of the trading session.

TREE NEWS update: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on October 1 that Iran will not avoid dialogue with the United States, adding that Washington has not sought talks. He said Tehran is weighing the US response to its latest proposal, a day after Iran said it had received a formal US reply to its proposal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump said he could step up strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections.

TREE NEWS update: Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said the captain and co-pilot injured in a cockpit altercation aboard a Dubai airline flight were treated in Saudi Arabia and left the kingdom on the 1st accompanied by a UAE security working group. Preliminary findings of a joint Saudi-UAE investigation show the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attacked the captain, injuring both. After receiving medical clearance, the two returned to Abu Dhabi on the 1st.

TREE NEWS update: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on the 1st that the Bundeswehr will formally establish its first drone combat regiment in 2027. Speaking during an inspection of the Bergen military training area in Lower Saxony, Pistorius said the decision draws on experience from the war in Ukraine, and that ground operations will require commanding and deploying unmanned systems to seize the initiative.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s base money fell 15.2% year on year in September, following a revised 15.7% decline in the previous month, Bank of Japan data showed. The reading marks another month of contraction in the monetary base, which comprises banknotes in circulation, coins and current account balances held at the central bank.

TREE NEWS reports: Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said energy-price-driven inflation is a bigger concern than economic growth, adding that AI buildout demand is pushing inflation higher. She also expressed high optimism that artificial intelligence will lift labor productivity.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s unemployment rate rose to 2.5% in August, up from 2.4% in July and above the 2.4% reading economists had expected. The jobless rate had held at 2.4% in the prior month.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Tokyo core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, rose 2.7% year-on-year in September, exceeding the 2.3% expected and accelerating from 1.8% in the prior month. The reading marks a sharp pickup in the capital’s inflation and points to broadening price pressure in Japan.