Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: New Zealand’s building permits rose 5.6% month on month in August, rebounding from a 4.3% decline in July. The monthly swing marks a return to growth for construction-sector approvals after the prior month’s contraction.

TREE NEWS update: S&P Dow Jones Indices said it expects to add Peru and Kazakhstan to its iBoxx government index. The index provider announced the anticipated inclusion without giving a date or further details. The iBoxx family tracks government and corporate bond benchmarks.

TREE NEWS reports: In late New York trading on Wednesday, September 30, S&P 500 futures closed down 0.11% and Dow futures fell 0.73%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.37%. Russell 2000 futures ended the session 0.28% lower.

TREE NEWS reports: The Mexican peso has fallen nearly 6% this month, underperforming every currency tracked by Bloomberg over the past month, as the Federal Reserve raised rates while Mexico’s central bank held steady. Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley and Banco Base have all cut their year-end forecasts for the peso, with one strategist saying the “carry trade party is over” and the peso’s “carry story is losing its appeal.”

TREE NEWS update: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he will be briefed on a new diesel supply announcement coming from Europe. Wright did not give further details on the volume, timing or origin of the supply. The remark points to continued attention on distillate fuel flows into global markets.

TREE NEWS reports: The offshore yuan (CNH) closed at 6.7088 per dollar in New York on Wednesday, down 8 pips from Tuesday’s close, after trading between 6.7038 and 6.7098. The currency rose 0.13% in September and gained more than 800 pips, or roughly 1.22%, over the third quarter, having touched 6.6912 before the US market open on September 21.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said the United States fully controls the Strait of Hormuz. The statement, made without further detail, addresses the strategic waterway through which a large share of global oil shipments passes.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said the United States is studying the possibility of imposing a diesel export ban. Trump made the remark without providing further details on timing, scope or the mechanism any such restriction would use. No decision has been announced.

TREE NEWS update: Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced on September 30 that Italy has extended border controls with Spain for another 15 days. It is the third such extension since a migration crisis emerged in the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta.

TREE NEWS reports: The FTSE China A50 index futures contract closed down 0.17% at 13,939 points in the night session. The move reflects modest overnight positioning in the offshore futures market tracking the 50 largest A-share companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen. No further details were disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Spot gold fell 0.55% to $4,159.47 an ounce on Wednesday, ending September down 6.31% after peaking at $4,696.83 on Aug. 25, while spot silver dropped 1.71% to $60.4355 and lost 9.24% on the month. COMEX gold futures fell 6.47% in September to $4,191.40, and COMEX silver futures slipped 9.28% to $60.770.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will act according to his own judgment. Trump’s comment addresses how the central bank chief will make policy decisions. It follows repeated past criticism by Trump of the Fed and its leadership over interest-rate policy.

TREE NEWS update: South Korea will invest $120 billion to build eight nuclear reactors in the United States, with two of the eight to use the Korean APR1400 design, the government said. Specific reactor projects have not yet been finalized, and Seoul plans to push for domestic companies to take an equity stake in Westinghouse Electric. The two countries also launched a $22.3 billion Texas gas-fired power plant project to supply AI data centers, providing 6.47 GW with commercial operation targeted before 2029.

TREE NEWS reports: Global government bonds are closing their worst quarter since 2024, with a Bloomberg government bond index on track for its biggest quarterly drop since the fourth quarter of 2024. The selloff was driven by $100 oil, which has revived fears of stubborn inflation. US Treasuries were hit hardest, with the 30-year yield rising to 5.64%, the highest since 2002, while shorter-dated bonds also sold off.

TREE NEWS reports: MSCI’s emerging markets stock index rose 0.2%, while the developing-nation currency index also gained 0.2%. The matched moves left emerging-market equities and currencies on similar footing.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump reiterated that gasoline prices will decline once the war with Iran concludes. The statement, made without a specified date or venue, restates his position that the conflict is keeping pump prices elevated. No timeline for the conflict’s end was given.

TREE NEWS reports: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reached a settlement with the federal government over tax matters, people familiar with the matter said. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. No further details were immediately available.

TREE NEWS update: Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Denmark’s ambassador on September 30 to protest what it called a provocative act by a Danish air force helicopter, which on September 14 hovered less than 50 meters above a Russian frigate in international waters in the southwestern Baltic Sea. Moscow said the helicopter ignored repeated safety warnings and that the frigate fired two signal flares in the opposite direction to draw its attention.

TREE NEWS reports: Mexico recorded a budget deficit of 73.903 billion pesos in August. The monthly shortfall reflects the gap between government spending and revenue for the period. No further breakdown of the deficit was provided.

TREE NEWS update: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said South Asia will likely turn to the United States for natural gas supply. The remark points to Washington positioning itself as a key energy supplier to the region. No further details, figures or timeline were given.