Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Shandong province issued a 7-year special-purpose local government bond for shantytown redevelopment totaling 2.689 billion yuan at an issuance yield of 1.5500%, with a marginal bid-to-cover ratio of 12.07 times against an expected 1.51. The province also priced 10-, 15- and 30-year general and other special-purpose local bonds, including a 30-year tranche of 19.893 billion yuan at 2.2400% and a 15-year tranche of 5.853 billion yuan at 2.0300% that drew a marginal ratio of 117.18 times.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s telecom business revenue totaled 1.16 trillion yuan in the first eight months of 2026, down 2.2% year on year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said. Telecom business volume, calculated at constant prices from the previous year, rose 7.6% over the same period.

TREE NEWS update: Qatar has extended its force majeure on liquefied natural gas deliveries to Pakistan through November. The measure, which suspends contractual supply obligations, now runs at least until November, leaving Pakistan to secure replacement LNG volumes elsewhere. No reason or further terms were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the new-type battery industry, calling for higher energy and power density and longer cycle life through process optimization, material upgrades and structural innovation. The plan targets high-safety lithium batteries for consumer electronics and safer, faster-charging, cold-resistant, lighter and denser power batteries for new energy vehicles and electric ships, plus high-safety, large-capacity, grid-forming and ultra-long-cycle storage batteries.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments jointly issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the new battery industry, calling for faster upgrading of next-generation battery materials. The plan targets key materials based on abundant, stably supplied mineral resources, high-capacity, self-repairing electrode materials, and mass production of high-conductivity solid-state electrolytes. It also calls for high-speed, flexible, intelligent equipment and dedicated industrial software.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 0.7% at 65,877.62, while the broader Topix slipped 0.4% to 4,112. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 2.7% to 6,889.75. The declines across major Asian equity benchmarks came as regional markets sold off.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments issued the ’15th Five-Year Plan’ for the new-generation battery industry, targeting steady growth in the sector’s scale by 2030. The plan calls for breakthroughs in advanced electrode materials, new electrolytes and high-end auxiliary materials, initial large-scale application of all-solid-state batteries, and lithium batteries with a cycle life of 15,000 cycles.

TREE NEWS reports: US equity futures extended losses, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 1%, S&P 500 futures off 0.44% and Dow futures 0.4% lower. Spot gold also fell, dropping below $4,170 an ounce, a decline of more than 2.6% on the day.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s border inspection agencies handled 6.709 million inbound and outbound trips during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, an average of 2.236 million per day and up 16.8% from the same holiday last year, the National Immigration Administration said. The single-day peak came on September 26, with 2.342 million crossings.

TREE NEWS update: TotalEnergies confirmed it will allocate 40% of its cash flow to shareholder returns while deleveraging, and set an oil and gas output growth target of 2-3% a year for 2030-2035. The company plans net investments of $14-17 billion a year over 2027-2032, expects its net debt ratio below 10% by end-2026, and sees electricity reaching 25% of its energy mix by 2035.

TREE NEWS update: TotalEnergies said it plans to grow energy production by 4% a year through 2030 and expects free cash flow to rise by $10 billion between 2025 and 2030 under the same oil price assumptions. The company will buy back $2.5 billion of shares in the fourth quarter of 2026 and $2.0-2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2027, and expects its net debt ratio to fall below 10% by the end of 2026. The board committed to dividend growth of more than 5% a year through 2030.

TREE NEWS update: Xi’an 1908 New Energy Technology delivered China’s first 100-kilowatt integrated wind/solar power-to-hydrogen, hydrogen storage, hydrogen release and power generation system to XJ Group under China Electrical Equipment Group at the Shaanxi Hydrogen Energy Quality Technology Innovation Base. The system marks a breakthrough in green hydrogen-electricity applications.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Finance said the country’s government procurement scale reached 3.321296 trillion yuan in 2025. Goods accounted for 795.392 billion yuan, works 1.304508 trillion yuan and services 1.221396 billion yuan, or 23.95%, 39.28% and 36.77% of the total. Decentralized procurement made up 78.12%, while public bidding accounted for 77.49% of the total.

TREE NEWS reports: Global shipments of smartphones priced below $200 are expected to fall by more than 230 million units between 2025 and 2030. That segment’s volumes are projected to decline about 40% from 2025 levels, even as the overall smartphone market is seen recovering to its 2025 level by the end of 2030.

TREE NEWS reports: South Korea’s KOSPI index fell more than 2.5%, with Samsung Electronics dropping 5% and SK Hynix sliding over 4%. The decline in the benchmark index, led by the country’s two largest semiconductor names, marks a sharp selloff in Korean equities.

TREE NEWS reports: Chris Iggo, chief investment officer at AXA IM Core, part of BNP Paribas Asset Management, said the bond market is poised for a rebound after four difficult years, in a September 25 report written as he retires after 26 years in fund management. He said bonds are the most attractive in years despite broad concerns over inflation, government borrowing, private credit and surging corporate borrowing, adding that warnings of a fixed-income disaster suited 2022 better than 2026.

TREE NEWS update: LVMH-owned cosmetics brand MAKE UP FOREVER will close its Hong Kong official online store after September 30, citing a strategic adjustment. Customers can continue online shopping via SEPHORA, the beauty retailer also owned by LVMH. The brand is exiting the Hong Kong market.

TREE NEWS reports: The Shanghai Composite Index extended its decline to 2% on the day, while the Shenzhen Component fell 3.77% and the ChiNext board dropped 4.85%. The deepening losses mark a broad selloff across mainland Chinese equity benchmarks.

TREE NEWS reports: BNP Paribas strategist Chi Lo said the Federal Reserve’s September rate hike is unlikely to mark the start of a new tightening cycle similar to 2022-2023, despite market expectations of two more hikes. Instead, it may signal the beginning of “preventive hikes” aimed at reversing last year’s three cuts to bring inflation back to target. Lo warned that further hikes could risk pushing the economy into stagflation.

TREE NEWS reports: Brent crude oil rose 2.0% intraday to trade at $99.4 a barrel. The move marks a fresh gain for the global benchmark during the session.