Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said AI-driven economic growth will not offset short-term inflation, indicating the productivity gains from artificial intelligence are not expected to ease near-term price pressures. The remarks leave the Fed’s inflation outlook for the coming months unchanged.

TREE NEWS update: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on September 28 raising the authorized strength of the Russian armed forces to 2,441,630 personnel, including 1,550,500 active servicemembers. It is the fourth expansion of the Russian military since the start of 2026.

TREE NEWS reports: Iran has agreed to stop uranium enrichment in exchange for the United States easing sanctions, Saudi outlet Alhadath reported. WTI crude fell $1.81 a barrel within five minutes to $91.33, while Brent dropped $1.58 in the same window to $96.48.

TREE NEWS reports: The Federal Reserve’s overnight reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) facility took in $851 million on Monday, September 28, from three counterparties, up from $576 million the previous trading day. The RRP is a key tool the Fed uses to absorb excess cash from money markets.

TREE NEWS reports: BP is considering selling its Brazilian biofuel business, people familiar with the matter said. No buyer, price or timeline was disclosed. The potential divestment would mark a further pullback from the company’s bioenergy portfolio.

TREE NEWS reports: Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok warned that the financial system could face “agentic bank runs” if households rely heavily on AI assistants such as Meta Platforms’ Muse to move cash into higher-yielding accounts. In a report titled “Is an Agentic Bank Run Coming?” Slok wrote that banks could lose the cheap deposits they use to fund lending, calling it a problem for the entire financial system.

TREE NEWS reports: Emerging-market bonds are on track for their worst monthly performance since the Iran war first hit markets in March, as 10-year US Treasury yields surged above 5.20% to near two-decade highs and oil climbed toward $110 a barrel on fading hopes for a breakthrough on the Strait of Hormuz. Avenue chief strategist William Castro Alves said rising US borrowing costs are pushing yields up across the board, with higher oil and renewed inflation fears also weighing on the asset class.

TREE NEWS reports: Goldman Sachs chief credit strategist Amanda Lynam said a surge in US high-yield corporate bond supply is starting to overwhelm bond investors, pushing risk premiums to their highest level in five months. Lynam said the market is bracing for a bout of supply indigestion similar to what the investment-grade market saw earlier this summer, and that the same pattern has now emerged in high yield.

TREE NEWS update: TotalEnergies said in an investor presentation that the turnaround at its Normandy refinery, with capacity of about 240,000 barrels per day, will be postponed to 2027. Vincent Stoquart, the company’s president of downstream, refining and chemicals, said Monday in New York that the maintenance work had been due to begin “within days.” The Normandy refinery will run an additional three months in 2026, Stoquart said.

TREE NEWS reports: Yemen’s Houthi movement said Saudi warplanes flying from Khamis Mushait and Taif air bases carried out 38 airstrikes and missile strikes over the past 24 hours using F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets. Missile attacks launched from Najran and Jizan targeted Taiz, Saada and Hodeidah, causing civilian casualties including women and children, the group said. It put the total number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks since this round of escalation began at 1,123.

TREE NEWS reports: The US dollar broke through 2.45 million Iranian rials on Iran’s free market on Monday, sending the rial to a record low. The rate opened around 2.405 million and climbed through the session, up from roughly 2.33 million less than a week earlier and about 1.11 million a year ago — more than doubling over the past year.

TREE NEWS reports: International copper closed down 0.28% in overnight trading, while Shanghai copper fell 0.16%, Shanghai aluminum lost 0.33% and Shanghai nickel dropped 0.48%. Shanghai zinc and lead edged higher, up 0.09% and 0.19% respectively, with tin adding 0.12%. Alumina was the biggest mover, sliding 2.07%, while aluminum alloy gained 0.15% and stainless steel slipped 0.22%.

TREE NEWS update: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Metro Cash & Carry’s Russian subsidiary placed under temporary management. The unit’s stores and assets will be managed by JSC UK Torg Rus. The same order allows Western Union to sell its assets in Russia, marking the Kremlin’s latest move to tighten control over foreign-owned businesses.

TREE NEWS reports: Capital Economics economist James Reilly said the recent US Treasury selloff reflects shifting rate expectations, higher oil prices and US economic strength rather than AI-related debt issuance or fiscal concerns, with the 10-year yield near its June 2007 high. He expects the 10-year yield to fall sharply to 4.25% by the end of 2027 as Fed tightening proves milder than investors now expect, arguing AI-related issuance will add less upward pressure than media reports suggest.

TREE NEWS reports: London Metal Exchange copper closed down $210 at $14,413 per tonne. Aluminium fell $16 to $3,252, zinc dropped $47 to $3,852, lead slipped $27 to $1,902, nickel declined $150 to $16,179, tin fell $47 to $3,852, and cobalt lost $500 to $39,140 per tonne.

TREE NEWS update: Israel’s military said on September 28 that it completed a large-scale operation in Mansouri, inside the “security zone” in southern Lebanon, destroying Hezbollah infrastructure there. The brigade-level operation was aimed at preventing Hezbollah from regrouping and establishing positions in the zone, the IDF said. Troops had ordered residents in the area to evacuate about two months earlier.

TREE NEWS reports: The United States is considering a sanctions exemption that would allow flights between Iran and the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to resume. The waiver would cover the route to Najaf, a major destination for Shiite pilgrims. No decision or timeline has been disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Bitmine chairman Tom Lee said the company’s ETH holdings have surpassed 6 million tokens, accumulated in under 15 months and equal to nearly 5% of ETH’s total supply. Lee said a new crypto bull market began at the end of June, and that institutions remain underweight crypto and are expected to add exposure in the final months of 2026. ETH has outperformed other macro assets by 6,728 basis points quarter-to-date.

TREE NEWS update: White House adviser Kevin Hassett said the US three-month annualized core inflation rate is close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The comment points to recent price pressures running near the central bank’s goal on a short-term basis.

TREE NEWS update: White House adviser Kevin Hassett, asked about US Treasury yields, said the question should be directed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Hassett said the 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) yield indicates a higher current return on capital. He gave no further comment on the level of US government bond yields.